On Writing

The Difference Between Services and Scams

July 16, 2012 RJBlain Self-Publishing, Traditional Publishing One comment

With the growth of self and indie publishing, there are many websites offering to perform editing services and provide packages designed to help a book perform as well as it possibly can. It can be very tempting to whip out a credit card and pay for a package that includes an editing run of your novel, a new cover made to standard size, and formatting for amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and generic ebook formats.

I’m a strong supporter for doing your job as a writer and getting your book polished and edited. I am not against using editing services to make certain your product is as clean as possible. What I am against is people spending money pointlessly on products that are either scams or borderline being a scam.

Most of you have heard of Writer Beware and Predators & Editors. If you haven’t, consider yourself informed. These are two fantastic sites that are there to help you not fall into a trap and become prey for businesses that take too much of your money for services you may not even actually need.

The inspiration for today’s post comes from authonomy, HarperCollin’s slush pile. This site usually has some form of drama going on in the forums on a daily basis, but today, one post really caught my attention.

The site is called authoright, and advertisements for it have started showing up on HarperCollin’s authonomy. Let me make one thing clear: One of the administrators has already said that authoright is not a part of HarperCollins. At the time of this post, authoright was offering a significant discount for services to members of the authonomy community. In addition, the administrator of authonomy professed that they had been in talks with authoright for a while.

Much to my dismay, Writer Beware and Predators & Editors don’t have anything on authoright that I have found thus far. I could be blind though, and not seeing it.

As always, these are my opinions, and I completely welcome others in the know to pitch in with their opinions on how they feel about this.

The first thing that I want to talk about is the basic difference between a scam and a service — even a bad service.

A scam is something that takes your money without offering value for your money or somehow violates the standard rules of business. A Nigerian mailing you for bank account details to transfer a lot of money in and out of your account is a scam. A literary agent requesting fees to consider representing you is a scam.

A service is something that takes your money and gives you a legitimate product (in the form of a service) for a fee.

What authoright is offering is a service, albeit a horribly priced one to the point that I’d almost count is as a scam. However, my gripe with authoright is two fold, and something that you should consider.

Writing a query and a synopsis is difficult, and the truth of the matter is, a Literary Agent uses that to tell whether or not you have basic writing skills. It saves them a great deal of time by letting them pass up on those who either can’t follow instructions or do not write in a style that interests them.

Services like what authoright is offering undermines the process of how literary agents deal with their slush pile. By having a business work on your synopsis and query, you get them into a shape beyond your writing ability and current style. This may get your a request for a full or a partial, but it will not get you representation.

Why? Simple. Because no matter how perfect your query and synopsis is, if it doesn’t match your manuscript, you’ve wasted their time and you have wasted your money.

Authoright is a strange beast. Their marketing services look interesting — I wouldn’t use them, but they’re interesting all the same — and it seems like they’ve had results with one of their author’s twitter accounts. That said, other authors showcased by them have very little data in amazon, and little more elsewhere. They may very well be offering legitimate services, especially in terms of marketing, but that isn’t my main problem with them.

My main problem is with their Literary Agent package. For most people, for just under one thousand pounds, you have your query and submissions with literary agents streamlined and polished. The process takes approximately two weeks and involves a great deal of participation on the writer’s part with ‘guidance’ from authoright prior to submitting to agents.

My problem with this is two fold. First, there is the issue of price. In USD, this is roughly $1,200. That is far more than what the average self-published author makes on the entirety of a single book.

Worse, they’re monetizing on a process that is traditionally supposed to be free, free, free. Free as in costs you nothing except shipping if you’re doing it the traditional method.

My second problem is that this is being supported by a big traditional publisher. There aren’t many details about their relationship, except we know a relationship exists between them per the admittance of a authonomy employee on their forums and the use of their advertisements.

The issue of the Big 6 struggling in the booming times of sub-par self-publishing isn’t anything new. BookCountry has a self-publishing option, and they’re operated by Penguin. The difference, however, is that BookCountry makes no efforts to try to go around the “submitting to literary agents is a free service”. New authors may not be aware of the regulations for Literary Agents not being able to charge fees to view manuscripts.

I’m uncomfortable with this for several reasons. First, the line editing portion of the Literary Agent service offered is only for sample chapters. This is usually three chapters. Three chapters does not a book make. What it does make is a very unbalanced and unreadable book. You will end up with three chapters of beautifully edited work and the rest of the book falling in standards. Sure, three chapters will get you a full read, but you’ll then have to pay even more to have the rest of your book edited.

For the record, there are professional editors who charge far less than this to do an entire book. For a nominal fee, you can even ask them for help with your query and synopsis. You can get this help for free just by going on the internet to places like QueryTracker, Google+, Critique Circle, BookCountry, and any other critiquing workshop. There are hundreds of writers just like you who are confused about the submitting process. You can refer to both of my blog posts on this very subject. These posts include “A Writer’s Guide to Submission Guidelines” and “More on Interpreting Submission Guidelines“.

There, I just saved you at least a couple of hundred dollars. If you need editing services, go find an editor or agent that works freelance on editing to help pay their bills. They, at least, work at a more reasonable rate than this.

If you’re having a problem with a query because you don’t understand the submission guidelines, just leave a comment. I’ll collect these problematic agent and publisher sites and do another interpretations post after figuring out where the difficulties in that submission process lie. (It isn’t hard once you get used to the concept, it is just scary doing it, and most writers do make a lot of basic mistakes since the standardized ways aren’t really printed out a lot of places in an easy-to-read fashion.)

My second reason is the affiliation between HarperCollins and authoright. First, HarperCollins cut out the traditional slush pile as a way to save them time, effort, and money. Now, it feels like they are seeking a way to monetize off of people who just aren’t ready for publication and have yet to learn the necessary skills to survive as a professional author.

This is a subjective dislike, but it feels more like a scam than a service. Perhaps I’m a purist, but I really do not feel it is appropriate for a publishing house to be working with a company that is trying to make people look better than they are for literary agents. It really feels like an undermining of the the literary agents’ efforts to get solid, well-written books connected to traditional publishing houses. (And make a profit, but that is a discussion for a different day.)

I won’t go saying they are evil — like I said before, their marketing plans might just work for writers, if those writers are able to make enough money to cover the advertising fees. This is yet to be determined.

While I don’t believe authoright is a complete scam, there is enough that bothers me about this service that I will be steering clear of it. Once again, these are just my opinions, for better or worse, right or wrong.

This is a little guide I tend to follow when trying to determine if something is a scam or a service.

Do they charge money?

Charging money isn’t necessarily a sign of a scam, but you must learn to distinguish fair price with services rendered. How long does it take them to produce? Do they have recommendations and references? Contact those references and find out the truth of the matter.

Check common sites, like Pred & Eds and Writer Beware for information on the business.

Are they not listed? If you do make use of those services and you find yourself ripped off, contact them and make it known!

Check common book markets for showcased authors.

Do they have reviews on amazon or Barnes & Nobles? Do they show up in a google search? It takes very little time to do research on a writer or a business. Two hours now could save you $1,200 later. It is worth the time, especially if you’re considering paying them.

Insist on References.

I mentioned this before, but insist on references. Make sure these references aren’t being secretly paid to say nice things about them. Ask for several references above the ones they first provide. If they have to scramble for them, you may be able to get more legitimate references.

Understand the Rules of Literary Agents

Literary Agents have to follow a certain set of guidelines. These include ways they are to handle the funds of their clients, when they have to pay out to their clients, and the simple fact that they are not supposed to ever charge reader fees or editing fees for their services. They are paid on a commission basis. They do not get paid until you publish your book.

Services that hook you up with agents should have to follow those same rules, but as evidenced above, they aren’t regulated, so they don’t have to. Literary Agents are regulated, or, at least, the reputable ones are.

The most important thing is that I feel you really, really must learn to surf these waters through careful research, planning, and through free services. Webook is a great example of a site that offers free services to help writers get matched with literary agents. They cannot charge a reader fee because they work directly with agents in order to connect novelists and agents together.

If they accepted payment for helping with the submissions process, they would invalidate the Agent’s standings with their regulatory organization.

What do you think? Scam, Service, or somewhere perilously close to being both at the same time?

July 16, 2012 RJBlain Self-Publishing, Traditional Publishing One comment

More on Interpreting Submission Guidelines

July 13, 2012 RJBlain Agents, Traditional Publishing One comment

Yesterday, I went into a very long post about submission guidelines titled “A Writer’s Guide to Submission Guidelines“. I showcased a few examples. Today, I’m going to do a shorter version of the same thing, jumping right to the chase and making a running commentary and what my interpretations of submission guidelines are and how the instructions need to be followed.

I am a ‘I need an example’ type of girl, so I’m hoping that making a post dedicated just to the examples, I can help others understand this a little easier.

As a refresher:

Times New Roman 12 point font is your friend. Comic Sans is your enemy.
Follow the Instructions. (This post should help demonstrate how.)
Use first person in your bio. I wouldn’t go up to an agent in a bar and say, “RJ is pleased to meet you.”
Read all of the bios of all of the agents you submit to. This matters.
Know your genre.
Only submit a completed and edited manuscript.

I am going to start with a small press, Flying Pen Press.

