Closing the Deal…Soon
Congratulations! You’ve gotten the call from your agent– an editor wants to buy your manuscript! Now to tell everyone, right? Time to call Ms. Czadzeck, your first grade teacher, and let her know she was always right about you?
Unfortunately not. You still haven’t negotiated and signed the contract, and that can take much longer than you’d think.
I was once on a panel with two authors who’ve been published by major publishing houses, and won awards for their writing. The moderator asked how much time had passed between selling the book and signing the contract. One author said six months– the other said it had been nine, because there had been a turnover at the publishing house during negotiations.
None of mine have taken quite that long yet, but it’s worth knowing that like everything in publishing, closing the deal takes time!
