What's it like to be published?

Kimberlee Conway Ireton is seeking an agent for her YA novel, but has had a taste of publication in the adult market. How has it changed her life? Here's a portion of her blog post:

When I got the contract to write my book two years ago, my husband teased me. “It’s like you’re in the NBA,” he said. “Every writer wants to be published, just like every basketball player dreams of being in the NBA. And you’re in.”

It was true. By my own novice writer’s standard, I had arrived: something I wrote was going to be published with my name on the cover! It was a lifelong dream come true. I was ecstatic.

And then, in October last year, my book was published. It’s a beautiful book (I kiss the feet of the designers) and I’m proud of it. But here’s the thing: if Doug is right that publication is the writer’s version of the NBA, then publishing one book with one small press is the equivalent of bench warming. And the problem with bench warming is that no one sees you play. The big name big shots are out there making the baskets and winning the game, and you’re sitting on the sidelines, hoping your coach will put you in. And of course, he doesn’t. Because you’re a benchwarmer. And that’s what benchwarmers do: they warm the bench.

Read the rest.