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writingwithfolklore · 2 months

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3 Important things about Traditional Publishing

This post is for people who want to be traditionally published. If you’re down to Indie publish, or are only interested in posting your own fiction online—don’t worry about it!

First things first, traditional (or trad) publishing is when you go through an editor at a publishing house and they publish your book. They also take a hefty percentage of the profits, but handle the editing, cover design, titling, promotion, etc. for you. Sometimes you may also go through a literary agent who will represent you (send your work and advocate for you) to publishing houses.

Indie publishing (independent) is when you do it on your own, also known as self publishing. You have more control, but have to build a team behind you to help you edit, design, format, promote, etc. (or do it all yourself). and it can be difficult to get your book in places like book stores and libraries since they usually only do dealings with publishing houses.

With that out of the way, let’s talk 3 important things I know about trad publishing.

1. Don’t share your work online

If you want to be traditionally published, don’t post any of your work online anywhere. Including little bits and pieces, including excerpts, including characters, including titles. Nothing. Keep it locked down.

This is because many trad publishing contracts will consider you posting your work online as it being “previously published”, and may reject your work for that reason. To be on the safe side, don’t put any of your work online or submit it to other journals/magazines.

2. Be prepared to let go of some of the decision making.

When you go through lit agents and publishing houses, you give up an amount of creative control to get your work published. They just want to make it as good (and marketable) as possible, so trust that they know what they’re talking about.

This means they may choose your title, you may not have any control over the cover image, they might even ask you to get rid of a character or change the ending or any other amount of larger edits. You are allowed to reject some ideas, but choose your battles. Taking this feedback and making these edits is what will get your work published, so if that is your goal, be accommodating, trust that they have so much experience and will make your work better.

3. You should NEVER have to pay them

If you’re paying a traditional publisher to publish your work, you are being scammed. The money works this way:

The reader buys the book for say $20.

To make this simple, let’s say $20 then goes to the publishing house.

They take 50%, so $10 goes to your literary agent (if you have one).

They take another 50% so $5 goes to you.

Never, ever should the money be flowing the opposite direction where you are giving money to these businesses to publish your work. I will say it again, if you are paying these people, you are being scammed.

This is really important, because I knew a girl who was working three jobs to get her work published. They were asking for almost 20K. My heart absolutely breaks for her—she just didn’t know that that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

Whether it’s 20k, $100, or 3 cents. You don’t pay them.

(Of course, if you’re in indie publishing this is a whole different story. In indie, you pay people to do any of the work you don’t want to do. If you need an indie editor, you pay them, if you want an artist to design your cover, you pay them. This rule only applies to trad publishing!)

Anything else important that I missed?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #traditional publishing #getting trad published #traditional publishing advice #3 important things about traditional publishing

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broodparasitism · 7 months

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Everything I've Learned About Querying from Talking to Agents (And Traditionally Published Authors)

Disclaimer: I'm UK based, as was everyone I spoke to. I didn't include any country specific advice, just what I think is applicable regardless of where you live, put it might be useful to know this is from a UK lens.

As part of my course I was able to go to a lot of talks with literary agents (a mixture of literary, genre and nonfiction) and I picked up a lot of useful information - a lot of it not quite so bleak as I feared! - and thought it might be helpful to compile it for anyone looking to query agents in the future, so, here goes, under the readmore:

Querying

Remember that agents want to find and publish new authors. They're not at odds with/out to get aspiring authors. They want to work with us. This is someone you're working with, so don't pick an agent you won't get along with.

Manuscripts should be queried when they are as close to finished you are able to manage. There are a few agents that are open to incomplete manuscripts, yes, but many more that flat-out refuse unfinished work. Manuscripts generally go through about ~15 rounds of edits before landing an agent.

Send query letters in batches - around five or six at a time. There is no limit to how many agents you can contact, but you can't contact more than one agent from the same agency, so make sure you've selected the most suitable one from each.

In most cases you can't submit the same manuscript to the same agent twice - so having it be as finished as possible is all the more vital.

Some of them will take a long time to respond. Some never respond at all. If it's been three months of nothing, it's safe to assume that's a rejection.

One agent said she took on about two new authors a year, which likely isn't true for them all but is probably a reasonable average. For all of them, the amount of queries they get can be in the three digits a week. I can't emphasis enough just how many they get. I take a lot of authors to mean that means it's a 0.001% chance and despair, but that assumes each manuscript has an equal chance, and they don't. Correct spelling and grammar, writing in a genre that appeals to the agent, quality sample chapters and respecting the submission guidelines (more on this later) improve the odds by a significiant amount.

One agent said he rejected about half of his submissions from the first page due to spelling and grammar mistakes and cliches, for perspective.

You'll need to pitch your book. If your book cannot be pitched in three sentences, that's a sign it has too much going on and you'll need to do some pruning.

Please don't panic if you cannot come up with an accurate pitch for your book on the fly - you're not supposed to be able to do that. A pitch takes many edits and drafts just like a manuscript.

