Letterhead

I picked up a copy of the Writer’s Market 2008 Deluxe Edition, complete with website access. Got it for $10 off at Barnes & Noble; the lady at the counter pointed out the online discount when I expressed some adversity to laying down 50 clams for the book. Shipping was free, too. UPS’s tracking claims that it’s been out for delivery for the last ten hours or so, but I’m at work and won’t get to dig in until I get home.

I’ve written another short story since my last post, and I’m going to try to get it published in a scifi periodical. I’ve got lots more ideas for short stories, as well; those will get written and published too, all willing. My current thoughts are to push for a successful freelancing business, and to use that to pretty up my query letters.

I’m also applying for work at various publishing companys in the region. Hopefully I can get an in somewhere, and use that to work my way up the ladder.

Letterhead is not dead. Far from it! I have only begun to fight.
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• Comments Off

I liked the “Word of the Day” theme, but it’s… cluttering up the main page, in lieu of the more important posts, so I’ve decided to cycle it back some. There’ll still be more Words, but they’ll be once per week or so instead of once per day.

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It took place some years in the future; technology had progressed remarkably, but society was still the same old, same old. Specifically, I was part of a team doing a slum-raid - possibly a drug bust, it’s hard to remember. We ended up in a firefight, and I accidentally shot an old man who startled me, and immediately felt awful about it.

As soon as I was able, I went to the old man. We had a doctor with our group; she extracted the bullet and sealed the wound with a “spray suture” (the only piece of technology present in the dream, other than our firearms.) I felt genuinely compassionate for the guy, but he seemed overwhelmed that we actually took the time to help him and fix his mistakes.

If I were to interpret the dream, I would say that it means that my life is in a bit of turmoil, yet that if I take the time to slow down and pay attention to the things that matter - my dog, my writing and career, things like that - then everything will work itself out. It wasn’t me who sutured the old man’s wound, yet I was the first to acknowledge the mistake and the first to try my best to make things right.

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Today’s word is the noun, “cockade.” A cockade is a rosette (or a knot of ribbons) worn in a hat as a badge of office or as part of a uniform.

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Maybe it’s just me, but the articles in Writer’s Market proper seemed less… helpful, I guess, than the ones in the Guide to Literary Agents. Perhaps this is because on the whole it is a less targetted, more general volume, but I don’t really feel as if I got very much out of the three or so hours I spent pouring over its contents.

It wasn’t a total loss, admittedly - there was a good article about writing query letters which I will be taking to heart tonight as I compose mine, and there was information about contests I could submit my work too. One of the articles’ authors (Sean Murphy, The Hope Valley Hubcap King) listed some good references for contests as well, so I’ll be checking on those as well.

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Here’s what I learned, in brief, from the Guide to Literary Agents.

First, while it’s not completely necessary to have an agent, it helps an awful lot. Agents tend to specialize in certain types of books, and will not only know which editors and which publishing houses will be most interested in your work, but will also know how best to get in contact with those editors and, most importantly, will be able to get your work read

Some agents will charge a reading fee, some will charge a critique fee, and some will charge an office supplies fee. The agents listed in the Guide will typically request reimbursement for office expenses (such as photocopying and postage) but none will charge reading or critique fees; they make their money solely on commission (10%-15% domestic, 20% foreign, typically split 50/50 with a co-agent.)

Your query letter is important. You need to address the prospective agent by name, not with a generic “sir” or “madam.” Further, you need to hook them on your book right then and there - with nothing more than a short paragraph or two. The query letter is a one-pager designed to get on their good side, and to get them to read your synopsis or manuscript. You want to be polite and businesslike; further, you do not want to mention that your “readers” enjoyed the book (sorry, guys.) If you’ve won any contests or have name recognition from somewhere, mention it; if you’re completely inexperienced, leave it aside and don’t mention it at all. Further, if you want to make a career of it (as I do) be sure to mention that - agents are looking for someone they can work with long-term, who will bring them income from multiple projects… in other words, someone who isn’t just a one-hit wonder.

A synopsis, for agents who request one, is a brief encapsulation of your novel. It should walk through it step-by-step, include what the characters are feeling and all of the important details, in the order they’re revealed. The Guide provided quite a lot of good information about the construction of synposes which I will not attempt to duplicate here; find the book at your library or bookstore if you want specifics.

I also learned about subsidiary rights, or subrights. These are rights that you, as an author, are in possession of when you complete your manuscript. A lot of these get signed over to the publisher in a standard contract; a few always remain with you as the author, and a few are negotiable. Some of the rights that go to the publisher are first print, reprint rights, second serial rights (excerpting after publication), and book club rights. The ones that always stay with you are alternate-format rights (”performance” rights) - movie deals, TV deals, theatrical productions, the like, as well as commercial and merchandising rights. Rights that are negotiable are first serial (prior to publication), foreign language, audiobook, and electronic rights. Further, your contract should stipulate that when your book goes out of print (e-book and print-on-demand services absolutely should not count as “in print”) all rights return you as the author.

On to the next volume! I think I’m going to do the Writer’s Market proper today, and I’ll start building my list of prospective agents tonight. I’ll be sure to post my query letter here when it’s done, as well!

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I’ve just finished reading the articles section in the 2007 Guide to Literary Agents. I’m debating which of the three I should tackle next, but I imagine they all share some articles, such as the one on drafting query letters and synopses… More information about what I learned, in brief, in the morning.

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Today’s word is the noun, “ermine.” It describes either a stoat, or a stoat’s white fur.

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My research materials have arrived - the 2007 editions of Writer’s Market, Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. They’re library loaners (because I’m broke and unemployed at the moment) but there’s a good moral to this story nonetheless - while these would be considered reference books in a lot of libraries, some do have them available for circulation.

I’ll probably start with the Guide to Literary Agents, as most everyone I talk to says that having an agent is a really important part of getting published.

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Last night at choir rehearsal, I met a recently-retired Harvard professor who had contacts with the Signet Society; she possibly was the head of it for a time, I’m not completely sure (need to clarify.) I introduced myself and told her of my book, and that I’m trying to get published, and she said she’d look through her contacts and see what she could come up with.

Just goes to show - if you don’t ask, you don’t get! If we really believe in the “six degrees of separation” theory, then someone I know almost certainly knows someone who can help me. Thus, I’m asking as many people as I can for any contacts they may have!

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