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Tag: get your book published

  • 5 Quick Literary Agent Tips — Where And How to Find One

    5 Quick Literary Agent Tips — Where And How to Find One

    If you want to become an author, you’re going to need to find a literary agent. Agents can help you not only get your book ready to be published, but they can help you get your foot in the door to potential publishers.

    Finding a publishing company on your own versus trying to find one through an agent can be a much different experience. Most agents know people at publishing companies or they have a reputation for finding great books, so you can leverage their reputation to get your book published.

    The question is, how can you find a good agent and get them to represent your book?

    In this article, we’ll be going over literary agent tips. You will learn what they do, how you can find one, what you need to know as a writer, how to pitch one, and more.

    What Does A Literary Agent Do?

    Literary agents are the middle man between you and a publisher. They’re the ones who help get your manuscript in front of publishers who could publish your book.

    Once you find a publisher, they will often be the one to help you go through the process of putting all the publishing details together, such as negotiating contracts, putting together a solid manuscript, and fighting for you to get paid what you’re worth.

    If you feel comfortable pitching and negotiating with publishers, you might not need an agent. However, most writers just want to be creative and write instead of having to do everything else that comes with getting a book published. In that case, you’ll need an agent.

    Plus, agents can save you a ton of time since they know the industry and people in it, so they can get right down to business. If your agent has a good reputation, people in the industry are more likely to talk to them compared to a new author they don’t know.

    How Literary Agents Help You Get Published

    Not only do literary agents help you find a publisher, but they also help you prepare before you even begin the pitching process.

    Good agents will help you prepare your manuscript and make sure it’s ready to impress potential publishers. They will know how to position your book in a way that will intrigue publishers so your book has a better chance of being picked.

    Some of the biggest publishing companies will often only speak to agents and rarely take any individual manuscripts from independent authors.

    Keep in mind, most agents make their money through commissions so they are going to fight to get you the best deal as an author possible. Due to the commissions, some authors choose to self publish because it can be quite a big percentage.

    Generally, agents receive a 15% commission on book deals.

    Literary Agent Tips

    If you’re ready to commit and find a literary agent, let’s go over how you can get in touch with one and prepare to pitch them.

    Above all, you’re going to want to focus on finding an agent that has a good track record and is a good fit for your type of book. You want an agent who understands your style and is ready to promote it on your behalf.

    Otherwise, you could waste a ton of time talking to and trying to pitch agents that won’t help you publish your book.

    Different Types of Literary Agents

    There are different types of agents out there, depending on what kind you need or what kind of book you intend to publish.

    For the most part, you will find an agent that works on their own agenda.

    Some of those include the ones who just want to make a quick buck, the ones who want to help you perfect your art, and the ones who want to work with you long-term.

    They will all offer different things, so it’s important to sit down and ask yourself what you need out of an agent. Do you need more support? Someone tough at negotiating? Someone to help guide you? Someone you want to build a career-long relationship with?

    Answering those questions will help you find a good fit.

    Where to Find Literary Agents

    Let’s dive into where to find an agent that could be a good fit for you.

    Literary agent databases

    There are databases all over the internet with lists of agents you could get in touch with.

    Some sites include:

    Twitter

    Twitter is a popular platform for authors and agents to find each other. You’ll want to join writing groups and keyword search various agents on that platform to connect.

    This can also help you keep up to date with the editors you might want to work with. You can know when they’re looking for new writers, other passions they might have, and stay in contact with them.

    You might find certain hashtags, lists, or Twitter Spaces related to publishing. It might take a bit to find the ones that are a good fit, but it will be worth every second of work if you are able to sell your book.

    Networking events

    There are plenty of literary networking events that you could attend. Meeting someone face to face has such a bigger impact than a faceless email.

    You will want to spend the time to improve your elevator pitch before you attend an event. Having a solid reason why editors should be involved and excited about your book will help you stand out among the other writers out there.

    How to Pitch A Literary Agent

    You will need to make sure you do your research before you start to pitch to an agent. You’ll need to know the basics of who they are, what other types of books and authors they already represent, and why you would be a good addition to their list.

    The last thing you’ll want to do is pitch an agent who isn’t interested in your genre or style, mainly because you’ll just end up spinning your wheels trying to have them pick you.

    Instead, you’ll want to pitch agents where they would already want to pick you based on a certain number of factors.

    If you’re going to do the hard work of reaching out to them, you might as well make sure to stack the odds in your favor.

    Creating Your Query Letter

    While there are a lot of common errors with query letters, there isn’t always a set way to formulate these. However, there are some guidelines you can work within.

    First, you’ll want to make sure it’s no more than two or three paragraphs. You want to grab attention as fast as possible and keep your pitch right to the point.

    Once you know the general length, you’ll want to make sure you cover:

    • Why they should be interested in your book
    • A very quick summary of what your book is about
    • Why you think that agent is a good fit for you
    • Information about who you are (if you’ve won any writing awards, this is the time to mention them)
    • A manuscript (only if requested as some do not accept them without request)

    Be sure to make each of the queries personalized. Too many writers just send the same one over and over and then wonder why they don’t hear back from anyone.

    Related:

    Staying Persistent

    Keep in mind, you will often have to send hundreds of pitches and queries to get a response from an editor, especially if you’re a first-time author.

