4/26/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book What’s Wrong with my Manuscript? The importance of good editing
Whether you go traditional or indie, you have to have written and re-written the book many times and then have a good editor look at it and make corrections. A good reference book for checking whether you are making the standard mistakes all writers make at first is by Jessica Page Morrell called Thanks, But This Isn’t For Us. Study it. She goes over all the reasons agents and editors reject a manuscript and how to correct what is wrong . After you have done all you can, hire a good editor to edit the book before you send it out. If you don’t have the money, get someone to proof it at least. When you send a manuscript off, it has to be your very best effort.
0 Comments
4/25/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book series Develop the elevator pitch
This is the two or three sentences you use to tell someone what your book is about when asked in the elevator or at cocktail parties. You have to capture your story in two sentences that describe the essence of the story. Develop it early on and make it catchy enough that a reader or agent or publisher wants to know more. You will use this in pitching to agents and editors at writer conferences. It is a very useful tool. 4/23/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book SeriesWrite the synopsis -- traditional publishing This is a tough one. If you have never been published before or sometimes even if you have, for a fiction book, you’ll need to have a synopsis of the book. Often submission guidelines will specify how long a synopsis they want. It could be one, two, five or ten pages. Let me tell you, it is hard getting a 300 page novel condensed into five pages. Most writers find this extremely difficult and there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth over this project. But it must be done if that’s what the agent/editor wants. In non-fiction the proposal usually includes a synopsis of the book. Again, go by guidelines. 4/22/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book SeriesThe Query Letter
If you go the traditional publishing route, you will need to write a one page query letter using the submissions guidelines you will find on the agent or publisher web sites. In it you will use your dust jacket synopsis of the story, tell how many pages or words, what genre, and audience. You will need to include biographic information or tell what qualifies you to write this book. There are many sources giving advice on how to write the perfect query letter. Search on Google and lots of advice will come up. Be sure to check submission guidelines to see what the agent/editor wants in the query letter. 3/7/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book Series Multiple Submissions
In today’s market multiple submissions are usually accepted by agents and editors. But read submission guidelines carefully. Some may say they want an exclusive right to read the manuscript. You need to be aware that before you grant this, you should ask how long it will take. You might even put a time limit on it. Because if an agent ties your book up for six months to a year and then turns it down, you start all over again. Try to send to all agents and editors who have no problem with multiple submissions. To me it indicates that they understand today’s market. 2/27/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book seriesHarney County 4-H Writers Club Formatting – traditional publishing Why format? So others like agents and editors can read your work easily, because it’s more professional, because you need to know standard page and word count. The common page format for books is: one inch margins all around, page number in header in the top right hand corner, title of book/last name in the header on the left, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pitch font. Where does one get formatting requirements? Agent and editor web sites. In traditional publishing agent and publisher submission guidelines are on publisher/agent web sites, usually. Always check submission guidelines for the publisher/agent you are targeting to make sure you have the formatting they are requesting. There is nothing more unprofessional then sending in a poorly formatted manuscript. Agents and editors are looking for professionals, for writers who can follow directions and relate on a creative as well as a business level. 2/25/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book series Traditional vs Indie Publishing – what to choose? Traditional publishing means you want to get published by one of the big six publishing houses in New York or one of the smaller independent presses. That means that you write the book, and then try to find an agent or submit to the publishing house directly if they accept unagented submissions. You want a bricks and mortar publisher to help you edit the book, prepare the book for print publication including the cover with cover art, and distribute it. In today’s world you have to do most of the marketing yourself. The big advantage to traditional publishing is a good editor and their access to book distribution. Indie publishing is the new buzz word for self-publishing. Not long ago self-publishing was looked down upon by the literary world. That is changing. With the advent of the internet and new digital printing technology, one can publish in print or digital oneself for much less money than it used to take. Print-on-demand is amazing technology, which basically means your “print supplier” stores your book digitally and when a reader or retailer orders the book, the book is printed and sent to the buyer. You have to write the book, have it edited, proofed, formatted to print or digital specifications, design the cover and art, arrange for distribution and market it. It’s a lot of work. But your percentage of the book list price will be higher. It can run into several thousands of dollars to publish yourself or a few hundred. It depends what you can do yourself. 2/20/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book Series What Does A Literary Agent Do?
Literary agents have been the historical gatekeepers to traditional publishers. They are in the business to sell books to publishing houses. They typically make 15% commission off your sales income. If you want access to the publishing houses that do not accept unagented submissions, then you’ll need to find the right agent to represent you. Traditional agent tasks involve being a conduit to the publishing houses, getting you the best possible deal, licensing rights internationally, getting TV and movie deals, and being general adviser and hand-holder. A good agent can form your career and also serve as a first line editor. The challenge is getting an agent to love your book so much she will offer you representation. Agents will turn down projects if they can’t sell them or it doesn’t fit their agency offering. The role of agents is changing, and I’ll cover the new trend in agents under indie publishing. 2/14/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book series Research the agents – Traditional publishing route
After you know your market, you start looking for agents in places like Writer’s Market, Literary Marketplace, Guide to Literary Agents and other reference sources, most of which you can find in the library or online. Most all the big publishing houses today require agented submissions. This cuts down on the enormous amount of unsolicited manuscripts for the publisher. They use agents to do the first cut. Remember agents represent certain markets as specified in their submission guidelines, so be sure you look for agents that represent your market. Agents ask for a query letter. You have to condense everything about your novel down to one page. This is a real art and a real pain for most writers. If interested by your query, they might come back and ask you to send the first three chapters and a synopsis. If still interested after that, they might ask for in the entire manuscript. They may not answer you at all. All of this is usually done electronically now. If they like the book, they may offer you’re a contract to be your agent. Then they start the same process with publishers. The whole process could take a few weeks to two years or more. Non-fiction books are usually sold on proposal. (You don’t have to have the entire book finished but you have to have a solid proposal and impressive credentials to write non-fiction.) Novels are usually sold on completed manuscript. 2/13/2013 0 Comments Publish the Book series Who’s Your Market?
This is an important one. Who will read your book? You should think about this or have an idea of who your audience is while you write the book. Agents and editors only handle certain markets. They will tell you what these are on their web sites. Generally speaking the markets fall into the categories of fiction and non-fiction. Under fiction come literary fiction, mystery, thriller, crime, romance, science fiction, fantasy and humor. Of course, a novel could have combinations of these and then it is considered cross-genre, making it harder to market because it won’t fit neatly into book seller categories. You’ll be ahead of the game as soon as you decide who will buy your book. |
AuthorI'm a serious writer, meaning I have a regular daily writing habit, and I'm interested in sharing my work through publication. My favorite literary form is the novel. I write to entertain myself and my readers. Archives
March 2024
|