The Misadventures Of Super Librarian: Little Miss Crabby Pants Pours One Out: RIP Harleq...

The Misadventures Of Super Librarian: Little Miss Crabby Pants Pours One Out: RIP Harleq...: Y'all it's a dire timeline we currently find ourselves in and it's spilling over into Romancelandia. Word got out this week that...

This is a must read!!!!!

Honestly, get out there and buy ALL of the Harlequin Historicals You can get your hands on! Here is the link!

BUY BOOKS HERE!!!!!

Prove to them this is the biggest damn mistake of their life.

#MSWL - Wanted: Writers Who Know How To Write

Sorry, this might be a bit of a rant.

I honestly have to say, there are days when I simply do not want to open up my email and look at submissions. It is often depressing. My kids will often ask me on a weekend, what my plans are and I sometimes joke, "It is time to read manuscripts and reject authors." Please note, this IS meant as a joke. When I sit down to read manuscripts, I seriously want to find great writers.

Instead, I often find mediocre to "Your really think this is the best you can do?"

Yes, I know this sounds harsh, but the reality of the situation is that we have a lot of people out there just writing without having one idea of A) what a great story is; B) thinking that writing about a social issue makes their stories great; or C) having no clue how the business of publishing works.

I know some of you have read my blog in the past and have heard me say the same thing before, but it really is becoming a sad reality.

I had sat down to write something positive today (that will be for tomorrow) but when I read submissions over the weekend and then, read a post on social media of some writer complaining that her amazing story about some random social issue (with get this, an racial AND LGBTQ issue inserted into it) and how that story did not get published until she did it herself, it got me screaming. I read the blurb on this book in her bio and I have to say, the plot is not unique other than the fact it was all over the place.

My daughter went to a middle school and high school writers conference this weekend. It was a chance to learn about the craft of writing from authors. What was scary is that the ONLY thing she could tell us about this one author is that he was gay and he made that a focus of his writing. I asked what the stories were about, and she had no clue. I asked her what made the stories good, and all she could tell me is that he kept talking on and on about how his stories focused on gay issues. This alone does not make a story great.

I did say I was ranting, right?

In any case, if you want to enter into the business of publishing, or for that matter, any other business out there, you need to take the time to learn not just the craft, but how the entire industry works. Have you watched Kitchen Impossible on the Food Network. How many times has Robert Irvine ask these people, "What training have you ever had in the restaurant industry?" and then often followed up with "And yet you thought it was a great idea to open a restaurant?"

This is how I feel with many of the writers today.

Reading just blogs like mine here, or taking a random workshop at a writer's conference (at least that would be a step in the right direction), or simply writing something and slapping it on the internet IS NOT education. Becoming a writer takes the effort of reading and analyzing quality writers. It takes the time necessary to practice, to get feedback to practice some more, to study some more, to read some more and to practice.

I will tell you, when I review projects I am not looking for only those stories that would I can retire on. Would it be great if I found one? Sure. I am looking for authors who know the business, and who know how to create truly quality stories. And those of you who seem to think agents are nothing more than "gatekeepers" filtering out only certain types of stories, I want you to take the time to ask yourself how much training you have personally had in the craft of writing. This might be the reason you have not moved ahead in your writing career.

Money, Income, Authors...What is the underlying problem?

I know I already posted today, but I felt the need to post this as well. This popped up in my social media feed and I do think it is worth discussing. It is also something I have been screaming about for some time. We are talking about money and authors getting paid.

The article that popped up was titled

The Disastrous Decline in Author Incomes Isn’t Just Amazon’s Fault

The bookselling behemoth is making life harder for writers, but so is the public perception that art doesn’t need to be paid for

Again, I think we are missing a couple of key factors.

First, let me say that this author is right on a couple of parts. People today want things cheap or free. While I fully understand this as someone getting ready to put my second kid into college (both will be at private colleges in New York), there are a lot of angles to this we need to look at. And I am sorry to say, but some of this does fall into the hands of the authors.

Let's get the author fault out of the way first. I don't know if you have ever tried this search before, but next time you go into Amazon, look for a new book to read. Pick your genre, pick your sub-genre, and then, before you start looking, set it for the search criteria of lowest price to highest price. Ready for this? You will go through nearly 1000 people just giving their books away for free. I hate to break this to you, but the majority of those authors are self-published authors. What they are thinking is that if we give Book #1 away for free, the people will come back for Book #2. But here is the catch... Book #1 needs to be beyond amazing. I have to honestly say, out of all the times I have
looked for that "quick free read" I have found nothing but, for lack of a better word, garbage. And yes, I did look for some books from authors who I had recognized in the past.

