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mary rosenblum
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Hello all! I hope you've had a
good week. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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I've been hearing from our
NaNo participants that many of them made it to the required 50,000 word
limit by the 31st.
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mary rosenblum
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NaNo is the National Novel
Writing Month challenge held each year...
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mary rosenblum
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a challenge to write a novel
first draft in one month...November.
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mary rosenblum
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You 'win' by writing 50,000
words and you have a novel first draft.
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mary rosenblum
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If you are so inclined, give
it a try next year. :-) It's a good way to get in 50,000 words of writing
practice...
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mary rosenblum
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and you will learn a lot about
plot and structure as you make your way through.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We’re talking about the mysteries
of choosing a publisher tonight. I’ve published seven novels (number eight
will be out next year) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to
answer any questions you have. If you’re new here, remember that you need
to click on the ‘Ask a Question’ button or the ‘word bubble’ next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your
regular ‘send’ bar won’t reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your
question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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I thought this was a good
night to talk about publishing...both fiction and non, short and long form.
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mary rosenblum
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Publilshing can seem like a
huge and confusing sea of barely intelligible writers guidelines!
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ltsonya
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when do we need our blurb's in
by?
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mary rosenblum
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For Nano finishers? I'll send
a letter out this weekend and publish the list next week with my eNews
update.
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mary rosenblum
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It's very hard to understand
the ins and outs of publishing until you HAVE published and networked with
other writers.
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mary rosenblum
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It's the networking part,
actually, that lets you scope out the vast publishing landscape.
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mary rosenblum
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There are a LOT of different
options out there and about as many myths. And in this day and age of
epublishing...
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mary rosenblum
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that landscape is broadening
out at a great rate. I suspect publishing is on the verge of major changes
over the coming decade.
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neo
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Ignoring the vanity aspect, is
it ever advisable to self-publish a novel (on paper, not ebook)?
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mary rosenblum
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You know it is, neo. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It depends on what the
circumstances are and it depends on who your audience is as well as what
YOU want out of the book.
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mary rosenblum
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I actually help some of my LR
students self publish through iUniverse or a vanity press.
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mary rosenblum
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They are writing niche
books...a family memoir that will really only matter to the extended
family...
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mary rosenblum
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or a memoir that really
matters only to the author.
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mary rosenblum
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All they want is to see the
book published. A POD house like iUniverse can do that very very little
money.
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mary rosenblum
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That's one reason to self
publish.
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mary rosenblum
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The other is your audience.
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mary rosenblum
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If you have a dedicated
audience...ALL cat owners will just love your cat mystery...
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mary rosenblum
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and you have a way to
advertise to those millions of cat owners, you're active in the cat show
circuit...
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mary rosenblum
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you can advertise or sell your
books through vets, groomers, and so forth...
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mary rosenblum
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then you may make as much
money as if you had published with a major house.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...
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mary rosenblum
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in both these cases you need
to realize that neither of these hypothetical authors wants a CAREER as a
writer.
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mary rosenblum
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They are both focused on
getting their books published.
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mary rosenblum
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One wants to see that family
history in print.
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mary rosenblum
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The other wants to make a few
buck from that available audience...
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mary rosenblum
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and will, of course, become a
celebrity to those cat owners. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If you want a 'career', that
is you want to be known as a professional writer AMONG WRITERS it is right
now...RIGHT NOW, mind you...nearly impossible to do that through self
publishing...
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mary rosenblum
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and hard to do via small press
unless you choose your publisher carefully.
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mary rosenblum
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But that is a very different
thing than making a few thousand dollars from your book or seeing it in
print!
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mary rosenblum
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So you really need to decide
what matters to you.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We’re talking about the mysteries
of choosing a publisher tonight. I’ve published seven novels (number eight
will be out next year) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to
answer any questions you have. If you’re new here, remember that you need
to click on the ‘Ask a Question’ button or the ‘word bubble’ next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your
regular ‘send’ bar won’t reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your
question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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The reason that I say it is
tough to get started on a pro CAREER in small press is that most reviewers
review books from small press very selectively...
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mary rosenblum
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while they will review books
from NY publishers more readily.
