Were you prepared for your first book deal?

I was prepared in the sense that I always kept in mind publishing is a business. That may seem obvious, but I'm continually amazed at how many writers don't think of the business aspect of it. There's not much room for divas anymore, and a publishing company is going to weigh the benefits of your manuscript against any negatives you have, particularly now with the internet.

Every writer I know on submission with a blog and statcounter has had publishers check them out. If I had some outrageous online presence that indicated I was not a good professional bet, it would have worked against me getting an offer. So if writers are going to spew out their guts online, they'd better either have something so amazing a publisher is willing to overlook that, or their work should fit their online presense.

Lonely One- I'm not published, but I just wanted to add a quick note that I really appreciate you starting this thread and I look forward to see what people have to say. THanks!

The Lonely One said:

However, were there things you would do over? Awkwardness with agents or editors? Things that blindsided you, or were you completely prepared for what was to come? Did you impress industry officials with your swagger and style?

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I didn't expect to have so much fun during revisions. I thought it might be kind of tense but I had a great time and my editor made it quite painless. I was unprepared for the short timeline for everything from sending in a book jacket photo to agreeing on cover art. I didn't have much say on the cover but I had some - colors, sword or no sword, etc.

I hadn't thought at all about the book launch and they wanted my venue choice and guest list fairly quickly, the name of the person who'd do my introduction, who would cater the food, any guest speakers I might want. They paid for it all but I had to tell them what I wanted and who to contact. I also hadn't thought in too much detail about where I wanted the novel sent for prerelease reviews or where and how I wanted the launch advertised.

I wasn't concerned about impressing anyone with my swagger and style, I was too busy concentrating on getting everything done on time. It seemed that almost every day brought a new email from a different department wanting information and wanting it yesterday.

I'm not sure there's anything I wish I'd done differently, but when I got the call, there was definitely a little bit of "wait what now I'M NOT READY" in there. I never really believed it was going to happen, so I definitely wasn't emotionally prepared for it.

No.

Still ain't.

Don't expect ever to have the question field-tested.

caw

Since hindsight is 20/20 it's hard to say if I was really prepared or not. Looking back, there are things I wished I'd investigated a little more thoroughly ahead of time (and these were not answers I'd have found here at AW).

I don't think you can be 100% prepared for everything a book deal brings, but you can do enough research so that your expectations aren't completely blindsided.

I was prepared for my first sale. I'd spent hundreds of hours researching the industry and talking to published writers/agents/editors. BUT, I was not prepared to produce my second book on proposal. Second-book syndrome is a common problem as you usually sell the first on a full and the second on proposal. I spent a year tweaking the first book to perfection. You simply don't have that kind of time between books once you're selling.

I've never been through an easier, pleasanter procedure, and I wasn't prepared at all.

I was amazed at how little I had to know, and by how little I had to do. Writing a publishable book is the hard part. The rest is cherry pie.

The only shock for me was realizing that I then had to sit down and do everything all over again. Somehow, I hadn't thought that far ahead.

Blind luck -- but prepared in the event it happened.

The more I learn about the publishing industry, the more I realize how little I do know. I continue to seek advice from veteran authors, my agent, and others, and a lot of it is contradictory. Right now, I'm trying to find the right balance between writing and promoting my debut novel. And I feel less prepared for my second book deal than I did for my first.