DIS writers - a place for us.

[OceanAnnie]

I will add that the whole cover thing can be very frustrating. In my last book, which I wrote with two co-authors, we really disliked every cover they showed us. REALLY disliked them. We came up with some ideas and sent them over, and they said "they could not work with them." Eventually they more or less forced us to choose from three options, none of which we liked much. I've had similar experiences in some of my past books - although others have been good.

Anyone interested in writing short stories might check out the Toronto Star short story contest (www.thestar.com). I actually WON this contest many years ago. The prizes are good and it's great exposure.

Teresa

The short story contest looks really interesting! But you have to be living in Ontario to qualify. Darn.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Ginny Favers, I haave been trying to self pub for a couple of months now. Would love any ideas ways you could suggest to market the book.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Ginny Favers, I haave been trying to self pub for a couple of months now. Would love any ideas ways you could suggest to market the book.

Hi! Well the first thing you need to do to be a self-publishing success is...wait for it... write a really, really good book. That goes without saying for any method of publishing... yes, crap gets published but the only way a book survives is by word of mouth.

I saw you have your book on Kindle. Have you attempted to solicit reviews from book bloggers? Offer free copies for review. There are a growing number of bloggers out there that only review self-published works, as because there is a growing amount of self-published crap out there on Amazon, there is a big need for someone to sift through it all and pull out the gems. Look here for more info: http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/reviewer-list.html

Also you may look into setting up a blog tour. This is where you contact a number of bloggers that may have audiences that would be interested in your book, and offer to do a guest-post or interview.

Additionally, how often do you visit other blogs and comment on them? Or forums like this one? You do not want to aggressively sell your work as way too many writers do that and it's nothing but an annoyance, but you may just post a pertinent comment, with a link to your website. Get your name and the website of your book out there.

Keep in mind that the nice thing about self-publishing is that you might take years to find an audience, and that's ok. With traditional publishing, your book has a very short time to find an audience. But I've heard that it's like a snowball, it may take time to get that momentum, but once it does, it grows exponentially. Start by getting good first reviews. And if the reviews aren't good? Move on. Don't dwell. Always be working on something new.

Good luck!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Thanks so much for replying,

I have just got past the marketing by guilt technique and am starting to look for new avenues. I built a fan page on facebook that I am hoping will be fun for others as well as myself. I also just started doing some very light advertising on facebook as well.
I will definitely look into the blogging sites and techniques you mentioned.
My daughter is an amazing artist and this is a team project. Is it easy to work with pictures/illustrations on blog sites or would I be better building a website.

 

[Ginny Favers]

My daughter is an amazing artist and this is a team project. Is it easy to work with pictures/illustrations on blog sites or would I be better building a website.

I really advocate money flowing TO the author, instead of away from the author, so maybe consider playing around with a free blogging tool like WordPress? It has a lot of flexibility and there are a lot a authors who use it as their primary website.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

The short story contest looks really interesting! But you have to be living in Ontario to qualify. Darn.

I'm so sorry, I didn't notice that part.

Teresa

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm so sorry, I didn't notice that part.

Teresa

That's okay. It got my interest! I love contests.

 

[Desnik]

Ginny Favors
Thanks for joining us, glad to have your help! Thank you for answering my questions.


I wanted to just drop by and give an update on my progress. After I finished writing my manuscript I reread it (for the 20th time ) and hated it!
I started beating myself up over the POV. So, I tried rewriting it in 3rd person.(just the 1st 3 chapters) It flowed and was ok but didn't feel true to my story. It was like my MC didn't have a voice. Her story needs to be told in 1st person. Originally I wrote it in 1st person present tense. So, I'm starting over, I am now rewriting it in 1st person past tense and making minor changes along the way. It just reads better that way for this story even though I know it's not the "norm" for paranormal romance. I kept beating myself up that I was "breaking the rules" of writing paranormal romance and finally gave up. I have to stay true to my story and my characters.
I've had a lot going on personally and with the holidays I just started doubting myself as a writer and now I'm trying to pull myself up, and not give up on my story.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Ginny Favors
Thanks for joining us, glad to have your help! Thank you for answering my questions.


I wanted to just drop by and give an update on my progress. After I finished writing my manuscript I reread it (for the 20th time ) and hated it!
I started beating myself up over the POV. So, I tried rewriting it in 3rd person.(just the 1st 3 chapters) It flowed and was ok but didn't feel true to my story. It was like my MC didn't have a voice. Her story needs to be told in 1st person. Originally I wrote it in 1st person present tense. So, I'm starting over, I am now rewriting it in 1st person past tense and making minor changes along the way. It just reads better that way for this story even though I know it's not the "norm" for paranormal romance. I kept beating myself up that I was "breaking the rules" of writing paranormal romance and finally gave up. I have to stay true to my story and my characters.
I've had a lot going on personally and with the holidays I just started doubting myself as a writer and now I'm trying to pull myself up, and not give up on my story.

You're welcome!