Send your first three chapters and a synopsis (this should be a page, or two pages double spaced. It should not include every single plot point though, again, if major things end up not there at all, question if they're necessary for the manuscript).

Three chapters is the standard - as in, if the agent web page doesn't specify how many, that's what to opt for. If they say anything else, for the love of God listen. If there was a single piece of advice that the agents emphasised above all else, it was to just follow each submission requirement to a T.

There needs to be a strong hook in these chapters. If your manuscript is a bit of a slow burn, that's fine, but you can cheat a bit with a 'prologue' that's actually a very hook-y scene from later on.

Read the agent's bio page throughly and make a note of what they like, who they represent, and what they're looking for, and highlight this in the query letter.

Your query letter has to say a little about you. It doesn't have to be really personal information (but say if you're under 40, because that's rare for authors and they like that), and keep it professional but not stiff, they say. If you have any writing credentials, such as awards won or creative writing degrees, include them, as with any real life experiences that pertains to the content of your book. But no one will be rejected on the basis of not having had an interesting enough life.

Apparently one of the biggest mistakes for debut authors tend to be too many filler scenes.

In terms of looking for comparative titles, think about where you want your book to 'sit'. Often literally - go into bookstores and visualise where on the displays you could see it. It's really helpful if you can identify a specific marketing niche. Though you want to choose comparisons that sell well, but going for really obvious choices looks lazy. A TV or film comparison is fine - as long as it genuinely can be compared.

Do not call yourself the next Donna Tartt. Or JK Rowling. They are sick of this.

Don't trust agents who request exclusive submission.

Or any with a fee. Agents take a percentage of your advance/royalties - you never pay them directly.

In terms of trends (crowd booing), there's been a boom in uplifting, optimistic fiction, but more recently dark fiction has been rising in popularity and looks to have its moment. Fantasy and Gothic are both huge right now. Publishers also love what's called upmarket/book club fiction - books that toe the line between genre and literary.

But publishers aren't clairvoyant and writing to trends is a futile effort, so don't let them shape what you want to write. Some writing advice I got that I loved was to not even THINK about marketability until draft three or four.

If any agent requests your full manuscript - this is crucial - email every other agent you're waiting to hear back from and let them know. This will take your manuscript from the slush pile to the top, and you are more likely to get more offers of representation.

The agent that flatters you the most isn't necessarily the best. Be sure to ask them what their plan for the book is, and what publishers they're planning to send it to - you want them to have a precise vision. It might be that their vision misses the mark on what kind of book you wanted to write, and if so, they aren't the right agent for you.

Research like hell! A good place to start is finding out who represents authors you love (the acknowledgements pages are really helpful here). if you can, getting access to The Writer's and Artist's Yearbook is very helpful, as is The Bookseller, the lattr for checking up on specific agents. (I was warned the website search engine is awful, so google "[name] the Bookseller" to see what they've sold. That said, only the huge deals get reported, so it's not indicative of everyone they take on.

I also want to add Juliet Mushen's article on what makes a good query. I owe a lot to it, and I feel like it's a useful template!

Once Agented

Agents send a manuscript to about 18-25 publishers, typically. Most books will end up having more than one publisher interested.

It can be hard to move genres after publishing a debut novel, especially for book two, not only because it means it takes longer for you to establish yourself, but the agent that may be perfect for dealing with manuscripts for book one might not have the skills for book two.

Ask the agency/publisher about their translation rights, their rights to the US market, and film and TV rights. Ask also what time of year the book is going to come out, if being published.

It's less the book agents are interested in than it is you as an author. You will be asked what you're going to write next, so have an answer. Just an answer - you don't need another manuscript ready to go. One author said she flat-out made up a book idea on the spot, and she got away with it - just have an answer. (This is also useful to put on the query letter.)

Caveat that this is, of course, not a foolproof guide to getting a book deal, nor is it in any way unconditional endorsement of how the industry works - I just thought it would be useful to know.

#writeblr #wtwcommunity #traditional publishing #literary agents #wrting advice #kinda #eta a readmore link

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jameyannefuller · 1 year

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Feel like I shouldn't need to say this, but apparently it needs to be said, so here goes. If you finished your book during NaNoWriMo, there is something you should absolutely not do.

Do. Not. Start. Querying. Your. NaNo. Book. Today.

#Writing #writing tip #traditional publishing #querying #NaNoWriMo #seriously don't do this

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novlr · 1 month

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Lots of people have told me I should self publish, but I think I still want to try to go through traditionally publishing my book first. I've got a finished manuscript, so how do I go about querying agents to find the best fit?

Pitching your manuscript to literary agents is a length process that requires lots of dedication, and a great deal of research. To get the most out of your querying, you definitely need to go in prepared.

We've put together this walk through for how to pitch your novel to literary agents, including some helpful do's and don'ts at the link below!

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cmoroneybooks · 1 year

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When seeking commercial success with writing you need to be realistic. Just because something shouldn’t be the way it is doesn’t mean you can ignore that reality.