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mary rosenblum
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Reviews make you visible in
the world of writers and to the general public...
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mary rosenblum
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via book reviews.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of small press magazines
DO review small press books and stories...
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mary rosenblum
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they're just not as widely
circulated or as highly regarded.
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mary rosenblum
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This is career stuff. Has
nothing to do with whether people read what you wrote and like it.
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tory
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Mary, do we as new authors have
ANY impact or influenced on if our book gets reviewed, or is that the pub
house?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, you certainly do, Tory. If
you know someone who reviews for a big circulation paper, magazine, or know
someone who knows someone...ask them to review your book...
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mary rosenblum
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send 'em a copy and remind 'em
of that christmas party where you had a great conversation.
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mary rosenblum
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If you don't know them but you
think that reviewer will love your book, based on what you know of that
person's tastes...
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mary rosenblum
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send 'em a copy with a nice
letter telling that person WHY you think he/she will love it.
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neo
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Isn't blog buzz better than
reviews now?
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mary rosenblum
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If it's one of the HOT blogs
in the blogosphere, neo.
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mary rosenblum
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If nobody visits it, no.
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mary rosenblum
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Right now, internet
proliferation is probably your BEST and cheapest advertising.
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mary rosenblum
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If your book gets raves on a
hot blog it's not quite as good as getting on Oprah, but close. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Word of mouth is THE best
advertising out there...Harry Potter is example numero uno.
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mary rosenblum
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but you CANNOT CANNOT make
that happen.
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mary rosenblum
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It will happen if your book
hits some universal chord and everybody tells everybody else about it.
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mary rosenblum
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You CAN manipulate the review
numbers...one well known author apparently decided that her career would
take off...
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mary rosenblum
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if she made the NYTimes
bestseller list.
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mary rosenblum
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This was back in the ...I
think early 80s.
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mary rosenblum
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She and her husband spent many
thousand dollars buying her hardcover in every bookstore they entered.
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mary rosenblum
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She DID make the NYTimes
because of it. (I'm talking something like 15,000 or more back then...BIG
money).
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mary rosenblum
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And her career DID take off,
so she probably came out ahead.
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mary rosenblum
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Expensive gamble.
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neo
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Aren't blog the electronic
version of word or mouth? It's viral marketing.
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mary rosenblum
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Sure. Although non-electronic
WoM seems to work just about as well...
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mary rosenblum
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One myth that I really do want
to address here is the one that if you publish in small press, NY will be
interested.
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mary rosenblum
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This really is not true, and I
know enough NY editors to say that with a certain amount of expertise.
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mary rosenblum
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They WILL be interested if
your book takes off, spreads like wildfire and sells say, 20,000 copies in
a year.
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mary rosenblum
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Even 10,000 will make them
look at you seriously if you're with a small press publisher, because
they'll figure you don't have good distribution.
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mary rosenblum
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But that is a LOT of books.
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mary rosenblum
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For most small press
publishers, 2500 sold are good numbers.
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janecj333
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a book reviewer of impeccable
skill and credentials lends an objectivity to a review that an author
website or blog can't, and I tend to think that extraordinary books get
reviewed and earn those reviews.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, yes, and no, Jane.
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mary rosenblum
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To a lot of readers, if it's
in the NYTimes, or Kirkus, it's gospel
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mary rosenblum
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But to people who surf the
blogosphere, a shining star there is more important.
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mary rosenblum
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If your readers are the blog
surfers that may catapult you into view of the NYTimes reviewer.
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mary rosenblum
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He hears that you're a
sensation.
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mary rosenblum
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THere ar4e many ways for the
review thing to work.
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mary rosenblum
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But certainly an author
website review doesn't mean anything. :-)
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neo
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It isn't true that reviewers are
objective! Haven't there been brouhahas and scandals recently about this
fact?
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mary rosenblum
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NO reviewer is objective!!!
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mary rosenblum
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Each one has his/her own
opinions of what makes good fiction/nonfiction and what does not.
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mary rosenblum
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Every book has good and bad
reviews.
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dub cooper
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By what means will NY
"know" about your sales?