These are publisher guidelines, and are quite short in terms of the information provided. They are closed to unsolicited fiction queries, but have left their guidelines up for when they do open for queries again. They are open for non-fiction. This is pretty standard stuff. They show word counts, and their minimum and maximums.

I’ll take a minute to mention that if a company lists a minimum and maximum, stick with it unless you have an in with that company. There is a reason for minimums and maximums, and usually this reason involves profits and costs of production. If you have a longer piece, try an agent first. They have ins. You don’t.

This is a very ambiguous submissions guidelines. By that, I mean, they request a resume (this is unusual), a readership count (also unusual, but becoming more common), and they want a publication biography (common). These things help them gauge risk. This is a very small press, so they have to watch their budget and their risks carefully.

So, what are you supposed to do? It doesn’t tell you.

Send a query letter. Use Times New Roman, 12 point font. For everything. No attachments. They didn’t ask for attachments. This is that 2-4 paragraph, 250 word or less dust-jacket blurb that talks about what your project is about. Copy-pasted into the email, also include a basic resume on your credentials as a writer, your short biography, and what social networks you are on and whether or not you have a readership base. Also include in your query the genre of your book, the total word count, and state that it is complete. (It really does need to be complete.)

Send it only when they are open to submissions.

This interpretation may not be right, but it is based off of current standards.

DAW’s Submission Guidelines - Imprint of the Penguin Group

This is one of the first submission guidelines I ever looked at, and boy, is it intimidating. This is because they use the traditional method of submissions. By traditional, I mean, typewriter days. Some businesses still use mailed submissions. There is nothing wrong with this. That said, it is really scary, involves owning a printer, and shipping your prized query and manuscript to them the way of the snail.

I will break this one down for you bit by bit.

Send us the complete manuscript with a cover letter. We do not accept electronic submissions, and please do not submit handwritten material. Manuscripts must be letter-quality computer-generated.

This means a hard copy version of your manuscript is required, like I mentioned above. I recommend a laser printer because the print quality is superior. Kinkos and Staples can print for you if you do not own a printer.

Clear photocopies are acceptable. The manuscript should be on 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper or a close equivalent, double-spaced, with at least 1″ wide margins all around.

Letter-sized, double-spaced, and one inch margins. They don’t mention it here, but use standard Times New Roman 12 point font. You can set all of these types in word. It is very, very simple, just go into paragraph settings, it will be there. Control-A to highlight the entire document will allow you to change the font for the entire manuscript.

Please use only one side of the page, number your pages consecutively, and put the title of your novel at the top of each page if possible. Manuscripts should always be unbound.

This is where you use the header function of the document. Go to the first page, click add header in the appropriate dialogue, and select one that includes a field you can add your name and the title of the novel as well as a page count. I usually do - TITLE - RJBlain - # (# being page.)

You are entitled to Media Mail rates for literary manuscripts-ask at your local post office.

Seriously, take advantage of this. It will save you a lot of money. Most publishers do not mention this fact but it applies any time you submit.

This is the killer. If you look below at their guidelines, they do not accept unsolicited simultaneous submissions. This means once you send it, you’re locked to them in an exclusive until they accept or reject you. That puts your manuscript in lingo.

This is a showcase example of why an agent is extremely advantageous. They can break this rule by speaking directly with the Editors at DAW. It also takes them a lot less time to get a response, even if they do insist on no simultaneous submissions.

Please type your name, address and phone number in the upper right hand corner of the first page of your manuscript. Right under this, please put the length of your manuscript in number of words.

Just do exactly as they say. Round to the nearest 1,000 word, using your computer’s word count tool.

Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submission for our correspondence. We ask that you only send us disposable copies of your manuscript, which will be recycled in the event they are not found suitable for publication. We regret that we are no longer able to return submitted manuscript copies, as the process resulted in too many difficulties with the postal service and unnecessary expense for the prospective authors.

In other words, put your address on an envelope, add sufficient postage, and include it with your manuscript so they can send their reply to you.

It is a lot to deal with, but just remember, deep breaths, stay calm, and approach it one step at a time. It isn’t stressful if you only do one thing at a time. Make a check list of all of things you need to do for that manuscript. It will help.

HarperCollins Submission Guidelines

They don’t have any. That’s right. If you want to be published by HarperCollins, you need to have an agent or you need to be picked up off of their slush pile website authonomy.

Harlequin Romance Submission Guidelines

Incoming information overload. Harlequin provides a lot of information for hopefuls. Like agents, they require a query letter rather than a straight submission like DAW. Like DAW, they are very specific in what they want. Deep breaths, make a check list, and approach it one step at a time. There is nothing actually new here, it just looks dangerous and overwhelming.

Please Note: The text highlighted above belongs to their respective publishing houses are are being used here as fair use under copyright law. Please refer to the publishers, as these guidelines may change at any time. This has been done for education purposes only. I do not make any money from this blog. In fact, it costs me money every month… apparently those internet hosts like being paid.

For my last trick, I’m going to a special case. This is something that makes me facepalm, and is an exact example of what you should not do.

Meet Colleen Lindsay.

Once upon a time, she was a very beloved agent for speculative fiction, especially fantasy. She was actually my first choice of people I wanted to submit to. Some things are never meant to be. (As a secret between you, me, and the rest of the internet, I am still tempted to query Colleen just to get a rejection. That said, she knows where to find me.)

Colleen is closed to submissions because she is no longer an agent. But, guess what? People who don’t follow instructions still query her. I see tweets of her facepalming because someone else has queried her.

I know, she is awesome. But, she now works for Penguin and the BookCountry project, and she really likes what she does. (And if she ever did come back to agenting, I claim dibs on the first spot in line.)
Trust me on this one. However awesome your manuscript is, she isn’t going to say yes. She isn’t in that business anymore. This is an exact demonstration of why agents get mad at writers who do not take the time to read.

As always, these are just my interpretations from piecing together advice I have received from helpful agents and other writers. I am no expert on this, but I’ve been told this exact stuff multiple times, so it is a good starting place. It does not substitute doing your own research.

July 13, 2012 RJBlain Agents, Traditional Publishing One comment

A Writer’s Guide to Submission Guidelines

July 12, 2012 RJBlain Agents, Traditional Publishing, Writing Tips & Tricks 5 comments

After months or even years of hard work and effort, you have finally gotten to the point that you want to submit your novel. You drafted it. You redrafted it. You rewrote it. You edited. (You did edit it, right?) Finally, it is time to test the waters and submit to agents or publishers.

Before you dive in and start sending out that query letter, go edit again. Just to make sure. If it makes you feel better, that little picture to the side is just a taste of the editing nightmares I put myself through prior to submitting. But, I digress. Let me dive right into the subject. Submission guidelines are intimidating. I don’t know about you, but I break into a cold sweat every time I hit that send button to query an agency.

It is scary. Every agency or publisher has different guidelines.

I am not an agent. I am not a publisher. I’m a writer just like the rest of you, and I’m struggling through the same murky waters. I’ve asked a lot of questions to agents and other writers trying to make it through the submission process. It is a lot to learn, and I’m going to try my best to write this out in a way that can help you start surfing the rough waters surrounding submission guidelines.

Disclaimer: I am by no means an authority on this subject. This is how I approach querying and how I demystified the process.

That said, I think I am doing something right — Six responses, and one of them was a request for a partial. All acknowledgments and links to agents and publishers are at the bottom of this blog post in addition to the links mentioned throughout this post.

Before you start to query, there are a few basic rules you should be aware of. No one really writes these out, but they’re -unspoken- -super secret- common sense approaches to handling your query. Some people may disagree with me, but why do something that earns you a bad name with agents?

Only Query a Manuscript that has been 100% edited and completed.
Do not repeat a query to the same agent unless a significant amount of time (6 months or so!) have passed and you have completely rewritten both the manuscript and the query letter.
Don’t respond to an agent’s rejection unless they gave you customized feedback. If you do respond, all you need to type is “Thank you, I appreciate your helpful suggestions”. They’re rejecting you because your project doesn’t meet their needs. They don’t like rejecting people. Don’t make it any worse for either one of you than necessary. It is a different kettle of fish if you’ve established a relationship with this person! Even then, always, always be professional.
Did I mention ‘Always be professional’ yet? You may not like what they have to say about your manuscript, but that is a part of this business.
Use the Agent’s name. “To whom it may concern” is a cop-out, unless the agency uses a routing employee. They’re very specific in that case. They’ll usually say something along the lines of “Someone will send you manuscript to the appropriate individual if we feel this may be a good fit for our agency”.
Follow submission guidelines.

I will be discussing the last point of the above set of ‘rules’. It is a very common reason for a manuscript to be rejected, right up there with “This project just doesn’t match what I’m looking for.”

To start this show, I am going to open up with a Literary Agency that made me hesitate about submitting to because I really just didn’t understand their guidelines. Most of my hesitation was based off of inexperience, so I’ll just go ahead and embarrass myself and get right to the chase. After I asked someone who has submitted there, I felt really stupid and inadequate, but I also learned a few important things.

I recommend opening Fine Print Literary’s Submission Guidelines in another window. Clicking the link should automatically make a new window or tab for you. I’m using their fiction guidelines, as most of the people who follow this blog write fiction.