    Rarely will you hit it out of the park in your first few pitches.

    You should keep building your brand, keep writing, and keep pitching. All you need is one of them to say yes, but you will need to stay persistent.

  • 5 Ways Small Press Publishers Offer Opportunities for New Authors

    5 Ways Small Press Publishers Offer Opportunities for New Authors

    When I queried my first novel, I was looking for an agent, with the intent of pitching the “Big Five” publishers, and maybe some of the bigger small presses, if necessary.

    I got some bites for partial and full manuscripts, as well as some encouraging comments, but no contracts.

    Then, a small press approached me through #Adpit–a Twitter event where authors try to entice agents and editors with 140-character pitches. My first thought was that if this small press wanted me, surely they were no good. (Or as Groucho Marx said, “I refuse to be part of any club that would have me as a member.”)

    What can I say, I’m cynical by nature.

    There are plenty of horror stories out there to justify my cynicism. So many small presses turn out to be scams or vanity presses in disguise, with business models based on profiting off authors instead of readers. Others’ simply fail and disappear into a black hole, taking authors’ story rights with them.

    But I didn’t want to miss out on a legitimate opportunity, either. So I took two weeks and vetted the small press — hard.

    Ultimately, I decided I’d rather fail by action than by inaction, and I took the plunge.

    A year later, I’m so glad I took the risk. My small press has been an incredible partner in this whole publication journey. In fact, I think working with a small press for my first release was better for me than working with a Big Five publisher.

    Why? Five big reasons.

    1. They give me generous attention and support

    As a newbie to publishing, this was major.

    My publisher was very understanding of my questions and nerves, and especially helpful when I had questions. In fact, I feel welcome to shoot an email to the chief marketing officer and the chief operating officer (the co-founders) any time a question pops up — and of course, my editor too. They don’t just tolerate this; they have been supportive and excited for me every step of the way, and have tipped me off to some opportunities I would not have found on my own.

    When my book launched, I received a detailed calendar of ads and promotions that my book would be marketed through, and the book got a number of reviews — and all were positive, save one who was just clearly not my target audience.

    2. I’m getting an education in the publishing business

    I expected to be excited when my book was released, but I was not prepared for what it would actually do to me.

    I completely lost my mind. For a full month. Seriously.

    My first book was going out into the world, and as it turned out, I absolutely could not be cool about it. I worked around the clock, could not sleep, and forgot where I put everything from my pen to my wallet.

    I even forgot to celebrate.

    When I finally I recovered, I realized there were a lot of aspects of writing as a business that I hadn’t thought about before, like promotion opportunities, sales funnels and pitching events.

    But because I’m with a small press, I’ve been able to experiment, test and learn on-the-fly what works for me and what doesn’t, without the pressure of a major publisher hovering over my sales metrics. It’s been a real education.

    3. They’re open to innovation

    One of the most commonly cited benefits of small presses is that they are more agile and willing to take risks than bigger publishers. This has been true, in my experience.

    One promotion technique I wanted to try was a reader magnet, a free piece of content you give away to email subscribers. I had a story in mind for a great novella that would tie right into my developing series and reward readers who read both with little surprise connections.

    Only problem was, my publisher has first right of refusal on anything related to my series.

    I asked them about it, hoping to get lucky and have them waive their right to the material. What I got was even better: Not only were they supportive of the tactic, but they also offered to treat my perma-free novella like any other release, with pro design and editing services.

    Would a Penguin or HarperCollins be up for giving away a book for free? For a debut author? I can’t be sure because I’ve never worked with one, but I really, really doubt it.

    4. I’m part of a community of like-minded authors

    When I joined my small press at the Romantic Times Booklovers’ Convention last year, I got to meet some of the authors they publish, and it was an immediate sisterhood. Since then, we’ve read each others’ books, shared promotion successes and failures, traded guest posts, and cheered each other on.

    We all have the attitude that what’s good for one of us is good for all of us.

    My publisher set up a private Facebook group specifically for its authors, with none of the editors or publishers in it, just so we could build these kinds of connections. I am confident these women (and some men now, too) will be part of my writing community for many years to come.

    5. Someone’s looking out for me

    My publisher is looking out for my best interest every step of the way. I know this because I have seen it play out time and again.

    For example: At any publisher, authors get a certain number of copies of their book for free, but then must pay a discounted price for any books beyond that number (if an author got unlimited copies, at some point, the business model wouldn’t work). The discount I am entitled to is in my contract.

    However, when I placed a large order in preparation for a number of upcoming events, my publisher went to bat and got me a significantly steeper discount, and passed the savings on to me. She could have just kept the extra profit for herself if she wanted to, and I would never have known.

    Even more recently, my editor invited me to be part of a panel she is pitching for an upcoming convention.

    A first step for a long career

    Signing with my small press was a gamble: I might find success, or maybe I’d get ripped off.

    But one year later, I’ve had incredible, invaluable experiences that have improved my writing, set me up for long-term success, and have found an incredible community of authors and publishing pros. My first novel is even a finalist for a state-wide award that will be announced in October.  

    While I hope to grow my author career by adding an agent, major publishers, and even some self-publishing into the mix, I would definitely publish with a small press again, too — particularly, the one I’m with now.

    Have you ever worked with a publisher, big or small? What was your experience?