The next level is again on the self-published authors shoulders. Setting books at cheaper costs is going to bring in less revenue. Thank you Captain Obvious. Again, I get that if we mark some things down, every now and then, we can get some buyers, but if we are doing this all the time, money is not going to be flowing in.

Now, before you think I am only going to throw authors under the bus, understand that they are not the only people to blame.

When e-books first came out, we had these things called , get this... E-READERS. These were devices designed to allow you to READ. That is all those darn things did. But for some reason, people wanted more, so the designers did just that. They provided devices that would:

• access the internet
• access your email
• stream movies
• let you get on social media
• play games...….

Get the idea? People quit reading.

If you have kids in school, you know exactly what I am talking about. Teachers are not having kids read any more. We have dumbed things down so much that now, we "watch videos". I have a friend who has a kid at one school who promotes, "putting the text on the screen in the classroom, and then having the audio reader read it to them." No reading there. IN the 1990's my students at a middle school level read 8 books a year. This year, barely 1. 

Go to a large group activity and look around you. There will be no one reading a book around you. They have their Netflix. They have their Hulu. Not one person reading. I am sorry to say this, but even ask yourself. What do you do on your phone? While we would like to say we read, the odds are, if you really track your reading, it might not be a lot. 

The author of the article also talked about their new approach for buying books. They were now going to buy more books. That's fine, but remember, buying books at a used bookstore, is not getting those profits back to the author UNLESS you are buying those books new and that used bookstore owner buys the books from the publishers. 

Look, until we get back to being a literate society, this IS going to be a struggle. We need to read with our kids. We need to read instead of watching TV or streaming movies. We need to quit looking for the cheap way to get our books. And, as authors, the links you put up for your books need to be for the legitimately priced books. Quit giving away your hard work.

It's Apparently Not A Problem Until You Lose

Look, you lost! Get over it!

In recent months, I have gotten extremely frustrated with the number of people who seem to have no problem the way things are going UNTIL they lose. I am not someone who is a big sports fan, but on the way to the stables this weekend, I heard on the radio about a call that was (or was not) made during the recent Final 4 Tournament. This got me thinking about that call that was not made during the NFL season last year. A team loses and only after, those not on the winning side begin to rant and rave about how that single call (or lack thereof) was the only reason that person did not make it to the next round.

And I am hearing the same thing now in the publishing industry, especially with those that are "upset" by the final decisions of the RITA awards for the Romance Writers of America.

 Look, you lost! Get over it!

If we look at those sporting events, if the team that lost was "so good" then it should not have come down to a single play. Let's say that the foul was called. Does that mean that the losing team would have made that foul shot? Absolutely not!

We have all heard the expression, "Hindsight is 20/20." I get it. This is much of the same thing when we can make our horoscope be correct when we read it at the end of the day. But with that said, you cannot now go back and look at a decision and claim that was the single reason why you did not win. The authors who are now complaining about all of the reasons why their books were not selected, or a specific genre was not represented, or a particular trope did not win cannot make these claims. All that these authors can claim is that their book or books) did not win.

Had their book won, there would have never been an issue. But think of it this way. Let's really take it to an extreme level here with this hyperbole.

Let's say that next year's RITA roles around and the ONLY stories that make it to the finals are stories with those "diverse" plot lines. Nothing straight up the middle. The only criteria for getting into the finals is that the author wrote a story that highlighted "diversity." Does this make it better? My bet is that a lot of people would be screaming. 

Now, if there is clear proof that people judging those preliminary rounds openly said things such as, "I am not voting for that story because it has a mixed race relationship in it." or "I refuse to give someone a high score for a LGBTQ story," then these people have grounds to complain. So again, I say...

Look, you lost! Get over it!

Are there issues with how many of these competitions are being judged? Yes! The lack of a clear criteria and leaving it only up to subjectivity is an issue. But we have to be cautious making claims that cannot be proven. 


I personally like to take the approach that William Blake made regarding this idea.  "Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but foresight is better." Plan to write a great story with quality writing, quality characters, a quality plot and a purpose. Look forward and not backward.

The Weird Stuff We Get

I had a submission, or at least I think it was, come in yesterday. When this showed up, I felt it was time to address why so many editors and agents have gone to the "no response means no" approach to submissions. As for me, this person IS NOT getting a response back.

So, let's start with what I got.

This was a three page document folded up in a standard letter format. That part is fine, but then it gets weird.

Stamped on the outside of the folded letter was a stamp saying it is an Alien's Report. At this point, I have to say, I was in one of those situations similar to standing in front of your fridge, open up the milk and notice a strange smell, and yet, you still go ahead and taste it....Yuck!

Opening it up there is a color drawing. I am thinking this person thinks this will be the cover of the book, or at least something heading in that direction. but it was the writing that made the strongest impact.

