#an email following up on a question i asked a literary agent i read manuscripts for

[dykeofmisfortune]

how to open scary thing on computer

[literaticat]

Why do agents like phone calls so much? It seems unique to that profession, I don't see that much phone enthusiasm from other industry people. I feel like from a logical standpoint email is much more efficient if you pitch something or talk about edits or something since you've got an overview and don't have to remember it all?

??? do they ???

I don't think agents particularly "like phone calls" much more than any other group of people does -- some like them, some are indifferent, some loathe them I'm sure. Some editors like them, some are indifferent, some loathe them I'm sure.

(And some editors -- not many, but SOME -- are ghosts on email and the only way of possibly getting hold of them is by phone. The same is also probably true of some agents! Not many, but some!)

Anything important that really you need to remember or reference again in the future will come via email. If anything is discussed in a call that requires further action, it should be memorialized in a follow-up email -- and if anyone ever calls you and says "I'd like to offer BLAH BLAH NUMBERS NUMBERS BLAH" (which happens to me quite often!) -- you just say, "Great, can you send that via email! Thanks!"

Personally, aside from weekly scheduled zoom agency meetings which I am not counting in this assessment -- I spend maybe 15-30 minutes per week on the phone, max. If there is the occasional week where I have an hour long call, there are also many weeks where I have no calls at all. I think the same is probably true of many agents.

On the flip side, I could spend easily five hours a day JUST doing email. Not reading manuscripts or contracts, not looking at royalty statements or editing or answering Tumblr questions -- JUST answering and sending email after email after blessed email. (I usually DON'T do it for five hours at a time, because I also do all those other things, but I COULD, and I still wouldn't be done, because it's never-ending.)

The only (ONLY) time I need to have a call or zoom with an author is before I offer to sign somebody -- "The Call" as writers call it -- so that they can get to know me, I can get to know them, and any questions they might have can be answered, etc.

SOME authors, it might surprise you to know, actually do really prefer to call or zoom to have "what's next" chats, and that's fine, I'm happy to do that if they want to, particularly if we haven't touched base in a while, so they can catch me up on whatever they are doing, and vice versa. It can definitely be helpful if you are workshopping ideas or something, because actually, that is an interactive and iterative process. If you are telling me about what your next project is, and I can ask questions and have a real-time conversation about it, and you are expressing your enthusiasm to me -- that might be more effective than a dry paragraph in an email, yanno? Enthusiasm is contagious! (But again, if anything important happens, or there are action items, that's what a follow-up email is for!)

That being said, not every author wants to do that, and that's absolutely fine, too. Aside from The Call and When A Client Asks For A Call, the only time I would ever want to have a call with an author or an editor is A) if it is something sensitive that I don't feel comfortable writing down for some reason, like, I need your social security number, or I need to tell you about a piece of HOT GOSSIP -- OR B) if it truly would be much faster than an email -- like we are having a back-and-forth conversation that needs to be finished quickly, and just picking up the phone and asking the three questions for ten seconds and getting the answers RIGHT THEN is easier than waiting for each of us to type, etc etc. Like please, let me get back some of my day from the tyranny of my inbox and just ask this in real time, thank you.

Finally: Any phone enthusiasm you think literary agents possess is, I promise, absolutely ECLIPSED by the passion that Hollywood people have for the phone. They LOVE to call anyone and everyone, ALL THE LIVE-LONG DAY, including after hours in NY because they are in LA and forget about the time difference. For something, for nothing, for any reason or no reason at all. IF they email, they tend to be extremely brief to the point of uselessness, because, no doubt, they are emailing from their phones in their cars while stuck in traffic. IT'S A NIGHTMARE, ACTUALLY.

[hayatheauthor]

How To Get Out Of The Slush Pile And Make Your Agent Say Yes 

In the literary world, the term slush pile refers to a stack of unread, unsolicited manuscripts or queries from aspiring novelists. Authors can often find themselves in the slush pile due to cold queries, unprofessional letter formatting, or a generic pitch. 

Are you facing constant form rejections to your queries? Here is everything you need to know to get out of your publisher’s slush pile. 

Customise Your Query 

if you approach an agent as just another name on your list, they will treat you the same way. Agents and publishers receive an ample amount of queries every single day, many of which are cold queries that are automatically rejected with form responses. As an author, it is your job to create a compelling query that hooks your agent in. 

The easiest way to do this is by customising your query letter. 

I have already talked about easy ways to do this in some of my earlier blogs, but here’s a quick rundown of how to customise your query to hook your literary agent: 

Start with their name

Queries that start with ‘dear agent/team’ have a higher chance of ending up on an agent’s slush pile. It’s important to address your agent by their given name both at the start of the query letter and somewhere in between it (something as simple as ‘this is why I chose to work with you, their name’ can work wonders). 

Avoid using any terms like miss/mrs/mr since you might end up using the wrong term for an agent and get off on the wrong foot. 

Why them? 

When trying to convince your agent why they should pick you, it’s important to show them why you picked them. This helps create a bond of trust and makes your agent know you aren’t just blindly sending out queries to every agent who works in your genre. 

When I was querying agents, I would always make sure to include a line that went as follows: 

I found out about you on manuscript wishlist and decided to get in touch with you since you expressed interest in the genres and themes The Traitor’s Throne incorporates.

I would then make a quick nod to anything they might have said on their MSWL, agent page, or Twitter. A great way to do this is by scanning their manuscript wishlist for certain phrases that fit your book. Maybe they showed interest in a ‘high stakes murder mystery’ or ‘swoon-worthy romance’. You can use these short phrases to customise your query, so long as they fit your book. 

Mention their past projects 

Can’t find anything on their MSWL that fits your book’s themes? Instead just mention a past project of theirs that follows the same themes as your book. A quick line such as ‘your previous work with (author name) for (book name) encouraged me to get in touch with you’ can seamlessly customise your query without feeling too overbearing. 

Remember, only two to three lines of your query letter should talk about your agent. The rest is supposed to be about your book and your experience as an author. I would recommend putting this section at the end of your query letter, right before your synopsis and sample pages. 

Follow Their Guidelines 

Most literary agents and publishers have a set of guidelines in place for authors looking to query them. These guidelines help them sort through the queries and also ensure your query isn’t marked as a spam email. 

Some agencies will ask you to customise your subject line a certain way, others will ask authors to answer a set of questions that help them gain insight into your project. 

When querying an agent or publisher, remember to always check their website’s submissions or contact page (even if you’re reaching out via query manager or query tracker) and follow the guidelines mentioned there. 

This helps your agent know you were genuinely interested in reaching out to them and also ensures they actually read your query.

Keep Things Simple 

One of the most important things to remember when querying is to keep things simple. Don’t overstuff your query with information, don’t dive into a detailed analysis of what happens in every chapter of your book in the synopsis (unless the agent asks you to). 

The point of your query letter is to hook your agent, not bore them with the details. Make your query simple, short, and intriguing. Drop an introduction, hook your agent with the first paragraph, and end your query letter strongly. 

Here is how to format your query letter to make your agent say yes: 

The introduction. One or two lines about your book’s details. The title, the word count, the genres, and a brief description of your book—something like ‘this is a novel about an old con’s path to redemption’. 

