Behind the Book, Part 3: The Publisher

Now it's time to secure a publisher. I had an agent and a manuscript (MS) suitable for submission to publishing houses.  Now, we needed to find the best house to publish The Lonely Hearts Club.  The agent determines which editors at which houses would be the best fit for a MS.  For example, if an editor prefers picture books or non-fiction, they probably wouldn’t be receptive to a young adult novel about a girl who gives up dating boys.  My MS was then delivered to my agent's list of editors at various publishers. My agent told me that if I didn’t hear anything from her, it meant that there was no news.  There isn’t a standard amount of time in which you should expect a response from publishers.  So, I vowed that I wouldn’t get stressed out until three months had passed.  Luckily, I didn’t have to wait that long (although I freely admit to getting stressed after a couple of weeks).  Some publishers flat out declined the book (either it didn’t fit with their list or the publisher had too many similar books…or they thought it was crap, but they don’t really say that), and others would be interested if changes were made (like making it for a younger audience). Still, some liked it and were moving forward with it in-house. 

If an editor likes your MS, it doesn’t necessary mean that the publishing house will publish your book.  The editor must pitch the book to the other departments in-house: management, marketing, publicity, sales, etc.  Consequently, there are many different ways your book can be rejected (just like dating!).  However, you want a passionate publisher who will do the best job possible for your book. To get that, you need every department on board.  Sales will pitch your books to accounts - their enthusiasm will get the booksellers excited (VERY important!).  Marketing and publicity [who, by the way, are extremely good-looking people ;)] need to feel they can properly promote your book – is there a special angle to highlight or key demographic market for your book?  Sales gets the books into the bookstores while marketing and publicity informs the public, getting them eager to purchase your book.

My first official offer (meaning a publisher said, “We want to publish your book.”) occurred when I was in Wisconsin for my brother’s wedding last summer.  Much screaming and jumping up and down ensued.  The Lonely Hearts Club would be published!  My agent returned to the other houses who had yet to submit a response and then we chose to go with Scholastic.  It took about six weeks from when the MS was sent out to our first official offer.

Here's a funny story about when I got my offer.  At that point, I hadn’t told many people that I had been writing a book.  For the four of you who have read my previous Behind the Book blogs, you know that it took me years to write LHC because I had to take big breaks due to my job.  I felt certain it would be a long process, so I thought it would be best to wait until I knew whether it would be published before I told many people about it.

This meant that my parents didn’t know that I had written a book.  So, the day after my brother’s wedding, I sat down with my parents to share the news.  The conversation went something like this:

ME:  So, I have some news…  I wrote a book.

MOM:   YOU WROTE A BOOK?

ME:  Yes, and my agent has been shopping it.

MOM:  YOU HAVE AN AGENT?

ME: Yes, and we just got an offer.

MOM:  YOU GOT AN OFFER?

ME:  Yes, so I’m going to be a published author.

MOM: YOU WROTE A BOOK?

Needless to say, they were a little shocked.  I’m not known for being subtle (or quiet) so the fact that I could keep a secret like that was probably the bigger shock.

The Lonely Hearts Club now had a home with Scholastic.  After years of work, I bet you thought I was finally ready for publication.  Ha, slow down there, bub.  I was just getting started.  Next comes the editing, in Behind the Book, Part 4…coming soon!

My Night with Sir Paul

I am a huge Beatles fan.  My love is so great that my first novel (The Lonely Hearts Club – debuting December 29^th!) couldn’t have been written without the Beatles (you can read more about that on the BOOKS section of my website).  I’ve always wanted to see Paul McCartney in concert and was so excited to find out that he would be playing the first concert at the new Mets stadium, Citifield.  Little history lesson: The Beatles were the first band to perform at the old Mets stadium (Shea), and during the stadium's last concert, Paul McCartney surprised all by joining Billy Joel on stage. Naturally, tickets were near impossible to get.  After spending hours online and on the phone with no tickets (the first two shows sold out in less than an hour – 80,000 tickets gone!), I thought it wasn’t meant to be.  Luckily, I’m on the mailing list for Liverpool Productions, a company that specializes in Beatles tours and events (check them out online: http://www.liverpooltour.com/ – in a few weeks I will be attending one of their super-fun Beatles conferences and I’ll blog about it later!).  They were offering a package to see Sir Paul at Citifield.  Of course, I was out of town when I got the e-mail and had to be put on the standby list.  But then fate smiled on me and I got a call that there was an opening.  I was IN.  Me.  Seeing Paul McCartney!  GAH!

