the craft. before and after the book deal.

Before and After the Book Deal, book on desk with flowers.

Publishing is an industry shrouded in mystery. Honestly, as someone going through the process, I have found on multiple occasions I have no idea what’s next. But the other day, I remembered a great resource I picked up along the way, Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum.

Currently, I’m on a deadline to turn in my acknowledgements, author bio, and third pass edits. I asked my editor for any input on these elements and she gave me a brief overview. But I remembered this book was a great reference point that I probably should have been using this whole time. When I first got it, I read the whole thing, but it’s definitely a book you should check back in with throughout the process. In either case, voila, there was, of course, a great section on acknowledgements and writing your author bio.

But there was a whole lot more to reference as well. I wanted to refresh myself on promotional tips now that I have my pre-order link and some upcoming marketing meetings. The book included pointers as simple as adding the link to purchase my book to my email signature. DUH! And also, getting back into Goodreads. I probably hadn’t logged in for months.

The great thing is that Maum approaches the book with humor and transparency because there is a bit of survival in this process. When I was simply hoping for a book deal one day, I had no idea of the amount of work it takes when you are publishing as a part of a machine vs. putting it out yourself. They are both a lot of work but in different ways, I guess. I didn’t edit my self-published books nearly as much as this story. However, I also had to wear every single hat when self-publishing. In either case, there is a lot to it and if you haven’t seen the process through from start to finish before, it can be a little overwhelming.

Maum covers a wide range of topics from envy of other writers to the practicality of planning financially if you’re actually in this thing full-time. I am of the school of thought that you should study any industry you are working in. It’s not good enough to say, “I’m just the author, I’ll let them handle everything.” You are still the master of your project, which I’ll talk about in a later newsletter. So it will behoove you to acquaint yourself with the overall process to gain knowledge that can help in your overall success as a writer. I don’t know about you, but I’m hoping more than two people read my book. And there is a lot of work to be done to achieve that including being an active partner to my agent and publisher.

I’ve often said that there should be a support group for debut authors. Although I'd love to see that come to fruition, this book is a great start. Not only does it include practical tips on what to expect, it gives you a ton of anecdotal insight from authors and publishing professionals. Whenever I’m doing something, I’m constantly looking around for others who have gone through it themselves. The round up at the end of the book with a ton of advice and insight was immensely comforting.

There are a range of emotions I have felt in this process. From extreme excitement to self-doubt, and somewhat terror, the closer I get to other people outside of my agent and editor actually reading this here thing. Courtney’s book highlights most of those same feelings. Art and creativity is such a sacred place. And as Jill Scott so eloquently put it during her Verzuz with Erykah Badu, once you release it into the world, it’s no longer yours anymore. The impending doom that someone is going to hate it after spending four years of my life on it can at times be troubling. But my husband often reminds me of a couple of things. One, I can only do my best and ensure that I gave it my all. Two, when we have those feelings of doom, it’s as if we will never do another great thing. We will write more books and stories and articles and poems. We cannot forget that creating a writing career, a canon, takes time.

I’m really excited to see what this year will bring for this group. I know there are so many spectacular projects stewing. And it’s important to be as prepared and knowledgeable as possible and books like Courtney’s are a great step in the right direction. In addition to our own community forum in Slack. Be curious, ask questions, connect.

Reading in general is also just a great form of education to help you as a writer. Do you have reading goals for this year? I’m hoping to hit 24, which is ambitious because it’s not always easy to read and write but let’s keep up on Goodreads!

Writing/Job Opportunities

Miller Kern is an Assistant Reviews Editor and looking for some freelancers to write reviews at Mashable. If interested email mkern@mashable.com with your LinkedIn profile and portfolio/clips.

Matt Ortile is accepting short story submissions for Catapult. Max 4k words. Email matt.ortile@catapult.co. Include full draft but include a pitch about the story and the inspiration to write it. (Deadline: Jan. 12. Pays min. $200).

Katherine Newman-Bremang is the Deputy Director, Global at R29 Unbothered and accepting pitches. bremang@refinery29.com.

Chloe Angyal is the Senior Editor at Vice News and looking to build her freelancer list. Email her with your beat, NO pitches yet. chloe.angyal@vice.com.

Apartment Therapy is accepting pitches covering interior design/style, home decor, and home improvement. Include the potential headline and keep the angle concise. Email Savannah@apartmenttherapy.com. ($150-$500)

Patrice Peck is accepting pitches for Cosmopolitan as the Senior Opinion Editor. 600-900 words. Subject line should include a suggested headline for the piece. 2-3 lines about you and clips if you haven’t worked together previously. patrice.peck@hearst.com. ($250-$350. Can scale up based on piece.)

P.S. Literary is hiring a Literary Agent and Digital and Social Media Coordinator.

The National Book Foundation is hiring an Awards and Honors Manager.

Stride is hiring a Creative Analyst, Copywriter.

Mic is accepting pitches for feature-length stories and entries to ongoing series.

Buzzfeed is hiring an Internet Culture Reporter.

Verge is hiring a Copywriter.