The hook. This is the most important part of your query letter! It’s where you draw your agent in and give them a compelling hook that convinces them to read your sample pages. Keep things brief, about 150 to 300 words. Remember, you don’t need to talk about the story, but tell your story. Hooks generally read like the blurb of your book. 

The author introduction. Author introductions for first-time authors can feel like a jarring feat. If you’re a first time author, just create a brief author bio that mentions any experience you have in the literary industry or any hobbies you have that are relevant to your book. For example, I made sure to mention my blog and internships as a content writer in my author bio because this shows my agent that I know how to market my book. 

The customised one-liner. As mentioned above, consider dropping a quick one-liner about why you picked this agent for your manuscript. Remember to keep this short and don’t go into too many details. 

Stay Professional 

Always remember to be courteous and professional when you’re interacting with an agent or publisher. Start and end all of your emails properly, make sure your query doesn’t have any SPAG mistakes, and always treat your agent kindly. Even if they reject you. 

Imagine how embarrassing it would be if you did end up getting an agent but they called you up one day and said their friend or colleague mentioned you sent them a very rude email after getting rejected! 

Maintaining a positive impression of yourself is always important. Remember, these agents might end up being important industry connections in the future. Or, they could casually mention your poor mannerism to other agents which could ruin your chances of getting traditionally published. 

It is good practice to follow up rejection emails with an email thanking the agent for their response and asking them whether they have any colleagues or fellow agents in mind who might be looking for a project like yours. 

Some agents might just ignore this message, but others will provide you with at least a couple of agents you can get in touch with. This gives you the advantage of a referral, and also makes the agent see you in a positive light, which can be beneficial when building industry connections. 

Conclusion 

I hope this blog on how to get out of the slush pile and make your agent say yes will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper. 

Want to learn more about me and my writing journey? Visit my social media pages under the handle @hayatheauthor where I post content about my wip The Traitor’s Throne and life as a teenage author.

[pynkhues]

Hi Sophie! I’m an aspiring writer and I had a question for you!! How did you go on about finding an agent? Also how does one find job postings related to writing? (Tv, etc.) I’m very inspired by you and how talented you are!!!

Hi, anon! Thank you for your kind words, and it’s so exciting that you’re an aspiring writer! I think knowing that you want to write really is the first step on a pretty incredible journey, and it’s one that it helps have to have tools on. Knowing how to ask questions, like you did, is a great way to start building that toolkit too.

Especially because your writing toolkit will be something you build, because there’s not really one answer to either of your questions. I really mean it when I say writing and publishing is a journey, and as a part of that, the pathways people choose to take (and the pathways available to them) often vary a lot, and are impacted by so many things, from where you live to the genre and medium you write in to the networks you have access to.

I’m going to try to answer that for you as well as I can here which I hope will be a useful starting point for you, but I will be contextualizing it a bit with the fact that a) I’m in Australia, which has a bit of a different industry to many parts of the world (in no small part because we have a very small population), and b) that I worked in the industry before I started having my work published, which did give me a jump start and a pretty good network of professional and personal support.

Okay!

So let’s jump in.

Behind a cut because this got a bit long.

How did I get an agent?

Well! I was rejected by four agents before I got one, haha, so that in itself was a bit of an adventure. It meant that I was effectively my own agent for quite a while (something that’s quite normal in Australia for reasons I’ll talk about later), which meant doing everything from pitching works to teaching myself enough legal vocabulary to negotiate contracts (not my strong suit honestly, haha).

The first two agents I ever spoke to were both agents that weren’t open for unsolicited submissions. This is an important term in the industry, because what that means is that they’re not reading any new writers who:

they didn’t invite to submit (usually this would be after you’d won a prize, or they’d read your short story or essay in a journal or magazine, loved it and got in touch)

didn’t come recommended by colleagues; or

didn’t come through their existing networks.

Does that mean you can’t get your work in front of them? It doesn’t actually. Usually when agents aren’t open for unsolicited submissions, they’ll still be interested in work. It just usually means they don’t have the time for a massive slush pile. What they frequently do in these instances instead is that they’ll attend conferences, festivals, workshops or events and do pitching sessions a couple of times a year. That usually looks like you booking a five, ten or fifteen minute window, generally for free (be cautious if they’re charging extra on top of your event ticket) and doing a verbal pitch of your project.

I’ve done a lot of these at various events in various contexts (it’s always hell, haha), but only twice to agents. Once was at the CYA Conference in Brisbane (which is a charged pitch but the money’s a donation towards the Children’s Book Council), where I pitched a YA manuscript I’ve since put in my bottom-drawer, and Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne, where I pitched The Rabbits, which is my novel which came out in July with Penguin Australia.

Those pitching sessions went just okay. Both liked my pitches, but the agent at CYA had a full stable of YA authors and was more looking for middle-grade fiction, which meant my story skewed too old. She gave me her card if I ever wrote for a younger audience, but otherwise declined to invite me to submit. Again, this is frequently actually why an agent might be closed to submissions or they might reject your work even if they like it – they're just at capacity with what you're pitching.

The one at EWF went better and I was invited to submit my complete manuscript, but she told me that while she thought I was a good writer, she didn’t personally like my writing style and therefore didn’t think she could sell it. She did actually invite me to submit something else if I had something more commercial, but I really figured that if she didn’t like my writing style, she probably wasn’t going to like whatever else I sent her, so I ended up declining because I thought it would be a waste of both our time.

The other two agents I submit to were both open for unsolicited submissions so I didn’t have to go through events. In both cases, I did cold submissions, which just means we’d never spoken before, so when you do that you need to put together a query packet because - - well. They don’t know who you are, haha. All publishers and agents have different requirements for their query packet and these should be listed on their website (if they’re not, feel really empowered to email and ask – in all of my industry experience, they have always infinitely preferred you doing that to guessing. It shows you know the etiquette and want to get it right).

Generally speaking though, what you're looking at pulling together for a packet is usually:

A cover letter explaining who you are, why you’re interested in them being your agent (being familiar with who else they represent is a good thing to highlight), and what story you’re selling them on.

A one-page synopsis of your manuscript.

A writing CV if you have one, or another relevant CV (i.e. if you're pitching a non-fiction book on being a nurse in the pandemic, attaching your nursing CV so they can see you're legitimate is important).

And usually either the first 50 pages or the first three chapters of your novel.

You generally email that to them, it goes into a slush pile, and they’ll read through it when they get the chance. I got a personalized rejection from one, which is pretty lovely (getting a personal rejection instead of one that’s clearly an email template from agents, editors and publishers might sound silly, but they’re actually pretty significant. These are people who get thousands of manuscripts a year, and taking the time to write a reply usually means your work resonated enough that they want to give you that encouragement even if the answer’s still no), and the other, I never heard back from, and my follow up email was ignored. Less lovely, haha, but unfortunately not uncommon.

So yeah, I took a bit of a break from seeking out an agent then, which I could do in Australia. One of the benefits of having a small industry here is that there’s a very limited number of agents (we’re talking literally about 25), which means submissions outside of agents and agencies are pretty normal. My understanding in the US and the UK is that you’re not really going to get a look-in without an agent, but in Australia you can submit direct, having an agent just makes it a lot easier.

So I didn’t have an agent when I actually got offered my book deal. I’d submit The Rabbits to a few different publishers, it had been rejected already by a couple and was still in the slush pile at one when I submit it to the Penguin Literary Prize. It won (yay!), Penguin offered me a book deal, and when the news broke in industry news, I was approached by six different agents, including, hilariously, the agent who said she didn’t like my writing style, haha.

