Publishing
Talk: 5 rules for setting a writing goal you’ll stick to
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Posted: 13 Dec 2017 11:00 AM PST
Want to write more in 2018? Follow
Chris Smith‘s
five golden rules to set a writing goal you’ll stick to.
 4 minutes to read
You might have a burning idea for
a novel, something half-finished you’re determined to complete – or a blog
that you know you need to update more regularly. Whatever it is you want to
write, you’ve decided, 2018 is the year that you finally want to kickstart
your creative project.
Amazing! But when research shows
that 92% of all New Year’s resolutions rarely make it past January, how can
you make sure your writing resolution sticks? The first step is having a
really great writing goal.
Writing goals are super-important
in the pre-writing process. Having a goal gives you a sense of direction and
something to work towards. If you don’t have a goal then you don’t have
anything to aim for you can start off in the wrong direction. Setting a goal
also helps you think about the future – and neuroscience tells us that this
releases chemicals in the brain like dopamine and oxytocin and makes us feel
happy and creative.
But some goals are better than
others – some are great and others, not so good. We’ve helped thousands of
people set writing goals using our digital
writing coach and these five golden rules for setting goals
work.
1. Make your writing
goal specific
The first step in achieving any
New Year’s writing resolution is to give yourself a target to hit.
You’ll need to make your writing
goal measurable in some way. Think about how you’re going to achieve that
goal – if it’s a large goal you need to break it down further into small
steps. Do you want to write a certain number of blog posts over a period of
time? Write a certain number of words each week or spend a certain length of
time per month?
Make your goal as specific as you
can. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: “How will I know that I’ve completed
this goal?” If you don’t know, you’ll need to make your goal more precise.
2. Give your writing
goal stakes
A good writing goal is personal to
you and has stakes attached to it. This means that there needs to be some
consequences if you don’t reach your goal and there needs to be some benefits
if you do.
If there are no consequences or
benefits attached then you’ll struggle to care whether or not you reach it
because… well, what does it matter? And that means that you will lose
motivation.
One way to give your goal stakes
is to imagine yourself into the future and make a list of the benefits of
meeting your goal – and the drawbacks of not meeting it.
Think about your life in 2019. How
will your life have changed after meeting your writing goal this coming year?
Will you have increased your career chances, improved your business? Will you
feel more fulfilled, creative and happy?
3. Your writing goal
must stretch you (but not too much)
Your New Year writing goal needs
to energise you but it also needs to be winnable otherwise you’ll just lose
motivation. It’s good to be ambitious but if you’re too ambitious – you risk
falling at the first hurdle.
So, don’t get carried away. Try to
get the balance right. Set a goal that stretches you in some way but is also
realistic.
Saying that, don’t make your goal
too easy to achieve either. If you think your goal looks a cinch to complete
then you’ll probably just get bored along the way.
An indicator of a good goal is you
want to achieve it – but
you’re not 100% confident you can. Setting a goal that
excites you is a good way to keep you motivated.
4. Schedule it in
Our research among thousands of
writers indicates that planning in the time to write matters far more than
the amount of time you allocate to writing.
It doesn’t much matter so whether
you write in daily chunks – or whether you binge write to a deadline or
whether you block out a portion of your day, week or month for writing – the
key is that your writing time must be identified in advance – in whatever way
works for you.
The very worst type of routine
comes when you ‘try to find the time’ to write at the last minute. Not only
is this a waste of time, it’s also a psychologically and physically depleting
approach that will grind you down!
5. You’ve got to want
to write it
Let’s face it, you’re going to be
spending a lot of time with your writing project – so you’ve got to feel
committed to it in some way. You have to feel an enthusiasm and passion for
the project – or that you’ve just got to do it!
When you’re thinking about what
you want to achieve in 2018, try to pick a goal that energises you in some
way. Something that fires you up and you’ll get a kick out of achieving – or
that if you don’t achieve you’ll be kicking yourself this time next year.
Things to remember
§ Vague goals lead to
vague outcomes. You have to know when you’ve reached your goal, so get
specific.
§ It’s good to feel a
little scared by your goal. Not 100% sure you can make it.
§ ‘Trying to find the
time’ to write is depleting. Plan in the time in advance and prioritise your writing time.
§ A goal without a
challenge is just like work. Stretch yourself. Make your goal winnable, but not a sinch to
achieve.
§ You’ve got to want it.
You
have to really want to (or have to) write your project. Otherwise you’ll lose
motivation.
The post 5 rules for
setting a writing goal you’ll stick to appeared first on Publishing Talk.
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Publishing
Talk: How to get published – 6 steps to a traditional publishing deal
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Posted: 20 Nov 2017 02:27 AM PST
To build a career as an author you
need to know how to get published as well as how to write. Jon Reed
shares some pointers to help you navigate the process – and know what to
expect.
 17–20 minutes to read
You’ve written a book. Now what?
To take the next step and get published, your main options are to go down the
traditional route of getting an agent and landing a publishing deal; or to
self-publish. This article focuses on the traditional route to publication,
and concentrates mostly on fiction.
How to get published –
at a glance:
1. Identify your genre
2. Showcase your writing
3. Find a literary agent
4. Prepare your materials
5. Submit a query letter
6. Get a publishing
contract!
1. Identify your genre
What sort of book have you
written? (Or are you writing, or do you plan to write?) And which other books
is it similar to?
