Agents

Looking For An Agent?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 5 Comments

untitled.pngYou’re coming to a close on your manuscript and have started thinking about agents. If you go the traditional route, you are going to want one. Where are they? How do you find one that would be a perfect fit for your work?

You could ask a friend, but odds are they will have no idea. You could go to conferences and hope to bump into one or maybe even by time for a short critique or pitch, but your best bet is the internet. It offers a wide range of information on agents and publishing houses. Unlike authors of the past, you have the world at your fingertips.

Take out the keyboard and start typing.

Association of Authors Representatives, Inc – AARONLINE.org     This site contains over 400 literary and dramatic agents, who have pledged to adhere to the association’s high standards of professional conduct in serving their clients.

Manuscript wishlist – MANUSCRIPTWISHLIST.COM    Agents and editors provide in-depth information on what they are looking for, their profiles and bios, along with submission guidelines.

QueryTracker – QUERYTRACKER.NET    This free site gives you access to over 1,600 agents, explores agent data, and keeps track of the queries they send out.

LIT REJECTIONS – LITREJECTIONS.COM   This site provides a list of submission guidelines for more than 350 literary agencies. The website also offers articles and interview making it an excellent resource for authors looking to get published.

There are other sites out there. I recommend you do your homework. I’ve provided a few of the better ones to get you started. Association of Authors Representatives was voted the best of the best by Writer’s Digest.

If you have a literary agency or agent in mind, go to their page. They will provide submission requirements, and let you know if they are accepting queries.

Hope this helps.

-Jan R

Looking For An Agent?

Follow The Rules!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , , 4 Comments

iStock_000013116314_Full-919x1030.jpgOne of my resolutions this year is to get Always and Forever published. It’s a beautiful story with a great premise, but it wasn’t quite ready for prime time 🙂 At least that’s what I was told by one of the agents I queried.

That was my first lesson learned. You can have a great story, but if it’s not written correctly, you can forget it. You have to follow the rules. No grammatical or structural errors, no head-hopping, no information dumps, watch the pacing, transition from scene to scene, and for goodness sake, make sure it’s clear and concise. Nobody wants to read a bunch of written-ese, it doesn’t matter how pretty the sentence sounds with all those extra adjectives. Remember you are writing a novel, not poetry.

I left out a lot of the rules that should be on your checklist when you go back and edit that book, but the previous paragraph was becoming too long and cumbersome, and I think you got the point. And no, the publishers and literary agents do not have editors on standby to do a complete makeover on your story, no matter how good it is. Let’s put that myth to rest.

You’re never too old to learn a new skill. So that’s what I set out to do. If I was going to make my dream a reality, I was going to have to learn the rules and apply them to my story. I have to admit, I thought often about throwing the first very rough draft out and starting over. I’m glad I didn’t.

Don’t give up!!! That was something else the literary agent that I queried told me. You can do this! Most people fail because they stop trying. You never know, you could be one query away from a literary agent excepting your work.

You want to go the e-book route? That’s okay too. I have considered it myself.  But you still have to produce high-quality work. You have to follow the rules. You can put anything you want on e-books if your only goal is to be called author, but if you want to actually sell your books and be successful, you’re going to have to take the time to get that story right.

Something to think about.

-Jan R

Follow The Rules!

Clauses To Look Out For In A Publishing Contract

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , 19 Comments

Cantract-LawYou may be excited to be getting an offer of representation for your book, but don’t make a foolish mistake and sign whatever is placed in front of you. Read that contract! Make sure you understand what you are agreeing to accept.

Some clauses to look for and avoid:

  • Never agree to give a publisher more than a thirty-day option on your new project.  When you sign a book contract, it usually contains a clause allowing the publisher first look at your next outline or finished novel. The publisher should not ask for or be given an excessively long time to decide.
  • Never agree to an option clause that gives your publisher your next book at the same price he paid for the previous one. If the previous one is a run away best seller, that next book could be worth a lot more money.
  • Never agree to a clause that requires you to pay back any unearned portion of the original advance. You may get an advance in the amount of $10,000 dollars, but the book only makes $7,000. You should not be expected to pay the difference back. You as well as the publisher took a chance in this venture.
  • Never agree to an exclusivity clause ( a right to use your name for their publishing house only), unless you are being paid well for locking up your name.
  • Never relinquish a portion of the film rights to the publishing house. The publisher has nothing to do with the selling of the film rights or the making of the movie.
  • If your novel is first published by a hardcover house, never agree to share more than half of the income from book club or reprint sales with the publisher.
  • Your contract may contain a clause giving your U.S. publisher a share of the royalties from foreign language rights and British publishers. Try your best to hold onto 100 percent of the rights.
  • Never sign a contract that doesn’t return all rights of the novel back to you  after a specified time period-usually five years.
  • Never agree to a clause that gives the publisher the right to alter your prose without your approval.
  • If you publish under a pen name, don’t give the publisher ownership of that pseudonym. The only exception is if you are hired to write under an already existing house name.

I’m not there yet, but when I have arrived, I want to know what to look for. Thank you to Dean Koontz and other published authors for sharing their knowledge of the business with those of us navigating the path.

Something to think about.

-Jan R

Clauses To Look Out For In A Publishing Contract