Not me taking extensive notes on how to deal with my sudden fame if I publish my debut novel with a big five publisher and sweep the literary world with my storytelling genius.
I have sent off query letters to about 40 agents so far. Twelve rejections as of this writing. i actually take heart from that because if the writing itself was rubbish, they would never reply at all.
Once again, great insight from a pro. Thanks Alyssa. You've validated my decision to go traditional. I'm have no time to be self-marketing and scheduling publicity events, etc. I'd rather let the pros do that.
I'm traditionally published with one of the twop Three publishers in the metaphysical niche, but a smaller publisher than the top 5... something I was not prepared for and something which sadly became a reality was the jealousy projected onto me by people I considered friends and who either really wanted to be published themselves, or they were published already and their work wasn't doing well. Luckily I had other friends I could go to to talk through the interpersonal issues when I started noticing this weird jealousy start to happen. I also was not prepared for the weird and sometimes intrusive emails and social media messeges from readers who enjoyed my book, and who felt a more personal connection than we actually had.
heyy alyssa i appreciate all you do! what about book covers? how much goes into it? does the author get the final sign off on which cover to use? do publishers have in house artists or do they just commission them out? i have no idea how it works 😃
This is kind of a rant, but - I don't entirely understand the point of the "this is why I'm querying you" part of the query letter (where you're supposed to list other books they've repped). Is it just a kiss-up thing? At my day job, clients come to me because that's my JOB, I don't ask them for reasons behind it in order for them to get through the door. And are you supposed to be querying agents whose books are successful, whose books are similar to yours, or whose books you liked? These three factors may not coincide. I read approx. 30-40 books a year and of those probably only 2-3 of them meet all three of those criteria. Unless you're relating that you were personally recommended to them by another client, it seems like a pointless exercise to kiss up or to prove your dedication by doing internet research.
I think they want to know if you've done research and it's not just a form letter you're sending out to hundreds. It doesn't have to be agents of books you've read and liked. Weird example and not a story i'm writing: I'm contacting you because I see on your Manuscript Wish List you rep stories featuring lesbian fairies. I believe you'll find FAIRY DUST, a lesbian fairy coming to age romance of interest to you.
It has nothing to do with kissing up. It's about matching your manuscript to the best suited representative. They have books they hate reading and won't represent well or understand well, because of their biased toward the genre. A query letter lets them know what they're getting into, if they choose to work with you. If you're writing a Paranormal suspense/thriller, you don't want to send that to someone who only works with Christian Romance, because they won't understand anything about your story and won't care about it at all. You want to pick someone to work with who will passionately back your work for you, that's why knowledge about their favorite genres and book titles is extremely important.
If you don't explain why you specifically chose them, they may think you're just "shotgunning" your manuscript to everyone out there regardless of whether it fits their genre or not---which just wastes everybody's time, and they won't request your novel to read if that's the case.
@@Sheristen Hi! Another one of her videos related that stating their preferred genres from their bios is useless and doesn't count, but I feel like that would meet the criteria of what you're saying. If a bio says they are excited about fantasy novels with female leads and my novel is exactly that, I would think that would be enough to warrant querying.
@@CK-yu1bf she did not say useless, but suggested adjacent genres that might have overlapping readership. I have heard this is bad to do from other agents and advice I found, so I guess it depends on what it it. If the story is Romance heavy, then does the genre matter much?
First off, thank you for your sage advice. I listen in every week, and I enjoy the straightforward information you give, as well as the polite way you do it. I have a question about the role of a literary agent and publisher in reference to what you talk about in this video. I come from a performing arts background and have been represented by an agent in that field. Much like a literary agent, that agent got me into auditions, and whenever I was hired, they also got a cut of whatever amount I was paid. When a book is traditionally published, and the author is asked to speak at these conferences and readings and is compensated for it, does the agent and/or the publisher get a cut from that amount as well? Or is this considered the responsibility of the author under the contract of the publisher and is included in the original payment from that publisher? Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for the insights, Alyssa! It's interesting to hear what it's like to be a big five author :) Thank you for the advice about setting realistic boundaries and limits. That is most certainly something to keep in mind whether my future books would be published by one of the big five or indie published :) Ugh, I hate those back covers with ONLY reviews. I want to know what the book is about! When I see a book in a book store, I don't want to HAVE to go online to actually look up what the heck the book is about just because there are ONLY reviews on the back/inside cover. One review, sure. But for the love of all readers, can publishers PLEASE add a decent description as well? ./me end of rant. I do have one question about traditional publishing, especially about agents: I'm writing a book series in English, but I live in the Netherlands (and I am Dutch). It is my understanding that publishers here in the Netherlands do directly accept manuscripts, but they have to be in Dutch. And agents apparently prefer the same. How feasible is it to get an agent abroad in such a case (I assume UK/USA)? Thanks for the help!
