Guest Author Debra Webb

Please welcome romantic suspense author Debra Webb to the convertible today!

Debra 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 within the confining political Walls of Berlin, Germany, that she realized her true calling. A five-year stint with NASA on the Space Shuttle Program reinforced her love of the endless possibilities within her grasp as a storyteller. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Debra has been writing romantic suspense and action packed romantic thrillers since.

The Long Haul - The Marriage Between Author and Publisher

Hey, all! It’s great to be back! I’ve talked quite a bit recently about keeping it simple and real. Keep your finances in check, make the right decisions so that you can write out of “want” not “need.” Along with that, as writers we need to recognize that we’re in the business of storytelling not for just one book, but for the long haul. As I reflected on the long haul of my life, marriage, kids, mortgage, etc., I decided that my ten-year-old writing career is very much like my marriage--wonderful but filled with ups and downs and compromises.

I married when I was 16 (because I wanted to--there was no shotgun involved). I couldn’t wait to have my own family and my own life. Over the course of these three-decades-plus of marriage, we’ve shared many wonderful moments, many painful ones, and a whole heck of a lot of decisions. There were times when it might have been easier to throw our hands up and just walk away. Lots of people I knew definitely chose that option. Somehow, we stuck it out. We rode out those ups and downs and made all those stinking compromises. Why? Because I truly love my husband and he truly loves me. He was worth the trouble.

The marriage between author and publisher is much the same. We’re so excited when we get the proposal--offer. “We love your story and we want to publish you!” It’s the most amazing feeling! Instead of a diamond ring and matching band, you get an advance! Twelve to twenty-four months later you see your book hit the shelves (much like seeing a child born). Life is sweet!

Then that child for whatever reason doesn’t walk for a little longer than the experts say she should. And the husband is too busy at work to notice you or the child. Eventually child number two and maybe even three comes along. Things are crazy. There are so many decisions and you get pretty upset at times that the husband/father can’t give all that you expect because he has “other” commitments. Work, the guys, taking care of things around the house, whatever. What do you do? Move on? Hope for a better husband/father from the next choice? Stick it out? Big, big questions.

My publishing career has followed that same path--those ups and downs and compromises I mentioned before. I have a very keen sense of loyalty and I’ve tried to stick with those who proposed to me first and who brought my books to the shelves. But this is where my marriage and my career differ--this is business.

A publisher has many authors and decisions have to be made about scheduling, marketing, everything from offer to publication. The choices are hard and sometimes can feel unfair. You may firmly believe you should have gotten something another author got. Work very hard not to do that. Fall back on what you learned in Sunday school as a kid, “Do not covet thy neighbor’s stuff.” You must understand that the publisher has chosen to do whatever they’ve done with the other author because it was, they felt, in their best interest. Again, I say, this is business. This is not about friendship or anything else. It’s about potential sales. The day you start taking these things personally is the day you start taking big steps backward in your career and that long haul diminishes in the distance.

There are a few things you can do to ensure you continue to thrive for the long haul with your publishing career. First and foremost, write the absolute best book you have in you. Not once, not twice, but every time. If you don’t give each story your complete focus and effort, then you’ve neglected that book (you wouldn’t neglect one of your children, would you?). Second, stay in tune with what your readers like about your stories. Of course, you may not always like the feedback whether it be reviews or letters/emails from readers or advice from trusted writer friends, but consider what has been said. Weigh if it has any merit and go from there. If your child is complaining about something, you consider it, weigh it and then either take action or dismiss it. Do the same with your books. Thirdly, know the business. You may say (I certainly have), I’m a writer, I don’t want to know the inner workings of the publishing business, I just want to write. Well, I’m here to tell you that mentality is like saying you don’t want to know what makes your husband tick or where your kid is at on Saturday night. If you think you don’t need to know, then you will definitely miss something. You will be unaware of what is happening to your beloved works of fiction. YOU WANT TO KNOW. Make it a personal quest to know what is going on in that world with the same fervor you do what’s going on in the lives of those you love in your family.

Lastly, when you’ve written the best book you can, having weighed all the feedback, and you’ve stayed on top of how the industry works and how your publisher does things, the final and fourth thing you can do for your career is—CHANGE AS NEEDED. Now, you may ask, what does a lady who has been married to the same man more than three decades know about change? Not as much as I‘d like, but I‘m working on it. Changing publishers is not always good or necessary. Think long and hard, weigh all your reasons. Discuss the possibility with trusted friends and a damned good agent. Do not make this kind of change based on emotion or bad advice from people who don‘t really know or understand. Only do it when absolutely necessary and when and if it’s the best decision for your work/career.

My baby girl went to the same pediatrician from the day she was born until he passed away last year (eighteen years!). He was amazing and I genuinely respected his decisions about my child’s health. But don’t think for a moment as much as I respected and adored the man, that if he’d made one wrong move regarding my daughter’s health that I wouldn’t have been gone. Good and gone. The same goes for your relationship with your publisher. Step back, really, really look at the situation. Do not jump the gun. Do not get ticked off because you didn’t get what “you” think you deserved. Know the business, weigh the facts and then make a decision. Sometimes a compromise is needed, sometimes it’s change that is required.

Talent and persistence will take you a long way in most any career, but sound decision making will keep you moving forward for the long haul. You cannot, absolutely cannot, make sound decisions unless you’re informed. So take the time to ask the hard questions. Know what’s going on in the writing world around you and stand the test of time.

What's the hardest compromise you've ever had to make? Are there areas that you never ever would compromise in? Debra is giving away a copy of her current release EVERYWHERE SHE TURNS to one lucky commenter today!