I hate this part of writing!

Subject: I hate this part of writing! Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:22 pm

I hate to use the word hate, but I hate the part of the writing business when you have to look for a publisher! Mad

It makes me crazy! I am currently trying to shop my novel Luthor, so I went and bought the Writer's Market. Out of pages and pages of publishers, I got, roughly, seven publishers. The others all wanted agents or something that I didn't have. Grrrrrrr Mad

.
Is anyone else going through this process right now?
_________________
Pol McShane
www.polmcshane.com
www.johnnyjoey.com

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:42 pm

Yup! There is only one publisher in Canada that will accept manuscripts without an agent (Harlequin Romance). And there are no reputable agents that I have found who are accepting new clients either. I have even very boldly approached some of them with no luck. Some days I fight with myself about it...become a publisher? Become an agent? Neither makes me happy because I want to devote time to writing, and so I duke it out in my mind.

_________________
Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Four Star Member Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 376

I've been toying with the same idea Pam, opening a small publishing business. Still toying with it . . .

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:49 pm

Well George, maybe we should talk. You could look after Europe and I'll look after North America. We could meet once a year in the middle (hot chocolate and biccies on an iceberg?). sunny

_________________
Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:09 pm

Pol, George, try this site: http://www.1000literaryagents.com/index.php

It's free to sign up and it lists literary agents on both sides of the Atlantic and in Canada too. There are links to the agents website and it also tells you what genre they are currently looking for and what their submission guidelines are.
_________________
Jenny
Writing as Victoria Howard

www.victoriahoward.co.uk

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:39 pm

This business is part luck and a huge part hard work...

Here's my take on things...

I feel it is easier to become published with a smaller house, first. Most small, independent presses (not talking about vanity presses) do not require agent representation.

It seems to me; if you aren't from a famous family, or a celebrity, you must develop a kind of "resume", if you will. With one or two published with smaller houses, you stand a better chance of catching the eye of an agent. Then, your work has a chance of moving up to a larger press.

Start small. Work like all Hades. Keep at it.

I have had two published, now I am hopeful that book three will find a good home with a large house.
It is hard to write with my fingers crossed, but I am doing it.

_________________
Southern fiction with a madhatter twist...
www.rhettdevane.com

Four Star Member Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 376

Nice link Jenny, thanks!

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:08 pm

Great link Jenny and Rhett you are right...keeping at it is key. I just have to figure out which publishers to try again, once my manuscript has finished the editting process.

_________________
Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: I hate this part of writing! Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:21 pm

Thanks, Jenny! Sorry I hadn't seen your help sooner. But I will surely check it out.

_________________
Pol McShane
www.polmcshane.com
www.johnnyjoey.com

Gold Star member Joined : 27 Jan 2008 Posts : 41

Pol,

Finding a publisher is a real roll of the dice. Finding an agent is, too. There are agents (and editors) who blog.

I happened to be googling Lisa Shearin yesterday, and came upon agent Kristin Nelson's blog. Kristin dissected Lisa's query letter to her, pointing out how she reacted to each paragraph.

Very helpful!

Kristin also has a sidebar with a list of agents who blog. This might be helpful. Visit their blogs, comment nicely, take note of who likes the sort of work you are writing. Take note of their hot buttons.

If there are contests for unpublished authors that would suit you, and that are judged by an editor from a suitable publishing house, you should enter. A lot of people find contests are the only route that works.

You might join publishers market/publishers weekly. For $20 a month (a pain) you get a webpage on the site, and can advertise yourself, your books, what rights you want to sell, whether you are looking for an agent or a publisher.

You also get an all-too frequent e-newsletter telling you the professional movements of editors, and who sold what to whom.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
_________________
Rowena Cherry

http://www.rowenacherry.com
Authors' Site Of Excellence Award-winner

Heroines get more (hero) than they bargain for...

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:17 pm

I'm currently searching for publishers and/or agents for my latest SF novel and my YA fantasy trilogy. I went through my Writer's Digest Novel and Short Story Market Guide and out of hundreds of agents listed was only able to find about fifteen or sixteen who would be likely candidates for my YA trilogy. I submitted to them all, never heard back from two of them, got back my submissions unopened from another two who had apparently vanished off the face of the Earth, and was rejected by the rest. Most of those rejections were vapid form letters, some of which seemed completely inappropriate with regard to what had been submitted. One stated that she couldn't handle such a "small" book, which left me perplexed and scratching my head given that the trilogy for which I was seeking representation was 700,000 words in total, with the first book being some 220,000 words. Not small to my way of thinking. Then there was the letter full of platitudes, the worst of which was: "Every no brings you closer to yes." Really? Doesn't no mean no? And I'm sorry, but I don't personally feel that rejection does anything for the ego.

That letter was bad enough, but it got even worse at the end, where the agent had the sheer gall to tack on advertisements for books she had written, including -- wait for it! -- one on how to land an agent. When I showed this letter to people I know they couldn't believe it. Makes me think I was fortunate not to have become a client of this particular agent.

I have to say that this whole process is extremely frustrating. You have publishers who won't consider work unless it's submitted by an agent (an increasing number, alas) and agents who won't consider you unless you've been published by a major outfit and accrued a worthy sales record. I've even seen some agents who blatantly state that they're only interested in clients who already have an agent and are simply seeking to jump ship.

