Hey folks, I was in a car accident Wednesday and messed up my shoulder, so it is really hard to type with only one hand right now. I know we were gonna get started on the traditional publishing route today, but before we go into all of that I have some inspirational stuff to share.
Anyone know Jeff Goins? If not, you should. He is a great inspirational writer who runs a blog http://goinswriter.com/ and he recently published two very good e-books "Before Your First Book" and "Every Writer's Dream". You can buy them here and get $2.00 off by using this code: "stopstalling". The code is only good for this week! For me, a lot of the book was stuff I already knew and stuff I have been passing on to you guys, but it is nice to get that reinforcement of "I'm right!" Plus, there is something very eloquent and comforting about Jeff's writing. Even when he tells you that writing is hard and you won't make crap, you still feel inspired to do it anyway!
Another cool and inspiring thing (at least to me), I now have "Royal Prince Vince" available for Nook, Kindle and physical copies!! It has taken A LOT of work and A LOT of time, but it is here!! If you know someone who has kids, please tell them all about it! And let me tell you, it is worth it! I get so ridiculously excited when I see I've made another sale, even though the money I am getting isn't much per copy. It is a rush to see the reviews! It is this overwhelmingly amazing sense of accomplishment! And you can do this too!
Now, we are going to pretend that you have decided to go the traditional route and start there. Why, after last week I said that I think the new game will be to prove yourself as an indie author first? Because I think that will be the new game once the industry settles down. Right now both options are on the table and still highly debatable. Besides, it will take me less time to share this way with you and then we can get into the big scary world of self-publishing.
So here is how you start your own venture into traditional publishing: more research. Sorry, but it is true. You need to decide what genre your book is and then pitch to those agents who handle that product. If you are having a hard time classifying your book, then pitch to all agents in all the categories. For example: my novel "All is Well" is a psychic thriller/suspense/horror/romance/chick lit and I pitched to all the agents who covered any of those categories! It cannot hurt. Now you need to go find all the agents in your categories and find out their submission guidelines and tailor each query to each agent. Some of you are groaning about all that work. You are in the wrong business! Today's job market has become really tough and if people have to tailor their resumes to match the job, you can do the same. It will help you! Get started on your research with these great sites to find literary agents:
Association of Authors' Representatives
Writers Net
AgentQuery
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Research every single agent you submit to! Make sure before they offer you a contract that they would be a good fit for you. Look at what they have gotten published and who they have published through. If they do not have any books with any of the top six publishing houses, you might not want to go with them. These guys are your go between with the publishers. You want someone well-connected. Does that mean that they will get you a contract with the big six? On your first book, probably not. But at least you know that they could! They have done it before.
Remember, anywhere you have people with dreams you will find others wanting to take advantage of those dreams. If they charge for editing, line services, readings, anything DO NOT BOTHER! Real agents get paid when you get paid, and not before that. It is the industry standard. My shoulder is hurting, so I am going to wrap this up here. Get to researching, compile a list of agents who you think you want to submit to and next week we will talk about writing a query letter.
Until next time,
Keep Writing!!
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