How do you stay sane while being an author - the update thread

[CakeRage]

So two years on from my thread about submitting to agents which ended up massive and included so many people’s journeys, I thought it might be nice to see where everyone is now. I know we have at least one superstar in the ranks these days!

As for me, I got the agent, went on sub, had a few near misses but ultimately failed to sell, then eventually, a year and eleven days after it first went out, one of the near misses got back in touch to say she hadn’t stopped thinking about my writing since, and though she still wasn’t convinced she could market the book she’d read, wanted to know what else I was writing. I sent her a sample and synopsis of my then WIP and was offered a 2 book deal a couple of days later. One book’s out later this year and I’m busily writing the next, which will publish in 2023.

I know we all dream about huge, multi-way auctions, or immediate preempts or massive advances for our books, but it didn’t happen that way for me and yet I couldn’t be happier with where I’ve ended up.

Anyway, if you were on that original thread (or even if you weren’t) let us know how you’re getting on. How’s your writing going?Who’s still staying sane?

Hi all, just checking in with an update - be great to hear how everyone is doing regarding submissions to agents/ waiting for agents to submit to publishers....
So, after cutting ties with my previous agent I finally got up the energy to (slowly) query - sent out one query letter to an agent who previously requested the full of my last novel, which she rejected but indicated she'd be keen for me
to get in touch with something else (this may have been being polite..) - anyway, she came
back quite quickly to request the full manuscript of my new novel.
So - nice boost for my flagging self esteem, so trying to enjoy that while not, realistically, expecting to get much further - I think the market is really difficult right now! Hope everyone else is doing ok, and would be great to hear any news.

Dontrocktheboat that is a great update I hope she/he loves it!

No news from me. I did try sending my manuscript to Storm following Louisa's recommendation but no interest, alas!

I'm really busy in my day job at the moment and finding it hard to clear my mind to write anything new. I had a burst of enthusiasm a few weeks ago and jotted down a book outline, but then reality intruded and deflated my excitement and since then I have done nothing.

Hoping your full request leads somewhere @Dontrocktheboat - that must have made you feel better after the disappointment with your previous agent.

Thanks @LouisaMayAlcott and @PreparingForDisappointment - it did make me feel better, which is nice even if likely to be short lived!

Sorry you haven't had any more news @PreparingForDisappointment - really good that you have got an outline of
something though, maybe you will find some more time and inspiration. My day job is also
mentally exhausting, so can only ever write on days off and have struggled to get the motivation to properly start on something else (after a couple of false starts and a few vague ideas).

That’s great news @Dontrocktheboat, hope you hear back/ positively soon. And likewise sorry you haven’t more news @PreparingForDisappointment but agree that an outline of something sounds good. I can very much relate to the phases of reality intruding/ doing nothing…

I do actually have some news to share though - my novel is finally out on submission! The original hope was for this to happen back in September and in the end it was earlier this month, so a lot of delays. In total it took nearly 18 months from signing with my agent to going out, which I understand is longer than average - lots of nail biting and frustrating in that time but ultimately I think the editing has made the novel so much better, which is the main thing. So more waiting now, I guess!

Hi @HolidayByMistake that's great news, really exciting - what genre are you writing? Hope you get some good responses soon - keep us updated.
I've had no news as yet about the full - just need to keep on querying in meantime I guess.

Thanks so much, that’s really kind. It’s commercial women’s fiction - on the upmarket end I think/ hope….!

I previously queried a sort of magical realism YA novel which got a couple of requests for fulls and a longlisting in a competition but ultimately didn’t go anywhere……this feels like much more comfortable ground for me.

What genre are you writing in @Dontrocktheboat ?

That's great news @holidaybymistake fingers crossed you get a 'bite' soon!

That sounds really interesting @HolidayByMistake - sounds like something I would like to read so really hope you get some interest from publishers! Actually, the YA magical realism novel also sounds intriguing - it is really hard to give up and move on the the next novel I have found, though I suspect this is a much commoner experience than the 'overnight success.'

I guess I'd classify mine as literary fiction, though it doesn't really fit into a particular genre - so kind of already anticipating responses along lines of not sure how it would be marketed!

That’s lovely, thanks - fingers crossed, I guess! And yours sounds great too, I’d love to try and write something more literary one day, though whether I’m capable of it is another question entirely….

Can I join? It’s a children’s book. I tried one and self published, but really trying to make it better for publishing now properly. I have nearly completed one to send off to agencies.

Great to see some people’s perseverance pay off, very well done! 😀

Welcome @PearCrumbleCustard - what kind of age group are you writing for? Is it with illustrations or for an older/ middle grade market?
I have nothing to report! Still waiting on a response to my full request, and need to get on with querying more agents.

