Laura Thomas's Blog: Self-Publishing: A Mean Old Dog (who loves to cuddle) (and might just make you rich) - Posts Tagged "agents"
What I learned at my first Writers Conference, including the fact that I know nothing
I went to a Writers’ Conference this weekend, and learned lots and lots and not nearly enough. Mainly I learned that I know virtually nothing, but I still have a glimmer of hope that I might find my way in the mean old publishing industry. Below is some of the stuff I including:
-odds of getting an agent
-how to write a query letter
-whom to submit queries to
1. Well, first and foremost I learned that almost nobuddy gets published, so we shouldn’t feel snubbed by rejection letters. Each of the agents and editors present at the conference said they get something like 250 submissions each week, and they take 2 or three new writers PER YEAR. So, even a brilliant writer will have a hard time getting an agent. Still, I plan to send out my new novel (when it’s done – hopefully this fall) to agents/editors. But I won’t get all depressed and self-critical when the rejection letters start pouring in. At least that’s what I tell myself now. ☺
2. I also learned what’s expected in a good query letter. And ohmahgoodness was I underinformed. After I wrote Shadow Swans I sent it to about 20 agents, several of them gave me great constructive feedback, and one even said his agency almost took me on as a client. Looking back, I should’ve felt VERY proud of that track record, given the incredible volume of material agents review, and given the fact that my query letter sucked nails.
What I now know is that a query letter should be concise, and contain exactly the right information. That info should be: word count of novel, genre, synopsis, platform (see my last blog post re: what a platform is), thanks very much, bye. Here’s a site about what a query letter should include: http://www.charlottedillon.com/query..... And this fantastic site contains some real examples of good query letters, along with analyses of the letters: http://www.nelsonagency.com/faq.html.
3. Also learned how entirely crucial it is to make sure you submit to agents/editors who work within my exact genre (which is Women’s Fiction for the adult and YA markets. For Shadow Swans, it’s more specifically Lesbian Fiction for the adult and YA markets). So, before you submit your query letter to anyone, research the agency, what types of books it reps, and be able to tell the agent why your book fits in with that catalogue. These days a writer can also submit directly to editors (this was not the case 10 years ago). But, similarly, writers should only submit to editors who rep their exact genres.
Next week I’ll write more about my one-on-one meeting with an editor, and some other thangs I learned, like how to write a synopsis. ‘Til then, I hug you. xo
-odds of getting an agent
-how to write a query letter
-whom to submit queries to
1. Well, first and foremost I learned that almost nobuddy gets published, so we shouldn’t feel snubbed by rejection letters. Each of the agents and editors present at the conference said they get something like 250 submissions each week, and they take 2 or three new writers PER YEAR. So, even a brilliant writer will have a hard time getting an agent. Still, I plan to send out my new novel (when it’s done – hopefully this fall) to agents/editors. But I won’t get all depressed and self-critical when the rejection letters start pouring in. At least that’s what I tell myself now. ☺
2. I also learned what’s expected in a good query letter. And ohmahgoodness was I underinformed. After I wrote Shadow Swans I sent it to about 20 agents, several of them gave me great constructive feedback, and one even said his agency almost took me on as a client. Looking back, I should’ve felt VERY proud of that track record, given the incredible volume of material agents review, and given the fact that my query letter sucked nails.
What I now know is that a query letter should be concise, and contain exactly the right information. That info should be: word count of novel, genre, synopsis, platform (see my last blog post re: what a platform is), thanks very much, bye. Here’s a site about what a query letter should include: http://www.charlottedillon.com/query..... And this fantastic site contains some real examples of good query letters, along with analyses of the letters: http://www.nelsonagency.com/faq.html.
3. Also learned how entirely crucial it is to make sure you submit to agents/editors who work within my exact genre (which is Women’s Fiction for the adult and YA markets. For Shadow Swans, it’s more specifically Lesbian Fiction for the adult and YA markets). So, before you submit your query letter to anyone, research the agency, what types of books it reps, and be able to tell the agent why your book fits in with that catalogue. These days a writer can also submit directly to editors (this was not the case 10 years ago). But, similarly, writers should only submit to editors who rep their exact genres.
Next week I’ll write more about my one-on-one meeting with an editor, and some other thangs I learned, like how to write a synopsis. ‘Til then, I hug you. xo
Self-Publishing: A Mean Old Dog (who loves to cuddle) (and might just make you rich)
Self-publishing allows an author ultimate independence and total control. It also allows ultimate invisibility to mainstream media, and a total lack of support from traditional publishing resources. I
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