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Working With Pros
Things are getting very exciting here at Shevdon Manor.
Agent J has been hard at work in the background and things are developing fast. We've been having a protracted discussion on the terms under which Sixty-One Nails would be published, most of which Agent J has dealt with. I am used to commercial negotiations from my other work, but publishing is a different world and I am very grateful to Jennifer for taking the time from her hectic schedule to explain all the nuances of publishing contracts to me. Be prepared for an announcement early next week which will take things forward to the next stage.
In the meantime, I had opportunity to have lunch with Marc Gascoigne, the Publishing Director of Angry Robot Books, who has a new fantasy and SF imprint launching this summer. The lunch was to discuss the changes he would like to see in Sixty-One Nails, ahead of any agreement to publish.
We had a rambling discussion about the business of writing and editing, what publishing a book meant in the 21st Century and his specific thoughts on what might need adjusting in Sixty-One Nails. The changes weren't fundamental, but they would take a few weeks of solid work to roll through the manuscript. With the imminent launch of Marc's new imprint, it was suggested that it might be a good idea to get on with editing rather than wait for discussions and negotiations to complete.
This is where working with professionals helps. We both knew that the negotiations were still going on and that there might yet be an issue that Agent J considered too important to let go or which the publishers believed was a deal breaker. It ain't over....etc. The way it was all handled, though, gave me the confidence to get back to my keyboard and crack on with the edits while the negotiations continued in the background.
Those edits are paying off. With contributions from both Agent J and Marc, the book is coming together even better than before. I plan to have the complete manuscript ready for submission by the first week in July so that I can take the developing manuscript for book two with me on holiday.
And the negotiations? Well, if you wait a couple of days, there'll be some news on those too.
Stay tuned.
Agent J has been hard at work in the background and things are developing fast. We've been having a protracted discussion on the terms under which Sixty-One Nails would be published, most of which Agent J has dealt with. I am used to commercial negotiations from my other work, but publishing is a different world and I am very grateful to Jennifer for taking the time from her hectic schedule to explain all the nuances of publishing contracts to me. Be prepared for an announcement early next week which will take things forward to the next stage.
In the meantime, I had opportunity to have lunch with Marc Gascoigne, the Publishing Director of Angry Robot Books, who has a new fantasy and SF imprint launching this summer. The lunch was to discuss the changes he would like to see in Sixty-One Nails, ahead of any agreement to publish.
We had a rambling discussion about the business of writing and editing, what publishing a book meant in the 21st Century and his specific thoughts on what might need adjusting in Sixty-One Nails. The changes weren't fundamental, but they would take a few weeks of solid work to roll through the manuscript. With the imminent launch of Marc's new imprint, it was suggested that it might be a good idea to get on with editing rather than wait for discussions and negotiations to complete.
This is where working with professionals helps. We both knew that the negotiations were still going on and that there might yet be an issue that Agent J considered too important to let go or which the publishers believed was a deal breaker. It ain't over....etc. The way it was all handled, though, gave me the confidence to get back to my keyboard and crack on with the edits while the negotiations continued in the background.
Those edits are paying off. With contributions from both Agent J and Marc, the book is coming together even better than before. I plan to have the complete manuscript ready for submission by the first week in July so that I can take the developing manuscript for book two with me on holiday.
And the negotiations? Well, if you wait a couple of days, there'll be some news on those too.
Stay tuned.
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