I ended up talking to a few of them, but I went with a fairly new agent who I’d known through industry work, and I went with her because she had a really strong legal background which is what I was personally interested in.

Because that’s an important thing to consider too.

Why do you want an agent?

I actually knew that I didn’t really need an agent to sell my work. I’d been doing that for ten years already, I have over twenty short stories and a novella published, I’d sold my book, and I’d sold the rights to a screenplay already on my own, so the ability for an agent to sell work wasn’t so important to me. What was important to me was having someone who had a background in publishing law (my agent actually worked in the rights team in-house at a top five publisher before she became an agent), and understood rights management particularly in digital rights and international rights, because it makes my head spin, haha.

So that’s why I went with her!

But how do you find agents?

You didn’t ask this question exactly, but I think this is a very relevant question. There are databases of agents and publishers out there – Duotrope is probably the best known and I know people rave about it. One of the things that’s useful about it is that it’ll do a bit of a breakdown listing what genres the agent reads, if they’re currently open to unsolicited submissions, and their requirements. Take a look at Ginger Clark’s page for example (she’s not my agent – she’s American for starters, haha – but I have worked with her before and she’s a gem. Her most famous client is probably Ursula K. Le Guin, but she reps tons of other people too).

So yeah! Duotrope’s really useful. It has free info but also a paywall for certain things, and I personally find it kinda difficult to navigate?

I'd actually instead just recommend you take a look at writers you like and admire, especially ones who write similar genres to you, and just Google who their agent is. They all have websites, so they’re a lot easier to find these days than they were. 😊

How do you find job postings related to writing?

This is a tricky one, anon, as it depends on what sort of jobs you’re looking at. If you’re looking for copywriting opportunities, outlets for articles, short stories, poetry or essays, publishers who are posting open calls for manuscripts, or even cultural production jobs, those are all pretty different things. SO! I’m going to answer this one a little more broadly.

Writers Centres are your friends. Full disclaimer, I worked at one for five and a half years, and have been a member of Writers Victoria since I moved to Melbourne. They’re incredible resources for not only opportunities, but workshops, pitching, professional and creative development, community, networking and advice. They literally exist to help you achieve your goals.

- Writers Victoria maintains a free calendar of Opportunities and Competitions, but publishes more in their quarterly magazine which is a member perk. They’ll also often share job opportunities through their social media channels. I also still get the free e-news for Queensland Writers Centre and Writing NSW too because sometimes they share different stuff.

- I’ve heard Gotham Writers in New York is good too if you’re in America, but really I’d just suggest googling where you live and writers centre and seeing what comes up!

- Similarly festivals. I’ve worked at Brisbane Writers Festival and National Young Writers Festival here in Australia (the latter’s on online right now if you want to check out their free program!) Sign up to your local festival’s e-news, follow them on social media, they’ll usually share stuff.

- Speaking of! Social media! Haha. Twitter is often good for sharing jobs, competitions and opportunities, but I find it can be a bit of a cesspool too where people bombard the hashtags with self-promotion, so approach with caution. I find Facebook groups are way better for it personally, especially as there are a lot of specialized groups that are focused in certain or on certain writers. I know there’s lots for BIPOC writers for instance, I’m personally in a few and recommend:

Binders Full of WRITING JOBS

Binger Full of Copywriters

Style Binders – Writers in Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty

Binder Full of Editors Seeking their Freelance Writers and Vice Versa

If you’re in Australia though, I’d especially recommend:

Women in Arts Management Collective (particularly if you’re interested in cultural production work)

Film and TV Networking Australia

Melbourne Women in Film

Writers Victoria Members

Australian Binder Full of Women Writers

Australian Arts Amidst COVID-19

Young Australian Writers

I think most of these are searchable, so just have a look, but also google your city or state + writer and see what pops up.

Otherwise, as much as it sucks to say it, a lot of the industry is who you know, so try and find ways to connect and meet with people and forge your own little community. Go to events – festivals, book launches, book clubs, join Facebook groups and in particular, if there are journals or magazines that are made in your local area, go to their launches and the events they run, no matter how big or small, and just chat to people there. As you get more established, you can be more discerning about what you go to, but when you're starting out, these are powderkegs of community and connection, and they breed suppport and, if you find the right people, you'll grow and develop together too.

Being a writer can often be pretty lonely, but being a part of supportive industry really makes all the difference, and as an old mentor of mine said – creative karma is real. You support the people coming up around you, and you’ll not only be creating a better, more inclusive and welcoming industry, but an industry that supports you right back. 😊

[shepherds-of-haven]

Can I ask how you became a professional writer/author? Did you always plan to be one or did it just happen? Would you recommend self-publishing or traditional?

Hi there, I have a lot to say on this subject, so I’ll be answering in two parts if you don’t mind! And of course you can ask! I have my side-blog, @strangevoyages, exactly for questions like these! :)

Can I ask how you became a professional writer/author? Did you always plan to be one or did it just happen?

I’ve planned on being a writer since I was a very young kid. Writing has always been my great passion in life and it was the only thing I could see myself pursuing, so that’s what I did. I started taking creative writing courses at different universities at around sixth grade (long story) like Stanford, Harvard, and Brown, and I learned so much! It gave me the chance to hone my skills and look at writing through a critical lens early. I kept going to these classes until I was old enough to attend undergrad, where I also majored in Creative Writing (among other disciplines)! From there I went to grad school to get my MFA in Creative Writing/Fiction, and then I wound up teaching at that university (Cornell) for a few years as a lecturer after I got my degree. I mostly taught English and writing, cultural studies (one of my classes was about zombies, aliens, and vampires! another was about comic books), and creative writing, of course. So as you can see, my entire life has been devoted to writing!

During this time I was also working as an assistant editor for a literary publication and had just finished my thesis novel, the manuscript that would become WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE (my novel that’s coming out next summer). Things transpired so that I was approached by Penguin after they saw a reading I gave at my graduation; I panicked, believing I needed an agent for talks with them, and sent emails to some agents I knew about. (Tip: if you ever wonder where to start with agents, look at the Acknowledgements sections of your favorite books. They will almost always thank their agent or agency by name--Google, et voila!)

You have to send a sample of your writing when you query agents, so I attached the manuscript of WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE as an example. My agent loved it, shortly thereafter we signed contracts, and that’s how it all happened! Eventually I left my teaching job in order to be able to work on the book full-time, as it certainly needed the attention (it wasn’t until 3 years later that it was actually ready to be sent to publishers). Now I’m working as a freelance editor and, of course, on the games that you’re probably following me for!

So as a short way of answering your question, I always planned on being a writer: I was always writing stories at the same time that I was performing my studies or working (and, on the side, I was always submitting them somewhere as a way to build up my skills, portfolio, and credentials). I think 70% of the time, things have happened because of skill, and 30% of the time was also luck. 

I think anyone can become a professional writer, but you need a lot of passion and determination to carry you through the hardships of the industry. If you have those, I don’t think anything can stop you!

(Cont. for Part 2)

[strangevoyages]

Very cool of you to start this! I was wondering... as someone who would like to publish a traditional novel someday (romance, if that helps) and was wondering if you could outline the publication process for novels? It's a little intimidating for someone like me and I would really appreciate the clarity. Thank you!