This is the ramblings of a very strange, disturbed person. My entire family looked at the letter and frankly, none of us could figure it out. This was just weird.

Now, I am sure that this person thinks writing the letter in this format showcases the amazing writing ability of this person. I am sure someone told this person that you have to find a way to get the attention of those editors and agents. While this is important, when you write in a fashion that only provides the reader with negative attention, and less than positive thoughts, you have failed.

Over the years, I have received multiple submissions similar to this. And please note, I am not the only one. Get a group of agents together and it is inevitable that we all reach the "You think that one was bad" conversation about other submissions.

So, let's return this back to your frustrations at getting no feedback from editors and agents. You have to thank those idiots out there who are filling our boxes with garbage such as this. You can also add to this list the numerous writers out there who A) have no understanding how to write anything worth reading; and B) those who have no understanding of publishing as a true business.

If you are serious about being a professional writer, learn to be a professional writer. Demonstrate when you send in that submission you are in this as a business and not just someone who writes "stuff." And for those of you who are still writing that garbage, do us all a favor. First, quit sending us your stuff. Secondly, find a group of other "friends" (or aliens) that share your same interests and write for each other.

What The Self-Publishing Market Has Done To The Publishing Industry

This last weekend, I spent a lot of time reading submissions. I know I have mentioned this in the past, but I had an overwhelming amount of submissions that were far from the genres that I represent. Along the same lines, there were a lot of those submissions that no publisher out there would ever represent. In this second case, it is not because the publishing world is not open to new and unique projects, but it was the fact that these stories were something no one would every buy due to the content. Since starting the industry, I have seen more and more of these projects, and, in all honesty,

the number has risen even faster with the rise of the self-publishing options out there.

Now, before I go any further, let me say that I do not have a problem with self-publishing as a marketing tool. There are times when an author will have a project that is unique, or that it falls outside of what he or she would normally write with their own publisher and self-publishing is the way to go. I write poetry and frankly, that is one of the best approaches for that genre.

But here is where the self-publishing model goes awry. Authors are using self-publishing, either through routes such as Kindle publishing, or even creating their own publishing title, but not really thinking about market research or the quality of the final product. Sure, they may spend time "editing" their stories. Sure, they may pay huge sums of money for a book doctor to edit the project. But knowing the market just does not seem to be part of the equation.

You might be asking, how does this have an effect of traditional publishers or traditional agents? The answer is simple. Many of these authors, who either start out wanting to take the traditional route, or those who started out with the self-publishing route and then want to move to traditional, are learning a lot of bad habits and simply not learning about the business. These authors really seem to lack much of the basic knowledge of market research, knowing their own genre, or even how the entire publishing industry works. For you see, with self-publishing, it is a simple process of: 1) write a books; and 2) upload the book. At that, you are suddenly a published author.

As an agent, I am also seeing numerous authors (I generally range from 30%-50% of the submissions I read) where the person sends projects that are not what I acquire, and still, they try to justify that their project is the exception to the rule. For some reason, I will drop everything I am doing and pick up their collection. Just this last weekend, I had someone who wanted to submit a coffee table book of erotic pictures of couples having sex. Ummmm, A) Not what I represent; and B) are you really going to leave this out on a coffee table?

Look, I don't care what approach you want to take when it comes to publishing, but you need to understand that this is a business. Just because you wrote a series of words on a page and it looks somewhat like a book does not mean it needs to be published. Just because you put those words together does not mean you don't need to learn what the industry is about and how you go about working in the industry as a true professional.

When Established Authors Jump Ship To Follow Trends

This one really gets me going, and I will say, not in a pleasent way. We scream time and time again about following trends. Never do this. We tell beginning writers to focus on what they do well and make sure they continue to improve. Editors tell writers to stick to what you know, and yet, time and time again, I see authors who have a great career in one area diving into the latest trend just to be "new" at something.

Now don't get me wrong. In no way am I saying that people cannot change what they do. I just get frustrated when I see someone just jumping into a category because it is the hottest thing. I started thinking about this when I saw the new Ann Rice novel coming out. I love Ms. Rice's writing. I am one of the biggest fans of the Mayfair witch series. But I have to say, when I saw she was writing a werewolf novel, my only thought was "come on Ann, really???" Now, maybe the writing is good. I haven't read it yet. The point is, was her motivation really a desire to write this story, or was this a move to jump into something that is someone hot right now due to the Twilight phenomenom.

We have seen this in other areas as well. Spy novelest suddenly turning to what they call romance. Paranormal writers suddenly thinking they can write YA. Great Chick lit/Romantic Comedy writers suddenly thinking they can write the dark and grime.

Not sure what to say about this. Maybe this is just a Tuesday morning complaint. Who knows.

