Wicked Wednesday - sign on the dotted line

Now that you know my awesome news, I can share with you my experiences being accepted by a publisher. It's incredibly different than self-publishing. One way it's different is the whole signing of a contract deal.

I had a few bumps in the road with it. With my publisher, the contracts department is separate from everything else. My editor was not allowed to be involved in anything to do with it. I filled out all the paperwork (general information, tax forms, book outlines), sent them to the editor, and she forwarded them on to contracts.

Then I waited.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

A month later, I still hadn't received anything.

I asked my editor about it, and she suggested I email contracts to see what was going on.

They had sent out the first copy of the contract, but I had never received it. I checked in all my folders, checked them dozens of times, but nothing. I assured them I didn't receive it, and three weeks later, they sent out  the file again.

I read through the contract carefully. It was 12 pages, but there was nothing I didn't understand. I filled it out, re-read it, and had my husband go over it. I signed it, copied it, and emailed it back.

One month later, I received the finalized contract.

I was moving along at a good speed with my editor, doing edits and filling out my cover requests, I even had a release date, but I couldn't announce it until the contract was complete.

I felt agonized with how slow it was going at times, but this is typical with a publisher. Self-publishing allows you to go as quickly as you want to, but  with a publisher, you can only move as fast as the business can move. Patience is key in signing with one.

If you have a publisher, what has your experience been involving contracts?