 | 23 Jun 09 |
Good morning, all! I’ve spent the past hour reading all the MSW posts I’ve missed the last week or so. Wow! What fabulous ladies! I shouldn’t have done this though…now I feel like the nobody band who has to follow Aerosmith or Bon Jovi on stage….
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do next. I continue to write my Colby Agency books for Harlequin Intrigue and I love, love doing those stories. But my single title career is at a crossroads. What do I do next? Something new and cutting edge. Something high concept, etc., etc. But ultimately I decided on something from the past for my future single title career. Sounds odd I know, but I’m fired up about it.
A couple of years ago, maybe three, I came up with this amazing romantic suspense/thriller series idea. At least I thought it was amazing. My current single title publisher didn’t agree so I put the idea on a shelf and allowed it to gather dust. Meanwhile I wrote stand alone novels for St. Martin’s Press, all of which I felt were good, but they weren’t connected in any fashion (other than I did sneak in one repeat character–the boot lady, the one and only Kim Schaffer!). There was nothing to bring the readers back. And in this economy we all have to cut back and make hard choices. If my book came out the same time as another author who had an ongoing series a reader loved and that reader only had expendable funds for one book, what would happen? The reader would likely desperately want to know what happened next in the series, while my book could be read any time since it was not connected to anything past or future. This thinking was fueled by the fact that I’ve done Colby Agency stories for ten years now (number 32 is out next month–SMALL TOWN SECRETS!). The responses of the readers showed me the benefit of recurring characters and building that character network. Think about it, that’s part of what makes TV series like The Closer, TrueBlood, etc., so wildly popular. Folks learn to love those characters and want to know what happens to them next. Yes, I know we’ve talked about this before but I had to make another of those hard choices and that’s why it’s on my mind this morning.
I also recognized that although it was flattering to have “novel” on the spine of my books, it wasn’t in the best interest of my career. I came from the romance world and folks expect to find my books on the romance shelves. Having 35% or so of the copies in the fiction aisles wasn’t working (at least not with those romancy covers). So I took a big step back and looked to the past to determine how to proceed with my future.
I pulled that dusty series off the shelf, did some more fine-tuning and sent it to my agent. Now I’m in ‘wait” mode to see if the past will propel my future. I’ve made that hard choice I mentioned above: I will not agree to a contract for new single title books until a publisher is serious about my future career. I did one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, I walked away from my single title publisher who was perfectly willing to give me a new contract. As much as I love writing, from this point forward it must be about the right decisions for the books. It can’t be about the money (oh my God! Did I just say that?) or anything else. It has to be about what’s right for the readers and my career progression. Yes, I’m a writer and that’s a frightening decision to make, but I have my Colby Agency safety net. As I said I love writing those books–I’m working on one right now! So cross your fingers, folks, and lets see where stepping back to the future takes me!
And look for my next (and last this year) single title release on June 30th! EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS is set in the mill village where I live (names, etc. have been changed to protect the almost innocent). 
I loved writing this story because it allowed me to focus on what’s real and right here in front of me. It focuses on the hard decisions that everday folks have to make and it’s not always pleasant. Sometimes it’s outright deadly!
What’s the hardest decision you ever had to make about your career?
Debra Webb, born in Alabama, wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain—and a five-year stint with NASA—that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set.
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Debra, I think they’re ALL hard. Recently, mine was parting with my agent.
You have to know what you want, and how much you’re willing to sacrifice to get there.
I applaud your holding out for a publisher who will look at the ‘whole package.’ I’d love someone to pick up my series concept, but decided it would be better to do the single book deal — since I don’t have 32 other series books out there to keep my name active!
Best of luck to you.
by Terry Odell June 23rd, 2009 at 7:37 amThanks, Terry! I’m hanging in there!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 amWow, Debra. I think you’re leading the pack at the moment!
Good on you for making up your mind and doing what is right for you. The hardest decision I’ve had to make about the writing career was the one to get active again; to ignore the rejections and start submitting again. Now I’m getting up the nerve to start the agent hunt. *cringe*
by Silver James June 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 amFrom your lips to God’s ears, Silver!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 amWow, good for you. You knew what was right for you and made the difficult decision.