A direct quote from their guidelines: “Send a query letter and synopsis and the FIRST two chapters via regular mail. If you query via email — DO NOT SEND AN ATTACHMENT WITHOUT INVITATION.”

This is actually what threw me off, because it doesn’t expressly state it, it is assumed. When they state “Do not send an attachment without invitation” it means “Copy Paste directly into the email.” Times New Roman 12 point font is usually a good selection, double spaced. Most email clients will retain font and formatting, so just highlight it in your word processing program and copy paste it beneath your query.

Attaching any form of file, even a signature file, will often force an agent to send a form rejection. Business relationships are all about respecting each other. You want to do business with this individual. Respect their guidelines so they in turn respect your willingness to cooperate with them and form a long-term relationship.

Yes, it really is that simple.

In other regards, this site is very friendly for people interested in querying. It lists the agents and the genres they represent. That said, even when provided a list of agents and their preferred genres, research them. I’ve yet to see a Literary Agency that did not include a bio of their agents. Go read that bio. Learn about the agent you’re writing for. Their bio often includes information on the things they want to see.

For the record, it takes anywhere between twenty minutes to one hour for me to prepare a single submission.

Next up to bat is Red Sofa Literary. Like Fine Print, they have no idea I am writing this blog post, and I hope they won’t be too mad at me when I’m done with it…

This agency took me the absolute longest to submit to. They have a lot of information here. A lot of it is good information. That said, it is a nightmare to actually work with. The site layout confused me, finding my way around wasn’t much better, and their submission guidelines were kind of scary. This is a case of information overload, and the more information given at one time, the scarier it is.

I did get through it. The trick is to stay calm and read everything. Click all of the links. Read every page. Learn about their agency. That way, when you do find their elusive submitting guidelines, you’ll be armed with your most valuable resource — knowledge.

Go ahead and click Representative Categories. This is the list of who represents what. Make a note of who best matches your manuscript. Hidden at the bottom of this page is their submission guidelines.

Their guidelines, once you find them, are pretty simplistic. They’re asking you to send a query and just a query to one of their specific agents. If you’re asked to send in more material, you can send it as an attachment.

This bears repeating: 99.9999% of agents do not want attachments. There are exceptions. They’ll be listed in the guidelines if they exist.

Bradford Literary Agency is the next one I want to discuss. This is a pretty good example of a standard literary website. Predominantly listed on the front page is a list of the books released by this agency. Please take the time to look through their books. This shows what the agents have been interested in the past. Even more importantly, it shows what they’ve sold. Having a list of books that were represented by them can give you a really good idea of whether or not you are a good fit for them.

This one is pretty easy. First, go to About. Read all the pages here. You now know what they’re all about, and you might have learned a bit about the agents and what they’re looking for. Armed with this, go ahead and visit How to Submit.

This agency is very specific about the email subject. If you’re emailing them, your query should have a subject of…

QUERY: Book name by Your Name Here

This follows their guidelines. It also makes it easier for them to find you again if they want to request a partial or if they need to drop you an email. I actually include my genre in the subject heading, but that isn’t necessary.

Directly borrowed from their guidelines: “Please email a query letter along with the first chapter of your manuscript and a synopsis. Please be sure to include the genre and word count in your cover letter.”

This is pretty specific, so let me do some more demystifying here.

First chapter: This should be the first chapter of your piece — or something equivalent to the first chapter. If you have massive parts to your novel like mine, I sent the first two scenes, which is very close to the industry standard length of a first chapter. In the case of my book, the first two scenes worked very well because they do serve the function of the first chapter in the book.

You’ll have to follow your gut, but make sure you’re reasonable. If you first chapter is over 50 pages, there’s a problem… (just my opinion of course.)

Synopsis: Ok, this one nails a few people. A synopsis is a complete overview of your novel, *including the ending*. Your query is similar to a dust jacket blurb, which is meant to give enough information about the book to entice the agent into wanting to read more.

Genre: I really hope you know your genre before you submit. Find the genre that is closest to your book. If it is a hybrid, list the two genres it is a hybrid of. A few examples of genre include: Epic Fantasy, Traditional Fantasy, Western Romance, Chic Lit, and YA Fantasy.

Some agencies will request the items be sent in a very specific order. Send in the order listed, as a general rule. It’ll show you at least read their guidelines.

So, systematically approach your email to the agency. Deal with the subject first, as requested. Next, address it to the agent you want to represent you. Finally, in listing order, give them the information you want. Click send after you have confirmed you followed their guidelines and read about the agents.

Now I’m going to show guidelines for specific Literary Agents. These agents were really kind and allowed me to directly mention their names, blogs, and agencies as a part of this post.

Elana Roth (@elanaroth) of Red Tree Literary is an agent that specializes in children’s books and YA books. Please notice something important here: Elana is closed to submissions.

The truth of the matter is, most agents will close to submissions from time to time. There are many reasons for this. They could have a full author list and don’t dare try to shuffle in another person. Their query list could be backlogged by several thousand emails. Yes, this can happen. I know of more than a few agents that receive between 800 to 1,200+ emails a month.

No means no. You may have a wonderful book, but there are reasons that an agent closes to submissions. Legitimate ones. No matter how fantastic your book is, don’t submit to them. It only upsets the agent or agents and gets your query deleted.

The only exception to this is if you were specifically invited by that agent to submit. This is a solicited query and is a different species of beast to the unsolicited queries we’re currently working with.

Ok, go take a breather. Get yourself a drink. Play a game of solitaire. Clear your brain of the massive amount of information I just fed to you. Check twitter. Rant and rave about how confusing this all is on Google+. Scream curses at me using the monitor as a medium.

You’re back? Good. Here is a brief refresher of the above information.

Do:

Read the agent’s bios. If the submission guidelines don’t list the genres represented, they are listed in each agent’s biography. Take the time and read them carefully. They will tell you exactly what they love most. This is important. You want them to love your book, but in order to do that, your book has to be a part of the genre and type they adore.
Follow the instructions of their guidelines.
Double check your work.
Double check the spelling of the agent’s name. Spelling their name wrong does tend to upset them.
Use reasonable fonts. Times New Roman 12 point font is a reasonable font. Comic sans is not.
Be polite at all times.

Don’t:

Don’t Query them repeatedly on a project if it hasn’t been completely rewritten.
Don’t send attachments unless requested.
Don’t Pester them about whether or not they received their query. No reply means no interest.
Don’t reply to their rejection unless they gave you a thoughtful critique on why they rejected.

Jennifer Laughran (@literaticat) of Andrea Brown Literary Agency is one of the most active twitter-using agents I have had the pleasure to speak to. She also volunteered to be used as a part of this post. This is a good time to point out that twitter is a fantastic place to meet agents and learn about submitting and ask questions before you make common mistakes while querying.

As far as submitting guidelines go, Andrea Brown Lit is pretty cut and dry, but I will demystify a few things.

Publishing Credits: This one is the killer, because for many of us, we don’t have extensive credits. It is part of being a debut novelist or storyteller. Fortunately, ‘if applicable’ applies here. If you don’t have the credits, keep your mouth shut. If they ask for a bio, give them one, but keep it short, and tell them about yourself and a little about what inspired you to write. They want to get to know you a little. Being honest is better than making a fool out of yourself and lying. This is the hardest part of writing a query letter for me. I get so embarrassed when I’m asked to write a bio.

Use first person and be brief. Yes, use first person. This isn’t a book jacket, you’re trying to form a personal relationship with someone else. I wouldn’t go up to Jennifer in a bar and say, “Hi, Rebecca is glad to meet you. She lives in Montreal and has always wanted to get to say hello and have drinks.”

Now, while I would love to go have drinks with Jennifer in a bar, there is etiquette on how to do that too. I just won’t discuss that here.

Multiple Submissions: This agency is very specific about mentioning you’re querying elsewhere. Many people don’t include the fact that they’re submitting to other agents. Let me make something clear here — there is nothing wrong at all with submitting to many agents. However, I strongly recommend you limit to absolutely no more than 20 at a time. Why? If you get requests for partials, you need to keep track who has your manuscript. If you get an offer of representation, you have to let *every* agent you’ve queried know in a follow up letter.

As those guidelines state, it is only polite.

You may be tempted to stop reading once you’ve gotten to the submitting directions. Do not do this. Read the entire page. There is important information here, including response times and “No response means no interest” policies.

Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg (@BookaliciousPam) of Larsen Pomada Literary Agency recently tweeted that her guidelines changed. That is what brought her to my attention for this.

Larsen Pomada is a really good example of an Agency that breaks the mold a bit. They require footwork. If you look at the bottom of their page, they specify where to get information on their agents. In this case, it is on their personal blogs.

Even if it may not make sense to you, just follow the instructions. It will make your life a lot easier. So, clicking over to Pamela’s website, you will find a lot of information.

It is good information, but personally, I hate the font on the upper top bar. I can’t read it. But, that said, I hovered my mouse over each heading and persisted. Persistence is key when trying to get traditionally published. Read Pam’s blog, just like you would every other agent’s blog. There will be a lot of stellar information there for you.

Pam’s guidelines are short, sweet, and to the point. Submit a standard query. She has very specific requirements on what she is looking for. Obey them. Everything else is going to get rejected, so don’t waste her time and don’t waste your time. Time is of equal value to the both of you.

