I live with Felix Baron, who writes erotica for Nexus Books, an imprint of Virgin Press/Random House. There are a lot of good things about living with another writer: an understanding of each other's lifestyle/deadlines/process, a second opinion always available, a mutual interest in all things new and all words, period.
Then there are the not-so-good things, like poverty and jealousy. When Felix submits a book, his editor (and his editor is my editor, too) writes an email gushing with praise. This email includes quotes from the actual book.
I've written three books for Black Lace. After I submitted the first I waited confidently for my praise-filled email. When it failed to materialize in my in box, I sent one of my own, asking his opinion. 'A good first effort' was the eventual reply. OW!
After I submitted the second I waited not-so-confidently for his response. When it failed to materialize, I asked his opinion. Still no answer. I asked again. Still no answer. By this time I knew him better. He hates to criticise his authors. That's the reason, I'm sure, that we don't get rejection letters for our short stories. We get silence. Silence = nyet.
This time, I submitted my novel and went to work on a pilot script for a series proposal. I didn't ask. I knew if he liked I'd hear and if he didn't I wouldn't.
I checked my email every day. That's about all I did besides sit in front of a computer with a headset on and a mike to my mouth, brainstorming myself into oblivion.
When I emerged from my creative cocoon, I discovered I was unsteady on my feet and five pounds lighter and dizzy and - that there was an email from Virgin in my in-box.
Yes! Praise from my editor! Yes! A quote from my actual book! Yes! More praise! Oh frabjous day!
And so to bed. Headaches, weirdo dreams, aches and pains and - my editor liked my book! Kaloo Kalay!
Hey! Editors can be wrong, you know. While I agree that my first book was 'a good first effort' I think the second one is really sexy and tells a darn good story. So don't go thinkin' you needn't bother reading them, because really, you should. But the third one? Well - My editor likes it!
SHE CHORTLED IN HER JOY!!!
Preorder Sarah's Education now in the US! Follow the link....
Preprder Sarah's Education now in the UK! Follow the link...
I'll be back on Monday with more tales from the weird world of Skype team writing, hopefully a hot guy for Man candy Monday, and other tasty titbits from Madeline's tickle trunk.
5 comments:
Congratulations Madeline. I've got to say, I couldn't do what you do - live with a writer - especially not one in the same genre with the same editor. No matter how much I loved him, I could not bear it. My ego is too insecure.
Mr Ashbless and I do nothing even remotely competitive together because I cannot stand him to be better than me: I just go into an insane black funk. We even gave up Tai Chi because he learned faster than I did. So now he does his stuff (Wargaming, computers, music, washing up) and I do mine (writing, heavy gardening, art, emptying the trash).
Hey, it works.
If it ain't broke, Janine, don't go fixin' it.
Funny that you couldn't do Tai Chi together - um - isn't it supposed to be sorta non-competitive?
Ah, but learning any new skill is competitive!
Congrats, Madeline! On the book and editor's praise. I don't always agree with the ed's opinion, but it's nice to hear feedback.
I love that cover, too. Twining legs, mmmm.
I agree with Janine, I couldn't live with a writer. God, that would be writer squared. Terrifying.
(I also have this wonderful picture of Janine at her Tai Chi class storming off in a jealous huff!)
I just realised that my other comment might imply I didn't agree with Adam's praise for your book, good christ, what a twat, that's not what I meant at all.
Sorry. I meant to say, that just because you didn't hear from him on the *other* books, or because he was a little ambivalent, it didn't mean he was right.
I think some days I should tie my hands up so I can't make stupidly worded comments...
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