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Inklings Issue 2.21
================================================================
i n k l i n g s
Newsletter for Writers on the Net
Issue 2.21 Wed, Nov.13, 1996
================================================================
<http://www.inkspot.com/inklings/issues/ink0221.html>
THE PROCESS OF PUBLISHING
by Adam Engst, editor of TiDBITS, computer book author
FRESH INK - resources for writers on the net
Market Information - First Sale Story - Subscriber Publications
COLUMN TOPICS:
JUDITH BOWEN: Finding an agent
Apologies for the double mailing last issue. Apparently someone
purposely or accidentally redirected an issue back to the server,
listing me as the From address. In order to prevent this from
happening again, Bryan has added a password validation process
for when I send out issues...this change will be transparent to
subscribers and will only affect me.
Just a brief note about e-mail. Over the past months I've been
receiving a lot of mail from Inklings subscribers. Although I
*always* appreciate getting feedback and suggestions about
Inklings, many of these messages range from "How do I get
published?" to "Where can I find more information about <fill
in
the blank>"? I get about 200 email messages a day, and as much
as
I'd like to be able to respond to everyone, unfortunately I just
don't have the time anymore.
If you do have a writing-related question, you could try using
the search engine in Inkspot (my writers' resource website) at:
http://www.inkspot.com/~ohi/inkspot/, read through the Beginning
Writers' FAQ, or post your question in the Writers' Forum. Try
sending your question to one of the Inklings advice columnists.
Another solution is to post your question in the misc.writing
newsgroup, but be sure to first read the posting guidelines at:
(http://vanbc.wimsey.com/~sdkwok/postguid.html).
Please let me re-emphasize that I always welcome feedback about
Inklings...what you like and don't like, suggestions for future
issues. Send your comments to editor@inklings.com.
This issue sponsored in part by:
================================================================
* Mercury Mail * http://www.merc.com
We deliver personalized news, stocks, sports scores and weather
updates directly to your e-mail. Every day. Absolutely FREE.
Visit http://www.merc.com or e-mail signup7@merc.com
================================================================
* Samurai Consulting * http://www.samurai.com
Services include internet consulting, WWW page design, electronic
newsletters, mailing lists, FTP sites, system maintenance,
training. Email: Bryan Fullerton <bryanf@samurai.com>
================================================================
ISSN 1205-6413. Copyright 1996 Debbie Ridpath Ohi. See end of
issue for more copyright details, and info on how to subscribe
and unsubscribe. Send questions and comments to
editor@inklings.com. For information on how you can become an
Inklings sponsor, send e-mail to editor@inklings.com with "rate
card" in the subject header.
================================================================
FRESH INK
=========
Writers In Electronic Residence
-------------------------------
Links Canadian writers with schools.
http://www.edu.yorku.ca/WIERhome/
Glossary of Poetic Terms
------------------------
Definitions, phonetic pronunciations, examples.
http://shoga.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html
HorrorNet
---------
Industry news, reviews, author contact info, markets, links.
http://www.horrornet.com/
Writing comics
--------------
Site about creating comics, section on writing and
self-publishing resources. Maintained by Dave Law.
http://www.cadvision.com/dega/creating.htm
Screenwriter's Heaven
---------------------
Guide to screenwriting resources around the internet.
http://www.impactpc.demon.co.uk
The Writer's Marketboard
------------------------
Looks like an excellent resource. Market listings, contests,
events, resources, other topics, updates available by email.
http://rain-crow-publishing.com/market/
CORRECTION: Friendly Pencil Chat Site
-------------------------------------
(The info given in the last issue was incorrect, sorry). The
channel is on an IRC network called Another.net. Set your IRC
software to call irc.another.net on port 6667. Then type /join
#friendlypencil (no space between the words). Chat takes place
8-12 pm (eastern) every night of the week and again on Sunday
afternoons from 2- 5pm (eastern). Thursday nights and Sunday
afternoon are when you will find many people from misc.writing
visiting.
