It’s October 10, an important date in my novel, and now, in my life. Sean Senatore, Senior Publication Consultant at Newman Springs Publishing, answers the phone after requesting a chat about what I’m working on.
I explain, “Covenant Books accepted my novel, but I turned them down. The story was too R-rated for them and I didn’t want to change it.
“Is it erotica?” he asks.
“No, it has swearing, sex, and drugs,” I reply. “It’s romantic fiction. Funny thing — some of the main characters have the last name Newman.”
“Really? That’s interesting,” he says. “If you submit it today, we could get back to you as soon as Friday, maybe Monday of next week. Typically, it takes about 5 days for our reviewers.” He sends me an e-mail with instructions. I say another prayer and submit my manuscript.
THE CALL, FOLLOWED BY TEQUILA
Friday afternoon I received an e-mail from Sean stating my book was under review. His note said I may hear the results as soon as that evening. When the phone rang just before 5:00 pm, my husband and I were heading north on I-95 toward our favorite Mexican restaurant. This moment, aglow in the dashboard lights, is now frozen in my memory.
Sean said, “The reviewers loved your story. They called it a “page turner.” On a scale of 1-10 your character development rated 8. One reviewer cried when (spoiler). It’s clear that you like to write!”
“Wow,” I said, or something like that.
He added, “The fact that you mentioned our name 75 times didn’t hurt, either.”
Sean said he’d send the publishing proposal. We agreed to talk again on Monday, to go over each section.
IT’S GETTING REAL. REALLY REAL.
Over the weekend I looked into Newman Springs and wrote a list of questions. Their website features authors, many of them. I wasn’t interested in the most recent releases — I wanted to see how the older titles were succeeding.
There was quite a mix of books — non-fiction, fiction, personal memoirs, childrens’, poetry, cookbooks, to name a few. I looked at my favorite reading website, Goodreads.com to see if any of the titles were listed there. I also checked Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and other major retailers for titles and was pleased to find each one listed for sale.
Not many had reviews, however. Some had identical reviews that showed up on each site, which made me think a close friend or a mom posted them. On the other hand, several of Newman Spring’s titles were getting real reviews and were showing up on Goodreads, such as “I Didn’t Know I Was Black Until You Told Me” by Thomas Kirst. It appeared authors like Thomas were “working it.” Knowing how competitive the world of publishing is, that gave me hope to believe that with the right marketing attention, “I Knew Men” could be one of those titles — for real.
SIGNING ON THE DOTTED LINE
On Monday, Sean and I talked and I asked him more about Newman Springs. He explained that Newman Spring Publishing’s mission is to help authors succeed by providing an exceptionally talented and experienced team comprising writers, editors, graphic artists, and the like. Their company is dedicated to marketing, which leads to sales. “We’re creating assets, not liabilities,” he said.
I shared my author research and asked him, “how many of your writers are receiving royalties, having recouped their investment?” Sean advised me not to quit my day job, but he said more than half were receiving royalties. He also strongly suggested that I should be working on my second novel, to plan on publishing it two years after the first. I told him the second novel was already written, which seemed to impress him.
I remembered our call from Friday and a few of the comments he shared from the reviewers. “Could I get a copy of what they wrote?” I asked. Sean asked for a couple days to gather their comments, and said he’d send them along.
The deposit was submitted for Plan A which covers a full-copy edit, design, cover art, conversion to digital formats, printed editions, ISBN, digital and print distribution, an author web page, publicity and press release distribution. I decided not to get into podcasts, YouTube videos or audio books at this time. Those things could happen later, if desired. I could also do them on my own without Newman’s assistance if I chose to.
The total investment with Newman, paid over time, is similar to what I would have had to pay if I were to self-publish. It typically costs between $3,000 – $5,000 no matter which way an author chooses, as I was told by Maria Secoy, a seasoned writer and the founder of All Write Well, a helpful writers’ group.
Maria seemed dubious about hybrid publishing, noting that some companies had a bad, scamming reputation. She asked, “Did I have an attorney review my contract?” Feeling naive, I told her I did not. She asked about the terms of my agreement, which I eagerly shared. Maria said it appeared Newman Springs was in line with what an author should expect. I felt much better after talking with her. I also wished we met earlier in this process.
So, the big question is — will I recoup my investment? An even better question might be — what have I gotten myself into? What is this publishing thing really all about? I am such a newbie.
NEXT STEPS
After a call with Lyndie Smith, my publication director, I got to work on my first assignment: to provide a dedication if I chose to (I did), a piece “about the author” for the inside cover, and a description of the novel for the back cover. The cover art comes later, with a choice of providing my own artwork or using the talents of their graphic designers. I like the covers I’ve seen, but the artist in me may want a crack at it if inspiration hits. We’ll see.
According to the timeline agenda, I’ll receive my first edited copy of “I Knew Men” to review sometime around Christmas. Until then, I am on pins and needles with angst and excitement.
I CANNOT wait to read your book!!!🌷🌷💖💖
I’m so excited to have you read it!!