Scott

Scott Chimes in on No Response = No Controversy

I am not one who normally jumps in on something such as this, but I do believe this time I will. This is in response to the SCBWI Open letter Controversy on the No Response=No issue from publishers and agents http://scbwi.blogspot.com/2011/11/scbwis-open-letter-to-kid-lit-industry.html

I have to say, in this case, I personally side with the authors on this one. I am personally someone who thinks the arguments used by publishers and agents such as:

• Taking the no response option reduces the amount of negative letters I get from my rejections I send out.
• The time it takes to write a rejection letter is just too time consuming
• The business world uses this so it is OK if we do.

...is a bunch of garbage.

I for one believe that answering letters is a PROFESSIONAL thing to do. I also believe that the approach the agents and publishers take when opening the door to submissions can prevent many of these issues.

For example:

We don't have to respond to those negative comments. Most of those are coming from crack-pot writers who will never be successful in the business anyway so why do we even need to respond to them. Along the same lines, if you provide a legitimate reason for rejecting the story, then there is not problem. I also believe that if the guidelines are clear on the publisher or agency website as to what they accept and do not accept, then this can also prevent the problems. Saying "I take everything and I look at everything" or " I want a strong story with strong characters" gives the authors absolutely nothing to work with. Still, this all comes back to the same point I made at the beginning. Why respond?

Secondly, when it comes to a response, it really doesn't take that long. I have timed my reponses and found that it takes me 1 minute to write a response. This is not a "form letter" but often contains similar comments that I say time and time again to authors. Let's face it. Most authors make the same mistakes so the comments I make in rejections will often be very similar.

I should also add that if an agent or a publisher says they take a look at everything, or at conferences, tells every writer to send a full manuscript because they either don't like pitch sessions or don't want to hurt the writers' feelings by telling them no to their face have also opened a door to having to respond.

Finally, the concept that the business world does this so we can do it to is simply a Bandwagon Fallacy. Just because other people do it doesn't make it right.

Look, the solutions are simple.

• If you think submissions are coming in too fast and furious for you, limit what you take and make it clear to the authors your policy. Here at Greyhaus, I make it very clear, I only take romance and women's fiction. Submit something other than that and you will get a quick form response to that your story is not what I am looking for. End of story.
• If you think your submission load is too high, quit telling people to send you material.
• If you have an email system for submissions, put in an auto reponse that tells people that at least the submission made it to your INBOX. I am sorry to say this, but technology is not all that you think it is. Things do get lost. (I sent a fax 4 times to a publisher this week only to find out they had a jam on their end).
• And if you are a publisher that really isn't open to new authors, then simply tell the public that. You would be surprised, but authors can take the truth.

I know, I will continue to send a response. Initial first time reponses will be "form letters" so don't count on more. If I request more from you, there will be a response. It might only be a couple of lines, but you will get a response.

As always, IMHO,

Scott

Creative Writing Programs Need To Change Focus

Teaching creative writing courses is a lot of fun. This is a chance, as an instructor, to really get out there and watch people, who haven't been corrupted by money, who haven't been told they can't write, who haven't seen a rejection letter, really thrive and grow. Creative writing classes truly are places where we can see the human experience coming alive on the page and in front of us.

With that said, I do believe that many of these programs need to find a way to make some small tweaks in how they approach the business. This is especially true for many of the MFA Writing programs out there. What seems to be missing in many of these programs is the element of reality. Writers going through these programs, more often than not, are seeing a world through rose colored glasses. In an effort to encourage creativity and writing, programs are forgetting the reality of what it takes to survive in the world of professional writing.

I do want to stress that not all teachers and programs are bad. I am however, looking at the big picture and seeing too many missing the mark.

I started thinking about this as I sat next to a couple of adjunct instructors at a community college I do some work with. These two were talking about the MFA programs they were part of the works they were crafting. The enthusiasm and excitement was incredible. Their passion was over-flowing as they talked about the "novels" they were writing. The problem I head though, was the sense that they knew, the combination of this MFA and the completion of their novel would equal immediate success in publishing.

Wow!

I had the opportunity to teach a creative writing class last year and I was equally as shocked when I saw the textbooks assigned for the course. As you know, I am always saying there is no one right way to do something. Your story will dictate the course of action you need to take to get the message across. And yet, the curriculum being taught focused on stressing there really is only one way to do something. Along the same lines, the curriculum even went so far as perpetuating the myth that if you have a plot, character, setting, conflict and so forth (note I didn't say quality here) then the story would be good.

I would also add that many of the creative writing programs are being taught by instructors that might not necessarily be prepared to teach the class. Universities have professors who are published, but the works they are creating are being published within their own university presses. They already had someone who was going to "buy" the work because of their contracts. Others are using POD programs or even programs that many in the publishing industry refer to as rip-offs and scams. Students see these instructors as "being successful" however, and then translate that to their own writing.