Assumptions that are safe to make with these submission guidelines: Times New Roman 12 point font, double spacing, do not send any attachments, do include a query, synopsis, and sample copy-pasted into the email in the order requested. Make a legible subject… “Query - YA - Science Fiction - Title - Name” would be a reasonable suggestion. This would let Pam know exactly what you’re offering even before she opens the email.

Now I’m going to broach some even scarier territory. Publisher’s Submissions.

That’s right, the feared unsolicited Slush Pile of DOOM. Short stories aren’t represented by agents as a general rule, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that you may find yourself submitting to a publisher of some sort sometime in your life. You may even try to acquire a publisher before you try to get an agent.

Something to note: Track every publisher you submit a novel to. You have exactly one chance with each publisher for a novel. By submitting to publishers prior to getting an agent, you make their lives a lot more difficult as they have to dodge what you’ve already messed up.

Be open and honest with your agent if you get one and you have submitted with that project. Just because one project was rejected does not mean future projects are a ‘no go’. It means that one project is, and an agent is going to try to be with you for the long-term ride.

Go get yourself another drink. This will be a lot easier to cope with now that we’ve gotten over the worst of it. Submitting to a publisher is just like submitting to an agent, with a few small adjustments.

I’m going to start off with a rather different approach to publication, in the form of 42WD Publishing. This is a fledgling group. I use the term group because they are a hybrid between independent publisher / self-publisher group and a publishing house. Their submission guidelines are rather unique and cover a lot of ground.

When dealing with publishers, no matter what type, read everything carefully. Don’t submit until you have done this. If you have questions, ask another writer friend. Ask an agent. If the agency is on the internet, approach them politely and ask them. You would be surprised at just how many will answer a polite, professional question if you just acknowledge you don’t understand something. This applies to agents and publishers both.

Unlike a traditional publisher, getting involved with 42WD is one part blog discussion, one part direct communications with the owner of the operation.

This is a perfect example of ‘do what the website says, not what the internet tells you to do.’

Polluto Magazine is a spec-fic magazine that recently opened to submissions for an anthology. Anthologies are a collection of short stories on one specific genre or theme. When you submit to an anthology, be aware that there are open submission periods where you can submit. These magazines are very clear about when they are opened and closed for submissions.

No matter how good your story is, you will get a rejection if you submit in their closed period and if you submit anything other than the exact material they are requesting. If you’re submitting to a horror spec fic anthology and you’ve written a dark romance, just turn around and walk away. Spare yourself the heartache of rejection. Anthologies are very specific about what they want for a reason.

These submission guidelines should use the same general rules as submitting to an agent. Usually, submitting to a publisher is easy. Follow the sacred rule of standardized manuscripts (Times New Roman 12 is a good start, double spaced)

Many agents just want to see italicized text as italics. Polluto is very specific that they want it traditionally formatted. This means the big black underscore under words that are italicized. Don’t also italicize in this case.

Kindling Press has very specific submission guidelines, complete with examples. Take deep breaths and systematically obey the guidelines. If you’re slow, take your time, and are careful, you’ll swim through these waters with no problems.

That is the skill that you are trying to learn here: A close attention to detail and double-checking your work.

Last but not least, I want to discuss Wild Age Press. This publisher has a very strict submission guideline at the time of this posting. They also are very upfront with their status as a very small publisher with very specific needs in their manuscript submissions because they’re so small.

If your story doesn’t meet their exact needs, there is nothing wrong with rejecting the publisher and not sending a query letter. It may be hard to turn down what you perceive as a chance, but there are circumstances you don’t know about with every agent and publisher out there.

Submission guidelines are murky, and out of all of the words I’ve written in this post, the best closing comments I can offer you is to have a lot of patience, read the agent and publisher bios, and check out the books they have published in the past. These things will offer you a lot of insight on what they are looking for in the future. The future is a moving target and the books that you write may not work for one agent but capture the love and imagination of another.

If you find that you’re going a lot of queries without a request for a partial, consider the type of story you have told. Does it fall in line with the things published in the past? Does it match the interests of the agent you’re submitting to? Is the genre you’re writing in tired and exhausted? Consider all of these elements, because they all play into whether or not you get a request for a partial or full or if you get a form rejection.

There are no agents that are looking for the exact same thing as another agent.

A great big ‘Thank you!!’ to the following agents: Elana Roth of Red Tree Literary, Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg of Larsen Pomada Literary Agency for volunteering their websites and submission guidelines. Bradford Literary, Fine Print Literary*, and Red Sofa Literary doesn’t have any idea I’m doing this, but their agencies are also ideal examples for learning how to cope with agent submissions.

* At the time of this posting, some idiot hacked Fine Print Literary, but fortunately, they only nailed the home page, so I was able to still work with the submission guidelines. I didn’t have any virus warnings go off, so the page I linked to should be safe.

This post would also not be possible without the submission guidelines of Polluto Magazine, Wild Age Press, Kindling Press, and 42wd Publishing.

As always, these are my thoughts and opinions, and my interpretations of the things I have learned talking to publishers, agents, and other writers.

My way isn’t necessarily the right way. It is just a way.

July 12, 2012 RJBlain Agents, Traditional Publishing, Writing Tips & Tricks 5 comments

Perceptions of Self-Publishing versus Traditional Publishing

July 12, 2012 RJBlain Editing & Critiquing, Self-Publishing, Traditional Publishing No comments

There have been a lot of articles going around the internet lately that praise self-publishing as the slayer of traditional publishing. There are just as many articles proclaiming that traditional publication will remain the standard of quality in the industry due to the inability of many to edit their novels.

If you’re interested in doing some research on your own, here are a few of the articles that I’ll be discussing in this post. The first gem comes from Cnet’s David Carnoy on Self-Publishing. This article is fairly neutral and discusses the ins and outs of self-publishing. It was originally written in 2009 but updated in 2012 to match the modern market.

This article and this one are blog pieces written about self-publishing. The first is from someone going the $0.99 route and discusses quality control, and the other is an interview from a traditionally published author on the state of the publishing union.

The reason I wanted to write my own thoughts on this subject is due to this blog post: Is the Stigma of Self-Publishing Finally Gone?

No, Virginia, it isn’t.

I admire the points that Ben Galley brings up, and in some cases, I even agree with them. That said, my personal experiences are telling a different tale.

We all know I’m a writer, but for terms of this, I am a reader. I make a point to grab free books when they come up in the search of new authors. One notable example of an author I grew to love because of a free book offer is Sherwood Smith. She might write snickers bar romantic fantasy, but it appeals to me all the same. Since that free book offer, I have gone on to buy almost every single book of hers.

She has gone the more independent route and the traditional route.

However much I hate saying it, because I truly love many of her books, I can tell the difference between the books she independently worked on versus the ones she worked on through a traditional publisher.

One of her latest offerings I took a sample of because I wasn’t sure about it. I had just come off of being bitten by a book she released to the wilds that didn’t match her writing and ability. It was one of her first books and she decided to release it on amazon.

I was pretty disappointed. Why? She matured as an author over time, and she didn’t rewrite the book to her current standards. It did result in me not buying the next title.

Quality matters.

To move on to the heart of this blog post, there are certain perceptions that readers and writers have about self-publishing and traditional publishing. As I was looking around the internet for others who share similar opinions as I do, I found this post: Reconsideration from the Stuff your Eyes with Wonder blog. This is where the blog’s author writes an open letter humbly correcting herself over her stance in an earlier post.

It is a perfect showcase of how perceptions can completely alter the reality of the situation.

For example, the perception that quality in self-published books is low has triggered a knee-jerk reaction in some readers. I’m one of them. Part of me acknowledges that there are extremely talented self-published (and indie published) authors out there. There are quite a few of them using Google+. But, there are many, many more who still have not embraced the concept that editing improves writing.

Because of the stigma that still exists, there are people that are still publishing posts dedicated to the mistakes that self-publishers make. This article by Katie Salidas is just one of many of them.

When it comes to publishing, no matter what type it is, there is one little truth I think everyone would do well to consider, and it was said best by Chad W. Post in his entry titled For Publishers the Long Term is the Only Race Worth Winning.

It doesn’t matter if you traditional publish or self-publish so long as you keep that in mind. You aren’t publishing a book.

You’re building your career.

When I see a writer that doesn’t care about that or the quality of the work they release and expect me to pay money for, I get upset. These negative emotions are then turned into perceptions about the entire industry. Sure, I get a hold of a traditionally published book I just don’t like. But, even if it is complete drivel, there is always something about it I can understand as appealing to others. For all it may be drivel, it is edited drivel. Even if that editing has turned the book into a “Fiction for Idiots” novel.

This issue of perceptions works in the reverse, too. Traditional publication was never easy, and it never will be easy. Writers often have the perception that these venues are untouchable in terms of being a debut trying to survive in the big, bad world. Readers have the perception that they have to read what the traditional houses offer because that is what everyone else is reading too.

There is a perception that publishing houses are unapproachable. Not true, by the way. View my open letter to publishers on connecting readers with publishers and look at the comments. Sure, some are lofty, but they’ll talk to you if you’re polite with them and engage them as someone who just loves books.

