Tip O'Day #459 - Just Say "No"

Guest blogger Karin Kaufman on “Jumping the Publishing Curve.”

In early 2011, I sent a query letter to a literary agent. One of those “if you don’t receive a reply, it’s a no” agents who haven’t the time, energy, or inclination to send even a one-line rejection via email.

I thought, OK, fine. I can deal with no reply. I’ve spent hours on the synopsis and query — properly formatting the latter to avoid being disqualified from the get-go by an assistant whose job it is to scour queries for obedience to format — and I’ve jumped through numerous hoops, some justified, some silly, but big deal. If I don’t hear from the agent, I’ll move on. I’d been told it could take years to land an agent, and after all, this was only my first query letter. I had many dues to pay.

Two months later, realizing that, indeed, I’d scored a big red no on my query, I turned to the next agent on my list. This one wanted the following: (1) a query letter of three (no more, no less) paragraphs, (2) a short synopsis, (3) a long synopsis, (4) a jacket blurb, (5) a tag line for my novel, and (6) a marketing plan.

In other words, he wanted me to do his job for him. With very little chance that my work would pay off. I calculated how many hours it would take for me to jump his gates like a good little pony and laid down my own big red no.

No, I will not start down this path. No, I will not make sure my email subject line is just right so that your automated system doesn’t kick it out. No, I will not spend the next three years sending queries by the score in hopes one agent will deign to respond. No, I will not sign with an agent only to find he can’t market my book and has decided to retire to North Carolina. No, I will not take a $3,000 advance (if I’m lucky) and be consigned to the back shelves (if I’m lucky) of a dying bookstore chain. No, I will not accept a 7.5 percent royalty rate when I’m the one supplying the content. No, I will not confine myself to one genre. No.

I’m lucky. It took me one query letter and a brief, wavering moment as I considered writing the next to decide to go Indie. That moment happened to coincide with the explosion in Indie publishing. Other writers have spent years searching for an agent—and years more waiting for a publisher to come along.

In July 2011, I published my first novel, The Witch Tree, on Amazon. So began the Anna Denning mystery series. In 2012, I uploaded the second book in the series, and last year I published All Souls, a speculative thriller that, had I been beholden to an agent and publisher, never would have been written.

God bless agents, with their hoops and gates, for pointing me toward Indie publishing. If you’re considering going Indie, I encourage you to give it a try. These days you have nothing to lose. After all, agents are beginning to call Amazon the “new slush pile.”

You have to laugh.

Karin Kaufman is author of the Anna Denning cozy mystery series and the Gatehouse Thriller series (under the name K.T. Kaufman). Her first novel, The Witch Tree, was a 2011 Grace Award finalist. When she’s not causing mayhem in the lives of her characters, she enjoys reading, drinking far too much coffee and tea, and taking walks in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her two rescue dogs, Sophie and Cooper. The Amazon Kindle link to All Souls is http://goo.gl/pbuKqx.

One-Sentence Writing Tips, Part V

This is Day Five of One-Sentence Writing Tips Week, with Facebook writers and other book lovers showing they can be both profound and concise.

J.T. Sather: Writing a book is the easy part, selling it however...not so much.

Paul M. Schofield: Write, write, write...right?

Laura Schultz: Pay close attention to everything and everyone around you, as some of them could become great characters.

Literary agent Michael Snell: Eschew obfuscation and sesquipedalian anfractuosities.

Screenwriter Mike Snyder: Most writers are banned from TV or movie sets because they insist every last word is deathless prose; that's just not gonna happen, at least not in North America.

Unless your genial host gets flooded by last-minute submissions, these one-sentence tips will end on Saturday. Tomorrow’s scheduled tipsters: Jennie Gardner Spallone, Mark Terry, Troy Wilkinson and Kristen Wood.

Tip O'Day #413 - Three Bits of Advice

Guest blogger Lesley Ann Sharrock says you need to “be yourself, find your own voice, and write for yourself.”

What does it take to be published? Damned if I know, even though I have achieved that honor.

