Blogfest 2009

Yes.  Okay, to be fair, there are some people who sail through to publication pretty much the same afternoon that they decide to try.  There are also some people who win the lottery, are struck by lightning, and never have bad hair days.  For most of us, it’s not smooth sailing to publication, and we need a massive amount of hair gel to avoid the uncanny resemblance to Annie after a bad encounter with an electrical socket.  (Maybe the latter is just me.)

The problem is that there are lots of people (and I mean LOTS) who want to be published and relatively few books that hit the shelves every year.  Because of this, it’s not enough to simply write a good book.  You have to be in the right place at the right time with the right thing.  You have to be lucky.

Here’s the thing, though: I firmly believe you can make your own luck, or at least that you can put yourself in a position to get lucky.  You can have the “right thing” by continuing to write.  As soon as you finish one story, start another one.  Through the act of writing, you will get better at it.  You can be in the “right place” by doing research.  Submit your manuscripts to agents and editors who are interested in work like yours.  And you can hit the “right time” by perseverance.  If you stick with it, then when the right time comes along, you’ll be there.

If you’re looking for the secret to publication, this is it: sheer, pig-headed stubbornness.

It was for me! It took five years of submitting HUSH, HUSH before I could finally announce to the world that I had a real, live book deal. I wanted to quit so many times along the way, but if there’s one thing harder than getting a book published, it’s walking away from a dream. I just couldn’t do it. So I kept rewriting, resubmitting, rewriting, resubmitting…

I think luck plays a part in getting published, too. Or, if you don’t like the word luck, you could say timing is important. Getting a book published often requires the right book, the right agent, the right editor, the right publisher, the right marketing team, the right audience…the list could probably go on a bit longer. Fortunately, I feel incredibly lucky that while it took me forever to write the right book, everything seemed to fall into place quickly after that. A week after my agent submitted HUSH, HUSH to editors, I accepted a two-book deal, which was the start of what has been one of the most exciting years of my life. I think snagging a book deal is often viewed as crossing the finish line of a long, uphill race, but in reality, it’s just the beginning. Of course, it’s much easier to keep running once you know you have an entire publishing team cheering you on!

These days, because of the economy, yep.

People routinely ask, “Is it difficult to get a book published?” Not at all, if you follow these 5 easy steps!

1. Come up with something brilliant. Ideally, a brilliant book. But if you come up with a killer marketing concept or catchy title then your book can be mediocre or even a piece of crap and still get published. Bonus tip: Sum up your something great in a single pithy “pitch” sentence, and you’re halfway to your own book signing at Barnes & Noble.
2. Write your book. This involves words, and plenty of ‘em. My upcoming book Swoon, for instance, has 85,516 words. No worries, you get to repeat some. There is also typing required, a lot of sitting. (Bonus tip: Put a cat on your lap to hold you in place.) Having the book “written in your head” will not get it published, unless you can fit a printing press up in there.
3. Get an agent. You’re an artist, not a salesperson. Plus, like most writers you are probably self-deprecating (either that, or a conceited blowhard—writers tend to fall into one of those two categories). But your agent is much more than a salesperson who knows how to do fancy lunch. She will be your champion and convince publishers that you are the best thing since raisin bread. She can also do math, which helps with contract negotiations. Bonus: Your agent will also say kind things to you when you feel needy and insecure (but only go to her with needy and insecure feelings about your work, not when some boy doesn’t call).
4. Think positive! Envision your literary success. See your literary success as a very delicious but nonetheless healthy cupcake that regenerates itself as soon as you’ve finished eating it. Or something. Also, tell yourself empowering affirmations about how amazing you and your book are. Out loud. To yourself and in the middle of conversations with other people. (Disclosure: This above philosophy is borrowed from a book I never read, but it was a huge bestseller so you know it works!)
5. Be patient. You might not get your first book published. I’m about one for two and a half (one book published for every two and a half books stabbed at). This is fine; this is good. The more you write, the better you become. By the time you are blind and senile, you will be brilliant and very, very published—and by then you won’t even care.

Yes, very. Writing is hard work, period. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth working at. You just have to realize that it is work. A lot of work. And that there are certain steps you have to take. But it’s like building a building is a lot of work. Or being a dentist. Or any other job that requires a lot of skill and discipline.