Like many critics and readers, I assumed that the vampire novel trend was a bandwagon-style one. I thought that, after the success of Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse, other writers started researching the vampire afterlife. So when Kimberly Pauley, author of Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (Maybe), left a comment pointing out that she actually finished here book before Twilight was published, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to find out more about the behind-the-scenes workings of the book publishing world.
GenreFiction: Is this your first published book?
Kimberly Pauley: Yes, it is, though I have been “around” the industry for years since I’ve been a book reviewer since 1998. I’ve previously published short stories and poetry.
GF: How long before it was published did you finish writing “Sucks to Be Me”?
KP: Well, I finished it in 2005, sometime around the summer. Let’s just say around August to make it easy, since the book came out in August of 2008. So that’s 3 years. That’s fairly typical, especially for a first time author (though I know people who worked for over 10 years on something before it came out). I got the news it was being published in July of 2007, so the editorial revision / publication process itself took about a year.
GF: Which step of the novel process was most tedious?
KP: Definitely the submitting. You send to an agent or editor, you wait. You get rejected (hopefully nicely), you send it out again to an agent or editor, you wait. Repeat. Repeat again. 
In general, I didn’t do any simultaneous submissions (which is also common; you generally don’t or can’t). Some people respond in as little as a week. Others might take months (or even over a year).
GF: Did anything surprise you about the process?
KP: Not really. I’d done a lot of research up front and, as I mentioned before, I’ve been around the industry so I knew that it was going to take a long time. I’m actually very happy with how everything worked out. My editor was great…actually, everyone at the publisher has been awesome. They were wonderful to work with. I’m still learning about the business end of things, but so far, I’d have to say that it has been a really good experience.
GF: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
KP: Have patience and write as often as you can!
Novelist and former academic legal writer Rosy Thornton is excited to share the April 20th release of her third book, Crossed Wires, by British publisher Headline.