It seems to me that it’s a bit of a lottery.

When I finished my first novel, The Seventh Magpie, I tried going down the traditional route of finding an agent. No luck there, lots of “it’s not for us but another agent may feel differently.” They didn’t. We all know that the large publishers will only look at work that is submitted to them via an agent, so that door was firmly slammed in my face. I finally went directly to a smaller publishing house and they accepted it. Phew!

I have just finished my second novel, Truth Lies Buried, and am back on the old agent hunt because I feel that this one is far more commercial than the first as I have now shifted genres to crime thrillers. I may well be wrong, but only time will tell.

The advice I would give all writers is to be yourself, find your own voice, and write for yourself.

Not everyone will like your work, not even your nearest and dearest. Don’t be deterred. There will be lots of people out there who are just like you and who will tune in to your story, given half a chance. Have your final manuscript edited by a professional, experienced editor before submitting it. This is essential, no matter what route you decide to take, be it the traditional one of finding an agent for your work, submitting directly to small publishers or self-publishing. Make it as perfect as it can be.

You can view the book trailer for The Seventh Magpie here. Check out this author's website at http://lesleyannsharrock.com.

Tip O'Day #383 - Compare & Contrast

Guest blogger Doris Meredith looks at two different authors.

The following is absolutely true. No gender is bias intended as I know stay-at-home writer dads who share Writer Two's schedule. The names are changed to prevent my being sued by Writer One. Writer Two is yours truly.

The writing lives of individual writers differ depending on circumstances, but some circumstances are better than others. I decided to use that old high school English class device that made students break out in a sweat: Compare and contrast two writers' daily schedules.

Writer One rises from his bed at 7:00 after a night of restful, uninterrupted sleep, eats a light breakfast with wife, and retires to his paneled, book-lined office. From 8:00-9:30, he edits the previous day's work. At 9:30 his wife brings him hot coffee.

Writer Two rises from her bed at 7:00 a.m. after giving her son his asthma medicine at 2:00 a.m., and soothing her daughter after his nightmare. At 7:30 she fixes breakfast for her husband and children; at 8:00 takes the children to school. At 8:30 returns to school because children forgot their lunches. At 9:00 Writer Two cleans the kitchen, puts first load of clothes in washer, empties the trash, writes checks for overdue bills, and finally takes a phone call from the school nurse (“Your daughter has a headache and can we have permission to give an aspirin?”). From 9:30-10:00 she edits the previous day's work. At 10:30 she picks up her daughter after another call from the school nurse. After giving her daughter a ginger ale and the TV remote, she reheats a cup of coffee and takes two aspirin.

Writer One works on latest book from 9:45-11:45 a.m., when he calls his agent to discuss an upcoming book tour and his need for a publisher-funded car and driver. At 12:00 noon, he eats a leisurely lunch with his wife, reminds her to gather tax records for accountant, returns to his office and works until 3:30 p.m., feeling very relaxed because he’s well ahead of deadline. From 3:30-4:00, he speaks to his agent and arranges for the car and driver to pick him up at the airport. At 4:00 his wife brings him a glass of wine, after which he calls his agent again. From 4:30-6:00 he works on his book. At 6:00 he eats dinner with his wife and reminds her to pick up his cleaning and pack his bags for his tour. At 10:30 he retires for another night of uninterrupted sleep.

Writer Two works on her latest book from 11:00-12:30 when she feeds her daughter a bowl of chicken soup, decides it's too soon to take another aspirin, phones her agent to learn he is on vacation in Paris. She works on her book until 3:30 p.m., then picks up her son and takes him karate class. At 4:00 she calls to ask if the publisher will buy her a plane ticket to her book signing, learns he went home early with a headache. She takes two more aspirins, picks up her son from karate class, fixes dinner and collects tax records for the accountant. She works on her book from 7:00-8:00 when it is bath time and story time for the children. At 9:00 p.m., she checks her credit card balance to see if she can afford to charge a bus ticket to her book signing. From 10:00 to 12:30 she works on her book, at which time she realizes the character she identified in her synopsis as the murderer couldn't have done it. She'll have to tell her editor she's changing the plot. At 12:45 she takes two aspirin and goes to bed, then suddenly remembers the washer full of wet clothes. She says to hell with it and falls into an exhausted sleep.

