Publishing Fairy Tales

I feel like everyone on the planet must know what's been going on with me, because, well, I've been living the drama and have been so self-involved that I feel like the story is oozing out of every pore. But I realize I have actually kept a lot of this off the interweb.

So to change that, here's the Coles Notes version. (Cliff Notes if you live in the US, but just so you know, Cliff copied it from Cole... Or actually bought the US rights for the idea. I just looked it up.)

But back to me. :)

Just less than a year ago, in mid-October, 2009, I got a two book contract to write fairy tale adaptations for the YA market, and my sale actually started out as a bit of a fairy tale. I sold based on a very short proposal (10 pages of manuscript, plus a synopsis) of  the first book, plus a few possible titles for a second book. Getting a deal like that is rare for a debut author.

I wrote both books over the winter on an insanely tight deadline.  (Everyone who reads this blog heard me complaining about that...) But just as I was completing the edits for the second of the two books, the publisher closed. Bang. Doors closed. No explanation. Just closed.

My first reaction was relief, because I was so tired from months of working around the clock that I was simply so glad to be able to take the afternoon off, that the news barely sank in. Then I entered the depths of despair. Despair I think I'm still climbing out from under.

But in true fairy tale form, the rights were free and clear and the books sold to a new publisher (Silver Dolphin Books) relatively quickly. I actually knew within days of the bad news that this second publisher was interested, but they didn't actually commit until the end of July (I found out while I was at RWA Nationals) so I had three months of shell shock, with people congratulating me on my first sale, but with me not knowing whether or not the books would ever come out.

Today, I noticed that the new publisher's version of the books are up on Amazon, with an April 1, 2011 release date for both books! (Actually, the now-closed publisher's versions are still up, too... with the old Oct 5, 2010 release date... but trust me, those versions ain't coming out. If you pre-ordered those... well, you won't be getting them. But thanks! Maybe you can pre-order the new versions?)

At this point I feel like all has worked out for the best, at least pretty damn well, considering -- although I could have done without the stress. :) Let's face it, no fairy tale happy ending comes without a few fierce battles. Especially in my versions where the heroines literally have to fight for their lives.

But since my new release date is April Fool's Day... well, let's just say I'm not 100% counting on this story being over just yet. :)

Anyone else have publishing fairy tales or nightmares they'd like to share?