Savoring the Good Times

Many of our fellow bloggers landed agents and book deals in 2009. Congrats to all! On Monday, we talked about the inevitable rough times, but today, we're going to celebrate the good ones.

When an author gets an agent, she often finds herself with a new set of responsibilities. There are contracts to be signed, possible revisions to be made, and the nail-biting waiting period of shopping the book to various publishers. Then, when her book sells, the responsibilities mount. Now she must make necessary revisions on a deadline. She may be contracted for another book, and yep, that means she'll need to write it. Oh, don't forget about creating a website, dealing with line edits, and the myriad of other new tasks. With all these amazing developments, it can be hard to find the time to savor what's happening.

Why not document this exciting period? This is the only time you'll be a debut author. It's the only time the process will be completely new. Don't let the days slip by in a blur. You're going to want to remember this time, and, if you're like me, your memory won't always come through for you.

You could create a scrapbook and label it "My First Book Deal." Take pictures of you holding your contract, your advance check, you name it! Take a photo of your current writing space--every author should have a "before" picture to look back on. Consider taking a few minutes each week to write in a personal journal about your feelings. Maybe you're terrified no publisher will contract your book, or if you have a contract, that you'll miss your deadline. Write this down. Don't forget to write about how thrilling it is to have a deadline, to send out your revisions, to hold the cover of your book in your hands.

Savoring your first foray into publishing isn't self-indulgent, it's what you've dreamed about for a long time. Make it fun!

Join me on Friday for our goal updates.

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