The email says, "At long last, your contract arrived. I'll look it over asap." On May 18, my agent closed the deal. It's a date that's embedded in my brain. Today---almost two months later--she finally received my contract from HarperCollins. Now I have to wait for her to inspect it like a literary bloodhound. Besides...I don't speak the legal language in which she is fluent.

From what I understand (and I'm still learning all the time) it should entail things like how much control I have over my own book, including the title, the cover, etc. (it may suggest that I have some say in the matter. In reality, it's not much).

This is such a funny game, the publishing business. I'm going to need all the magic beans I can get.