Category Archives: advice

November 30, 2011   Stacey   advice, rejection, Stacey, submissions, writing  
17

When is it time to give up?

In thinking of what to write about today while my computer is down and I can’t access all of my blog notes, it occurred to me that I should ask a question to our readers that I ask myself often in the line of duty, or in publishing terms, in my life as an agent.

I have been known to go to the end of the earth for an author or a project I love, and one of my first blog posts ever was about the sale of a book that took me 54 publishers to find a home. It’s since gone on to sell over 200,000 copies (if only every publishing story had such a happy ending).

In part this commitment (sometimes verging on insanity) stems from the fact that it takes a lot for me to sign something up these days and if I do, it means either I really love it or I think I’m going to be able to sell it, or hopefully both. And in part it’s because I really just don’t like giving up. It often becomes a mission for me to try to come up with a creative alternative to a book that might not be working as well as I’d hoped. We invest so much time in the development of our projects that I hate to admit failure and say I can’t sell something. Maybe that’s why I’m in the middle of vetting two contracts from publishers we’ve never done business with before!

It’s a trait that often serves me and my clients well, but sometimes backfires too and there does come a time when it really is time to give up and move on. I’m wondering what that time looks like for all of you in your writing life. I know it depends on where you are in your process, but, for example, do you try 5 agents, 10, 20, more? If you get an agent and they submit your book and it isn’t selling, would you rather rethink that book if you get consistent feedback or try something different altogether? How many projects have you stopped when you realized it just wasn’t going to work?

There’s no magic number or answer, and it’s different for each author and each project, but I am curious to hear what you all think about this topic and what your answer is to the question “When is it time to give up?”. And when I say give up, I mean on a particular project, not the dream of being published, which you should never give up on!

November 29, 2011   Morris   advice, comics, digital publishing, e-books, future of publishing, graphic novels, opinion  
9

What eBooks can learn from eComics

Digital publishing is changing the industry, from the author to the reader and everyone in between. The comic book industry is also turning digital. Now, I’ve been reading comic books since I was 8 years old, and I visit my local comic shop every week. Comics are as much a part of my personal reading as traditional prose is, so I’m very happy to see comics embracing new technology. But comics are facing many of the same problems the traditional book publishing world is dealing with, and more. For example, digital comics still have technical issues, with different apps providing different reading experiences with different ways of jumping from panel to panel, and still none of them can figure out how to satisfyingly reproduce a full-page spread.

However, I have also noticed some very positive trends in digital comic publishing.

(For those of you who are unaware of how comics are published: Comics are released every Wednesday. Hundreds of comics are released every week, and comic book stores display the new releases on the walls or on magazine racks. As the comic-book-buyer looks at the new releases, he or she grabs what they like – “pulling” it off the wall. New purchases have been lovingly nicknamed “pulls.” Comics are generally published serially, month to month. So Spider-Man Volume 1 will come out first week in January, and Volume 2 first week in February. Meanwhile, X-Men will come out on the second week of the month, and Captain America on the third, etc.)

I have said for the longest time that I refuse to buy an eReader until I get an ebook bundled with the purchase of a physical copy. (I simply prefer paper, and I don’t see myself buying a digital book and not wanting the physical copy on my bookshelf.) Marvel is going to start doing just that in January with their Ultimate line and several Graphic Novels.

Comixology, the leading digital comic retailer and online comic book resource, is utilizing what they call “digital storefronts,” so that the customers can buy digital comics though their local stores, and so continue to support them. The comics cost the same to the consumer, but the retailer is the specific shop – not Comixology.  Comixology also fully supports physical sales by linking your “pull list” – your picks for the week – with your local comic book shop, so that they hold them for you.

The incorporation of digital editions in the comic book world utilizes and embraces the brick-and-mortar, physical side of things.

I, for one, would like to see the traditional publishing world follow suit.

November 01, 2011   John   advice, John, prescriptive, recommendations, sports  
11

Biking, blogging, referencing, Googling

I don’t believe I’ve written before about my biking to work; odd, since a lot of my blog posts find their genesis on the ride down to the office when the traffic’s not too heavy. But this time the bike actually connects to my question for y’all—please just indulge me in a little background first:

I’ve always been a cycling enthusiast, but I didn’t start commuter biking on a daily basis until three years ago, when my wife and I hired a nanny for our newborn and discovered that it’s supposedly common practice in NYC to supply said nanny with a monthly MetroCard. Combine that with the demands of a baby, and it seemed like biking might be a good way to avoid an additional transportation expense and get some much-needed exercise. And so far, so good—I’m managing to keep my girlish figure, and the nanny shows up (mostly) on time.

