Don’t
take this the wrong way, folks. I’m a fairly new published writer, my first
novel has been out a couple of years, my second arrived on the scene last July.
Permit me to share my experiences of writer wannabe. Take it for what it’s
worth and maybe it’s not worth much at all. It comes from the heart, however.
First
piece of advice: polish your manuscript till it gleams. Edit, revise, edit some
more and then take another long hard look at it. Do you need that scene? Does
it push the story along? Do you have the tension in each chapter needed to
carry your readers? If you’re planning to self-publish, make sure someone
proofs it for you. You may be a great self-editor, but we as writers are too
close to our own work. If you can’t afford one, have a friend or family member
help. Even if you plan to submit to a publishing house or agent, it may still
behoove you to have another person take a look. As a reader, nothing annoys me
more than seeing mistakes in a published work. I know of one best-selling
novelist that is so famous, her editors fail to check her books anymore. I see
things in there that made me cringe. No, I’m not going to name her, but you’d
recognize her.
Second,
accept the fact that you will be carrying the marketing load. Large publishers
give new books about one month to succeed or crash. Then it’s onto the next
one. And the next. Smaller publishers may believe in your work, but they don’t
have the time nor the budgets to market. Ask other writers what they do to keep
their books in front of readers. Explore the vast world wide interweb and find
those sites that can help you market. GoodReads is an excellent place to start
– if you have time to sit at your computer and chat with readers. Freado.com is
a good one, as is BookDaily.com. I got involved with another site that I paid
money to have certain products and not only didn’t I get my money’s work, I
can’t even talk to the guy in charge. If anyone wants to know who that is, I’ll
tell you that web site’s name only in private.
Third,
if you plan to submit to publishers and agents, follow their submission
guidelines to the letter. Authors who don’t send what the agent or editor wants
get tossed aside without a second glance. Not just submit what and when they
want, mind your manners. I’m sure your parents taught you ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
Politeness goes a long way. As does graciousness. If you’re rejected, don’t
take it personally. I know, don’t say it – that’s one of the hardest parts of
this business to understand. I took my rejections personally, at first. But do
not, whatever you do, write a scathing letter in return telling the
aforementioned agent or editor off. If possible, send a
gracious thank you and move on. My own editor has said he doesn’t much
appreciate bad manners. He’s also said he’s rejected a manuscript, only to have
the writer fix it and resubmit – and he took it. A rejection may be an opened
door. In addition, if you have an editor considering you, do not pester him.
Give him time, weeks or even months, to sift through his pile before asking,
politely, if your manuscript is what he needs and/or is looking for. If he
hasn’t, give him more time.
Last,
I think I should advise persistence. Keep at it. If the big publishers refuse
you, consider medium to small outfits. I decided that, for me, the way to break
into the business is e-publishing. And the third publisher I submitted to
accepted my first novel, “In a Wolf’s Eyes”. That was three years ago and
things have changed so much in that time. Publishing in general, readers,
tablets, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, traditional books – all are so very
different than when I first tried to get published. Think of how much more
they’ll change in the future.
A. Katie Rose is a Colorado native, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree
in History from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. She enjoys riding,
teaching and learning from horses, likes camping, reading novels, watching
movies and, of course, lives to write fantasy books. She currently works as a
photographer in San Antonio, Texas, and is a slave to her
six cats and four horses. “In a Wolf’s
Eyes” is her first novel.
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