Conclusion: Every writer needs a good wife.

Learn more about D.R. Meredith (Doris to her friends) here.

Tip O'Day #369 - Seek Help & Return the Favor

Guest blogger Ashley Robertson has some writing advice.

The biggest thing writers should know is that you’d better be extremely passionate about writing or you might as well go ahead and hang up your hat right now. This business is extremely competitive; it’s similar to trying to be an actor. Yes, it’s that competitive.

Being an author is a part of who I am, imbedded deep down inside my heart and rooted within the marrow of my bones. That’s what drove me when the rejection letters rolled in or my books didn’t get the ratings I felt they deserved. Instead of taking it personally—sometimes it’s impossible not to when you invest so much of your time and energy into something—you’ve got to develop a thicker skin and use it to your advantage. Realize that you can’t please everyone, but a lot of the reviewers offer healthy constructive criticism too. That’s what you need to focus on to improve your writing skills and storytelling ability.

When I set out to publish my debut YA urban fantasy novel, Crimson Groves, I thought that I’d get accepted by one of the many literary agencies I reached out to and that they would take care of everything for me. That couldn’t have been further from how everything actually happened. Though I must thank a few of those agencies, because their personal rejections saying, in essence, “I like your writing style, but we’re not taking anything vampire related. Do you have something else you can submit?” were actually what motivated me to self-publish in the first place. You see, I’m obsessed with vampires and just about everything paranormal, and based on my own extensive research, I believe that genre isn’t going anywhere. Check out Crimson Groves here.

Now that I was doing this on my own, it was time to figure out my budget. When you go the indie author route, you have to pay all the upfront expenses (editor, cover designer, publishing company, etc.). My best advice about this is to only spend what you’re able to lose should your book not sell right away (or not at all). If you’re willing to teach yourself how to e-publish, Amazon and Smashwords offer free training manuals which can save you money on the publishing side; however, if you want to offer your book in paperback or hardcover, you must work with one of many publishing companies. I’ve found that CreateSpace is one of the less expensive ones, and they offer packages that include cover design and editing services. Since I prefer more control and a more personal relationship with a writing team, I outsourced my own editor—Stephen Delaney with Close Reader Editing Services—and book-cover designer—Claudia McKinney with PhatpuppyArt—and I couldn’t be happier with the business relationships I have with them.

That’s actually why I like CreateSpace. They allowed me to bring my already edited manuscript and fully designed cover to them and charged me a simple flat fee for formatting a printed version of my book. So when I was ready to publish my second mature YA/paranormal romance thriller, UnGuarded, it was much easier than before because I had a system in place. Check out free sample chapters of UnGuarded.

Now for another very important tip: networking. You must build “blogationships” with as many book reviewers and bloggers as you can. These amazing people are the backbone of your business. In exchange for a free copy of your book, they’ll give you an honest review and post it on Good Reads, Amazon, and so on. But don’t just be a “taker” when making these connections; be a “giver” too! Spend time reviewing their submission guidelines (and pay attention to what they’re asking for!), learn more about them by reading their bios and then perhaps include that in your review letter so they’ll know you cared enough to learn about them, subscribe to their blogs and follow them on Facebook or Twitter (or wherever they like to be “stalked”). Yes, these things take time and may distract you somewhat from writing, but they are essential. Eventually everything will balance out.

Remember, as indie authors, we are our own literary agent, our own publicist, and it’s up to us to market our books and ourselves. This is why we NEED those amazing book bloggers to help us. If they like you and your work, they’ll share it all over their social media sphere of influence, including in their blogs. Then you should return the favor by sharing the blogs you love, and also help other authors by reading their books and taking five minutes of your time to review them. That is why I recently added a review section to my website.

Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida and loves reading and writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling, drinking fine red wines, and making gourmet coffees with her Nespresso machine. Besides Goodreads and her website, you can find her on Twitter as #!/AshleyR0bertson.

Tip O'Day #341 - Gender Bender

Guest blogger John DeDakis asks, “Can a man write effectively as a woman?”

I'm a guy, but I write in the first person as a woman.

When my first mystery/suspense novel Fast Track was published in hardcover in 2005, one of my male friends said in astonishment to one of our mutual female friends, "I didn't know John was a closet woman!"

I inscribed his book: "Welcome to my closet."

My CNN colleague and cone-of-silence friend Carol Costello once told me after reading an early draft of the manuscript, "You have a very well-developed female side." I suppose some guys might be freaked to be told that, but Carol meant it as a compliment, so I accept it, even though I'm still not totally sure what she means (but I think it has to do with nuanced emotional depth, or something).

Writing as a woman started when I first began toying with writing fiction nearly twenty years ago. Someone suggested that I choose a point of view that would be different for me -- and a challenge. It was only later that I realized that most people who buy books are women. Cool.

I found that writing from the female perspective hasn't been as tough as I thought it would be, for a number of reasons:

• I had a great relationship with my mom (a third grade school teacher, incidentally) -- I could talk with her about anything.
• Cindy, my wife of 33 years, is one of those quality people who have a lot of substantive things to say. She's smart, compassionate, articulate, and never boring.
• My 30-year-old writer/daughter Emily is never shy about offering an opinion on just about everything. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and edited both my novels.
• I work in a newsroom surrounded by twenty-something young women who tell me about their boyfriend, career, and family issues, probably because I'm much more comfortable asking questions and listening than pontificating.

I asked a lot of women to read the Fast Track manuscript before I found my agent -- also a woman (Barbara Casey) -- and their feedback helped me make tweaks that rendered the text authentic to the female psyche. For example, I had a line of dialogue in which Lark Chadwick, my protagonist, says, "I'll just jump into the shower." The women of the Princeton Lakes Book Club in Marietta, Georgia, who let me sit in and listen as they critiqued the manuscript, said, as one: "Women do NOT just 'jump' into the shower. We savor the sensuality of the experience."

Got it. Lark no longer jumps into the shower.

After that first novel came out, Kris Kosach of ABC Radio wrote, "DeDakis crawls inside the mind of a twenty-something female, authentically capturing her character, curiosity and self-expression in this can't-put-down thriller." Nice.

And I continue to be amazed at the numerous 5-star reviews I get on Amazon from women who don't seem to mind that a man is writing as a woman. See for yourself here.

Bluff, the second novel in the Lark Chadwick series, came out a year ago. Veteran investigative journalist Diane Dimond (NPR, NBC, and now Newsweek/TheDailyBeast.com) writes, "Lark reminds me of me in the early days of my career.... DeDakis can so accurately write from a woman's point of view -- with all the intrinsic curiosity, emotion and passion -- [that it's] nothing short of astounding."

Conversely, I think it goes without saying that women, too, can effectively write as men. In fact, I would venture that all authors have at least some experience writing characters of the opposite sex because most novels contain male and female characters.

Yes, there is probably still plenty of prejudice out there among people who don't believe it's possible for a writer to be able to bridge the gender gap, but I've found that emotions are universal. Women, as well as men, experience fear, joy, anger, and sadness. Neither gender corners the market on having feelings, it's just that I've found women express them more interestingly and articulately.

So, I'm proud to be a woman -- if only on the printed page.

John DeDakis is a Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” and the author of the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense series “Fast Track” and “Bluff.” He is currently at work on books three and four in the series (“Troubled Water” and “Bullet in the Chamber”). John will be a guest speaker at the Flathead River Writers' Conference, Oct. 6-7, 2012 in Kalispell, Montana. You're also invited to visit John's website.

Tip O'Day #326 - Know Your Voice

Guest blogger Helen Hanson asks, “Who writes like me?”

