Tele Aadsen

writer - fisherman - listener

Hooked’s Big News

by | Mar 22, 2013 | Hooked Favorites, Reading & Writing, Women in Fishing | 54 comments

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Tues­day, March 19, 2013

(Hang on, sweet­ies… We’re going to take the scenic drive.)

On Feb­ru­ary 22, after metic­u­lous­ly shep­herd­ing my pro­pos­al through revi­sion after revi­sion, my agent Pamela pro­nounced it ready to shop. “Let’s go,” she wrote. Time passed in a dizzy­ing blur. I couldn’t have dreamed the response we’d get. Mul­ti­ple pub­lish­ers court­ing Hooked? From our respec­tive sides of the coun­try, I fol­lowed Pamela’s fre­quent updates in a cloud of disbelief.

Remem­ber I men­tioned cut­ting back on cof­fee? That was because I was utter­ly out of my head before every phone call with a poten­tial edi­tor. Shaky hands, sweaty palms, knot­ted stom­ach. To calm down, I wrote myself pep talks like this:

Freak­ing the fuck out, I am. Twen­ty min­utes ‘til I’m sched­uled to call X, who wants to talk about Hooked’s struc­ture. I can do that. I can do this. This doesn’t have to be scary. Hooked is going to have a home… It may be with X, it may be with some­one else, but I have to be able to dis­cuss it – to sell it, to show my con­fi­dence in the sto­ry and myself as its writer – even when I feel this shaky. Seri­ous­ly, get it togeth­er, sweetie.

Friends beamed excite­ment. I most­ly felt like the uni­verse was hand­ing me a gold­en egg, and my hands were coat­ed in Crisco. A pre­cious, price­less shell; my book incu­bat­ing inside. Please don’t drop it. I won­dered how I could keep this frag­ile gift from slip­ping through such greasy fin­gers, shat­ter­ing, spat­ter­ing my face with the yolk of defeat.

Despite my anx­i­ety, those phone calls were gen­uine­ly enjoy­able. Each edi­tor voiced gen­er­ous enthu­si­asm and asked insight­ful ques­tions, hon­ing in on a dif­fer­ent thread. Each forced me to artic­u­late my vision ver­bal­ly – not my nat­ur­al strength – and made me con­sid­er Hooked through a new lens. They all made me laugh. Every time I hung up, I mar­veled at the respect, joy, and love that each edi­tor held for books and their task in bring­ing them to life. Hooked would be in skilled, smart hands with any one of them.

I polled writer friends, those who’d already been down this road and those soon to fol­low. How had they known that a par­tic­u­lar editor/publisher was the right one? What would they base their deci­sion on? How would I know I’d made the right decision?

As some­one who remem­bers clear­ly the child­hood lessons of being picked last – or not at all – the hard­est part of this process was say­ing “no” to peo­ple who would clear­ly devote their best work to Hooked.

Say­ing “yes,” how­ev­er, was very easy. Two things made it so.

Of the four edi­tors I spoke with, only one used the f‑word – fem­i­nist – when talk­ing about my work. That mattered.

What also mat­tered: know­ing myself. As much as I want to be a low main­te­nance, self-pos­sessed writer, in this sit­u­a­tion I am not that cool cat. This pub­lish­ing busi­ness is a shiny new world that leaves me feel­ing young and uncer­tain. Of course it does – how could it not? But my learn­ing curve will be eased by part­ner­ing with a small lit­er­ary press that will have the time and patience to raise not only Hooked, but also its author.

I’m delight­ed – over the moon! – to tell you that Hooked has a home with edi­tor Sarah Stein at River­head Books. I’m a long­time fan of River­head; their val­ues res­onate with me. I’m hon­ored to join them.

(Hon­ored? More like stunned, intim­i­dat­ed, awed, thrilled, gid­dy with disbelief.)

As soon as she heard the news, my sis­ter Sara texted, “It’s like Tele’s ver­sion of find­ing out she’s preg­nant!” I laughed out loud at her analogy’s per­fect res­o­nance. As an avowed non-breed­er, this book is indeed the life I’m com­pelled to cre­ate and share. She added, “Now comes the labor. If you ever need a doula, I’m here for you!”