I've been researching a lot lately on how to improve my writing, but the more I learn the more it seems like the life of a writer is a really solitary one. Everywhere I look the biggest tips to reach a level where you might get published is to write multiple hours a day for years and read multiple hours a day for years. But if we also work full time jobs, it just seems extremely difficult to fit in both without completely retreating from the world. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I can't concentrate with background noise. So if I'm holed up by myself doing these two things during weeks and weekends, kinda seems like it would get extremely lonely.
My friends know I'm going traditional publishing and they come to me already constantly for help. This will only get worse after I get a contract. Lol. I'm already used to it.
As I understand it, indie publishers are not part of a larger publishing house (and may therefore make different choices, e.g. religious publishers, or politically oriented books). In the case of self-publishing you are the publisher.
Might be different in other countries, but from a UK perspective: an indie publishing house is a small publisher with fewer staff, which will take on a small selection of new novels each year, usually in a specific genre/style (e.g. science fiction, poetry, romance). They have a limited budget, so as with self-publishing, you will often be responsible for a lot of the marketing. However, unlike with self-publishing, an indie press will put their money behind things like cover design, formatting, proofreading/editing (to some extent), (some) marketing, (some) getting your book into stores, etc. They should not ask you to pay for any part of the publishing process ('hybrid publishers' will do this; these are not the same as indie publishers, and IMO self-publishing is better than going the hybrid route). They are selective, but the competition is less fierce than with big publishers: many will accept manuscripts directly from the author. The downside is that they will take a cut of the sales revenue; however, this should give them an incentive to get the book out there. Hope this helps :)
Several, but not all, indie publishers are either vanity publishers that help self-published authors access services like editors/graphic artists/layout/bookprinting etc., Or they are only publishing books that appeal to a niche audience. In the first example, there really isn't much difference between self publishing and vanity publishing (author is still responsible for handling all marketing, sales and distribution) second example could be very similar to trad publishing, except the distribution will not be as wide.
Alexa Donne has a video about this. One thing that surprised me was how you have to budget your advance for the goodreads giveaways and bookmarks (unless the publisher supplies them)
@@floragraves5167 Thanx! In that case I'll leave the negotiations in the capable hands of the agent negotiating my future contract and think about it when that wonderful time comes 😬. Couldn't find the clip you were referring to, though.
A lot of high profile home grown authors don't edit or polish thier work. James Patterson and Steven King publish 5 books per month and a lot of them ARE in a bad state. James was pulled up numerous times about the state of his work. It is good that high profiles go through edits, but a lot of them don't
I know an author who sold to Kensington and right after she signed the contract her editor passed away. The editor who took over the position never edited her book and she received no marketing dollars. I think this is called an "orphan"?
I love your videos. I feel I may not get traditionally published. I'm a gay man who is writing a m/m romance that focuses on larger men (both MC is all 3 outlines so far are heavy set) and I find that those who read m/m romance think of bears (these larger men) are muscular and just a little belly. Which has really put a toxic attitude towards those of us who are bears (chubby men) and not muscular. It seems my novel will not be what they are looking for.
@@arzabael, the working title is: A Bear's Love. And I'm seeing a heavy man on the cover with a larger man behind him slightly faded with his arms wrapped around the first. However, I like your ideas as well.
There are trend followers and trend setters. We definitely need more representation in literature in all genres and you could set the stage for a new trend with your unique story. What happened after Twilight? Millions of vampire YA flooded the market trying to copy that twist on two folklore classics And Hunger Games? Same thing. Years of battle royale stories. If you don't see a space for your voice...that doesn't mean keep quiet. That means when you do speak up, everyone will hear you because you're speaking different than the rest of them. ❤
How likely is it for an agent/publisher to provide accommodation for an author in terms of travel? For example, if the author lives far away from the literary agency/imprint, and can't travel there for meetings or contracts; is it possible the agent/publisher would agree to meet in a third location/handle matters via internet?
