Reason No. 37 Why Your Book was REJECTED!

I self published my ebook with the high hopes of building a 'platform' as per the advice of agent Michael Larsen author of How to Write a Book Proposal and agent Mike Nappa at Nappaland agency (author of 77 Reasons Why Your Book Was Rejected [and how to be sure it won't happen again!]  After all, according to reason #37 of Mentor M's book, an agent might bypass me as a potential client because Amazon readers don't like me or agents might bypass me because of Reason #56: "You Have no Sales History to Speak Of." (This is different from Reason #57 "You Have a Sales History, and it Sucks." Man, writing is a finicky line of work!) Of course, in order to have any Amazon readers (to love or hate me) I first must have a book up on Amazon, which means I must first be published (or self published) before I contact an agent. (This is the main reason I put my memoir up on Amazon--because I am dedicated to following theses guys' advice.) The fact is (as I have learned) agents like to know if people are already reading your stuff, they like to know if you already have a fan base, and they like to know that people actually like what you write. So, having a book out there that elicits some good Amazon reviews--this helps. As agent Mike reminds us in his book, everyone in the biz reads Amazon reviews so we should be working hard to hopefully get some good ones.

However, with all that being said, I am immensely enjoying having my ebook up on amazon--and not for the reason of building a platform in order to attract an agent. I just like being in charge of marketing. I like seeing sales come in, I even like getting the reviews (both good and bad--though I enjoy the good ones much more). I enjoy thinking about what my next step is going to be, I enjoy following the ebook trends and changes, I enjoy keeping my book rights, and I enjoy working on part two of Saving Mary: The Deliverance which I will also release as an ebook. (In fact, I would say that if you want to release an ebook I wouldn't bother at all with a publisher.)  

But (you may be asking yourself) if I enjoy being self-published in this new ebook era why would I still be hoping to bag me an agent? Why do I continue with this blog? The answer is four-fold. First, I see that the ebook market and the hard-copy bookstore market are two completely different markets (one of which requires an agent to succeed in) which means, if I want to be in a bookstore I more than likely need an agent. Second, I am not convinced that non-fiction sells best as ebooks (though I could be wrong). I say this because I just read my first non-fiction ebook on my Kindle: Fresh Air: The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life by Jack Levison

I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, but I wanted so much to make notes inside it and it took me some time to figure out how to do that, then it took me more time to figure out how to find my notes. Through it all, I deeply wished I had bought a hard copy so I could keep the book on hand to look up my notes (I guess I'm still a bit 'old school'). So since my other books are non-fiction I have to take my feelings into consideration: would they sell well as ebooks or would they do better as hard copies? In fact, this article called "Your Ebook is Reading You" talks about some of the issues readers are having with non-fiction in ebook form. Here is an excerpt from the article:

 Barnes & Noble has determined, through analyzing Nook data, that nonfiction books tend to be read in fits and starts, while novels are generally read straight through, and that nonfiction books, particularly long ones, tend to get dropped earlier.

My third reason for still searching for an agent is that there is still a stigma attached to virtual books (that they lack in quality) and since I'd like my non-fiction to be taken seriously, I may need an agent rather than a great editor. And finally, the fourth reason I am still looking for an agent even though I love the ebook market: I am a curious sort of person and so I'd like to experience both markets.

Ebook Blog Tours--How do They Help?

I'm just about finished doing four blog tours for my ebook Saving Mary: The Possession.I didn't know what to expect from a tour. I wasn't sure they would boost sales, I wasn't sure they would get me reviews, I wasn't sure if they'd be easy or excruciatingly difficult. Well, they're not easy that's for sure because they do take planning (writing the blog posts takes time and so does answering all the interview questions), but I do think they're worthwhile.

Of course, don't expect them to boost sales, that may not happen. I never saw a spike in sales during the tour period...sales stayed the same and only just recently sales have dropped (I think due to it being the middle of summer). What I benefited from the most was the reviews. So far I have 20 reviews posted on Amazon (my average is 4.2) and that helps immensely. I now know that people are enjoying my creepy little memoir and they're liking it. Check out these great little blurbs that I can use for marketing.



My Name is Sage: As I became wrapped up in the story, I had to stop and remind myself I was reading true events that the author endured. That reality made this book more intense. Diedre’s honest writing allowed me to understand the desperation she felt while she tried to reach out to receive God’s grace. 

Beth Art From the Heart: This was a rivoting memoir of Deidre's younger days.  I didn't want to read it, but I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. 

