Margaret George: I had written several opening drafts of the novel that became The Autobiography of Henry VIII before finding Henry's voice as a young adolescent and boy who first became king at the age of seventeen. This was the first 130 pages of the published novel. When St. Martin's Press bought those 130 pages, neither they nor I realized how long it was going to take to get through the rest of his rather full life, nor how long the book itself would end up being --- over 900 pages! Reviewers kept remarking on the novel that was "as massive as the King himself." But it was really seven novels: one for each of his wives, plus Thomas More, so at 150 pages apiece, I thought I was efficient!
Glen David Gold: This is going to sound like historical fiction. Finished the book in January 2000. Got an agent, the remarkable Susan Golomb, in February 2000. Did the rewrites she suggested (really, really good ones) in April 2000. Had one week in late April 2000 wherein I sat in my pajamas on the floor, holding the dog, as eight publishers vied for the book. Leigh Haber at Hyperion won me over by --- among other things --- understanding exactly how the book should look and how to get people excited about it. (If you haven't seen the book, go check it out --- the cover is about as handsome as I've ever seen, and there are reproductions of vintage magic posters inside --- it's a truly attractive package.) I've had an absurdly good experience with this book.
Karen Essex: Oh, everyone hates my story. I sent my manuscript (Kleopatra) to an agent who loved it and she sold it to Warner Books in about a week. Disgusting, I know. But I had worked on it for about eight years and through two graduate programs --- one to do academic research followed by an MFA in Writing program to further hone my craft. So I think I deserved an expedient sale.
Kevin Baker: I sold Dreamland, my first historical novel, to HarperCollins in 1998. It was a very positive experience. My agent, Henry Dunow, who is a terrific guy and a great agent, had got a bidding war going for it, and Dan Conaway at Harper was very aggressive about getting it, and I'm very glad he did. It was sold in full manuscript form, although of course Dan and I made many changes in it later on. But it was just tremendously exciting; I've been very lucky in this business so far.
Megan Chance: I had been dedicated to writing Susannah Morrow, in spite of some opposition from my agent at the time, and a great deal of pressure to write some kind of contemporary women's fiction. But I believed strongly enough in the book that I plunged my family into financial hardship to write it. When I turned it in to my agent, she liked the book, but didn't feel she could sell it, and I had to seriously reexamine my career path. Serendipitously, I had met another agent at a conference a few months before, who had expressed interest in the idea. I sent the manuscript to her, and she knew exactly where to send it. She sold it to Jamie Raab at Warner about a week or two later. My experience there has been wonderful --- both professionally and personally. I am grateful every day that I believed enough in the book to continue to persevere on its behalf, and that it ended up with people who believed in it as well.
Bernard Cornwell: I found an agent. Everyone should find an agent unless they understand sub-clauses of intricate contracts in which case they would do better to be an agent or a lawyer.
Matthew Kneale: I'd already written a couple of contemporary novels by then and so selling my first historical fiction was happily uneventful. I wrote the book, sent it to my agent who sent it to a publisher who bought it.
Tayari Jones: I have been very lucky with my publisher, Warner Books. I have an editor who is crazy about my novel and has worked hard to get good placement for it. About twenty other publishers rejected it. I think this was because the child murders themselves are only a backdrop to the coming of age story. I think some readers were looking for either a body count or a sociological account of what happened in Atlanta in 1979-81.
