Trish Morey and Those Calls
Okay, the following is my call story, or calls stories, it should be, because there were a few of them leading up to THAT one - all of them exciting, all of them bearing lashings of hope, and all of them leading to the fulfilment of one of my most precious dreams - to become a published author. I'm just sorry it's so long but I do hope it's worth you sticking around for a read and I hope even more that if you've been hanging around waiting for THAT call yourself, that it might inspire you to hang around that bit longer. Let's face it, the fastest way never to get published is to give up.Once upon a time there was a manuscript, originally titled Date with Destiny, that was requested by HM&B Richmond back in August 2002. I’d only just sent the partial the week before and I'd only finished that partial the week before that. Panic stations! However, I promised the editor I’d get the full in by the end of November, in time to also enter the Golden Heart – my first ever time – and a couple of Downunder contests.
Then I waited. In January I heard that editor had left HM&B and I had no idea whose slush pile my manuscript was now languishing in. Things were a bit dark then, after the editor's initial enthusiasm. Luckily I had a conference on the Gold Coast to plan for RWAustralia, which helped take my mind off things (not! But it least it kept me busy.)
Then one Sunday morning in late March, I turned on the computer to find an email from someone I’d never heard of, with a pretty obscure kind of RWAmerica subject line. She wanted my phone number, that’s all the email said. I’d never logged in my phone number with RWA because I figured (wrongly!) that nobody from the US was ever going to put in a call to Oz. I crossed my fingers and toes and prayed it wasn’t someone doing some kind of survey or chasing up subscriptions and sent off my number. And waited. And waited. And waited. It was mid afternoon when the phone rang and this gorgeous woman with a gorgeous American accent told me Date with Destiny had finaled in the Golden Heart. Wahoo!
Naturally I rang M&B to give them the good news ☺ and they'd already dusted it off and I learned it was with an editor but she'd gone home sick that day:-(
The weeks after that were a bit of a strain especially when they were picking up other writers - that is soooo hard! Have they filled all the slots? Do they even have a finite number of slots? Who knows?
Then one night in mid May I was out with #2 daughter's after school debating and then dropping her friends home and then picking up a chook for dinner after filling the car with fuel. You know how it goes - a typical mum's evening. There we all were at the dinner table and I'd just told them that that very day I'd turned down another job I'd been offered - bigger bucks but lots more pressure and I'd have to throw myself into it and I just wanted to give my writing a real shot so the timing was all wrong and the guy who'd offered the job had said, "Well, if you change your mind give me a call". And I'd replied with , "Or if I don't sell a book" and laughed.
So # 4 daughter , aged 7, suddenly looked up and said, "Oh, someone called." And they all looked sheepish (which is no mean feat when you're eating chicken) and finally fessed up that an editor from M&B had called not once, but TWICE!, the last time only five minutes before I 'd got home, and that she'd told them she'd call back tomorrow. And it was only 7pm and I lost my appetite completely. So I rang up myself, got put through to the lovely Angelina Manzano who called me back right away and who told me that they really liked my book but there were a few things they thought could be tweaked. We spoke at length about what needed tweaking. LOTS - I took three pages of notes. So my dear sweet family didn't tell me because they didn't want me to worry all the next day. Aaaaaaraaaaaarrrrrrgghgghghghghghghghgh!!!!! What if she'd wanted to buy the damn book? There were no guarantees that she would even after the revisions, but like DH said (when we were finally talking again☺), it's the closest I'd ever been. I had to do big revisions, a new start, tone down one character and change the ending completely, amongst other stuff. I sent it back in 2 weeks and then waited and waited and waited during which time I was, quite frankly, a mess.
Then one Monday night right after my birthday she called at last, wanting more revisions to the penultimate scene (the proposal scene - to get rid of extraneous characters - the son, the sister, the doctor - read, cast of thousands) and I got it back to her at 1:20am my time. That call was also amazing because she stated that this was not an offer to publish, but asked then if I'd mind if she changed the title and did some line edits herself and she wondered if I'd thought about a pseudonym - be still my heart! I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up too high. Very difficult. Barely 5 minutes after I'd sent off the revised scene, she emailed back asking for one more change and to get it back asap so instead of going to bed (hey, who needs sleep?), I stayed and fixed it that night - getting it back around 2:30am, which I thought was 5pm in London but turned out to be 6, so she'd already gone home anyway - duh.
The next night she rang again and wanted one more*final* change and to get it back asap (she wouldn't tell me what that meant, just asap) which I did, and got back to her again, late that night (because, who needs to sleep?) and she replied that she'd be in touch.
Wednesday night I was supposed to go out but I was so absolutely whacked (I needed to sleep!) and it was an awful winter's night -pouring and slick on the roads so I decided it wasn't worth going with my eyes hanging out my head. The phone rang 3 times after 5:30, all long involved phone calls, and I was in a rush to get the kids fed when the phone rang again.
It was 6:32pm on the 18th June and it was Angelina with THE call, and who calmly stated she'd like to make an offer for my book and outlined the terms. And then she asked what I thought.
I was kind of dumbstruck. I said something inane like, ‘Excuse me, I just have to pop into the next room and scream a bit, I'll be right back,’ and she laughed and I went into the lounge room and everyone went ballistic, me and the kids and DH, yelling and jumping around, plus the dog who was racing laps around the house barking like she was the one who'd just sold a book. And then I picked up the phone and said, "That's better - you were saying?"☺
Then she told me they'd already scheduled my book two days before. They didn't tell me that on the Monday. They wanted to make me sweat! (It worked.)