================================================================
MARKET INFORMATION
==================
Please note: Inklings does its best to print only accurate market
info. However, it cannot be held responsible for lost postage,
time, etc. that you may incur due to inaccuracies. Do not send
submissions by email before inquiring first. You should get
current, detailed guidelines before submitting. Include SASE for
snailmail replies. More market info at:
http://www.inkspot.com/~ohi/inkspot/marketinfo.html.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING MARKET SOURCES:
SCAVENGER'S NEWSLETTER
Monthly market info letter for sf/f/h/m writers &
artists.
More info at:
http://users.aol.com/Lemarchand/scavenger.html
THE GILA QUEEN'S GUIDE TO MARKETS
POB 97, Newton, NJ 07860-0097 Email:K.Ptacek@genie.com
http://www.teleport.com/~alecwest/gila.htm
CHILDREN'S WRITERS MARKET LIST
Available by e-mail or snailmail. Email
mshauers@midusa.net.
==-----------------------------------------------------==
"FNASR" = First North American Serial Rights, "SASE" =
self-addressed, stamped envelope, "simsubs" = simultaneous
submissions, "mss" = manuscript, "RT" = response time, "GL" =
guidelines.
PAYING MARKETS:
Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations
----------------------------------
1204 Buchanan St., P. O. Box 10, Carthage IL 62321: Donna Borst,
Articles Editor. This magazine wants holiday or seasonal stories,
articles, activities for use by teachers (grades PreK-3). Write
for guidelines. They pay varying rates for various lengths.
Want ALL rights. (Source: Children's Writers Market List)
Rictus
------
Webzine, publishes horror/dark fiction (max 3000 wds) and free
verse poetry. PAYMENT: $5-10 fiction, $2/poem. Email submissions
okay. Email: Mary Spock, Editor at rictusmag@aol.com. "Wanted:
fiction and poetry that "stares into the gape;" monsters OK if
they aren't garden variety (no vampires, werewolves, mummies,
etc.). No SF. No previously published. Looking for Lansdales,
Straubs and Jacksons (Shirley, not Michael), or anyone with a
unique dark voice. Let me add that rhyme in poetry is not out of
the question if something interesting is done with it -- read,
not "cut" and "gut" at line breaks. I want either stark, sparse,
tight , harsh stuff -- brutal, but not pulp-gore , or moody,
swirling, surreal eerie pieces, but not florid mush. I have
gotten some great poems that were not horror or DF, so I couldn't
use them. Explicit OK, puerile not. Same goes for stories."
GL: http://www.rictus.com/guide.htm
Rictus home page: http://www.rictus.com/index.htm
Show and Tell magazine
----------------------
2593 North 140 West, Sunset UT 84015: Donna Clark, Editor. This
publication for young people wants fiction. No length
requirements. The pay is only $5, but they use reprints--and
unlike many fiction markets, they want a cover letter and a 4-8
line bio. (Source: Children's Writers Market List)
Compuserve Magazine
-------------------
500 Arlington Centre Blvd, Columbus, OH 43220. Senior Editor:
Gregor Gilliom. Monthly. Circ. 1.5 million. No specific GL.
Magazine for new and old Compuserve users. "Each issue features
an editorial mix of human-interest, business, and
computer-oriented topics. Are you a user of CompuServe? It is
vitally important that our contributors be familiar with our
product. We expect most -if not all- reporting to be conducted
via the online service (E-mail interviews, database background
research, etc.). All stories require a variety of sources,
including ordinary members, forum sysops, and when appropriate,
impartial authorities on the subject. Although our ultimate
mission is to serve the company's best interest, we're given
surprising editorial freedom. If this kind of assignment
interests you, please send me 3 clips you feel showcase your best
magazine writing." Pays varying rates, on pub for 1st NASR.
Offers 50% kill fee. Query for electronic subs. Sample free. RT =
1 month on queries." (Source: The Gila Queen's Guide To Markets)
Looking Ahead - NAPA, A Monthly Publication For Active Retirees
---------------------------------------------------------------
Professional Salutations, 100 Coombs, Napa, CA 94559. Editor:
Ronda Rhoads. Monthly. Circ. 10,000. "We are in the market for
well-written articles. You may submit via the US Post or E-mail
directly. Photos are always appreciated. Humor, informative
pieces on hobbies, travel, and health, as well as personal
stories of extraordinary individuals are all appropriate for LH.
