In Case You're Interested

Recently I’ve had a couple of aspiring writers approach me and ask about getting published. I find this interesting in light of the fact that I have gone the non-traditional route of self-publishing my books.

However, I did try the established way for a few years. I wrote my books (four) and sent out queries. I even had an agent for awhile who tried to sell one of my books for me. With the economy taking hits and the publishing houses tightening their belts and being less inclined to take on new authors, I made the decision to take on the task myself.

But for those of you who are interested in signing on with an agent and seeing if you can get your book published, here are some things you need to know.

First, if you are writing a novel, you need to finish the book before you start finding an agent. Agents may want to see partials or full manuscripts if your query letter interests them. Telling them you have a great idea for a book doesn’t work.

After you have written your book and before you start sending queries, make sure it is the best it can be. Edit it. Put it away for awhile, then pull it out and edit it again. Give it to beta readers and listen, really listen, to what they have to say about it. Revise and edit again. Make your book as polished and finished as you can.

Second, you need to write a really great query letter. Several agents have blogs/websites where they give you examples of well written queries that will help you get noticed. If you don’t know, a query letter is a letter that is sent to literary agents that tell them, in a single page, who you are, what your book is about, and why they might be interested in representing it. It’ll probably be the most important letter you write.

Third, never send your manuscript to a publisher. With very few exceptions publishers only accept manuscripts from agents. And when an agent asks to see your work, send them only what they’ve asked for. If they wish to see six pages, send them the first six pages of your book. Don’t select six pages at random that you feel shows off your writing style. If they want 50 pages, they want 50, not 49, not 52.

Another point I think is important is when an agent asks for the full manuscript, they often ask for exclusivity. My feeling was to send it with the stipulation that they could have it exclusively for a set amount of time, say four or six weeks. I made the mistake once of sending it exclusively to an agent without this.  They kept it for a couple of months before I contacted them and told them I would be taking that back and sending it out again.

And when you do give an agent an exclusive you must honor that. You must not send out your book while they have it as an exclusive.

Remember the publishing world is a small one. If you treat an agent badly, even if they do not represent you, word will get around about you. If your book is rejected by an agent, don’t send off an email or letter blasting them for not liking your book. Your book will not be loved by anyone the way you love it, and you need to develop a thick skin if you are going to be a writer.

Agents/agencies blogs and websites are the best place to find an agent. Send your novel to agents who represent your type of work. If an agent doesn’t represent YA books, don’t send your techno-thriller to them! Agent Query is a good starting point. (There is a link to them on this blog.) You can search for agents by genre there, and if that agent has a website there should be link to them for you to check out what they are looking for and how to submit.

Every agent is different. Find out about them and what they are looking for before sending something off to them.

Finally, don’t give up or get discouraged. Believe in yourself, believe in your work. Being a writer is not something that happens quickly or easily, and getting an agent, publishing and marketing are harder than writing the book itself. Don’t give up. It’ll happen.

How Do You Handle Rejection?

A thick skin is needed when you're a writer.  Rejection is almost always part of the equation as you work on getting your writing represented, published, edited, read .... all of the above.  And even if everything were to go smoothly there's still bound to be some rejection.  Not all readers will like your book and you will hear/read some reviews that will be hard to take.

So how do you handle rejection?

For me it's a seesaw experience.  Some days I'll receive a rejection letter and I'll think the agent/editor is swamped and didn't really understand what they were turning down.  Other days it'll cut me to the quick and I'm sure I must give up the idea of being an author.

The thing I've learned over time is that you need to keep everything in perspective.  A common comment I've received on rejection letters from agents I've queried is a reminder that this is a subjective business.  What one person likes another may not and visa versa. 

Keeping that in mind you also need to look back at the rejections you've received and ask some questions.  For example, have you received some rejection letters that are not the usual form letter?  A personal note should encourage you.  They are not very common.  Also, did the rejection come after a request for a partial or a full sample of your manuscript?  This should also tell you something.  Maybe your query letter needs to be amped up a bit.  Maybe you need to get more feedback from your beta readers and punch up the manscript a bit more so that a partial leads to a full which will lead to a contract.

It's important to remember that a rejection is not a rejection of you.  And it may be just what you need to get yourself moving toward the goal we all wish to achieve, which is having our work out there being read and enjoyed by others. 

Hitting the Big Time

Ever since it's inception I have longed to see a book of mine on Amazon.com.  This week, I finally achieved that goal.  To me that is hitting the big time.

It's quite something to see your book published, to know that your story is finally being read and enjoyed by others.  Every author wants that.  Seeing it on all these different websites delighted me. 

Amazon.com is the one website I really wanted my book on.  I thought that would give me a lot more exposure.  And I was receiving a lot of emails and questions on facebook from potential readers asking why they couldn't find me on Amazon. 

Well now they can!  Happy day! 

How Does It Feel?

The news on my book this week is that it is now being offered on the Barnes and Noble website (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/).  When I posted this news earlier a friend asked me, "How does it feel to see your dreams coming true?"

Interesting question.  I'm not sure.  As I talked about in my previous blog post it doesn't quite feel .... "legit" is the only word I can think of.  I guess that to me a book is something tangible that you can see and feel and hold in your hands.  An e-book, while I like them, is a big adjustment for me. 

So I guess the real answer to that question is "unreal."  It is a dream come true.  People are reading my book!  People are reading the accompanying story!  I mean, as a writer can it get any better than that?

The thing is though, if I saw someone sitting on the beach with their e-reader I wouldn't know by the cover that they are reading my book.    But I can believe they are!

