Ready to Submit

It’s been a long process, but I’m finally ready to begin submitting my memoir to literary agents. After more than three years of writing, editing, receiving comments from readers, and making more edits, I’m feeling good about the book. I have studied the most effective ways approach agents and know that I need to follow their instructions for submission exactly. Let the process begin. I am realistic, girding myself for rejection, but willing to be persistent. Wish me the best.  

Why I’m Not Sorry It Took 2 ½ Years to Finish My Memoir

Well, I finally finished writing my memoir about growing up at our family cabin. It took 2 ½ years, which is far longer than I anticipated, but that’s okay. The writing was on my mind for most of that time, and I found that almost every night as I was going to sleep or first thing in the morning as I awoke, I realized something else that I wanted to incorporate. Had I forced myself to finish according to a predetermined timeline, I would have missed out on all those extra memories that just kept flowing. I also had time to carefully consider the structure of the book. Because of this, my writing morphed from a simple collection of stories to something that I hope will have more universal appeal, bringing in emotions to which others may more readily identify.

A couple days ago, I emailed the completed manuscript to my primary reader—the friend who first encouraged me to create an outline with a deadline for each section. I sent the last chapter to him for his comments a year ago. The past 12 months, I have incorporated his suggestions and continued to combine, delete, embellish, rearrange, and generally edit my writing. Now I shall await the next comments of this good friend. Once I receive and incorporate his feedback, I will send the manuscript off to other friends and family members who have volunteered to read and comment. While all that is happening, I plan to research literary agents, hoping to find someone who will help me find an appropriate publisher. I realize finding a good publisher is a longshot, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The Business of Book Publishing

Last weekend, I took an excellent all-day class at Lighthouse Writers Workshop titled The Business of Book Publishing. It was taught by Shana M. Kelly, a literary agent who currently works for Einstein Literary Management. Here are my notes from the class. 

 

The Industry

Over the years, publishers have merged and merged and merged. Currently, there are five big publishers:

• Penguin Random House
• Simon & Schuster
• Hachette Book Group
• HarperCollins
• Macmillan

Each of these publishers has numerous imprints, or trade names that specialize in various demographic consumer segments. To publish in any of these big five houses, the writer needs an agent to pitch a book.

When trying to market one’s own book, it is recommended to

• First try to find an agent. Decide in advance the level of your tolerance for rejection. Can you handle not hearing from or being out-right rejected by 10 agents or 100 agents?
• If it does not work for you to find an agent, try marketing your book to a medium-size publisher. The medium-size publisher will often work with or without an agent.
• Next, try a small publisher.
• If none of the above work, self-publish your book.

Preparing to Market Your Book

Understand the market. There are basically three different types of fiction books: Literary, Upmarket, and Commercial. Into which category would your book fit?

• Literary—Analyzes reality. Often contains social commentary, political criticism, or focus on the human condition. Language and excellent writing are important.
• Upmarket—Character driven. Appropriate for book club discussions. (My personal opinion: These books often become best sellers, but are not enduring like literary books.)
• Commercial—Plain entertainment. Fast paced. Escapism. In the end, everything is tied up in a neat little package of resolution.

Decide who your reader will be—age, gender, geographic location, education, beliefs, interests.

Determine your genre. Research the books that sell in this genre. Are there guidelines, such as length that you should keep in mind?

I am currently writing a memoir. There are sub-genres within memoir. I need to be able to describe how my book fits within those sub-genres.

Research who publishes books like yours.

• Explore websites of the big five publishers
• Go to bookstores
• Engage in social media—follow authors, agents, and publishers on Facebook and Twitter.
• Start a spreadsheet of agents and publishers you want to keep in mind when you are ready to submit your book. In the spreadsheet, include contact information, where you heard the person’s or company’s name, and why you think it might be a good match.

Can you compare your book to those by other authors? Determine who represents those authors. Often this information will be listed in the acknowledgements of the book.

Work on a pitch and query letter. Have both a verbal and a written pitch prepared, and make certain they are different from one another.