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mary rosenblum
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People in publishing are pros
and their jobs depend on doing what they do well.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe me, they keep a close
eye on what is selling, waht is circulating on the hot blogs, and what is
getting talked about...
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mary rosenblum
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in local book clubs.
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mary rosenblum
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They know WAY more than you
think. :-) They really do not live in ivory towers, even if they act like
it at times. LOL
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janecj333
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frankly, blogs are so new and
slanted, to me they just aren't credible
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mary rosenblum
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But that's you, Jane. It's my
stepmother, too. And many others.
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mary rosenblum
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But again, if your readers do
blogs, it's a great place for reviews.
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mary rosenblum
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If your readers are 45 year
old mystery readers, probably it won't help you a lot.
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geezer
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What is considered small press?
Are all the Christian publishers small press?
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tory
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Mary, re: small press. Do you
know how the Christian pub companies compare? as far as "average"
or expected sales numbers? And are some of them equivalent to Ny and some
equivalent to small pub: For ex: Zondervan or Harvest House.
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mary rosenblum
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Alas, I don't know a lot about
the Christian market.
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mary rosenblum
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Some of the NY houses publish
Christian imprints.
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mary rosenblum
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So tsome of the lines are
'NY'.
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mary rosenblum
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But a lot of small press
houses exist. As to numbers, here you have publishers who cater to a
dedicated niche market.
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mary rosenblum
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I can't give you
numbers...it's about time for me to have another guest from...
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mary rosenblum
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Christian publishing on...but
they're probably not bad for small press.
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mary rosenblum
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There is nothing wrong with
small press.
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mary rosenblum
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The only problem with it is if
an aspiring writer believes that it is a direct path to NYTimes level
attention and NY sales numbers.
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lorib
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so do most newbies get their
start in small press?
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mary rosenblum
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Most that I know have not,
Lorib. Most of us began with NY and it was not easy, believe me.
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mary rosenblum
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But that number is weighted
because those are the people I run into at writers conferences.
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mary rosenblum
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LOTS of people write only for
small press.
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mary rosenblum
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My guest last night, Lori
Soard, is a small press author and very happy with it.
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paminnapa
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after finding readers, where
would someone start? Do you send manuscripts to every publisher of your
genre or 1 at a time
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mary rosenblum
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The first thing you do, Pam,
is to get reader feedback and polish your novel until it is finished.
Shiny.
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mary rosenblum
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Glossy.
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mary rosenblum
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Then, if you can submit
without an agent start looking at publishers to see what they publish.
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mary rosenblum
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And list the ones who seem to
publish what you write. All SF is not the same, nor mystery, nor mainstream
fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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Then start sending your ms out
according to guidelines.
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mary rosenblum
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IT is a SLOW process.
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neo
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If you're writing fiction,
doesn't your agent determine where your ms. is sent?
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mary rosenblum
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Up to apoint, neo. If you're
writing SF/fantasy/horror, you can sub without an agent.
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mary rosenblum
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And my agent is willing to
listen to suggestions about where to send a book.
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mary rosenblum
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If I give her a reason this or
that publisher might want the book, she'll listen.
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tory
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Is there some way (website, etc)
for us to get sales numbers for various books out there, and compare
houses?
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mary rosenblum
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The publishers guidelines
usually tell you the average print run, tory.
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mary rosenblum
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that may vary...if the
marketing department thinks this is going to be a hot seller, they'll do a
larger print run.
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mary rosenblum
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THat's not SALES...that is
what they HOPE to sell! :-) BIG difference.
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frazz
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Is every publisher in NY
considered NYTimes or are there small presses in NY, too?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm sure there are small
presses in NYC, frazz. Apologies. I'm using writer-speak without
clarifying.
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mary rosenblum
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By 'NY house' I mean the BIG publishers...the
ones that publish books in the tens of thousands per print run. (Less for
hardcover).
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speckledorf
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When I was doing some research,
I asked the people at Books A Million about finding sales numbers for books
and they said their wasn't a way to really know.
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mary rosenblum
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Speck, even my AGENT has a
hard time finding out sales numbers. Talk about a closely guarded secret.
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mary rosenblum
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SFWA has sued at least one
publisher over that.