Anyway. I was riding home last night, and realized my brakes were a little loose—fortunately, I was north of midtown by this point. So, when I got home I took the bike upstairs for an adjustment. Now, I’ve certainly tweaked my brakes before, but I thought I should double-check a couple of things before I dove in—and for that, I got my handy DK reference guide to bicycle maintenance off the shelf.

But as I was digging through, looking for the brakes section, I had one of those moments—why don’t I just Google it?

So, that’s the question—do we need reference guides in the Internet era, and if so, what subjects are better served by a book? Or, to put it another way—when you need to look up something, do you go to the bookshelf or the computer (or, to complicate it further, the ebook)? If you do go to the bookshelf, what books or series of books are your go-to guides? When was the last time you bought a reference guide? Would love to hear your thoughts!

October 31, 2011   Jane   advice, Jane, opinion, selling  
6

When good books don’t work

One of the most disappointing parts of my job is having a very good book published to lukewarm sales.  Many times, we can point a finger at the publisher and say they didn’t do x, y, and z.  But sometimes—like earlier this month with one of my incredibly talented authors who has written a fantastic book—there is nobody to blame.  The book has been published and it simply isn’t selling. And nobody knows why.

In cases like this, where the book is really very well done and where seemingly everything possible has been done by the publisher and the author to generate sales, I try to develop new ideas for marketing.

In the case of this particular book, I have met with the author and asked him to pull out all the stops in terms of using his contacts—both to garner reviews and to set up additional interviews and book signings.

I am also pressing on to see what if any film/tv rights we might be able to sell.

I am working with the book’s publisher to see what can be done to coordinate solid electronic sales of this book when the paperback is launched as we believe that e-book sales can help drive up print sales in the right formats.

Finally, I am talking with my client about moving forward and thinking about the next book.  He is a fantastic writer and rather than having him dwell on something we cannot control, I am encouraging him to begin something new.

The fact is that ours is a business of surprises, good ones and bad.  This is why many of us do what we do—serendipity can be quite seductive.

So, again persistence has to be the lesson here.  When a good book doesn’t work, and all avenues to make it work have been exhausted, it is time to move on to the next one.

Do you agree?

October 27, 2011   Michael   advice, conferences, critiques, Michael  
6

Conference consternation

I took to Twitter today for some blog suggestions, and Rina Heisel wanted to know what mistakes I see writers making at conferences. I see lots of thems, but here’s my top 10 do’s and don’ts of conference going:

10. Come prepared to talk about your book without reading something. When I sit down for a pitch, or even just begin a casual conversation, I want you to be able to tell me about your book briefly without reading a script. Other people seem to have a memorized pitch, word-for-word, and stare at me intently as they try to remember each one. Nothing is more unsettling. Instead of doing that, imagine you’re telling me about your job, family or hobbies. You don’t memorize a speech to discuss those, you know them intimately enough to simply talk about them. Be as familiar with your book.

9. If you’re meeting with an agent or editor, find out a little about them in advance. The person may not be the best match for your work, but they can still provide helpful feedback. Knowing what they do in advance can help you to get the most out of your meeting.

8. Don’t be shy! Take the opportunity to meet as many other writers and publishing professionals as you can. Be polite, of course, but don’t hesitate to talk to people. I go to conferences specifically to educate authors–take advantage of that.

7. Have realistic expectations. Know what you want out of the conference, and set achievable goals. Scoring an agent or getting a request from an editor is always great, but it rarely happens. If you’re just starting out, a good goal might be getting professional feedback on your query or novel opening.

6. Make sure to take advantage of all the conference has to offer, from speeches, to classes, to workshops, to critiques, to social occasions. It’s all part of the experience.

5. Don’t forget that it was your first conference at some point! Embrace new attendees as much as you do old friends.

4. Dress comfortably, in appropriate casual attire. You don’t want to wear a business suit, but you also shouldn’t be wearing sweats.

3. Don’t be nervous! Conferences are typically a very lively, supportive environment. We publishing professionals aren’t all that scary. Conferences are NOT a requirement of our jobs, and we choose to attend them. We’re going on our spare time, and we want to be there. And most of us don’t bite.