What I mean:

People do judge a book by it’s cover, unless you’re talented and have done your research it will negatively impact you not to pay a professional.

Marketing a book isn’t about how good your book is. It’s an entirely different skillset you’ll need to pick up whether you get indie published or traditionally published.

If you’re writing something niche you can’t expect the marketing advice of people writing and selling something with wide scale appeal to work for you. You’ll need to find a way to advertise directly to the communities that surround your niche.

Bigots read and buy books.

Publishing a book is fucking expensive but cutting corners is quickly noticeable.

Publishers don’t take as many risks as they should, they’re increasingly letting indie authors take risks and prove that certain types of story can make it. You might have to wait for someone else to prove your kind of story works in the indie space to get any traction in the trad space.

I doubt any of these really surprise anyone. But anytime something is unfair or wrong in publishing whether indie or trad I see a lot of writers say something like ‘well people shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover so I’m making my own anyway’ as if saying that somehow changes reality. Let’s be realistic but hopeful and defiant as we head into 2023. Like the pragmatic side character who’s with the hero till the bitter end.

(Also how else are we meant to judge your book in a sea of others, when there’s so many that picking one off the shelf or clicking on to see the blurb is a decision of itself??)

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strangebiology · 8 months

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Myths about Traditional Publishing

Now that I'm in the book-writing world I see a LOT of anti-trad publishing posts. They usually have some nonsense in them so I'm going to address these myths/misrepresentations.

I’m NOT trying to say everyone should trad publish. In fact, I actually suggest people without significant writing experience not write a book at all until they get experience. You asked. If you want to write something faster without any editors and you're okay with doing a lot more work per sale, or if you haven't published anything shorter than a book, I DO recommend self-publishing to you (or, re-thinking why you want to write a book.) Just make sure you’re making your choice without influence from misinfo!

🚫 “Traditional Publishing means less money because your royalty is less!”

✅Your royalty is less but every one of these anti-trad posts misses the very important financial reality that traditional publishers sell your book widely, meaning more sales without work on your end, and more importantly: the ADVANCE! Yes, trad writers get money before a single book sells! On average most traditionally published books make WAY more than self, even though there are very rare stories of financial success among the portion of self-published authors who are very talented and hard-working.

🚫 “The advance doesn’t count because you have to pay it back!”

✅BS. Money DOES NOT flow from the writer to the publisher in trad pub. Not even if you sell zero books. As the royalties come in, they initially start flowing to refill the advance that the publisher lost, and they go to the writer once that is refilled. The writer is happy because they already have their advance, which has already gone to paying off their debts or into an index fund or the downpayment on a house so they don’t have to throw away money renting, so they’re in a much better financial situation than with no advance. There is no downside to getting guaranteed money earlier.

The only way you’d have to pay it back is like any job: if I pay you to fix my roof and you don’t do it, the contract is broken and I am legally entitled to my money back. Hopefully, you already knew that.

🚫 “The advance doesn’t count because you get it in installments and you have to pay some to your agent and taxes exist!”

✅The second part of that is true, but so what? With a $50k advance and an agent, you keep $42,500 minus taxes. That’s $21,250 on signing and $21,250 on completion. (And yes, there are different installment patterns, different advances etc.) With self-publishing, you get $0 and then $0 forever until your book starts selling. If your advance is small that’s unfortunate but remember self-publishing advances are $0. Zero dollars is much less than $42,500. Zero is less than $1. Self-publishers also go into actual debt to pay for editors, printers, and marketing, so you could easily start with negative money.

🚫 “Traditional publishing sucks because they expect you to do all your own marketing!”

✅Huh? Whatever expectations are happening in the heart of my publisher are none of my business or concern. Marketing on my end is not in my contract and I doubt it’s in the majority of trad contracts. I’ll definitely promote my book as much as I can but I’m sure as heck not going to spend 40 hours a week doing it or getting a degree in marketing unless I'm getting paid.

However, the publisher employs professional book marketers and they are the ones incentivized to sell the first [insert advance dollar amount] worth of books.

Also, who do you think markets your self-published book? The Marketing Fairy?

🚫 “You have to write the whole book first.”

✅Yes with fiction, usually. Unless they trust you because of your track record, and you have a good pitch and part of the book written (like the first three chapters.) With nonfiction, generally, you don't need to have written much of that, maybe one chapter and lots of articles. They might require more if you're writing a memoir, especially if you don't have writing experience. They want to know you can do it.

🚫 “Traditional publishing is just a lottery!”

✅I mean there are elements of luck, what’s in fashion, privilege etc. just like in all fields, especially creative ones. But most of the reason people get trad contracts is hard work, experience, a good concept, proof of successful writing and publishing (including non-books!), caring about what the readers want, etc.

Most people who I talk to who tried and failed to traditionally publish had no published writing of any sort. Most who succeed at trad publishing had plenty, as well as a lot of expertise in that area. Like, a degree and/or years of experience in that field, not "I listened to a few podcasts on it."