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mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We’re talking about the mysteries
of choosing a publisher tonight. I’ve published seven novels (number eight
will be out next year) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to
answer any questions you have. If you’re new here, remember that you need
to click on the ‘Ask a Question’ button or the ‘word bubble’ next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your
regular ‘send’ bar won’t reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your
question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
|
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tory
|
So a book's being on the NYT
Best Seller List gives us no clue as to what the sales actually are?
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mary rosenblum
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Oooh...hes.
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mary rosenblum
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If it's on the NY times, it's
going to be up close to 100,000 for mass market paper, and I think...
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mary rosenblum
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this is a really rough
guess...about 30,000 for hard.
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mary rosenblum
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But these numbers are not at
all exact.
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mary rosenblum
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Probably bigger for mass
market, come to think of it.
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paminnapa
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How do you find an
agent.....will i get that later in the course? I saw an Agent market book
on amazon is that worth the money?
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mary rosenblum
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Depends on the book, Pam.
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mary rosenblum
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You can learn a LOT by going
to the AAR website (ASsociation of Author's Representatives).
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mary rosenblum
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http://www.aar-online.org/index.html
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mary rosenblum
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They have a good FAQ page that
will help you.
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janecj333
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doesn't amazon rank books by
numbers sold by them? that might be of some help to determine demand for a
publisher's titles
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, a LOT of authors use it as
a barometer, jane! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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But it's not the demand for
the PUBLISHER"S books here...
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mary rosenblum
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it is the demand for THIS
book. The other books sold by Random House don't all have the sales of HP!
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mary rosenblum
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Many bomb badly.
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mary rosenblum
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But the way Amazon.com can
help you is like this...
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mary rosenblum
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you find your ranking on
amazon.com just before you do some kind of PR or advertising thing...
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mary rosenblum
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say a radio interview or
something like that...maybe you hit a bunch of bookstores and do a lot of
signings in August.
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mary rosenblum
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Now you watch your ranking on
Amazon.
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mary rosenblum
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Does it change? Do you rise in
the ranks?
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mary rosenblum
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Personally, I think this is
crazy-making, but if you're doing a BIG advertising push, it might help
you. :-)
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mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We’re talking about the mysteries
of choosing a publisher tonight. I’ve published seven novels (number eight
will be out next year) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to
answer any questions you have. If you’re new here, remember that you need
to click on the ‘Ask a Question’ button or the ‘word bubble’ next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your
regular ‘send’ bar won’t reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your
question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
|
|
frazz
|
If you wanted to get published
by a NY house, do you need to have a NY agent?
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mary rosenblum
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That is usually true, frazz. My
agent takes editors out to lunch all the time..asks 'what are you looking
for?'...
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mary rosenblum
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"My client is finishing
this or that...want to look at it?"...
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mary rosenblum
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she schmoozes all the time.
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mary rosenblum
|
She drops off my manuscript in
person, tells the editor about my latest publications, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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You can't do that if you live
in Montana.
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mary rosenblum
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And it does matter.
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mary rosenblum
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I got a mystery series because
my agent was having lunch with an editor...
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mary rosenblum
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and that editor mentioned that
she was looking for a particular type of mystery.
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mary rosenblum
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Now my agent is in New Jersey.
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mary rosenblum
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She commutes in.
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mary rosenblum
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ONe very good one lived in
Philly and took the train in.
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mary rosenblum
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But if they're WAY outside of
NY that can be problematical.
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mary rosenblum
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NOw if they have worked in NYC
and know a lot of editors personally, it's fine.
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mary rosenblum
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They will schmooze via phone.
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mary rosenblum
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But remember this..
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mary rosenblum
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anybody can decide to be an
agent.
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mary rosenblum
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The editor doesn't know this
person, never heard of him/her...
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mary rosenblum
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has tons of ms from agents he
does know and trust...
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mary rosenblum
|
and he'll get around to
reading the ms sent in by this faceless agent from Montana when he has time
for it...
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mary rosenblum
|
Plus you have to realize that
a lot of folk have discovered how to make a darn good living preying off of
naive new writers.
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mary rosenblum
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They charge to agent your
work.