Hi there, thank you so much! :) And okay, I’ll do my best to outline how it generally works:

Traditional Publishing

Step 1) Complete your novel.

Step 2) Edit and revise your novel to the best of your abilities! You only get one chance to impress an agent (the next step) and you want to start with your best foot forward. Do not send an incomplete or unpolished manuscript: it must be as close to the finished product as you can get on your own! If you feel you need help, shop it around to people you trust (friends or family, creative writing workshops, writing partners, mentors or professors, etc). Professional and freelance editors (like me!) are also always an option if you need an experienced second pair of eyes!

Step 3) Find agents whose work you love. The best way to do this is to go to your favorite novels (preferably in the genre you want to publish in), turn to the back of the book, and find the agent of that novel’s name in the “Acknowledgements/Thanks” section. Look them up and read carefully to see if your story fits the kind of work they read and are looking for. 

Step 4) Write a query letter. This is possibly the most intimidating aspect of the publication process because many authors love to write fiction, but don’t love to write about themselves and their work. The query letter is essentially the marketing or elevator pitch to give an agent a preview of what to expect in your work (and is your chance to intrigue them). There’s a wealth of resources out there on how to write a query letter, and here are some of my favorites:

How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter

How to Write the Perfect Query Letter

Query Letters

Samples of Query Letters

The long and short of it is, query letters contain your book’s introduction and stats (what its word count is (), what its genre and title is), its summary (picture what its blurb would be on the back of the hardcover copy and write that), your credentials as an author, and why you’d like to work with that particular agent. 

Some other tips: don’t let the letter extend beyond one page. Agents (and editors) appreciate conciseness, not least because they’re busy and it shows your skill as a writer when you condense important information into a small space. Don’t oversell your work. NEVER describe your book as “the next Harry Potter” or “the masterpiece of our time” or whatever. Let the agent decide that for themselves! But don’t undersell or self-deprecate, either (“you probably won’t be interested in this, but I thought I’d give it a shot...”). It can be hard to have confidence in your writing, especially when entering the pro arena, but you need to inspire an agent’s faith in you as much as in your work (without exaggerating or boasting!)

Step 5) Send your query letter and manuscript to the top 5 agents you’ve been looking at. Sending too many will be overwhelming (and many agents hate “simultaneous submissions,” where you send copies to multiple places at the same time) and sending too few would be putting all your eggs in one basket. 

Be careful to read exactly how each agent would like to receive your manuscript! Some only accept physical copies in the mail, in manila envelopes; some only accept attachments by email; some only accept PDFs and not Word and vice-versa! If you don’t follow their submission guidelines, you often won’t get a second chance or a courtesy reminder. 

Oh, and format your manuscript according to their instructions. If there are no specific instructions, it’s always best to have your novel in standard manuscript format. Shunn’s guide to story formatting is a bible in this industry, so following those guidelines will make you look professional. Please avoid kooky or unique fonts as well: you may think it helps you stand out, but speaking from experience, most agents/editors really hate this!

Step 6) Wait. 

Some agents have a projected time of response to get back to you (“if we don’t get back to you within 8 weeks, we are declining to represent your work”) on their website. Some don’t, and you’ll just have to wait (sending a follow-up query 6-8 weeks after sending your manuscript can be reasonable unless their website asks you not to do this). 

If those top 5 agent don’t get back to you (or decline to represent your book) don’t be discouraged! All the greatest writers of all time struggled to find their agents and publishers at first. J.K. Rowling suffered through “years” of rejection from agents before she finally found one to represent Harry Potter, and even after that was rejected by 12 publishers (many very rudely!) before someone wanted HP. So send your manuscript out to the next five and keep going!

Step 7) An agent wants your manuscript. 

Ideally, they’re over-the-moon in love with it: you want an agent who’s passionate about your work and will shop it tirelessly to their connections in the publishing industry. 

(I feel I should add: do not send your work to or proceed with any agent who wants to be paid to represent you, or who charges a fee to read your work! This is a scam! Like sports agents or real estate agents, literary agents only take a cut of the profits after they’ve sold your book to a publisher. (Usually around 15%, though this could be higher or lower depending on the agent). This way, they’re motivated to sell your book for the highest rate possible, because they only make money from it then, too! If they want you to pay them out-of-pocket for anything, be extremely suspicious!)

After you’ve met with your agent, agreed to work together, and signed a contract (always read these carefully or get a lawyer to look over them), your agent will probably give you some tips or requests to polish your manuscript up even further before sending your work out. After this is done, they’ll shop your manuscript to the publishers they think will be the best fit for it!

Step 8) An editor at a publishing house reads your manuscript and falls in love with it. 

This is the dream! There will be some negotiation, and this is where your agent comes in: they will protect your rights and negotiate with the publisher on your behalf to get as high of a selling price for your novel as possible. The publisher will often pay you an advance (an initial lump sum for the book) and will then usually offer you a percentage of the first sales after tax (say 10%, though depending on your publishing history or type of book or a whole slew of factors, you may get a higher/lower percentage or none at all). Your agent will guide you through this process and explain everything, so I won’t get into much more detail beyond that. 

Step 9) You accept the terms of agreement with a publisher, and the book goes to their editing team: AKA your new editor. 

You will likely go through several months or even years of editing with your editor’s feedback. A good editor won’t change your vision of your work drastically, but you may have to rewrite whole sections of your book to improve pacing, cut out unnecessary plot lines, and etc. Be patient with this and be flexible: your work isn’t perfect (no one’s is, not even after publication) and your editor knows what they’re doing. However, you do also have power here and can push back if there’s something you feel extremely strongly about changing. 

Step 10) Your book is on the way to publication.

Now it’s just a waiting game. Your agent (or you) might ask other authors to be advance readers for your edited manuscript: these are the people who give the quotes and blurbs on the back of the books--the ones with glowing praise!

Depending on the publishing house, you may get some input on the cover and design of your book, or you may not. Your agent/publisher may also talk to you about foreign translations and licensing, etc.!

Step 11) Your book is published!

It took a while, but you made it, and now your book has hit the shelves (or the Internet, or both). Not counting the time it takes to find an agent, the whole process takes a minimum of a year to... well, I won’t regale you with the authors who took ten, fifteen, twenty years to get to publication, but needless to say, it’s a slow-moving process. 

Getting an agent is arguably the hardest part (once you get one, they really do most of the work for you), and if you’d like to skip this hurdle, there’s always chancing submitting your work straight to the publishers. However, for the big publishing houses, this option has an extremely low chance of success, to put it bluntly. Unless you’re submitting to a very small independent publisher or what’s known as a “vanity press”, almost all major publishing houses nowadays don’t even look at books without agents, and those submissions get lost in slush pile hell.  Agents are the first barrier to publication, and once they’ve vetted your book and found potential in it, publishing houses are more comfortable with reading a manuscript that they’re more sure won’t “waste their time.”

Of course, if you don’t want to split your profits with an agent, there’s always self-publishing! But since this post is getting so long, I figure I’ll talk about that another time. Thanks for the great question, and I hope this helped! (And good luck with your romance novel(s)!)

[thegloober]

The Underserved Life: A Self Publishing Success Story

Would you believe that a small town girl starting with zero blog subscribers sold 1,000 copies of her memoir in the first two weeks of its release?

