Many of the blog posts I have read about publishing in today’s market are done in list format. This got me thinking, I should create a list of things to know about debut authors. Maybe this will be a good refresher for the agents and editors out there that forget what it is like to be a newbie, and maybe it will even spark their interest in imparting more of their knowledge through a blog or a wee bit of feedback. But mostly, I am writing this as a lesson to myself and maybe I will look back on this post when I am a successful published author and chuckle.
These are obviously not true of all debut authors but I’m sure I am not alone in some of these mindsets.
- A debut author gets attached to their first book – After I finished my first book and submitted it to an agent, I had a feeling of attachment to it. Like it was my baby that I need to wait with it loyally until I know if it is going to make it or not. But then I realized that this is just the first of many great books I will write and submit. It was time to let that book go and get writing the next idea. That was a liberating and exciting moment!
- A debut author has no idea how much money a book will earn – The response to my question “how much money does an average picture book writer earn from one book” was that I shouldn’t be doing it for the money. Hmmm. It is hard to get an answer on this one. How many copies does an average debut picture book sell and what is an average base price? How long does it take to see any payment at all?
- A debut author has no idea what the illustration process will be like – I am so curious about how much input I will have in the visual part of this process. I have a vision of working closely with the illustrator, deciding together what picture will be on each page and making suggestions about the details of the background scenery.
- A debut author thinks they need to protect their ideas – I’ve seen other debut writers asking questions about copyrighting their work before submitting. There is a natural apprehension to submit a manuscript because “what if one of the editors steals my ideas”? I’ve thought about this and I am going to go with the mindset here that editors will simply not do this. They must have their own work that needs to be done and they must see hundreds of great ideas on a regular basis. If somebody does steal my idea – I should be flattered 🙂
- A debut author has a hard time calling themselves an author – I know this is important to my success as an author but it is really difficult to call myself one until I know that somebody is interested in what I have to write!