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Monday, November 22, 2010

No day off on Thanksgiving: your questions still answered.

We're down to our final question in our initial list of questions writers commonly have for publishers, which means Thursday we'll start digging into your submitted "stump-the-publisher" questions. So: to be posted Thursday - yes, Thanksgiving day, because we're that devoted - answers to the following three questions (unless our boss is, in fact, stumped):

Final commonly-asked question: Isn't it always a good thing to be a New York Times bestseller?

Stump-the-publisher questions

Submitted by MK: Convince me that traditional publishing is worth the effort, if a writer's goal is something other than becoming a household name and/or making a million dollars.

Submitted by Ian: What exactly is "Slipstream"?

You can only eat so much turkey. Eventually, you'll need a break. And we'll be here. See you Thursday.

- Lyla P.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Your query critiqued - in person! (Sort of.)

Of the many painful, time consuming, and dreaded tasks writers are faced with in the hunt for a publisher, writing the query letter may be the most painful. Sure, writing a synopsis is difficult - how are you supposed to capture the meat of a book and show the conflict progression and give a healthy taste of the characters in the requested one-page synopsis? - but a query is worse, because the query is the "Hi!" to the agent or publisher that's supposed to, in a single page, make them want to read your manuscript.

It seems like it should be easier than it is. All that's asked for is a page, after all, and the format is pretty standard: hook, brief synopsis, bio. Simple, right?


Have you tried writing a hook and a gripping synopsis?


Agentquery.com offers very helpful query-writing instruction that includes a detailed explanation of what's expected, and even sample hooks. If you're having trouble, or if you're unsure of the basic query format, I recommend taking a look.

Our boss (the one you're still trying to stump so you can win $50) wants to help you write a successful query letter, so he's inviting you to send your letters for a critique. It could be your first one, or it could be one you've been sending around for a while and just haven't had a response to - if you want to know why it may not  be working (or whether it will work), send it in. Selected letters will receive an in-person (that is, video recorded) critique we'll post here on our video page, as well as on YouTube.

Alternatively, if you have a query letter that has been very successful, our boss would like to see that, too, and share it with those who may be struggling so they can learn from your technique.

Attach your letter to an email as a Word doc. and send it to publishing247@gmail.com. (Your name and the title of your work will not be shared during the critique.)

- Lyla P.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Stump the Publisher: E-Book Rights, Money, and Self-Publishers; Oh, My!

Well, our boss continues to amaze us. You sent in your questions and he was able to answer them without breaking a sweat. This week's Stump the Publisher tackles three questions that have been causing many of us to scratch our heads for a while. To be honest, I personally didn't know the answer to a couple of these, and were it me attempting to answer them, we would've had ourselves a winner already (and that would've made our recurring contests a bit of a misnomer). Thankfully, our publisher came through with the information that is much more important.
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If you're curious about what this contest is all about, click here for details.
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For everyone else: questions and answers after the jump.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Stump the Publisher and win $50.

We (Lyla P. and Zach U.) keep hearing from our boss that no one has yet asked a question about publishing that's stumped him, but we're pretty sure there's someone out there with a question he won't be able to answer. We said, "What if we put the question out there to your twitter and facebook followers? We bet one of them can stump you."

"Okay," he said.

We made it more fun by suggesting he pay whoever stumps him $50. We weren't sure he'd go for that, but again, he said, "Okay."

GUIDELINES:

"Stump the Publisher" will go on until someone, well, stumps the publisher. Stumping the publisher means asking a question related to publishing that the publisher, our boss, cannot answer. In the meantime, we'll be posting our answers to the submitted questions, 3 at a time, every Thursday. The person who does manage to stump the publisher will be notified in a blog entry (and on twitter and facebook) and then asked to provide us with a mailing address or paypal account information so we can make the payment.

Questions may be submitted via Twitter (follow us on Twitter), as Facebook comments ("like" our facebook page), or in the comments section of this blog.

Good luck! Game starts: NOW.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

What's the biggest mistake a writer can make after signing with a publisher? (and other questions answered)

Last Thursday, we answered some popular questions writers have for publishers, and this week, we answer more.
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If the trend is vampires, does that mean I should write a vampire book in order to be published?

Don’t follow trends. Or maybe I should say, if you want to have longevity in this wonderful world of writing, don’t follow trends. Being trendy makes a writer look dishonest.  At the end of 1999, when every doomsayer and fundamentalist Christian was claiming the year 2000 (or Y2K) was going to be the end of the world,  a number of publishers in need of money at the time proposed that I write a book on the subject. I refused. First, I am not an authority, and all authors should be an authority on their topic. Second, I didn’t believe the end of the world was coming. So, it would have been dishonest for me to follow that path. My best advice may sound a bit like a cliché, but it’s true: write from the heart. Trends come and go, but your heart is forever. 

What do publishers usually think is the least attractive quality in a writer?

This is a loaded question. I’m not sure I could narrow it down to just one thing, so I’ll throw out a few. Publishers have zero tolerance for writers with bad grammar. Another thing publishers find unappealing is when writers say, “You really need to publish this book.  It’s going to be a bestseller.” If a publishing company got a quarter for every time they heard that line…  

 A better approach would be to tell the publisher you’ve written a heartfelt treasure you believe—with the proper synergy and marketing plan—can create a niche market. Most publishers are far more interested in creating new niche markets than in fighting with the bloody pool of people out there. 

Finally, most publisher hate (yes, hate) authors who are ignorant about the profession and don’t understand their role in the process of making a book come alive. Some writers think all they have to do is write a book, and that’s it—their job is done. Wrong. The author’s job has only begun once the book is written. There are many steps to take after that. The writer’s willingness to learn those steps and get involved makes a publisher to feel much safer about their risky investment. 