The blessed event occured on July 18, 2009.   Liverpool Productions provided excellent seats.  Most of the people on the tour had seen Paul several times before (lucky!).  The day started with a Beatles walking tour (where the photo of me at Strawberry Fields on my FAQ page was taken).  But the concert was obviously the main attraction.

I love going to concerts (as my deteriorating hearing can attest), but, without a doubt, Sir Paul was the best I’ve ever seen.  There were so many memorable moments! One of my favorites was that he just walked out on stage – there was no music build-up or smoke or light show.  He just walked out on stage and everybody went crazy.  Obviously, he doesn’t need any big build-up – HE’S PAUL MCCARTNEY!  He began the show with the Beatles’ “Drive My Car” and I kept saying to myself, “You are seeing Paul McCartney play a Beatles song.”  I was awestruck for the majority of the concert, but when he took center stage alone with his guitar to play “Blackbird,” I started to cry.  “Blackbird” was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar and here was Paul McCartney performing it.

Many more highlights followed.  He paid tribute to George Harrison with “Something” and John Lennon with “Here Today.” While singing for John, Sir Paul got visibly choked up. My fellow concert-goers, who had seen him perform that song before, said they've never seen him that emotional.  The setlist also included “Eleanor Rigby,” “Paperback Writer (which I just learned on the guitar), “A Day in the Life,” “Let it Be,” “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and “The End.”

He played for nearly three hours – which is really impressive. I now scoff at bands when they only play 90 minutes – come on, Paul McCartney played for almost three hours and he doesn’t have to do that…he’s PAUL MCCARTNEY.

He had this really cool fireworks display during “Live and Let Die,” which he also didn’t need to do since he’s, you know, PAUL MCCARTNEY (do you see a theme going here?).  A friend of mine laughed at my retelling the next day because I said, “I almost lost it” and “he didn’t need to do that…he’s PAUL MCCARTNEY” every five seconds.

It was truly a remarkable night, worth every penny.  I am determined for there to be a next time, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Because, you know… he’s PAUL MCCARTNEY!

Behind the Book, Part 2: The Agent

Once you have your manuscript in the best possible shape, it is time to find a literary agent.  I don’t think I can properly relate how important it is to have an agent.  First, many publishing houses do not accept unsolicited manuscripts – these are manuscripts sent to publishers directly from authors.  Second, an agent will look out for your best interest as an author, from choosing the best publishing house/editor to making sure your book is getting the proper attention from your publisher. There are many wonderful resources online to help you find an agent: writersdigest.com and literarymarketplace.com are good places to start.  One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, has an amazing section on her website for writers that I also highly recommend.  One of the best pieces of advice she gives, which I borrowed from her, is to look at the acknowledgements in books that are similar to yours for the agent’s name.  If you are writing a non-fiction World War II book, agents that generally represent fiction writers might not be the best fit.  Once you have a list of agents, you can research the agent online and what type of submission process he/she requires.

Admittedly so, I had an easy time finding an agent (yes, you are allowed to hate me for that).  I was very fortunate to know several agents from my job as a publicist.  In fact, author Dav Pilkey (of the hilarious Captain Underpants series) is responsible for my agent.  Dav was one of the first people I told I was writing (since he was the one to encourage me to do it in the first place).  He let the cat out of the bag that I was writing a book to one of the agents, the fabulous Jodi Reamer, at his literary agency.  At first I was embarrassed because the fact that I was writing was my dirty little secret.  However, Jodi was interested in whatever craziness I was up to and asked to see my manuscript when I was ready, which was a huge honor and relief.  Still, Jodi needed to read my manuscript and decide whether to represent me, so I did have to earn my agent.

Jodi and I worked on a few edits of The Lonely Hearts Club together before I was officially signed as her author.  A really great agent will be able to help you get your manuscript in top form and this can take a lot of work.  For instance, at one point Jodi suggested that a secret that I revealed on page 100 should come out in the first chapter.  After nearly having a heart attack with that suggestion (I will admit there were tears), I tried it and realized how much better it made the story.  This also meant that I would have to rewrite the majority of the book, which I did.  Even though the suggestion scared the daylights out of me, it was really the turning point in getting the manuscript to a stage where it would be acceptable to publishers.

