Is Deidre Getting an Agent, or what?!

I have to confess, I've been working to edit a manuscript called The Testimony . It's nearly finished and like Saving Mary, I plan on self publishing this one too! In fact, I'm rather fond of self publishing. I'm so fond of it that my editor and I have decided that self publishing is the route we are journeying down for at least four more books. This route may not be the path you choose, you may not have found a wonderful editor who's willing to kick things into high gear, you may not want the added stress of finding your book's readers, or playing the ever-changing Amazon market, or forking out cash for advertising...but I guess I kind of like all that stuff. And so here I go again, plunging myself into the publishing biz.

FYI, I didn't foresee myself heading down this path. I have to admit, I'm such a go-getter that I totally expected to find myself a wonderful agent who would scoop up my books and push them out into the publishing world. In fact, I did send my "testimony" manuscript out to a large handful of agents (last year...with little response), but recently I've been spending my energy on polishing and finalizing the book so that it's ready to upload to Amazon (as opposed to an intermediary agent). The Testimony should be ready for sale by December 25, 2012. I'll let you know if it it gets out at that time. So, is Deidre going to find an agent? Not at this time--she's got an editor, and at this point that's all she needs!

Harper Collin's Accepting Unagented Material--Now!

Sorry I've been gone for so long, but I've been busy, busy, busy! However, I didn't want anyone to miss this opportunity from Harper's blog page:

Harper Voyager, HarperCollins’ science fiction and fantasy imprint, will accept complete and unagented manuscripts for two weeks.
From October 1 until October 14, authors from around the world can send their manuscripts through this submission portal. You can find all the submission details at this link. Here’s more from the publisher:

The manuscripts will then be read and those most suited to the global Harper Voyager list will be selected jointly by editors in the USA, UK and Australia.  Accepted submissions will benefit from the full publishing process: accepted manuscripts will be edited; and the finished titles will receive online marketing and sales support in World English markets. Voyager will be seeking an array of adult and young adult speculative fiction for digital publication, but particularly novels written in the epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural genres.

The global effort is led by U.K. deputy publisher director Emma Coode, Australian associate publisher Deonie Fiford, and U.S. executive editor Diana Gill

LINK TO THE PAGE HERE

Seriously, this is what publishing is like...

Finally, we have a realistic view of what a writer goes through in order to get a book in the hands of readers. Thank you...Nathan Bransford for posting this on your awesome blog.

At first you're thinking of writing a novel and you're all...

But then you have an idea!

And you go...

But then you hit page 50 and you're all....

And then you hit page 75 and you're all...

But you power through!!

And then you're finished!!! You have finished a novel!!

Only then find out you have to start querying agents.

So you write your query letter...

You obsess over it...

And then you send it out to agents and you're all...

Then a couple of days go by and you're all...

And...

And...

But then you hear from your first agent!! And you're all...

And...

And it's a rejection. But it's just your first one so you're all...

Then you get a few more and it's more like...

But then! An agent calls! And they love your work! They want to represent you! And inside you're like...

But you don't want your agent to think you're crazy so instead you're like...

And you love your agent! When you say "yes" you want to...

But instead you go...

And then it's time to submit to publishers. You are back on submission, and you're like...

Then the editors start saying....

And...

And your inbox starts looking like...

And you're all...

And...

And...

But then your phone says your agent is calling. And you want to be like...

But instead it's more like...

And it's an offer! You have an offer! And you feel like...

And...

And...

And...

And then you go celebrate with your friends and they're all...

And on the car ride home you're still like...

But it's time for revisions. And you pretend you know what you're doing...

And it's back to...

But then you're done! You're really really done! Only your book doesn't come out for another year. And so you're like...

And...

You get your cover and you're all...

But then publication day approaches! And your reviews start coming out and it kind of feels like...

But some of them are good! And you're like...

And then your book is out there! People are reading your book!

And it feels pretty good!

And there's only one thing to do. Start the whole thing over again.

More Query Tips...and Some HA! HA!