What you say about marketing budgets is a bit of a non-sequitur to me. Surely the more well-known authors would need less marketing, whereas an unknown will need more?
The more well-known authors are given priority as it would make the publishers a lot of money. The unknown authors are given standard marketing because it’s a risk. If their first book does well, the second book will get an increase in marketing budget the next time
I really like the last point from a psychological view. Not much people would talk about that. Do you think, you could lose Friends after become famose?
With a traditional publisher: You have to convince an agent to rep the book to publishers, and the agent has to convince a publisher to take the book. You sign away the rights to your book. You won't be publishing your work the way you want to. You will make very little money per book unless you are Stephen King or JK Rowling. With print on demand self publishing: You always own the rights. You can publish the work they way you want to. You don't have to convince an agent or a publisher. You can set the price for your book and you make more money per book sold. You do have to do things that the publishing house normally does, like marketing. You will possibly sell fewer copies than with a publisher. Look into print on demand self publishing. It might be better for you. You don't need a publishing house.
You don't sign all the rights away to your book. You sign first publishing rights. Meaning that the publishers have exclusive permission to be the very first to publish your work. Self-Publishing stories on certain apps can make you loose all rights to your work! There are some foreign ones that are popular and writers can't publish their stories anywhere else because they published to the app.
@@floragraves5167 I'm talking about Amazon, Lulu, and IngramSpark. Reputable self publishing platforms. You own the rights 100% forever. And you can publish on other platforms while publishing with them. Depends on what options you choose. The chances of you getting a deal like you are describing are slim to none if you are a new author or not well known. And there is a clause that says they keep the rights until the book goes out of print. Then they never list it as out of print and you never get the rights back. Big houses have lots of dirty tricks like that. Just like record labels.
In the ideal situation, agents and publishers act as curators, filtering out the well-written books for the readers and bringing them to the next level before publication. It doesn't always work out, because there can be many reasons why a book is not picked up, but in my view their involvement is relevant. Also, as a writer, I prefer to focus on the writing, not on the business side of things... It's too time-consuming. But everybody makes different choices. Whatever works for you.
@@nextinstitute7824 Loads of non-US web apps have different laws that allow for easy manipulation of authors into signing contracts they should not. I first heard of this from comic artists who post on Webnovel, then learned it applied to those writing whole books. It's crazy, but I'm glad people are being made aware. I sure won't use those platforms
Imagine that... an editor who thinks revisions "are where the magic happens..." Like telling a Michelin chef "adding table salt is where the magic happens..." Who knew?
Hi can you point me in the right direction I'm looking for a agent or agency that I can make adult I don't know where to start can you help me and point me in the right direction I am from the UK if you know any agents in the UK
Not me taking extensive notes on how to deal with my sudden fame if I publish my debut novel with a big five publisher and sweep the literary world with my storytelling genius.
Hi can you help me find a agent or agency to start an adult movies I am from the UK
Your dog looks so chill. He's taking in your tips as he dreams of writing his own novel: A Labradoodle in London.
I have sent off query letters to about 40 agents so far. Twelve rejections as of this writing. i actually take heart from that because if the writing itself was rubbish, they would never reply at all.
Great stuff, Alyssa. The more we know about the inner workings of the industry, the better partners we will be for the publishers. Thanks.
Thanks for this Alyssa. I love the sleeping dog on the sofa.
Once again, great insight from a pro. Thanks Alyssa. You've validated my decision to go traditional. I'm have no time to be self-marketing and scheduling publicity events, etc. I'd rather let the pros do that.
I'm traditionally published with one of the twop Three publishers in the metaphysical niche, but a smaller publisher than the top 5... something I was not prepared for and something which sadly became a reality was the jealousy projected onto me by people I considered friends and who either really wanted to be published themselves, or they were published already and their work wasn't doing well. Luckily I had other friends I could go to to talk through the interpersonal issues when I started noticing this weird jealousy start to happen. I also was not prepared for the weird and sometimes intrusive emails and social media messeges from readers who enjoyed my book, and who felt a more personal connection than we actually had.
heyy alyssa i appreciate all you do! what about book covers? how much goes into it? does the author get the final sign off on which cover to use? do publishers have in house artists or do they just commission them out? i have no idea how it works 😃
That's a good question.