🚫 “Actually a smaller advance is better.”

✅Absolutely not. This is an insidious nonsense rumor akin to “a smaller salary is better” and I wonder if publishers started that rumor to financially abuse their writers or if writers spread it because hate themselves and each other. I’ve heard all the justifications, they make no financial sense, if you hate money give it to me.

The only reason to take a smaller advance would be the same as the reason to take a smaller salary: if the publisher makes up for it with something else that's worth it.

Interestingly, I'm told bigger advances sell out faster, because they attract attention behind the scenes, from reviewers, booksellers, etc.

🚫 “Even an advance of 100k isn't that much when you split it into four payments over 2 years. Better to get regular royalties. Not like $100k is enough to quit your day job.” ✅$100k split into four payments over 2 years is WAY more than the $0 self-publishing gets you before sales. Even $200/month for 40 YEARS is less than 100k, and that's without the time value of money or inflation. And, remember, trad published books get royalties too, the only difference is the first [insert advance here] is GUARANTEED, and after that, fewer dollars per book sold. If you make $100k per book and don't spend too much time per book, that can very easily BE your day job and you CAN certainly quit your other one to pursue that. But no one said anything about assuming selling one $100k is enough for the rest of your life. That would be an absurdly irresponsible mindset. Just because trad publishing doesn't guarantee anything crazy like one book financially supporting you forever, doesn't mean it's worse financially. What a weird, irrelevant straw man.

🚫 “But if you don't sell out your advance, the publisher drops you!"

✅Misleading. First, what is the time frame of this accusation? Your book is not going to sell $50k worth in a week, most likely. Second, what do you mean by "drop?" The publisher does not do anything bad to the author as they are waiting and hoping for sales. They continue to sell and work with the book, they do not yeet it or burn it or un-publish it.

What does happen is your publisher will consider your past success when deciding whether to sign another book contract and how much to give you for your next advance. If your last book sold $100k in a month, but your advance was $101k, then yes, they have lost money so far. But the prospects of your writing are fantastic, and they are likely to sign you again. There is more than one month in their lives.

If your book did not perform well--say it sold $5k in 5 years--then that ONE publishing company isn't going to sign you again. Duh? Then you have like 99,999 other publishing companies to look at. Or you could self-publish. Is that a problem? How are the pro-self-publishing people so scared of self-publishing? Or you could just not write more books, you tried it once, you can decide that's enough, especially if you aren't happy with how it turned out. Don't we all have more than one goal in life? Didn't you want to get into fishing or dancing or insurance sales too?

🚫 “Getting a book contract is my retirement plan!"

✅(I realize most of this post seems pro-trad but yes, we need some reality check.) A trad contract is as good as it does--and as good as the author is. Same with self-publishing. Maybe you could make a lot of money at it, but I ask, what is your experience? How do you know your book is so amazing? You know some of the most financially successful writers still put out TONS of books, right? Because it's a job.

🚫 “Nobody earns a living from this."

✅Well. No, some people do earn livings from book writing, at least temporarily. A single book isn't going to sustain you forever, like I said, but it could potentially sustain you for the time it takes to write it, and even longer maybe, if you and your publisher are good enough. The next year will pass whether you're working on a book or you're working in insurance sales or at Starbucks; so you must consider your values, skills, opportunity cost, the money you get from each, and whatever else matters to you when deciding which to do. You can pitch a publisher and say "no, that's not enough money" when they offer you a contract, if you want.

At the end of the day, trad publishing is a business. No publishing company owes you anything except what is in the contract they signed. Not working with the same place twice isn't going to kill you. Getting rejected is part of the game--you didn't get into every college you applied to, did you? You don't get every award or every job you apply to, you don't cry when you open the Pepsi bottle and it says "try again." But if you don't treat writing like a job, if your publisher sucks, or you think it's a get-rich-quick scheme that requires no skills, craft, or ambition, then you will fail miserably and regret the whole thing.

#writing #publishing #book publishing #traditional publishing #indie publishing #not biology

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vavandeveresfan · 9 days

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Don't share anyone's pseudonym.

I have to change one of my professional pen names because a friend I thought I could trust, one of only two people not in publishing who knows, blabbed to her writing group that the nom de plume is me.

This pseudonym is one I've only used for short stories. But I was going to use it for an new novel. But now I have to change it. Thank god we hadn't gotten any further in the process, because if it were already being printed I'd be stuck with the present pseud.

If someone entrusts you with their pen name it's because they trust you to keep it to yourself.

It doesn't matter if you think it's not a big deal to tell others. There are many reasons writers use a pseudonym. Some are commercial, some are very personal. In fanfics it may be the author is under 18 and doesn't want family to know she writes sex scenes.

When a writer has published under a pseud, that name becomes their brand. They don't want to have to change it.

If someone asks you to not tell anyone else, do this:

If you're a writer who uses a pseudonym, the safest bet is to tell no one. I know it sucks to not be able to show someone a story/fic and say "I wrote this!" But if you felt you needed a pseud in the first place, the safest secret is one never told.