Again, her words were spot-on. Hooked will have a long, inten­sive labor. I’ve got about a year (minus the fish­ing sea­son) to deliv­er a draft I’m proud of. And Hooked will need many doulas – includ­ing you. Your read­er­ship, com­ments, and unfail­ing sup­port have been an essen­tial part of our jour­ney thus far. Though there’s much work ahead, please join me in cel­e­brat­ing this week­end. I’ll be rais­ing a glass (Martinelli’s sparkling cider, ‘cause I’m tame like that) to all of us!

How It Feels to Sell Your Book

 

54 Comments

  1. Annie
    Annie on March 22, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    A HUGE con­grat­u­la­tions to you, Tele. I nev­er doubt­ed it for a moment. Your work is fan­tas­tic and you deserve every ounce of suc­cess. I’m so hap­py for you! The news puts a smile on my face.

  2. Bore Head
    Bore Head on March 22, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Real­ize, of course, that you are a natural!
    I often get com­ments from peo­ple men­tion­ing how much they enjoy watch­ing and lis­ten­ing to you in the video we post­ed in a side­bar about “Lost at Sea- the man in the tote.”
    Con­grat­u­la­tions, Tele, BH

  3. Nancy
    Nancy on March 22, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    What FABULOUS, over-the-moon news, Tele!! I’m thrilled for you. I, too, am a big fan of River­head and they’re lucky to have you. Take time to bask in the glow of your well-deserved suc­cess. You’re a hel­lu­va writer (LOVE the image of your being hand­ed a gold­en egg while your hands are cov­ered with Crisco) and I can’t wait to hear how every­thing pro­gress­es for you. Would love to hear more about how you found your agent, sold your pro­pos­al, etc. 

    Best to you, Tele!

    • Tele
      Tele on April 1, 2013 at 5:09 pm

      Many thanks, Nan­cy! As far as the agent/proposal process goes, I’ll write a lit­tle some­thing about this for the Belling­ham Red Wheel­bar­row Writ­ers. (www.redwheelbarrowwriters.com) Any spe­cif­ic ques­tions you’d like me to address? When­ev­er that arti­cle is, I’ll post a link here. 

      Hope you had a won­der­ful sun­ny weekend!

  4. Kari
    Kari on March 22, 2013 at 12:16 pm

    So. Awe­some. Thrilled for you and love the lines in the sand. Also love Sara’s anal­o­gy. Let me know where you’re registered.

  5. Pam
    Pam on March 22, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    Always believed in you, Tele. You are a fab­u­lous writer, sto­ry­teller, human being. And a gift­ed writer. May the words con­tin­ue to flow through you.
    XO
    Pam

  6. Breanne
    Breanne on March 22, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    So so hap­py for you Tele! Congrats!

  7. Brianna
    Brianna on March 22, 2013 at 12:18 pm

    Hi, I’ve enjoyed read­ing your blog and your arti­cles in Pacif­ic Fish­ing (I’m the copy edi­tor for the mag­a­zine). I’m thrilled for you — congratulations!

    • Tele
      Tele on April 1, 2013 at 5:12 pm

      Thanks for say­ing hel­lo, Bri­an­na! Beyond being a long­time read­er of PF, I’ve appre­ci­at­ed the sup­port you guys have pro­vid­ed over Hooked’s past cou­ple years. Maybe we’ll cross paths at your Fish Expo booth next year!

  8. Cami Ostman
    Cami Ostman on March 22, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    Ah! You know I’m SO thrilled for you, proud of you, and in awe of you!

    • Tele
      Tele on April 1, 2013 at 5:14 pm

      Speak­ing of awe, thank YOU for being such an inspi­ra­tion, and one of the most gen­er­ous, insight­ful men­tors I could dream of. Could­n’t have got­ten this far with­out you, my friend.

  9. Lisa
    Lisa on March 22, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions! I am new to your blog, your sto­ry, and to meet­ing you at the Wild Moun­tain Mem­oir Retreat, but I’m glad to final­ly be get­ting onboard! Good luck with your writ­ing, and I will look for­ward to read­ing your book!