Read-A-Holicz Review: I give this 4.5/5 feathers. It was a really interesting and odd book. I wanted to know what happened but at the same time it was just so different. I highly recommend this book if you want something different and not the same old genre.

Masqueradecrew: This story was riveting. I couldn't put it down. The beginning chapters dealt with her as a child so she wrote as a child would. She dropped the letter g off the ends of words, used slang and colloquialisms to give me the impression that the child herself was speaking to me from the pages. As she became older in the book, the language became more sophisticated, more adult. It was like I was reading her diary, hearing her voice as she grew up. I felt deep empathy for her, and what she went through. This is a fabulous read. It has all the ear marks of a blockbuster. I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately I haven't read the whole story yet. The sequel, Saving Mary - Deliverance isn't out yet. I can't wait.

Deidre is Back...but did she learn anything?

A big thank you to Chris Wollam for taking care of things while I was busy with ebook touring. Thank you, Chris!

Well, even though it was nice to take a break it's also great to be back. But did I learn anything while I was away doing my ebook tour? Sure, I think I did. But before I dive into all that, let me first answer a question that a few of you have sent in regarding Inkubate. As some of you know Inkubate is a site where writers can post their work in the hopes that agents or publishers will look at it. When Inkubate first started it was said that agents and publishers would pay the author for the privilege of reading their work, but that term seems to have been dropped from the site. (I really didn't think that agents would pay to read yet more queries!)

I've been a member of Inkubate since  December 2011, and at one time, a few months ago, I decided to delete my file. I wanted to delete my file because there was a term that I wasn't quite comfortable with. That being: writers were not to send their work out to agents while it was posted on Inkubate's site. A writer's work was to sit exclusively with Inkubate.

You can imagine what this term would mean for writers. For instance, I had my work posted for a good few months without any bites from agents, and being a writer who likes to make sure my work is being seen by agents it was impossible to just sit and wait for those agents to hopefully drop by Inkubate and hopefully look up my work. So I decided to delete my file in order to submit my work to agents myself. However, when I went to the site to do this, I noticed that the leaders of Inkubate had changed this term. Now writers may submit their work to agents themselves while their work is posted on Inkubate. You need to remove your work only IF it is being considered by an agent or publisher. See here for FAQs

This is a great change because most writers are highly pro-active. We don't like to sit around waiting for agents to find us (even though that kind of scenario would be fantastic!) With that being said, I kept my file posted on Inkubate. Inkubate, however, is still in the development stages, so don't expect your work to get picked up by a publisher or agent anytime soon. I looked for a list of participating agents and publishers on the site but found none...so, at this point, it's hard to tell who (if anyone) uses the site to find talent.

If at some point down the road Inkubate is able to offer agents and publishers a large up-to-date data base filled with professional writers with great works for sale (and so far there doesn't seem to be any measures in place to ensure that quality work is posted--you may post anything you like in any format you like)  then maybe, just maybe, the idea will work. I say maybe because agents already have all the queries they need. Why go to Inkubate for more? But of course I could be wrong. Agents and publishers may like to turn over every rock they can as they scan the world for appropriate or new material.

Book Review: Writing Picture Books

Writing Picture Books, A Hands-On Guide From Story Creation to Publication, by Ann Whitford Paul, 248 pages.  Ms. Paul has created a workshop in a book.  The reader drafts then polishes a picture book manuscript via the following six sections:

·         Before you write your story

·         Early story decisions

·         Structure of your story

·         Language of your story

·         Tying together loose story ends

·         After your story is done

The best aspect of this book: it includes very explicit “how to” examples followed by specific practice tasks.  For example in the section on voice, we examine and practice several points of view: third person, first person, journal, etc.  The next section discusses some less common points of view such as apostrophe (narrator speaks to something that can’t speak back) and mask (narrator is an inanimate object observing or receiving action).  In another section we examine how the various tenses can affect a story and then rewrite parts of our manuscript using them. By the time you have worked through the first five sections, you have a pretty good picture book manuscript.  Guaranteed Best Seller?  No, but guaranteed decent if you can write at all.  While Writing focuses on picture books and their unique requirements, much of the instruction and many of the exercises apply to all writing.  It’s a good addition to my library.