Articles that describe events or people in a specific area of the
country are usually too 'regional' for our use. We do not accept
religious articles. Most of our publication consists of
non-fictional pieces, however we do consider a small amount of
fiction and poetry." 500-1000 wds; pays $25, on acceptance.
Simsubs, reprints ok. Sample for $2 + SASE (5 1st class stamps).
(Source: The Gila Queen's Guide To Markets)
Mystery Time
------------
Linda Hutton, POB 2907, Decatur, IL USA 62524. Suspense/myst.
semi-annual anthology of short fiction. Fiction to 1500 wds.
Payment for originals $5 for 1st rights, reprints receive 1
contrib's copy. Omit cover letter. Type all envelopes.
Submissions may be edited. Sample $4, $10/yr (2). Also holds a
Mystery Mayhem contest annually with the deadline of Sep 15
(Agatha Christie's birthday). 1st prize $10, no entry fee. #10
typed SASE for details. (Source: Scavenger's Newsletter, Nov/96).
Contortions
-----------
Poems of Extraordinary Dislocation, Brandon W. Totman
(Editor/Publisher), Shark Attack Publications, 3492 LK Wood Blvd
A Arcata CA 95521. Seeking "poetry that transcends genre, that
is, poems that cannot be so easily categorized". "Another aspect
I'll be looking for is the unexpected image. The fresher, more
exotic your imagery, the better. I need to see things in new
ways. Also, I've only seen a few prose poems since starting the
publication, and am hoping to see more of them in the near
future." No simsubs or reprint (except original to single author
collections). No restrictions on form and no line limit. PAYMENT:
20c/line + 1 copy for FNASR. Will be reviewing single author
collections; send sample copy and all info concerning
availability, price, etc. (Source: Scavenger's Newsletter,
Oct/96)
================================================================
THE PROCESS OF PUBLISHING
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst
<ace@tidbits.com>
(The following is reprinted with permission from TidBITS, more
information at the end of this article.)
Many of you have probably seen my email signature recently,
modified to warn that my email responses may be short or delayed
because I'm working on the fourth edition of Internet Starter Kit
for Macintosh. People are generally quite good about reducing my
email load when I ask like that, but afterwards I often receive
questions about what I was doing, and how a technical book gets
converted from bits to atoms. Since the process is fresh in mind
(and not quite over yet, to my consternation), I thought I'd pass
on some of my experiences with computer book publishing.
The Idea
--------
The first step in any book project is figuring out what you want
to write about and developing a proposal, complete with a full
outline and probably a sample chapter. This process should help
you focus on the topic of the book, which is necessary when you
start talking to publishers. You might also consider whether you
want to work with a literary agent, since an agent can make
finding a publisher easier and aid in contract negotiations. I
haven't worked with an agent before, so I can't comment
personally, but based on my experiences with contracts, I think a
first time author without good negotiating skills would do well
to contact an agent. I know of two literary agencies that work
with technical authors - Studio B and Waterside Productions. It's
worth checking out their Web sites, since both contain plenty of
information for potential authors.
<http://www.studiob.com/>
<http://www.waterside.com/>
Acquisitions
------------
Whether or not you work with an agent, the first person you talk
to at a publisher is likely to be an acquisitions editor. Most
people contact the acquisitions editor with the proposal; in some
cases, like mine, an acquisitions editor may contact you with a
book idea. My impression is that an increasing number of
acquisitions editors spend time on mailing lists and newsgroups,
looking for potential authors. Why is this?
You've probably noticed the incredible influx of computer books
over the last few years. For instance, when Internet Starter Kit
for Macintosh first appeared in September of 1993, it was one of
five or six Internet books. A friend recently checked the Barnes
& Noble (a large bookstore chain) database and found over 1,000
Internet-related books. With so many books out there, the
competition is fierce, which requires that publishers quickly
release lots of books in a continual effort to find a best
seller.
