March 5, 2012

When can I buy it? And other hard-to-answer questions...

When you tell people you've written a book, the most common response is something like, "Oh, how nice for you," with or without a discreet (or not) eye roll. But for the rare few who are actually interested, the inevitable response is, "When can I buy it?!"

Sometimes that's harder than the eye roll. Because then you have to explain, and the publishing industry makes little sense to the people involved in it, let alone an outsider.

The real answer is: Possibly never. Maybe even probably never. After that it's: well, if my agent and I are lucky enough to sell it, you can buy it approximately two years from now. And it will undoubtedly have a different title and not be exactly the same story I just described to you, so you'll have to remember my name.

And that's when you lose them completely.

This is a waiting game. You query and you wait. Your agent queries and you wait. And wait and wait and wait.

You have to hope readers are still waiting when it's done.
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5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the post, Cara. I saw your name in the latest ABNA and found your blog from there. I assumed being one of the finalists, you'd be published and wondered where you were in the process. 3+ years for the release is a loooong wait. When someone tells me they have an idea for a book, I smile and tell them, "Enjoy the writing, first. Worry about publishing, second." I've enjoyed the indie publishing (sounds better than "self-publishing") because it's immediate. The trade-off, of course, is hardly any sales or notoriety without mucho work and a mucho luck.

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    1. I wish I could say, "of course I'm published!" too. I'm not, but my MS is actively playing the waiting game. We're hoping for a yes somewhere along the way, but realistically it may not get one. Being a finalist opens doors, but it doesn't guarantee anything. And if I do get that yes, you still won't see whatever Lost in Thought will be called for a long time. Many editors are buying for 2014 at this point.

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  2. I usually get "YOU are writer?" Apparently I don't come across as someone who would like to write. I'm not sure whether that's an insult or a complement. :)

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    1. Hey, at least then your work is likely to exceed their expectations :)

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    2. Also, I'm tagging you as part of the Lucky 7 Challenge. Check it out!

      http://adamsapple2day.blogspot.com/2012/03/luck-7-writing-challenge.html

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