I slow danced with an agent for almost a year before I indie-pubbed my first novel, 3 Lies. Pitching a book to an agent requires a thoughtful analysis of the book’s marketability. Better still, he wanted a comparison between my writing and that of someone famous. Yikes! Not even out of the nest and I have to fly with the raptors. I write thrillers so these rare birds never form flocks.

John le Carré? I’ve read nearly all of his books, but he’s a strict spy master. I’m not.

John Grisham? His earlier works held some humor which I employ. But all his books involve a court case. Only one of mine does so far.

Tom Clancy? I want to know the type of weapon the assassin fired. I don’t want to know how to field strip the rifle. Pssst. Don’t tell anyone. I prefer the movies made from his novels.

Ultimately, the tenor of my prose isn’t suggestive of anyone famous. It’s my pain, failure, and triumph permeating the pages of my novels. Each of us writes from air space that no bird can share. People I’ve loved, cultures I’ve enjoyed, strangers I’ve engaged–these are the moments which color the ink from my pen. My favorite authors undoubtedly left traces of their DNA in my consciousness, but the words coming out are strictly my own. And I’m good with that. Even if I never soar with the eagles.

It’s my voice. Loud. Deep. Routinely off-key. But uniquely mine by which to die or fly.

Lean more about Helen at her website or check out her novel 3 Lies here.

Tip O'Day #321 - A Young Author’s Advice

Guest blogger Zack Wall on his writing journey.

As a new author just barely out of my teen years, I found writing my first novel to be anything but traditional. Inceptum began as an assignment in college, but quickly developed into a passion I wasn’t aware I even had. I’ve learned much along the way. My biggest lesson was to never self-publish, except as a last effort to see your book in print. If you feel your story is worthy of being read by the public, then seek out a literary agent, or a small publishing company to get you on your feet.

There are thousands of agents across the country, and chances are high that at least one or two will show an interest in your book, provided it has been professionally written and edited. One way to achieve this for free is to contact professors at a nearby university, and ask if they’d be willing to review your book for grammatical errors. Many in the education field would be glad to offer their services for free or inexpensively.

Another mistake first-time authors make is with scheduling their writing sessions. If you feel you’re an “inspired writer,” that’s great, but you still need to balance time spent in front of the computer, or you will burn out from overexposure. After I completed my book, I was so sick of reading it that I didn’t even touch it for several months. Make time for yourself during periods when you won’t get distracted by anything, and sit down for at least an hour to create your story.

If you’re having trouble finding the inspiration to write, consider sitting back and ask yourself why you’re writing this particular book. What inspired you in the first place? Is the story going anywhere, or is it dead in the water? Don’t be afraid to delete a chapter here and there if they aren’t contributing to the overall flow of the book. My story was science fiction, so to find inspiration I would watch my favorite science fiction movies.

The best advice I have ever heard is to write a story you will want to read over and over. It shouldn’t matter if you never sell a single copy of your book. If you are happy with the finished product, then any sales are an added bonus.

I plan on writing many more novels in the future, as well as working on a sequel to Inceptum.

You can find Zach’s book at his website, download the Kindle version on Amazon, or follow him on the novel's official Facebook page.

Tip O'Day #269 - Traditional Publishing

Guest blogger Jonnie Comet (from a Q&A pamphlet prepared when his novel Deirdre, the Wanderer was being marketed).

The current model of publishing, espoused by all the major publishers, retailers and, unfortunately, most authors is to have an expensive, premier agent in Manhattan approve your book, send it to a large, famous and well-established publisher as well as to his friends at the New York Times, have Ingrams distribute it to Barnes and Noble, and then sit back and wait for the Today show to schedule your TV interviews and the filmmakers to call. Though a precious few do find success this way, what I call the ‘B&N model’ is inherently flawed in numerous ways.

Conspicuously, it gives voice to only a very elite few. If the agent has never heard of you, he will regard your voice as unimportant to the market and unlikely to earn him any money, since if you were any good he would have heard of you. Notice that, besides being circular logic, this attitude cements the agent(s) as the chief arbiter between what gets said by whom to whom, the gatekeeper of free speech in a free market.