Genre
Your book may not fit neatly into
an obvious genre such as science fiction, historical fiction, crime or
romance. Your genre may simply be ‘literary fiction.’ Or it may be a
combination, such as sci-fi-horror or romantic comedy.
Think carefully about how to
categorise your book – because agents, publishers and bookshops will. But do
this when you’re preparing to submit to an agent or publisher – not while
you’re still writing.
Genre is a sales tool. When your
book is finally ready to be read, it will help it find its audience. Genre is
something you should be aware of because you will, at some stage, need to
explain what yours is to a prospective agent or publisher. You may have a
clear idea of this from the start. You may be writing crime fiction because
you love crime fiction and it’s what you read all the time. If not, don’t
worry about it – yet.
Never try to second guess the
market. Don’t write vampire romances or political thrillers just because
that’s seems to be what’s selling at the moment. By the time your book comes
out, the market will have moved on. And, unless you truly love the genre
you’re writing in, you will soon get bored and your lack of enthusiasm will
show.
 Write the book you want to write and you’re
more likely to get published.
Stephen King, in his classic On Writing, says the time to really
ask yourself what your book is about is when you’re writing the second draft.
Then, if a theme suggests itself, you may want to enhance it in the re-write.
You will also have a clearer idea of the genre your book fits into then, if
you haven’t already.
Another thing Stephen King says is
read. Make sure
you read books in your chosen genre, or books that are similar to what you
are writing. Read recent books, especially debut fiction, in your area. This
will help you keep up with the ‘competition’ and the latest publishing
trends. You can use that knowledge later to demonstrate your market
awareness to a prospective agent or publisher – as well as to hone your work.
Comparisons
In addition to genre, think about
which books – or even film or TV – your book might be considered similar to.
A comparison will help you get published because it will help you pitch your
book. It is a shorthand that helps communicate what your book is like –
quickly, without anyone actually having to read it. Agents, publishers and
readers want this.
§ Agents want to be able to
say to a publisher: “This author is the next Karl Ove Knausgård,” or “It’s a
bit like The Da Vinci Code
but set in 16th Century Japan,” or even “It’s Stranger Things meets Adrian Mole.” If you want
to get published, think of an “X meets Y” that could describe your book.
§ Publishers want a hook to hang
your book on. An editor will first need to convince his or her colleagues to
publish a book – partly with sales figures of similar titles. And a
publisher’s sales rep will want to be able to say to bookshops: “You took X
copies of our title Y. This is a similar type of story by an exciting new
author.”
§ Readers want reassurance that
they will enjoy book Y because they enjoyed book X. This what drives Amazon’s
“People who bought X also bought Y” algorithm. But you’ll see it in blurbs
too. For example, the Amazon.co.uk description for A Man Called Ove says: “Perfect for
fans of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Graeme
Simsion’s The Rosie Project and David Nicholl’s US.“
None of this means you have to
copy someone else’s story or style. Your unique story and individual
‘authorial voice’ is exactly what agents, publishers and readers are looking
for. But people in the book trade will always want to compare you to other authors
and titles. Publishers always want something the same (because it provides a
reassuring track record) but different (because they need something fresh and
new to sell).
2. Showcase your
writing
If you want to get published,
first publish yourself. That might seem odd advice for an article on how to
get published traditionally.
But I believe building your online platform is an essential first step.
Agents and publishers today want to know what ‘platform’ you have – i.e. what
audience can you already reach. Start building your platform whether you’re
just starting to write, or have a manuscript ready to send out.
Use the following approaches to
help you develop your craft as a writer, raise your profile – and, ultimately,
get published.
Start a blog
I used to lecture creative writing
students on social media marketing – and always advised them to start a blog now, rather than waiting
until they got a book deal.
 It’s something that
paid off with, for example, Leisel Schwarz – who went on to become the ‘High
Priestess of British Speampunk.’ Create a well-written blog and it can
attract the attention of agents. If nothing else, it proves you can write for
an audience.
A blog can also become a book: Emily
Benet’s Shop Girl blog caught the attention of Salt Publishing and became Shop Girl Diaries – and even went on
to become a pilot for a sitcom.
It works for non-fiction too – in
fact it’s even more important for building authority and an audience in a
niche topic area. This blog helped me get published: my first traditionally
published book, Get Up to Speed with Online Marketing
(Pearson Business, 2010; 2013). If you regularly blog about a subject, your
blog could become the starting point for a non-fiction book. A book based on
blog posts is often called a ‘blook.’
Write on Wattpad
Wattpad
is an online platform that lets you upload stories and read thousands of
others for free.
 Use it to serialise
your work – either something you’ve already written; or something you write
as you go, released a chpater at a time, adapting and reacting to readers
comments along the way (is one character unexpedly popular? Build up their
part!)
Some authors reach millions of
readers on Wattpad. Agents and publishers spot emerging talent on the
platform too – and will be impressed by the size of your audience as well as
the quality of your writing. Emily Benet wrote a novel called Spray Painted Bananas on
Wattpad over four months, posting two chapters a week. She soon got half a
million hits and a two-book deal with HarperCollins – who published the novel
as The Temp.
Self-publish first
Self-publishing can help you get
published traditionally. This is another way publishers talent-spot: by
looking for successful self-published authors. The key word here is successful. If you self-publish
and don’t sell many copies, that could actually harm your chances of becoming
traditionally published. But if your self-published book is a huge success,
you’ll have publishers beating a path to your door, and no trouble getting an
agent.
