Business or Personal?

I think one thing all authors need to keep in mind is that publishing is a BUSINESS. You may have a wonderful, well-written book. But, if a publishing house doesn’t think they can sell it, you’re out of luck. Rejection letters do come based on this one simple little fact.

Too often, we take it personally. We feel discarded, cast-off, unwanted.

With good reason! It’s personal to us!

But, consider this: When you sign with an agent or publishing house, do you want them to simply think your book is okay or do you want them to LOVE it. If they LOVE it, they will work hard to become your advocate and sell your book. This is what we want.

I was floored when I read the letter THE AGENT sent out to publishing houses. (for Lancaster House) It said things like: “This is one of those stories that I started reading and couldn’t put it down until I was done.” and “This is one of those books that when I read it, I knew it would be an instant hit.” and “This is that situation we all speak of when we say, I’ll know it when I see it.”

Wow. I suddenly understood why agents say they need to love a book in order to represent it. I read it and thought, is he talking about me? My book?

Regardless, Lancaster House didn’t sell. It was sent to Kensington, Random House, Source Books, Harper Collins, St. Martin's Press, Pocket Books, and Grand Central Publishing.

Very discouraging.

But, they didn’t see it selling. It wasn’t personal. This is a business. It’s a good thought to keep in mind.

I decided to self-publish. Would I rather be published traditionally? Absolutely. But, the world of self-publishing has opened up many opportunities for writers to market their work. It’s a pretty amazing thing.

So, I’m about to release Lancaster House myself. We’ll see what the public thinks of it, eh?

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Burst the Bubble

Now, I hate to burst this bubble of happiness, but what I quickly learned was that just because you have an agent doesn’t mean that your book will automatically sell. Foolishly, I assumed that having an agent meant immediate success.

Reality quickly hit.

However, I will say that it is fabulous to have an advocate, someone who LOVES your novel, someone who is out there fighting for you. It was truly a fantastic feeling. It was thrilling to see the query letter THE AGENT sent out to publishing houses, raving about my novel. It made me understand why agents say they must love a novel to represent it.

At any rate, someone had finally taken notice of my hard work and it was an entirely exhilarating feeling.

Little did I know that it was only the beginning of hard work.

I busily set off on writing the sequel to Lancaster House, entitled The Middle Aisle. I figure if Lancaster House is about to sell, then I better have a sequel ready, right?

Right. But the rejection letters still come. Only now they are not from literary agents, now they are from major publishing houses.

Ouch.

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A CONTRACT!!

What happens next was by far, one of the most exciting days of my life. (I don’t get out much)

It’s early January. Christmas is over and life is moving forward into a new year. Everyone in my household knows THE AGENT’S name and they know said agent has expressed interest in my novel and that he might be calling. I am on my treadmill at the time and ignoring my phone. When the phone rings, my daughter sees the caller ID and starts yelling THE AGENT’S name. This got my attention. Boy, did it.

I don’t pick up.

I am frozen with fear and petrified of actually talking to him. THE AGENT leaves a message and says that he’s very interested in speaking with me about my novel, Lancaster House.

It takes me an hour to pull myself together and call him back. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t utter one single intelligible sentence during our entire conversation. He tells me how much he loves Lancaster House and that he’d like to be my AGENT. I can hardly speak, but somehow I convey to him that I’d love for him to be my AGENT. A CONTRACT arrives in my e-mail shortly thereafter.

Soon, THE AGENT sends out Lancaster House to several publishing houses.

The opportunity to be published is now a distinct possibility.

And this in and of itself is exhilarating.

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THE AGENT

Did you know that a growing trend amongst literary agents is to not respond if they’re not interested? They say, you will hear from us only if we are interested.

I think we writers deserve to hear back. I think we deserve to get our rejection letters/e-mails. Otherwise, we anxiously check our mailboxes/e-mails on a second by second basis, hoping and praying for a response.

At any rate, I finally received the PERSONAL rejection letter. This is the rejection letter that is NOT a form letter. This is one that has been hand written (or typed) just for you. In this letter, THE AGENT said that there are moments of great writing here, but in the end, the story didn’t work for him.

It was rejection. Yet, all I heard was, there are moments of great writing. Not only that THE AGENT also said that I had a great writing style. I was thrilled. It was encouragement and exactly what I needed to hear. From here on out, said agent shall be called THE AGENT in order to protect agent’s identity.

