Frequently Asked Questions
- How did you come into writing?
- Where do you get your story ideas?
- How did you find an agent/publisher?
- Do you have a disciplined writing schedule?
- What do the people of Battle Lake think of your mystery series?
- Dogged determination or a pathological unresponsiveness to reality. You pick. They're the same thing. If you want healthier directions, here's what I got:
- After you've fully and honestly revised your novel based on feedback from at least three trusted sources, write a query and a synopsis. This requires a whole 'nother kind of writing -- sales and marketing. Get feedback on your query and synopsis, and consider hiring a professional editor.
- "Dos and Don'ts: How to Write a Perfect Query Letter"
- "The Complete Nobody's Guide to Query Letters"
- I've had great luck with Laine Cunningham of Writer's Resource editing my marketing materials.
- Get a list of potential small presses and agents who would be a good fit for your work. Don't ever submit to any source that requires a reading fee or any other money up front; the only money you should pay out is postage and printing costs to an agent. Places to look to compile this list:
- Preditors and Editors
- Jeff Herman -- Insider's Guide To Book Editors, Publishers And Literary Agents (Check your local library)
- Literary Marketplace (Check your local library.)
- The Association of Authors' Representatives
- The Writer's Market (Check your local library for the 2006 edition).
- Consider reading all of Jeff Herman's book or all of The Writer's Market before you submit; if you can afford it, buy one or the other. They're both full of excellent tips.
- Submit your work to at least 100 agents and small presses. If they all reject, consider what your initial readers said and look for patterns in the rejections to find areas you still need to revise. If you didn't earlier hire a professional editor, seriously consider doing so now (I've had great luck with Jessica Morrell). After you've made significant revisions, submit to another 100.
- Keep Andre Bernard's Rotten Rejections (Pushcart Press, 1990) close at hand. It's an inspirational collection of rejection letters received by Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Jane Austen, and others.
- While writing and submitting, attend conferences for writers in your genre. Often, there will be agents and publishers there willing to hear a pitch from you. Organizations that represent the type of writing you do (Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Horror Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, Writers Guild of America, The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) should have a list of relevant conferences.