What Rand McNally Neglected to Tell You
Author: Michelle Place
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: December 2003

Congratulations! You've done it. You've worked hard, written the book of your heart/voice/mortgage payment, endured rejection, received "the call", and what do you have to show for it?

A publishing contract and a tension headache.

Oh, be careful what you wish for, fair adventurer. For now that you've scaled one seemingly unreachable summit, another even taller one lies beyond it.

"Hold on a second," you say, grabbing your "how to get published" map and searching for this new mountain. "It's just as I thought, this mountain shouldn't be here. It should all slope downhill to the New York Times bestseller list, not to mention fame and acclaim."

"And money, don't forget the oodles and oodles of money," your faithful sherpa/significant other/loan officer says, panting as he trudges up behind you on the peak.

Shaking your head in disbelief, you hitch your backpack/computer/debt higher on your back and take the first step of many more. "I see none of that. . .yet."

After you take the aspirin to combat your tension headache, congratulate yourself again, this time for not giving up when faced with these new challenges. Remind yourself that although they may be unexpected, they go hand-in-hand with your fondest wish: they are published challenges. And that's a good problem to have, isn't it?

There's a great deal of fine advice available for the experienced, published professional. But what can you do to help yourself and your career in the exciting, insecure, magical time between your new editor's offer and the day your first book hits the bookstore shelf? I've broken my advice down into three "ates". No fair blaming me if you add a fourth "ate" as in "I ate the contents of my kitchen pantry from sheer panic."

Educate: This is so important I'll say it again. Educate. Begin educating yourself about the publishing world and never stop. Obviously, if you're reading this, you're a member of Romance Writers of America which is an excellent resource for both the writing craft and the publishing industry. 

There are also other professional groups which may be valuable to you such as: Sisters in Crime, Novelists Inc. (note that you must have published a minimum of two novels to join), Mystery Writers of America, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and more. After you've joined, attend chapter meetings, retreats and conferences. Read writing magazines such as The Writer, Writer's Digest, Publishers Weekly, etc. In this business, forewarned is forearmed. The more information you have, the less likely you will be to make a costly mistake.

Communicate: Talk with other writers. Nine times out of ten, they are lovely people who are generous with their hard-won wisdom. As you've probably heard, every published writer was once an unpublished writer, and they usually remember their own newly pubbed confusion. If you have the unfortunate luck of running into the one in ten author who's less than gracious, my sincere apologies. But hey, you've gotten that unpleasantness out of the way and can move on to the other nine. 

Talk with your local booksellers. These men and women are often passionate about books, may help you set up a book signing should you desire, and will recommend your debut novel to their loyal clientele which leads to the very desirable "word of mouth" buzz. You also can learn more about the bookselling business from their end: how they order, shelve and promote books. 

Talk with your editor. Remember that he or she wants your book to succeed (almost) as much as you do. It's perfectly okay to ask questions about your cover, print run and position in the month's releases. Ask your editor who handles publicity at the publishing company and what you can do to help. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask. And trust yourself a little. If you've been educating yourself, it's unlikely you'll ask a foolish question.

Create: Work ahead. Pat yourself on the back for how far you've come, but always think about where you're going next. Create a world that is uniquely yours, a style that your readers will instantly recognize, a voice that they will want to hear whisper in their ear again and again.

Create a Web site. It doesn't have to be fancy or complex. What matters is that in this digital age, your new and prospective readers can readily visit your Web site for a taste of your voice and book. Hopefully, this will lead to a book sale, a respectable sell-through and a second book contract! And, of course, create a second book. Keep writing the stories that make you happy and will give readers hope. After all, isn't that why you started your journey in the first place?

With habitual practice, these three "ates" will help you scale that next mountain and any other surprises that may not be on your map. Unless, of course, you added that fourth "ate" I warned you about, in which case, I recommend more sherpas.

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