There is a future with THE AGENT. And I didn’t even see it coming.

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Finally

At this point it in my story, I had two completed manuscripts, both of epic length. Every word and paragraph is so amazing to me that I can’t imagine cutting anything, (huge mistake, more on this later). I finally decide to do a little research. How the heck do you go about getting published anyway? I had no idea. It seemed like rocket science to me.

It isn’t.

But, you do have to do your homework. There is so much information at your fingertips via the internet, it’s amazing. Everything you need to know is there. Keep searching, keep reading, keep learning. I learned many things at this time and I will share these little golden nuggets with you.

Golden nugget #1: The literary agent

Having an agent is a good thing. They are your advocate. They work to sell your book and they fight for the best deal possible. A reputable agent will cost you nothing. They only make money if you make money. I have found that literary agents are by far the best source of information for learning about publishing. They have their fingers on the pulse of the publishing industry. They know what they’re talking about. I found that if I went to their websites, they almost always had a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips—advice, what to do and what not to do, and much appreciated guidance.

I found that there is a huge misconception about agents. Agents are not someone you hire to work for you. You are in essence, ‘applying to be their client.’ If they like your work and think they can sell it, they will offer you a contract.

To find an agent, I subscribed to Writer’s Market. They provide you with lists of agencies and publishing houses in your genre and the money is well worth your time and effort.

Golden nugget #2: The query letter

As I searched for information, I found many literary agencies that publish romance. Most of their websites offered information on how to write the dreaded query letter. Before I did my research, I’d never even heard of a query letter and I had to learn how to write one. I learned that, basically, the query letter is a one-page document that tells the literary agent/publishing house: your personal information, the title of your book, the genre, the word count, and the blurb. The blurb is usually one paragraph. It’s purpose is to tell the reader about your book. When you go to the library/bookstore, one of the first things you do is turn the book over and read the blurb, right? What is the book about? Is there something about the blurb that makes you want to read/buy the book? Your blurb should hook the reader, but it should not give away the ending, or reveal plot elements that you’d rather keep secret. Often, the blurb the author writes on the query letter is the blurb that ends up on the back cover of the book when it is available for purchase. It better be good! (no pressure)

Golden nugget #3: The synopsis

I quickly learned that besides the query letter, I also needed to have a synopsis of my book. The synopsis is usually a 2-5 page double-spaced document. It should tell your story without sucking the life out of it. Easier said than done. It should reveal the ending. It should not keep the climactic moments a secret. If you hide the ‘fantastic ending,’ you will be revealed as a novice. The agent/publishing house wants to know what your story is about from beginning to end, they want to know that you can tell a story from beginning to end. If they like it, they’ll ask to read the manuscript. The synopsis is important because it needs to hook the reader into wanting to read your manuscript. (an amazing moment)

Golden nugget #4: Submission guidelines

Literary agents/publishers most commonly ask for two things to begin with: a query letter and a synopsis. They don’t want to see your manuscript. Yet.

Do not send out a manuscript without a request for said manuscript. It will not be read.

If they like your query letter and your synopsis—if you’re lucky—they’ll request to see the first three chapters of your manuscript. (By now, it should be obvious why the query letter and synopsis are so very important. They are the tools that get your manuscript noticed, a necessary evil)

All agencies/publishers want something different. Do not send out a mass e-mail of your query letter to every agency that appeals to you. Do your homework. Go to a literary agent’s website. Most agencies prefer you to query one agent within their agency. Make sure they publish the genre of book you write. Read the agent’s list of books they are acquiring. Only query the agent that is acquiring the genre of book you write. All agents have submission information. Read it and tailor each submission to the agent you are querying. This takes time and effort, but if you want an agent, you have to abide by their guidelines. A mass e-mail sent out to several agents is a sure-fire path to REJECTION. For example, some agents want only a query letter. Some want a query letter and a synopsis. Some want a query letter, a synopsis, and the first ten pages of the manuscript. Some want a query letter, a synopsis, and the first three chapters of your manuscript. Some want the information in the body of the e-mail. Some want it via snail-mail. Some want a certain thing written in the subject line of the email, etc, etc. You get the idea. Take the time to know what the submission guidelines are and follow them.

Armed with this knowledge, I finally set off on my querying adventure.

And found myself in Rejection City.

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