(An aside - the term "best seller" doesn't mean much in the
computer book industry. The term could apply to both Internet
Starter Kit for Macintosh, with its several hundred thousand
sold, and to another book that's sold 30,000 copies. Studio B has
posted a few lists of the current best selling books at certain
distributors or bookstore chains.)
<http://www.studiob.com/roundtable/bestsellers/index.html>
As a result of this fast-moving competitive world, publishers
continually seek new authors who can write well, write quickly,
and who know their subject matter. Many book projects these days
seem to happen in two to three months, and that's not much time
unless you research and write fast. It's especially hard if, as
Tonya did with her first book about Word 5, you are attempting to
hold down a day job as well.
The job of the acquisitions editor is to find authors, work out a
basic idea for the book project, and get a contract signed. Be
careful with those contracts! Publishing contracts often contain
non-compete clauses that could prove problematic in other jobs
you do, and have clauses that govern how little you receive for
subsidiary rights (translations, book clubs, that sort of thing).
I think agents are the most useful at the contract stage, since
it's easy to sign over your first-born child if you don't pay
attention, and - let's be honest - if this is your first book,
you'll sign almost anything. Read the contract carefully, and
don't be afraid to negotiate on specific clauses.
Perhaps the major part of the contract, from your viewpoint, is
the compensation. Publishers offer two basic forms of
compensation, "work for hire" and royalties. Work for hire means
the publisher pays you $10,000 or whatever and nothing more, no
matter how well or poorly the book sells. The main reason to
accept work for hire, in my opinion, is if you think the book
will be an utter flop (and then you shouldn't be writing it). I
far prefer the royalty system, where you get a percentage between
5 percent and 20 percent (that's only for top authors, and even
then, not necessarily). 10 percent is probably a standard rate,
although it's also common for there to be a sliding rate based on
sales, so you might receive 6 percent on the first 10,000 copies
sold, 8 percent on the next 2,000, and 10 percent on all copies
sold after 12,000.
Along with royalties, you usually get an advance against
royalties. That means that the publisher gives you some money up
front (since you won't earn any royalties for at least three to
six months after you start the project). Pay attention to the
words "against royalties." They mean that as the book sells and
starts earning royalties, you don't earn anything until the
royalties have paid back the entire advance. Advances generally
range from $5,000 to $20,000, with the occasional top author
getting more than that. Interestingly, although it could happen,
publishers apparently never ask for advances back, even if the
book doesn't sell well enough to make back the entire advance in
royalties. A large advance is thus generally a good thing, since
you have the use of the money and, even if you don't spend it,
the money can earn interest for you rather than for the
publisher.
Development
-----------
Once the details have been ironed out, the development of the
book begins. You're generally assigned to a development editor,
who works with you throughout the rest of the book. That person
sets the schedule for handing in chapters and other materials and
offers structural and conceptual comments on the text as it comes
in. Now's when you start writing for real, although it's often a
good idea to start writing sooner or else you may find that you
don't have enough time, often due to prolonged negotiations over
the contract.
The most important piece of advice I can give is to set realistic
deadlines, work by a schedule, and set yourself up to work
quickly and efficiently. Writing is a lot harder than it seems
when you've got an entire book to finish, and writing about
technical subjects can prove frustrating if the program you're
writing about is behaving unpredictably, or, frankly, if you
don't know your topic all that well. Be as prepared as you
possibly can, and think ahead about related materials such as a
disk or a Web site. You should work on all parts of the book
simultaneously, at least to a certain extent, because otherwise
it's too easy to think that you're 90 percent done because you
have 18 of 20 chapters done, when in reality those are the two
hardest and longest chapters. Oh, and did you forget about the
disk?
If you work with other people, be prepared to take on the project
management, and try to keep lines of communication open via phone
and email. There's nothing worse than being limited by someone
else's part of a project and not knowing what's going on with
them.
It's common to turn chapters in to your development editor as you
finish them, rather than all at once at the end of the project.