    • Tele
      Tele on April 1, 2013 at 5:24 pm

      Thanks for stop­ping by, Lisa! Get­ting to talk with you at Wild Moun­tain was such a plea­sure, and I’m glad we can stay in con­tact. I’m look­ing for­ward to fol­low­ing your sail­boat adventures!

      For the rest of you: Lisa and I met at the Wild Moun­tain Mem­oir Retreat, where Cheryl Strayed was our keynote speak­er. Cheryl’s phe­nom­e­nal suc­cess isn’t hype — she’s a remark­ably pow­er­ful writer, speak­er, and human. Lisa wrote a great post about Cheryl’s pres­ence at our retreat, which you can read here:
      http://www.isoldmypearlstodoit.com/2013/03/on-meeting-cheryl-strayed.html

  10. Nancy Durant
    Nancy Durant on March 22, 2013 at 12:32 pm

    Woot! Woot! Woot! Con­grats Tele! So proud of you!!!

  11. JLOakley
    JLOakley on March 22, 2013 at 12:32 pm

    Tele, so hap­py for you. I know you have worked hard this far and will be up the excite­ment that comes. HOOKED is a great title.

  12. Ian Bryce
    Ian Bryce on March 22, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    Hi Tele:

    I was intro­duced to your site by a long-ago deck­hand and long-time friend. I wrote a note but my poor typ­ping skills may have sent it into the ether instead of to you. Any­way, I’m a 40+ yr B.C. troller, still in the game, and real­ly appre­ci­ate your work. Con­grat­u­la­tions on the book deal. 

    I’ve known a hand­ful of feminine(ist) skip­pers over the years, and have always liked the civil­i­ty and com­mu­ni­ty they brought to our rough lit­tle indus­try. I have had a num­ber of XX deck­hands, and my wife Lynne comes from a Japan­ese-Cana­di­an fish­ing fam­i­ly; lots of sto­ries there! Our two sons have fished with me since they were smolts. 

    Once again, con­grats! Check out our lit­tle web­site for a chuck­le at how small our fish­ing world real­ly is!

    Regards, Ian

    • Tele
      Tele on April 1, 2013 at 7:11 pm

      Hel­lo Ian! 

      I have a ter­ri­ble admis­sion — both ter­ri­ble, and ter­ri­bly embar­rass­ing. Hooked migrat­ed over to our fan­cy new site back in Jan­u­ary, com­plete with that handy “Con­tact Me” but­ton. It was about mid-March before I real­ized that any of those mes­sages folks wrote went to my email’s spam fold­er… and I reg­u­lar­ly bulk-delet­ed the spam with­out giv­ing it a look. I’m cer­tain that your typ­ing skills were per­fect­ly good, and that it was actu­al­ly me who unknow­ing­ly sent your mes­sage to the ether! Apolo­gies to you and any­one else who thought I’d ignored them; I’m so glad that you wrote again!

      Thanks for your appre­ci­a­tion, and mine right back to you. I vis­it­ed the BCTFA Board page… What an impres­sive col­lec­tion of sea-time among all of you! I won­der if you guys, like our Alaskan fleet, are expe­ri­enc­ing some “gray­ing of the fleet,” and how that’s impact­ing your advo­ca­cy. I imag­ine you’ve shoul­dered more than your share of meet­ings, trav­el, and paper­work; thank you for your service.

      Please pass my thanks on to your long-ago deckhand/friend for intro­duc­ing us — I’m enjoy­ing our small world, and am glad to know you’re stand­ing by. My best to Lynne and the (pre­sum­ably grown?) smolts!

  13. Julie Farrar
    Julie Farrar on March 22, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Of course you had pub­lish­ers fight­ing over your book. Your writ­ing in this post shows why. I’m so thrilled for you. You bring such a unique per­spec­tive to every­thing you write. Now I must get back to my own writ­ing so that one day I have this thrill. Lat­er I’ll check out River­head to see what oth­er great lit­er­ary deci­sions they’ve made.

  14. Linda Rudick
    Linda Rudick on March 22, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    Kudos to one who is fol­low­ing her dreams. It’s good that you have 2 sea­sons to fol­low 2 paths. Love your writ­ing. Congrats.

