Question. If material is requested, is it expected to be handed over on the spot? Emailed? If e-mailed, should I query in advance so it arrives soon after the meeting and still fresh in the agent's mind? Hope this doesn't sound like a ridiculous question, just trying to be uber-prepared.
This question came in response to yesterday's post. This is a good question and let me give you my take on this.
In most cases, you are not expected to give the editor or agent anything right there and then. Still, I always recommend having something ready to go just in case. Don't offer to give them anything, but be ready. This is especially the case for published authors. I had one author that had been previously published. I did ask to see some new material but also asked to read some of her published material. She had a novel with her and that gave me something to read on the way home. Nice touch.
I do personally believe that the clock starts ticking the moment I ask for material. In fact, if you read my submission guidelines, I do state that once I request material, you have 30 days. This accounts for getting home from a conference, putting together the necessary materials and sending it snail mail. Obviously, if material is emailed, this is a different story and certianly one that would take less time.
I don't believe you need to do a different query, but please, make sure to mention the conversation, or the prior correspondance. If it is email, use the reply button so we can see the entire electonic conversation.
Now, back to the time thing. This is something that I believe you can really take away from a conversation with an editor or agent during a pitch session. If they seem really excited about the project, you should make sure that material gets out ASAP. Don't hesitate. Sometimes we are thinking of a place to send it to. Sometimes, we even have an editor that might be interested in such a project. Don't wait. You may lose out.
Along the same lines, if an editor or agent doesn't care when the material comes in, this might be telling you they aren't overly interested and are requesting the material out of the kindness of their heart. Does this mean to not send it? NO! You send it, but don't take advantage of that time factor.
The key is to stay in their memory and remind them of the things they discussed with you during that pitch session. Keep reminding them of the great things they said about your project during that first talk.
Hope that helps!
Scott
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Scott's Approach To Pitching - The Things I Learn About You
Unlike many editors and agents, I like to do pitch sessions at conference. Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of frustrating things about pitches. 2+ hours straight, hearing pitches from people who didn't do their homework, hearing great stories and never seeing the projects sent to me. All of these certainly do wear on a person. But, I still have to say, I love pitch sessions.
Sitting down, face-to-face with writers tells me so much more than reading an email or opening an envelope full of material. This gives me a chance to really get to know the author. Along the same lines, listening to the person talk tells me really what the story is about and not what the author has written. It is amazing how human nature never lies to us.
The first thing I do is tell the writer to put away all of those notes they hastily wrote the night before the pitches in their room. They panic! You need to understand that I am in no way trying to scare the person, but darn it. If you have written this story, you should know it. You spent over 3 months writing the thing so telling me title, word count and genre should be pretty basic. Telling me what the story is about should be pretty basic. But there is more to this.
The odds are, that if you "wrote out your pitch", and, let's say (being in the positive thinking world of this morning) that you did your research about what I was looking for, you have drafted a query that says exactly what I want to hear. This may not be what you actually wrote. Too often, I see pitches (and yes these show up in queries too), that authors have written one story but tell me of a different one in their pitches. This is where taking the notes comes into play. When the author "tells" me their story in their own words, without the aid of the notes, it is amazing how the real story comes out.
What do I mean about the "real story?" The answer is simple. Your brain will spill out the things that are the most important things in the story. These are the things you spent more time on and made sure were emphasized more in the text. Let me explain....
I had one author pitch me a contemporary romance, and yet, when I had her talk, the first words out of her mouth were "inspirational", "guided by God", "finding faith", "redemption and forgiveness". Now, while these words can certainly show up in a number of stories, this gave me a clear sign that what she was pitching was a single title inspirational romance (which I didn't acquire). I discussed it with her, told her my thoughts, and yes, I did request material just to be sure. There was that chance that I was wrong. Yet, when I read the material, this thing screamed something being spotlighted at a Christian Bookseller's Convention!
I do the same thing to authors who have apparently "memorized" their pitch. When I get situations like that, I interrupt them and make them tell me about it. No, this isn't being mean, but a memorized pitch is just like a pitch that you are reading from note cards. This is a "well-crafted" description of a book but may not be your book.
