The Fullington Road Monster isn't the first book I wrote, but it became the book of my heart. I wrote it during the Pandemic, pouring my soul into the story about sisters on a farm haunted by monsters, real and metaphorical. It became my hope in a time of lost connections and an abundance of despair.
I queried it to agents and a few editors on and off for two years. I would send a batch of Dear Agent letters with polished first pages, get a batch of rejections, and go back to the drawing board. I was constantly waiting for the magic to happen, for the universe to applaud my determination and give me just one yes.
Magic takes work. I revised, worked with outside editors, sent the manuscript to beta readers (and made new friends in the process). I "killed my darlings" and axed parts of the book that I adored, but weren't working. I updated the genre and comp titles, and finally, I got a couple of full requests, two agents who wanted to read the whole manuscript, but ultimately, said 'no thank you.'
It was two days away from Christmas 2023. I was ready to put Monster on the shelf, and start over with a few other manuscripts I had been writing. It was time. My heart was heavy, but I was being realistic. During my lunch break, I checked my social media. One post caught my eye: an author encouraging others to submit to the publisher she was working with. Their submission window ended that day.
"What have I got to lose?" I shrugged. I submitted my Dear Editor letter and polished first pages to the small publishing company. I returned to work, lost in the routine of a day, thinking about the holiday to come.
Later that afternoon, there was an email from Brittany McMunn at Conquest Publishing asking for the full manuscript. I was excited, but had learned not to get my hopes up. I sent it off to her that day.
Christmas came and went, and a few days after, I got another email from Brittany. Conquest wanted to publish my book. I remember sitting with that for a while before I said to my husband, "They want to publish my book." The words made it real. The universe had sent me a yes.
From there it was a whirlwind of steps, starting with a call with Brittany to discuss a contract. I liked Brittany right away, with her southern drawl and sweet dimples. She was personable and knew her stuff. I accepted the contract's terms (found a local lawyer who looked over the contract first), and then it was time to get a headshot, send out publishing announcements, and start thinking about pitches and cover art. Overwhelming, but so amazing.
Patience is the most important virtue when it comes to publishing. There is a great deal of hurry up and wait, whether you have a contract or you are searching for a publisher or agent. For more than a year, I waited for my book to be published. In that time, there were periods of lots of activity, followed by quiet. Designing a cover, developmental edits, line edits, formatting edits. Each of these tasks took a lot of attention. They were a back-and-forth process, me working, sending to the amazing creators and editing team at Conquest, waiting for their reply, and then completing any necessary checks and edits. This was followed by periods of waiting.
Patience is also a superpower, and when the waiting was done, I held my book with its gorgeous cover and amazing formatting. It was surreal, something I had dreamed of for so long.
It took one yes. Brittany McMunn made my dream come true. She made the dreams of so many other authors happen too! Not only did this mother with a full-time job own her own publishing company, she was also the Editor in Chief for Wild Ink Publishing. I have no concept of how she made all of this work, but this soft-spoken, angelic-faced wonder managed to do all her jobs and do them well. When she found out the books for my launch wouldn't arrive in time, she spent all day finding a local printer who could have them ready in two days time. When I mistakenly thought my author copies hadn't been sent, she gave me ten more copies, apologizing for not specifying they were sent with my launch copies. That was Brittany.
On a winter morning not long ago, I opened an email from Wild Ink Publishing's owner, Abby Wild. I had signed a contract with Wild Ink earlier in the year for my middle grade contemporary novel, and Abby is a great communicator. But the message had nothing to do with my book. Words can change lives, just like Brittany's 'yes' had made my dreams come true. This time, the words were a nightmare. Brittany had passed away in her sleep the night before.
Shock ran through the Conquest and Wild Ink family. Always close and connected through and instant message platform, the group of authors and creators mourned together. I have always appreciated having these authors by my side through the publishing journey, and now I felt their presence more keenly. We had lost a woman who made our collective dreams come true. Brittany's family, a husband, two daughters, parents, siblings, cousins had lost part of their hearts. Abby lost her partner. The world lost a gregarious and persistent woman who fought for the people blessed enough to know her.
Beyond grief, there is reality. Conquest was a business run by one amazing woman. Without Brittany, Conquest didn't exist. Her family decided to dissolve the publishing company.
I won't say this wasn't a blow, but it is real. Magic exists, but it takes work. All the tasks that Brittany did relied on the knowledge she had. With the dissolution of the publishing company, rights to The Fullington Road Monster reverted to me. I can seek a new publisher or agent representation. I can self-publish. I can do nothing and remember this time as a published author as Isak Dinsesen remembered owning a farm in Africa.
For now, I am sitting with my grief. I think about Brittany often, those dimples and that twang. I have had several author events, one where I sat on a panel with Margaret Peterson Haddix. I have worked on overcoming the impostor syndrome. Yes, I hold a book in print, but in reality, it is no longer in print. That is sorrowful.
Magic exists, but you have to work for it. I am writing a new book about sisters on a road trip in Iceland while I query agents with a historical fiction novel based on a true story. I am far from giving up. In my dreams, there is an editor who loves all my books, who emails me with magic words. Yes, yes, yes.
No comments:
Post a Comment