What everyone needs to remember is that no matter whether you think the traditional Sky is Falling (blog post on the traditional industry by Rachelle Gardener) or that self-publishing is reserved for the failures (which I don’t agree with for the record) one thing still remains: The people behind the books still love books.

The people we’re trying to reach are the exact same.

Don’t let the perceptions surrounding these industries fool you into one truth. Without readers, there wouldn’t be a need for the traditional or self-publishing industry. Instead of wasting so much time bickering about which is better, why not spend that time trying to reach your audience and provide quality material?

That is what I aim to do.

As always, I encourage you to share and discuss.

July 12, 2012 RJBlain Editing & Critiquing, Self-Publishing, Traditional Publishing No comments

This is a List

July 11, 2012 RJBlain Writing Tips & Tricks No comments

I’ll admit it. Lists are interesting. They can be funny, they can be serious, they can keep you on track. Due to a momentary lapse in sanity, I decided to make a list of 25 things related to writing.

I never claimed this would be a good list.

Your writing isn’t you.
Your characters are not substitutes for real relationships.
If Character Development is air, Plot is water. You can’t survive without both.
A rough draft might be 90% of the work, but it only takes 10% of the time.
Characters should be based off of real relationships. Just don’t tell anyone that. It’s a secret.
Writing is one part love, one part passion, and four parts masochism.
Writing won’t make you healthy, wealthy, or wise, but it will give you a really good excuse to contemplate torture methods.
Writing is only a lonely art when the dogs or cats abandon you for their food bowls.
You don’t need an agent to succeed, but it sure is nice to have someone who believes in you enough to tie their mortgage payments to your skills.
For all your writing might be a disturbing reflection of you, don’t include yourself as a character. Please.
A writer must always believe in herself. No one else will until she reaches the top of the bestseller list.
Believing in one’s self is not an excuse for not improving one’s self. Always edit.
Rejection is like blind dates. Each one is different and more often than not, they’re bitter.
Sit down, shut the hell up, and write already. Excuses don’t finish novels.
It is OK to take a day off from writing now and then and go outside. Just remember to shower before you go and wear sunscreen or the burning daystar will get you.
Never ask a writer for tips on torture methods. The answers might scare you.
If you want to force a writer to be productive, take away their reading material and the internet.
Beta readers are valuable things, but that doesn’t mean you can lock them in a cage and keep them all to yourself.
Editing is both painful and beautiful. It is the admittance that you aren’t perfect, and it is the acceptance that you are willing to improve both your words and your self.
If you must reply to a review — good or bad — just say thank you and nothing more. The review isn’t for you, it is for those you wrote the story for.
Just because you pricked your finger and bled all over a piece of paper doesn’t make you a professional writer. It does, however, give you an excuse to play with bandaids.
If you meet a writer in the wild, approach slowly and with a smile. They’re likely as afraid of you as you are of them.
Writers never get time off of work. Even their dreams become fodder for their stories.
Writers and gamers can coexist peacefully. Both lock themselves away in dark rooms for many hours, lost to the wonders of other worlds.
Watch your mouth and your actions around a writer, you never know when your -stupidity- behavior might become a primary plot device in their novel.

It is a good thing I never once claimed I would take this list seriously…

July 11, 2012 RJBlain Writing Tips & Tricks No comments

Fun With Search Terms - The Writing Editing

July 10, 2012 RJBlain Simply Me No comments

Welcome to my brain. Make yourself comfortable, and enjoy the ride.

I need a little fun. This translates to “check my wordpress dashboard to see what shenanigans users have been up to”. Today, the search terms caught my attention and triggered maniacal laughter. I’m going to share with you all of these search terms. To make things even more entertaining, I’m going to make a running commentary on each of them.

To make this useful, I’m including a link to the relevant page in case you’re interested in that sort of thing.

shan vahidy

Ok, I get this one. This is from Penguin UK Hosts Ask the Editor!

editing with scrivener

This is definitely in a search for my editing on scrivener walkthrough.

last of the lesser kings review / last of the lesser kings

Ah, the explosion. I doubt I’ll ever forget the explosion that was that review.

importance of a book cover

Did I do an article on book covers? Ooh, I did. This is the article I wrote about book covers. Interesting, I had forgotten about this.

mindset villain self help

Wait. What? I suspect this is relevant because of the review I did on the villain novel, but I find it extremely amusing someone would come to my site in hopes of my ~~vast knowledge as a villain~~ writing expertise on this subject.

rebecca blain

This person sounds familiar. Seeing this keyword / search term still creeps me out. Someone was looking for me. They found me.

writing and reading digital era

I haven’t specifically written an article about this, but now I feel like I should.

scrivener spell check / does scrivener have spell check

This keyword amazes me. By default, scrivener uses red squiggles under each misspelled word.

Wait, what? Apparently I’m relevant as the… number 1? Maybe I should take this to mean that google thinks I am awesome.

critique circle

This is a reference to another walkthrough post.

scrivener spell checking full compile

Ok, the full compile I definitely understand. I had to hunt a while the first time I used it, but the spell check thing again?

Red squiggles. Everywhere! They’re everywhere! Unless you’re really good at spelling, then they are nowhere. Definitely an ‘On Editing with Scrivener‘ post reference.

editing in scrivener

Definitely a reference to the walkthrough.

nit treatments

I have no idea of what this is, and I’m really not sure I want to know.

efficient, moleskin

Ah, I still love moleskin journals. I want to throw a hundred or two of them on a bed and roll on them. With pens. Then I want to write in them. Ok, that sounded a little too perverted, even for me.

i’m at work

That’s nice. If you’re at work, you better get back to working before the boss realizes you’re not actually working at work. I work from home, so I guess that means I’m at work all of the time. That is kind of depressing, thinking about it.

what is meant by dabbling art

It means you dabble. Dabbling means you do not take it seriously. It also means infrequent, at leisure, or casually performing arts.

how to get em dashes in scrivener

Use a hyphen twice in a row followed by a space. ‘- ‘ like so.

scrivener walkthrough / scene list scrivener

Definitely another reference to the scrivener walkthrough.

novel writing supplies

Oooh, I remember that post! More related to editing, but you can see my novel writing supplies!

Karate Master - Knock Down Blow Screenshots

I seriously have no idea why someone found my site with this search. This is going to be something that baffles, confuses, and frightens me for a long, long time.

i got it from my foldets then edited it (correct grammar)

If I was positive what this meant, I would attempt to correct the grammar, but the meaning eluded me at ‘foldets’. Let’s assume foldets is actually ‘folders’, then “I got it from my folders, then I edited it.” That would be a perfectly acceptable sentence.

I may have to turn foldets into a curse word in a fantasy novel just for fun.

That’s all, folks! Perhaps I will do this again when it is 5 am and I am trying not to work too hard.

July 10, 2012 RJBlain Simply Me No comments

Penguin UK Hosts ‘Ask the Editors’ on Google+

July 6, 2012 RJBlain Creative Writing, Editing & Critiquing, Interviews, Writing Communities, Writing Tips & Tricks 8 comments

Today, it is with much pleasure that I get to talk about a different side of publication. I normally get to talk about the writing craft, as this is what I know from doing.

For once, I get to talk about Editors. The kind folks at Penguin UK responded to an Open Letter I wrote to the Publishing world asking some questions about how publishers and readers can connect. (There will be a post in the future on this very subject, so I’m going to keep the link to the open letter a secret for now!)

This journey started with a post from Penguin UK that came shortly after I posted my Open Letter that goes as follows:

We’re going to be running an Ask the Editor feature! One of our lovely editorial assistants will be answering your questions. Please leave any questions you can think of in the comments below, from now, and we’ll get her to answer them tomorrow. Ever wondered how to get a career in publishing? Pop it below. Wondering how many tea breaks an editorial assistant takes? Do the same. How much the doggy in the window is? You’re probably in the wrong place….

We can’t guarantee *all questions will be answered. If there are a gazillion then we might not make it through them, but we will try!

If you click the above link, you can see the many questions that were asked, but for the sake of simplicity, I am only going to reproduce and link to the questions Penguin UK’s pair of editorial assistants answered.

#1: The Original Post

Ok, answer time begins. Please be warned that these are the thoughts of one/two people and may not be the same across all publishers or publishing departments:

From +Tony Clifton

what is the % of books turned down as opposed to ones you actually publish each year? ( 50/50 60/40 etc)

I’m afraid I don’t have the figures, but I’d imagine it varies hugely from publisher to publisher, genre to genre. For the list I work on, I’d take a (very very rough) guess that about 1 in 7 proposals gets through. But that doesn’t take into account any of the unsolicited manuscripts we are sent.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#2 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain

*Question #2 of Rebecca Asks All of the Questions series… (Editorial Note by yours truly: This becomes referenced as RAAotQ. I got tired of typing out variants of this remark. It is a reference to the image that Penguin UK used as a part of the call for questions: Answer all the questions!)

What determines the types of books that trend? For example, what started the YA Fantasy trend, and what kept it snowballing? Why has Paranormal and Urban Fantasy trended?*

If I knew that, would I still be an assistant? It would be great to be able to pick the next big trend, but who foresaw vampires? Who knew erotica-for-mums would be the record-breaker that inspired a thousand copy-cats? I suppose that publishers are keeping a closer eye on the self-published successes.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#3 The Original Post

From +Rachel Desilets

What is a total deal breaker for a decent query?