 This happened with
such self-publishing successes as Amanda Hocking, John Locke and Kerry
Wilkinson. Sometimes a publisher will offer you a deal for
print-rights only, and let you keep your existing digital rights. A win-win if
you only want to self-publish ebooks, but gain a wider reach in bookshops.
And there’s no reason you can’t do
both: become a ‘hybrid’ author by traditionally publishing some books and
self-publishing others, according to what you think is right for each book. Nick Spalding
and Emily Benet
are examples of authors who take this approach.
Write short stories
Show that you’re serious, develop
your craft and get a publication credit in the process by writing short
stories. Many novelists started out by writing short stories for magazines.
While the market for short stories may be smaller than it once was, there are
still plenty of outlets to submit to. You won’t necessarily earn much money –
but you will get published. You’ll gain a writing credit for each story
published, and build your writing resumé / CV.
One way to earn money from writing
short stories is to enter competitions – and win them! Here are 15 short story
cometitions to enter to get you started.
 If this all seems a
distraction from the novel you want to write, remember that a short story can
become the first chaper of a novel. This happened with Fiona Melrose: her
short story The Fox
was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as one of the winnners of their 2014 Opening
Lines competition, and helped her get published. It became the starting point
for her first novel Midwinter, which was published in
paperback in September 2017.
Use any short stories you get
published – especially if they win an award – in your submission to agents as
evidence of your ability to write, and increase your chances of getting an agent.
List them in your query letter (see Step 5) – but don’t send them unless
you’re asked.
See also:
§ 10 ways to win
with WordPress – by Jon Reed
§ Emily Benet’s
blog-to-book-to-sitcom success story – by Jon Reed
§ How to use
Wattpad to get a book deal – by Emily Bennet
3. Find a literary
agent
Most publishers will only accept
submissions via a literary agent. So, in order to get published, your goal is
to get an agent, rather than a publisher. Your agent will submit your work to
publishers on your behalf. And there are many other benefits to having
an agent. They will:
§ Know the market
§ Have the right
connections in the publishing world, and know who to approach
§ Get the best deal for
you
§ Handle contract
negotiations on your behalf
§ Manage your rights.
You will retain your rights to e.g. film and these can be sold separately. If
you sign a contract with a publisher without having an agent, your publisher
will usually also own film and TV rights, and you’ll only get 50% of any
proceeds.
§ Handle media requests
for you, including invitations to write press articles
§ Take a fee of around
10% of your earnings. This is a good thing. Because their fee is based on
your earnings, there’s an in-built incentive for them to get you the best
possible deals – and you’ll end up earning far more with an agent than without
one.
Some (but not all) agents also
offer editorial support. They will critique your work and offer feedback, to
help you get your final draft into the best shape before submitting to your
publisher. Some even have in-house editorial staff to do this. If this is
important to you, find an agent who will support you in this way – but don’t
automatically expect it.
 Start by researching agents
to find one you think will be a good fit for you and your book, and who you’d
like to represenent you. Then prepare your submission materials, as set out
in Step 4. Start with one of the
directories of agents and publishers. The main ones are Writer’s Market (USA) and Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
(UK). These are invaluable reference books for when you’re ready to approach
agents, and include details of each agent’s submission policy and what sort
of books they’re looking for. Take a look at agents’ websites too, to see who
they already represent.
Pick the right agent for you and
your book. You might want an agent with the backing of a large organisation.
Or you may prefer a small independent agent with lots of time to invest in
you. Or you might aim for the best of both worlds with a new agent in an
established agency who is starting to grow his or her own list of clients.
You might want an agent who will offer lots of constructive feedback on
drafts and help you develop as a writer; or you might not be bothered about
that and just want one who can get you the biggest advance.
But don’t approach anyone yet:
prepare your materials first.
See also:
§ Backdoor
routes to getting a literary agent – by Kirsty McLachlan
§ 7 ways to
increase your chances of being taken on by a literary agent –
by Andrew Lownie
§ How to choose an agent
– by Kirsty McLachlan
4. Prepare your
materials
You will soon start preparing your
query letter
(see Step 5 below). But not yet. Work on your supporting material first: your
synopsis
and sample chapters.
Together these might be called your book
proposal. They are the essential documents you need to get
published.
Because you need more than a letter. If an
agent is to assess whether you have potential as a writer, have something
they can sell to publishers, and if you might be a good fit with their list,
you’ll also need to send them your stuff. You won’t necessarily send this with your query letter
(this depends on each agent’s submission policy); but even if you just send a
query letter first, you’ll need to have the following material pre-prepared
in case the agent is interested and wants to see more.
Synopsis
I’m more used to writing synopses
and treatments for screenplays. But the same principles apply. Write out
everything that happens in your novel, in the order in which it happens, in
the present tense. Keep it to no more than two pages, and don’t hold anything
back – let us know how your story ends! You may have intriguing twists, turns
and reveals in your novel that you want to hold back from the reader – but
don’t do this with your agent or publisher. This is no time to be worrying
about spoilers: they need to know everything
that happens.
