Poll for writers who've sold a book

[sartorias]

This is to help out megancrewe (whose Give Up the Ghost comes out in a couple of weeks--I just inhaled this book, the voice was so nifty, and the way she wove the ghosts in so different and wonderful).

Megan is examining the theory that you need connections in order to publish. So if you've sold a book, please take the poll--and there is a space below to

Comments

[asakiyume]

Your link doesn't seem to be working, but the link on her own page is working; I've copied it in below:

http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/448775

Maybe something wrong with the html, or off by a number or something?

I can't fill out the poll (not having sold a book), but I'm interested in the questions.

[sartorias]

Thanks, asakiyune. Fixed now!

[asakiyume]

Wow, I'm fascinated to see that as of right now (Saturday AM) 44 percent report that they did not have an agent when they sold their first book. That sure flies in the face of what I hear in LJ writer circles, and makes me wonder about those sales.

[haikujaguar]

Really? When I was going the traditional route, I was told over and over "You don't need an agent until you sell a book." In fact, I wanted until I had a quasi-offer from Tor and a maybe from Roc before I started calling agents.

In retrospect, I wouldn't recommend that route particularly, but my experience was pretty bad.

[sartorias]

Well, that was one way to go. (It worked for me, actually, but that was many years ago.) I think now the cards are so much in the air that no method is truly reliable--other than having JUST the project someone wants at JUST the right time.

[haikujaguar]

Yeah, I don't know how widespread my problem was (agent signing on just because s/he thought it was low-hanging fruit, and then never marketing your books after the original deals fall through). But I assume it wouldn't have happened had I done it the other way around... you would get an agent who believed in your work, and wasn't just picking you up because they wanted to negotiate your deal for you.

[haikujaguar]

What about crowdfunding are you asking about, in this context? Do you want to get a sense of how many authors are doing it because they were turned off by the traditional route? Or want to know if needing connections is necessary there too? *curious*

[sartorias]

Nope--I'm just saying, anyone wants a place to link to alternate style publishing, why not here, in a post about publishing? I figure, word of mouth is word of mouth.

[haikujaguar]

Right. Well, since I'm here...

The Aphorisms of Kherishdar (the wisdom tales of aliens).
http://www.stardancer.org/kherishdar

The Admonishments of Kherishdar (crime and punishment among aliens).
http://www.stardancer.org/kherishdar2

Spots the Space Marine: mom marine reservist versus aliens: fight!
http://www.stardancer.org/spots

All making more money than I used to make selling short fiction. :)

[burger_eater]

Currently, most of the authors responding are saying they had no connections. They queried cold.

That's what I did, too. While I'd been online for years, reading blogs, message boards, newsgroups, etc, run by publishing professionals, in the end I signed with an agent who had no interest in online networking. She sold my work to an editor who has to steal time to occasionally post to their corporate blog. They're both people I didn't know at all beforehand.

I personally think people underrate the value of a really good cold query. But then, I would. :)

[asakiyume]

This is the way I've been led to believe you have to do it, actually. Cold query agents until one responds positively, then, when you get the agent, the agent will find you a publisher. Hence, I hear lots of talk about crafting query letters--since it's the query letter that has to intrigue the agent enough to look at your MS--though many places also let you send a few pages of the MS with the query letter.

[burger_eater]

If you're an extrovert (or can play one on TV) you can pitch them in person. I don't know that it makes you more likely to sell than a query, but it's a way some folks make use of outgoing personality. Me, I was happy to use a letter.

The one time I pitched, it was to an editor at Tor. After, she asked me to send three chapters and a synopsis to her. She was very nice, but that's what Tor's guidelines ask for anyway, so all pitching had done for me was provide me an extra opportunity for her to say "No, thanks."

[gerriwritinglog]

No, you had one advantage over the slush pile; you could write "Requested Material" on your envelope. Those go in another pile, and while it's not a fast thing, it's faster than the slush.

Any little edge helps, in the end.

[ramblin_phyl]

All of my book sales have been to the same publisher and my connection was an agent I found through RWA when she was new and hungry. Since that was almost 20 years ago the info is probably a little scewed away from newer writers.

But I have contacts in small press and am discovering that more and more of them are going to the "Connections" policy to eliminate the slush piles that will fill and industrial sized dumpster. In other words, in your submission cover letter you have to mention the name of someone the publisher knows or having met the publisher/editor at a con.

Connections still count.