Is there one thing that will make you stop reading and say “no”? Alternatively, what are the three most common errors in queries?

If you have two books of the same genre, same kind of characters, same basic plot (this is bound to happen at some point - right?) How would you then choose which one to publish?

Typically, how do you find new authors to publish?

Not a question, just a note: Tea breaks are amazing

To nitpick, I would say a query is what you send a literary agent, a proposal is what you send a publisher. But then that’s what publishers do. They nitpick. Which means any errors of spelling or grammar, any sloppy writing in general will be frowned upon. There are a huge amount of proposals from agents to get through, before you even get to the unsolicited ones (which, alas, most people don’t), so this is one way of filtering people out. Sure, these are all things an editor could fix — but if you haven’t taken the care to make your proposal the best it possibly can be, what indication do we have that you would do that with your book? (This is a personal view, incidentally, I can’t claim to speak for the industry.) I’m sure every editor will have their own pet peeves, the things that make them stop reading.

New authors tend to come to us through agents. It is INCREDIBLY rare to get an unsolicited proposal through (though it does happen occasionally).*

*please don’t swamp us now

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)*

#4 The Original Post

From +Rachel Desilets

Oh! Would you ever take on an author that has never been traditionally published before, but has been self-published?

Past work, not the one they want to publish with you (of course).

And going off of that, how big of a role would the past sales of that self-published work play into them getting published now?

Four words: Fifty Shades of Grey. Or, at Penguin, Bared to You. I reckon this is likely to be a growing trend - after all, a proven readership can only be a good thing, and I get the feeling that in a post-Grey world, likely to be taken more seriously.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#5 The Original Post

Question #4 of RAAotQ

Is it true that editors don’t actually get to take the weekends and evenings off and that work tends to follow you around like a lost little puppy that escaped from the window and is looking for a good home?

Yes. There is an enormous amount of admin involved; that takes up your 9 - 5 (or 9-6, or 7, or 8….) If you want to read submissions, plan projects, investigate new writing or, y’know, edit, you do that at home, once you have finished working late. Know this now, all ye job-seekers.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#6 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain

Question #5 of RAAotQ

Be honest, have you actually ever pulled a novel out of an unsolicited slush pile and advocated it for publication?

If yes, how did this book perform compared to others? Are authors represented by an agent from the get-go more likely to have a best seller or encounter success than someone discovered by the elusive (and even perhaps mythical) unsolicited non-agented slush pile?

No - because I work exclusively on non-fiction. But my editor has pulled a non-fiction proposal that came to him unsolicited: THE SPIRIT LEVEL, look it up. A bestseller which had a real impact on public debate. Rights now sold in 23 languages.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#7 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain

Question #6 of RAAotQ

*What makes you the happiest about working in the publishing business?*

Reading books before they’re published. Swapping ideas with amazing authors. Free books!

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#8 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain

Question #7 of RAAotQ

Can you spend a little time demystifying the advance and whether or not it is true that if an author does not earn enough profits to cover the advance in the first year, they’re considered a failure and not pursued any further?

Really not as hard and fast as that. Certainly not true in my sector (high end non-fiction). Can’t speak for other divisions.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#9 The Original Post

From +Catherine Friess

Who translates foreign language books into English? Translators working for publishers in the country where they are first published or translators working for publishing companies in the UK? Do you employ translators or work with freelancers?

We have no in-house translators - although a more specialised press might (or at least a pool of very regular free-lancers). There isn’t a hard and fast process: it is often a case of finding out if the English language rights are available, buying them and then commissioning a translation, but sometimes you will be approached by (agented) writers who have a particular translation project in mind. (This usually tends to work only for the more high-profile writers.)

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#10 The Original Post

From +Sorcha Ogle

how much influence do editors actually have over writers?

I’ve read some books with some - to me - glaring mistakes (plot lines etc), or inclusion of prose that would have been better ditched. I have caught myself wondering “this person needed a decent editor”, and wonder if they did have a decent editor, just didn’t listen to them?!

It varies from author to author - and editor to editor. I’ve seen some projects where the completed work is almost unrecognisable from the gibberish that came in on the first draft, but I’ve also seen some where barely a word has been touched (for better or worse). It very much depends on the relationship the editor has built up with the author - how much trust there is, and how the editor goes about persuading them. Authors - more often than not - tend to be appreciative when it is clear you have spent time and effort reading their work with a sympathetic eye. This doesn’t mean you can’t tell them to make huge changes, just that you have taken the time to try and understand what they are aiming to do, and to help them do it better.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#11 The Original Post

From +Tanya Tenorio

First, this is really a great thing that you are doing, so thank you. Second, getting a book published is a big and confusing task. Got any tips and the best contacts in order to make to make that happen?www.tanyachamain.com

Although things are (very, very occasionally) pulled from the unsolicited pile, I’m afraid to say it doesn’t happen often, and yes, the key is getting the attention of a good agent. Make sure you don’t just submit blindly - do your research, see what kind of books the agency represents, spend time getting your proposal / pitch just right - and then tighten it some more. (And this is just an anecdotal observation, but I do get the sense that a strong online presence is getting more respect now than in days of yore.)

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#12 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain

Question #9 of RAAotQ

There is a constant battle between small, large, medium, and self-published authors on the subject of book promotion. The rumor is that an author that is signed with a large-scale publisher like Penguin is expected to do the same amount of self-promotion as a self-published author.

Is this true?

What are authors expected to do as a part of their writing career except write amazing books? Is there a master list of expectations that we can be shown so those of us who lust for that traditional publication contract (cough, me) can be better prepared for if we do somehow get signed?

Large-scale publishers just tend to have better machinery behind them - marketing resources, well-connected publicists etc. Small- and medium- scale publishers can get equally good results, it’s just often harder work. But wherever you end up, my advice would be the same: trust your publicist. They genuinely do want the best for you and your book, so listen to them. The only time you shouldn’t is if you feel they haven’t understood your book, in which case try and explain it to them. If that fails, bring it up with your editor. But 99% of the time: TRUST YOUR PUBLICIST.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#13 The Original Post

From +Vanessa Gallant

Are there really less jobs in the industry as a result of the current changes taking place, or are the jobs just changing? And what kind of indirect work experience is the most relevant?

Yes. The same amount of work (or more) is being done by fewer people. The more work experience you can afford to do, and the more widely, the better.

Shan Vahidy (Editorial Assistant, Penguin Press)

#14 The Original Post

From +Ourbookreviews Derby

*Once the editing process starts does the relationship between author and publisher ever become so fraught that the book is abandoned?*

Usually the relationship between publisher and author is a very strong one, and I think many editors would consider managing this relationship and the expectations of the author to be a key part of their job. It’s very important to Penguin that the author is happy and feels in control of their work. Inevitably differences of opinion do arise, particularly when commercial considerations inevitably impinge on the creativity of the author, but a happy compromise is almost always reached. I have heard of contracts being cancelled very occassionally, but not since I’ve been here!

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#15 The Original Post

From +Ourbookreviews Derby

*Do editors ever NOT get their way? And does this vary on the author?*

Ideally an editor would never ‘get in their way’, but would work with the author editorially to get their book to the stage where it is publishable. Writers often become too close to their work and too invested in it to recognise where the narrative might slow down too much etc, so an outsider’s perspecitve is crucial when it comes to writing a book. Inevitably the more established and successful an author is, the less work will be done on their books as they’ll be more aware of the process, what works, and know their audience best so we’ll trust them with that.

Equally, some books simply don’t need much work done on them, and an editor will never suggest alterations for the sake of it.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#16 The Original Post

From +Gerry Mayfield

How autonomous is the editor in deciding what changes they want to see? Is there a ‘committee’ at any stage?

I imagine that really depends on the publisher. At Penguin an editor will usually choose to show any submission they’ve taken on to other editors for advice/general suggestions on whether it could be improved, but it is just the editor who’ll talk this through with the author. Once a final manuscript comes in that the editor is happy with, someone will read it through purely to proof-read it, correcting things like grammatical errors, typos and inconsistencies (his red hat is now blue etc), all of which will also be run past the author.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#17 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain:

How much of a difference does having a well-known agent make in getting a novel accepted by a publisher?

Your agent will often be very important in getting your work looked at, as they’ll know exactly which editors will be interested in your book, and the best way to sell it to them. Editors and agents catch up regularly about what they have/what they’re looking for, so having the right agent could be key. Obviously this will not guarentee a publisher taking on your book as each is judged on individual merit, but editors certainly trust some agents more than others to send them quality submissions that are worth taking the time to read.

Do editors tend to be more bias toward agents that have been in the business a long time?

No not at all, as long as they continue to take on excellent authors and books. Publishers are likely to have long, established relationships with such agents so this will usually be a plus.

Also, in reverse, do editors have a bias against certain agents (as a blacklist?) or is the end game decision 100% based on the quality of the novel?

There are always going to be agents who have a reputation for being difficult to work with, but this won’t put an editor off if they like what they’re being offered.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#18 The Original Post

From +Alison Croasdale :

There have been a few ‘how did you get your job’ -type questions already, but I’m curious, do you think training/qualifications for editors will begin to shift in the age of e-books?

