joan medlicott:
the business of writing and publishing
by celia miles

You’ve got to write as if you don’t need the money–but read the fine print like you’re an eagle-eyed prospector or lawyer-CPA.

For Joan Medlicott, author of three Ladies of Covington novels, with three more in “the pipeline” (meaning they are written, being edited, slated for publication), those words sum up the fun and the frustration of being a writer. And for Joan, the fun far outweighs the frustration.

Being a writer was “the furthest thing from my mind when I was growing up,” Joan admits. Archaeology was a first love, history a college major (after marriage and children intervened), and writing “an accident” that occurred as a result of her social services work. Non-fiction Celibate Wives, written in collaboration, was published in 1992; perhaps a book ahead of its time, it “went nowhere” without promotion. Less than ten years later, Joan snared a major publisher with The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love (St. Martin’s Press, 2000). When the idea of writing about The Ladies came to her “in the bathtub,” she let the characters have their way and has never regretted it. She points out that the first step, beyond the writing, of course, is finding the right agent, finding any agent, in fact. She feels fortunate to have been signed by and kept with the same agent who is “a fighter for the writer she believes in.”

Before The Ladies, Joan self-published three books set in the Virgin Islands, where she grew up and where the books still sell. Writing has been quite a learning process for Joan who says, “Do it if you love it, have patience, and can deal with rejection.” She loves her new career, loves the very act of writing, credits her writing groups, especially The Plotters, with helping her progress in the quality of her material. And since the first Ladies was accepted, she says she has become “more philosophical and less hysterical” about dealing with the business end of the creative process. “Make no mistake about it,” she said, “typically authors are seen by publishers as a commodity, to use as they see fit” and generally the author is expected to “be grateful...and do what they say, go where they want, when they want,” with very little control over the printing, layout, cover art of the book.

In terms of business, Joan notes that "all is not smooth sailing just because you get a publisher.” After signing her to a three-book contract, St. Martin’s Press did “nothing or very little” to promote her work. A standard first printing of a debut novel is 1,000-4,000 hardback copies. The Ladies in hardback exceeded expectations and is now (along with From Covington With Love) in paperback. Still St Martins Press “did not pounce” on its success, did no national publicity or marketing. Currently Joan is under contract to Pocket Books for the next three books.

Authors are paid an advance on their sales, which sounds most rewarding; however, no royalties are paid out until sales make up all the advance. An agent is paid fifteen percent off the top, and royalties are usually paid twice a year. Even the advances are paid out in increments: when the company receives the manuscript, when it is published, etc. Thus Joan’s comment on patience as an author necessity.
Does the business angle mean Joan is sorry she started writing. “Good heavens, no!” she exclaimed.

She began writing fiction after she and her husband moved to Barnardsville and Joan attributes the nature of the characters in Ladies directly to her being here, in a rural setting.

Her final words: “I love the act of writing. It’s wonderfully satisfying at this stage of my life. I’ve learned to take the business aspect in stride.”

Celia Miles is a native of Western North Carolina, born in Jackson County. She is the author of A Thyme for Love (Xlibris, 2000) and Mattie’s Girl: An Appalachian Childhood (Infinity, 2002). The books are available online, or in bookstores, or by contacting the author.