I'm running out to buy some stationary with pretty planets all over it--because my writing is "out of this world!" Worst query I ever sent out was one to a picture book publisher. When the editor sent my query back (with a "no thank you") he was sure to include my whole submission--including my query PLUS the three rough drafts (I wrote the query three times trying to get it right) that I had mistakenly mailed out with the query.

Query Letter Advice (#1)

Does Amazon Pay?

I put my creepy little memoir up on Amazon's bookshelf back in April of this year in the hopes that I could avoid mentor M's Reason #56 of why my book might get REJECTED: "You Have no Sales History to Speak Of" and also because it seemed like a darn fun thing to do. Well, putting my book out there was a lot of work, but as I've said before it's been worth it. Just recently I received my first month's royalty check. It was for $200.00 which isn't amazing, but it's also not bad. (The average ebook author makes $500.00 a year.) I have to admit putting a book up on Amazon AND stirring up sales is a lot like playing the market--things can change quickly;one day you're up and the next you're wondering what went wrong. This fluctuation has a lot to do with algorithms and how Amazon tweaks them. (For instance, just when you think Amazon's  KDP Select program is a great marketing tool for self-pubs like me they go and change the algorithms, making it more difficult to get your book noticed. See this May blog for an explanation...
Amazon's changing algorithms )


But as many kindle self-pubs know, there's more to selling books than just KDP Select...see Renee Pawlish's blog.

So, does Amazon pay? Sure, but it's not a walk in the park. It's more like a hike up a steep bank...a steep bank that doesn't seem to end.

Top Five Ways to Build a Platform

Ok, so I'm not an expert on this. I'm just like you, a struggling writer, a nobody, one who's been told, "We can't publish you--you have no platform." We all hate that excuse, "no platform." We hate it because it means we're good writers but we're not famous, or outgoing, or life-changers. "No platform" means I could be a world-change agent, but I have decided to just be a writer. "No platform" means I like to write, but I don't want to engage my audience one on one. "No platform" means no book deal.

So write an ebook and forget about platform. The problem with that line of thinking is that even with an ebook  eventually you will have to market the darn thing and suddenly you must again deal with the elephant in the room. Wait a minute, before we continue trying to deal with that nasty elephant that we call "platform" let's just replace that scary word with something more managable and meaningful: "social passion."

Now think about your manuscript, think about what you like about it: the characters, the message, the genre, or perhaps you like the audience. What ever you like about your manuscript...well, that's your social passion. For instance, if you love the genre of Romance then let your social passion be that...and then expand on it.

1. Start with a website. Be sure to make it professional so you don't trigger Reason #39 on agent Mike Nappa's list, "Your Internet Presence is Shoddy and Unprofessional."

2. Offer a class at your local library (or your church, or college) and teach about your social passion. If you are able to create intense characters offer up some of your time to teach at your local writer's group (that always opens doors to bigger venues). Get some speaking engagements (no matter how small).

3. Get an author picture done. Get a good one and make sure you look professional, but not boring!

4. Get socially connected. It's easy to go overboard with this one since there are so many avenues to follow in this new virtual world. But the basics are still the same: get a Facebook fan page so people can "like" you, get a blog going (think outside the box when it comes to subject matter because there are now a gazillion blogs out there). Get on LinkedIn and connect not with friends but with experts or professionals in your field, get a Twitter account (though I'm not sure if Twitter is getting read as much). Still, Twitter is a great way to approach people in your field. Learn how to use these social avenues and be sure to have fun with them; otherwise, they will seem like just work.

5. Get creative. Spend some serious time thinking about how you want your social passion to show: Do you envision yourself traveling in your own city, speaking with children about books? Do you envision yourself teaching? Are you the energetic, encouraging kind? Are you funny? For myself, I wanted to start a conference. I wanted a place where people could come together to learn, to be encouraged, to have fun. I wanted to meet the people who were leaders in my area, so I went the conference route. My upcoming conference MotherHeart Conference 2013 will be in Richland WA on May 3, 4th. I named my conference after my manuscript The MotherHeart of God: Biblical Evidence for the Femininity of the Holy Spirit. Because of this conference, I have met so many amazing people, and ideas for my social passion are now jumping to mind more and more. You can check out my website here at www.motherheartconference.com (you can also buy tickets here...FYI)