2. Be ready to accept criticism. It can be tough hearing about problems with your work in person, and if you’re not ready for it, don’t sign up for a critique. The worst thing is to be defensive or hostile, and believe me, it happens all the time. It does’t help you, and it makes the critiquer feel as though he’s wasted his time. It doesn’t reflect well on your ability to handle a business filled with rejection, either.

1. Behave professionally. Don’t wear costumes. Don’t slip manuscripts under the stall door in the bathroom. Don’t drink to excess at gatherings. Publishing is a very small community, and bad behavior is remembered. While conferences should be fun, remember that you’re in a business environment and behave accordingly.

I think conference attendees may have even more tips, so please share them in the comments!

October 18, 2011   Stephanie   advice, authors, optimism, Stephanie, writing  
6

Blocking the block

I think it’s safe to say that most writers have, at some point along the way, felt stuck in their writing. It’s never a good feeling, without a doubt. So what is a writer to do? I thought I’d pass along  some thoughts to help you get moving again.

  • Take a step back: Time away from your work-in-progress can be a very helpful way to gain some clarity on any issues you may feel are plaguing your writing at any given time.
  • Revisit: Going over the parts of your writing that flow smoothly can often help unblock the problems in other areas.
  • Get a second opinion: Show your writing to a friend, writer-friend, or critique group member—anyone who will be objective and give you their honest opinion.
  • Read: There are always lessons to be learned from reading someone else’s writing.

Do you have any special tricks for beating writers’ block?

October 12, 2011   Stacey   advice, Stacey, writing  
12

To beta or not to beta, that is the question

I recently received a first draft of a manuscript from one of my clients. She’d been promising it to me for a little while and kept giving me updates about her beta readers weighing in on the material before she shared it with me. I was encouraged by this news because it tells me that she has taken the time to not only complete the entire manuscript, but get feedback on it from readers who she presumably trusts and make revisions accordingly.

It also tells me that she is focused on delivering to me a draft that is in good shape, has been read and re-read, and has been edited or revised to make it as complete and ready-to-go as possible. I often work with my authors to develop projects from idea stage to publication, so don’t assume this means you have to send me a manuscript that’s been copyedited and is ready to go into production! But with the market being so difficult, I really appreciate this time and effort spent to deliver a clean manuscript so I can focus on the larger issues of plot and character development rather than fine tuning more benign early draft issues.

So it was with interest after getting the manuscript this week (which I’ve not yet had a chance to read, but plan to very soon!) that I found this article on the topic of beta readers that I thought was worth sharing with our blog readers.

It gives the basics of what a beta reader is, and how you might look for your own group of beta readers as you develop your novel. I think it’s important, as the author Joe Moore notes, to seek out readers who understand and can relate to your category. If you’ve only written thrillers and your new book is a YA, then it’s probably best to find additional readers who know that category and can give you feedback that is specific to your intended audience.

I’d love to know if you use beta readers, and how you go about this process. How do you find your beta readers? Do you find it helps your work, and do you wait to share your first draft with agents or publishers until you’ve heard from all your beta readers and made any suggested changes? Let us know if you are a fan of the beta!

October 05, 2011   Miriam   advice, audience, authors, Miriam, opinion  
6

“If it be not now, yet it will come…”

We all know that the last part of that quote is “the readiness is all.”   Words to live by, no?  So, why is everyone in such a hurry?

Specifically, I’m talking about the hurry to get a half-baked manuscript in front of an agent, the hurry to start the next book when you’re still writing the first one (and, by the way, you have a looming deadline for that first one), the hurry to get a new contract before the current book has been published, the hurry to get all of your writing published at once (something currently made much more possible through electronic means), etc.  We’re all in too much of a hurry.  We cut corners like we cut off other drivers—because we have to get somewhere five minutes ago before someone else beats us there.  We’re so obsessed with being done that we don’t do things well.

Sure, we’re in a hurry to make money and see our names up in lights and there’s nothing wrong with that (see Jim’s recent blog post on the subject of art vs. filthy lucre).  Without those incentives, we’d still be sitting around in caves eating leftover mastodon while wearing unfashionable fur coats.  But the rush to get rich and famous (or even just published) needs to be offset by a nice dose of readiness.  Your manuscript or proposal needs to be ready—edited and re-edited before even submitting to agents, polished for submission once the agent has taken you on, proofread so that most if not all “it’s” and “its” are as they should be.  You need to be ready to take on the unglamorous, thankless part of the process—writing query letters, sifting through rejections, following up patiently and courteously, starting all over again after a promising early read leads nowhere, being a savvy business person who reviews  his/her contracts and asks relevant questions of his/her agent and publisher, laying the groundwork for the platform you’ll need when you have a publisher and a publication date, and, of course, being a denizen of “the waiting place” while the publishing process unfolds with all the alacrity of a snail on downers.