Covers are usually controlled by the publishers
Just knowing that there could be a deadline of how long you need to stay at your crappy job, is good enough for me. Once I get an agent.
This is kind of a rant, but - I don't entirely understand the point of the "this is why I'm querying you" part of the query letter (where you're supposed to list other books they've repped). Is it just a kiss-up thing? At my day job, clients come to me because that's my JOB, I don't ask them for reasons behind it in order for them to get through the door. And are you supposed to be querying agents whose books are successful, whose books are similar to yours, or whose books you liked? These three factors may not coincide. I read approx. 30-40 books a year and of those probably only 2-3 of them meet all three of those criteria. Unless you're relating that you were personally recommended to them by another client, it seems like a pointless exercise to kiss up or to prove your dedication by doing internet research.
I think they want to know if you've done research and it's not just a form letter you're sending out to hundreds. It doesn't have to be agents of books you've read and liked.
Weird example and not a story i'm writing:
I'm contacting you because I see on your Manuscript Wish List you rep stories featuring lesbian fairies. I believe you'll find FAIRY DUST, a lesbian fairy coming to age romance of interest to you.
It has nothing to do with kissing up. It's about matching your manuscript to the best suited representative. They have books they hate reading and won't represent well or understand well, because of their biased toward the genre. A query letter lets them know what they're getting into, if they choose to work with you. If you're writing a Paranormal suspense/thriller, you don't want to send that to someone who only works with Christian Romance, because they won't understand anything about your story and won't care about it at all. You want to pick someone to work with who will passionately back your work for you, that's why knowledge about their favorite genres and book titles is extremely important.
If you don't explain why you specifically chose them, they may think you're just "shotgunning" your manuscript to everyone out there regardless of whether it fits their genre or not---which just wastes everybody's time, and they won't request your novel to read if that's the case.
@@Sheristen Hi! Another one of her videos related that stating their preferred genres from their bios is useless and doesn't count, but I feel like that would meet the criteria of what you're saying. If a bio says they are excited about fantasy novels with female leads and my novel is exactly that, I would think that would be enough to warrant querying.
@@CK-yu1bf she did not say useless, but suggested adjacent genres that might have overlapping readership. I have heard this is bad to do from other agents and advice I found, so I guess it depends on what it it. If the story is Romance heavy, then does the genre matter much?
Your information is so valuable. Thank you.
I'm sorry but can you repeat that, I was staring at the Golden Doodle(?) behind you.
First off, thank you for your sage advice. I listen in every week, and I enjoy the straightforward information you give, as well as the polite way you do it. I have a question about the role of a literary agent and publisher in reference to what you talk about in this video. I come from a performing arts background and have been represented by an agent in that field. Much like a literary agent, that agent got me into auditions, and whenever I was hired, they also got a cut of whatever amount I was paid. When a book is traditionally published, and the author is asked to speak at these conferences and readings and is compensated for it, does the agent and/or the publisher get a cut from that amount as well? Or is this considered the responsibility of the author under the contract of the publisher and is included in the original payment from that publisher? Thank you for all you do!
Thank you!!!
Very useful thanks!!🙂
Thank you for the insights, Alyssa! It's interesting to hear what it's like to be a big five author :)
Thank you for the advice about setting realistic boundaries and limits. That is most certainly something to keep in mind whether my future books would be published by one of the big five or indie published :)
Ugh, I hate those back covers with ONLY reviews. I want to know what the book is about! When I see a book in a book store, I don't want to HAVE to go online to actually look up what the heck the book is about just because there are ONLY reviews on the back/inside cover. One review, sure. But for the love of all readers, can publishers PLEASE add a decent description as well?
./me end of rant.
I do have one question about traditional publishing, especially about agents:
I'm writing a book series in English, but I live in the Netherlands (and I am Dutch). It is my understanding that publishers here in the Netherlands do directly accept manuscripts, but they have to be in Dutch.
And agents apparently prefer the same.
How feasible is it to get an agent abroad in such a case (I assume UK/USA)?
Thanks for the help!