What's the biggest mistake a writer can make after signing with a publisher?

Another biggy! This time I’ll only tackle one. One of the biggest mistakes a writer can make after signing with a publisher is not being in the know concerning the language of the agreement. Most, not all, agreements in the publishing world are pretty standard. (Sometimes publishers will use tricky language to their benefit, but it’s not the norm.) Although I believe you should ask questions to make sure you understand the contract, there are some questions that, when asked, raise concerns and make publishers wonder whether they’ve signed someone who’s just too green and will waste far too much of the publisher’s time with questions about the contract. (For example, questions about publishing rights versus copyright - this is a basic concept writers should understand before going into the contract, and not knowing it often indicates to publishers they'll be spending a lot of time explaining things.)

Have questions of your own? Email us at publishing247@gmail.com.  

Questions to be answered next week:

Why should I give up my ebook rights if I sign with a publisher?
 
Why publish with a publisher when I can use a print-on-demand service or a vanity press?

Why is it so hard to make money as an author?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Get Your Think On: Idea Generation

Today’s discussion will probably be of great service to those currently stalled in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). You may be having the easiest time just letting your fingers carry you away once you have an idea, but once the mental fuel runs low, there’s little for those fingers to do on their own. I’m not talking about writer’s block here, which is a subtly different problem (of which I personally can’t define the differences between at the moment, but trust me, they’re there). Thus, today’s post will focus upon how to generate ideas when you seem to be hitting a wall or just can’t figure out what to write about period.

Now, generating ideas can be a somewhat difficult business, but once one is generated they soon start to roll out, a self-perpetuating mental process. It’s the act of getting this process started that proves to be truly problematic during the brainstorming phase of a writing project, or when your story has hit a dead end and you’ve returned to the drawing board. Our own Lyla P. wrote a wonderful blog recently on writing what you know (or don’t know), and I suggest you check it out here. I’m going to be focusing more upon the process associated with this writing of what you do/n’t know and provide it to you in a list format of things I often run through during the planning process.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

"What kind of an advance can I expect when a publisher signs me?" and other questions answered--by a publisher.

Last week, we listed ten questions writers often have about publishers and publishing. This week, we answer three of them. (And next week, we answer three more. And so on.)


       Why does it take so long (6 months to a year) for a regular person to get a book published, but a famous person or a politician can have theirs published within just a few months?

Actually, "long" is a relative term. The larger the publisher, the longer it will take to publish a book, between 12-18 months on average, and often up to 2 years. The reason for this is that there are several parts of the process of publishing a book, and each part has its own timing. For example, the distributor requires a six-month lead time to properly distribute the books. Printing on average takes between 4-6 weeks. If there is a marketing campaign, P&R can take more than 90 days to put their plan together. The larger the company, the more titles and authors there are waiting in line before you. So, once they sign you on, you have to wait until your name is pulled, and just sweat out the process if you chose this traditional route. 

With regard to famous people and politicians, they aren't treated any differently. They, too, have to wait out the process like everyone else. There are exceptions, however, such as in a time of tragedy or breaking news. If the publisher wants to connect with the “hot” market while it's still hot, they'll accelerate the process for that reason. But under most circumstances, everyone goes through the same process. 

 What kind of an advance can I expect when a publisher signs me?

The days we now live in are quite a bit different from, let’s say, 3-5 years ago. Today, even the largest publishers have cut back as much as 50-80% on their advances. This is, in part, because of the current economy, but it's also because the publisher just can't be certain they’ll recoup the money they spend.  A new author with only 2-3 published books shouldn’t expect to receive an advance, but rather a solid publishing deal. If you've had some success in the industry and have sold 20 thousand books or more, you could expect anywhere from $5 - $20 thousand for an advance (if you can prove you’ll be able to sell at least that amount in books to cover the advance cost). 

Why do publishers usually want authors to sign a two-book contract?

Publishers put an enormous amount of money into your first book.  They put money into graphics, editorial, marketing, promotions, travel, and so much more. On their first book with you, they’ll spend the greatest amount of money, and usually the publisher doesn’t make much money off the first book. That first book is used to create and  prime the market for the second book. So, most publishers want the right to at least take a look at your second book to accept or refuse it, since they’ve done all the hard leg work on making the first one do well. It wouldn’t be fair for another publisher to reap the rewards of the first publisher's efforts. 

Questions to be answered next week:

If the trend is vampires, does that mean I should write a vampire book in order to be published?
 
What do publishers usually think is the least attractive quality in a writer?

What's the biggest mistake a writer can make after signing with a publisher?

Have questions of your own? Email us at askus@foghornpublisher.com.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Top ten questions for publishers



1. Why does it take so long (6 months to a year) for a regular person to get a book published, but a famous person or a politician can have theirs published within just a few months?

2. What kind of an advance can I expect when a publisher signs me?

3. Why do publishers usually want authors to sign a two-book contract?

4. Isn't it always a good thing to be a New York Times bestseller?

5. If the trend is vampires, does that mean I should write a vampire book in order to be published?

6. What do publishers usually think is the least attractive quality in a writer?

7. What's the biggest mistake a writer can make after signing with a publisher?

8. Why should I give up my ebook rights if I sign with a publisher?

9.Why publish with a publisher when I can use a print-on-demand service or a vanity press?

10. Why is it so hard to make money as an author?

Your questions will be answered every Thursday, starting November 4, 2010. We'll choose questions at random. This Thursday, we may answer some of the questions above, and we may answer some of yours. Send your questions to publishing247@gmail.com, and don't forget to come back on Thursday for some answers.

- Lyla P.