  15. Eric B. Burnlet, Sr.
    Eric B. Burnlet, Sr. on March 22, 2013 at 1:10 pm

    As an author of three books I know how you feel Your writ­ing is some of the best I have ever read and I wish you all the luck in world.

  16. Emily Ufkes
    Emily Ufkes on March 22, 2013 at 1:11 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions!!!!!!!!!!! So hap­py and proud and in awe for you.

  17. Tracey
    Tracey on March 22, 2013 at 1:48 pm

    You are such a star! So very hap­py for you and all your future read­ers. Bravo!

  18. Angela Mercy
    Angela Mercy on March 22, 2013 at 1:51 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions! I nev­er doubt­ed your sto­ry would sell. You writ­ing is beau­ti­ful, your sto­ry com­pelling, and your ded­i­ca­tion unfail­ing. Con­grat­u­la­tions, may the joy and grat­i­tude you feel today mul­ti­ply as you push this book out into the world. Blessed Be!

  19. Donna Daniels
    Donna Daniels on March 22, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Tele‑I am thrilled for you!

  20. Joe Nolting
    Joe Nolting on March 22, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions, Tele. Enjoy your jour­ney ahead — it will be an excit­ing time for you.

  21. Robin Blue
    Robin Blue on March 22, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    Yes!!! I am so hap­py for you and so not sur­prised that pub­lish­ers were fight­ing for your sto­ry. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

  22. Emily Schiller
    Emily Schiller on March 22, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    I only just became aware of you and your amaz­ing blog at Vil­lage Books a few months ago. And after read­ing sev­er­al entries, I real­ized I real­ly want­ed “Hooked” as a full book in my hands. And now there will be one! As a read­er, I am SO hap­py for you and for myself because I get my wish.

  23. Linda Lambert
    Linda Lambert on March 22, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    “Oppor­tu­ni­ty wits between things end­ed and things begun.” – Kobi Yamada
    And now, what won­der­ful adven­ture will you pur­sue. Con­grats. Always.

  24. Captain Doug Teakell
    Captain Doug Teakell on March 22, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Great heart­felt con­grat­u­la­tions! I love read­ing your mate­r­i­al and know your book will be even more out­stand­ing. What a great and nat­ur­al pro­gres­sion for you. Cheers

  25. Nancy Tupper
    Nancy Tupper on March 22, 2013 at 3:34 pm

    I am not sur­prised, not one bit sur­prised. But I am thrilled for you, Tele! This is FANTASTIC! And cause for cel­e­bra­tion! Thanks for sharing.

    And I love your sis­ter’s wit.

  26. Pat Dixon
    Pat Dixon on March 22, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    YES!!! WooHOOO! Con­grat­u­la­tions! I’ll be rais­ing a beer for sure. You rock! I can’t wait until I have a copy in my hands…

  27. Patricia Sands
    Patricia Sands on March 22, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    *pom­poms wav­ing* Con­grat­u­la­tions, Tele! It was only a mat­ter of time! I’m so hap­py for your hap­pi­ness and well-deserved recog­ni­tion! Onward!

  28. Karla
    Karla on March 22, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Well-deserved!

  29. Betsy
    Betsy on March 22, 2013 at 5:49 pm

    Tele!! I am so over­joyed for you! I won’t lie, I’m not sur­prised. You remem­ber when I told you that I was read­ing Fish Camp, and I real­ized that you should tell your sto­ry, and that I felt it would be ter­rif­i­cal­ly engag­ing? Well, obvi­ous­ly edi­tors agree with my sound opin­ion. In just a few short years you are here. Con­grat­u­la­tions, and so much love.

  30. Loretta
    Loretta on March 22, 2013 at 6:23 pm

    Won­der­ful!!

  31. Erin
    Erin on March 22, 2013 at 8:14 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions! Such won­der­ful news. I look for­ward to read­ing it.

  32. Jeanne Mack
    Jeanne Mack on March 22, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    Con­grat­u­la­tions! I am an Alaskan tourist and in love with all things in the oceans that sus­tain us. Your writ­ing brings with it the expe­ri­ence of liv­ing the sea. You are admired and wished the strength and courage of the sea. May it sus­tain you in your writ­ing endeavors,

  33. Karla Hart
    Karla Hart on March 23, 2013 at 12:59 am

    Hur­ray and con­grat­u­la­tions. I echo so many com­ments above. I’m not sur­prised, you com­bine tal­ent, amaz­ing sto­ries and hard work. I’m so hap­py for you.

