I Got THE CALL!!!

I always love to hear stories of how an author got their first call. Most have written for years, love to read, loved to tell stories since they were small, but getting THE CALL is always unique.

For me, I received my first call for two books, The Vampire…In My Dreams and Ghostly Liaisons from Medallion Press. The way it happened was I was dying in bed with the worst flu that had hit me in a very long time. Fevers, chills, truly felt I couldn’t live another day. And then I got THE CALL. Forget the fevers, the chills, feeling like I was going to die any moment. I had to tell my family, and then I had to tell the world, via the Internet. I spent hours on the Internet, then finally went back to bed, contract fairies floating in my head.

Medallion Press closed the Young Adult line in September, the month before Ghostly Liaisons, my first book was to be released.

That’s okay. Because then I had the chance to receive THE CALL again. I kept sending out manuscripts, getting rejections, and sending out again. And it happened. It was similar to the first time…

“Is this book still available for sale?”

“Yes!”

Only this time the purchasing editor said she hadn’t finished reading it. But so far she loved it. “Was my werewolf world unique?”

Luckily, I had read several other werewolf novels and watched werewolf movies over the years and none of them had done what I had. Of course, I paused before I said yes. What if the editor didn’t want unique? Was it too different from other author’s works? Unique is great, but being too different, can be a problem. So, what did I say?

“Yes!”

Great, but she had to finish reading it. Talk about cliff hangers. She would get back with me in a few days. A few days passed, a few more. She called. She loved it. But it still wasn’t THE CALL. She had to pitch it before a board. Another week passed, and then a few days after that, it came.

“We want it!” she said.

I didn’t respond instantly. I kept waiting for the—but--

Nope, no “buts.” They wanted it! So HEART OF THE WOLF will be out April 1, 2008 and that’s no April Fools!!!

It received a terrific Publisher’s Weekly Review and the day after that my editor called and said, “I love Don’t Cry Wolf. I haven’t finished reading it, but if the end is as good as the rest, I’m pitching it to my Publisher next week.”

This time I was a little more reassured the news would be good, but until it’s really a done deal…it’s not a done deal.

And once again, I got THE CALL. Don’t Cry Wolf will come out in Spring, 2009!!!

This is what we work so hard for after writing and writing and writing, revising and revising some more, and suffering the interminable rejections, and finally there comes a day when we receive—THE CALL!

Don’t let those doubts get you down. Keep writing, revising, and submitting, and you can one day share with us your story of how you received THE CALL.

Terry Spearhttp://www.terryspear.com/, Heart of the Wolf, Don’t Cry Wolf, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, The Vampire…In My Dreams