Fern’s Comments (group member since Mar 16, 2010)

Fern’s comments from the Q&A with Jacob's Courage author, Charles Weinblatt group.

Charles, I gave up on those two books shortly after they were published and it became clear it was all up to me. We're talking ten years ago, and at the time I was too busy making a darned good living to concern myself with them. Also, one of them--Mastering the Diversity Challenge--was picked up by a university as a course book, and that delighted me. It was enough.

As for promoting them now, I really have too little interest in both subjects at this point to do what it takes. I'm waiting to invest my energies in promoting my new novel--should it ever meet a publisher.

I've never had an agent and I'm struggling to get the query letter just right. Apparently my pitch has improved, because the last iteration got an immediate request for a partial. I do what I guess everyone does--go to querytracker, click on the "right" genre and go through the names, looking elsewhere online to see what the agent really likes and if there's a possible fit. I know I should get to a book store and check into a few books similar to mine (although they are few) and see if I can find the agent who sold it on the thankyou page.

It's all quite dizzying, isn't it?

Interesting idea. Thanks. But as a business consultant, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it. Maybe...Gotta think about it.

My non-fiction books were published traditionally. The first one was sold--by my original publisher--to five different houses under two titles. The last go round was with Penguin. I toured twice with it, did hundreds of signings and appearances, and it had a great run--with NO effort on my part. My publisher did it all.

The last two books were published by a house I met at a conference and sadly, I didn't do my homework on them. Turned out they were direct mail publishers, which meant no shelf space in the stores, so they did not do well. That house has been bought and sold several times since I wrote those books and I can't even tell you who's in charge these days. Nor do I receive royalties any more--although I see the books are still available on Amazon, albeit at an outrageous price.

So, the difference between non-fiction and fiction--for me, is the difference between a job and a vacation. I teach business writing and spend a good deal of time writing corporate materials. Writing non-fiction feels like more of the same. But fiction! Well, there I am free to fly. I love it.

Of course, I could promote those two non-sellers with a blog and who-knows-what-else, but I can't go back. Boorrring! I've found a new passion.

You Have to Crack Lemons is my best writing (except for my children's poems--but there's no future there.) It is not yet published and I am searching for an agent who enjoys the quirky and offbeat. I have a request for a partial--fingers crossed. Meantime, I'm on to the next one--a weird medical/science fiction story I can't let go of. It's a good thing business is slow these days.

Hi Charles,

After five non-fiction books, I've switched to fiction. My new book is a caper with a twist. A blend of action comedy and sudsy drama, YOU HAVE TO CRACK LEMONS stars a well-heeled charmer who "accidentally" kills her husband and achieves a happily-ever-after ending--in spite of the truth.

Right now, I'm searching for an agent. It's harder than writing the book.

Anna, thanks for the tips.

Okay, I should be careful. What does that mean? Do you have suggestions for some that are better than others? What about publishing through Amazon? And how much time does all this--and the blogging and the promoting--take?

The good news is, my query letter has improved and an agent has asked for a partial. The not so good news is that while I've been tweaking my novel and polishing my query, my revenue stream has dried up. Should I consider self publishing a book first had published in the 70s?

At the time, the book was a best seller and was resold to five different houses. With an update, it could have another successful run. But do I want to do whatever it takes to self publish--so I can have some money coming in while I focus on my fiction? Is that realistic? Or will it eat up so much time that I can't work on my next novel?