As someone who has been on both sides of this equation - someone who works in professional publishing and someone who works in academia - I would call for these creative writing programs to reconsider their approaches. No, I don't want them to eliminate the creative element, and the drive to bring in the human experience, but please, add some reality.

Scott

A Concept Pitch to Writers

Dear Writer,

I have been extremely excited about the recent interest in writing and publishing. I am also equally as excited to see you have an interest in this literary agency. With that in mind, I have a fantastic high concept idea I would love to propose to you.

As you know, when writers submit stories to editors and agents, they are asked to not only submit a query, but often a synopsis and samples of their writing. This is certainly standard to all agents. What I propose, and I know this might sound a bit extreme, is for the writers submitting projects to demonstrate a knowledge of the business. This would include, but not be limited to:

• Knowing the guidelines for the editor and agent they are submitting to.
• Knowing what genre their project is and how it is something that is marketable to the public.
• Demonstrating the ability to follow directions when submitting.
• Submitting material that is grammatically correct and shows strong inherent writing skills.
• Displaying a level of professionalism and interest in learning and growing in the business.

While this might seem an outrageous idea, I would highly recommend giving it a chance. In the end, I see the success of this idea displaying itself in several ways:

• Less rejection letters for issues not dealing with the quality of writing.
• A decrease in money spent by both writers and professionals for correspondence back and forth.
• Happier writers and professionals when it comes to the writing process.
• A higher quality of writing being produced for the public.

Thank you again for your interest.

Scott Eagan

Agent

Don't Bring About Your Own Demise

I'm going out on a limb here with a pretty startling statement...

"Book sales drive this industry."

I know, I know, I might be a bit out there on that one, but it is true. No seriously, sales do drive this business.

As I look around at writers that are struggling, or book stores that are going out of business, I have to return to that single phrase that book sales do run the business. Sure that seems obvious but the demise that I started this blog out with is really coming from many of you as well as a couple of other small issues that I'll bring up later.

1) SHARING BOOKS - This one really infuriates me as an agent who wants to see his authors make sales. Let's say one of your relatives buys one of your books and, like a good relative, loves the book. They believe in you, they say, and they want to see your sales go up. So they "pass the book on" to their other relatives. Now this might seem insignificant, but everytime they pass it to another relative, that is one sale that does not happen. Of all the people out there, they should be buying your books. Not a discount. Not at a "family gets it for free rate." They should be paying and you should be encouraging it!

2) USED BOOK STORES AND BOOK EXCHANGES - Yes, I know times are tough. Yes, I know these stores are independent and small businesses which we do need to invest in. HOWEVER, when you buy a book that is "used" there are no profits ever returning to the author. What is worse, is that those sales are NEVER recorded with the publisher. Remember, your sales determine whether or not the publisher wants to continue with your contract. Look, I am not saying to avoide these stories. In many cases, they have new books that they got from the distributer. Buy those.

3) E-Books vs. Print - Hmmmm, which one makes more money. I am always amazed at how many people wait for the book to come out on e-book because it is cheaper. Sure, but does that help out the author? No! Sure they do get some of the profit, but in the end, it is less than the print copies. And where do we get these from? Not those book stores we want so desperately to stay open. We get them from those external sites, some of which aren't connected with a book store directly.

The point is, if you want to see the book stores stay open, as authors, you need to be the first to get out there and start shopping IN the stores. I don't want to hear the ease of shopping factor. I don't want to hear about the cost. Make an effort!

Bookstores need your business to stay open. Do something about it!

Scott

Blog Flog - You're Missing the Point People!

There are days when I read the responses from writers on my posts and I have to really laugh. This is not so much from the authors telling jokes, but authors who make comments clearly showing me they are missing the point.

Let me highlight a few of the ideas that have come up over the last several months.

• We talk about query letters and people are obsessed with the grammar elements instead of hearing the comment that your pitch and high concept element of the letter needs to sell us.
• Someone commented about the query letters saying it is nothing more than a cover letter we "slap on a resume." Yes it is! But you would be surprised how many resumes are rejected because the cover letter didn't sell the product.
• We talk about targeting your story and writers feel this is limiting your freedom of creativity. Again, this is not about stopping your creativity but thinking of market analysis and seeing this as business.
• One agent makes a comment on a blog and then is slammed because a writer heard something different from someone else. Did anyone remember the comment about publishing being subjective.
• Just because you or a friend did something, it doesn't mean it is a trend or the standard.

I think the whole point to consider is to take what you can use. Think BIG PICTURE here and don't focus strictly on the smaller points.

Now, off to play serious catch up after a great break with the family. Of course leaving 85 degrees to this disgusting rain and wind isn't working for me.

