Business
I am a notorious brightsider. On Writer Unboxed and elsewhere, I have advocated for persistence and positivity, for not letting artistic or career setbacks get you down, for not being jealous of other writers’ success. I have talked about my own long road to publication, and advised other writers “don’t give up, and don’t go it alone”, because sticking with it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get published, but giving up guarantees that you won’t.
However. I have bad days just like anyone else. And on those days, my “Someone else’s book is doing so much better than mine, waaah” self kind of wants to punch my “Don’t worry about it! All you can do is write the best book you can!” self in the throat.
So when platitudes of positivity aren’t enough, what happens? What’s the practical, rubber-meets-the-road advice that will get you through the inevitable setbacks? What do you actually do?
There are three ways to address any setback. Pick one.
1. Head-on. I don’t mean that if you’re jealous of another writer you should write them a long email detailing all your jealousies, but you should work hard, that very minute, on whatever you can control. If you’re depressed about queries getting rejected, send out more queries. If you feel like your upcoming book doesn’t have enough blurbs, write to authors you love and ask (politely) for blurbs. If you’re worried that another book out in the market is too similar to your work in progress, go buy a copy of that other book and read it. For every way that you can possibly flip out (believe me, they are nearly infinite) there is some way that you can address that flip-out. You probably can’t dissolve it entirely, but you can make it smaller.
2. Off to the side.
Read MoreThis column excerpted from my book, the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS (Writer’s Digest Books), the biggest database anywhere if you’re seeking a literary agent.
One of the most common questions I get at writers conferences is this: Can I query multiple literary agents at once? My answer is that not only yes you can, but you’re encouraged to. After all, though an agent will usually reply quickly (bless you, e-mail), they may take three whole months to get back to you, only to send you a form rejection. You can’t wait around for agents one by one like that.
So if you’re contacting various agents at the same time (“simultaneous submissions”), how many agents should you query? Would it be wise to just mail out your query to all 50 agents who rep science fiction, trying to personalize your letter wherever possible? I wouldn’t, if I were you. I would submit to 6-8 at a time, including those you’ve met at a writers conference or retreat.
(By the way, when you’re ready to submit, check out these lists of numerous agent interviews: fantasy agents, science fiction agents, general fiction agents, horror agents, nonfiction agents, middle grade fiction agents, and young adult fiction agents.)
But why 6-8? Isn’t that a strange arbitrary number?
I say 6-8 because I want you to protect yourself. My question to you is this: What if you submit your query to all 50 agents on your master list, but — heaven forbid — your query letter sucks? Every agent will turn you down and you’ll have hit a brick wall at the beginning of your journey. Instead, submit to a limited number of agents and gauge a response. If you submit to 7 agents and get 7 rejections with no reps asking to see more work, then guess what? Your query sucks. So edit your query letter. Overhaul it. Give it to friends, beta readers, and/or a professional book editor for a look. Protect yourself.
Taking this approach one step further, let’s say you send your polished query to 7 new literary agents, and get 4 responses asking for more work. Congratulations — your query letter is doing its job. But let’s say that none of those 4 agents who see a partial ask to read your full manuscript. Guess what that means? Your first few chapters aren’t up to snuff. Revise them. Overhaul them. Give the chapters to friends for a blunt critique.
The message is this: If you’re not progressing as you hope, try to identify where you’re going wrong so you can improve on it as quickly as possible. Protect yourself. Give yourself the best chance of success in finding a literary agent.
Photo courtesy Flickr’s kizette
Read MoreKnowing how to effectively market your e-book can be a challenge if you don’t have any formal education or professional experience in sales and marketing. Plus, these days, the default strategy seems to be “I’ll use social media.” But that’s not a strategy, it’s a tool.
When I teach the basics of marketing communication to e-media majors, we start by discussing the marketing mix, also known as the 4 Ps. Some say this model is outdated, but it’s still a useful way to begin a discussion about marketing a product.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the possible facets of the 4Ps, but it helps give you an idea of what comprises each.
Aside from having a quality e-book (Product), probably the most talked about factors for selling an e-book are:
There are a host of other factors that you ought to consider as well. Here’s a basic checklist.
PRODUCT
Read MoreAn amazing book by Yannick Murphy was the impetus to pull this post together, and I’ll gush about it in a minute. First, the question I hope we can work on today:
How does a quiet book, likely written by a quiet writer, become known in a world increasingly dominated by the loud?