Only nine months after setting off to build her email list while writing and self-publishing her memoir, this same small town girl hit #1 New Release in over five Amazon categories. And then it remained in the top 10 for multiple categories its entire first month.

And while all this happened, she had two infants under age one and a husband working full-time while in graduate school.

This small town girl is me, Natalie Brenner, and I’m here to tell you about my self publishing success story and how you how to write your first book.

I wrote my first book when I was in third grade. Sure, it was pieces of lined paper ripped out of an old notebook, stapled together, and only about 35 pages long, but it was a book.

From that moment forward, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I dreamed of piecing together stories, crafting together experiences, creating lessons-learned, and inspiring others to live their fullest life.

In high school I started my first blog, where I strung words into poems. These poems were depressing and quite dark, dripping with pain but also hope. Eventually I began dating my now husband and we got married. The blog turned into our documented journeys together sharing wisdom gained and mistakes made.

Secretly, I wanted someone fancy to reach out to me and ask me to write a book. I smiled every time a reader, friend, or mentor asked me when I was going to write a book. Shyly and without confidence, I waved them off, saying I wasn’t good enough or I didn’t have anything that good to share.

But really I did have something to share. We all do… if we want to.

4 steps to self-publish your book

One evening I sat in bed feeling helpless. The story I was living felt important and the things I was learning along the way needed to be shared.

The pain I was walking through and the healing I encountered through simply being honest felt life-changing. I wanted to shout to the world that I found the secret to a full life and I wanted it to be shared through a book.

But my social media platform was minimal. I wouldn’t even call it a platform.

I had a whopping 56 subscribers on my sacred little WordPress blog I had created over five years prior. So to my 300 precious Twitter followers, I asked,

Does anyone have any sort of literary agent connection they could hook me up with?

Luckily, my friend was working for a best-selling author at the time. She messaged me and asked if I would be open to self publishing. I scoffed and half-heartedly heard her out.

Self publishing seemed so silly, so amatuer, so overwhelming. But as her words, tips, and resources settled into my mind over the coming days, I thought, “Maybe, just maybe this is the route I need to begin my author career.”

Laying the groundwork

Before I was able to fully dig myself into drafting and ultimately publishing my first book, I needed to grab ahold of and claim my identity as a writer.

Until this point, I had been pretty flaky about calling myself a writer even though I was being paid as a freelance writer. Once I made that mental shift, I began taking myself seriously.

Asking ourselves “why?” about any major adventure is integral to its success. Without knowing our why, we won’t have the motivation needed to push through the hard days (and there will be hard days!).

I wrestled through:

Why do I want to write this book?

Why does the world need this message?

Why will my book be different than what’s already been written?

I then studied the pros and learned from the many authors and creators who have gone before me. Free quality resources are everywhere. I listened to podcasts, read free eBooks, researched all things memoir writing, marketing, and community creating.

Budget breakdown

Have you seen a self published book that looked self published? Me too.

I didn’t want my book to be unprofessional, which meant I needed to invest all of myself and a chunk of budget into it.

Let me be clear: we had zero extra funds for any sort of “book budget.”

We were living paycheck to paycheck, utilizing the gift of food stamps, my husband was in school, and I was working hard as a photographer and freelance writer. We had two babies…TWO under age one.

After seeking counsel, I set a budget of $3,000.

This was more than our monthly income, but I knew it wouldn’t be all in one chunk. Here is the breakdown of how my budget was spent:

Editor — I researched and interviewed a handful of editors. Something I’ve learned as a photographer is someone will always do something cheaper. But cheaper doesn’t mean it’s the right choice. I ended up hiring Ashley Ormon, and have been incredibly thankful for her.

Editor (copy editing, developmental editing, proofreading) — $1650

Editor for two free eBooks used on website — $300

Designer, both interior and jacket — again, I interviewed a handful of designers and landed on two. I was not willing to have a DIY looking book. I chose the designer (Manda Julaine Designs) I had been working with for my brand for my cover, but she had never done an interior so I found Melinda Martin for my interior. Melinda worked so well with the jacket and made the interior cohesive to the exterior.

Exterior jacket with social media and stock images — $300

Interior formatting + design — $400

Online marketing — $300

This may be different for each individual and where your main social platform is. But I used some of this budget to promote on Facebook Pages and Instagram ads.

I paid to promote my free downloadables as well as my book itself! I spread this out over the months and used it to grow my list as well as promote my book.

Website — $250

Create deadlines and meet them

At the end of the day, as a self publishing author, you are the boss of you. You have to create deadlines and meet them.

Personally, I need clear cut ways to process things, so I picked a release date — about nine months out, which is quite rushed — and worked backwards. I also worked with my editor as well as designers to talk about when they needed what done.

Deadlines to pen into your calendar:

Release date!

Mine was September 18, 2017

Book completion — jacket and formatted manuscript

My goal was August 1 — this gave me time to order author copies and give to people to share on their social sites and with their email lists on release day

Manuscript edited + proofread

Before a manuscript can be typeset, it must be fully edited. Ask your designer how much time he or she needs.

My due date was August 1. My designers needed my manuscript by July 1.

My editor and I needed to be finished with my manuscript by July 1.

But what about your non-existent platform?

Valid. I revamped my website in January 2017 and lost my sacred 56 subscribers. My release date was nine months away, I had zero subscribers, and only 1,500 social followers.

Since my memoir is about loss and learning the freedom found in grieving, I created a 3,000 word grief guide, Wholeness Despite the Brokenness, as a free downloadable. You can see how this works here, but essentially, anyone can enter their email address and download it for free.

My goal was to make it to 1,000 subscribers by launch weekend– and I did it!

Along the way, I gained a couple thousand people in my social community as well.

Book launch and release

While listening to Tim Grahl’s podcast The Book Launch Show, it became very apparent that I needed a book launch plan. I focused on building my online community, primarily through my email list and also through Instagram.

In these spaces, I regularly invited people to a private Facebook Group dedicated to my Book Launch Team which I started approximately six weeks before my release day.

My Facebook group only had 131 members in it, but they were active and on my team to launch this book into the world come release day. So they knew exactly what they were promoting, I uploaded a free copy of This Undeserved Life for anyone in this group to read.

During the few months leading up to release day I also had a three-tier list of influencers I hoped would read and endorse my book, either for the front cover or on their space.

The bottom tier was made up of friends and influencers I already had an existing relationship with — people I knew would say yes!

The second tier were influencers I had somewhat of a relationship with, but I was not sure they’d say yes.

The top tier was made up of influencers I was sure wouldn’t even read my email, but boy would it make my day to have them endorse my book!

I had people from every single tier respond, receive a free copy of my book, and endorse it.

This was all woven together as a part of launching This Undeserved Life because I needed other voices to validate what I had written. By the time my book had launched, I had given over 500 free digital copies to people to review, endorse, and share about on their spaces come launch week.

Ready to self publish your book?

If I can find the time, budget, and courage to write a book, so can you. And it can all start with just a few simple steps.

Here are four things you can do today:

Tell someone you are a writer

Answer these questions in written form:

Why do I want to write this book?

Why will this book change the world?

Why is this book different or unique?