Probably not for editors, as we are very much looking at the text which is the same in any format, so the same skills are needed. We certainly need to be mindful of the changes in readership/tastes with the rise of ebooks, and we are certainly looking at the industry in a different way, but no new qualifications seem necessary. However, in other departments a better knowledge of digitalisation certainly seems incredibly useful.

Also, are you seeing a decrease in copy editor work across the industry as ‘web editors’ are used as a catch-all? (I’ve seen some awful /apparently un-proofed writing on major sites recently, including the BBC news site.)

No, all our books are still copy edited and proof-reader by humans! I imagine this is the same in all book publishers (can’t speak for news sites…)

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#19 The Original Post

From +Rebecca Blain:

What are the minimum qualifications for someone to become an editor of a predominate publisher?

I’d say you’d need a university degree. Most people here have English degrees but that’s not a rule. No one I’ve spoken to has a publishing degree, which seem to be very expensive and certainly not needed to enter the industry. Much more important is relevant work experience and an obvious knowledge and enthusiasm of books relevant to the company/division.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#20 The Original Post

From +Melissa Jones:

do you need a university degree to get in to publishing?
*what sort of things to publishers look for when looking to hire staff?*

I’d say a degree probably is necessary. I don’t know that it’s a requirement, exactly, but I don’t think you’d stand out amongst other applicants without one.

Publishers are looking for a strong CV that demonstrates a solid interest in the field. The cover letter needs to be well-written, but direct and to the point. As a lot of jobs here involve copy-writing this is your opportunity to demonstrate your ability to write to a purpose, so don’t waffle on and try to demonstrate that you can write beautiful prose. The point of this letter is to make someone think you can do the job, so write sensibily in an engaging style about why you are that person.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#21 The Original Post

From +Lucy Oates

How did you get your first job in publishing (apart from lots of work experience, of course)? And any tips on how to make your CV/Covering letter really stand out?

Well yes, I did quite a few bits of work experience at other companies, then after a week at Penguin a temporary contract came up and the department I was in recommended me for it. This was a three-month paid contract in the digital team, and after this I was offered another one for a similar length of time. Whilst I was still here a job came up as an editorial assistant so I went for it. Being here certainly helped, as I had a great knowledge of all our books, how the company worked, systems and there were people who were able to recommend me to the editors.

Quite a lot of assistants here got their first jobs by very similar routes, so my advice would be to stick around one company for as long as possible, as if you’re there when a job comes up you’re well-placed for it. This can be doing work experience (when you’re there, ask to speak to other departments to see if you can set up other spells of work experience) but temporary contracts are great - partly because they are actually paid!

The important thing is not to just see work experience as something to put on your CV. Whilst you’re there it’s so important to become known to people in the department, to show enthusiasm and a willingness to work hard. Ask sensible questions, and try to have read some of their big books. If they do really like you, they will recommend you for other things.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#22 The Original Post

From +Victoria Hooper

*What exactly does an editor do? Are there different kinds of editors - e.g. acquisitions editor who reads submitted manuscripts and chooses some for publication, line editor who actually edits a book with the author, etc, or is there just a general editor role that does a bit of everything? (and if there are several different kinds of editors, are there different requirements for getting into these jobs?) *

Different publishers work in different ways, but at Penguin the editorial department is indeed split. Commissioning editors decide what we are going to publish, and own that project from start to finish. They’ll deal with the author in getting the book to a stage they’re happy with, they’ll decide the artwork and will liaise with marketing, publicity and sales. However, there is also a small team we call ‘Ed 2′ who put the actual book together. They’ll copyedit it and arrange for it to be proof-read, will fit it to the correct number of pages, sort out font, spacing, chapter headings, indexes etc. They work closely with production and the typesetters to actually put it all together. I’m on the commissioning side, so what is most important is an understanding of the market and what books are doing well and what people will want to read. I don’t know exactly what is needed for ed.2, but they will have undergone much more technical editing training, as well as having a more thorough understanding of language and grammar.

Anna Mrowiec (Editorial Assistant, Michael Joseph)

#23 The Original Post

From +James Farmer:

I’ve come straight out of my A-Levels (that I didn’t do excellently in) but I consider myself bright, determined and hard-working. However, I don’t have the papers to prove anything. How could I get into the world of publishing from my position? (University out of the question.)

It would depend what area of publishing you’d like to get into. I work in the Digital Marketing department, and get to work with a lot of cool authors and chat to all of our readers on our Social Media networks but, as a choice, I didn’t go to university. I feel that if you can work hard and you’re able to show your expertise you can get the career that you want! I used to write a lot of blogs and taught myself how to code websites which, when put together into a portfolio, showed the knowledge that I had gained. Have a look at some of the other responses below about getting some work experience and always make sure that you’re doing something that you love AND develops your knowledge base in your spare time.

+Sarah-Elizabeth Daly *(Digital Marketing Executive, Penguin Books)*

23 Questions later, and a significant amount of awe on my part, I find myself at a little loss of what to say about all of these wonderful responses. Stealthy writers often visit the #askagent hashtag on twitter, but getting a lot of information from publishers has always been rare. I can’t even begin to truly express how amazed and pleased I was to see a notification on Google+ yesterday when +Penguin UK shared the question and answer session with me directly.

Some of the answers were what I expected, but some of them rather surprised me. All of them were useful, and I’m very tickled that I could compile and share these questions and answers with you. If you aren’t already an active member of the Google+ community, I really recommend it. I do a lot of writing-related posts on my personal page, content that often is the foundation for what shows up on my blog.

I was almost tempted to make commentary of my own on here, but I think that this is perfect just as it is. Honest answers from people who are in publishing, love books, and wanted to reach out to both writers _and_ readers.

This is what every publishing company should strive for.

July 6, 2012 RJBlain Creative Writing, Editing & Critiquing, Interviews, Writing Communities, Writing Tips & Tricks 8 comments

The Elements of a Good Critique

June 11, 2012 RJBlain Editing & Critiquing One comment

I have been thinking about critiques again. I’ve talked about the importance of doing them, and a little about how to go about doing them. I’m going to try focusing on the differences between a well-written critique and a poorly-written one.

Please bear with me for this post. I try to have some structure in my head before I start a blog post, but today I’m being a deviant and writing without any guidelines whatsoever.

This could get ugly.

First, I’m going to talk about receiving critiques. This is subjective. What you view as a good critique may not be what the person leaving the critique believes is a good critique. In order to judge whether or not a critique is a ‘good’ one, there are a few things that need to be discussed in the effort of removing as much subjectivity as possible.

Setting the bar on what makes a good and a ‘bad’ critique, I feel, is necessary. Especially when being on the receiving in can hurt the pride and the ego.

A ‘good’ critique should have several elements. Here is a short list of the things I look for when I’m receiving a critique. I’ll go through each of these in more detail after I’m done making the list.

It addresses the questions and concerns I had when I submitted the piece for critique.
It is honest.
It lists good things and bad things about the piece.
It doesn’t harp on only one thing, for good or otherwise.
It references specific parts of the story. (I know, this way, they actually read more than the first couple of paragraphs!)
It is longer than one or two paragraphs.
Isn’t comprised of only nit-picks.

It addresses the questions and concerns I had when I submitted the piece for critique.

Most workshopping venues give you a place to ask for certain types of feedback. If the site does, I try to ask for help in certain elements of my writing. I find it helps critiques have more depth. It also lets me focus on something to improve. It is also a good indicator that the person is paying attention. This isn’t always necessary; I’ve had a good critique recently that paid very little attention to my critique wish-list that was still a good critique because it possessed other elements of a good critique.

It is honest.

This is a no-brainer to me, but I’ll go a little more into it anyway. I don’t want sunshine, roses, and cookies. That doesn’t help me improve my writing. If there is something wrong with the writing, I want to know about it. If you genuinely loved the book, I want to know about it. I don’t like critiques that are written just to get a return review/critique. I have too much dignity and pride in my critiquing, so even if I’m left with a short, ego-fluffer, I return a critique with the honesty and integrity I want in a critique. (I’m not a good person to target if you want your hand held and told how beautiful and wonderful you are because you wrote a book.)

It lists good things and bad things about the piece.

I do believe there is no such thing as a perfect book. If you look hard enough, you can find both the good and the bad about a book. That said, knowing what worked is as important as knowing what didn’t.

It doesn’t harp on only one thing, for good or otherwise.

I usually view this as a red flag and often take those critiques with more than a few grains of salt. This includes grammar-correction fixations. If the individual giving me the critique isn’t capable of deviating from their one element of choice, it makes me wonder just how much they actually paid attention to what they were reading.

It references specific parts of the story. (I know, this way, they actually read more than the first couple of paragraphs!)

This is pretty self-explanatory. But, that said, it is easier to swallow a critique and understand exactly where they are coming from if they reference parts of the story instead of giving general opinions that could apply to hundreds or thousands of books in the same genre.

It is longer than one or two paragraphs.

Short critiques can be useful. Sometimes. Most times, I end up believing all they wanted is the hours of effort I put into most critiques. It is hard to take a critique seriously when it is that short.

Isn’t comprised of only nit-picks.

