Let me tell you about the week of May 8th and Other Stuff
Hi Friends!
A lot has been going on the past two weeks. So, get something to drink, maybe a snack, and settle in. This is kind of a long post.
Let me start at the beginning...
In the beginning, God created... wait wait... not THAT far back...
Monday, May 8th.
Parts of Colorado suffered a horrendous hail storm that caused tons of damage. I work where the heart of the storm hit. So, yeah, my car was battered. All we could do was watch from the second floor of our building as hail stones larger than golf balls, and some the size of baseballs, destroyed our cars. I saw back windows get smashed, sunroofs, side windows, windshields. Dents galore.
For some reason, my feeble mind believed my car would be okay. When the majority of the storm had subsided, I gathered my belongings to head home. I got to my car, climbed inside, and gasped. My windshield was shattered. It hadn't caved in, but there was no way I could drive home.
I called Fishubby, he told me to call the insurance company. He's so smart. I ran back inside and called them. As a result, we had everything taken care of within a week. Thank you USAA!
Fishubby, brave soul that he is, drove my car to the collision center USAA set us up with. We headed to the rental car place, only to find that their fleet had been destroyed as well, and there were no rental cars to be had at this location. We tried another location. Same story -- except their fleet had been sent to the locations hit by the storm.
Tuesday, May 9th
Business as usual, except Fishubby had to drive me to work and pick me up at the end of the day.
Wednesday, May 10th
I worked from home for convenience sake. Scrolled through my email. Endever Publishing Studios sent me an email offering me a publishing contract. Then I found out my car was totaled.
Wait, back up... did I just say a PUBLISHING CONTRACT? Why yes. More on that later.
Thursday, May 11th
The Hell Hound tore her ACL, I cried, we took her to the vet. She didn't do anything to cause this to happen. She's 11 years old and CRAZY. It was really only a matter of time until one of them blew.
Friday, May 12th
Surgery consult for the Hell Hound. Yep, needs surgery. Scheduled it for May 24th. In the meantime, she's on rest (right, because a lab-pit mix knows what rest is).
Saturday, May 13th
Bought a new used car (4 years newer than the last Xterra, same color. Everything is the same except it's better and is automatic, which I wasn't happy about, but I get what I get and I don't throw a fit, and it's growing on me...).
Okay okay... back to the Publishing news!
Back during my Kindle Scout campaign, I had lunch with a work friend, Amy Cecil. I told her all about the campaign and she passed along the contact info for a Lynn Galloway. Turns out Lynn is an editor at Endever Publishing. I reached out, asking her if she would take a look at my campaign. She said she would, and that she'd let her authors know about it, too. That's the last I heard of it.
When nothing came of the campaign, I decided to pitch to them via their online form. A few weeks went by, I hadn't heard anything, so I emailed Lynn directly. She said she didn't get my online submission, but that she saw everything she needed to know about my book on my KS campaign site and wanted to go to the next step. The next step was to create a 3-5 minute video of myself talking about... myself and my book and what my book means to me.
I might share the video some day... but for now, you'll just have to wonder.
I sent that in on May 3rd. May 10th, I got the news that they wanted to offer me a contract.
Here's the email:
I cried. I gasped, I covered my mouth with a trembling hand, I whispered, "Oh my God," started crying, whispered, "Finally." Then I broke into full on ugly cry face tears. I was home alone, so I ran out to tell the Hell Hound and cry all over her. She already thinks I'm crazy, so this just added to her belief.
They are a small publisher who is just starting out, which made me a little skeptical and nervous at first. I contacted one of their authors, she put my mind at ease. I sent questions about how they do things. The editor put my mind at ease and passed on the contact info for two more of their authors. I only contacted one. She put my mind at ease as well. They really believe in the team spirit and collaboration with their authors. That is not very common in publishing houses.
Here's a link to read more about them.
And a post from one of their authors talking about how they do things. It's pretty damn awesome, a little ground breaking, and pretty exciting!
On May 11th, I received the contract, read through it, had a couple questions that were answered satisfactorily. I signed the contract on May 15th. Here's a picture (yes, I had someone take a pic of me signing it).
A lot has been going on the past two weeks. So, get something to drink, maybe a snack, and settle in. This is kind of a long post.
Let me start at the beginning...
In the beginning, God created... wait wait... not THAT far back...
Monday, May 8th.