And just because something is not out in the market now doesn’t mean it wouldn’t do well in the market if some industrious marketer got off his bottom and set to work. To me, the very fact that it’s not there suggests an opportunity. A marketer should want to be the first and only one to discover new talent and to reap the benefits. But to the average publisher or agent, the fact that it’s not there, for whatever reason, suggests that it has no right to be. He’d rather take an easy 15% from a sure thing.

This model of publishing has existed since at least the 1920s and remains the default which many people think is the only sensible way to publish and market books. It’s flawed ethically and economically. I’ve tried for years to figure out why it persists; and I can only imagine that it’s centred in ego or establishmentism, something more having to do with the personalities in question than with logic, common sense or marketing savvy.

You can learn more about this author at Jonnie’s blog.

Tip O'Day #262 - "One Sentence Writing Tips II"

Over the holidays, I asked folks in my online network to share one-sentence writing tips. Here are four more.

Karen Mueller Bryson – “Be precise and concise; eliminate all unnecessary words.”

Kathy Dunne Dunnehoff – “Be a finisher!”

Ellie Mack – “Writer's write; it's what separates us from the pretenders and wannabes.”

Charles O. Maul – “Get an agent and go for it.”

Dixon says: Like yesterday’s tips, these are all great. Karen certainly hit the nail on the head. In my critique group, I’ve found many of my comments concern word choice – either picking the wrong word, or using eight words when a couple will do. Kathy teaches writing at the local college, and knows whereof she speaks. I’ve heard that literary agents spend huge amounts of time pushing authors to finish works for which the writers already received an advance. I thought of Ellie’s comment when I stopped at the dry cleaner today; the clerk told me, “I’ve always thought of writing a book…” Finally, I like Charles’ advice. Even if you don’t land an agent, the pursuit is good for the soul. By writing a query and synopsis, and polishing your book so it’s ready for submission, you’ll learn a lot about the craft of writing and the heart of your story. If nothing else, you’ll also learn patience.

Tomorrow’s post will feature one-sentence tips from Jackie Pelham, Gil Roscoe, Michael Snell and yours truly.

Tip O'Day #259 - An Eclectic Reader

Guest blog Aline Tayar on reading eclectically.

I find much modern literature disappointing so keep going back to the classics. Have just finished The Darwin Economy - a book I learned about when the author appeared in a radio debate and was attacked very rudely by the libertarians in the audience. BBC and NPR on radio are especially good sources of information on books. The Observer too. I’m currently working on short stories and trying to decide if I should self-publish a novel or hold out for an agent - the process of searching for one is so dispiriting.

Tip O'Day #242 - Scams

Guest blogger Rose Blackthorn on being scammed.

I fell into that trap of submitting to an agent who referred me to a “book doctor” stating that after professional editing they would be pleased to represent my manuscript. The editor charged me an exorbitant amount, and after making the suggested changes I resubmitted to the agent, who now was no longer interested.

Dixon says: Thanks for sharing, Rose, and hopefully you've prevented other writers from falling for this scam. There are many honest and helpful literary agents, book editors, and book doctors - but how to ferret out the unethical ones? I'd suggest using the 'Preditors and Editors' website before signing either a contract or a check.

Tip O'Day #205 - Why Barbara Self-Publishes

Guest blogger Barbara Bixon wonders about listings on Writer’s Market.

I love writing. It's my passion but it's frustrating as hell.

I write comedy. When I send out chapters of my books, the agents scribble notes telling me how much they loved the book, characters, they couldn't put it down, but they reject it saying they don't handle comedy. Yet Writer's Market lists them as wanting humor. It's enough to drive you nuts. I've just gotten so sick and tired of the games that I self-published my books. They came out great and I have 26 book talks lined up for the next few months. I'm finally happy to see my books in print. Don't care whether I make a fortune.

Why bother writing if you can't share your stories?

Technology Must Die (Revisited)

This was my second ever attempt at a blog post, in early 2008 when writers were still squabbling about whether agent queries should go by email or snail mail.

