Writers dream about becoming authors. Authors dream about grabbing that deal of a lifetime and becoming published by a New York publishing house with advances, book distribution, royalties that would make them jump up and down for joy, and all the glamour and glitz that comes with the territory.
Some authors dream of doing this and others simply do it.
But is it so simple?
I interviewed Catherine Delors, author of the historical fiction, Mistress of the Revolution (Dutton) to find out how she claimed the brass ring to show you it can be done.
Thank you for this interview, Ms. Delors. You have a great historical fiction novel called Mistress of the Revolution. Can we begin by having you tell us why you wrote your book?
Oh, Thank you. The idea of writing Mistress of the Revolution came from a conversation I had with my late father. We were talking about the name of a street in the little mountain town where I had spent my summers as a child. It was named after Pierre-André Coffinhal, Vice President of the Revolutionary Tribunal. I looked up that character, and found someone who seemed perfect for a novel.
How many revisions did you have to write before you felt comfortable in sending it off?
The manuscript went through at least three rounds of revisions before it was sent to publishers.
Do you have an agent or did you query yourself?
I have an agent, Stephanie Cabot of The Gernert Company. Unpublished writers should know that some publishers won’t even look at unagented submissions. There are exceptions for some genres. I believe Penguin welcomes unagented submissions for children’s books.
Did you have previous books which made it easier to secure a New York publisher?
No, not at all. The only things I had written before were a few articles for law journals. Believe me, it didn’t help a bit!
You are published by Dutton, a well known and respected New York publisher. Why do you feel that Dutton chose your book to be in their line-up?
Dutton is a Division of Penguin Books. As far as I understand, the editor there, Julie Doughty, read my book, and she liked it. That’s really that simple: it boils down to the editor’s personal taste. There’s no magic formula. Julie reads a lot of submissions, and she picks the ones she likes as a reader.
Why do you feel an agent is necessary to get a New York contract?
Again, for historical fiction, I would say that it is very, very difficult to find a publisher without an agent. Note that I said very difficult, not impossible. But why not put all of the chances on your side and secure the help of an agent? I am an attorney, but I would have been lost without Stephanie’s help. She knew which editors at which publishing houses to approach. Then, when we had interest in Mistress of the Revolution from three publishers, she did a great job at negotiating the deal.
Do you feel that in this business it pays to know someone to get into a New York publishing house?
Oh, I am sure it helps to have connections in publishing. But I had none whatsoever, and I still found an agent and a publisher.
What kind of advice would you give aspiring historical fiction authors so that they, too, might follow in your footsteps?
Take a hard look at your novel and ask yourself THE big question: what could you do to make it better? Solicit the advice of other people, and don’t be thin-skinned. You will hear a lot of stuff you won’t like, but some of it will ring true. Concentrate on those areas of weakness and get to work!
Thank you for this interview, Ms. Delors. Can you tell us where we might find out more about you and your books?
Catherine: I would love to welcome your readers on my website www.catherinedelors.com and my blog: http://blog.catherinedelors.com.