I have three other pen names, each for a different genre, one for fanfics. Only my dearest best friend of 22 years, who's my first editor, knows their mine.

Now I have to come up with a new pseudonym. And that ain't easy! Especially when it will/might end up on the cover of my book.

BTW, if you're choosing a pseud, pick one whose surname begins with M. That'll give you a good spot on library and bookshelves.

#writblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #writerscommunity #writing #writer #writers #writer problems #writing problems #pseudonym #traditional publishing #pen name #nom de plume

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fixyourwritinghabits · 2 years

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Don't link anything correctly, it's fine. Here's the actual link.

#traditional publishing #it's a doozy

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aritany · 10 months

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thinking about the industry professional i encountered who went IN on my writing because i had a “problem” with telling and not showing.

boggled my mind and confused me because passages they would point out seemed fine to me and i really have worked on showing over telling since i started writing. we went back and forth on this for months and i got increasingly more and more confused.

anyway, after a spectacularly bewildering exchange where they said to me “‘scowling’ is telling” i eventually realized that this publishing industry professional had just invented their own definition for the phrase “show don’t tell”. their version of ‘telling’ highlighted any time i didn’t go into descriptive detail in a moment where i could have (and in their opinion should have) done so.

it had nothing to do with the actual definition of “show don’t tell”. i could have a paragraph filled with nothing but action beats and the character’s internal reactions in the moment and i would get it highlighted and sent back with “too telly”. what they meant was “go into more detail here”.

i think about this every single day. there’s no moral to this story. i just. 🫡

#publishing #traditional publishing #writing advice #show don’t tell #imagine me scrambling for Months trying to understand what was going on #imagine me biting my tongue so hard because i’m not allowed to explain things like this for fear of looking condescending #also because this person stood between me and a major pub goal #??#this is one of those ‘no hard feelings’ situations where it’s like. but. Confused feelings yeah. confused feelings For Sure #alex talks

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outofbluecomesgreen2 · 1 day

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I have so many thoughts about traditional published books right now.

I need to share this one.

In my country, yesterday was „Tag des Buches“ means „Day of the book“, and what did I do? As a person moving around in fandom? I read a fic. An amazing fic btw. A fic I wouldn’t even know it existed if not someone, maybe the author theirself, had send me the link of the fic over tumblr when I posted the first chapter of my own fic last year.

So, I’m reading this fic now.

This amazing, beautiful, sweet, romantic as hell, deeply lovebale fic about Dean and Cas located in Omegaverse.

And while I’m reading it and deeply fell in love with the story, I found out, just in the middle of the fic, that the author wrote 3 other stories from different POV‘s, which you can read in the middle of their fic, as a junction if you so will to get other perspectives to dive more deeply into the story itself.

First, I was sceptical, to be honest. Conditined on „how to read“ and „what you have to read“, which I learned over the last years, but definitely since I’m in fandom, to finally question what I expect and want from stories, I was forced to either read an „incomplete“ story or just do it, and read this junction, which isn’t a big thing per so, you could say OR it means a world, a milestone of how storytelling is working.

Because if I‘m completely honest with myself, when I read a traditional published book, a book I‘m deeply in love with, a book I want to read a second time or more, I miss other POVs sometimes.

Now I wonder if this is the reason (or might be one reason) why I read these novels more than once in the first place. To find a glimpse, just a small sign of another perspective in the story.

I understand, thats one, if not THE reason why people start writing fanfics anyway: to give themselves (and others) another perspective of a movie, a show, a book they like.

Here: it’s the author theirselve doing this and I‘m thrilled, fascinated, enlightened, whatever word you would use to describe this emoji: 🤯

It’s mindblowing finding this out in a non traditional published fic. A fic I deeply love.

There are other ways of telling stories and I guess the options are endless!

This is the fic:

#supernatural #destiel #deancas #ao3 #supernatural fanfiction #castiel #supernatural au #dean winchester #omegaverse #traditional publishing #fanfic readers #writing fanfiction #my pov #storytelling

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katy-l-wood · 1 year

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Did it take me three years to do it? Yes. But I did finally write up a post about how I got my literary agent. :P

Alright, this is a bit of a weird one, so buckle up.

Firstly, I am represented by Sara Megibow of K.T. Literary. Both Sara herself and the agency are based out of Colorado.

I started querying I think around a decade ago? It was for a project that, let me tell you, I am so fucking glad didn’t get picked up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I wrote it, I learned from it. But WHEW. It was…it was not good. I don’t remember how many queries I sent for that one—not many I think—but Sara WAS one of them, as was Kate Testerman, the founder of K.T. Literary. Sara was not yet with K.T. Literary, however. But she, and K.T. Literary, were both in Colorado and I was in Colorado, so they stuck out to me in my agent search compared to all the distant New York Agents. I could actually go visit them when they gave talks or went to local conventions and conferences and retreats, which was nice. Also, they’re just stellar agents.

