Brian Freeman writes:
I was an overnight success, as long as you skip the first 30 years or so of trying.
I wrote a total of five other novels in my life before starting Immoral. That goes all the way back to when I was 13 years old. (The first one was about the kidnapping of the president – so I haven’t changed much since then.)
I sent out numerous queries to agents and publishers over the years and, despite the occasional good wishes (“You’re almost there – keep trying!”), I mostly got what every writer gets – discouraging silence. It would have been easy to give up. Several times, I did. But ultimately, I still felt this was what I was born to do.
I found a top agent in London on nearly the first query for Immoral. Within six weeks after that, we had two-book deals in both the US and UK. Over the next several months, we sold ten more countries and found out the book would be Main Selection in both the Literary Guild and Book of the Month Club in the US. See? Practically overnight.
Thank God I didn’t stop trying after the fifth book.
Brian Freeman is a veteran business writer and marketing executive. His first novel, Immoral, was recently published by St. Martin's Minotaur. He and his wife live in Minnesota.