Submission

Prioritize agents into groups from most desired/best fit on down. Send your query to 10-15 agents at a time. Be prepared for rejection. Most agents won’t even get back to you. (They are swamped with work.) If you haven’t heard from anyone in 2-4 weeks, send another batch.

The query letter

Do not send anything more than a query (such as a summary or manuscript) unless it is requested.

• Do not send a query letter unless your manuscript is ready. Your manuscript needs to be in good condition in case it is requested.
• Be sure to read and follow any submission guidelines on the agent’s website.
• Send the query to a specific person. Before sending, be certain that you have current information as people often change jobs in the publishing industry. Read the agent’s bio. Is there anything that connects you to that person? If so, mention it.
• Tell the agent why you chose him or her.
• The letter should be no longer than one page and should be pasted into an email. Do not send it as an attachment. Many companies have firewalls that will not allow them to open attachments.
• In the query, describe your book. Focus on the most unique, intriguing, or sellable part. Don’t try to tell the whole story. Your main goal is to have the agent want to read more. Show your personality. Say to whom the book would appeal and why someone would want to buy the book.
• Include a couple of sentences about yourself if it is pertinent to the book.
• Include contact information.

Publishing Relationships

An agent is your business liaison.

• The agent will market your book to publishing companies, then be kept in the loop after that.
• It is best to have an agent with foreign rights as that person will get you a better financial deal than the publisher. Make certain that you choose an agent who has contacts with foreign publishers.
• Once an agent expresses an interest in your query letter, he or she will request either a synopsis or an outline (chapter titles with description of each chapter).

Agents are knowledgeable about what publishing houses and imprints are accepting what types of books. The agent will pitch your book to the appropriate editors. Once a good placement has been found, the editor will make a deal with the agent. A contract is between you and the publisher, with the agent listed as your representative.  

Most signing contracts are templates, so there is not a lot of wiggle room. The agent will also help you through the contract process, including the royalty structure. A typical starting hardcover royalty is 10%; trade paperback is 7.5%. Royalties usually rise as more books are sold. For instance, they might rise after 10,000 copies are sold and again after 25,000 copies. Most first time writers are not printed in hardcover, but go straight to paperback.

Your agent will take 15% commission out of every check sent to you; 20% for most subsidiary rights.

Once the agent sells your book to a U.S. publisher, he or she will work with sub-agents who sell other rights, such as audio, translations, or TV/film.

You will be assigned an editor who works with a team of publicists, marketers, and designers. Your editor will pitch your book to bookstore representatives.

Additional Resources

Websites

• Publisher’s Weekly—Reports on new deals, trends, bestsellers. Some information on the website is free. A subscription is very expensive. You might want to see if your library subscribes to the publication.
• Publisher’s Marketplace—Use to find agent information and publishing news. Some information is free. The site costs $25/month to subscribe and can be done on a month by month basis.

Pitching Your Book to an Agent or Editor

Recently, I attended another workshop at Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop. This one was titled Pitch Perfect: Sell Your Book in a Single Sentence and was facilitated by Angie Hodapp of Nelson LiteraryAgency. While the class was geared mostly for fiction, I tried to adapt it to the memoir I am writing. My notes from the class follow.

First write the entire manuscript, then make certain it has a unifying factor and appeals to a wide audience. It should have the following. 

• Character introduction 
• Inciting incidents 
• Turning point  
• Climax 
• Resolution

Study books that are comparable to yours. Look at reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to understand what’s selling and why.

Understand your genre and subgenres. Possible subgenres for memoir include those listed here. Google subgenres for other types of books.

Figure out the appropriate word count for the genre of your book. When talking to agents and editors, tell them the number of words in your book, not the number of pages. Pages are determined by the printing process—size of page, type of font, layout, and whether pictures are included. You can do an Internet search for the appropriate word count of your book genre. My goal for memoir is approximately 80,000 words.

When talking to someone about the book you’ve written, you will probably have about one sentence to grab the individual’s attention. This includes agents and editors. If you can hone the description down to one sentence, you will sound highly competent and confident. Talk about the book in a way that makes the person say, “Oooh, Tell me more.”