I just sent out my first 4 queries and I’ve gotten back 3 rejections, so far. The last one was personalized and said she really liked the idea but didn’t think she was the agent for the project. She felt there was a better agent out there for it. My luck she was just being nice. Either way, I’m not giving up.
by HollyD June 23rd, 2009 at 8:09 amKeep on keeping on, Holly! I’ll do the same!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 amDeb, you are brave and smart, and talented, just like your heroines. You will get what you want, and thrive.
by Karin Tabke June 23rd, 2009 at 12:20 pmKeep putting that out into the universe, Karin! Thank you!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 2:04 pmDeb, kudos on making the tough decision! It’s not easy to do, but I think we all come to those crossroads.
I guess the hardest decisions I’ve made so far has been turning down contracts. I never do it lightly. In my case, it was purely a conflict of schedules, and I don’t want to make a committement I can’t keep.
by Jen Lyon June 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pmJen, I hear you. Sometimes you begin to feel that in this business one’s word doesn’t count for much–but I was raised with the motto “You’re only as good as your word” and I stand by it!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pmYou rock, Deb. You are very talented. 32 Colby books? Damn!
I’ve been lucky in my career, but few decisions are ever easy at the time.
1) I parted with an agent before I sold. When you’re unpublished, leaving–and finding a new agent–is hard.
2) I quit my job when I got my first signed contract. It was a huge leap of faith because I could barely afford it. We pulled the kids out of day care and budgeted ruthlessly. The only thing I bought with my first advance check was a new kitchen table that sat 8. All 7 of us were crammed into a table that sat 4. And the table was on sale.
3) Selling the Seven Deadly Sins series when I was building my name in romantic suspense–knowing when to do this was hard, and I relied on my agent for timing advice.
by Allison Brennan June 23rd, 2009 at 3:03 pmThanks, Allison. You’re very right, most of the career decisions are hard. Ruthless determination is exactly what one needs!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 5:55 pmAll I can say is that I am in AWE of you, woman. 32 Colby books? My mind reels. That is talent. And perseverance. Karin is right–you will get what you want and thrive.
by toni mcgee causey June 23rd, 2009 at 4:20 pmThanks, Toni! We can only hope!
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 pmMy career, which hadn’t really gotten started, got put on hold and never started. I went into the Peace Corps after college and married when I got back. I was a teacher and he was in the Air Force. This was in the early 70′s during the Vietnam war. He was in B-52′s and could get sent out at any time. I made the decision to be a stay at home mom. With dad leaving at anytime for who knew how long, I felt it was important the children have a constant home presence. I was an active volunteer, but didn’t work. I am now working as a children’s librarian, but will have no retirement. I’m not sorry I stayed with the kids, but financially a career with benefits would have helped now. Financial planning was not as common a topic as it is now. We based some of our plans on what we were told at retirement only to find we were lied to and I get no military spouse retirement pay if my husband dies first. we asked the right questions, we were just not given honest answers.
by Patricia Barraclough June 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 pmAt any rate, Intrigue is my favorite Harlequin line. If your name is on the book, I always pick it up. I love the Colby books and have read most of them. Keep up the good work and good luck with your search for a publisher for your series.
Thanks, Patricia. I am so sorry to hear about your spousal benefits. I hate to be lied to about something so important. And I salute you for making a hard decision but a very right decision to be a stay-at-home mom. My husband spent ten years in the military and that life can be tough.
by Debra Webb June 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 pmDeb,
I love you!
And I love posts like this that talk about aspects of this crazy business that aren’t often discussed. Strategy, careful planning and maneuvering, knowing when a deal is moving you forward (or sideways or, worse, backwards) are vitally important to longevity, success, and personal happiness. Sometimes it seems like writers don’t talk about such things because they might seem ungrateful or mercenary. But this is business and talking about that aspect of a writing career is so helpful. Thank you!
Good for you for making a tough decision! I’m proud of you. ((hugs))
by S. J. Day June 24th, 2009 at 1:38 pmS.J., hugs right back atcha! And, in case I didn’t mention it previously, while at BEA I wagged your lovely RT bag all over the convention center and NYC for that matter. If I was lucky folks thought I was the beautiful and talented YOU!
by Debra Webb June 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm