This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
By September 2014, Together Apart had been out for around eight months and selling well, and I’d accepted the idea of being a self-published writer. Then, on a Thursday evening, I received an email via my website from the assistant to Jon Elek at United Agents. They’d read an extract of Together Apart, loved it and wanted to see more. I sent it and by the following Monday, they’d written back, asking me to come in that week for a meeting. There was still no mention of representation and having researched them over the weekend, I realised that Jon was a huge agent to have, at the UK’s largest agency. By the time the meeting came around, I was a bag of nerves but Jon told me what he liked about it, and where he thought it could go. He’d had experience with taking self-published authors and getting them deals, and he shared the same vision I did for my career. I was offered representation on the spot and I took it. That night, I celebrated with my housemate with a few drinks and thought, okay, great. I’ve got an agent, now I just need a deal.
At the same time that this was happening, I received another email out of the blue from Amazon. They’d seen Together Apart climbing the charts and wanted to talk about publishing it properly. Amazon? The same site where I buy yoga mats and batteries? Of course I replied positively and proceeded to have an hour long conversation with a senior editor at their publishing arm. They loved the book, and wanted to offer me a contract. It was nuts. After years of submitting to agents and wishing for a deal, here I was with an offer for both within the space of a week. It took about a month for everything to be settled and about a week before I was due to fly to India for six months, I received the contracts for Together Apart and my second novel, Love You Better.
Together Apart was re-written and re-launched in June 2015. It became a bestseller in its genre for a second time, and Love You Better was selected to be a Kindle First book for September. That, too, became a bestseller in its genre, as well as reaching number 4 in the UK, and that’s before its official release date. 
It’s something I still can’t get my head around. Not only had I got a publishing deal, I’d got one which ticked every single one of my boxes. Being a backpacker, I needed a flexible deal and I wanted one where I’d still retain some control over things such as cover design and titles. Having a deal definitely takes things up a notch. I have a contract to fulfil and deadlines whereas before I could shift things around as I liked, but it’s been my dream to be a published author and for the first time, I’ve been able to simply write without needing to worry about finding a steady ‘job.’
To celebrate the publication of Love You Better by Natalie K Martin our Novelicious readers are being offered a special giveaway consisting of a signed copy of Love You Better, a signed copy of Together Apart, a fridge magnet and paper bookmarks. Please leave a comment telling us why you'd like to win this giveaway. The giveaway closes next Alternative Thursday.