The background
During the time I consume a book, and sometimes for days after, I’ll linger within the fictive dream. Recently, for example, I’ve imagined that I too might:
Trouble is, that entertainment comes tinged with yearning. While I might feel momentarily inspired and emboldened, it’s hard to see the book’s applicability to the regular me.
Contrast this with a different sort of novel. They tend to be what the industry calls “quiet.” They tend to be about ordinary people facing ordinary struggles searching for extraordinary grace. The characters are warmly drawn, the world infused with subtle optimism. A good portion of the book’s magic comes via its themes and texture.
On days when my biggest accomplishment is to use my inside voice with my teenagers; in weeks when the most deluded person couldn’t describe me as possessing “interestingness,” these are the books that return me to myself. They help me stand with feet connected to earth. I am validated, grateful. One might even say healed.
So what is the problem and why is it relevant to you?
Read More
Despite the tomes that have been written on the subject, querying continues to be one of the biggest hurdles new writers face. And there’s a lot of conflicting advice out there, which can make things more confusing.
I’ve successfully survived the query-go-round twice, and I thought I’d take a moment to share what I’ve learned. And for reasons that I can neither fathom nor justify (and which fuel my growing suspicion that I was dropped on my head as a baby – probably more than once), I’ve decided to share those perspectives in verse. Although some of these insights may not be new, I bet this is the first time they were delivered to you in the form of a poem!
Ahem…
The challenge of writing a query
is a task that most authors find dreary.
So strong does it vex,
they become nervous wrecks,
and may even become rather teary.
From writing a lim’rick or two,
I can quickly see one thing that’s true:
It will take me less time
if I don’t have to rhyme,
so I’m now going to switch to haiku.
Ah, this is better.
Now I do not have to rhyme;
only have to count.
For those who don’t know
how haiku works, it’s like this:
five, seven, then five.
(Syllables, that is.
But you probably got that.)
So, on with my post…
Therese here. Today’s guest is debut novelist Jennifer Miller, who’s here to talk with us today about agents–particularly why it’s important to have not only any agent, but the right agent. Jennifer’s book, The Year of the Gadfly, will be published by Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt in May 2012. And even though the book isn’t available to pre-order yet, you can whet your appetite for this spring book by reading the early reviews here.
Jennifer is also the author of a nonfiction book, Inheriting the Holy Land, and has a long line of journalism credits including The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Marie Claire, Men’s Health, Smithsonian.com, Salon.com, Guernica.com, the Columbia Journalism Review, and The Millions. She has an MFA and has taught about the craft of writing to students at Columbia, WritopiaLab, and the Free Bird Writer’s Workshop.
Welcome, Jennifer.
My Agent Romance
Break-ups suck and this one was no exception. It was a rainy afternoon, and I stood gripping the phone, feeling a chasm open in my stomach. My four-year relationship was over, and I was convinced I’d be alone forever.
If I tell you I’d just broken up with my literary agent, you might accuse me of hyperbole. Sure, we’d never kanoodled on the couch, or gone for Saturday night dinner dates, or batted around baby names. Our relationship was built on mid-week power-lunches and intense rounds of book proposal edits. But even though ours wasn’t an actual marriage, it kind of felt like one. My agent and I had signed a contract that (I naively thought) signaled our intent to stick together through thick and thin—good book deals, mediocre deals, or in the case of the immediate situation, no book deal. And we had produced a child together—the amazing book she’d been so instrumental in helping me produce. When my agent and I linked up four years prior, I never anticipated divorce. Does any newlywed?
Read MoreThis column excerpted from my book, the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS (Writer’s Digest Books), the biggest database anywhere if you’re seeking a literary agent.
One of the most common recurring work blog items I get complimented on (besides my headshot, which my wife has called “semi-dashing … almost”) is my “New Literary Agent Alerts,” a series where I spotlight new/newer literary agents who are open to queries and looking for clients. At writers conferences, a frequent question I get is “Is it OK to sign with a new agent?” This is an interesting question, so let me try to delve into it here.
First of all, let’s look at the CONS:
Now let’s look at the PROS:
How can you decide for yourself?
Read MoreTherese here to introduce M.J. Rose’s first post with Writer Unboxed as a monthly contributor. M.J.–founder of AuthorBuzz.com–will be bringing us Buzz, Balls & Hype originals about the world of marketing. Enjoy!
I think what I get asked the most is does book publicity and marketing really work, how much money should be devoted to a campaign, and whether, at the end of the day, the book won’t just really sell itself.
In my columns here I’ll address answers to those questions and more. If you have specific topics you want me to cover, feel free to put them in the comments section or write me at AuthorBuzzCo@gmail.com.