Technology Must Die!

My very first e-query flew back within 12 hours with a request for a partial manuscript. Omigawd, the future is bright. Grisham labored in obscurity for years, selling his first self-published novel out of the back of a station wagon at swap meets, and here I've struck gold with my first effort. Before shopping for a Mercedes, I thought it might be prudent to research my new best friend. Oops. Google came up dry. Other than the brief entry on First Writer that led me to him in the first place, I found nada on the usual literary agent databases. I emailed Mystery Agent to see if I should send the partial by email attachment or snail mail, and also politely asked whether he had a website or blog. Since then, silence reigns.

Great. My first query, and I get VaporAgent.

The rejections I've received so far have all been professional and polite, usually along the line of "not for me" or "not a match." That's fine because I understand that this business is more about art, not science.

I've noticed that replies to e-queries tend to be very minimal and safely-worded, whereas those returning to my mailbox sometimes have more positive, even helpful comments scrawled on the letter. One snail mail rejection came back yesterday from a prominent NYC literary agent and actually had nearly 100 words of feedback - my synopsis was a "compelling presentation" and he couldn't see any obvious flaws, but didn't feel the necessary "connection" to take me as a client. Wow! That rejection will keep me motivated for months to come. I'm thinking it's suitable for framing.

As I said, I'm still new to querying and with some of the most successful agents only accepting e-queries, maybe that's the best way to go. I admit to getting a minor tactile thrill from folding up an SASE and slipping it into another envelope along with a crisp piece of stationary with my brilliant, well-researched query. But I don't get creepy over it.

I have important reasons for dragging my query letters down to the post office and dropping them through a slot, reasons that have nothing to do with the odds of success or failure or helpful comments. Once a query is mailed, there is Hope for a period of time. That Hope helps me glue my butt to a chair and tap out more queries, rewrite my old nonsense, and create gawd-awful first drafts of future nonsense. The fact that there is no scientific or logical basis for this Hope is inconsequential. It's the best buzz I've gotten since I threw Jim Beam out the back door.

On the other hand, last night I emailed a carefully-crafted, well-researched query to an agent who's supposedly waiting breathlessly for a thriller to represent. The rejection showed up among my incoming emails before my morning coffee break today.

Technology must die!

Tip O'Day for Authors #190

Guest blogger Sara Curran-Ross wonders “do I really need an agent?”

...(received) yet another rejection letter from a literary agency. Ah, yes my favourite topic of torment, literary agents. There doesn’t seem to be any way to please these people in my experience. Replies from literary agents in the past have ranged from apologetic to pompous and arrogant. But yesterday I got a new variation. I had gone back to a couple of agents after getting three publishing contracts hoping this time I might have more luck. Hmmm, scratch that! In a very short, one-sentence, abrupt, bordering-on-rude reply, this agent informed me that she doesn’t take on anyone who hasn’t obtained an advance of a certain amount from their publisher. Talk about a slap in the face.

Rightly or wrongly I felt like a loser. I am fed up with twittering agents who rant and rave about writers who don’t follow their submission rules to perfection. But when I see how many writers are now ditching their agents, it prompts a question, do I really need an agent? I’ve managed so far without one. Perhaps it’s time to realize that in these changing times, writing is not just about generating stories to share but a private business. As they say, if you want something done, do it yourself!

Tip O'Day for Authors #154

Guest blogger Glenn Kleier on what gatekeepers look for.

In my humble opinion, agents and editors are hyper discriminating these days about the new fiction they'll take a look at. It's all about marketing. What will sell. If you're aiming for whatever is currently hot out there, chances are you're behind the curve. Agents especially are looking for manuscripts that are fresh and well-paced, or at least have a unique twist on an existing concept (a la a clever mashup). And do your homework on the agents you solicit—make sure you match your material to their specific interests. Good luck!

The link to the website for Glenn’s book is http://www.kleier.com

Tip O'Day for Authors #140

Guest blogger Al Lamanda has quick tips on getting published.