You can still build tension in the
way you write your synopsis, and keep the reader intrigued. Do this by only
revealing plot points at the correct time in your synopsis. So don’t say:
‘…and he later turns out to be the killer all along’ in your opening
paragraph. Save that information until the part of the story when it is
revealed to the reader. Then your synopsis can be as engaging and satisfying
as the full book.
Sample chapters
The purpose of your sample
chapters is to flesh out some of your synopsis and, importantly, to
demonstrate your writing style. An agent wants to see that you can write – or at least have
potential. A couple of sample chapters is usually sufficient.
However, while a synopsis + 2
sample chapters may be typical, it’s not what every agent wants. The research
you did in Step 3 will reveal not only which agents might be suitable to
submit to, but what
they want you to submit. Some might want one chapter, or 10,000 words. Some
might want to see the whole thing.
There is a bit of a trend for
agents wanting to see the entire manuscript upfront. Indeed, many articles
advise that, if you want to get published, don’t approach agents until you
have written a full manuscript to the best of your ability. But this isn’t
always the case. Most of the debut authors I’ve known over the last few years
got a publishing deal on the strength of a writing sample, not a whole
manuscript. And the point of an advance is, after all, partly to give you
time to write your book once an agreement to publish it has been reached. But
if you want to
wait until you’ve written most of your book before seeking an agent, that’s
fine too. Sometimes you want the time and space to do just that, and to work
out what your book is really about before you think about publication.
See also:
§ How to write a
winning book proposal – by Sarah Such
5. Submit a query
letter
A query letter is a one-page sales letter
that you send to a literary agent to pitch your book and ask them if they
would be interested in representing you. The ‘query’ is, essentially: “Will
you be my agent?” And the ‘letter’ isn’t necessarily a physical one. These
days it’s more likely to be an email – but check the submissions policy of
each agent you approach.
Approach literary agents with a
query letter only once you’ve prepared your synopsis and sample material –
even if you don’t send this with your letter. If they ask for it, you need to
have it to hand. Some agents will want your query letter to be a covering
letter that you send with your book proposal. Some will want it as an email
with attachments.
A query letter is a form of cold
calling, or like sending a speculative job application to a company you’d
like to work for. You’ve researched names of agents and checked their
submission requirements. You might be sending out several. But be sure to
personalise each letter: use the agent’s name (spelled correctly!) and
include a short paragraph about why you’ve chosen to approach this particular
agent.
You should also include an
enticing paragraph of blurb ‘selling’ your book, a bit about yourself and any
writing credits you have (such as published short stories), and something on
your ‘platform’ – i.e. your existing (online) audience, if you have one.
If you’re in the fortunate
position of already knowing some agents – perhaps from having met them at
writers’ conferences or other book events, or through author friends – you
might not need a query letter as such. You might be able to briefly explain
what your book is about in person (always have a pitch prepared!) Then, if
the agent thinks it sounds interesting, arrange a meeting.
You’ll still need to prepare your
synopsis and sample chapters to send on in advance – and a covering note
sumarising the key points and reminding the agent how you met. But it’s a
warmer approach than a letter out the blue, and a route by which many authors
get published.
Coming soon:
§ 7 things to include in
your query letter – by Jon Reed
Can I query multiple
agents?
Yes, absolutely. It may take three
months for an agent to reply to you – you can’t wait around that long. Draw
up a list of agents you want to submit to – including those you’ve met at
events – and send out queries to up to six of them. This will help you guage
responses. If you get no requests for further material, your query letter
needs work before you send it out again!
What happens next?
You’ll likely get one of these
responses to your query letter:
1. A rejection
2. No response at all
(usually also a rejection)
3. A request for some
sample material
4. A request to see the
whole manuscript (if available).
The last two of these responses
may subsequently also result in a rejection. Don’t give up. Sometimes an
agent will reject you simply because their list is full. Or they might think
your book isn’t the type of book they can sell to publishers. You might get
some feedback on your submission. More often you’ll get a standard rejection
slip. Don’t take offence – agents are busy people and get a lot of
submissions. If you hear nothing, follow up with a polite note after 6-8
weeks.
If you get several requests to see
sample material but then get rejections, it’s your writing that needs work
rather than your query letter. Seek more feedback – maybe by joining a
writing group. Re-work it and re-send it.
However, if an agent is interested
in you and your book, the next step is a meeting with them to discuss it. And
then, possibly, an offer of representation.
What happens when I
get an offer?
Congratulations! Getting an agent
is, understandably, the most exciting step for many aspiring authors. Finally
the doors to the publishing industry have been thrown open to you – big
advances, bestseller lists and literary prizes await!
Well, maybe. But don’t get carried
away just yet. And don’t let your head be turned by the first agent who
offers to represent you. Landing an agent is, understandably, seen as the
Holy Grail by many an aspiring author. It’s easy to get carried away with
excitement and gratitude and accept an offer – any offer – from the first
person who shows an interest in you.
Don’t underestimate your value as
a new writer. Debut fiction is very saleable! If you have more than one
expression of interest, weigh up the pros and cons of each, ask questions,
and be honest with yourself about what’s important to you. Crucially, do you
get on with this person? So much of the publishing industry is based on
personal relationships – and the author-agent one is a critical one.
Keep it professional, make sure
your prospective new agent is the right agent for you – and your book. Meet
your prospective new agent. Be prepared to talk about your writing – and what
books you like reading – but also ask questions. Ask about how they work with
clients (do they offer editorial support or are they more of a deal-maker?),
which books they’ve done well with – and what their terms are.
