Getting published - how do I even...

[Vincent Lakes]

Hello,

My name is Vincent Lakes and I'm a writer. I'm writing low fantasy with magic bound to letters and words, so no dragons or krakens roaring in my story. It's about this abused young child of a nobleman, who is forced to marry a man she dislikes. As a means to counter her lack of complete control over her self, she will begin to find other ways to get that. Eventually she murders someone. The story becomes more complicated with the main protagonist getting pregnant and then fighting against the odds to keep the baby, for her parents would definitely want to get rid of her. It's a story about hopes and dreams, and how they're crushed in an instant to secure better trade agreements with neighboring counties. Slowly the main protagonist delves deeper into darkness, finding solace only from blood - finding absolute control when she's torturing her victim. But she is caught as she makes the one grave mistake of taking a life of another noble lady. This is something even her nobility cannot protect fer from.

I'm proofreading and editing my story at the moment, and I've grown to realize that this story may have what it takes to battle itself out into the public eye. But where do you start? Where do you find agents that are interested in this type of a novel, and furthermore, where do you find that publisher who is willing to invest into you, so that you can live the dream. I understand it may never happen, but where should I even begin? This is the one thing I'm hopelessly lost.

 

[skip.knox]

Prepare yourself, it's going to take a ton of work, especially the first time out of the gate. There are a number of lists of agents out there. Just do a search on "literary agent fantasy" and also "fantasy book publishers". Compiling a list of possibilities is a matter of a few hours' work, but that's when the real work starts.

At that point you have to do two things. One, you have to learn as much as you can about individual agents. Let's say you come up with a list of thirty possibles. You read their blog, Twitter feed, whatever social media they offer. You read their profile on their web site. Because you want to know their particular preferences, their record landing deals, as much about who they are as possible.

You also (don't wait on this) need to learn how to write a query letter. That in itself is a huge project. There are a ton of sites with advice on how to do this. But you're still not done. Now you need to write a query letter to each agent (let's say you've narrowed it to ten). Each of those query letters will be tweaked a bit for each of the ten agents.

Then you get ten rejections (or worse, no replies at all), and you start in writing to ten more on that list of thirty. Meanwhile, drag your battered spirits out of the sump of despair enough to start writing Novel #2.

Doesn't that sound like fun? But I see from your blog that you're in this for the long haul, so you are up for the challenge. If you have specific questions, this is the place to ask them. Also, read some of the back threads; there's good stuff right here.

 

[Vincent Lakes]

Thank you for this insightful reply. I actually didn't realize how big of a deal the query letter is, but it makes sense. I'm not afraid of the work, and I'm in no rush to make it happen, but I was missing a starting point, which left me wondering "well, what do I need to do next?" I will begin to search suitable agents and prepare the query letter. I'm sure there will be a lot of rejections, possibly all of them, but I want to be able to say that at least I gave it a serious shot. And in the end, I still wrote a novel, which is an achievement on its own.

 

[Russ]

I was speaking with a successful writer last week who said that the query letter was the hardest thing to write when he was starting out, that he edited more times than he could count, and it took him months to get it right.

You only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[Telcontar]

Query letter writing is a very important part of the traditional process. Fortunately, that means there are lots of resources out there to help you. Check out blogs like Pub Rants and Query Shark for guides and advice. Don't be in a hurry. And also, don't invest all of your hopes in getting this particular story published. Continue writing new things even while going through the query process.

 

[Vincent Lakes]

I don't think I can stop writing. Published or not, I'm a writer and will stay way. Originally I wasn't even going to try, but just write for my own amusement, share my work on the internet and things like that. But it's amazing what a few supportive and positive feedbacks can do, and well, it just kind of happened that one really good idea expanded and expanded as it went on, and eventually I found myself writing a novel. It won't be the end of the world if it's rejected; maybe there will be another novel, and another after that.

My biggest problem is marketing. I can honestly admit that I suck at selling myself, but I'll have to push myself a little and see what happens.

 

[troynos]

The hardest question I get asked is "what is your book about?"

How do I answer that? Do I talk about what the entire series is about and how this book introduces the world and some of the themes? Do I talk about the books plot? And if so, how much detail? Do I just mention the basics? The hooks that hopefully will get the person to want to read it?

I have a hard time selling myself, and that question is one I dread answering.

 

[ddmealing]

Hey Vincent. Two basic paths to go down if you think your project is ready.

Path #0: polish your MS.

No, really! Very important to have a finished product. Now trust me, your MS is not even close to actually done. I asked the President of my agency once, 'have you ever gone on submission with a project without asking for revisions?' and he responded, 'once, in 1986, and if I could go back in time knowing what I know now I would have asked for changes.'

Point is, you're going to be surrounded by great people who can make your MS better. But in order to get their attention you need the MS to be *tight*. So do the work! Make sure it reads like comparable books published in the last few years.

OK, so Path #1: write a great query letter and submit to agents.