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mary rosenblum
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They recommend book doctors
who pay them a cut.
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janecj333
|
for a first-time novelist it
isn't so much choosing the best publisher as it is attracting a hungry
editor/agent, am I right?
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mary rosenblum
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Depends on what genre you're
in, jane.
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mary rosenblum
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In romance or speculative
fiction, go for the publisher first, you'll get a better choice in agents
when you have a contract.
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mary rosenblum
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If you're in a genre that
requires agented subs...yeah...BUT...
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mary rosenblum
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the BIG but...there is a way
around agents. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is why you pay all that
money to go to writers conferences.
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mary rosenblum
|
You go to panels where editors
talk about what publishing is doing.
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mary rosenblum
|
You chat with editors after,
talk about whatever, and ask 'em what they are looking for.
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mary rosenblum
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IF and ONLY if your book seems
to fit that and you have been having a nice conversation, you say, 'you
know, my book is about blahblah. Would you like to look at it?"
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mary rosenblum
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The editor will probably say
yes.
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mary rosenblum
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Now you don't need an agent
even if they don't take 'unsoliciited' ms.
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mary rosenblum
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Your ms IS solicited.
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mary rosenblum
|
BUT...
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mary rosenblum
|
I am not saying leap on an
unsuspecting editor, back her into a corner, and yell 'can I send my book
to you?"
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mary rosenblum
|
People DO that, and they have
a special blacklist for 'em. LOL
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mary rosenblum
|
But if you ARE chatting with
that editor and your book DOES seem to fit what he/she is looking for...
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mary rosenblum
|
say so.
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mary rosenblum
|
I mean if you're going to go
to a conference you ARE going to chat with editors right?
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mary rosenblum
|
Shy?
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mary rosenblum
|
Too bad. So am I . Terminally.
|
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mary rosenblum
|
You do it anyway. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. We’re talking about the mysteries
of choosing a publisher tonight. I’ve published seven novels (number eight
will be out next year) , more than 60 short stories, and will do my best to
answer any questions you have. If you’re new here, remember that you need
to click on the ‘Ask a Question’ button or the ‘word bubble’ next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your
regular ‘send’ bar won’t reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your
question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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geezer
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So, we need to find successful
writers in our genre and get them to tell who their agents are.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes, geeze. Exactly.
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mary rosenblum
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Another item of homework at a
conference.
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mary rosenblum
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Chat with writers in your
genre. 'Who's your agent? Are you happy?
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mary rosenblum
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"Is he open?"
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mary rosenblum
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If you and that writer are
hitting it off, you might get a personal recommendation from that writer.
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mary rosenblum
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Even if you don't, you write
to the agent, and say I was chatting with so and so at the whatever
conference...
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mary rosenblum
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and she highly recommended you
as an agent. I have this [brief description here]. Would you like to see
it?
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mary rosenblum
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Worst you get is a no, and
since the agent is feeling flattered, if he/she is actually open to clients
you may well get a yes.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a foot in the door.
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lorib
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book doctors?
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mary rosenblum
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These are sometimes legit, (I
know one personally), but more often scams...
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mary rosenblum
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their purpose is to edit your
book, the idea being it's a good book but needs better writing.
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mary rosenblum
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I really don't recommend them
often...
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mary rosenblum
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mostly to writers who don't
speak English as a native langauge and really need line editing help.
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janecj333
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mary, what was your experience
selling your first novel, or have I asked this before?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't think anyone has,
Jane. :-) I'll have to get someone to interview ME one of these days, LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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Hang on while I answer Lorib
and then I'll answer you.
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lorib
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how do agents get paid? by
selling your ms?
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mary rosenblum
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That is the ONLY way, Lorib.
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mary rosenblum
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My agent gets 15% of every
check that a publisher writes for a novel she has sold.
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mary rosenblum
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By the way...the publisher
does not pay me.
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mary rosenblum
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The publisher pays her. SHE
pays me the other 85%. A VERY good reason to get a good agent, LOL.
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mary rosenblum
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Now agents do not handle short
stories, mostly, and they rarely handle small press sales.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, Lorib, there have
been cases where a bad agent went bankrupt and never paid the author.
