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So, as I was saying… my first novel didn’t sell when we initially shopped it out to publishers. It came close, but in the end, didn’t hit the mark. See, after I did finally sell, some of the gossipy types were the first to say, “Oh, they just gave her a contract because she’s an agent.” HA!! If they only knew the years and years of work and effort, and how, in fact, publishers simply do not buy books because of the author. That’s why they pass on bestsellers regularly if the idea isn’t right or for other reasons. They’re in the business of selling books, period.

I’m actually really glad that I didn’t sell the first time we shopped out a project because I think it gives me even more empathy for my clients. It also taught me about buckling myself back in and going back to work. That’s the unsexy side of writing novels: it’s a lot of work, often at late hours and times when you’d rather be at the beach or with family.

When I finished my new proposal, it was radically different than the first book. It was a paranormal romance about aliens, and at first my agent was like, “Are you sure? This is so different than what you’ve been writing.” I explained that I also wanted to write this type of story, that I had many tales inside of me, and yes, I was sure. We sent it out in early 2005 and almost right away the editor who would wind up buying my books sent an email. I’ll never forget sitting there in the hair salon and nearly having a heart attack!

In essence, she said that she felt the proposal had exactly the kind of emotion that romance readers loved and craved and that she was going to get additional reads within the company. Oh my gosh! Quick news and then horrible, endless seeming wait—that was really only ten days. In the end I sold that editor, Louisa Edwards, the first three books of the PARALLEL series, PARALLEL ATTRACTION, PARALLEL HEAT and PARALLEL SEDUCTION.

I can honestly say that those early months of my published writing career were quite surreal. You sit down the write the next day, and suddenly you know that the world will be reading these words, that you’re no longer “on your own”, so to speak. I had to do a little mind-mojo on myself, a mantra that I now impart to my own clients after they make the first sale: “Just remember, you are the same writer and person you were yesterday, before these books sold, “I reminded myself. “Just keep doing what you were doing before the sale.”

And it worked! And a little more than a year later, the first book PARALLEL ATTRACTION came out! I was a published author! I even had a launch party, all those goodies. I received wonderful, glowing reviews. I had readers and fans… it was literally my dream come true. The series did well, but wasn’t the breakout that we’d hoped it would be, so then NAL made my month, year, decade once again, by asking me for a new series. I consider myself hugely blessed to be publishing with NAL, btw, where the team is super creative, super dynamic and incredibly nurturing. As an author, I have a true publishing home, and that’s a huge gift to me, and also gives me a sense of freedom—while still also keeping me on track.

Last post will be all about how my upcoming series GODS OF MIDNIGHT came about. I am so freaking excited about this series!! It launches in just eight weeks and if you love alpha heroes—tortured heroes—and strong kickass heroines, you are going to be all over this series. It’s set in modern-day Savannah, where I just spent the summer, and let me tell you… it’s incredibly atmospheric!

www.deidreknight.com
www.godsofmidnight.com