I think we’ll cover some broad strokes in this first post.
The Rules: Part 1.
1. No one will buy a book that they do not know exists. People won’t go looking for it on line or in the store if they have never heard of it. That is the goal of marketing and pr. To expose the book, the cover, your name to as many people as possible when the book comes out.
2. No matter how old a book is – it’s new to someone who has never heard of it before.
3. No book ever dies anymore. Because of the Internet – every book has a forever shelf-life. You can promote any title no matter how old it is for as long as you want. And you should.
4. You should be buzzing your books and your name – that’s how you build a brand and if you want to have a long-term career you want a brand. You want to stand for something and be known for something.
Lee Child is synonymous with Jack Reacher.
That’s really specific.
Other writers have brands that are broader.
Read MoreTherese here. One of the best parts of being a writer is getting out from behind the computer to meet other writers, as I did earlier this year at Boston’s Muse and the Marketplace conference. There I had the opportunity to meet author Liz Michalski. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy meeting Liz, I was impressed by her versatile and slightly quirky business cards. Very. I ordered a set for myself as soon as I arrived back home. I asked Liz to swing by today to tell us a little more about them–and a trick she’s been using to make them even more valuable to her as an author. Enjoy!
Unboxed Business Cards
Before EVENFALL was released, I spent a lot of time thinking about ways to thank the people who would read it. There are so many books out there these days, in so many different formats, I’m really appreciative whenever anyone takes the time to purchase mine, and I wanted to find a way to express that.
I considered making up bookmarks, bracelets, or stickers, but I wanted something more personal — something that would have meaning for those who had read the book, that would make them feel special, and that would allow me to connect with them on an individual level.
The solution came to me one day when I was standing in the grocery line idly reading the tabloid headlines. “Secrets of the Stars!” one magazine trumpeted. Everybody wants to know the hidden story, right? The stuff that’s not out there for the public? The stories that not everyone knows?
And so the secret pages were born.
Read MoreTherese here. Today’s post is about difficult-to-place books, and here to talk about that is today’s guest, Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Carolyn is an author out of the U.K. who’s published not only a beautifully reviewed “fringe” novel–The Guardian Angel’s Journal (Little,Brown / Piatkus, 2011)–but a book of award-winning poetry–Inroads (Seren, 2010). She’s been called “one to watch” (Publisher’s Weekly) and “The new Audrey Niffenegger” (Company). I’d tell you a little more about what the book is about, but Carolyn is going to tell you in the post, so let’s just get to it. Enjoy!
“My novel’s too ‘fringe’ – will any commercial publisher on the planet be interested?”
Any writer with an internet connection knows that publishers are wary of anything that doesn’t smack of commercial appeal, and in the current economic climate, with sliding books sales and book giants like Borders closing their doors, wariness has become the publishing industry’s watchword. A writer submitting a manuscript in such a climate needs to make sure that his or her book doesn’t have ‘risk’ written all over it. However, this does not mean that you should compromise your material, your genre, or your passion. It’s a matter of searching out the universal, human themes of your work – and I bet they’re there. Your novel is about an uprising of farmhands in 16th century Mongolia? Or the conflict between two agoraphobic siblings over their parents’ clown museum? Fine – but what about your themes? Could your novel be pitched (or tweaked) as a story about redemption in the face of adversity? Love against all odds? Think of Shakespeare – 400 years later and he’s still making money, even when Renaissance English is virtually a foreign language. Why? Because even when his plays are about depressed aristocrats or magicians on mysterious islands, they’re really about the conditions of humankind.
Forget for a moment that the publishing industry is risk-averse. Think about your readers.
Read MoreNo matter where you are on your career path, one of the best ways to connect with readers and fellow writers is through social networking. But we are all different. Some of us are apples, some are oranges, some of us are plums, some are kiwis…
The way you present yourself through these venues is undeniably important. It can either help or hinder your fan base and industry connections. But how do you show who you are — what makes you unique, why others would be interested in you — without going overboard and pushing people away? How do you know which parts of your personality to put on public display and which to keep hidden?
The short answer: It takes time to find what works for you. It takes trial and error to establish your comfort zone.
For the long answer, I asked a couple of authors at different career stages the following questions: In your writing career thus far, how have you been true to yourself in the public eye, what makes you, you? What have you allowed yourself to compromise, either with a good or bad result?
Both authors have shown themselves to be quite adept at social networking, through more than one venue. How do they approach it?
Read More