I've been researching a lot lately on how to improve my writing, but the more I learn the more it seems like the life of a writer is a really solitary one. Everywhere I look the biggest tips to reach a level where you might get published is to write multiple hours a day for years and read multiple hours a day for years. But if we also work full time jobs, it just seems extremely difficult to fit in both without completely retreating from the world. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I can't concentrate with background noise. So if I'm holed up by myself doing these two things during weeks and weekends, kinda seems like it would get extremely lonely.
Thanks so much :D
Cute pup.
The dog is riveted by Alyssa's video.
My friends know I'm going traditional publishing and they come to me already constantly for help. This will only get worse after I get a contract. Lol. I'm already used to it.
Thanks ✨️ 😊
Is there a difference between Indie and self publishing? I met some self published authors recently who said they were the same thing.
As I understand it, indie publishers are not part of a larger publishing house (and may therefore make different choices, e.g. religious publishers, or politically oriented books). In the case of self-publishing you are the publisher.
Might be different in other countries, but from a UK perspective: an indie publishing house is a small publisher with fewer staff, which will take on a small selection of new novels each year, usually in a specific genre/style (e.g. science fiction, poetry, romance). They have a limited budget, so as with self-publishing, you will often be responsible for a lot of the marketing. However, unlike with self-publishing, an indie press will put their money behind things like cover design, formatting, proofreading/editing (to some extent), (some) marketing, (some) getting your book into stores, etc. They should not ask you to pay for any part of the publishing process ('hybrid publishers' will do this; these are not the same as indie publishers, and IMO self-publishing is better than going the hybrid route). They are selective, but the competition is less fierce than with big publishers: many will accept manuscripts directly from the author. The downside is that they will take a cut of the sales revenue; however, this should give them an incentive to get the book out there. Hope this helps :)
Several, but not all, indie publishers are either vanity publishers that help self-published authors access services like editors/graphic artists/layout/bookprinting etc., Or they are only publishing books that appeal to a niche audience.
In the first example, there really isn't much difference between self publishing and vanity publishing (author is still responsible for handling all marketing, sales and distribution) second example could be very similar to trad publishing, except the distribution will not be as wide.
Hopefully Allysa can shine a light on it...
Hi Alyssa, do you have insight in the marketing plan, though, so that you can align your own marketing efforts with theirs?
Alexa Donne has a video about this. One thing that surprised me was how you have to budget your advance for the goodreads giveaways and bookmarks (unless the publisher supplies them)
@@floragraves5167 bookmarks? You mean real paper bookmarks and published writers have to pay for such marketing materials?
@@nextinstitute7824 yep. Some publishers supply them but some might not be able to. Bookmarks are considered a marketing tool
@@floragraves5167 Thanx! In that case I'll leave the negotiations in the capable hands of the agent negotiating my future contract and think about it when that wonderful time comes 😬. Couldn't find the clip you were referring to, though.
A lot of high profile home grown authors don't edit or polish thier work. James Patterson and Steven King publish 5 books per month and a lot of them ARE in a bad state. James was pulled up numerous times about the state of his work. It is good that high profiles go through edits, but a lot of them don't
I’d love to see their raw manuscripts to get a sense of how even the crappy drafts can be made to be awesome
I know an author who sold to Kensington and right after she signed the contract her editor passed away. The editor who took over the position never edited her book and she received no marketing dollars. I think this is called an "orphan"?
thanks
youre so wonderful
what a cute dog
It would be great to hear what happens when an author and an editor do not agree on an edit, what can happen? who has final say?
I love your videos. I feel I may not get traditionally published. I'm a gay man who is writing a m/m romance that focuses on larger men (both MC is all 3 outlines so far are heavy set) and I find that those who read m/m romance think of bears (these larger men) are muscular and just a little belly. Which has really put a toxic attitude towards those of us who are bears (chubby men) and not muscular. It seems my novel will not be what they are looking for.
Good luck to you either way! We definitely need more body diversity so I'm rooting for ya 👍😁
@@blakeharrupdack1256, I agree. I want to tell the story I dreamed of having before meeting my partner. Thank you for the vote of confidence. :)
@@arzabael, the working title is: A Bear's Love. And I'm seeing a heavy man on the cover with a larger man behind him slightly faded with his arms wrapped around the first. However, I like your ideas as well.