Update your website — Make sure you have these pages available at the header:

Contact

About

Blog

Also make sure you have an active and working SUBSCRIBE button

Begin brainstorming what your downloadable freebie could be!

Make sure it is in tune with your brand, makes sense for your audience, and shares your voice.

The post The Underserved Life: A Self Publishing Success Story appeared first on ConvertKit.

The post The Underserved Life: A Self Publishing Success Story was shared from BlogHyped.com.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/the-underserved-life-a-self-publishing-success-story/

[char27martin]

Understanding “The Call”: Perspective from an Author and Agent on Representation

I went about searching for an agent in the usual way—using online sites. My search focused on trying to gather information about agents who represented works in my chosen genres: picture books, middle grade humor, young adult, and historical romance.

After I polished my query letter, I sent it off to some possible agents. I didn’t know a lot about the process then, but I know now there were definite reasons why I signed with the agent I did, and I am happy with my decision.

Melody Delgado has been a published writer since 2000.  Her short stories have appeared in national magazines such as AIM (America’s Intercultural Magazine), VISTA, and CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE LATINO SOUL. She has published two picture books. TEN ROARING DINOSAURS was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and DO YOU KNOW HOW I GOT MY NAME? was recently published by Little Debbie/McKee Foods. Her YA inspirational, historical romance, ROYALLY ENTITLED, was released digitally by Clean Reads in May, 2017. It is the first in a three-book series called The Brides of Brevalia. A humorous children’s novel, OOPS-A-DAISY, is coming to print on September 5 of this year and is also the first in a children’s series, The De La Cruz Diaries. It will also be published by Clean Reads.

A few months after sending out a few queries, I received an email and a phone call from Cyle Young of Hartline Literary. We had a lengthy, but informative discussion on the phone. I felt he answered all my questions sufficiently. He also asked pertinent probing questions about my writing, which helped me gauge his interest. Since I write so many diverse genres, I knew it would be easier to work with one agent who would be able to represent everything that I write. Some agents only represent picture books or fiction, but not both. Others only represent adult novels or strictly nonfiction.

I knew Cyle and I would be a good fit, because he represents many genres and every age group.

Hartline Literary Agency has a long history in the industry. Their favorable reputation was another major factor that influenced me to want to work with them. Cyle provides in depth teaching videos for his clients. The videos cover topics from “How to Polish Your Manuscript” to “How to Present Your Manuscript or Proposal for Submission.”

I felt I would be in good hands if I signed on with Cyle and Hartline.

Like many authors, I have lots of friends who are writers and I am active in online writing communities. The number one frustration I hear from other writers concerning agents is a lack of communication and availability from their agents after signing on with them. Many authors have no idea which publishers their book is being shopped to or even if their book is being shopped at all.

Cyle has been great about keeping me in the loop. Recently, Cyle and I had an offer from two different publishing houses for my middle-grade novel, OOPS-A-DAISY. It was reassuring to know I was in good hands. We exchanged several emails and had multiple phone conversations regarding the details of each offer. He listened to what my preferences were and then acted accordingly. While I was thankful to get any offer—much less multiple offers—one of the important factors for me regarding my novel was that it be available in print and not just digitally, since many young readers find out about books from libraries and bookstores. Cyle listened to my request and made this happen for me.

During the negotiations, I mentioned to Cyle that I had started writing follow-up books to both of my novels that he sold, ROYALLY ENTITLED, an inspirational, historical, YA romance, and OOPS-A-DAISY, a humorous middle-grade novel. Thanks to great communication, he not only was aware of what I was working on, he was able to push for two series contracts. He essentially turned a two-book deal into a six-book deal.

While I depend upon my critique group and other writers to help me get my manuscript ready for submission, it is good to know there are resources available to help me in my publishing journey. I also appreciate knowing that my agent is on top of trying to actively sell my manuscripts, keeps me in the loop with specific details, listens to and considers my preferences, and negotiates the best deal possible.

[New Agent Alerts: Click here to find agents who are currently seeking writers]

The Agent’s Perspective

Representing Melody Delgado was an exceptionally rare scenario for me as an agent. I don’t often represent authors who I have not met in person. Not because I don’t want to, but because many authors don’t understand how to sell themselves in a cover letter or proposal. I find it is much easier to mentor writers who I have already developed a relationship with at a writing conference or retreat. But as you will see, Melody captured my attention and she spoke to my interests, and I became her agent.

Cyle Young is a force-sensitive dragon rider trapped in the modern world. When he and his three muggle padawans aren’t racing chocobos, they search for a magical wardrobe or time stone that may help them return home before The Nothing, Skeletor, or Skynet takes over this dimension. Cyle credits his 20+ writing awards to his discovery of the “One Ring to Rule Them All.”

He lives in the Midwest and when he is not shopping manuscripts for Hartline Literary Agency, he can be found lounging in his hammock beside the tranquil Grand River.

Within only a few days of becoming an agent with Hartline Literary Agency, I received an email from Melody about a historical romance novel entitled ROYALLY ENTTLED. The story was set in the Kingdom of Brevalia and my mind instantly conjured up images of Princess Diaries. I don’t know why—but that’s what I thought about. Even though I was a 37-year-old former Division 1 football player, I loved that movie and Melody’s book blurb kept pulling me further into her cover letter.

When I read on, I discovered that Melody was a published picture book author with Houghton Mifflin. That revelation was enough to garner an immediate response. Not only do I know the company, I love the books that they have published. As an author, if you’ve been published with a large publishing house, it is always important to let an agent know.

When I read about Melody’s TEN ROARING DINOSAURS, my interest went off the charts and I couldn’t wait to speak to Melody about her picture book.

I also noticed in the letter that Melody wrote for Chicken Soup for the Soul, which I considered another valuable asset. If other significant publishers have already reviewed an author’s work and deemed it to be of enough quality to invest hundreds to thousands of dollars in, that speeds up my review process.

Melody mentioned in her opening statement that she also was under contract for another novel. All of this information helped me decide to send Melody a request for a phone conversation. On the phone, we immediately connected and both realized that she’d be a great fit for my unique client pool.

My relationship with Melody has gone smoothly. She has continued to hone her craft as an author and she follows my advice and instructions. We speak as often as necessary to communicate the status of her submissions and Melody continues to stay abreast of the industry and publisher’s editorial needs.  Every agent dreams of having clients that are as responsive as Melody, and I am lucky to have her as one of mine.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

          The post Understanding “The Call”: Perspective from an Author and Agent on Representation appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/understanding-call-perspective-author-agent-representation

[literaticat]

Resources for Newbies

I got a nice email from somebody with some questions, and I typed out this whole long answer, and then I was like - let’s not ever have to type all this out again! So here’s what they asked, and my answer:

I am a first-time writer of children's books and I have about 45-ish pages drafted of a manuscript so far. I anticipate it being around 80 or so pages when I finish, and the intended audience is early chapter-book readers. As a first-time writer, I know basically nothing about how publishing works, and I find it a little intimidating. I am hoping you could help me with a few questions? I have so many, but the three that stand out as the most important for me right now are:

1. How can I attract the attention of a literary agent? Do agents still accept cold pitches these days, or do you prefer to have writers referred to you?

2. Should I completely finish my manuscript before trying to find an agent, or does that matter?

3. Is it proper etiquette to share parts of the manuscript when you send a pitch letter, or to wait until you hear back from an interested agent?