The development editor has to read each chapter, pass it back to
you if necessary, and if not, pass it on to a copy editor, who
does the picky copy editing. Another piece of advice: turn in as
clean copy as you can. My experience is that copy editors catch a
percentage of errors, so if you turn in a chapter with 100
errors, and they catch 90 percent, that leaves ten errors. If the
chapter only has ten errors to begin with, though, the copy
editor will probably catch all but one. I personally rely on some
simple Nisus Writer macros to catch some common problems, like
double spaces and improper curly quotes.
After your chapters have been copy edited, your development
editor usually sends them back to you for author review. Author
review is often your last chance to fix problems introduced in
editing or add last minute details. When you finish author
review, you send the chapters back to the development editor, who
sends them on to a production editor, who in turn shepherds them
into and through the production department.
(Another aside - almost everyone in a publishing company is an
editor of some sort, although the titles and job descriptions
vary between different publishers. I wouldn't be surprised if
some publishers even have sanitation editors instead of
janitors.)
Production and Finalizing
-------------------------
Once in production, you might have the option of seeing the
actual pages, but since you can't transfer them back and forth
via email it might be too much work (some publishers do
everything via email and all should - in this day and age it's
expensive and wasteful to print everything just to submit it). My
experience is that after author review, I never want to see my
text again, having stared at it far too many times. The publisher
does have proofreaders look at the pages of the book as it comes
out of production, so they'll pick up typos and other minor
errors, but nothing factual.
If you have a disk or CD-ROM with your book, it must be turned in
as well. Although less production must be done on the publisher's
part with the disk or CD-ROM, you'll be scrambling to make sure
the book and the disk or CD-ROM are in synch. It sounds easy, but
if one little thing changes, you have to make sure the book
reflects that change. Maybe it's easier if you're not a
perfectionist.
Also, no matter what level of disk or CD-ROM you do, you must
test it. Make sure it works on as many computers as you can try,
and have friends test it as well. Make sure the windows appear
properly on smaller screens, make sure the icons are positioned
right, and double-check all the details. A CD-ROM is even more
troublesome since it can hold so many more files than a floppy
disk, not to mention the complexity (which I won't address here)
of burning a CD-ROM properly. One tip: if you have thousands of
files on your CD-ROM in hundreds of folders, use free utility
called Align Folders to regularize the window positions.
<ftp://mirror.aol.com/pub/info-mac/gui/align-folders-20.hqx>
;
Obviously, you can't email CD-ROMs, but if you only have a single
floppy disk, I've had good luck with sending my editor ShrinkWrap
and a disk image via email. In the last few days, even an
overnight delivery service can be too slow.
<ftp://mirror.aol.com/pub/info-mac/disk/shrink-wrap-201.hqx>
;
Once all is handed in, your job is mostly over. The main task
that remains is making sure the development editor lets you edit
the cover of the book. It's not all that common for publishers to
do this, I gather, because many authors throw fits about the look
of the cover. Don't stress over the aesthetics since you don't
have a lot of control (although you can make your opinions
known). Instead, focus on the cover text. Make sure it's correct
and not misleading, since that will cause a lot of bad will on
the part of potential readers. Often the covers are designed and
written by marketing people who haven't the foggiest idea what's
inside the book. I have yet to edit a cover and not find text
that needed fixing.
After production ends, the book goes to the printer, where it's
printed, bound, and sent to the warehouse. That process can take
anywhere from three weeks (uncommon) to six weeks or longer,
depending on other schedules. Publishers like to release books at
the time specified on their original schedules because that's
when bookstores expect to receive shipments.
Sales
-----
Computer books are sold well before they exist - this is called
the "sell-in" and is based on the sales person quickly describing
your book to a book buyer. The sales person may also have a
mock-up of the cover to display, but it's safe to say that much
of the description is hypothetical (since you haven't finished
writing at this point). Large bookstore chains like Borders and
Barnes & Noble play a big role in the success of a book because
they can help significantly with the sell-in.