After that first project I did query a couple others to Sara and Kate over the years, along with plenty of other agents. Just good old “into the slushpile” like everyone else. Got some partial requests, but nothing stuck. I did meet up with Sara and Kate every year or so at some convention or another, and talked to them back and forth on Twitter fairly frequently. (IDK if she’ll remember, but one time Kate offered to let me come sleep on her couch because I nearly got stuck at work in a blizzard and her house was much closer than mine, and she’d seen me complaining about the storm on Twitter. I did end up making it back to my place, though, even if my car did do a fair amount of the journey sideways.)

And then, we hit ✨2020✨.

((Read the rest on my website by clicking here.))

#Publishing #Traditional Publishing #How I got my literary agent #Literary Agents

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em-dash-press · 2 years

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How Traditional Publishing Works for Novel-Length Manuscripts

Your future as a writer may seem murky at best. It's difficult to dream beyond your latest notebook or Google Doc if you don't know how publishing works.

Today we're going to talk a bit about that! This post will be for publishing longer manuscripts. Eventually, I'll make another one for publishing short stories.

Step 1: Finish That Manuscript

You may have heard that you can start contacting literary agents or publishers after you have a decent chunk of your manuscript done. While there are a few here and there that could be fine with that, it's best to always finish your manuscript before querying begins.

How do you know when it's finished? I'll write more on that later, but for now here's a basic checklist:

Edit your story for flow, character development and pacing. This may involve storyboarding again or even talking through your book with a friend.

Edit your work for line-edits (spelling, punctuation, etc.)

Give your work to a beta reader! That could be your partner, best friend, family member, etc. They'll have a fresh pair of eyes for things like plot holes, confusing arcs, unfinished story lines, and tension that never resolves.

Double check that your themes get resolved.

Step 2: Draft Your Query Letter

I already made a post showing how to draft a query letter and the answers to common query questions, but here's a summary: you need a good query letter for your finished manuscript. They're the first impression an agent gets of you and your work.

Query letters always include:

An introduction to your work (the title, the genre, the word count, a one-sentence summary)

An explanation of the plot (don't hold back—it should include your beginning, middle, and end, plus any tropes and themes)

Comparative titles (novels in the same genre as your work that were published in the last ~2 years or less)

The reason why you wrote your novel (what makes you the best person to write about that theme/plot/character growth, etc)

Step 3: Find Your Agents

There are a few ways to find agents and you can try different methods throughout your querying journey.

Use QueryTracker to find agents by genre, availability, location, etc. Then track your queries with the same website to find out who's read your work, who's rejected it and who wants to get in touch. (The free version does most of this, but there's a paid version for people who want to hardcore dedicate themselves to querying).

Check out those comparative titles—authors almost always thank their agents in the Acknowledgements section. Start a running list and note their publishers.

Search Twitter for agents who are open to queries. It may seem strange, but most agents have Twitter accounts and announce when they're open or closed to queries. You can always follow them on your personal or writing account, but you can also search for them by looking up hashtags like “open for queries" and “submissions are open.” If you want more details, check out this great resource for more hashtags and strategies. Note—you should never direct message an agent on Twitter. Always contact them through their preferred methods, usually located in their bio or pinned tweet (if they’re open to queries).

Step 4: Sign With an Agent

This step can take weeks, months, or years. Every writer’s querying journey is different. Sometimes the market isn’t right for a specific genre or storyline. Other times, you may need time to revise and polish your manuscript or shelve it entirely for a more developed idea.

Searching “amquerying” on Twitter is a great way to read other writers’ experiences. You’re not alone if you’re frustrated, exhausted, tired, or just plain sad. It’s hard to get rejections and try again when you’re likely the only person who currently believes in your specific manuscript.

Agents have to pick projects based on what they want to represent, but also what they can sell. If your story is too new or different, they may pass until it’s more culturally relevant or more popular with readers.

When an interested agent offers representation (likely after requesting a full manuscript), ask plenty of questions to get to know them. You don’t have to accept the first agent who comes along. They should align with your vision for your book and who you want to reach with it.

When you do sign with an agent, celebrate! It’s a big step that you should recognize! Lots of hard work and dedication went into getting an agent, and it’s only the start of your publishing journey.

Step 5: Look Forward to Your Book Deal

Your agent has a few roles. They’re supposed to look out for your best interests with publishers and all the legal aspects that come along with book deals.

But first, they have to land a deal. That means they write pitch letters or decks and send them to publishers they think will be the best fit for your manuscript. Letters are more common, but pitch decks are more necessary for writers of children’s books and graphic novels who have pictures integrated into their work.

This process can take a while. Don’t expect to sign a book deal overnight or even in the first month. As long as your agent keeps up communication with you about the process, you’ll know you’re in good hands.

Things That Will Be in Your Book Deal

Your Contract

Contracts include all the information related to your deal. Your agent will use it to potentially negotiate for more money, better control over your film rights or foreign publication rights, and basically all the little details that go along with those things.