Nit-picks can be great. They can point things out. However, when the entire critique is composed of nit-picks, patience can be limited. It does demonstrate they read the story, but it leads me to believe that they’re so busy looking for grammatical and spelling errors that they aren’t paying attention to the story or characters. However, this rule doesn’t apply when I ask specifically for nit-picks. It is a different type of critique. But, if I have a raw draft where I’m worried about characters and plot, the last thing I need (and want) is a list of line-edit nitpicks because I know that it is very likely it will be rewritten.

So, what does all of this mean? It means nothing to you. This is my system. The main point here is that you need to determine, without worrying about personal pride and ego, what makes up a good critique. If you have this firmly in mind before someone shreds your writing, it is a lot easier to leave an honest ‘thank you!’ when you’re done going through the butchering of your book.

Accepting critiques, which I’ve discussed before, is never easy. Writing a good critique shouldn’t be easy either.

Time to talk about the flip side of the same coin. When you sit down and write a critique, what are the elements of writing a good critique?

One would think the list would be the same as reception, but it really isn’t. How you view the critique differs because on one hand, reception is of something you created. You’re closer to it. When you’re critiquing, you don’t have that attachment.

You’ve (likely) seen my list of things I keep in mind when I critique. However, this list differs because this is the technical things I look for when I critique. These are self-explanatory, so I’m not going to make extensive notes on these.

At what point did I stop reading? Why?
At what point did I identify I want to keep reading? Why?
Was there anything that bothered me as I read? Note them all down.
Was there anything that made me pause and be amazed? Note them all down.
Were there any reoccurring grammar errors that stopped me from getting into the book? Note them down.
Were there sections I started to skim or was tempted to skim? Note them down.
Did I make it past the first 3 chapters? If so, what were the strengths that let me get past the first 3 chapters? Note them down.
Did I fail to make it past the first 3 chapters? If not, think about why. Note the reason(s) down.
Did I completely read the section of writing presented? Note this down and the reasons why.
Would I be willing to give this story another chance if certain changes were made? If yes, say so.
This is an important one. Would I buy this book if I were browsing in a bookstore? Why/Why not?

I have more criteria and thoughts I often add, but these are the questions that I usually find myself answering when I’m reading and writing a critique.

All of these things said, I think the most important elements of a good critique is the desire to improve, the desire to help others improve, and honesty. Be thorough, be considerate, and be kind.

If in doubt, find someone who writes a good critique and emulate them. Look at all of the things that they mention, think about why the mentioned them, and the next time that you are writing a critique, pretend you’re them and write like they do. You can find your own style of critiquing once you’ve gotten comfortable with the idea of being thorough and long-winded.

Just remember that not everyone will be willing to accept the critique. That isn’t a bad reflection of you. They just weren’t ready for what you had to say.

June 11, 2012 RJBlain Editing & Critiquing One comment

Book Review: Supervillain: The Concise Guide by Ras Ashcroft

May 16, 2012 RJBlain Books & Book Reviews No comments

Title: Supervillain: The Concise Guide

Author: Ras Ashcroft

Publisher: Independent

Pages: 90

Lending: Enabled

If you’re interested in Supervillains, this might be a book for you. Written in a non-fiction style, this satire is an interesting methodology on how to go from rags to riches… as a villain.

Ashcroft admits, right at the opening, that this is a parody of self-help guides on Finance. It fits this category, making very obvious jabs at how-to guides and self-help books.

In general, the book was well written, handling the line between fiction, non-fiction, and satire with adept ease. While some reviewers found this book hilarious, I found it to be subtle. Almost too subtle. The first 40 pages or so I found genuinely interesting, particularly in terms of the creativity in which Ashcroft builds a fictional supervillain empire. After that, however, it delves deeper into the expected cliches and rehashes what most people already know about being the ideal evil overlord.

In short, it went to the far-fetched and unbelievable at around the same time the book looks toward space as a viable method of taking over Earth.

The approach for this book I cannot fault. It does a good job of mocking many of the self-help books (on finance) that I’ve browsed out of curiosity. However, I do think that it stayed a little too much on the side of safety, using practical methods to become a villain without delving too dangerously into ‘evil’, such as it were. (The obvious fantasy of domination towards the end of the book excluded.)

To boil this book down a bit, ‘Common Sense Prevails’ is the golden rule. If it breaks the law, avoid it or cover your tracks and work in cash only.

I’d talk about characters and themes, but this book doesn’t really have anything of that sort. It is a down-to-earth guide on a method to become a supervillain. Would it work? Honestly, I don’t think so. I wish this book had more hard humor, cracks at heroes and villains, and otherwise not take itself too seriously. While it is obviously satire, I don’t think it was edgy enough or funny enough. It was just too close of a parody without that edge that I normally love in parodies.

There wasn’t nearly enough of the sharks with lasers, acid pits, spike traps, and maintaining a fortress of doom that I was really, really hoping for. Even if it was a step-by-step guide on why not to do these things as a viable supervillain. Ashcroft covered a little bit of it, but not nearly enough to satisfy my thirst for that sort of thing.

Yes, I was disappointed in the fact that there wasn’t a single guide on building a doomsday device of awesomeness or a torture mechanism just for superheroes. The solutions Ashcroft presented were just too based on reality and too reasonable.

I’m being completely unreasonable about this point, but being an evil overlord or super villain should be fun.

That said, I think it is worth the amusement value at the price of $0.99, especially if you’re into that sort of thing. Just don’t go in expecting to get stitches in your side from laughing. I did laugh a little a few times, but I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t as amused as I was hoping to be based off of the general description of the book, which poses a lot of ‘Would you like…’ questions that left me hopeful there’d be humor in the guide itself.

That said, for the price, it isn’t a bad read. It is pretty close to what I’d consider professionally publishable quality, which puts it above a great many of the independent books I’ve been exposed to. That said, I wouldn’t pay more than $0.99 for this book, as I think it does need more edgy humor to it and a harder edge to fit the them. I certainly wouldn’t purchase it if I was in a book store based off of the cover alone, which didn’t appeal to me at all.

If I had to give this book a star rating out of 5*, I’d give it a solid 3*. There were good points about it, and I didn’t feel like I wasted the 2 hours or so it took me to read through the book.

May 16, 2012 RJBlain Books & Book Reviews No comments

Traditional vs Self/Indie Publishing - Book Reviews

May 9, 2012 RJBlain Books & Book Reviews, Self-Publishing 4 comments

Is there a perception that book reviewers treat Self-Published books differently than Traditionally published ones?

I’m not sure where this train of thought came from, but it hit me dead-center as I was ~~writing~~ procrastinating on finishing a scene in my latest WIP that has been ~~very fun and amazing~~ challenging to write.

I’ve read more self-published/indie books than I’ve reviewed. The ones I’ve acquired on my own I haven’t reviewed for several reasons, but some of those reasons include not feeling the book was written professionally, feeling that the book was still in a rough-draft state, and generally disliking the book.

After some considerations, I realized I hadn’t reviewed some of these books because I had this mindset where if I couldn’t say nice things, I shouldn’t say anything at all.

Huh.

I don’t have the mentality about Traditionally published books. Why? I view these authors as professionals. Professionals can handle whatever opinions I might have about their book.

If I buy a traditionally published, large-scale publishing house book, all bets are off. If I don’t like it, you better believe I’ll rip that book apart. The simple truth is, there aren’t a lot of traditionally-published books I strongly dislike. There are some, but most I acquired years ago and never went bestseller. (For a reason, I assure you…)

But, when presented with books that haven’t been professionally handled or produced, I clam up. This usually means self-published. I shouldn’t do this.

Ah, time to make a quick distinction. Self-published books, where the author did all of the work, tend to be the least professionally produced as a general rule. (This isn’t always the case, and I’m stereotyping, but of the ones I got a hold of, this was the case.)

Independent publishers took more care with the general presentation of the book, but I have also seen books produced by them that had formatting problems for the kindle.

Moving back on subject.

Should self-published books get special treatment and blinders if they aren’t well written?

I want to say no, but the reality is, I have been wearing these blinders and walking around them like they’re made of glass. No one likes a piece of glass in the foot.

I think the problem is two fold.

First, I think the community and the fans are partially to blame. There are a few out there who will do anything to defend a book just because it self-published, indie published, or published by a small publishing house. I’ve experienced this first hand. (I will get around to reviewing more, but I have been working on critiquing other writers, working on my novel, and freelance writing. I have a novella and a pair of novels to read and review for my birthday!!)

I don’t like getting my tail-feathers burnt. It tends to be hurtful even though the point of a book review is to be honest about all elements of a book.

Second, I think is the general mentality that self-published and co. books aren’t to the same quality level as traditionally published ones.

It somehow makes me think of punching babies or doing something equivalently evil when treating these books the same as traditionally published ones.

Ouch. I can smell charred Rebecca already.

I want to hear from you what your opinions are. I do not mean to insult the competent, professional, and hard-working self/indie writers who do not fit this stereotype. This isn’t what this post is about.

It is about whether or not book reviews should treat these two types of published works differently.

For me, I think the answer is no, they should not be treated differently. The reality, however, is yes, they are.

What do you think?

May 9, 2012 RJBlain Books & Book Reviews, Self-Publishing 4 comments

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