No news is good news - right?

I spoke to my agent, which was helpful. She thinks half the publishing industry may be scrabbling for 'erotica' to put out as e-books, so some editors still haven't read my book. She promises to have some news on Friday. It's still out with several, I think seven.


I know this is publishing, an industry about which I know very little, but it does feel strange to literally not understand what's going on. I mean, I know about editors and acquisitions and so on, but agents, editors and publishers move in a close-knit community where most deals seem to be done at lunches and informal meetings. If I wanted to do something academic, like some psychology research, I would know where to go for funding, supervision, ethics approval, statistics and software support et cetera. There would be a million forms, and there would be a lot of delays, but it wouldn't depend on personalities or friendships, it would depend upon my presentation, my professionalism. I haven't got a problem with the publishing world, it's just I don't understand it. My book is out there, represented entirely by an agent, and I have no idea what people are doing with it. That brings a certain freedom, too, as I can't imagine how I would break into that specialised circle. So I'm here, waving a flag for Charlotte's efforts on my behalf. She's confident we can sell it. Wow.  


So I'm focusing on going to London tomorrow and meeting the rest of the shortlisted Mslexia writers. I've been given a name to say 'Hi' to, and am really looking forward to meeting the people that I've been blogging and emailing with. I'm also looking forward to hearing about their books! It will be nice to see the New Writing North award winners again, as well.


So I'm going to try and forget the book for a few hours and enjoy the evening. After that, we're staying the night in Andover (on the A303) and I shall wake up on my birthday. Hopefully, we can do something nice on the way home, like stop somewhere for lunch or visit a national trust place. Depending on my back, anyway. And then a busy day Friday, as an estate agent is coming around to value our house, in case we want to move.