So that's my very long call story and how it happened that I finaled in the Golden Heart and ended up being published by Presents. As it turns out, I didn't win the Golden Heart, didn't even make the finals of the other contests I’d entered, but it didn't matter because I'd won the prize I'd been chasing for 11 long years - I was about to become a published author! And having the opportunity to hook up with the fabulous and talented women of the wetnoodleposse was the bonus.
Trish Morey’s November Presents, The Boss’s Christmas Baby, spent three weeks on the Borders/Waldenbooks Bestseller List and is still available from www.eharlequin.com
Labels: The Call
posted by MJFredrick @ 5:27 AM
20 Comments:
Trish - I remember going through all that with you the first time - it was just as good reading it now. All these call stories are so wonderful!
Be still my thrashing heart. lol.. What a call story Trish. So much of a jigsaw. I am amazed.Wow, so many edits. But you finally got there, didn't you. :)
All the best Suz
Trish - loved your story. So inspiring to hear that if you put in the hard yards, dreams really can come true!
Trish what a great story. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes from your families reaction, dog and all.
All I can say is thank God they pick you up. I love reading your books.
Have a wonderful Christmas
Hugs
Sandie
Trish -
What a great inspirational story. I'm still laughing about the dog running around as if it had gotten the call. "g" I've never heard of anyone else going through the "one more revision asap" thing - that's wild. I don't know how you survived that, but glad you did.
Dianna :)
Trish, It’s interesting reading how ones author heroine is made.
My minds eye has always viewed you as cool and composed. I’ve always imagined you as the kind of person who upon seeing five personal picks in lotto roll out, could turn off the TV, sleep like a baby and check the last number in the morning, after breakfast.
Still, we’re all the richer for your persistence during the eleven-year, multiple call apprenticeship.
Thank you, Eric
And I thought I went through torture!!!! lol What a fabulous call story. LOL on your family not wanting to tell you the editor called to save you from worrying.
I remember when your news broke. I was so excited for you! And have enjoyed all your books since, not least of all The Boss's Christmas Baby. Can't wait to read her sister's story!!
Robbie x
Trish,
One lesson in this story is, of course, if the editor says "revisions" then revise revise revise. Imagine if you'd said, "No, my way is better."
(Hi, Robbie!)
Aren't these stories great, Jill? It's a real call story fest, seeing them all together.
BTW, I see your Tall Dark and Filthy Rich is a January release Downunder! Another noodler book for my ever expanding noodler shelf!
Thanks Suz and Rachael! Getting through those edits was torture and when Angelina told me they'd had the book scheduled 2 days earlier - talk about stringing me out! LOL
So true about the hard yards, Rach. I've got a quote from Richard Bach's Illusion which I keep by my desk now, it goes like this - "You are never given a dream without the power to make it come true.
You may have to work for it, however!"
It's so true, don't you think?
Thanks Sandie, for dropping by and for your gorgeous comment! What a lovely thing to hear. I hope you keep on enjoying my books:-)
Hey Dianna! Aren't animals a hoot? Talk about picking up on a vibe, and Chino was not going to miss out on a party.
And even though I'd had those lead up calls, and knew I must be getting closer, when that call finally came, it was just magic (and not just because I didn't have to revise any more - lol!)
Diane, great to see another noodler here too! Yup on the revisions, though I have to admit to a huge cowardly streak when I confronted the enormity of the revisions I needed to do. I actually, for one whole nano second thought, well, it's really nice an editor is interested in my book. Maybe that's enough. Do I *really* want to get published?
Of course, I soon snapped out of that:-) But it was simultaneously exciting and scary as all get out. lol
Hey Eric, but I was cool and composed. I told the editor "excuse me, I'll be right back" and then went troppo:-))
Robbie, great to see you here! That's exactly how I felt when you got the call just one short year ago! It's lovely when the good guys win:-))
And thanks for loving TBCB! I've just received the hardcovers for The Sheikh's Convenient Virgin - you've reminded me to put that up on my website. But first I have a date with my girls for lunch - be back later on!
Thanks everyone for dropping by:-)
I never tire of reading call stories and yours I just love, Trish. Don't know how you lived through that period of revisions -- talk about trial by fire!
Trish--this call story could be a suspense novel. Thanks for sharing--you made me smile, as always :-).
Trish,
Great call story! Your newest release is in my TBR pile. Unfortunately for me, the TBR pile is huge and I keep adding to it as new books are released. Need to find a solid of week to devote to reading.
I just love it too, Bron! And it was a kind of trial by fire, you're right. I'm just so glad I came out of it the other end, a little singed perhaps, but definitely a little tougher for the experience.
Come to think of it, tougher's not always a good thing when you're talking about char grilling is it? :-))
Hey Terry! LOL, if I ever get sick of writing romance, I might give suspense a shot.
Hi there Lidia and thanks for dropping by. I know exactly what you mean when you talk about needing a week just to read. Man, wouldn't that be the best! Unfortunately, don't see it happening for a wee while just yet. Drat.
Trish,
I love your call story! Can just imagine all those sheepish looks about the call message. It's a wonder you didn't resort to violence.
So glad you got that call. I've been enjoying every single one of your books over the last few years. Am looking forward to plenty more.
Strange how I still get shivers reading these call stories.
Hi Annie! It's funny how you never get sick of call stories. I'm just so chuffed to have had the opportunity of living it all over again. It really is such a special (and nerve wracking!) time:-))
Thanks for your lovely comments about my books! Keep yours coming too, Ms West! The world needs more great reads.
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