Those pitch sessions also tell me a lot about who you are as a person. When I go to a convention, I people watch! I love sitting back and watching the authors that I believe show me a sign of being a professional writer, and those that seem to behave as if this is still just a hobby. Sitting down one-on-one with an author gives me a lot of insight into the person. The way they dress, the way they sit - all of those tips you are told for job interviews - give me a real picture of who you are.
O.K., so now some of you are crossing me off your list of people to pitch to. That's fine. It's entirely up to you. But, remember if you think you are going to "bypass" that whole face-to-face thing, you are mistaken. If you have a story that shows sign of potential, I will be talking to you. And yes, I will catch you off guard with the phone call.
Just something to think about on a Monday morning.
Scott
Sitting down, face-to-face with writers tells me so much more than reading an email or opening an envelope full of material. This gives me a chance to really get to know the author. Along the same lines, listening to the person talk tells me really what the story is about and not what the author has written. It is amazing how human nature never lies to us.
The first thing I do is tell the writer to put away all of those notes they hastily wrote the night before the pitches in their room. They panic! You need to understand that I am in no way trying to scare the person, but darn it. If you have written this story, you should know it. You spent over 3 months writing the thing so telling me title, word count and genre should be pretty basic. Telling me what the story is about should be pretty basic. But there is more to this.
The odds are, that if you "wrote out your pitch", and, let's say (being in the positive thinking world of this morning) that you did your research about what I was looking for, you have drafted a query that says exactly what I want to hear. This may not be what you actually wrote. Too often, I see pitches (and yes these show up in queries too), that authors have written one story but tell me of a different one in their pitches. This is where taking the notes comes into play. When the author "tells" me their story in their own words, without the aid of the notes, it is amazing how the real story comes out.
What do I mean about the "real story?" The answer is simple. Your brain will spill out the things that are the most important things in the story. These are the things you spent more time on and made sure were emphasized more in the text. Let me explain....
I had one author pitch me a contemporary romance, and yet, when I had her talk, the first words out of her mouth were "inspirational", "guided by God", "finding faith", "redemption and forgiveness". Now, while these words can certainly show up in a number of stories, this gave me a clear sign that what she was pitching was a single title inspirational romance (which I didn't acquire). I discussed it with her, told her my thoughts, and yes, I did request material just to be sure. There was that chance that I was wrong. Yet, when I read the material, this thing screamed something being spotlighted at a Christian Bookseller's Convention!
I do the same thing to authors who have apparently "memorized" their pitch. When I get situations like that, I interrupt them and make them tell me about it. No, this isn't being mean, but a memorized pitch is just like a pitch that you are reading from note cards. This is a "well-crafted" description of a book but may not be your book.
Those pitch sessions also tell me a lot about who you are as a person. When I go to a convention, I people watch! I love sitting back and watching the authors that I believe show me a sign of being a professional writer, and those that seem to behave as if this is still just a hobby. Sitting down one-on-one with an author gives me a lot of insight into the person. The way they dress, the way they sit - all of those tips you are told for job interviews - give me a real picture of who you are.
O.K., so now some of you are crossing me off your list of people to pitch to. That's fine. It's entirely up to you. But, remember if you think you are going to "bypass" that whole face-to-face thing, you are mistaken. If you have a story that shows sign of potential, I will be talking to you. And yes, I will catch you off guard with the phone call.
Just something to think about on a Monday morning.
Scott
Friday, March 16, 2012
Happy Birthday To Me - There is no break in publishing
I was asked what I would be doing for my birthday tomorrow. The answer was simple. Probably reading and doing critiques.
This is not a case of complaining. This is a job that I chose to do and I love it. But we have to remember that with professional writing and professional publishing there is often no break. Agents and editors spend all day working with their current clients and their projects. And then, after a long day, they head home with a stack of submissions to read.
Then you add in the conferences they attend. This means the weekend is spent either traveling or talking to other writers. What do we do in the evening? More often than not, we run to our hotel room, fire up the computer and get back to editing or other business needs.
