Diary of a Debut: The Call

Welcome to my Diary of a Debut, documenting the ins and outs of my journey on the road to publication. This week: The Call.

My biggest piece of advice? Check your spam folder.

The Email

One warm Saturday in August I found myself perusing my inbox, which was something I didn’t usually do on a weekend. And I found myself checking my spam folder, which was something I didn’t usually do ever.

Fortunately the email hadn’t been sitting there long, having arrived just the day before. It was The Email™. You know the one I mean. The one writers see when they close their eyes. The ones we wish upon stars for. And there it was, in my inbox: Neem Tree Press had emailed me, saying they liked my manuscript.

It is safe to say I basically died.

I remember my heart pounding, reading and re-reading the email just in case it wasn’t real. Then I took a screenshot and texted it to my writing partner who validated that, yes, it was a real email and not a fever dream.

I knew not to get too excited too soon - sometimes agents and publishers wanted to meet, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily want to offer a contract. Which brings me on to…

The Call

I tidied my room for the first time in ages. I brushed my hair and actually got out of my pyjamas. It was time for the call with the publisher, and I didn’t know what to expect. Of course I was nervous.

When the lovely team at Neem Tree said that they wanted to publish my book, it took a long time to sink in. Right after, I rang my writing partner and he cheered down the phone at me. I received the contract, read it, and signed it.

Then it was time for the real work to begin.

Next time: editing.

The Diary of a Debut is written by Jenna Adams whose debut novel will be published in 2022 by Neem Tree Press. You can follow Jenna at @jennaadamsbooks and Neem Tree Press at @neemtreepress.