The List

I began this blog as a means of sharing with others the entire process that my co-writer and I went through on the road to publication. I wish I had started it much sooner, like before the novel was completed. Since I got a late start I have decided to bring everyone up to speed as simply as I know how...Welcome to THE LIST!

1) Wicked cool idea rears it's head for the first time.

2)Ran idea past best friend who inevitably becomes co-writer.

3) Began researching and tweaking every aspect of story concept including characters and locales.

4) Putt our butts in chairs and began writing.

5) In our free time, began utilizing various social networking sites in an effort to advertise our new roles as authors.

6) Met a wonderful lady through one of those sites, who happened to be an editor and was interested in our work. She offered to help us and we jumped at the opportunity to work with someone who knew the editing business and believed in us.

7) Continued to write while establishing ourselves as book reviewers and author interviewers with the WebbWeaver sites.

8) Wrote, wrote and wrote some more.

9) Edited, refined, tweaked and, did I mention that we wrote!

10) Got offered a contract for representation from the same wonderful lady we had confided in and trusted as an editor.

11) Established and met a deadline for completion of our debut novel CRUELTY TO INNOCENTS.

Now, before you ask, Yes, we met our agent on a social networking site. And Yes, we did sign our agency contracts before completion of our novel, BUT we were well into the book with only a few chapters remaining and our now agent/editor had every one of those chapters as well as a clear and detailed outline for the remaining ones.

Will you find your agent through social networking? I really can't say. Will you sign a contract for representation before you complete your novel? Most likely no, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. We know that it is not only unusual, but also very rare that our story has unfolded the way that it has, but we also know that it happened this way, not just because our agent/editor believed in us but because we believed in ourselves as well.

It is now 7 months since we signed those contracts, our book is out to several publishing houses and we are working on new projects everyday. We will continue to wait, to write and to believe in ourselves and our work until we can complete the list by adding;

12) Signed book deal.

13) Made 'THE LIST' at The New York Times.

Oh, how I dearly love THE LIST.