Parts of Colorado suffered a horrendous hail storm that caused tons of damage. I work where the heart of the storm hit. So, yeah, my car was battered. All we could do was watch from the second floor of our building as hail stones larger than golf balls, and some the size of baseballs, destroyed our cars. I saw back windows get smashed, sunroofs, side windows, windshields. Dents galore.
For some reason, my feeble mind believed my car would be okay. When the majority of the storm had subsided, I gathered my belongings to head home. I got to my car, climbed inside, and gasped. My windshield was shattered. It hadn't caved in, but there was no way I could drive home.
I called Fishubby, he told me to call the insurance company. He's so smart. I ran back inside and called them. As a result, we had everything taken care of within a week. Thank you USAA!
Fishubby, brave soul that he is, drove my car to the collision center USAA set us up with. We headed to the rental car place, only to find that their fleet had been destroyed as well, and there were no rental cars to be had at this location. We tried another location. Same story -- except their fleet had been sent to the locations hit by the storm.
Tuesday, May 9th
Business as usual, except Fishubby had to drive me to work and pick me up at the end of the day.
Wednesday, May 10th
I worked from home for convenience sake. Scrolled through my email. Endever Publishing Studios sent me an email offering me a publishing contract. Then I found out my car was totaled.
Wait, back up... did I just say a PUBLISHING CONTRACT? Why yes. More on that later.
Thursday, May 11th
The Hell Hound tore her ACL, I cried, we took her to the vet. She didn't do anything to cause this to happen. She's 11 years old and CRAZY. It was really only a matter of time until one of them blew.
Friday, May 12th
Surgery consult for the Hell Hound. Yep, needs surgery. Scheduled it for May 24th. In the meantime, she's on rest (right, because a lab-pit mix knows what rest is).
Saturday, May 13th
Bought a new used car (4 years newer than the last Xterra, same color. Everything is the same except it's better and is automatic, which I wasn't happy about, but I get what I get and I don't throw a fit, and it's growing on me...).
Okay okay... back to the Publishing news!
Back during my Kindle Scout campaign, I had lunch with a work friend, Amy Cecil. I told her all about the campaign and she passed along the contact info for a Lynn Galloway. Turns out Lynn is an editor at Endever Publishing. I reached out, asking her if she would take a look at my campaign. She said she would, and that she'd let her authors know about it, too. That's the last I heard of it.
When nothing came of the campaign, I decided to pitch to them via their online form. A few weeks went by, I hadn't heard anything, so I emailed Lynn directly. She said she didn't get my online submission, but that she saw everything she needed to know about my book on my KS campaign site and wanted to go to the next step. The next step was to create a 3-5 minute video of myself talking about... myself and my book and what my book means to me.
I might share the video some day... but for now, you'll just have to wonder.
I sent that in on May 3rd. May 10th, I got the news that they wanted to offer me a contract.
Here's the email:
Claire,Lynn and I are very impressed with you and your book. We would be absolutely honored to offer you a contract for The Blood of Seven. If you're still interested, you'll find a contract by us in your inbox within the week. Thank you so much for sharing and we hope for a wonderful future together!-Andrew ToyFounder/Owner, Endever Publishing Studios
I cried. I gasped, I covered my mouth with a trembling hand, I whispered, "Oh my God," started crying, whispered, "Finally." Then I broke into full on ugly cry face tears. I was home alone, so I ran out to tell the Hell Hound and cry all over her. She already thinks I'm crazy, so this just added to her belief.
They are a small publisher who is just starting out, which made me a little skeptical and nervous at first. I contacted one of their authors, she put my mind at ease. I sent questions about how they do things. The editor put my mind at ease and passed on the contact info for two more of their authors. I only contacted one. She put my mind at ease as well. They really believe in the team spirit and collaboration with their authors. That is not very common in publishing houses.
Here's a link to read more about them.
And a post from one of their authors talking about how they do things. It's pretty damn awesome, a little ground breaking, and pretty exciting!
On May 11th, I received the contract, read through it, had a couple questions that were answered satisfactorily. I signed the contract on May 15th. Here's a picture (yes, I had someone take a pic of me signing it).
THE BLOOD OF SEVEN will be out in 2018! As I learn more, I'll let you all know! Their author community has already accepted me into their clan. I have really good feelings about this decision!
Here's a pic of the Hell Hound staring through me (because, pain meds):
Peace and Keep Writing!
Claire L. Fishback
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