It's super important that you find the right agent for you. This is a hugely personal relationship that will define your career. Don't just shotgun blast queries to every agent you can find referenced on Publisher's Weekly or who has made a deal on Publisher's Marketplace this year. You need to really get a sense of your agent's taste. Follow them on Twitter, read interviews, read books they rep if you can. Personalizing your query is a big deal and can set you apart from the rest of the slush pile. Yes, you still need to have a dynamite book but I've watched my wife (@lindsaymealing on Twitter, a lit agent at Emerald City Literary) connect to queries just because they comp'd a book she had cited as a personal favorite.

How to write a query is a huge topic I can't hope to cover here. Just make sure you do your research and polish, polish, polish. Plenty of great resources out there to help you tune the query.

Path #2, which is by no means exclusive of path 1: go to cons and meet people!

If you're not already attending fantasy and SF cons you're missing out. *SO* many great people in this community, and cons offer a great opportunity to meet and interact with agents and editors in person. I see you're in Finland so you should make every effort to attend Worldcon 75 if you can. It can be expensive to travel, especially internationally, but it's well worth it if you put in the effort to make the most of the experience. Sasquan last year was my first convention, and by the end of it I'd had a chance to hang out multiple times with Brandon Sanderson, hung out and talked shop with Dan Wells, had a manuscript critiqued by Cat Rambo (president of SFWA) and Toni Weisskopf of Baen, met Joshua Bilmes, Sam Morgan and John Berlyne and *dozens* more awesome people in the industry, both pro's and aspiring writers.

It can feel intimidating to take your first steps down the road to being published, but there are tons of wonderful people that will help you along the way once you've done the work to produce a great manuscript. And there are tons of people who will help there too! Connecting via forums like this one and via social media to critique partners, beta readers, resources to improve your craft, etc are all essential parts of the journey.

Good luck!

 

[Vincent Lakes]

I hear ya. A lot of good pointers, which is greatly appreciated. I just finished the last chapter yesterday. It came out of nowhere as I suddenly realized I had a major loose end in the story. I'm beginning the process of proof reading / editing it as a complete story. I've done the initial editing after finishing each chapter, but now I'm starting over, and I plan to read the entire story out loud to my wife. This will probably result in a lot of polishing work. I think, in the end, it will be solid as far as a piece of text goes - storytelling is an entirely different thing though. I'd like to think it's a good story, but of course at this point I've processed it so many times already that even the greatest story on earth may turn a bit dull for the author who wrote it. That's why I came up with the idea to read it to somebody else, who could then review it with fresh ears and eyes, thus giving me a lot of valuable criticism. However, having these so called "beta readers", as in multiple people reading the story beforehand, is something I've never ever thought about before.

I don't have a problem with an editor to send me requests for changes, but sometimes I find myself wondering if you have to swallow everything an editor throws at you, or do you actually have some room to argue? I'm not saying I'd go calling him/her names or anything, but for example: I receive a request to rewrite a paragraph while keeping certain things in mind, but it just so happens that I agree, but I come up with something that works better in my opinion. Do editors listen to you at this point, or is it more their way or the highway? I'm just curious.

I'm knee-deep in researching about query letters, as well as making sure I have my manuscript formatted properly, but I'm not so sure about attending conventions. Like I said earlier, I suck at marketing myself. I know it's a critical flaw, and I'm working hard to get over, under and around it. But I doubt I would feel very comfortable by exposing myself in the public. I would probably just end up looking and listening without much interaction because, oh my god, these guys are pros! It's an irritating issue with self-confidence. I don't have problems warding off people online who may suggest that I need to add fireball throwing wizards and dragons bigger than Smaug. I have my own voice and I know what I want from my world and the stories I place in it, but going out and talking to people - that's where my confidence usually crumbles apart. I'm not saying this to argue with you, but merely pointing out that this is something I really struggle with, and words cannot describe the gratitude and appreciation I feel when someone takes the time to post in this thread and share their knowledge with me. It all helps!

 

[ddmealing]

RE: conventions, the beautiful thing about this industry is we are almost all a bunch of introverts who are uncomfortable in social situations. The industry as a whole is super supportive and encouraging. It's by no means required to meet people in person but IMO it's a big help, as much to give you an opportunity to meet prospective agents and editors as it is for them to meet you. My agent got drunk as hell at the first party I met him at in person and we were just hanging out, joking around, having fun with a bunch of his clients. Totally different vibe than interacting via my email inbox or on twitter - and it helped me solidify that he was the guy I wanted to sign with.

Also re: editorial relationship, I've heard some horror stories but my experience with my editor has been overwhelmingly positive. Even the best weightlifters and athletes need a coach to perform at their peak, and that's what an editor does for you as a writer. My editor doesn't let me get away with *anything*. I've accepted probably 95-98% of her suggestions without comment, and she's fantastic at working with me to find the right answer when I don't agree with her first approach.

Too, critique partners and writing groups are a great way to train yourself to receive editorial feedback. I highly suggest doing a writer's conference or workshop at any events you attend, just to get a feel for how they are supposed to work, then try to reach out and network among people at a similar stage in their careers. Tons of great resources out there, from websites and forums to twitter contests like pitch wars, etc. I've learned a *ton* from engaging with other writers and critiquing their work, in fact I've probably learned more critiquing others' work than I have receiving criticism on mine.