  34. Pierr Morgan
    Pierr Morgan on March 23, 2013 at 3:59 am

    Deep deep heart­felt con­grat­u­la­tions, Tele!!! You make a difference.

  35. Patty
    Patty on March 23, 2013 at 9:33 am

    Awe­some news! I am so hap­py for you and look for­ward to read­ing the book! I hope the whole process is excit­ing, enrich­ing and rewarding.

  36. Aunt Lynn
    Aunt Lynn on March 23, 2013 at 3:40 pm

    Dar­ling Tele,

    WOW!!!! No sur­prise. Still WOW!!! I’m thrilled for you. CONGRATULATIONS! Could use some help with my book pro­pos­al. It’s about ready to go. Loved your sand writ­ing. Big is Bold and Beau­ti­ful and so are you! I expect a Signed Copy! Love, love, love, Aunt Lynn

  37. Therese
    Therese on March 23, 2013 at 3:46 pm

    Far Out!! You had the right bait, spoon, hoochie, her­ring… — a sharp­ened hook, and clear­ly all the love required to pull aboard that shiny sil­very gift from the great ocean of life. A hun­dred thou­sand con­grat­u­la­tions to you!

  38. Kim
    Kim on March 23, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    Tele, I’m so hap­py for you. Your sto­ry is impor­tant. I’m so glad you get the oppor­tu­ni­ty to share it. XO

  39. Ross Eliot
    Ross Eliot on March 23, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    Hell yeah! Best news I’ve heard in a while! I’m super excited…

  40. Steffany
    Steffany on March 24, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    Such fab­u­lous news. Your writ­ing deserves a wide audience.

  41. Lynn Lovegreen
    Lynn Lovegreen on March 25, 2013 at 5:18 pm

    Sor­ry I’m late to the par­ty, but con­grats! Great news, and I know you’ll do a won­der­ful job on the book! 🙂

  42. Nicole
    Nicole on March 25, 2013 at 5:54 pm

    Your hum­ble awe­some­ness con­tin­ues to inspire me. Tele, I am so hap­py for you!! Best of luck through the process & let me know if you come down my way.
    Lots of love and blessings.

  43. East Bay Writer
    East Bay Writer on March 26, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    That is fan­tas­tic news! I’m so glad to hear it, and will be among the first in line to buy your book as soon as it’s avail­able. I can only imag­ine the mul­ti­tude of feel­ings vying for your atten­tion as you dive into this amaz­ing project. It is incred­i­bly brave of you, and those of us that know your work have already been made bet­ter for it, so thank you for that. I can’t wait to see where you go from here! Sin­cere con­grats. You real­ly deserve it!

  44. andrew
    andrew on March 27, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    con­grat­u­la­tions tele!!!!

  45. tom russell
    tom russell on March 27, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    no one could be hap­pi­er for you then i. tele you will see my thoughts elswere your friend tom

  46. Greg J.
    Greg J. on March 27, 2013 at 11:27 pm

    Tele,
    Your writ­ing has made me laugh and it has made me cry. Thank you for mak­ing your world in the fish­ing indus­try and the lit­er­ary world come alive for us. Congratulations.

  47. Anne Mosness
    Anne Mosness on March 28, 2013 at 3:53 pm

    Can hard­ly wait to add your book to the Wom­en’s Mar­itime Asso­ci­a­tion book­list and to my own book­shelf… you’ll be an inspi­ra­tion to all of us and the ones who fol­low in our bootsteps.

  48. Amyee Peeler
    Amyee Peeler on April 1, 2013 at 10:46 am

    Con­grats Tele! Such won­der­ful news! I’m so hap­py and proud of you 🙂

  49. Lara Messersmith-Glavin
    Lara Messersmith-Glavin on April 11, 2013 at 8:47 am

    Tele! Con­grat­u­la­tions! What won­der­ful, well deserved news. I can’t wait to check your work out in print. You are amaz­ing. I lo0k for­ward to con­nect­ing next year at FPG. <3