I Stumbled into My First Book Deal
It’s all about what you know
I understand from my writer friends that getting a book deal is a big deal. Many writers spend years writing before they catch the attention of a major publisher. For me, it happened without me even trying. I happened to know something the publisher needed. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. It’s all about what you know.
My story
I create art for video games. After several years and dozens of published games, I started to gain a reputation in the industry. I got a speaking assignment at a video game convention. I remember working hard on the presentation. I gave the talk and my message was well received by the audience. Afterward, an editor approached me and asked, if I had ever thought about writing a book.
My naïve response was that I was an artist, not a writer, but I was willing to give it a try if they would help me. I knew from school that my spelling was not great, and my grasp of grammar was even worse. They assured me they had editors who helped prepare manuscripts for publication. They told me they had many great writers, but what they did not have was an expert on the subject.
This was back when video games were new. Video game art was not taught in school. Few people understood the tools or how to create…