Scott

Another thought on E-printing programs - And a Blog Flog!

This one is going out to those e-printing programs now on the rise across the internet and to those that write books that frankly aren't worthy to be printed.


For those of you following the publishing news lately, you have likely heard about the book being marketed online with a major publisher attempting to justify and make easier the behavior of pedophiles. Honestly, in my humble opinion, I was sickened when I saw this book.





Obviously, there is the issue of the topic. I understand that people have the right to say things that they want (with limits), however, as I listened to the author talk, truly trying to justify his topic and making it sound justifiable. That was too much for me personally.





But, since this is a blog focused on publishing, I want to bring up my complaint with this book in that light. When I saw this, it once again supported my argument about the availabilty of e-printing to everyone. Programs being operated by major book retailers or online sites seem to really be putting money ahead of quality.





I do understand there is a downside to this. I am thinking of the authors out there that were once published with traditional publishers and are now selling their books electronically that they own the rights for. But, now that this issue has come up with this other book, there will be an effect on these other authors. I can clearly see policies, legal decisions and the like coming up that will now put a serious bump in the e-publishing market.





I have said this in the past, and I will say this again. Publishing is open to everyone, but not everything should be published. No, this is not a matter of being an elitist and saying people aren't worthy. This is simply a matter of looking at publishing as a business.





Just my thoughts on this.

Pet Peeves

I have been working really hard to get caught up on the submissions coming across my desk so I thought it was time to crank out a list of pet-peeves. Not sure what this is accomplishing but it certainly feels good to write them down.

1. Filling out my online form that clearly states a story needs to be 75,000 words in length and a writer enters 20,000 words in the word count.

2. Writers who seem to think they are at diva status already and only have to go by 1 name or simply initials. Makes it kind of hard to write a response.

3. Writers who send me projects that are listed on my "I don't acquire list" and then respond telling me I should not be so narrow focused.

4. Writers who jump on whatever bandwagon seems to be the "trend" with absolutely no clue what the genre really requires (this is really for those people writing YA right now).

5. Writers who keep firing off one project after another to me within seconds of receiving a rejection from me without taking the time to make sure the new project fits.

6. Writers who believe cutting and pasting the first 5 chapters of their stories into the body of the email.

7. Submissions to Dear Agent, Dear Mr. Greyhaus, Dear Ms. Greyhaus, etc.

8. 200,000 word Category romances.

9. Writers who claim they are an extensively published and highly successful author with tons of sales who really are only self-published and offer their books on their own private website only.

10. Submissions that tell me their book is amazing but don't tell me a darn thing about the book (and yes, this includes the title, genre or word count).

11. Submissions that tell me to go visit their website to get the information because they didn't feel they had to submit the necessary materials.

12. Authors that make up their own cover art for stories that aren't even published.

Yeah, I think that about does it.

Scott

Borders, BookBrewer Launch E-Publishing Platform | News & Opinion | PCMag.com - A Reaction

Borders, BookBrewer Launch E-Publishing Platform News & Opinion PCMag.com

Here is one more example of something I have been ranting about for some time. Again, we see a company promoting this idea that anyone can be published. I have to stress that there really is a huge difference between having something "published" and having something "printed."

The simple fact that this program allows "anything" to be put up for sale represents another example of a potential decline in the quality of writing out there. I am not saying that everyone who uses a program like this is putting out garbage. Along the same lines, I am not saying that everyone who goes through the traditional route of publishing is putting out Pulitzer quality writing. What I am stressing is that there is absolutely zero accountability for that work being worthy.

I guess as I look at a situation such as this, as well as the Barnes and Noble PubIt! program, I am not too worried about these writers suddenly taking over the market. From the writers that I have talked to here on the blog, at conferences and what not, the majority of readers out there with the access to e-book technology are not buying the random books that have been self-printed (I simply can't bring myself to calling it self-publishing). If they do "buy" the book, they are often doing so when the price is listed as $0.00.

As someone with a background in literacy, I am frustrated with this move. Publishing is certainly open to everyone but there is an inherent professional obligation that the writer and publisher has to make an effort to insure the writing is going to be the best.

Scott

You Will Get An Answer - No Form Letters For Me

This business has changed a lot since I first opened Greyhaus in 2003. There were more publishers out there that took unsolicited submissions and unagented submissions. Unfortunately, there was a huge rise in writers attempting to become the next Great American Author and the end result is the publishers closed their doors. Unless you had an agent, they wouldn't talk. The problem with this was the "trickle down theory."