Chris4Gkids

Ready to Launch, But…

I still haven’t sent out any query letters for my picture book.  Is it “analysis paralysis,” an occupational hazard for a former scientist/engineer, or recognizing that I was about to “ready… shoot… aim”?  I was researching agents and agencies – web sites are wonderful.   One of the prospective agents lists books she is reading, included was Ann Whitford Paul’s Writing Picture Books.  If the agent considers this book good enough to list on her website, I'm thinking I should at least skim it for Do’s and Don’ts that could make it or break it.  Neither the local library nor Barnes & Noble had a copy that I could skim.  Additionally, it couldn’t hurt to comment in my query that I bought the suggested book.

So for less than $10 I ordered a copy on-line, and it arrived in less than a week.  Now that I have it, shouldn’t I read it before sending out my query?  All of the agents I researched want the picture book manuscript included in the query.  Keeping in mind I’m an unknown rookie, I only get one shot - the first impression.  If it isn’t the best I can make it… slush pile.  So instead of reporting on my first rejection, I’m studying Writing Picture Books.  See this week's book review.  I think the delay to study the book and make revisions will be worth it.  At minimum, I’ll know I gave it my best effort.

Good fortune to all, and have a safe & sane 4th. 

Chris4Gkids.

p.s. We're into workshop and conference season, anybody have a surprise success or lesson learned disappointment to share?

Book Review:The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages

The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages, The British Isles from 500 to 1500, by Sherrilyn Kenyon, 232 pages. This book is just one in the series, The Writer’s Guide to….Lenora Good recommended that I read this book, or one like it, as a way to improve my Princess and the Blacksmith’s Son story by improving the day-to-day details with respect to the period.  Some of my assumptions, filling in for knowledge, were wrong.  I think it was Mark Twain who said, “Most folks aren’t ignorant because they don’t know stuff.  They’re ignorant because they know stuff that ain’t so.” Here are a few examples of information that surprised me.  Clothing worn by both peasants and nobility was very similar, not because of “noble” or democratic intentions, but because there were few choices. Roads were poor and travel was dangerous, so there was very little trade.  The primary way for the nobles to dress up was to wear jewelry.  Another interesting fact: only the title of King and associated land were automatically inherited.  Although the king frequently granted the title and land of lesser nobles to the oldest son upon the nobleman's passing, he might choose to keep the land or grant it and the title to someone else. 

The book is divided into four sections:

·         Everyday life

·         Rank & Privilege

·         God & War

·         People and Places

Each section includes several chapters so the reader can go directly to the desired information.  For example People & Places includes: Saxons, Vikings, France, Normandy, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Also the vocabulary for the section or chapter is arranged alphabetically.

If you are writing a period piece, books like this will save you much effort and time researching the details.  And to paraphrase from Apollo 13, “Getting it wrong is not an option.”  Too many people potentially involved with your book, especially readers, do know the details.

Chris4Gkids

How Good is Good Enough?

There are two enemies of excellence, and they are two of the enemies of our writing career: perfection (analysis paralysis) and “good enough” (laziness).  No book is a perfect “100,” and a killer “95” manuscript (arbitrary scale) on our hard drive is of no more value to our career than submitting an “80” that’s likely headed to the slush pile. I’m very close to submitting my picture book manuscript.  I’m just not sure it’s good enough to hit the “90 to 95” sweet spot of excellence, i.e. good enough to be accepted with comments and/or final polishing.  It’s been through multiple read/comment/rewrite cycles and two rounds of review and comment by a professional editor, so I’m confident the mechanics, punctuation, and grammar are sound.  I’ve read it out-load several times and made little refinements.  Now I want to review it one or two more times looking at each verb, “Is there a better one, more exciting, more descriptive?”  Are there still sections of narration that could be replaced by action or dialogue?  After that, I think it will be time to roll the dice and see what happens.  This is the scary moment. 

Using a car restoration analogy, you spend a lot of time eliminating dents and lumps, making the surface as smooth as possible. This is emotionally easy because there’s always tomorrow to make it a little better.  However, if you want to put the car on the road, eventually you have to cross the point of no return: mix the paint, load the paint gun, and start spraying.

A famous author, I can’t remember who, was invited to join some friends on a weekend adventure.  He declined, wanting to work on his latest manuscript.  Upon their return, they stopped in to see how much progress he’d made.  His answer was something like, “Great weekend.  On Saturday I added a comma to the closing sentence, and on Sunday I removed it.”  To my mind, this manuscript is ready; he’s revising the revisions.

Bottom line: there’s no pat answer.  I think we work on our book until we can’t think of anything else to improve it, or until we can’t stand to work on it any longer.  Then we commit an act of faith in our skills... and query/submit.  Good fortune!

Chris4Gkids