Because I have a very demanding job as a publicist, there would be months and months that would go by before I could work on editing.   It took nearly two years with Jodi to get The Lonely Hearts Club into a good enough place to send to publishers.  One of my favorite stories from this time has to do with a ritual I started while writing LHC.  I listened to nothing but the Beatles while writing.  And after I finished each draft, I would blast the electric version of “Revolution” and dance around my apartment like a lunatic.  One late night, I was having trouble finishing up the draft and I was stuck and frustrated.  I remember lying on my bed near tears (again with the crying!), and I thought, “I’m done.  I can’t do it.”  I finally snapped myself out of it and finished the draft.  I was too exhausted to celebrate and sent the manuscript to Jodi, thinking “Whatever.”  No excitement, no fanfare, nothing.  At that point, I didn’t think I had anything left in me.  I didn’t even know if I could do another draft.  A few days later, I got the call that basically said, “You did it!  It’s ready! We can send it out!”  OF COURSE.   This just proves that the agent is always right and the author knows nothing (I can only imagine the number of brownie points I’m going to get for that statement!).

But we still have a long ways to go – next up: the submission process in Behind the Book, Part 3 – coming soon!

Behind the Book, Part 1

Welcome to my blog!  I’ve been debating the topic for my very first post.  There are certainly many random things I could discuss (and believe me, I will discuss some pretty random things)…  But for my first blog, I thought I’d start with writing.  I’ve been in the publishing industry for over ten years and often get asked questions about the process: from how to get published to what exactly does a publicist do?  So in honor of my first book being published, The Lonely Hearts Club on December 29, 2009 (mark your calendars!), I thought I would do a series of behind the scenes blogs about getting a book published: from writing to getting a publisher to editing to promotion… So for Part  1, I’m starting at the very beginning.  Writing.  Many times when people ask me about getting published, they haven’t written a single word.  The process of trying to get published can be overwhelming, but the best thing to do is not think about that and just write.  I’m not in any way an expert on writing. I’ve only written one book (and am currently working on my second). However, I have worked with a lot of authors, and everybody seems to agree on one thing: write for yourself.  Don’t write a book because you think it is “hot” at the moment or because you want to be the “next big thing.”  Write for yourself and about what interests you.  Everything else (demographic, finding an agent or publisher, etc.) can wait for later.

I kicked around a couple ideas before I settled on what would eventually become The Lonely Hearts Club (have I mentioned that it comes out on December 29^th?).  The first two ideas I contemplated making into a novel were a little bit too serious, and, quite frankly, depressing.   So, I thought about what books I liked as a teen: fun books.  Then one night, I had my “ah-ha” moment that gave me the idea to do a book about a girl who has had it with being treated badly by boys so she forms a non-dating club (for more on my “ah-ha” moment, check out the Back Story on LHC on my website: www.elizabetheulberg.com). 

I made a ton of “rookie” mistakes while writing LHC.  While I had a rough idea of what the book would be about, I didn’t have an outline when I sat down to write.  Some people don’t need an outline, but I soon discovered that I do need one.  I also didn’t have character studies for each of my characters; I made them up as I went (“huh, I guess this person needs a name?”).  After I got through the very rough first draft (and believe me when I say it was rough. To this day, I’m still too scared to open it up and re-read it), I got some advice on the story. 

I am very fortunate to have several friends in the publishing industry who were great readers (meaning they would read and have lots of suggestions on how to improve the book, from character development to pacing to story arc).  Having trusted people read your work is a very important step regardless of what industry they work in.  Criticism is a way to improve on your work. I found it frustrating when someone would read a draft and not have anything to critique, especially since I knew that the book needed a lot of work.

And A LOT of work is exactly what took place during the next few drafts (and years!).  I did a new outline before every draft.  I tightened up some plot lines, while I expanded on others. I also worked on defining characters more clearly.  Two of the best pieces of advice I got was to 1) spend my commute to work each day with one of my characters and 2) go through each character’s closet – what’s in it, what wouldn’t they want others to see, etc.  All of this was figuratively, of course!   So each day as I was on the train or bus, I would pretend I was sitting next to one of my characters and have a conversation with them in my mind.  This helped to really figure out who they were outside of the confines of the story, which would then enhance the story overall.  This took loads of effort and time, but in the end, it was worth it.

When I say that you have to write for yourself and what interests you, I really mean it.  I had to write several different versions of The Lonely Hearts Club before it was ready to be sent out to publishing houses.  I’ve probably read the book around 60-70 times.  If it wasn’t something I believed in or even genuinely liked, I would have lost my mind (although my mental state is always questionable…).    

Once you have the best possible draft you can produce, then you take the next step, which is finding a literary agent.  More on that in Part 2 of Behind the Book… coming soon!