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mary rosenblum
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The reason they don't handle
small press is that small press rarely pays an advance...
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mary rosenblum
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so the agent gets nothing unless
you sell a lot of books.
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mary rosenblum
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So it's not worth their time.
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geezer
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Being of a suspicious nature,
how does one know that he's getting the full 85%?
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mary rosenblum
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Because YOU signed the
contract, geeze, and hopefully you read it, so you know how much is due
when. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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I just got my 'completion'
half of my advance on HOrizon, the upcoming SF novel.
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mary rosenblum
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I got half the advance up
front, and the other half when the book was 'turned in'...ie when it was
completely edited to the editor's and my satisfaction.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay...as to my 'first novel'
sale.
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mary rosenblum
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It wasn't my first novel. :-)
Drylands was my second. I wrote the first novel and got an agent through a
recommendation. Turned out he had AIDs, which he hadn't told anyone, so he
dind't do much with the book ...
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mary rosenblum
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and while he wasn't doing much
with it, I started making a name for myself with my short fiction. He quit
the bus and I placed the novel with ...
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mary rosenblum
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Martha, my current agent, who
wasn't that impressed with it, but agreed to market it (she was right not
to be impressed with it, LOL)..
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mary rosenblum
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but I had an idea to do a
novel based on a series of Asimov's novelettes that were getting a lot of
attention in reviews.
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mary rosenblum
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So she suggested I write that
and sell that first.
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mary rosenblum
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And I did and she sold it to
Del Rey.
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paminnapa
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if your agent gets 15% how much
does your editor get and when do you pay him/her?
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mary rosenblum
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YOur editor works for the
publisher and gets a weekly paycheck, pam. AND benefits! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If you HIRE an editor (and I
do not recommend that you do, dear), you will pay THAT editor a LOT and
you'll pay as she /he does the work.
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mary rosenblum
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An eiditor generally will NOT
help you sell your book.
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mary rosenblum
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What sells a book is NOT
polished prose.
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mary rosenblum
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It is the story.
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mary rosenblum
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If the story knocks the
editor's socks off, he/she will work with you to make mediocre prose
better.
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mary rosenblum
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If the book does not knock the
editor's socks off, glistening, perfect prose won't help you ONE bit.
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mary rosenblum
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The only time I recommend a
for-hire editor is when I have a talented storyteller who simply cannot
write publishable English...it is HARD to write in a foreign language!
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janecj333
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getting the recommendation
sounds key...and placing your work with Martha was an extension of having a
previous agent?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, he recommended her and
Lucius Shepherd recommended my original agent. BUT...I also had queries
from two or three agents that year...
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mary rosenblum
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who had seen my short stories
and asked me if I was writing a novel. One from Willima Morris, and a
couple of junior agents in big agencies.
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mary rosenblum
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Agents also watch the short
story markets.
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mary rosenblum
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If you get award and review
attention, you will probably get queries...
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mary rosenblum
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usually from junior agents in
big agencies who are collecting their own clientele.
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lorib
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being a new student, how soon
should I look to attending a conference? I'd like to a be a fly on the wall
and get my feet wet.
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mary rosenblum
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The soone the better, Lorib.
:-)
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mary rosenblum
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I went to my first one before
I had anything published or know ANYTHING about the business.
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mary rosenblum
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Went to panels, talked to
writers, talked to a few editors...
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mary rosenblum
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writers are generally very
easy to chat with.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing to do is to
identify which imprints/publishers are publishing books like the one you
have to sell..
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mary rosenblum
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or which magazines are
publishing something like the story you have to offer.
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mary rosenblum
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Spend time at the bookstore
taking notes.
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mary rosenblum
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What is your book?
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mary rosenblum
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Romance?
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janecj333
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in your query to your first
agent you mentioned that you had spoken to Shepard
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mary rosenblum
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He's a friend of mine, Jane.
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mary rosenblum
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I met him at one of the first
conferences I went to.
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mary rosenblum
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He lives across the river in
Vancouver right now.
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mary rosenblum
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Mystery? SF? Fantasy?
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mary rosenblum
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Different publishers publish
different types of each of these...
