This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
After 20 years of trying to get published and reaching an all-time self-confidence low, Angela Marsons finally experienced that magical book deal moment. Now an Amazon bestseller, Angela joins us to talk about her journey.
Ironically after so many years of trying I now have two book deal moments to share.
Book deal moments appear to be like buses. You wait 20 years for one and then…
My first book deal moment happened in September last year. Without my knowledge Keshini Naidoo, a truly gifted editor with whom I had worked in a previous life, had submitted the first book in the DI Kim Stone series to the young and dynamic digital publisher Bookouture.
As we hadn’t spoken for a while Keshini could not have known that I was at one of the lowest points I have ever been. I had taken voluntary redundancy to concentrate on writing and I had failed.
I was applying for 20+ jobs each day and had just been rejected for a job in an Amazon fulfilment centre! My partner and I were selling our possessions to pay the mortgage.
Added to this my agent and I had parted ways and my self-confidence was at an all time low. My writing muscle had atrophied and I had pretty much given up
It was with pragmatic pessimism that I reacted to Keshini’s admission. I dared not hope for any response other than ‘we loved it but we just didn’t love it enough’, a phrase that had plagued me for two decades.
A few days later I received an email from Bookouture’s Publishing Director, Claire Bord, stating she was loving the book and asking if I had ideas for further stories in the series. My fingers were stumbling over each other as I replied. I couldn’t type the response quickly enough as I outlined the other novels written and my ideas for further books in the series.
Shortly afterwards I received a four book contract and a publishing proposal. I cried, and cried, laughed and then cried some more. Surprisingly it wasn’t so much the contract that produced the joyful tears but the proposal. The references to the character of Kim Stone and their plans for setting her free to readers convinced me that they felt the same level of passion for the stories that I did. I had no expectation of how Silent Scream would fare out in the big wide world but it didn’t matter because already someone else loved her.
A couple of weeks after the release of Silent Scream other publishers began to show an interest in my plans for the Kim Stone series after book four. I politely declined and said to Julie, my long-suffering, ever-supportive partner, that if asked I would happily sign with Bookouture for more books. I’m not sure exactly how that comment made it from the safety of my house to the Bookouture HQ but the very next day I was asked if I’d like to sign for an additional four Kim Stone books. And I couldn’t accept quickly enough.
In this climate where job security is a decreasing luxury I felt blessed to have an 8 book contract. More importantly this offer demonstrated the ongoing commitment and continued faith of my publisher in both me and the Kim Stone series. This is why I am truly grateful that my book deal moment happened with them.
Silent Scream by Angela Marsons is out now.