Getting the request

Getting an email that a publisher wants a full manuscript in reply to a query with partial isn’t quite as exciting as getting “the call.” But it’s almost. I’ve had both, so I can swear to that. Excuse me, but I’m running out of words getting these final edits done.

Since this is a blog for and about writers, this subject might be of interest to everyone following it. As a midlist writer caught in the break-up of companies a few years ago, and to boot a midlist writer without very many books under her belt—four to be exact—I’ve spent the last few years writing nonfiction, reissuing a couple of out of print books and getting about 9 short stories published in anthologies. All the while wondering if I would ever get published BIG again.

My favorite books to write are western historical. I added the romance because it was easier and quicker to get published if I put romance in the books. When they went out of favor, except for the very best sellers, I decided to try some other genres. I turned a straight mystery into a paranormal about shapeshifters, and after pitching it to a small publisher received a request for the full manuscript. That was about a month ago.

Around that same time, I noticed that two editors at two houses in New York were actively seeking western historical romance. So I took out one I’d written but never polished, and edited the first three chapters and queried one of the publishers with the partial. Thursday the email came requesting a full.

If you’re a writer, you have some idea of how that made me feel. If you’re not, then I hope you stick with me long enough to find my books and read them.

Also, if you’re a writer, do this. Get online and dig. Check out newsletters that are of some value to you as a writer. Many of them are completely self serving and only offer their services. Others are super. The one I find Cynthia Sterling’s Market News to be the most valuable for genre writers. She stays on top of publishers and what they’re looking for. She just returned from RWA and will list everything she learned there in her next newsletters.
Also try Organized Writer for writing tips and information, and WritersWeekly.

If you stay on top of information from those who know, you’re more apt to learn what’s going on as it happens instead of when it’s out of date. The Internet offers writers all this, so take advantage of it. This is where I find all my updates on who is buying what.

Must get back to editing and printing now.