Thoughts on Writing 35
#AmWriting #IndieAuthor #WritingCommunity
Portion of a stil life (one of very few) I painted several years ago. As usual, it has nothing to do with the post, but thought I'd share it.
The last time or two we've talked about contacting and querying or pitching to an agent in hopes of finding that special individual who will want to represent you and or your book. Perhaps you have been fortunate enough to find representation and agree that the particular agent or agency is a good fit for you, just as it appears you are for them. Now what? (Honestly I'm moving into uncharted territory now. I did my share of querying and pitching over the years but later decided to go a different route. Still, I've followed along from a number of writing and publishing advice givers to the point that I believe I have a good understanding of the process. In particular I'd like to thank Anne Mini and her Author! Author! blog that went into great detail about nearly all aspects of writing and publishing. The last I looked it appeared to have not been updated in some time, but if you can find it, it is a treasure trove of advice. You might find it via the Publishers Marketplace, where they list the top ten agents, and others in the writing and publishing world. I also understand she is working to restore a lot of the earlier entries, as well as comments that were made.)
Anyway as best I understand it, once you have an agent, that individual will typically take a look at your manuscript and perhaps offer or suggest some changes or corrections to make it even better and more marketable. Once it is in the shape both of you know it should be in the agent will begin pitching it to various acquisition editors. Just as the agent represents the writer, the acquistion editor represents the publisher, the house, or the imprint they work for. It's the acquistion editor's job to find books he or she feels that publisher might be interested in publishing. In some ways the agent goes through a process not unlike what you went through to query or pitch to an agent. In this case however, it is usually a little less formal or structured. Typically the agent knows or knows of a number of editors that work with the type of book they are pitching. It might be done via a phone call or even a one on one meeting for lunch or coffee. If the editor is interested they'll ask to see the manuscript and the agent will provide it.
You may remember when we talked about standard format and the cover sheet that should accompany every full or partial submission. It's at this point that the agent's contact information rather than the author's would go on the bottom right of the cover page. You also may remember we mentioned that agents don't always represent all types and forms of manuscripts, whether they be differentiated by fiction or non-fiction, genre, sub-genre, etc. That isn't because the agent doesn't enjoy or like certain types of work. It is a matter of whom they know within the ranks of acquistion editors. If they don't know anyone who represents science fiction, they won't represent science fiction because they can't advance to the next step.
Anyway, if an acquistion editor likes the work enough and believes it worthy of publiication they will acquire it, or add it to their collection of works they plan to pitch to the publisher. Every so often the editor submits those works they have acquired to the publisher's/house's/imprint's editorial board, senior editors, or other decision making individual(s) who decide what they are going to publish or not publish. If they decide to publish your work, they will offer a publishing contract to you via your agent. If you have a good agent, one looking out for your best interests, they will negotiate to get you the best deal possible. It also might be a good idea to work with someone well versed in these types of contracts to make sure you are not deprived of your just due. Once you agree to the contract and sign it, the process begins. Typically your book will be placed in a queue or line up of books to be published, and when it comes to the top of the list, the process will begin.
Next time we'll look a little at the process of publishing...
Portion of a stil life (one of very few) I painted several years ago. As usual, it has nothing to do with the post, but thought I'd share it.
The last time or two we've talked about contacting and querying or pitching to an agent in hopes of finding that special individual who will want to represent you and or your book. Perhaps you have been fortunate enough to find representation and agree that the particular agent or agency is a good fit for you, just as it appears you are for them. Now what? (Honestly I'm moving into uncharted territory now. I did my share of querying and pitching over the years but later decided to go a different route. Still, I've followed along from a number of writing and publishing advice givers to the point that I believe I have a good understanding of the process. In particular I'd like to thank Anne Mini and her Author! Author! blog that went into great detail about nearly all aspects of writing and publishing. The last I looked it appeared to have not been updated in some time, but if you can find it, it is a treasure trove of advice. You might find it via the Publishers Marketplace, where they list the top ten agents, and others in the writing and publishing world. I also understand she is working to restore a lot of the earlier entries, as well as comments that were made.)
Anyway as best I understand it, once you have an agent, that individual will typically take a look at your manuscript and perhaps offer or suggest some changes or corrections to make it even better and more marketable. Once it is in the shape both of you know it should be in the agent will begin pitching it to various acquisition editors. Just as the agent represents the writer, the acquistion editor represents the publisher, the house, or the imprint they work for. It's the acquistion editor's job to find books he or she feels that publisher might be interested in publishing. In some ways the agent goes through a process not unlike what you went through to query or pitch to an agent. In this case however, it is usually a little less formal or structured. Typically the agent knows or knows of a number of editors that work with the type of book they are pitching. It might be done via a phone call or even a one on one meeting for lunch or coffee. If the editor is interested they'll ask to see the manuscript and the agent will provide it.
You may remember when we talked about standard format and the cover sheet that should accompany every full or partial submission. It's at this point that the agent's contact information rather than the author's would go on the bottom right of the cover page. You also may remember we mentioned that agents don't always represent all types and forms of manuscripts, whether they be differentiated by fiction or non-fiction, genre, sub-genre, etc. That isn't because the agent doesn't enjoy or like certain types of work. It is a matter of whom they know within the ranks of acquistion editors. If they don't know anyone who represents science fiction, they won't represent science fiction because they can't advance to the next step.
Anyway, if an acquistion editor likes the work enough and believes it worthy of publiication they will acquire it, or add it to their collection of works they plan to pitch to the publisher. Every so often the editor submits those works they have acquired to the publisher's/house's/imprint's editorial board, senior editors, or other decision making individual(s) who decide what they are going to publish or not publish. If they decide to publish your work, they will offer a publishing contract to you via your agent. If you have a good agent, one looking out for your best interests, they will negotiate to get you the best deal possible. It also might be a good idea to work with someone well versed in these types of contracts to make sure you are not deprived of your just due. Once you agree to the contract and sign it, the process begins. Typically your book will be placed in a queue or line up of books to be published, and when it comes to the top of the list, the process will begin.
Next time we'll look a little at the process of publishing...