Frankly, it's a wonder anyone gets published these days, and it certainly makes one envious of those truly fortunate few you occasionally read about. You know the ones I mean: the unknown authors who submitted through the slushpile and ended up with six or seven figure contracts. Indeed, I just read of one in Canada a few week back, who queried just a single agent and got accepted. Just queried, mind you; he didn't submit a manuscript. Yet now he has advances in excess of two million dollars and another million or more in movie rights -- all before the book is even published.

There are days when I seriously doubt myself and wonder if I'm just writing utter crud. But I look at books on the shelves of stores and see material I know in my heart is no better than what I've written, and I just find myself wondering how it was that they got where they did. What bit of magic does it take to land that coveted contract?

I agree that you can't give up , that you have to keep trying. But there has to come a time when you simply have to throw in the towel and accept that it's never going to happen. I've read on several occasions remarks by agents and editors to this effect, suggesting that if you've accumulated innumerable rejection slips, then it probably means that your work really isn't any good and you should just pack it in and call it a day.

It's hard to give up on a dream, however; but I suspect there are a great many books out there sitting in the bottoms of drawers or stashed away in trucks, just gathering dust, forgotten. Books that were abandoned because their authors lost hope, frustrated as they were by the whole publishing industry. Authors who finally gave up on their dreams.

It's easy to see why self-publishing has taken off. And outfits like PublishAmerica and outright scams like the WLA exist primarily as a result of the closed-mindedness and intractable nature of much of the "traditional" publishing establishment. They have helped create these monsters by making it so difficult for new writers to break into the industry. By scaling back their resources and shunting more of the work onto agents, publishers are their own worst enemy. Moreover, they increasingly seem to rely upon reprints of much older works as a source of revenue. Certainly in the SF field this is particularly evident, where one sees large sections of valuable bookstore shelf space taken up by novels from long dead authors. I've nothing against the classics, but when this thwarts the emergence of new talent I think one has to regard the practice of such re-issues as suspect.

The current publishing industry reminds me of the recording industry some years back, before the explosion of the MP3, peer-to-peer and downloading. They seem to have their heads in the sand and think themselves impervious to technological change. But I think a paradigm shift of immense proportions is not far off in the future, and the big publishing houses of today could then find themselves in the same situation that the big recording companies now find themselves. This may be good for new authors who can adapt to the changing environment, but less so for the well-established big name writers.

In the end, though, I think getting published and acquiring an audience for one's work will still depend largely on luck. But then, isn't that the case with a a great many things in life?

--Lindsay

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:11 pm

I am a bit late on this thread. I had the same problem. I was concerned about getting an agent that wouldn't be a fit for me. I also discovered that most traditional pubs wanted agents. I didn't want to go POD and have to pay 'them.' So, you guessed it. I started my own publishing company and am so glad I did!!!! I print through Lightning Source and I am so happy with this journey. Lots of extra work (wish I could just hand my manuscript over to someone else and continue writing). However, it has been very rewarding and I got MY way on everything. *grin*

Its not the way for everyone but it worked for me. Good Luck!
_________________
http://www.weavingdreamspublishing.com
http://suesunshine.blogspot.com/
http://suesunshine.wordpress.com/

Guest

Yep, that's why I went for a small publishing company. I tried all the big houses and either recieved rejections or notes telling me I needed an agent.

I'm happy where I am now with Linden Bay Romance and have no desire to look elsewhere.

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Sun May 11, 2008 5:11 pm

I can't really say that I hate this part of writing.
Frankly, I am glad to have even made it this far.

My goal was to write a novel. Why? Because I knew I didn't want to wake up one day, be 99 years old and regret not having ever written that book.

It was always my dream to travel and write. It has never been my dream to be rich or famous. I just wanted to see things and write my stories. I am living that dream.

So, after I finished my first novel, I realized that I had more to tell and started on the next novel, then the next, then the next ...

Since I had actually made it that far, I thought why not submit it and see what happens?

I did like Rhett (madhatter) and went with a small press.

I think I received about six rejections. But then finally received an acceptance from a press I really liked. (They are "green", as in use recycled paper and environmentally friendly ink, etc etc).

Getting published to me is just the cherry on top.

Of course I want the books to sell, because I think YA and fantasy lovers will enjoy the stories. And it is nice to hear someone say "I love your book".

Because it is a small press, my release has had some delays due to technical problems.
And that can be stressful, because all the folks who have pre-ordered keep asking me when are they going to get their copies ... and it is disappointing telling them they have to wait a couple extra months.
_________________

~ JoElle Martín ~

http://www.dreamersforest.com

Subject: Re: I hate this part of writing! Wed May 14, 2008 4:22 pm

Such limbo, finding an agent, one could almost write a book about it and nobody but a writer would believe it.

Following up on the idea that it's always best to query agents who've handled books I liked and that have something in common with my MS, seems reasonable, but often cuts down the list or people one can submit to.

I see these glowing acks in the fronts of novels about cuddly agents who helped the writer carry a magical, but difficult story to publication. But when I go to the agent's website, I see:

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT USING ANY OF THE INFO ON THIS WEB SITE TO SUBMIT ANYTHING TO US.

or

REGRETFULLY, ABOUT TEN MINUTES BEFORE YOU LOGGED ON TO OUR SITE, WE STOPPED LOOKING AT UNSOLICITED QUERIES. WE SUGGEST THAT YOU GO TAKE A WRITING COURSE AND IF YOUR TEACHER LIKES YOU, MAYBE HE OR SHE WILL CALL US AND TALK TO OUR PEOPLE ABOUT YOU.

So it goes.

Malcolm
_________________
Malcolm R. Campbell

http://www.malcolmrcampbell.com