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Guest Author: Jenna Petersen

… and The Stuff They Don’t Tell You When You Learn the Secret Handshake

Hi everyone! Dionne, thanks for having me back here at your blog. It’s one of my fav places (though I’m a shameless lurker) and I always like coming back to play.

Of course, this time around I’m quite useless. You see, right now I’m in the midst of Crazy Author Syndrome. Oh, you’ve never heard of this syndrome? Well, that’s because it’s one of the things they don’t tell you before you publish. And even when you do get “The Call” and they teach you the secret handshake and give you your little “Published Author” card, “they” still leave you in the dark about some things.

And this is one of them. Now, this will probably get me kicked out of the secret society, but I’m going to take the chance. Right around book release time (which for me was June 24, when LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN finally hit stores near me), most authors are attacked by Crazy Author Syndrome. What does this mean? Okay, this means that I from about June 17 – July 29 (when the August books from Avon are released) I completely lose my mind.

I obsess. I check Amazon rankings. I obsessively Google things, I check my Ingrams numbers. On days when things like Bookscan (an industry bestseller list) come out, I am a total wreck. My poor husband really bears the brunt of my insanity from the fist pumping moments to the quiet sobbing to the intense desire for sushi and some kind of alcohol. He puts up with it, too, because I married a saint.

Other writer friends hear it, too. Long phone calls that start with: “What do you think it means when…?” and then fill in the blank with a dozen scenarios, most of which, by the way, mean NOTHING.

Now in my case, the crazies are multiplied because of several variables:

1. LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN is my tenth published book. So, you know, Yay! It’s kind of a big deal to me.
2. I have another book due (an erotic written as Jess Michaels called TABOO that will be out next May) July 15.
3. I got revisions for my next historical (HER NOTORIOUS VISCOUNT, April 2009) a short time ago and THOSE are also due mid-July.
4. I’m prepping for both RWA National AND my only sibling’s wedding, which are back-to-back.

So yeah. Basically I’ve lost my mind. I figure I’ll get it back some time in mid-August. Which is great. Because September 1 I’ll be starting a NEW book.

Um…. Honey? It’s time for sushi and alcohol again!!

Want to know any of the OTHER things they don’t teach you when you get your “I’m published” card? Ask me now, I’m just crazy enough that I might answer.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 4:48 am and is filed under Guest Author. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

12 Responses to “Guest Author: Jenna Petersen”

  1. Darragha
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 6:40 am
    1

    Jenna, dear–I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve always been walking the crazy author path. Maybe you should share your fascinating agent search. I think you had one die, left two and finally found one that “got you,” right?

    I’m proud of your accomplishments!

    Darragha

  2. Jenna Petersen
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 7:08 am
    2

    Hi Darragha. Um, thanks I think. Actually, no dead agents here. My first agent had a lot of interest in a project, but once the project didn’t sell, she didn’t maintain as much interest in me as a writer. My second agent wasn’t as aggressive on follow-up or reading my work as I wanted. My agent now is smashing. Most authors don’t actually stay with one agent from beginning to end. It’s pretty common to have a few agents in your past.

    JennaP

  3. Leigh Royals
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 7:35 am
    3

    Secret handshake, wow. Is the club shrouded in as much mystery and intrigue as *gasp* the Masons?

  4. limecello
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
    4

    Congratulations on the 10th book! That’s exciting news, and good for you! As for the crazy author syndrome… well, haha - good thing your husband is a saint, no?
    You are one busy lady - good luck with all of that and have fun!

  5. Jill Sorenson
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
    5

    You’ve given me a lot of obsessing to look forward to! I check my Amazon ratings sometimes. I even found out I could see where I rank compared to other Silhouette Intimate Moments authors. Nora Roberts is always kicking my ass with a couple dozen books she wrote in 1982.

  6. Jenna Petersen
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
    6

    LOL Leigh and Limecello.

    And Jill, seriously you can find 10,000 ways to obsess. The funny thing is that we authors can only find such a small percentage of information. I told a friend that it’s just enough to drive you crazy and not enough for you to have any idea how you’re doing in reality. LOL

    JennaP

  7. LeaF
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
    7

    Hi Jenna;

    Thank you for offering such great words with respect to what it is like being a published author. Congratulations on the publication of your 10th novel!!!

    I am working on my first book (slogging is more the word, having re-written the first, second and third chapters numerous times), and was curious to know, when I do get it finished, if its necessary to have an agent? This may seem like a very dumb question, but is a writer able to just send in a synopsis of their work with two or three chapters and see if a publisher shows interest?

    I have a couple of friends who have been encouraging me to do this for years and have kindly offered to be first readers. They have promised to be honest and tell me if it sucks lemons or not - lol. However, producing something palatable is one thing, and I know publishers get thousands of manuscripts every year to look at, so….

    By the way, “Crazy Author Syndrome”, can’t be any worse than, “Scared of Rejection Author Syndrome”.

    Regards
    LeaF

  8. Jenna Petersen
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
    8

    I would say that if you are pursuing a single title market that you’ll do better with an agent. They’ll be able to submit and get an answer quicker, as well as negotiate the best contract you can get and help you build a career. But you’ll want to do your research and make sure you hire the right one. I have a lot of advice regarding that at my site for writers, http://www.passionatepen.com

    One big thing… you should NEVER pay to get your book published. EVER. Not a penny at any part in the process. And the only time your agent should get money is when YOU sell a book (and then it comes to them directly from the publisher either as a split check or as a full check and then they pay out our portion, YOU never write them a check).

    JennaP

  9. LeaF
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
    9

    Thank you so much JennaP. I have bookmarked your site.

    LeaF

  10. Jenna Petersen
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
    10

    Sure! I’m happy to help!

    Thanks for having me here today. :)

    JennaP

  11. SweetNSourGirl
    Posted: Jul 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
    11

    Wow, congrats! 10 books is quite the milestone.

    Besides the secret handshake, what are some of the other published author perks? And maybe more importantly, how does one become a published author? Is an agent totally necessary? How can I tell if it’s a good publisher?

  12. Jenna Petersen
    Posted: Jul 8th, 2008 at 6:03 am
    12

    Actually SweetNSour Girl, there really aren’t any perks (aside from having books on shelves and real life READERS, which are pretty good). I think I covered the agent thing above pretty well, but probably my best actual “publishing” advice is at http://www.passionatepen.com

    I have lots of articles about craft and industry, links to publishers and agents, etc.

    JennaP

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