In your pitch of fiction, include 

• Character(s) 
• Goal 
• Motivation 
• Conflict or tension 
• Stakes (what your character stands to lose if he doesn’t achieve his goal)

 In a pitch of memoir, include 

• Beginning and end 
• Reason for writing

Attend writer’s conferences where agents and editors will be present. 

• Talking with them is often included in the price of the conference. 
• The people you will speak to are generally only interested in books you have completed. 
• You can usually sign up for a 10-minute appointment. During that time, plan to spend about two minutes talking about your book and eight minutes interacting with the agent. Include one thing about yourself that will make you memorable. Be prepared to talk about what inspired you and what made you excited to write this book. 
• While editors and agents are usually only interested in books that are finished, make an appointment even if you are not finished. 
• Go with questions for the agent/editor. 
• Agents and editors often hangout in the bar during down time. Approach them there as well. Be polite and ask them if you can talk with them about your book. 
• Do not get upset about rejection. It is all part of the process of marketing your book.

 Sources for finding agents. 

• AgentQuery—online data base for types of agents 
• Writer’sMarket—contains agent lists and other helpful information. Requires a subscription. 
• Publisher’sMarket Place—agent profiles plus all the latest in the publishing industry. Requires subscription.

There are several ways to let people know about your book. Practice all of them. 

• Synopsis—A summary that is several pages long 
• Pitch paragraph—Will fit on one page. It may be 2-3 paragraphs long. Looks much like a book jacket summary. This is what would be included in a query letter. 
• Elevator pitch—Talk about your book in the time it would take for an elevator ride. 
• Logline—What might appear on a movie poster.

Consult QueryShark for advice on writing query letters to send to agents and editors.

When writing to an agent or editor, never attach a manuscript unless you are invited to do so.

If you are on Twitter, you can pitch your book using the hashtags Pitman and/or Pitchwars. Do a Google search on Twitter Pitches to find advice on writing these.

Books to read for more ideas: 

• Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller, by John Truby 
• Books by James Scott Bell, who writes about the writing process 
• Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published, by Susan Rabiner

Agent Forum: The Business of Books

Today I attended another great workshop put on by Lighthouse Writers Workshop. This workshop, Agent Forum: The Business of Books, was part of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop annual Lit Fest.

A panel of four New York-based literary agents gave advice and answered questions. This is what I gleaned from the workshop.

• Publishing houses make decisions by committee. An editor may love a book, but the marketing team may reject it. Most acceptance and rejection decisions made are very subjective.
• Agents establish and foster relationships with many editors over years—often over lunch. These relationships are very valuable when the agent wants to pitch your book to a publishing house.
• Often books are sold at auction. This occurs when more than one publisher is interested in the book.
• Markets are unpredictable. After an author signs with an agent, it may take one day or 1 ½ years for a book to sell to a publishing house. An agent will not agree to represent a book/author unless he is confident that he can sell it.
• Agents hope to build good relationships with authors that go on for years and produce multiple books.
• If you want to keep up-to-date on the publishing industry, check out Publishers Lunch. To see the full text of articles, you will have to join for $20/month. If you do not wish to pay that, you can still learn a lot by just viewing the headlines for free.
• Predators and Editors is a website that provides authors with cautions about literary agents. It also lists agencies, marking the ones that are not recommended.
• When you are ready to market your book, find published books that you like that are of a similar nature or genre. Check the acknowledgements for the name of the agent who worked with the author. When approaching that agent, be sure that you mention the book that you liked. Agents like recognition just like the rest of us.
• Look for submission guidelines at the website of the agent you are pursuing.
• Submit your query to many agents at the same time, but make each submission look personal. Do not send a mass email.
• Some agents want to receive a manuscript that is already in perfect condition. Others will help the author go through many revisions.
• Before signing with an agent, ask “How do you envision us working together.” Agents have many different approaches.
• Building a platform before submitting your manuscript to an agent will increase your credibility. Publish articles; write a blog; create a website; use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to promote your professional writing ability. Publish an essay in The New York Times Modern Love column. Write a story for This American Life. Establish this platform well in advance of contacting an agent.