Just a quick reality check!
See you on Monday!
Scott
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Let's Learn From The Current Presidential Race Today
I am normally not someone who likes to engage in any discussion about politics, especially online, but the recent elections taking place in the South on Tuesday of this week gave me some fuel to write this post. I do want to add, in no way am I making a case for any of the politicians with this post. I am simply looking at the actions of what the candidates are doing and linking it to the publishing industry.
On Tuesday, prior to CNN declaring a winner 1 minute after the polls closed (don't get me started on that one), Anderson Cooper was looking at the general statistics of polls they had conducted. He also had the chance to discuss the election with the Gov. of Alabama. According to his polls (and yes, I understand how polls can be manipulated) the majority of people in these voting states were stating that the only person, out of the 4 candidates, who had a standing chance of beating Obama was Mitt Romney. We're talking totals from 55% up to, I believe 70+%. These are big numbers! But here was the twist, when they asked who they would likely vote for, Romney was coming in 2nd and 3rd. The candidate they were voting for was coming up in 3rd place for the first poll, and still they were going to vote that way.
As I said, the Gov. of Alabama even went on to say in a public interview that in reality, the only person who could win would be Romney and he wasn't going to vote for him. The reporter even went on to ask if he believed the other candidate would win either the against Obama, or even the Republican nomination, and he said no. Huh?
His answer was simple. "We should vote with our heart, even if it meant not winning."
While this thought is noble, I started to really question what a lot of the Republican voters were doing. If their ultimate goal was go get Obama out of office, why would they not do everything in their power to achieve that goal?
But what does this have to do with publishing? The answer is simple. I do believe, too often, writers spend all of this time writing "the story of their heart". They work countless hours on a project that makes them feel good or simply expresses their opinion, but the project simply will never be successful, or in many cases, never even be published unless they buy their way into it through some of these alternative publishing sources. What is more frustrating is the fact that many of these authors will then go on to blame "the industry" for their lack of success.
Professional publishing is about marketing. It is about sales. Creative writing is for those people who just want to work on expressing human emotions and the human condition in print.
Leah Hultenscmidt from Sourcebooks was describing at the last NOLA conference much of this same idea when it comes to digital publishing. Sure, it is possible to "put stories out there" but the true success (and challenge) comes from bringing your story out of "all of that noise" and making the sales.
I do believe that writers, like the politicians, need to stop what they are doing and examine their "real goals". If the goal is to "win" then maybe it is time to put that "creative writing" project aside and focus on the sales.
Scott
On Tuesday, prior to CNN declaring a winner 1 minute after the polls closed (don't get me started on that one), Anderson Cooper was looking at the general statistics of polls they had conducted. He also had the chance to discuss the election with the Gov. of Alabama. According to his polls (and yes, I understand how polls can be manipulated) the majority of people in these voting states were stating that the only person, out of the 4 candidates, who had a standing chance of beating Obama was Mitt Romney. We're talking totals from 55% up to, I believe 70+%. These are big numbers! But here was the twist, when they asked who they would likely vote for, Romney was coming in 2nd and 3rd. The candidate they were voting for was coming up in 3rd place for the first poll, and still they were going to vote that way.
As I said, the Gov. of Alabama even went on to say in a public interview that in reality, the only person who could win would be Romney and he wasn't going to vote for him. The reporter even went on to ask if he believed the other candidate would win either the against Obama, or even the Republican nomination, and he said no. Huh?
His answer was simple. "We should vote with our heart, even if it meant not winning."
While this thought is noble, I started to really question what a lot of the Republican voters were doing. If their ultimate goal was go get Obama out of office, why would they not do everything in their power to achieve that goal?
But what does this have to do with publishing? The answer is simple. I do believe, too often, writers spend all of this time writing "the story of their heart". They work countless hours on a project that makes them feel good or simply expresses their opinion, but the project simply will never be successful, or in many cases, never even be published unless they buy their way into it through some of these alternative publishing sources. What is more frustrating is the fact that many of these authors will then go on to blame "the industry" for their lack of success.