I'm joining the conversation here again too, about to go out on submission again after a break of a couple of months due to an accident. I sent quite a few out in early Dec but after reading somewhere that pre-Xmas time was the worst time to submit to agents, I stopped. I too followed up on the Storm recommendation and had a fairly heartbreaking experience, contacted by an editor saying she was half way through my manuscript and loved it, asking about any other books I was working on etc, but ultimately it was a no - but probably the loviest no I've ever had. She was so complimentary and said she couldn't fault my writing but that it was too literary for them to market in a way that would do it justice. This is the second time this has happened to me now! I keep being told my writing is upmarket / book club, but ultimately, it seems the plot is too literary to suit that genre. Will just keep plodding on!!

@AppropriateAdult this is a little out of date now, but can you tell me how you're getting on with your literary mentorship? Is it working for you?

Sure! The mentorship is over now, it ran from autumn 2021 to summer 2022. We met four times over that period; before each meeting I would send my mentor chapters of the novel I was working on, and then we would discuss them during the sessions, which ran for about an hour each. She would feed back her thoughts (and then would email me the notes she had made afterwards), and we'd discuss the overall direction of the book.
I enjoyed it so much; aside from the practical help and advice, it felt so - indulgent, almost, to just spend time talking about my writing with another writer. And by the end of it I had a first draft pretty much completed.
I'd highly recommend the process to anyone!

@AppropriateAdult and how did you get this service - was it through the Literary Consultancy? And was there a charge? I know someone who had a mentor but it was £4k, way out of my budget although they have published the book since, so to her it was worth it.
Did you 'click' with them?

No, this was a competitive mentorship programme here in Ireland, funded by the Arts Council and other bodies - applicants had to submit writing samples and a personal statement and that kind of thing, and then they chose maybe 30 or 40 writers nationally to participate? I'm sure there are similar programmes in the UK.

It was definitely worthwhile, but I absolutely would not have paid anything like that amount for it - I think for that kind of money I'd expect a much more intensive level of work, and certainly more meetings? I did get on very well with the novelist I was paired with; I hadn't been aware of her work before, but I read some once I knew I'd be working with her and I enjoyed it.

Thank you 🍀

Hello - it's been a while. Can I join you on the anxiety bench? @Dontrocktheboat - has your new agent started sending your book out to publishers yet?

I had every intention of completing my book by the end of last year, then February... life got in the way. This weekend I am going to submit it to my agent (who was unable to sell my first book and sounds - to me - quite lukewarm about the concept of this one when I've mentioned it in the past). The good news is that I've gone from hating it to being mildly satisfied with it - please keep your fingers crossed that she likes it. I'm not sure I have the energy for another round of sending it off to agents.

@everythingcrossed Just wanted to jump in and say best of luck! Please keep us posted. I am still at the stage of trying to get an agent, and that is dispiriting enough, I can't imagine what it must be like to overcome that hurdle and still find uncertainty. Really hope you get there with this book, it's such a lot of work.

Hey everyone, how are you all doing? I’m getting back in touch a little (or very) self-indulgently because I have nice personal news….a few weeks after going out on submission my agent had offers from two publishers, and we’ve now chosen one and all should be going ahead!!

Yet more slow slow burning of course - I have until the end of June to work through my edits, which are fortunately fairly straightforward, and then there will still be a loooooong wait until it’s finally a real book, but I’m obviously very very excited! I’ve been able to share the news with friends and family now which has been lovely - and involved a few people asking why publication takes so long!

Thank you so much everyone for your kind words of encouragement etc - and of course I hope good things are happening for all of you. Echoing the above @everythingcrossed - I really hope you’ve had or are soon to get good news from your agent, and @Dontrocktheboat I hope you’ve had positive news on your full. @BecauseOfIndia are you on submission yet?

Huge congratulations! Enjoy it all, having your book published is the best thing in the world! Am I allowed to ask what genre it is?

Thank you so much! I still can’t quite believe it - childhood dreams come true territory etc etc. And yes of course- it’s commercial women’s fiction.

Hi @HolidayByMistake, that's amazing news, congratulations! To get two offers is also amazing - I hope you're celebrating in style. Was also going to ask what genre - I am intrigued to read it (maybe I inadvertently will...!) Do you have a rough timescale for publication?

Sadly, I don't have anything new to report - my full request was rejected, albeit with very nice comments, and have had rejections from a couple of others I submitted to. I only submitted to a few this time, but starting to think it's not worth it, I don't think my work is commercial enough and it's a really competitive market at moment! There are few competitions coming up, which I'm planning on entering as got nothing to lose there.

Great to hear some positive news on one of these threads - it's been a while!