I’m going to get right to it…

I JUST SIGNED A PUBLISHING CONTRACT FOR MY MEMOIR!!!

I woke up Thursday morning and picked up my phone to check my email in bed. Thursday mornings are pretty lazy, since I take Pierce to work at nine and go into work late. I had 42 emails which, for me, is a lot. Shoot! I’d been so busy the day before, I hadn’t checked my email since Tuesday afternoon. I first edited out the spam mail, and as I scrolled through my inbox, I saw an email that had been sent the day before with the subject line “Publishing Approach- Melissa McKay.” I assumed it was another polite rejection from an editor giving me tips about how best to approach a publisher with my manuscript. I scrolled through the “we like your work” to get to the expected “but we’re going to pass.” But this email was reading differently. I read it through a second time and figured out that the “publishing approach” was a publication offer for my book. I’ve never hopped out of bed so fast and ran to grab Tim before he walked out the door for work. I couldn’t speak, which I think kinda freaked him out. I finally managed to spit out, “Somebody wants to publish my book!” I read him a little of the email. I think Tim was as stunned as I was, because he didn’t know what else to do but give me a high-five. Bless him. He ran off to work and I texted/emailed family and friends. The editor said in the email that he could send me a publishing contract if I was interested; of course I said I was very interested. I could barely dress myself and get packed up for work. The day was a blur. The greenhouse was full of plant deliveries that needed to be stocked, so I was figuring out those logistics while trying to wrap my brain around the possibility of my book getting published. 

The contract came in the next day. I don’t know how I missed this detail, but Olympia Publishers is in London! Their offer was a hybrid publication contract. There are three ways to have a book published: traditional publishing, self publishing, and hybrid publishing. A traditional publishing deal is the dream and the hardest to obtain. A big publishing house offers the author an advance and covers the publication and marketing costs. One of the very few cons of a traditional deal is that the author loses some creative control over the final product. When an author self-publishes, they retain 100% creative control. The author pays for production/printing and hopes to recoup the cost by selling enough books. Without a marketing team, the book isn’t as widely available to the public as a traditionally published book would be. With a hybrid publishing contract, the author is expected to cover some of the production and marketing costs in exchange for higher royalties on book sales. The author gets to have a lot of input on the finished product. The book will be reviewed and publicized, and it will be available in several markets.

I signed the contract this morning, and I’m feeling all of the feelings right now: excitement, nervousness, pride, fear, joy, dread. It will be a lengthy process; my book won’t be available until next year. But, it WILL be available!! My dream is to see my book on display in Parnassus Books here in Nashville. I was afraid that my fees upfront would be some ridiculous sum, and I’d have to do a Kickstarter to raise the funds. But it just so happens I’ve had some money come in this year that I wasn’t anticipating, and this almost covers the costs. Huzzah! 

The ball is rolling! I’m expecting! My (book) baby is due spring/summer of 2023!