So, yes, it’s a bit of a “hurry up and wait” conundrum.  On the one hand, you need the fire in the belly that gets that germ of an idea out of your head and into print.  On the other hand, making sure your work is ready for public consumption is not a process that should be rushed.  Write well, edit carefully, do your due diligence in getting published (know your audience) and then have patience with the publishing process—learn your lessons before rushing out to get the next one and the next one and the next one out there.

And, of course, readiness is a relative and somewhat intuitive term.  Seems to me that Danielle Steel’s work is ready a lot faster than Cormac McCarthy’s but that’s why there are different categories of fiction.  How about you guys?  How do you know when your work is ready?  And, do you sometimes hurry the process along in a way you know you shouldn’t?

September 29, 2011   Stacey   advice, Stacey, tone, writing  
2

Tips for tone

One of the things we talk a lot about is tone. I see it broadly as how the writer portrays the message he is trying to send to the reader. It usually has a consistent style running through it that sets the stage for the narrative flow of the book. It can be dark, condescending, or quiet. Upbeat, authoritative, or funny. It’s sort of like when you talk with someone and you can tell from their tone what kind of mood they’re in. When you’re reading a book, the writer sends that same message but with their words instead of their voice and facial expression, and without those more obvious cues, it can be very challenging to get it just right.

For fiction as well as nonfiction, a writing sample that shows the reader what the tone of the book will be is a very valuable part of the reading process. For agents, it’s essential that a project we are trying to sell has a tone that hits the right marks. You can have an interesting untapped concept that never gets off the ground if the tone is off (for example, who wants to read about a new fascinating groundbreaking medical advance if the doctor describing it is a pompous, unlikeable narrator?), or on the other side a book idea that might not be obvious, but the sample writing hits the right tonal elements and convinces the reader it’s worth the endeavor (think something like Tuesdays with Morrie).

I found this piece on tone from Writer’s Digest that speaks to this topic in a way that offers some guidelines worth noting. The examples, like the Jeannette Walls one in point 6, are helpful to illustrate how the concepts translate to the page.

There is something quite subjective about when a writer gets tone right, or wrong. Getting feedback from readers is a good way to educate yourself about how your work is being perceived. You might think the tone of your work is pitch-perfect, but others might think it’s cloying, or whiny, so it’s still important to work it through, and if necessary, break down the elements that might help to get the tone just right.

How do you feel tone affects your work, and are there any tips on tone that you apply to your writing that you’d like to share? One of my clients reads her middle grade works-in-progress to her kids to see how they react, and if they like it, she knows the tone (among other things) is working!

September 21, 2011   Stacey   advice, fun, Stacey, writing, YA  
9

Does your YA character need a therapist?

I studied psychology in college, and have a strong interest in the subject still. I always joke that if I didn’t become a literary agent, I’d be a therapist. My eclectic list includes a number of dark, psychological memoirs, in several cases written by mothers and daughters (an odd hybrid that really resonates with me). I’m not sure what this says about my psyche, but I am drawn to deep, painful, emotional stories that explore the inner depths of human suffering, and then highlight the amazing strength people possess to overcome adversity.

For all of you YA authors out there thinking of having your young characters visit a therapist, here’s an interesting piece that talks about just that topic in current YA fiction. Given how many kids today are being medicated for various reasons, it’s refreshing to see in fiction so many talking through their problems. As a literary device, it seems more effective to set a scene in a therapist’s office where dramatic dialogue and action can unfold rather than describing the inherently nondramatic act of taking a pill.

For those of you writing in this category, what do you think of teenagers and therapists? Is it a good idea to open up their world in this way, or do you prefer an interior dialogue and thought process for characters to work through their issues? And have you read any books other than the ones Kabi Hartman discusses (it’s a good list) that effectively implement therapy or therapists into their plots of teenage angst? Since I have 4 girls who will be teenagers in the blink of an eye (ok, I know my oldest is only in first grade, but still), I’d like to know personally as well as professionally!

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