@@arzabael, thank you for the vote of confidence. It warms my heart.
There are trend followers and trend setters. We definitely need more representation in literature in all genres and you could set the stage for a new trend with your unique story. What happened after Twilight? Millions of vampire YA flooded the market trying to copy that twist on two folklore classics And Hunger Games? Same thing. Years of battle royale stories. If you don't see a space for your voice...that doesn't mean keep quiet. That means when you do speak up, everyone will hear you because you're speaking different than the rest of them. ❤
How likely is it for an agent/publisher to provide accommodation for an author in terms of travel?
For example, if the author lives far away from the literary agency/imprint, and can't travel there for meetings or contracts; is it possible the agent/publisher would agree to meet in a third location/handle matters via internet?
I have a meeting with a big five publisher next week and they are doing it over zoom.
@@tansey63 wow, thank you! You made my day :) congratulations on your book and good luck for next week!
What you say about marketing budgets is a bit of a non-sequitur to me. Surely the more well-known authors would need less marketing, whereas an unknown will need more?
The more well-known authors are given priority as it would make the publishers a lot of money. The unknown authors are given standard marketing because it’s a risk. If their first book does well, the second book will get an increase in marketing budget the next time
This is great news 😂😂
You know, it is like being in school. You pick a project and you stand in front of others to talk about it, in hopes of getting a good grade.
New to channel.Writer here.
I really like the last point from a psychological view. Not much people would talk about that. Do you think, you could lose Friends after become famose?
That payment method sounds like a total scam lol
With a traditional publisher:
You have to convince an agent to rep the book to publishers, and the agent has to convince a publisher to take the book.
You sign away the rights to your book.
You won't be publishing your work the way you want to.
You will make very little money per book unless you are Stephen King or JK Rowling.
With print on demand self publishing:
You always own the rights.
You can publish the work they way you want to.
You don't have to convince an agent or a publisher.
You can set the price for your book and you make more money per book sold.
You do have to do things that the publishing house normally does, like marketing.
You will possibly sell fewer copies than with a publisher.
Look into print on demand self publishing. It might be better for you. You don't need a publishing house.
You don't sign all the rights away to your book. You sign first publishing rights. Meaning that the publishers have exclusive permission to be the very first to publish your work. Self-Publishing stories on certain apps can make you loose all rights to your work! There are some foreign ones that are popular and writers can't publish their stories anywhere else because they published to the app.
@@floragraves5167 I'm talking about Amazon, Lulu, and IngramSpark. Reputable self publishing platforms. You own the rights 100% forever. And you can publish on other platforms while publishing with them. Depends on what options you choose.
The chances of you getting a deal like you are describing are slim to none if you are a new author or not well known. And there is a clause that says they keep the rights until the book goes out of print. Then they never list it as out of print and you never get the rights back. Big houses have lots of dirty tricks like that. Just like record labels.
In the ideal situation, agents and publishers act as curators, filtering out the well-written books for the readers and bringing them to the next level before publication. It doesn't always work out, because there can be many reasons why a book is not picked up, but in my view their involvement is relevant. Also, as a writer, I prefer to focus on the writing, not on the business side of things... It's too time-consuming. But everybody makes different choices. Whatever works for you.
@@floragraves5167 Ha, Flora, you again 😉. Which apps do you mean?
@@nextinstitute7824 Loads of non-US web apps have different laws that allow for easy manipulation of authors into signing contracts they should not. I first heard of this from comic artists who post on Webnovel, then learned it applied to those writing whole books. It's crazy, but I'm glad people are being made aware. I sure won't use those platforms
Trad publishing is killing itself. It is failing to adapt.
Such an edgy take. They won't hand you a bag of cash for a book you haven't written yet, so they must be the problem.
Imagine that... an editor who thinks revisions "are where the magic happens..."
Like telling a Michelin chef "adding table salt is where the magic happens..."
Who knew?
And get ripped off? No thanks.
Are we dating?
Hi can you point me in the right direction I'm looking for a agent or agency that I can make adult I don't know where to start can you help me and point me in the right direction I am from the UK if you know any agents in the UK
Please write in complete sentences and use proper grammar.
Oh, sweetie.
Start by not saying “a agent.”
But I shouldn’t make fun. You’ll probably get a million dollar book deal and I’ll be working my day job.