Once the books ship to the stores, real people can buy them. Two
things are possible here. If your publisher has done a great job
of marketing and selling the book, it will appear everywhere, and
people will buy it because they see it. This is called "push-
marketing." If, on the other hand, your sell-in is low, but word-
of-mouth causes lots of people to visit the bookstores and
request the book, the bookstores will slowly realize the book is
good and continue to stock it in ever-increasing quantities. This
is called "pull-marketing" and is what happened with my Internet
Starter Kit for Macintosh (never underestimate the power of
word-of-mouth on the Internet!). Of course, there's a third
option, which is that the books don't appear in stores much and
no one much buys them. I've heard that the average computer book
sells about 12,000 copies, which isn't much and very well may not
be enough to make it worth your time.
When you see your first royalty statement varies by publisher, as
does how often you receive royalty checks. Hayden sends me the
first royalty statement for a book in the month after the third
month after the book was released. Subsequent statements come
every month, as do subsequent royalty checks. Other publishers
may send a statement every month, but only send checks every
three months or even every six months. Cash flow is an issue with
royalties, so be careful when doing your financial planning if
you're thinking about writing a book.
Perhaps the weirdest thing about the book publishing market is
that bookstores can and do send back unsold books. You receive
royalties on everything sold to the bookstores (and your
royalties are based on the price to the bookstore, which is
usually about half the price of the book). When a book is
returned, you have to give back the royalty you earned on that
book. Publishers often withhold a reserve against returns, so you
may not see any effect, at least until the reserve is exhausted.
If you write more than one book for the same publisher, you might
see the returns on one be paid for by the royalties on the other;
check for clauses about this in your contract.
At the end of the life span of a book (after it's been returned,
or not sold at all), the publisher remainders the remaining
books, often giving you the chance to buy as many as you'd like
first at the remainder cost, which is about the cost of creating
the book. Most computer books probably cost under $4 in
materials, although there are plenty of other infrastructure
costs in the final price. Warehouse and discount stores buy the
remaindered books and sell them at incredibly low prices -
someone once reported seeing the first edition of Internet
Starter Kit for Macintosh selling for $2.19. Remaindered books
stick around for a long time. You might have a second or a third
edition out, but the remaindered first editions could still be
available, which can cause some sticky situations on occasion
when people try to use obsolete software or instructions.
Don't take what I've said above as the gospel about book
publishing. I've been doing it for over three years and a number
of titles now, but I've only worked with one publisher. My
comments about other publishers come primarily from talking with
other authors.
Would I recommend that someone jump into the computer book
publishing market? The answer is probably no, unless you
understand what you're getting yourself into. I've seen a number
of people, including Tonya, write excellent books that sold badly
for reasons that the author has no hope of controlling, and I've
seen other people get way in over their heads on a book project
that they have no hope of completing by the deadline. On the
other hand, I know some successful authors who make a fine living
by writing book after book, supplementing them with the
occasional magazine article, and generally enjoying the process.
Either way, go in with your eyes open.
==-----------------------------------------------==
Reprinted with permission from TidBITS (http://www.tidbits.com/),
a free weekly electronic publication that covers news and views
relating to the Macintosh and the Internet. For information on
TidBITS: how to subscribe, where to find back issues, and other
useful stuff, send email to: <info@tidbits.com>
Copyright (c) 1996 Adam Engst. All rights reserved.
================================================================
Ask The Experts
---------------
*** Please put "inklings question" in the subject header. ***
Judith Bowen (ROMANCE WRITER) jbowen@max-net.com
Susan Graham (AGENT) slgraham@atl.mindspring.com
Paula Guran (HORROR WRITER) DarkEcho@aol.com
Carol Henson (BOOK DOCTOR) UBKX12C@Prodigy.com
Ken Jenks (ELECTRONIC PUBLISHER) MindsEye@tale.com
Michelle Sagara (SF/FANTASY WRITER) mms@turing.toronto.edu
Lee Wardlaw (CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITER) Katknip2@aol.com
Marcia Yudkin (FREELANCE WRITER) send to editor@inklings.com
Sharon Zukowski (MYSTERY/SPY WRITER) 76372.2252@CompuServe.COM
Columnists may be unable to reply privately to every message, but
will answer selected questions in future issues of Inklings.