While the publishers weren't dealing with this huge influx of writers, the agents were now being bombarded by them. Our submissions went through the roof. As an agent, what is most frustrating is that many of these submissions were for stories that would never work. Some were not marketable, some were simply not finished, some were very poor in quality and some were simply not stories that we were looking for. Here at Greyhaus, I only look for romance and women's fiction, and yet, I am constantly getting submissions for biographies, economic textbooks, histories, political tell-all books and yes, even a few of haiku. All of these require the time to write back and say no.

As an agent though, I will respond. Sure the answer may be a response I give to a lot of other people, but you will get a response from Greyhaus Literary Agency. Along the same lines, I will tell you why you were rejected. It may be one sentence, it may be a full letter, but you will get a reason.

Dear Author,

Thank you so much for sending me the proposal of My Silliest Book. I appreciate being given the chance to read this. While it sounds like an interesting project, I am simply not an agency that represents biographies. I am therefore going to pass on this.

All the best with your writing.

Scott

O.K. That took me 1 minute to write. Due to a lack of coffee at this moment, I had to catch a few spelling errors, but the point is, it didn't take long. This time is even shorter when I keep that standard answer on my clipboard in the computer and can respond to the 25% of the submissions that all fall into that category. I change the title, I change the genre and we are done.

For those that require more time, I am still able to provide a nugget of information in roughly 1 minute.

Why do I do this? The answer is simple. This is a business and with that business, there is an element of professionalism that goes along with it. Someone took the time to contact me, I need to take the time to respond. I simply do not agree with the use of a form letter that simply says you passed on the project without a reason and I certainly don't agree with the premise that if you don't hear from us, it means we didn't want it. I have seen editors do this too. Whether it is an agent or an editor, it just doesn't work for me.

I honestly wish there was a way to provide a full critique of what didn't work in your manuscript. That is simply something that will not happen. What I can promise you though is that you will hear something. And please, take that piece of information, although it might be small, adapt those comments to a future project and send it along. That second or third manuscript might just be the one I am looking for.

Scott

Don't Blame The Editors or Agents When We Reject You.

I have seen numerous writers lately diving on the "self-publishing" path after repeated rejections of their work. For most of these people, they continually say they are sick of the way the editors and agents are not permitting them to "be themselves." What I often find interesting is that many of these people have books that really have a limited market or no market at all. Sure, all of their "BETA-READERS" as they like to call them, love the books, but in most cases, these are not an objective samplings. Parents, siblings, relatives, friends and those paid editorial services are not the best tools for marketing research.

Now, I want to stress that I am not here to say that self-publishing is not a viable alternative. E-publishing, vanity presses, self-publishing, print-on-demand, or those publisher that use these approaches but call themselves "independent publishers" may be fine approaches. What I am stressing is that if your story is being rejected by numerous professionals in the business, whether they are editors or agents, you might want to take the time to really listen to them.

All writers need to take the time to really do market research as they consider both writing their books and even where they want to submit the projects. Sure, you might think the idea is the best thing ever, but that doesn't mean the story is really marketable. Sure you might notice that there are no books out there on your subject, but that doesn't mean your subject is something everyone wants to read about.

Does this mean you shouldn't write the book. No, I am not saying that. What I am saying is that the story becomes even harder for you to sell if there is no market for it. Taking it to one of the alternative forms of publishing isn't likely going to suddenly increase sales.

Yes, I know I will now have a ton of you telling me how "you did it." O.K. there are some of you that have. That is not the point of this post. I am simply trying to tell you to not blame the editors or agents for rejecting your work and using the other forms of publishing as "proof of why those entrenched in the system are wrong or screwed up." It wasn't us, it was the product you wanted us to sell.

Scott

Attention Angry Writers - Publishing IS a Business!

In the last several days, I have seen Tweets, posts and blogs from writers that are apparently angry. What about? According to them it is the way the business of publishing is set up, the way editors and agents deal with submissions, and any number of issues dealing with publishing. In my humble opinion though, I honestly think most of the complaints are coming from writers that seem to think that anything written is worth being published.

Hmmm, let me think about that.

Last time that I checked, publishing was a business. That means that a publisher looks at what the market is buying now, they look at trends, and they target their "product" toward the customers. They take the same approach that all the other businesses out there take when it comes to marketing. Parachute pants and Members Only jackets are not selling right now, and I don't think anyone cares if you have a case of each of these to sell, the product is not in demand. The same goes for writing.

You may have put your heart and soul into a book, but if it isn't marketable, then it will simply not sell and you can't blame anyone else for this. It may be well written, it may have interesting characters but if it is something that people just don't like, you will get no where in the business.

Oh I know that most people with stories like this will then cite the millions of books they have sold independently, or reference the number of people that believe the same thing that they do, but this does not demonstrate marketablity. Are there some people who have sold things this way? Sure, I am not going to deny that. But for the most part, this is simply not the way the business works.