Don’t let yourself be pushed in a
radically different direction, if that’s not what you want. Occasionally you
might pitch your book to an agent, but find that they want you to write
something very different. They may like your style, but think that another
type of novel is more saleable. An agent may sometimes even have a specific
project in mind that they’re looking to get published – and are looking for someone
to write it. Tread carefully. The agent may be right – they know the market,
after all. But it’s your book – and you must write the book that you want to
write.
The best agents will not only help
you get published, they will manage your career, help you develop as a
writer, and think about your long-term potential as an author. Ideally, this
will be a long-term working relationship – so pick one you think you can work
with. It is possible (and sometimes desirable) to switch agents later –
though it’s a bit awkward and can get a bit messy with the rights in your
earlier books. So it pays to spend a bit of time and effort into making the
right match – for both of you.
Once you accept an offer, the next
stage is to sign an agreement with your new agent – and for them to start
working for you!
6. Get a publishing
contract
As a newly-minted author, you will
quickly become used to legal paperwork. There are two main contracts to be
aware of:
1. An agency agreement – this is a contract
between you and your agent, setting out their terms (their fee is usually
around 10% of your earnings). Always ask for a formal, written agreement. And
don’t be shy about asking what your prospective new agent’s terms are when
you’re looking for representation.
2. A publishing contract – your agent will
handle this, and negotiate the best deal, in discussion with you.
There will be other contracts –
but your agent can advise on them all. A key one is an Option Agreement,
which is when a film or TV production company buys the rights to adapt your
book.
But the key one, in terms of how
you’ll get published, is the publishing contract. Now that you have an agent,
it’s his or her job to get you one of these. Your agent will try to ‘place’
your book – i.e. sell it to a publisher. The basis for this sale will be the
materials you submitted earlier (probably with a bit of reworking), plus a
formal pitch from the agent, which will include some information about the
market and commercial potential of your book.
This to can be a lengthy process.
Don’t become disheartened. Remember that JK Rowling was rejected by 12
publishers before Harry
Potter was placed with Bloomsbury. She was subsequently also rejected as
Robert Galbraith.
When a publisher makes an offer
your agent will handle the contact negotiation. If more than one makes an
offer, you may even get into a bidding war. The highest bidder isn’t
necessarily the best place for your book – though a big advance is an
incentive for the publisher to get behind the book with some marketing effort
in order to recoup their money!
You should also take into
consideration what editorial support the publisher will give you, how much
marketing they will do – and how much they will expect you to do – and how
well they are likely to do with it based on previous books. The offer may be
for multiple books – such as a ‘three book deal’ – tying you into that
publisher for years. Your agent can advise on the pros and cons and make
recommendations.
What do I get paid?
Publishing advances vary wildly.
Big advances are the exception, and it’s not easy to earn a living as a
full-time writer. You might get anything from low four figures for a niche
publication with a small publisher, or up to six figures from a big publisher
who thinks your book has major commercial potential.
Remember that an advance is
literally an advance on
royalties. It is an advance payment against money that your book
will subsequently (hopefully) earn in the future once you get published. You
will get a royalty statement from your publisher once or twice a year, which
your agent can help you understand. Only when your royalty account has earned out your advance
will you earn additional income from royalties. If your book doesn’t recoup
the advance, it is usually not refundable, so long as you have met your
contractual obligations.
Royalties are set at a percentage
(e.g. 10%) of either:
§ Net receipts – the net income the
publisher receives from booksellers, who but their stock at a discount
§ Published price – a percentage of the
retail price of the book.
Net receipts is far more common
these days, especially given today’s high bookseller discounts. A bookseller
discount might be set at 35% for a small independent bookshop, up to 60%, 70%
or more for a big chain, supermarket or online retailer. Each is the subject
of a negotiation between publisher and bookseller.
When do I get paid?
Your payments will usually be
staged. You’re likely to get something on signature of the contract with the
publisher, something on delivery and acceptance of your final manuscript, and
something on publication. And that might apply to three books. So if a
publisher offers you an advance of £100,000 for three books, don’t expect it
all at once: it might be split into nine payments!
See also:
§ 5 things you
need to know about agency agreements – by Kirsty McLachlan
If you want to get
published, get educated!
If you want to get published, it
pays to learn not only about the craft of writing, but as much as you can
about the pubishing industry. Arm yourself with knowledge. Read blogs, read
books, listen to podcasts, subscribe to trade magazines, go on courses or
attend events. Maximise your opportunities to meet people who can further
your career – whether they’re authors, agents or publishers.
Your hard work will pay off. Once
it has, and you’ve landed your first publishing deal, enjoy the moment. As
soon as your first book publishes, the pressure will be on to publish your
next!
Find out more and meet
authors, agents and publishers on our How to Get
Published masterclass in London on 24th February 2018.
The post How to get
published – 6 steps to a traditional publishing deal appeared
first on Publishing Talk.
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Publishing
Talk: How to choose an agent – which of these 7 types is right for you?
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Posted: 27 Oct 2017 02:49 AM PDT
You choose an agent as much as an
agent chooses you. But which one is right for you? Kirsty
McLachlan looks at what different types of agent can offer.
