Tag: book deal

A Look Back, A Look Ahead

Published on by J. Kelland Perry36 Comments

Happy 2016, everyone!

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Okay. Now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems, let’s move on, shall we?

It’s a brand new year and a time when many of us who blog like to reflect on what we’ve achieved over the past twelve months, and where we are now headed.

I won’t bore you with all the statistical details, but I do want to mention the top two posts from Jennifer’s Journal in 2015 just in case you missed them or wish to take another peek. Out of 76 blog entries for the year, these are the posts that received the most comments and visits:

1. Book Deal! (April)

2. Berg Watching (June)

And as I have been each year, I am ever so grateful for my most active 2015 blogger commenters. My sincere appreciation goes out to all who follow my blog.

I noticed a couple of my blogger friends have come up with a special word to inspire and to keep them focused in the year ahead. I think it’s such a fine idea, I am offering a word of my own:

Accomplishment

By the spring of 2016, my first book will be published. The release of Calmer Girls, a Young Adult novel, is an accomplishment I have long dreamed of. I’m hoping my special word will give me the extra little push to finish its sequel well before the end of spring. This way it can be ready for my editor when the first one is released.

In between promoting Calmer Girls and editing the sequel, I hope to find time for photography, poetry, and the gathering of research for a third work. This new novel will be a total departure from the first two with new characters, an entirely new setting, and possibly a different genre. I expect it might be my most challenging writing project yet.

What accomplishments or progress have you made since last January?
What are your creative goals for 2016? Share your thoughts below!

Still need a little more New Year celebrating? Haven’t had your fill of fireworks?

Here you go!

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http://www.faithholland.com/

 

 

 

Book Deal!

Published on by J. Kelland Perry76 Comments

Who says Friday the 13th has to be unlucky?

Allow me to set the scene. It was late at night, exactly a month ago yesterday. Paul and I arrived home from dinner and a fun evening at our friends’ house, and as we usually do, sat down to watch a little TV before going to bed. Yawning, I opened my iPad and absently checked Facebook, then my email.

And there it was:
a contract offer from a publisher for my coming-of-age novel, Calmer Girls.
I sat there, staring at the screen, stunned for a moment.

Wha-a-a?
Wha-a-a?

I had queried this publisher with a partial months ago. Subsequently, they had expressed an interest, requesting the full manuscript for review. This occurred with another publisher a while back, who ultimately passed on it. As more months flew by, the cautious hope I had held dwindled, and not being the most patient gal, I assumed they were going to reject it as well.

But they didn’t.

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Yes! It’s happening. They actually like my book!

I received the contract. After giving it due diligence and negotiating several changes that were important to me, I signed.

My dream was coming true.

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Yay!!!

My new publisher is an independent, traditional press, and I’m already getting great vibes from them. They are an enthusiastic team, and they seem to be very dedicated to bringing my work to life.

Colour me superstitious, but I would like to keep all other details under wraps for the time being, until I am further along in the process. But I will reveal now that it is a two-book deal: they want first rights to the sequel as well. 🙂

So I am looking ahead to a busy future. While I begin work at the end of the month with my new editor on any revisions or tweaks for the first book, I will also be working on my own to tackle edits on the second. After that, there will be cover artwork and design, and the development and launch of my new author website.

To my fellow writers: have you been contracted by a publishing company yet?
How did you feel when you got the news?
Or have you gone the self-pub route instead?

Has Friday the 13th ever turned out lucky for you?

Please share your experience with me and my readers.