Magic Mailbox

A few weeks have passed since I last wrote about Anna Mei, so I thought it was time for an update.

For one thing, getting the mail has certainly been more fun lately—I keep finding treasures tucked in there among the bills and the credit card applications. First to arrive was a nice “Welcome to the Family” packet from the publisher, including their 2009 catalog and a detailed style sheet for submitting my final document. I also got a lovely hand-written note from my editor and a PBM ballpoint pen, which I had to rescue from the dog when it rolled off the table, everything on the floor being automatically perceived as hers. Just ask all the poor socks that have suffered an untimely (not to mention slobbery) death by shredding.

A few days later my contract arrived—eleven pages of whereases and hereunders that I had to distill somehow into actual English. My favorite part is the one that refers to selling the rights to my manuscript “in all forms and all media now known or hereafter developed throughout the world.” That pretty much covers it, right? So in the future when we are all reading books via microchips implanted into our brains, mine will apparently already come preloaded, even for people who live in Outer Mongolia. I think I can live with that.

After shooting a few questions over to the Business Office manager, I was ready to sign on the dotted line. Normally I would use my “lucky” pen, the one my son David gave me to celebrate my first sale. I’ve been using it to sign my cover letters when sending in submissions, and it has done a pretty great job for me so far. But since this sale was already a done deal I figured I’d seal it with my official PBM pen (once I’d wiped off the dog drool, of course).

Next I heard from the editor again, who seems almost as excited about this project as I am, and to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude for getting the ball rolling. She outlined her suggestions for improving the story and asked that I lay a foundation for (dare I say it?) a sequel. She also wondered if I had any suggestions about cover art. How exciting to think of seeing the character of Anna Mei brought to life by an illustrator!

So now the ball’s back in my court—it’s time to start sharpening and revising my story so that it’s as perfect as possible before being shipped off to Boston again. Not that this process will be a piece of cake or anything, but it will certainly be sweetened by the most recent treasure to show up in my mailbox—a check! This is the “advance” I get to keep whether Anna Mei sells one copy or one million. Eventually I’ll figure out something special to use it for, but for now I only have two primary goals:

1.) get those revisions done, and

2.) keep that check from falling on the floor.
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