 5 minutes to read
You’ve written your book, spent
months, possibly years writing it and you need to find an agent to represent
it for you. An agent works for you – on your behalf – and the relationship
should be a two-way street. As much as an agent chooses an author, so an
author must choose an agent. As an agent, I’ve heard endless stories of
mismatches, relationships that haven’t worked out and unhappy authors who
simply feel ‘unloved’ by their agents. So how to choose an agent?
Firstly, research,
research, and research. Spend time on this and you will ensure that the
submission list you draw up will fit your book. There is no point sending
your book to every agent in London. Get Writer’s Market (USA) or the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
(UK). These will give you the address, website and crucial details of every
agent. They are your first port of call, but you also need to investigate at
a deeper level – look at the agents’ websites, look at the books they
represent, try and hear them talk at events and festivals – and get a sense
of who they really are.
Subscribe to The Bookseller
magazine, which will keep you up to date with deals and movements of agents.
The industry is always in flux – agents move to different agencies and
agencies are being bought by other agencies etc – so you need to be on top of
the industry news.
Getting an agent is like playing
the dating game: you need to work out exactly who would be right for you and
your writing. I’ve identified seven types of agents – there are others (and
some combine some or more of these ‘types’) – but it will help you to work
out exactly the ‘sort’ of agent you want:
1. The young and
hungry agent (YAHA)
The YAHA is always on the lookout
for books, they have small lists but are building them so you won’t get
‘sorry, I’m not taking on clients at the moment’ rejection letters from them.
They are out there and busy in the publishing world – speaking at festivals,
events and literary evenings. The YAHA is on Twitter and whirling around the
social media networks, chatting to authors and to other YAHAs. Any authors
they take on will be given lots of attention and they are always thinking
long term. YAHAs are in touch with all that is new – they are the ‘new kids
on the block’ but the better for it.
2. The more
established agent (MEA)
The MEAs have been around since
the days of long lunches and deals on napkins. They know how to make a deal
in five minutes, on the street, and made with a handshake. They have Power –
their authors have all written five books at least and sold in high figures.
The MEA isn’t really looking to add to their list. They have genuine
friendships with publishers and can actually get an editor on the phone – a
rare thing these days. When they submit a debut, it makes an impact, it
becomes a MEA book and editors sit up and take note. On the down side, MEAs
have assistants, secretaries and rights people, all who stop you getting to
the agent in question.
3. The ‘can do’ agent
(CDA)
The ‘can do’ agent, or the ‘360
degree agent’, can quite simply do stuff for you. They are working on all
levels and can see the bigger picture, of which your book is just one part.
So they can sell foreign rights, US rights, Film/TV, stage, can arrange
speaking engagements and newspaper columns. With publishing deals getting
smaller, CDAs make their commission from other streams of income. CDAs are
sometimes called the New Model Agent. As income from books shrink it is worth
keeping your eye on these.
4. The corporate agent
(CA)
The CA works within a pack of
agents. A pack can be more powerful that a sole trader (below). They work as
a team within the pack and have lots of support. The CA recognizes that
publishing is a business and can be run as one. A good CA runs a tight ship,
efficient and slick. They have nice offices. A bad CA is a dinosaur and
gathers other dinosaurs around them – they move slowly and hold onto the mast
as the ship slowly goes down.
5. The sole trader agent
(STA)
There are many STAs in the agency
world. It’s knowing who to choose – and who not to. Their lists are generally
small, they have the ability to be nimble and change according to changes in
the industry. Often STAs are expanding their lists steadily – they take on
few writers but they really feel passionate about their list. They don’t have
any support but can multitask – you will always get them on the phone and
face-to-face meetings are a given.
6. The nurturer agent
(NA)
Nurturers are wonderful if you
want lots of input in your book. They can edit (they have often been readers
or editors in a publishing house) and will go through your book line by line.
Do you want that sort of input and care and attention? Editors are demanding
manuscripts to be as polished as possible now so nurturers are coming in
their own. They can ensure a proposal is brilliant and that novels really
work – even if it takes four or five drafts to do so. NAs have small lists
and spend a lot of time on each client.
7. The deal-maker
agent (DMA)
DMAs are frighteningly prolific
with their deal making. These are the agents who appear again and again in
The Bookseller listing their deals done that week. They speak of high
six-figure deals and move with the kind of speed of a jaguar on course for
their prey. Publishers are naturally wary of DMAs but can’t leave them alone.
Be afraid: be very afraid. If you want your book sold – and for lots of money
– these are the ones to go to. Don’t expect lots of cosy phone calls, coffees
or one-to-ones though.
Choose an agent that’s
right for you
Draw up a wish list. What do you
want your agent to do for you? Do you want lots of editorial input or do you
want someone who will really make the high level deals? Do you want to work
with a sole trader or within part of a bigger organization? Be focused with
your submissions and they might just hit the right spot.
 This article first
appeared in our NaNoWriMo-themed issue 3 of Publishing
Talk Magazine – also available as a Kindle edition.
The post How to choose
an agent – which of these 7 types is right for you? appeared
first on Publishing Talk.
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Publishing
Talk: NaNoWriMo – The Haynes Manual
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Posted: 17 Oct 2017 12:05 PM PDT
Elizabeth Haynes tells Danuta Kean
how she researches her bestselling crime novels – and how NaNoWriMo helps her write.
 This interview first
appeared in our NaNoWriMo-themed issue 3 of Publishing
Talk Magazine (Nov-Dec 2012) – also available as a Kindle edition.