================================================================
ASK THE ROMANCE WRITER
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Judith Bowen
<jbowen@max-net.com>
Q: Finding an agent
-------------------
I am interested in obtaining an agent for a first novel. While
this one is not primarily a romance novel it is my intention to
concentrate on that genre in the future. Do agents and publishers
of this type of book typically restrict activities to romance
novels?
A: Finding the right agent for you can be as tough as making that
first sale. The market has tightened over the past few years and
agents can pick and choose their clients. Their first choices, in
many instances, are authors who are already selling books. After
all, they know they can count on 15% from these people and they
have bills to pay and kids in college. A new author is always an
unknown quantity.
There are many types of agents representing romance fiction. A
quick glance through some of the resources on my bookshelf
reveals that some agents represent a wide range of material from,
say, series romance to mystery novels and nonfiction; others
represent mainly romance fiction, or what is increasingly known
as "women's fiction." You want to find an agent who will
represent all of your work.
The best advice is to start your search for an agent long before
you need one. Check out books in the library that list literary
agents. See if they are members of reputable professional
organizations. Go to writers' conferences. Talk to other
published authors. Gradually put together your own short list and
send out query letters describing your manuscript--the fact that
yours is completed is a plus-- starting with the first agent on
your list and working your way down. Chances are, none of them
will take you on.
Don't give up. Get out there and sell your manuscript to a
publisher. Contrary to what you might have imagined--that it's
the agent's job to sell your book--the truth is, your book is
going to have to sell itself, whether you send it out or an agent
does. Then, when you're offered that contract, contact your short
list of agents again, starting at the top, and mention you've got
a contract to negotiate and you'll be pretty pleased to find that
the response will be quite different. Maybe your first choice or
your second still won't be interested, but your third or fourth
will. If you've done your research, he or she will still be a
fine agent with a good reputation.
A contract in the hand is worth a lot. You may say, well, heck, I
made the sale, why should I pay out 15% to an agent? That agent
knows how to negotiate the best possible contract for you and
will no doubt save you her fee in better terms. As one publisher
says, "We know we're the ones who pay the agent's fee."
One drawback to this method is that some houses won't accept
unagented manuscripts. However, many do. Harlequin/Silhouette,
the biggest player in the romance world, welcomes unagented
manuscripts. So does Ballantine and Harper Paperbacks, for
instance. Other publishers, such as Kensington, do not. A current
"Writers' Digest" will be invaluable here.
Strange as it may seem, many years from now you may look back at
that first sale and realize that while, sure, you made a few
dollars, the best thing you got out of it was your wonderful
agent!
==-----------------------------------------------------==
Judith Bowen is an award-winning romance author and currently
teaches classes on writing popular fiction in Vancouver, Canada,
and will be teaching an online course in Jan/Feb (see
http://www.writers.com/).
Copyright (c) 1996 Judith Bowen. All rights reserved.
================================================================
FIRST SALE STORY: Kelsey Roberts <KelseyRbts@aol.com>
-----------------------------------------------------
"I began writing seriously in 1984, convinced that publishers
would be jumping at the chance to publish my work. I was wrong,
but I didn't give up. I joined writers groups, networked, went
to conferences and really learned how to write right.
Unfortunately, the publishers still weren't clamoring to get
their hands on my manuscripts. Without an agent, I needed some
way to get the attention of an editor. I discovered - by
accident - a listing of contests for unpublished authors. After
doing some homework, I found a contest for my genre (romantic
suspense), and the final round was being judged by the
then-senior editor of Harlequin Intrigue. I sent in my check for
$15.00 along with my partial manuscript (the book was finished
but the contest only allowed for a synopsis and the first 3
chapters). I was really thrilled when I placed second. I was
astonished when I received a note from Ms. Carter suggesting that
I submit the completed manuscript to Intrigue. That was 1992. On
February 10, 1993 at 11:27 in the morning (yes, I do remember), I
got The Call. It took ten years of rejection and learning and 13
months of patience, but Intrigue bought LEGAL TENDER and released
it the following October. Since then, I have sold 15 books and
I'm really glad I never gave up, though the thought was
tempting!"
Kelsey's webpage is at http://comet.net/writers/kelsey.
================================================================
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