Your Advance

When writer’s sign a book deal, the get a check. That check is called your advance. The advance is a sum of money that the publishing house or imprint gives you for the right to publish that book. It could vary from $1,000 to six figures, but new authors (and especially women and people of color) typically get around $5,000 for their first book.

Smaller amounts will arrive in a single check. Larger amounts are split into multiple checks spanning the time from your signing date to publication.

Your Royalties

Every time your book sells a copy, you’ll earn royalties on that sale. However, writers don’t see royalty earnings until those royalties out-earn their advance.

If you got the average $5k advance, you’ll have to sell enough books to earn $5k in royalties before you see routine checks in the mail for royalties after that point. Your agent will negotiate your royalty percentage during…well, negotiations.

Step 6: Figure Out the Pre-Production Details

You’ve signed your book deal—throw a party! Then it’s time to get to work.

Your agent will connect you with an editor, who then sends you an editorial letter after reading your manuscript. It will contain everything they think could improve plus their marked-up copy. You’ll dive into structural changes if necessary, but mostly line edits.

You don’t have to agree with everything your editor suggests. It’s still your book. However, they know the industry the best and will want your work to succeed as much as you do. Talk things out and come to a compromise, but stay true to your book’s intended purpose throughout editing.

Your publisher’s legal team will go over your edited copy when it’s close to perfect to ensure there are no issues. They typically find things like the use of song lyrics that you haven’t bought the rights to and mentions of real persons or brands that may result in lawsuits.

Next, your design team will work with you on potential cover designs. interior layouts, jacket versus hardcover designs and blurb placement. They have most of the say over your final cover, but your agent can go to bat for you if you think the options are truly ugly.

Next, you’ll come up with a marketing plan. Imprints and publishing houses typically have marketing teams and publicity experts that work with authors. You’ll talk about which stores will sell your book and which websites will get ads based on your target reader audience’s known shopping habits/website preferences. Ads on social media and your involvement with posting about your book will also come up.

Proofreaders and beta readers are also part of this stage. They’re the fresh sets of eyes every writer needs to know if their readers will understand how they wrapped up their themes, character development paths and plot. They’ll point out when things don’t make sense, need more expansion or could be cut as they read through your Advanced Readers Copies (ARCs).

Step 7: Marketing and Blurbs

A bit more about the marketing stage—your agent has a hand in this too. Based on their previous or current authors, they may have personal connections with influencers and big names in the book world. They’ll send those people ARCs and ask those people for blurbs if they think those famous people have audiences who would be interested in your manuscript.

You can also talk with your agent about getting blurbs from similar debut authors in your genre or only authors from marginalized communities, depending on your priorities. The only time they might say no to this idea would be if your preferred people hardly have audiences or if their audiences have shown interest (via book sales) in other genres.

Your team will decide other things like:

Who gets your ARCs

If you’ll send some ARCs through contests

Which retail stores will stock your book

If you’ll pitch your book to get sponsored by big book clubs

If you’ll pitch for your book to be included in book subscription services

Where you’ll post digital ads and for how long

How you’ll create marketing campaigns with sites like Goodreads and other book sites popular with readers

Most writers also have to market their book on their personal Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter accounts. You’ll likely only get out of this step if you’re already an established author who can sell books without blinking (think: James Patterson or Nora Roberts).

If you need help putting together a posting plan, your marketing team and agent can help with that. Most publishers request that their writers’ develop online followings because it creates personal, instant connections with readers/allows for free advertising via posts/generates direct feedback.

Step 8: Negotiate Your Media Rights

Most writers negotiate their media rights after landing a publishing deal. The publisher needs to know that your work has a chance of being picked up as a movie or TV show. Debut authors have a lot to prove, unless you’re one of the rare writers who snags a movie deal alongside a mega-advance because your work is once in a generation.

Your agent will negotiate this for you and possibly let you keep your media rights. If you keep them, you can sell them separately later on. When you or your publisher is ready to sell, production company scouts will see the announcement on book deal websites. They may contact your agent to negotiate with you before you start selling copies, but it may happen after your book has shown promise on the market for a while too.

Step 9: Sign Copies of Your Books

About a month before readers can buy your books, you’ll get copies to sign! Prepare your hand and wrist, because this step surprises most writers. If you have more than a handful of books to sign, you’ll need to pace yourself.

Still, this is an exciting step in your publishing journey. Take lots of selfies and enjoy the moment!

Potential Step 10: Start Your Book Tour

Big names in the book world get book tours set up by their publishers. Debut authors often don’t. If you want to do a book tour, talk with your agent early in the process. They can work with your publicist to schedule a few speaking engagements, but you’d mostly be in charge of contacting bookstores to reserve an hour or two for signing books and meeting with readers.

If your publisher does want you to do a book tour, regardless of whether you’ve been published or not, they might pay for your transportation and accommodations. It depends on your unique situation.