Your book is done. You’ve spent many months, possible years writing and polishing your manuscript and it’s finally complete. Now what? What good is your book without readers, so the obvious next step is to publish your work. Not even ten years ago, your only choice was traditional publishing. Today you have EBooks to consider as a second choice, but before you try the EBook route, you want to give traditional publishing your best shot.

To do that, you have to capture the attention of someone who loves your book. Someone has to read your words and say, “Wow.” But, who? The quickest and most effective way to a traditional publisher is through an agent. After all, that is what agents do, open doors for you to a publisher. To capture the attention of an agent, you must write the perfect Query Letter. Less than one page, to the point, a short bio if you have one, it has to capture the agent’s attention because they receive hundreds of query letters in any given week. Yours must stand out or it gets deleted. For some examples of query letters see the links I’ve included below.

Once you’ve written the perfect query letter, you now must send it out to agents. Do not make the rookie mistake I did and blanket agents with your query. That is a waste of time, theirs and yours. Here’s why. Agents generally read queries about books they are interested in and want to represent. Most will tell you upfront what they like and will represent, so why bother sending your mystery/action query to an agent looking for historical romance. Find the agents interested in your genre and query them. For a list of agents see the links I’ve included below.

What now? Well, be prepared for an agent to request a synopsis of your book, along with three or more chapters. Some will ask for the entire manuscript, but three is the general rule. A synopsis is a difficult thing to write. You must put into six to ten pages your entire 75,000 word plus novel, and do it in such a way that the agent is sold on you and will want to sell your book to the highest bidder. Check the links I’ve included for samples of Synopsis’s. Write yours, then rewrite it and polish it to perfection before sending it out.

There are no guarantees in the publishing world, but being prepared and professional does give you an edge. I hope these tips carry you forward, and good luck to you all.

Links to check out:
www.agentquery.com
www.guidetoliteraryagent.com
Predators & Editors

Al Lamanda is the author of the mystery/action novels Dunston Falls, Walking Homeless, Running Homeless and Sunset (2012 release date.)

Tip O'Day #11

Stella Deleuze blogs at http://synopsisandbookfactory.wordpress.com/ and this is a past post, used with her permission.

Don’t be fooled

As a new writer, you may share a dream with many others: to be published.
For many it stays a dream and for others this dream comes true. I’m talking about signing a contract with a reputable publishing house. While most of the big names do not accept unsolicited submissions and only work with agents, many of the smaller, newer and independent ones are open to deal with authors directly.

But beware of those you deal with. There are a lot of so-called vanity publishers out there, trying to lure you in with promises they can’t keep. I’ve met a few authors who fell for them and bitterly regret their decisions. It’s a matter of not having researched properly that made them sign a contract.

Here are a few points to watch out for:

• If a publisher asks for money upfront or in general, run! Money flows to the author, always.

• If they don’t have books or other checkable credentials on their website. Run! Every publisher is proud of their achievements, no reason to hide them.

• If they get back to you in a brief amount of time, asking for a full manuscript, be skeptical. Publishers are busy, especially if they do accept unsolicited manuscripts, they are swamped. It happens from time to time that they get back quickly. To be on the safe side, research them if you haven’t already done so. Check them at Preditors & Editors and Writer Beware

• If they stress explicitly that they are not vanity publishers. Any good publisher doesn’t need to state it.

• If they don’t offer to assign an editor or tell you that your book will be published a month after signing. It usually takes at least six months to be out on the shelves, even if the book is quite polished upon submission. A more realistic figure is a year.

• If they offer to edit your book for a fee, even if they promise to pay you back once the book sells. Run! Every publishing house has editors and it’s their job to do the final touches to make it fit their lines.

• If they offer you a contract that asks for money, is not conclusive, demands the author to buy a certain amount of books, etc. Don’t sign – run!

• If you find information about them on google or other sites, complaints, negative comments, etc. Run!

There is a lot to watch out for. If you stumble across a vanity publisher, help your fellow writers by sending an e-mail to P&E, informing them. They are on a mission to protect you.