It may be a cliché, but
bestselling writer Elizabeth Haynes doesn’t care: she has bought a writing
shed. The bestselling author of Into
the Darkest Corner and Revenge
of the Tides wanted a shed after seeing one owned by fellow crime
writer Julia Crouch.
‘I saw it and thought: I’m having one of them,’ she says pointing through a
sunlit sitting room window to the part of the garden where it will be.
Haynes and Crouch, however, have
more than sheds in common: both are successful graduates of National Novel
Writing Month – NaNoWriMo to the
cognoscenti – and used the internet-based 30-day writing challenge to write
novels that have gone on to be bestsellers.
I wrote my first full-length book
thanks to NaNoWriMo.
‘I wrote my first full-length book
thanks to NaNoWriMo,’ Haynes explains over tea and cake – for me, not her,
she’s on Lighter Life, she says. We are in the sitting room of her modern
semi in rural north Kent. It feels cosy and familiar, very different to the
dark, vicious world of her imagination. The only hint of that is a long
bookshelf along one wall, which is crammed with crime novels, many with
broken and bruised spines.
 She started using
NaNoWriMo in 2005 and completed two manuscripts before hitting pay dirt with Into The Darkest Corner (Myriad
Editions), her 2011 bestselling début. The writing challenge enabled her to
make the leap from short fiction to something more sustained. ‘I think with
our busy lives it’s easy to see writing as a self-indulgent hobby; with
careers, families and other demands on our time it’s hard to justify spending
time writing just for fun. NaNoWriMo gives you a reason to do just that,’ she
explains of why she used it.
As with her unpublished NaNoWriMo
novels, Into The Darkest
Corner began with the germ of an idea and a couple of ‘nebulous’
characters. ‘I’m very careful not to over-think the plot before I start.’ In
this case the idea was domestic abuse. She sounds surprised as she recalls:
‘I thought there is a possibility that I could do something with this as I
had a beginning, middle and end that I liked.’
It’s hard to justify spending time
writing just for fun. NaNoWriMo gives you a reason to do just that.
And what a beginning! A
blood-spattered scene sees a woman bludgeoned to death in a ditch. From there
Haynes unfolds the story of Catherine, whose meticulous planning had enabled
her to escape an abusive relationship. But a phone call reveals her suffering
is not behind her. What follows is a plot that twists into a gripping and
believable climax that works as genre crime thriller and, thanks to its
intelligent portrayal of domestic violence, book group staple.
Given its success, it may be
surprising that a multi-million pound imprint wasn’t behind it. Instead it
was in the vanguard of a new fiction list from tiny Brighton-based
independent Myriad Editions. As a result it was not supported by the
advertising clout usually associated with bestselling crime débuts. It didn’t
matter: readers loved it, quickly loading it with five star reviews on Amazon
UK. Within a short time the book had received over 600 reviews, almost 500 of
which awarded five stars – it has now reached 700 out of 900. Amazon
recognized its quality by naming it the 2011 Book of the Year.
Key to the novel’s success, says
blogger and book prize judge Rhian Davies, is Haynes’s voice. ‘I think her
distinct and unique appeal lies in her voice,’ Davies explains. ‘It’s like
having your best friend sitting next to you telling you a story.’ Victoria
Blunden, Haynes’s editor at Myriad, agrees the author’s knack for creating
sympathetic female leads is at the heart of her success. ‘Elizabeth has a
knack for creating strong female characters that the reader cares about, and
building tension so that the pages turn themselves.’
Originally sent the manuscript with
a view to providing feedback, Blunden recalls that even at early draft stage
it was obvious the book had potential: ‘The pace of Elizabeth’s storytelling,
and the way she’d used the structure of the book to fuel the drama, were
completely captivating, and she’d handled her subject matter – the
terrifyingly real depiction of an abusive relationship and the attempt to
live with the aftermath of trauma – with real sensitivity.’
I explore the characters and
unravel the plot by re-writing, rather than planning it out in the first
place.
The quality of this early draft
reflects what Haynes sees as both the strengths and weaknesses of NaNoWriMo.
While writing is quick, she finds the editing process ‘tortuous’. ‘I know of
several non-NaNoWriMo authors who complete manuscripts slowly, over a year or
more, and then only need to do maybe two drafts with some copy editing to
finish off.’ Not so Haynes. ‘I end up writing several drafts, each time
exploring the story further – and this takes about a year. I explore the
characters and unravel the plot by re-writing, rather than planning it out in
the first place.’
The strength of the ‘get it on the
page at any cost’ approach is that you relinquish editorial control, letting
the words flow in order to meet the daily target. Summing up a struggle faced
by most writers – including this one – she adds: ‘Before I tried NaNoWriMo,
all my attempts at writing were brief because sooner or later it would feel
pointless or I would run out of steam.’
I find the best ideas come to me when
I’m writing fast.
NaNoWriMo liberates Haynes,
enabling her to write from her Id, unhindered by self-criticism. ‘I find the
best ideas come to me when I’m writing fast and don’t have time to say
“that’s silly” or “that won’t work” – I just do it, knowing that if it falls
flat, I can take things in a different direction when I’m editing.’ She adds:
‘By sacrificing quality over quantity – after all, it’s only about the word
count – your creativity is liberated and you write without worrying about
anything else.’