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mary rosenblum
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and if you're sending
directly...to romance, or sf or fantasy publsiher...
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mary rosenblum
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you need to know which is the
best one to try.
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mary rosenblum
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Even if you're querying an
agent, if you have done your homework...
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mary rosenblum
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tell your agent which books
have published where , that agent will appreciate that.
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mary rosenblum
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You're willing to do some of
the footwork. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And deciding what you have can
be tough.
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mary rosenblum
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I got an email from someone
who can't be here tonight...
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mary rosenblum
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And she said her novel had
love in it and some history but wasn't an historical or a typical romance.
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mary rosenblum
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She wanted to do it as a
series and include fantasy, sf, and religion.
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mary rosenblum
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The book she's describing
could be a mainstream book, or it could fit a noncategory romance
publisherj.
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mary rosenblum
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If she wants to add fantasy
and sf later on, she's probably better off trying for a romance
publisher...
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mary rosenblum
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they are more flexible about
genre crossing these days...
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mary rosenblum
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and a mainstream publisher
might well turn those later books down.
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janecj333
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Iwhat I mean is, the agent knew
you had been encouraged to contact him by Shepard, and this was of some
benefit in convincing him to take you on (in addition to the quality of
your writing )?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't know whether he would
have taken me on if I had simply contacted him without Lucius's
reccomendation or not, Jane.
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mary rosenblum
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Lots of agents ARE looking for
new clients. I had just asked Lucius who he'd recommend and he said this
guy was taking new clients. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And Lucius thought he did a
good job. That was the critical part to me.
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mary rosenblum
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Lucius never contacted him to
say 'take this person' if that's what you mean
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mary rosenblum
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And that is the kind of
contact I was referring to earlier...
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mary rosenblum
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someone says 'my agent is
good, try her', and you do.
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mary rosenblum
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My agent isn't taking on new
clients (sorry folks), so if I run into someone who I think she'd REALLY
like to represent...
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mary rosenblum
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I'll email her, tell her why I
think she might be interested and ask if she wants that person to send the
ms to her.
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mary rosenblum
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I don't do that very often.
:-)
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janecj333
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Mary, how did you respond to
those agency queries that arrived out of the blue?
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mary rosenblum
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I already had an agent by
then, Jane.
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mary rosenblum
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I would have taken them...they
were all members of well established agencies that I knew were legit.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you go to a writers
conference, and you're willing to chat with writers, you can ask writers
who write what you write for names, and you'll get several, I"m sure.
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mary rosenblum
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We're very happy to tell you
about our agents, if they're taking new people, if they're good/whatever.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing is to remember
that getting your novel sold is a long, slow process...
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mary rosenblum
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and the very best thing you
can do is to write the next one...
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mary rosenblum
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so that you don't have to
think about this one while it makes it snail-like rounds thorugh the
publishers.
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mary rosenblum
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And remember the golden rules
of publishing...
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mary rosenblum
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I want you to write this on a
post it and stick it on your monitors...
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mary rosenblum
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Money flows FROM the publisher
TO the author and NEVER the other way around...
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mary rosenblum
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and
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mary rosenblum
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Agents pay YOU (after
deducting their 15%). NOT the other way around.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you get queries from
agents out of the blue...or publishers...come ask me.
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mary rosenblum
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I would keep in mind that the
scam artists may well make use of that nano posting on the website...
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mary rosenblum
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here is a list of people with
a brand new novel burning a hole in their desk...
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mary rosenblum
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and I wouldn't be surprised to
find some fake 'agents' making use of that list if they can get contact
info.
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mary rosenblum
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So be a bit wary.
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mary rosenblum
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Or fake publishers.
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mary rosenblum
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Always google a publisher's
name ...and check out the beware lists for agents and publishers before you
sign anything.
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mary rosenblum
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http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
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mary rosenblum
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Taht's the predators and
editors website.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks for coming all!
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry I missed this morning's
chat.
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mary rosenblum
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I was herding sheep in the
POURING FREEZING rain!
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post this transcript in
the usual place:
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mary rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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See you Sunday for our regular
casual chat!
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mary rosenblum
|
Same time as this forum, same
place.
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