Professional publishing is about marketing. It is about sales. Creative writing is for those people who just want to work on expressing human emotions and the human condition in print.
Leah Hultenscmidt from Sourcebooks was describing at the last NOLA conference much of this same idea when it comes to digital publishing. Sure, it is possible to "put stories out there" but the true success (and challenge) comes from bringing your story out of "all of that noise" and making the sales.
I do believe that writers, like the politicians, need to stop what they are doing and examine their "real goals". If the goal is to "win" then maybe it is time to put that "creative writing" project aside and focus on the sales.
Scott
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
What We Can Learn From The Poets
Poetry is about language. I think for many, they shy away from poetry due to the complexity of the writing style. Still, I do believe there is a lot we can learn from poets. These skills are certainly things that many authors might want to start thinking about more and more in their writing.
IMAGERY - It's all about the picture. This is the place where poets really shine. In those few words, we get a real picture of EVERYTHING that is going on around the author. Poets trust their instincts and draw on ALL of the senses around them to get an image across. For fiction authors, however, we see them falling back on simply visual images. Bummer, they miss out on so much of the true feeling of the scene.
WORD ECONOMY - This is a big one. It is also part of the reason I totally grub on HARLEQUIN stories. These are big stories in little spaces. Yes, we want you to take time to elaborate and really suck us into the story, but you don't need to babble on and on repeating yourself. Find those single words and phrases that accomplish so much.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE - I am a big fan of William Wordsworth. With the publication of Lyrical Ballads he (and Coolridge) turned the writing world upside down and wrote about common, everyday things. Focus on something simple and really explore it. Fiction writers need to remember this. It isn't about shoving a lot of STUFF into your story. Explore the small and simple things. Find a way to make your story something everyone can relate to.
THE EMPHASIS IS THE STORY NOT THE MONEY - This is really on the professional side of things, but I think we can learn a lot from those poets. They write because they love to write. They don't write for the personal glory, the money or the fame. If they get it - great! For them, though, the purpose of writing is self expression and giving something to humanity. This is a big one we can learn from.
Just something to think about today!
Scott
IMAGERY - It's all about the picture. This is the place where poets really shine. In those few words, we get a real picture of EVERYTHING that is going on around the author. Poets trust their instincts and draw on ALL of the senses around them to get an image across. For fiction authors, however, we see them falling back on simply visual images. Bummer, they miss out on so much of the true feeling of the scene.
WORD ECONOMY - This is a big one. It is also part of the reason I totally grub on HARLEQUIN stories. These are big stories in little spaces. Yes, we want you to take time to elaborate and really suck us into the story, but you don't need to babble on and on repeating yourself. Find those single words and phrases that accomplish so much.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE - I am a big fan of William Wordsworth. With the publication of Lyrical Ballads he (and Coolridge) turned the writing world upside down and wrote about common, everyday things. Focus on something simple and really explore it. Fiction writers need to remember this. It isn't about shoving a lot of STUFF into your story. Explore the small and simple things. Find a way to make your story something everyone can relate to.
THE EMPHASIS IS THE STORY NOT THE MONEY - This is really on the professional side of things, but I think we can learn a lot from those poets. They write because they love to write. They don't write for the personal glory, the money or the fame. If they get it - great! For them, though, the purpose of writing is self expression and giving something to humanity. This is a big one we can learn from.
Just something to think about today!
Scott
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Getting Inspired With Inspirationals
One of the reasons I decided to represent romance and women's fiction was the message I get from the story I read. I love the feel good endings. I am a sucker for the happily ever after. I have found that for me, inspirationals work very much the same way. The goal of the story is to really get across a great message of humanity and faith to the reader.
But, a great inspirational can do this in such a way that you don't see it until it has run you over. The message is subtle but powerful.
I am a firm believer in the Apostle Paul. O.K. I got a lot of that from my grandfather who was a Methodist minister. That connection led to the writing of my first book of poetry, Pulpit to Poem: Grandfather to Grandson. But enough about me. The key that Paul stresses is the idea of "justification by faith." Faith and personal growth come from just accepting and believing and not about "doing" certain things.