I don't mind answering questions, though I'm going to point you toward some resources where you can get a lot more answers than I can probably give in a quick email! As to your questions though:

1. You can attract the attention of a literary agent by having a killer pitch and a great book. Most agents I know absolutely take "cold" queries - the majority of clients do come in this way. Of course if you HAVE a referral from somebody the agent knows well and trusts, super cool - but you don't NEED that. (A referral from a rando is actually worse than no referral - I get fake "referrals" all the time where the person says that so-and-so recommended me - -and it's either somebody that I know for a fact does NOT know who the heck I am -- like, no, I don't believe that Stephen King told you to email me! -- or else somebody that I don't know who the heck THEY are -- either way it looks very suspect.)

2. For a novel or a kids book, you 100% need a finished book. You should finish it, then get critique partners or second readers and try and "self edit" as much as you can. The manuscript should be in as good a shape as you can make it on your own. (Adult nonfiction is a little different, then you need a robust proposal with a sample - but that's another story).  Not to freak you out AT ALL - but most agents get hundreds of queries a week and can take on only a few clients a YEAR. So... you really should make sure your stuff is clean, tight and ready for prime-time.

3. What you share depends on what the agent asks for - every agency might have different submission guidelines (which you should read carefully and follow, of course!) -- but MOST say something like, you should have a query letter, and the first ten pages or so of the manuscript pasted in (not as an attachment). 

As for your book in particular - I'm curious what you mean when you say "early chapter book readers" -- Do you mean what I'd call an early reader (aka, those thin books like "I can Read" series, Frog and Toad etc, for 4-6 year olds who are just becoming readers) -- or what I'd call a chapter book (aka, those series books like Magic Tree House for 6-8 year olds) -- or what I'd call a middle grade (aka, a regular novel for 8-12 year olds)? 

It would be a good idea for you, I think, to not think about the manuscript in terms of PAGES, but rather in terms of WORD COUNT. Why? Because in this category, word count is pretty important, and it's unclear to me based on what you've said if you're gearing your book properly. For beginning readers, there are "rules" of sorts regarding length and readability, and it's important that you know them! So here are some things to know as you are getting into the world of kids books!

* "Comp Titles" -- you will hear this a lot - it means comparative titles, aka, the kinds of books that are most like your book in terms of audience and where they would be on the bookshelf. I'd suggest going to the bookstore (if you can in covid-times!) and perusing the shelves and figuring out what SEEMS LIKE the kind of books you are trying to write. Then -- figure out where THEY land in terms of word count and readability. Here's a tool you can use to look up most kids books: https://www.arbookfind.com -- and there are "readability calculators" online too, where you can plug in some of your text and it will tell you what grade level you are writing at -- if you're trying to write a book for second graders and it reads like a college thesis - that's a problem!

* Categories and word count: A long time ago I wrote a blog post (on a now-closed blog) that is everything I know about the different categories of kids books and what length they should be - this might help you figure out where your book would land, too! http://literaticat.blogspot.com/2011/05/wordcount-dracula.html

* Query Writing: Query Shark is the go-to resource for query letter critique - read the archives, you will probably learn something. (That being said, it IS mostly for grownup books, but still the same principles apply) https://queryshark.blogspot.com

* Ask the Agent: I have a tumblr where people can ask me anonymous agent questions: https://literaticat.tumblr.com -- that being said, please DO try googling first lol I get a lot of the same questions over and over and it's like... did you even TRY to google it? sheesh. ;-) [ED NOTE: If you are reading this, you probably know about this resource LOL]

* Online forums: When I was starting out, I spent a lot of time lurking around the Absolute Write water cooler (mostly writers for adult books ,but some kids books) - and the SCBWI message boards (for kids books). I haven't been around either really for a long time and I suspect they are less hopping than they used to be - but I bet that there are lots of questions and answers in the archives which might prove useful to you: https://absolutewrite.com/forums/forum.php  https://www.scbwi.org/boards/ -- you'll need to log in to see all the content I think 

* QueryTracker - there are a variety of different sites where you can look up agents as you are figuring out who to query, see who reps what, etc - QueryTracker is a popular one. https://querytracker.net -- DO YOUR RESEARCH about agents - there are a lot of shady people out there scamming authors! Legit agents NEVER ask you to pay them "reading fees" or "editorial fees" or anything else - we ONLY get paid commission when we sell your book.

* SCBWI - The Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has a ton of AMAZING resources for new writers -- there are huge national and regional conferences, yes, but also free local meetups just about everywhere in the country and even around the world (I've been to ones in Scotland and Paris - true story!) -- as well as online stuff -- there are a ton of classes, you can find critique groups and such, their newsletter/magazine has GREAT info about everything to do with children's publishing -- basically, if you are really serious and want to be a professional children's book author, you should look into their offerings and perhaps joining. https://www.scbwi.org

* Facebook - if you are on facebook, you can search and there are a ton of kids book groups - KidLit411 is a group that I know that the moderators are actually smart and know about stuff, and there is some good info. Fair warning: It's FACEBOOK, so there are also a lot of ding-dongs around, too.

OK that's a good start, I think - plenty for you to chew on here. :-) 

[char27martin]

How I Got My Agent: Lisa Katzenberger

I’m a big fan of social media and online writing contests. I’ve entered every KidLit-related pitch contest I’ve come across in the past two years, but it was PBParty where I found my agent. Here’s the scoop:

PBParty is an online contest that provides agents a chance to review your query and the first 50 words of your picture book. The submission window is open for a short amount time, and accepts the first 250 entries—which sometimes fills up in a matter of hours. Then they select about 20-25 entries to post online for agents to review. In 2016, I entered two picture books and neither made it to the agent round, although one title was listed as a runner-up.

This guest post is by Lisa Katzenberger. Katzenberger is a picture book writer, Fiction Editor for Literary Mama, and the Social Media Coordinator for SCBWI Illinois. She is also the author of “Pitch Agents Through Twitter” in the 2017 Guide to Literary Agents. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. Connect with her on twitter at @FictionCity or Instagram at @lisakatz17.

When the contest began in 2017, I was still actively querying those same two picture books, but had significantly revised them. This time, I took a hard look at the first 50 words—a really brief amount of space to grab an agent’s attention. I had to admit that neither of the 50-word excerpts were all that special.

So I chose one picture book to revise and wrote a new opening, focusing on pizzazz and giving it some punch that would make an agent want to read more. My pitch for this story had previously garnered a lot of likes through various twitter parties, but it never resulted in an offer. So I took the language of the pitch—a sassy series of questions—and revamped my opening scene in that style.

I was thrilled to find out I made it as a finalist this time around! Then I had to wait for my pitch (along with the query letter) to be posted on the blog. It was real! It was there! (It’s still there, if you want to take a look.)

I knew that some pitches don’t get any requests, and I set my expectations for that to happen. But, after the hundredth time of refreshing my browser that day, I saw a request to see the full manuscript! In the end, I received requests from five different agents.

I sent out the requested manuscript, and one agent from PBParty responded about a week later asking to see more of my work. Two weeks later, she emailed talking about offering representation. I prepared for “The Call” and she made an offer. I freaked out accordingly, but then got my ducks in a row and contacted every other agent who had requested to see the manuscript through PBParty and also those who I had queried but never heard back. I used a great template for this letter, which included advice to (politely) give the agent a deadline to respond.