Risk-taking with plot is not the
only beneficiary from this unfettered method of writing a first draft. Haynes
is adamant her leads have strong voices because she does not ‘over-think’ her
characters at this stage. ‘It takes a few days or a week of writing for
things to gain momentum, and then I find the voices of the people I’ve
created become clearer. That’s when it really gets exciting.’
 I suspect her
continued use of NaNoWriMo is also about not over-thinking the reception of
each new book now she is tied into a five-book deal with Sphere. She admits
as much when she tells me using the site for Revenge of the Tide, her second
published novel, was ‘very different’. The greatest pressure with the book
came during editing. By then her début was accelerating up the charts. ‘I
suddenly realized that I had an awful lot to live up to,’ she recalls,
pulling a face of mock fear, followed by a warm smile.
The novel, though different in
character to her début, retains her trademark believable female lead, flawed
in character and judgment. ‘I was anxious to make Genevieve quite different
to Catherine,’ she says of Tide’s
narrator. That is an understatement: Genevieve supplements her wages from a
job in marketing by working weekends as a pole dancer. A less than reliable
narrator, she is all ambition and no insight, which means the story unfolds
at a seductive pace as she becomes enmeshed in a world that operates on the
fringes of criminality and exploitation.
For Genevieve money is everything,
it buys her the life she desires (in this case one refurbishing a barge on which
she can live without ties). Haynes subtly creates a character more complex
than might be expected in a genre thriller, one who is fearless, but also
remarkably naive – she goes from selling financial products to selling her
body with the blithe rapaciousness of a reality show contestant who disrobes
for Nuts. As
Genevieve narrates, it is easy to believe the ethical creep that leads her
from a bit of a laugh on a Friday night to consorting with gangland figures
better avoided.
For both books, Haynes drew on her
experience as a police analyst for Kent Constabulary. The day job involves
analyzing crime patterns. Finding links – geographical and temporal – and
patterns of crime helps detectives crack cases and commanders direct
resources. It also provides her with an intimate knowledge of crime, though
she emphasizes her novels are fiction.
‘It’s more subtle than that,’ she
says of how the job helps her write. Into the Darkest Corner was inspired by
reports of domestic abuse she read for work. ‘I was very struck by how I had
probably had a stereotype of the kind of woman or couple who would be
involved in domestic abuse. I had that perception thrown out of the water.
There are lots of reasons why women and men stay in abusive relationships.
They are not always the most obvious ones.’ It is a neat summary of what
happens to Catherine.
I still have to pinch myself that
I am writing and published and have five books that I can write.
With Revenge of the Tides she used her
understanding of organized crime. The actuality of the novel came from first
hand research of pole dancing, including a weekly class. ‘The warm up nearly
killed me.’ We are both laughing: I’m trying to imagine Haynes – more WI than
Spearmint Rhino – writhing round a pole.
She also met women who worked in
the industry. An active listener, she quickly recognized the disconnect
between the excuses women use for taking the job – to pay university fees or
buy homes – and their inability to escape it once they have bought their
dream. ‘It’s very difficult to give up that kind of money, even if they don’t
want to go back to it.’ There is a note of sadness in her voice: not
judgment, but sympathy for freedom compromised by money. ‘To leave and feel
sad about going back means there has to be an element in your mind that says
this is not a career choice.’
Haynes has been luckier. Next February Myriad publishes her third novel, Human Remains, written during NaNoWriMo 2011. It will be, she promises, ‘really grim and dark’. ‘It is another standalone, but all three fit together nicely as psychological thrillers.’ After that she is tied into a five novel deal with Sphere in the UK and HarperCollins in the US.
The first of the series is a
reworking of her second NaNoWriMo novel, and sounds experimental in a good
way. ‘I intend to use an awful lot of source text: witness statements;
forensic reports; emails. The idea is that the reader has the same access to
source documents that the investigators have and can solve it along with
them.’ She pauses when I ask how it feels to be one of NaNoWriMo’s most
successful graduates? ‘I still have to pinch myself that I am writing and
published and have five books that I can write,’ she replies. ‘I mean where
can it go from there? It’s amazing.’
Elizabeth Haynes’s
Guide to NaNoWriMo
§ NaNoWriMo gives you the ultimate
deadline pressure
§ It is a tremendous
motivational boost by writing alongside hundreds of thousands of other
people, all around the world, with an element of competition as well as
support
§ It has motivational
tools there to keep you going – discussion boards which allow you to pose
plot problems, ask research questions (someone out there is bound to be an
expert in whichever random situation your character has found herself)
§ Participants organise
impromptu ‘sprints’ through social media in which you write for an agreed
period of time, say 10 minutes, and then compare word counts
§ It’s great for meeting
other writers in your local area. I now have some great writing friends I can
meet with all year round
§ It’s fun writing at
speed, allowing your characters to do unexpected things and setting yourself
seemingly impossible writing challenges
§ If you’ve ever had the
urge to write a novel, but never had the time; or if you thought it was
pointless doing it because the likelihood of publication is so small, then
NaNoWriMo is for you.
 UPDATE: Elizabeth Haynes’s latest book Never Alone is out now.Find more NaNoWriMo
advice in issue 3 of Publishing
Talk Magazine.
The post NaNoWriMo –
The Haynes Manual appeared first on Publishing Talk.
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