{"id":4930,"date":"2012-09-20T02:30:38","date_gmt":"2012-09-19T16:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=4930"},"modified":"2014-04-28T21:57:59","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T11:57:59","slug":"what-its-like-being-a-debut-novelist-at-pan-macmillan-harper-collins-momentum-books-indie-publishing-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/what-its-like-being-a-debut-novelist-at-pan-macmillan-harper-collins-momentum-books-indie-publishing-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"What it\u2019s like being a debut novelist at Pan Macmillan \/ Harper Collins \/ Momentum Books \/ Indie Publishing. Part 4\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is Part Four in my debut novelist series.<\/p>\n

I love writing, publishing, and winning competitions with all my short stories<\/a>\u2026 Still I’d love my novels to be read by, you know, readers \u2013 and not just sat on my computer!<\/p>\n

But will the reality of becoming a debut novelist actually live up to my expectations?<\/p>\n

To find out I asked five authors \u2013 all with debut novels releasing either this year or early next year \u2013 and I\u2019ve been featuring their answers here. In my first three posts, I interviewed Nina D\u2019Aleo, Susanna Freymark and Kylie Scott about their experiences with Momentum Books and Pan Macmillan. Read their answers here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time to ask self-published debut author, Monique McDonell, about her experience\u2026<\/p>\n

Part Four: Monique McDonell
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monique\u2019s novel Mr Right and Other Mongrels<\/em> was released this May. Yay \u2013 congratulations Monique!<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

Mr Right & Other Mongrels by Monique McDonell<\/p><\/div>\n

Novel: Mr Right and Other Mongrels<\/p>\n

Release date: May 2012<\/p>\n

Published through: Self-published under Redfish Publishing<\/p>\n

One-sentence description: Where dog phobias, hippies and make-over TV meet; “Mr Right and other Mongrels” is a quirky romantic comedy set on Sydney\u2019s Northern Beaches.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hi Monique, and thanks for taking part in this series\u2026 Now let\u2019s get stuck in!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Monique McDonell<\/p><\/div>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Most of the debut authors I know always look tired. What\u2019s been the hardest part of getting your novel ready for its release?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think the hardest part of being an indie author is overcoming your own nerves and trusting in yourself to put the book out there. Of course the layout, the edit and cover design are also stressful.<\/p>\n

\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I hear debut authors talking about their publishing experience, they often sound relieved. Maybe you could share your timeline with us? <\/strong><\/p>\n

a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When did you first conceive the concept for your novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

2007<\/p>\n

b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How long did it take you to learn the craft of novel writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m still learning…<\/p>\n

c.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How long from final polish to publication?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gosh, the very final polish happened this year and it was published in May.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How many other publishing options did you explore before embarking on this particular one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I explored a lot of options. I entered competitions. I participated in the QWC\/Hachette Manuscript Development program. I did agent pitches at conferences. I sent my book to agents and publishers everywhere. I explored most avenues for traditional publishing.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What\u2019s been the easiest part of the process for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once I decided to take the indie publishing route it\u2019s all been pretty easy. What I like about this path is that I have control over everything I do \u2013 the cover, the layout, the promotion and all the planning. I don\u2019t have to compromise, I suppose, and I like that.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Apart from editing your manuscript until your eyes bleed, what else have you needed to do towards publishing your novel? Read and sign legal contracts? Write and approve marketing materials?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of research required before you publish a novel. In my case I had to set up a blog, a facebook author page, commission a cover design, get someone to help me with the layout for the paperback and of course I\u2019ve prepared all my own marketing materials. It\u2019s very time consuming but I think it\u2019s paying off.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What promotional activities do you have planned to help launch your novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did a virtual book launch for Mr Right and Other Mongrels on facebook, that was fun. I had postcards printed which have been handed out all over Sydney. I\u2019ve set up my own mini blog tour visiting the blogs of other author\u2019s I know. I also did a subsequent paid virtual blog tour.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What aspects have you found most difficult this time around, which you don\u2019t anticipate will be so tricky next time you publish a novel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next time around I won\u2019t wait till the book is out to start the publicity and I\u2019ll pre-book some opportunities. Also I realise now how long each step takes so I can allocate my time and manage my expectations better.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Which leads me to ask what\u2019s next? What will be your next writing project and how long will it be before its ready for the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My next book, Heart\u2019s Afire<\/em>, is ready to launch in the next month or so. I gave myself an August deadline but pushed it to September. I\u2019ll have a third book out in December.\u00a0 And I also have another manuscript with a traditional publishing house.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Finally, if you had just one piece of advice for those of us still out here waiting to have our brilliant debut novels published, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My advice is to write what you\u2019re passionate about, what excites you. Literary trends cycle through, but a well told, well written story will always find an audience.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Monique!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next time, I\u2019ll be asking Bruce Lyman, a soon-to-be-published debut novelist with Harper Collins, about his experiences. My last interviewee, will his answers be similar or different to the others? Subscribe using the \u2018More Please\u2019 widget above if you don\u2019t want to miss out, or just keep your eye on Facebook or Twitter \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

In the meantime, are you a self-published author who remembers their first publication well? If so, how did your experience compare with Monique’s?<\/p>\n

Or maybe you’re planning to self-publish. If so, what will be your major concerns?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is Part Four in my debut novelist series. I love writing, publishing, and winning competitions with all my short stories\u2026 Still I’d love my novels to be read by, you know, readers \u2013 and not just sat on my computer! But will the reality of becoming a debut novelist\u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[166,262,282,430,431,468],"class_list":["post-4930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australian-authors","category-writer-advice","tag-debut-novelist","tag-harper-collins","tag-indie-publishing","tag-momentum-books","tag-monique-mcdonell","tag-pan-macmillan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4930"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9110,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4930\/revisions\/9110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}