Again, let's go back to the guy with the parachute pants and Members Only jackets. Could he sell these on the street or on a website? Sure, but is it going to be a full blown business. The odds are no.

The deal is this. Publishing is a business. We work with the same basic fundamentals that every other business operates with, namely supply and demand. I don't care if we have a supply, if the demand is not out there, the product does not sell.

So, it's time to return to what started all of this. Those writers that have been out there on the net compaining about why their books are not being picked up, or why the rejection letter they received was "unfair", or why they are tweaked that an agent that doesn't represent their genre rejected the, or the agent or editor didn't read their full manuscript even though the guidelines only said to send a proposal, please stop and think. What are you really angry about? My bet is that a little introspection might provide the answer.

Oh, and as for the writer out there that thought I was negative, I did send out requests for over 50% of the last round of submissions that came in. Seems to me, that's pretty dang positive.

Writers ARE NOT Paying Attention to What People Tell Them

Writers follow blogs of agents and editors religiously.
Writers are logging into FACEBOOK and other social network sites to read what the professionals are say.
At the moment of writing this blog, there are over 700 of you listening to what I say.
You attend conferences, read articles, sit in chats, attend workshops both in person and online...

And yet you aren't listening...

I was thinking about this during the last weekend. Actually, the thought popped up in my head as I was discussing the issue of the youth of today doing what they want to do even after being told to do something else. I honestly see writers doing the same thing.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying the agents and editors out there are the end all be all; or for that matter, that these professionals have all of the answers, but darn it, if you are paying attention to what we all say, then why aren't you doing it???

I was surfing the blogs of several other agents and found that, just today, the majority of them were saying things that one or the other of us said just last week. In fact, we have been saying many of the same things over and over again. And yet, as I look over the submissions that come in on a regular basis, I see stories from authors that apprently believe their story is the exception.

I'm not talking here about simply the guidelines we have posted on what we want. You know, the format of the query, the materials to be submitted, the genres we are accepting. While there are clearly many writers out there that don't read those, I am talking about a bigger issue here. I'm talking about the quality of the writing and what goes into a good story. I'm talking about the elements that are in stories that each one of us is really looking for. Consider...

• I say I want Contemporary romance with real people in real situations without baggage... and yet you send me stories where the heroine is not only abused in a past life, but is also being chased by a stalker, is dating an alchoholic married guy with issues of his own and now they each find they are pregnant.
• I say I want some new paranormals and not just re-worked vamps and werewoves ... and yet you send me demons who can't bear the light and angels that "shift" into human form but do so with the crunching of bones that we see with the weres.
• I say I want romances where the relationship is the cental story arc and the other elements are the tools to get them through it... and yet you send me stories where we spend the whole time watching the detective investigating the robbery of a hair styling salon, but only thinking about the sex with the heroine.
• I say I want a story with a high concept that demonstrates it is something unique and special... and yet you send me stories where the only thing unique is that the story is set in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia and no other story is set there.

Yes, this might seem to be a rant, but there is a purpose here. Yes, we want you to write the stories you want to write. This is where your unique voice shines through the most. With that said, though. If we tell you that story isn't going to sell, don't submit it to us and then complain that the editor or agent just didn't know what they were doing. We told you and you didn't listen.

Just something to think about since we are about 8 weeks out from Nationals.

Scott

Time To Save A Swimming Pool and Program!

Although many of you might not be from around the Sumner, Washington area, I want to let you all know of a major impending crisis.

The Sumner School District is looking at closing the only high school pool in September, unless they find someone to take over the management of the pool. What does this pool do?

• It provides intermural opportunities in both swimming and water-polo for TWO high schools in the district.
• It provides community swim lessons and lifeguard training to communities.
• It provides open swim for many kids in the area that only have this for swim opportunities.
• It also provides a location for a USA Swim team to practice.

The district, right now, is asking for interested parties to take over the management, but there is a catch. The Sumner School District has placed pretty limiting guidelines for the management:

• The District will only provide money for utilities and "some" up-keep.
• The District wants to maintain all of their programs keeping the profits
• The District wants the management company to assume all liabilities

It is interesting that the district does not use the pool during the day for the students at the school. I am assuming it is simply because they don't have a Physical Education Instructor trained in water training.

It is also interesting that this pool has taken a financial loss recenently. They seem to think it is the maintainance issue; however, their rates of participation in open swim or swim lessons is often small.

Please do me a favor and pass this on to others. If you are in this area, we need your help to make a HUGE push to save this program.

Finally, if you want to help personally, or if you have a company that wants to assist with sponsorship, or in anyway you can think of, email me here at the agency.

I should note, the district is giving people only until May 14th to get RFP's to the board.

Scott Eagan

This is just one more example of school districts taking away programs and facilities "just to save money."