Exciting Personal News: I Signed a Publishing Contract For My Novel

I just signed my first traditional book publishing contract.

It still feels surreal to type that sentence. There’s still plenty of work to be done before my first full-length novel is published, but even to have reached this point is exciting.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some updates about how we got here and what to expect next.

**Want to stay updated? Join my email list and I’ll email you new stuff about the book. Cool? Thanks!

The Process to Publication

The idea for this novel sparked in my brain years ago. It started as a silly personal project that I tinkered with on and off for about five years. The initial concept was more about the setting as a vehicle for some sophomoric jokes.

It wasn’t until the pandemic when I had more time to write it in earnest. That’s when I invested the work of developing characters and emotional depth to the story. Gradually, it grew from a few loose pages into a genuine manuscript.

The biggest challenge of writing fiction compared to non-fiction is this question: is it any good? It’s much harder to be objective and know whether it’s a story other people are willing to read. I shared the manuscript in different versions with friends and family for their feedback.

I wrote and re-wrote the book a dozen times before I thought it was finally worth submitting for publication.

How Does This Compare to My Previous Books?

I’ve published three books before this: two were self-published and the third was with a hybrid publisher. (In fact, I wrote and published the third book while still working on the novel.)

My goal at the start of 2024 was to submit the manuscript to independent presses. Essentially, these are smaller traditional publishers who are more selective with which books they print and don’t charge money for their services (like hybrid publishers do).

I submitted the book out to about seven different small presses. I carefully researched each one to find the right fit with genre, audience, and voice. This required lots of time to write cover letters, book summaries, and all other requirements presses ask for submissions.

Compared to my previous books, this was still a new experience, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d gotten good feedback from friends, but would the professional book people agree? That’s why my goal was simply to submit and hope for the best. I knew I could still self-publish, but I was still optimistic with the quality of what I’d written.

Who is the Publisher?

In June, I got an email from one of the publishers I submitted to. In fact, it was the first place I’d send the book and one of the places I was most hopeful about. They liked what they read and wanted to talk about a potential partnership.

The initial conversation went well, I spoke to a few of their other authors, and even ordered a few copies of the books they’d published. So that once they offered me an official contract I felt confident about signing it and entrusting them with the story I’ve worked so hard to create.

I’m now officially going to be an author with Blue Ink Press.

Blue Ink is an award-winning small press located in Raleigh, North Carolina. They primarily publish young adult and middle-grade books by Southern authors. I was impressed by the quality of their work and hopeful about their experience in these genres.

What’s the Book About?

I’m not going to share specifics yet. But it’s essentially a children’s fantasy/humor/adventure novel. Imagine Alice in Wonderland or The Phantom Tollbooth if it was written by Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams.

Also: storytelling is a big theme since that’s been the subject of all my other books to this point. I can’t wait to share more about the book soon.

What’s Next?

Even though I’ve poured hours into writing (and re-writing) the manuscript, it still needs some work (hopefully not too much). I’ll be assigned an editor to review the work and collaborate with me to make it as good as possible.

Once the words are done, we’ll work on design, layout, and preparations for publication. In the meantime, I’m working on a marketing plan (which includes this post) to help spread the word. I’ll be building a web page, assembling a street team, and making updates about the title, cover, etc.

It should take about a year or more before the book comes out, so it could possibly publish by 2025, but that depends on so many factors. If you’re interested in keeping up with this publishing journey, you can check out my website, join my email list, and follow me on social media. (Or follow me directly on Medium.)