When it comes to inspirationals, this is what I love the most (and also why I have turned away so many). Great inspirationals are not going to be based on the insertion of Bible quotes everytime you turn around. I always joke about this. I have read stories that are so heavy with quotes I want to barf. "Samantha listened to the toast pop up as she looked at the pile of dishes. This reminded her of a passage from Habbakuk..." Really? I don't think so.
The ultimate goal of an inspirational is to watch someone who is missing faith come to it. We want to see someone guide someone else back to the safety of that faith. Add a romance into the story and you have a complete package. Not only do we get the happily ever after from the romance, we also get the satisfaction of watching the characters learn something about their faith. The added bonus is also the reader understanding something about themself!
Now, to answer a question many of you might be asking. Why don't I represent inspirationals beyond Steeple Hill. The answer is simple. The Christian book market is TOUGH!!! Agents have to know this industry inside and out. This is something I simply am not immersed in. Could this change? Sure. But for now, it is best if you are interested in heading to those bigger houses, to head to agents that specialize in inspirationals.
Scott
But, a great inspirational can do this in such a way that you don't see it until it has run you over. The message is subtle but powerful.
When it comes to inspirationals, this is what I love the most (and also why I have turned away so many). Great inspirationals are not going to be based on the insertion of Bible quotes everytime you turn around. I always joke about this. I have read stories that are so heavy with quotes I want to barf. "Samantha listened to the toast pop up as she looked at the pile of dishes. This reminded her of a passage from Habbakuk..." Really? I don't think so.
The ultimate goal of an inspirational is to watch someone who is missing faith come to it. We want to see someone guide someone else back to the safety of that faith. Add a romance into the story and you have a complete package. Not only do we get the happily ever after from the romance, we also get the satisfaction of watching the characters learn something about their faith. The added bonus is also the reader understanding something about themself!
Now, to answer a question many of you might be asking. Why don't I represent inspirationals beyond Steeple Hill. The answer is simple. The Christian book market is TOUGH!!! Agents have to know this industry inside and out. This is something I simply am not immersed in. Could this change? Sure. But for now, it is best if you are interested in heading to those bigger houses, to head to agents that specialize in inspirationals.
Scott
Monday, March 12, 2012
It's Not Just About "Paying Your Dues"
I hear a lot of writers talk about the time it takes to get published and to finally make it. Many totally understand that the road to success in this business is not something that happens over night. Again, yes there are those amazing stories of people making it with their first book, but for the majority of the population, time is going to be a factor. With that said, though, there is more to this time issue than I believe many writers understand.
When I do hear these writers talk about the time factor, I always hear those amazing references of the number of rejections all of their favorite authors had. There is this belief that apparently, after a set number of rejections, fate steps in and "grants the author" with the gift of being published.
Ummmmm, not!
When we talk about the time it takes to be successful, we are talking about the amount of learning and education the author has to go through to fully be successful. This is a learning process. The authors that took all of these years before being successful were not simply sitting around and just doing the same thing over and over again. These authors were taking the time to learn their craft and to truly UNDERSTAND how to use all of those writing techniques. Eventually, their writing just became a natural flow of words instead of thinking how to apply those techniques.
If you want to call it "paying your dues" then certainly continue to. Just remember, this is not a passive activity but one that is going to require a lot of study and personal growth.
Scott
When I do hear these writers talk about the time factor, I always hear those amazing references of the number of rejections all of their favorite authors had. There is this belief that apparently, after a set number of rejections, fate steps in and "grants the author" with the gift of being published.
Ummmmm, not!
When we talk about the time it takes to be successful, we are talking about the amount of learning and education the author has to go through to fully be successful. This is a learning process. The authors that took all of these years before being successful were not simply sitting around and just doing the same thing over and over again. These authors were taking the time to learn their craft and to truly UNDERSTAND how to use all of those writing techniques. Eventually, their writing just became a natural flow of words instead of thinking how to apply those techniques.
If you want to call it "paying your dues" then certainly continue to. Just remember, this is not a passive activity but one that is going to require a lot of study and personal growth.
Scott
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