Someone asked if there was anything that scared me more than having NOT A DROP TO DRINK out in the wild for people to read. Well, yes.
Velociraptors. Duh.
On Submission with Lenore Applehans
Today's guest for the SHIT (Submission Hell - It's True) is Lenore Appelhans, the blogger extraordinaire behind Presenting Lenore who stopped by last week. Lenore's experience in the submission process certainly wasn't hellish, but a good dose of optimism never hurt any aspiring writers, either. And it certainly didn't hurt that her debut, LEVEL 2 sounds like it's made of everything you ever wanted, wrapped up in paper and topped off with a glorious cover..
How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?
I did know a bit, mostly from scouring the blue boards (community at Verla Kay’s website) or from SCBWI resources/conferences.
Did anything about the process surprise you?
My agent walked me through the process and he was incredibly confident that it wouldn’t be on sub long. He told me he was pitching it on a Friday and that we’d probably hear first reactions mid-week the following week. So when he forwarded me some feedback on Saturday already, I was elated, but my anxiety level also rose considerably. I might not have slept that whole weekend.
Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?
I had the submission list, and I googled all of their names, but I found precious little info about them. The main way to find out about which editors edit which books seems to be reading acknowledgement pages. So I did a lot of that to pass the time while I was waiting!
What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?
Well, we heard that the first editor had interest in less than one day. We also got a couple of rejections by Monday. By Tuesday, my agent indicated that it would likely go to auction on Thursday, but then the preempt came in from S&S and we eventually accepted that.
What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?
I wish I knew! Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with that specific anxiety for very long, but I’m sure if it had been much longer I would have developed some coping strategies.
If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?
The rejections we got were basically of the “this is just not for me, but I’m confident you’ll sell it elsewhere” variety, and the face of so much positive feedback, they really didn’t register much. You can’t expect everyone to love your book.
When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?
It was all via phone calls on a chilly Tuesday night in March. It felt really, really surreal because I just couldn’t believe I would soon have an actual book published. By the time the deal was agreed to, it was nearly midnight here (in Germany I am 6 hours ahead of New York) so my husband and I celebrated by going to the grocery store and buying sparkling wine and Snickers ice cream bars.
Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?
Because the publishing contract and the movie option with CBS happened at the same time, Deadline.com broke the news the next day and S&S sort of had to scramble to write a press release. The deal was announced in PM and PW on Thursday, so it really wasn’t too bad of a wait.
Cover Talk with Ellen Oh
I love talking to authors. Our experiences are so similar, yet so very different, that every one of us has a new story to share. Everyone says that the moment you get your cover it really hits you - you're an author. The cover is your story - and you - packaged for the world. So the process of the cover reveal can be slightly panic inducing. Does it fit your story? Is it what you hoped? Will it sell? With this in mind I put together the CRAP (Cover Reveal Anxiety Phase) Interview.
Today's guest is my fellow Lucky13s and Friday the Thirteeners member Ellen Oh, to talk about her awesome cover for PROPHECY, available from Harper Teen January 2, 2013.
Did you have any pre-conceived notions about what you wanted your cover to look like?
Well, my kids did versions of the cover that I loved! But otherwise I didn’t have any real idea of what I wanted it to look like other than wanting an iconic cover. I was so happy with what HarperTeen produced.
How far in advance from your pub date did you start talking covers with your house?
I’d say as early as the summer of 2012 was when we had the first conversations with my editor where she asked me what I was thinking about. I remember telling her that I really liked the Eon cover for the paperback version. There was the shadow of a girl holding a sword before an amazing dragon. And then I didn’t hear anything until I saw the first version.
Did you have any input on your cover?
Not really, but then that’s probably a good thing as I’m not artistic or creative in the very least! I leave that to the professionals. The only thing I asked for was something iconic, which they totally delivered.
How was your cover revealed to you?
My editor called me first and then it came via email and I was like WOW!
Was there an official "cover reveal" date for your art?
Yes, the marketing team at Harper asked me to reveal my cover the week of June 18th. Being very literal, I revealed it, jointly with the wonderful Megan Shepherd, right on June 18th!
How far in advance of the reveal date were you aware of what your cover would look like?
I’d say I knew what the final cover was at least 2 months before the release.
Was it hard to keep it to yourself before the official release?
HELL YES! ;o)
What surprised you most about the process?
That it takes a year to create a cover. That shocked me.
Any advice to other debut authors about how to handle cover art anxiety?
I think the best thing is not to stress about it because it ultimately isn’t in our hands. Being able to give input on what you hope for is good early on, and I do think they take an author’s input very seriously. But after that, forget about it and know that you are in good hands with your publisher.