ISBN is Calling

Yesterday my book, What Would Nancy Do? was assigned an ISBN number which has me very excited.  This means that my book can be sold on some of the more well known sites such as Barnes and Noble, Apple and eventually Amazon.  Very big news.

As of this morning it is now available on Kobo (http://www.kobo.com/) at a slight discount which should make some readers happy.

Lately I've been thinking that I'm working harder on promoting this book than I did writing it.  There's a lot to do.  I'm working with a videographer on making a video trailer for What Would Nancy Do? and also discussing some ideas for the next book's trailer as well.  It's another piece of the marketing puzzle I was not aware of until publishing my first book. 

I'm editing a new book to publish as an ebook, and submitting some short stories for publication as well as sending out query letters.  Writing, revising, editing and publishing is already a full-time job.  Add promoting/marketing into the mix and it seems as if there aren't enough hours in the day!

It's been a real education and I am learning a lot.  Looking forward to learning more.

Now the Real Work Begins

Now that my first novel has been published as an ebook, the hard part of writing is going on.  Marketing.  Networking, getting the word out that a new book, my book, is available and ready for reading.  There is a lot to it.  From what I've read, even if I had gone with a traditional publishing house a lot of the marketing would be up to me anyway, so this is a good experience in what to do.

My younger son is a videographer and will be making a book trailer for me.  Also, I wrote a short story with the characters and situation from my book and offered it for free on Smashwords.com.  A lot of readers have downloaded that, and I am hoping that they will enjoy the characters of Maeve and Kate and want to read more of their adventures and get the book.

I am also planning on a giveaway contest sometime in the future here to generate more interest in the book.  I'd like to see if anyone would be interested in seeing this as a series.  I already have three outlines for these characters and am anxious for the opportunity to revisit them.

And on top of that I did something I swore I'd never do ... I joined Twitter.  Mark Coker, president of Smashwords, says it is an excellent marketing tool.  I'm still exploring how to use that effectively, so the jury's still out on that.  So if my time wasn't tight enough I'm revising my next manuscript, which is a romance novel, and preparing it for publication, and trying to find time to work on my next novel. 

Too bad I have to do laundry, fix meals, clean the house and -- oh yeah, sleep.  Wish me luck!

Cover Story

Getting a manuscript ready to self-publish as an e-book is a LOT of work!  Getting it edited, working on revisions, polishing it up, and now finding a cover for it.  I need to get/make/hire someone to make a digital cover for my book so that potential readers will have something to focus on.

Any suggestions?  What have you done for your novel?  Did you create it yourself using a software program, or did you hire someone to create it for you?  I am really stumped by this one. 

If anyone out there knows a graphic artist who would like to work with me on creating a snazzy cover for my novel in exchange for free exposure and publicity, please contact me at the listed email address.

I have lots of ideas, but no artistic talent.  I would love to work with someone to create something fun that will benefit us both.

One Step Down .....

Almost three weeks ago I met with an editor to discuss one of my manuscripts and having her edit it for me to get it ready to be published as an e-book.  I know she is busy and has a lot going on, but I was really hoping to get her because I respect her and her talent.

Two days ago I heard back from her and she has agreed to take me on!  I am so excited.  She won't be able to start on my book until mid-August, but I think we should stll be looking at a publishing date sometime in late fall.  I may be optimistic here, since this is my first foray into the world of e-publishing, but I think it's possible.

Now to see about creating a cover.  A friend gave me a suggestion so next is to talk to her and see what I can learn. 

In addition, I need to get my computer savvy sons in on the game and see if they can give me some advice about formatting my book and getting it ready to submit after it's been edited. 

Whew!  Lots to do.  And then add to it all a new book outline I'm working on and it's going to be a busy summer for me!

Making Headway

Met with a woman last night I am hoping will take on the daunting task of editing my novel and helping to prepare it for publication as an e-book.  I know that it isn't the traditional nor the desired way to get your first book published, but it seems to me that with Kindle, the Sony Reader and other devices like them that this is the way of the future.

Not only are e-books more affordable, but with everyone moving toward a more eco friendly lifestyle, the e-books are certainly the "green" way to go.  Save a tree, read an e-book!

So as I wait for a decision from the editor I am now beginning my investigation into stategies for pricing the book and marketing it as well. 

Plus I need to approach someone about designing the cover.  A lot goes into this process, and it's exciting and a bit overwhelming. 

But really, could anything be more intimidating than sitting in front of a blank screen and preparing to type the first sentence of a novel?  And could anything be more exciting?

I think I'm up to the task.  Looking forward to it!

Print vs. E-Books

I've been mulling over the idea of self-publishing one of my novels as an e-book.  A friend gave me a story from the Wall Street Journal  that had some compelling arguments for going this way.  Getting into print via the normal/traditional routes is terribly difficult.  Here's a bit from the Journal's piece:

"Fueling the shift is the growing popularity of electronic books, which few people were willing to read even three years ago. Apple Inc.' s iPad and e-reading devices such as Amazon's Kindle have made buying and reading digital books easy. U.S. book sales fell 1.8% last year to $23.9 billion, but e-book sales tripled to $313 million, according to the Association of American Publishers. E-book sales could reach as high as 20% to 25% of the total book market by 2012, according to Mike Shatzkin, a publishing consultant, up from an estimated 5% to 10% today."  Vanity Press Goes Digital, Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2010

It's not what I would prefer, but on the other hand it's a way to get my books read and to reach some readers that might not want to fork out $10 for a paperback or $30 for a hardback.  If a reader can spend $2 and will read my book then that's a big incentive for me. 

The whole idea is very appealing, and certainly worth some consideration.