A few kind passes rolled in over the next couple of days. Then it was nothing but a whole bunch of crickets—most agents never responded to this message. But then I got one more email—another request for a phone call from a second agent who liked my PBParty submission.

I ended up with two offers, and took my time to consider both. I talked to clients of each agent. I talked to friends who had already been down this path. I thought and thought, asked some follow-up questions, took my kids to McDonald’s for chocolate shakes, then went with my gut. I accepted an offer of representation from Natascha Morris of BookEnds. I loved her energy and enthusiasm, background as an editor, and down-to-earth personality.

I told a few close friends, but had to keep things quiet until the contract was signed and fully executed. On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Natascha announced via Twitter that I had signed with her, and my social media blew up! I received so many lovely notes of encouragement and support. I posted thank yous on the groups that have supported me (12 x 12, KidLit411, StoryStorm). I let myself decompress for a day.

Then the very next morning, Natascha sent me my first editorial letter. The revision process was nowhere—I mean not even kind of, sort of, maybe a little—close to over. We went through four more significant rounds of revisions on the story before it was ready for submission to editors. It was a whirlwind, but six weeks after the contract was signed, the picture book was out the door and in the inboxes of a dozen editors.

Being a very goal-oriented, and deadline-driven person, I got right back on the writing horse and asked Natascha what was next. She gave me a deadline to have three more manuscripts ready for her to edit in a couple months so we could determine which would be the next book we send out to publishers. So more writing, writing, writing. And revising, revising, revising.

Some people have asked how long I’ve been writing, and I say ever since I can remember (or specifically, third grade when I wrote a story about a haunted house). But what they are a little less reluctant to ask, but I think more interested to know, is how long I had been querying. Well, I kept a massive spreadsheet of my submission process and have much more specific answers to that.

I joined the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators in December of 2014 and started researching children’s literature. (Side note: if you are a kidlit writer, please check out the wonderful programming, events, and support that SCBWI offers at the local level and online: www.scbwi.org.) I had been writing adult fiction for years before that, had some short stories published, and wrote three (unpublished) novels. So I jumped back into the querying trenches pretty quickly in March of 2015. Turns out it was way too quickly, but not something I realized for probably another year. I sent out 113 queries in all for 8 different picture books. I sent out 49 queries in total for the picture book that got Natascha’s attention.

For those who are in the querying trenches, I think there are a few essentials you need to secure an agent: a really good story, strong writing, a clear & concise query letter, a thick skin, and tons of patience. Hang in there, and keep going!

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

                        The post How I Got My Agent: Lisa Katzenberger appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/got-agent-lisa-katzenberger

[char27martin]

Why You Should Have the Tenacity of a Weed as a Writer

Readers ask me, “How long did it take you to write your book?” I am not being glib when I answer “64 years,” because, in reality, Almost Paradise is the result of every single day of my life.

You might want to know how long it took from first page to last, but that is also a difficult question. I began this book many years ago and “put it in the drawer” so to speak. (Make no mistake, my drawers are full of books and stories.) So the answer to that question might be as much as 15 years.

This guest post is by Corabel Shofner. Shofner is a wife, mother, attorney, and author. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English literature and was on Law Review at Vanderbilt University School of Law. Her shorter work has appeared or is forthcoming in Willow Review, Word Riot, Habersham Review, Hawai’i Review, Sou’wester, South Carolina Review, South Dakota Review, and Xavier Review. Her middle grade novel, ALMOST PARADISE, was released in July 2017.

Maybe you want to know how long I actually sat at the keyboard, or whether I write every day, or set word count goals. I don’t know. The fact is writers can be fast, slow, or entirely inconsistent, I am all of the above. I cannot in good conscience recommend my way to anyone. I am often overwhelmed by family and work. I get distracted by shiny objects. I ride a roller coaster, give up loudly only to return again and again. My path is a corkscrew. But that is me. I am a writer.

About four years ago, as an empty-nester and recovering parent, I spent the summer hiking every mountain in western North Carolina. I wasn’t writing at the time, but that changed when I received a bizarre and hateful letter from a distant cousin. The floodgates opened and out poured dozens of essays about my wrong-headed relatives—and I have plenty. I decided to rejoin my writers’ group of 20-plus years. I sketched out yet another novel, but realized that I wanted to revisit Ruby Clyde—the previous title for Almost Paradise.

Around that time I decided to get serious about publishing a novel. Some find it extremely easy to get published, others (and many of these are good writers) find it impossible. I think my story is about normal. When I sold my book in 2015, many people asked me how I did it, how could they do it, and could I do it for them. I remember having those same questions myself, but I always failed when I flubbed around with friends’ agents. I began to believe that the right agent for me would find me in the “slush pile.”

I already knew that a writer needs an agent, and then the agent finds an editor. But so much had changed since the last time I put my toe in the water. The digital world had taken over. I had much to learn. Approaching people by email is much easier than by snail mail, but because it is easier the numbers, are much higher. Everybody is doing it.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Preparing the manuscript and query letter, ten months:

I reworked my novel with my writers’ group, trusted friends, and an independent editor. I did everything I could to send out my best work.

I learned how to write the wicked query letter.

I used Query Tracker to research and organize my submissions to agents. My independent editor told me to submit to 100 agents before giving up.

2. Submitting to agents, four months:

I began submitting queries to agents in small batches. (Do not send all 100, because you might need to change your approach.) Follow their submission guidelines. Each agent is different. Spell their names correctly.

Fasten your seatbelt for turbulence. Rejection comes in many forms. Some will ignore you. Some will reject with or without comment. More exciting will be those who ask to read more of the novel. But beware: You might still be rejected. You never know exactly where you stand at this stage. Like the fog of war, I call this the fog of submissions.

I had several “plates on sticks” when Elizabeth Copps called me. After speaking with her for a short time, I knew that she was the one: She understood me and my book. All you need, in the end, is one agent who wants to fight for your book.

3. Editing with the agent, six months:

I signed and reworked my book with Elizabeth and the team at Maria Carvainis, getting it ready for submission to editors. This took six months, primarily because Elizabeth knew to wait until September when editors return from their summer escapes. Submission began. I got busy with other writing.

4. Submitting to editors, three months:

While Elizabeth worked, I pretended I didn’t care. I got a nibble from Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the first round of submissions.

5. Communicating with Editors, four months:

We began talking with two excellent editors. They didn’t make an offer immediately. After several conversations, my book went “up” to acquisitions without a re-write, but it was rejected. There was a problem with the death penalty. I was willing to make the changes, but I didn’t think it was possible. So I got in bed and put a pillow over my head until I received the most spectacular email from my son, Alex, which you can read here. I made the proposed changes to Ruby Clyde and they bought it.

6. The Call, one minute:

I got the Call. Cue dancing, squealing, hugging, and crying in Nashville.

In New York City, Alex ran to the liquor store and chose the bottles that came closest to Corabel Shofner & Ruby Clyde and headed over to Rockefeller Center to celebrate.

Korbel, Shaffner, Ruby and . . . no Clyde wine available, sorry.

So the question remains, did it take 64 years, 15 years, or 2 years? Does it matter? It is not as if this book is all I did during that time. I was living my life.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

    The post Why You Should Have the Tenacity of a Weed as a Writer appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/tenacity-weed-writer