{"id":4885,"date":"2012-09-06T11:22:15","date_gmt":"2012-09-06T01:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=4885"},"modified":"2014-04-28T21:58:14","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T11:58:14","slug":"what-its-like-being-a-debut-novellist-at-pan-macmillan-harper-collins-momentum-books-indie-publishing-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/what-its-like-being-a-debut-novellist-at-pan-macmillan-harper-collins-momentum-books-indie-publishing-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What it\u2019s like being a debut novelist at Pan Macmillan \/ Harper Collins \/ Momentum Books \/ Indie Publishing. Part 2…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Part 2 of my blog series asking: what’s it like being a debut novelist? I love writing, publishing, and winning competitions with all my short stories<\/a>… Still when I go to sleep at night, I dream about the day my novels will be read by, you know, readers \u2013 and not just sat on my computer! 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. Over the next few weeks, I\u2019ll be featuring their answers here. So if you want to know what it\u2019s really like to be a debut author these days too, read on!<\/p>\n

In my first post, I interviewed Nina D’Aleo about her experiences with Momentum Books. Read her answers here<\/a>. Now it’s Susanna Freymark’s turn…<\/p>\n

Part Two: Susanna Freymark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susanna’s novel Losing February<\/em> will be released next February. Yay \u2013 congratulations Susanna!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Susanna Freymark<\/p><\/div>\n

Novel: Losing February<\/p>\n

Release date: February 2013<\/p>\n

Published through: Pan Macmillan<\/p>\n

One-sentence description: A story about love, loss and bad sex.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hi Susanna, and thanks for taking part in this series… Now let’s get stuck in!<\/p>\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

The hardest part? Believing in yourself and ignoring the insecure but persistent voice in your head that keeps saying you’re no good. I’m a big believer of fake it until you make it. Keep writing no matter what.<\/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

In 2008 on a ferry trip across Sydney Harbour. The opening scene flashed before me like a movie and wouldn’t go away. So I wrote it down.<\/p>\n

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

Learning the craft of novel writing is ongoing. Doing a Masters in Writing at UTS helped because I had support from some wonderful writers including Debra Adelaide, Rosie Scott and Jean Bedford.<\/p>\n

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

5 years.<\/p>\n

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

I had entered the story in a Varuna scholarship and was short listed. Then on a whim really, I submitted the first chapter into Pan’s Manuscript Mondays<\/em> and got a call back for more chapters.<\/p>\n

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

Sitting at my desk, music blaring and losing myself in writing. I love it. It is my ‘me’ time.<\/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

I am about to embark on the blue line edit which writer friends have warned me about, the publisher’s editor puts a blue line through anything they want changed. I’m doing this now. Fortunately, as a journalist, I like editing.<\/p>\n

Best thing I ever did to take away the stress was to get an agent. She took care of everything while I wrote.<\/p>\n

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

Blogging, sending books to reviewers who blog around the world, setting up a website, visiting book groups, libraries, putting my name down for writers festivals, etc.<\/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

I’ll know the process next time and I’ll be building on what I have rather than starting new. This is my first-born and everything is new.<\/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

I have half a manuscript of a first under-the-bed novel I’d like to revisit called Drowning On The Way Home. <\/em>And my third novel Forgiving Hitler<\/em> is in my head knocking at the door. Basically it is very busy inside my mind.<\/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

Never, never, never give up.<\/p>\n

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

Next time, I’ll be asking Kylie Scott, a soon-to-be-debut novelist with Momentum Books, about her experiences. Will her answers be similar or different to fellow Momentum novelist Nina D’Aleo, who I interviewed in Part 1<\/a>? And what about when I ask a self-published novelist about their debut experience? If you don’t want to miss out, either subscribe using the ‘More Please’ widget above, or just keep your eye on Facebook or Twitter \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

In the meantime, what did you find most surprising about Susanna’s answers, and which answers were exactly as you expected? Let me know in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Part 2 of my blog series asking: what’s it like being a debut novelist? I love writing, publishing, and winning competitions with all my short stories… Still when I go to sleep at night, I dream about the day my novels will be read by, you know, readers\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":[166,262,282,430,468,614],"class_list":["post-4885","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-pan-macmillan","tag-susanna-freymark"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9112,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4885\/revisions\/9112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}