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This is a very brief, not super specific outline of traditional publishing. I hope it gives you some perspective on the process. After landing a book deal, it can be a year or more before your debut day arrives. There’s so much happening behind the scenes—but now you know a bit more about it.

#book publishing #book publishing faqs #writeblr #writers of tumblr #writing community #writing advice #writing tips #creative writing #traditional publishing #publishing #publishing a novel

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novlr · 10 months

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As someone who just finished writing their first original novel and wants to know more about the American publishing process, where should I start? Any advice? Blogs? Articles? Twitter users?

A Writer’s Guide to Navigating the Publishing Industry

There’s something undeniably enchanting about seeing your words come to life on the printed page and connecting with readers from around the globe. The allure of sharing your ideas, stories, or even your expertise with the world is the dream for many writers.

While the idea of publishing a book may seem exciting, navigating the publishing process can be a labyrinth. It requires a blend of passion, persistence, and a solid understanding of how to wade through the murky waters.

So, let’s take a look at the ins and outs of the publishing process and what you need before you start sending your manuscript out to the world.

Identify your genre and target audience

Before you start thinking about publishing, it is essential to identify your genre and target audience.

Knowing your genre will help you determine relevant publishers and agents who specialize in that genre. Understanding your target audience will help you tailor your writing to meet their expectations. For example, if you write young adult fiction, you will want to write in a style and tone that appeals to teenagers and young adults.

Publishers and agents are all about work that sells. If you can show that you know firmly where your book sits in the market and that you know the people your book will appeal to, you will have given yourself a head start. When you publish, your work ceases to be just about you and starts being about your readers.

Get feedback on your work from editors or beta readers

Feedback is crucial for any writer. You want to make sure your work is the best it can be before submitting it to publishers or agents.

If you can afford it, consider hiring an editor to review your work. If you can’t, then try joining a writing critique group or finding beta readers who can offer suggestions and feedback.

When you receive feedback, take it seriously and use it to improve your work. Don’t be afraid to ask your readers for specific feedback, and most importantly, never take their criticism personally.

Betas are your first readers, so try to choose people who read in your chosen genre. Don’t get friends and family to beta read for you, as they’re often not the audience you’re writing for and will find it hard to give you objective opinions. Also, avoid using only other writers as your beta readers, as they’ll often approach your work from a technical view, and not from a reader’s view.

You can learn more about how to get the most out of your beta readers in this post.

How to Get The Most From Your Beta Readers

Research Publishers and Agents

Researching publishers and agents is an essential step in the publishing process. Agents often have specialisations or work closely with specific publishers, so knowing that in advance can help you avoid a lot of wasted time, and save you from unnecessary rejections.

Not only will agencies have specific types of books they look for, but each individual agent within those agencies will also have specific genres they represent. For instance, a children’s book agency might have one agent who deals only in picture books, while another represents only YA. If you pick the right agency, but the wrong agent, you’ll get a rejection, so be sure to be diligent.

Research is also important because you want to find publishers and agents who work in your who are reputable. Not all agencies are created equal, so you want to make sure you’re vetting your agents. See who they represent, and also make sure they actually manage to sell books to publishers; there are, unfortunately, a number of scam agencies out there, so it doesn’t hurt to be diligent. Check online reviews, and ask for referrals from other writers.

Want a little more help on how to vet literary agents? We got you!

How to Vet a Literary Agent

Start Querying Agents

Once you have identified a list of agents and publishers you’d like to submit to, it’s time to start querying!

Agents, and publishers if you decide to submit directly, have very strict submission guidelines, so be sure to read them carefully in the research stage. And incorrectly submitted query will be an instant rejection.

It is essential to be patient during this process as it can take time to hear back from agents and publishers. If you’d like to learn more about querying agents, we’ve got a detailed outline in the Reading Room!

How to Pitch Your Novel to Agents Like a Pro

Don’t Stop Writing

While you’re waiting for responses from agents and publishers, it’s crucial to keep writing. Do not stop writing, even if the rejections come in. This might not be the book that makes it, but you’ll learn so much from the process that it’ll be even easier to navigate the next time.

Rejections will be part of the process, so be mentally prepared for that. But throwing yourself right back into the thing you love takes away a lot of the sting.

If you love to write, keep writing, and then keep trying. There are no quick wins when it comes to publishing. It’s hard work, and it’s not always joyful. So keep your eye on the prize, and make sure you stay on that horse. The world deserves to read your words.

Resources

Twitter is a great place to find information from agents. Agents will often post threads on what they’re looking for and will announce when they’re open for submissions. There are also fantastic Twitter pitch events that can help authors find agents. You can learn more about them here.

The Writers’ and Artists Yearbook is an annual publication from Bloomsbury that covers most of the big agents and publishers, going through their genre specialisation and submission guidelines. While the majority of the book is specific to UK agents, there is a useful section on US and overseas agents, too, that will list the biggest ones.

Before querying, try to keep up to date with industry news sites like Publisher’s Weekly or The Bookseller. That way, you’ll know what kind of books are trending and get a feel for where your book sits in the market.

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