And good for you! You WILL constantly doubt yourself, that is the norm for writers, no matter how many books you have completed. What makes you succeed is perservering despite those doubts. I am glad you're throwing away the "rules". Too many writers think they can't do that, but as the writer, YOU know your story best. Good luck and let me know how things are going!!

 

[surfergirl602]

Its been six weeks since I turned in my last ms... hoping to hear back soon. Should be any day (Week) now! crossing my fingers for good news. I could use some good news these days.

 

[surfergirl602]

Ginny Favors
Thanks for joining us, glad to have your help! Thank you for answering my questions.


I wanted to just drop by and give an update on my progress. After I finished writing my manuscript I reread it (for the 20th time ) and hated it!
I started beating myself up over the POV. So, I tried rewriting it in 3rd person.(just the 1st 3 chapters) It flowed and was ok but didn't feel true to my story. It was like my MC didn't have a voice. Her story needs to be told in 1st person. Originally I wrote it in 1st person present tense. So, I'm starting over, I am now rewriting it in 1st person past tense and making minor changes along the way. It just reads better that way for this story even though I know it's not the "norm" for paranormal romance. I kept beating myself up that I was "breaking the rules" of writing paranormal romance and finally gave up. I have to stay true to my story and my characters.
I've had a lot going on personally and with the holidays I just started doubting myself as a writer and now I'm trying to pull myself up, and not give up on my story.

This is really great! You can do whatever you want, its your book! For my last one, after much deliberation and from the advice of my editor, I scrapped the first three chapters of my book. It pained me to do so and I stressed about it, but after I did it, my book was stronger, and it really worked out for the better. I had to weave in some key plot points but wow, did it make a difference in the end.

 

[shamrock30]

Ginny Favers, do you feel a y.a. writer who is not trying to self publish should try to get an agent to submit their work, or submit it themselves? Thanks.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Ginny Favers, do you feel a y.a. writer who is not trying to self publish should try to get an agent to submit their work, or submit it themselves? Thanks.

You don't absolutely HAVE to have an agent, but I recommend it for a number of reasons.

First, many of the larger houses do not look at unagented submissions, and most houses will look at offerings from agents they respect first, as they already trust their judgement.

Secondly, most of us are strapped for time as it is... the time you have is better spent WRITING, not doing the host of other things that agents will handle for you.

Thirdly, unless you are an expert in publishing contracts, it is MUCH smarter to have a professional negotiate yours. They know how to get you better deals. I'm talking... way better. And why is it so important to have a good deal? Because the $ paid as an advance directly correlates to the amount of marketing the publisher will be willing to put into your book.

And lastly, a good agent can guide your career, help you make decisions on how to move forward, answer the MANY questions you may have about this business, handle any uncomfortable confrontations you may have (such as telling your editor you hate your cover, or asking "where is my money??"), and so many other things.

One warning: I'm talking about a GOOD agent. There are MANY bad ones out there. Agents don't need to be accredited. Yes, there is such a thing as the AAR, but a number of very good and reputable agents are not part of it. Basically, you can just set up shop and call yourself an agent, and you're guaranteed to have an influx of submissions from eager-to-be-published writers. I recommend visiting www.agentquery.net and researching agents, then doing as much research as you can on them. Contact their clients and ask. It is true that having a bad agent can be worse than having no agent at all. Finding a good agent match is like finding a husband, really. It took me a couple tries before I found mine.

Good luck!

 

[shamrock30]

Ginny Favers, thank you. I really appreciate your input! (And at the husband/agent comparison...)

 

[Ginny Favers]

Ginny Favers, thank you. I really appreciate your input! (And at the husband/agent comparison...)

You're welcome! And please don't hesitate to let me know if you have more questions. I have lots of experience in finding agents... not that much in finding a husband, though

 

[shamrock30]

You're welcome! And please don't hesitate to let me know if you have more questions. I have lots of experience in finding agents... not that much in finding a husband, though

Thank you! Do you think the chances of interesting an agent (and of course,a publisher) in a contemporary y.a. novel right now, as opposed to fantasy, horror, etc are slim? When I study the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble, it seems as though non-genre (if that's even the right term) books are in short supply, and it's been like that for at least a few years. I know you write supernatural books, and I also know I need to carefully target my queries, but I wondered what your take on the market is as an "insider".

 

[Ginny Favers]

Thank you! Do you think the chances of interesting an agent (and of course,a publisher) in a contemporary y.a. novel right now, as opposed to fantasy, horror, etc are slim? When I study the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble, it seems as though non-genre (if that's even the right term) books are in short supply, and it's been like that for at least a few years. I know you write supernatural books, and I also know I need to carefully target my queries, but I wondered what your take on the market is as an "insider".

If you write contemporary, then I have good news for you. Paranormal and dystopian-- everything that's taking over the shelves at B&N right now (and indeed they even created a separate place for those books!), is waning. Where advances for these books used to be astronomical, as the market has gotten glutted with them, advances and sales have crept way down. Contemporary, while once popular, suffered when paranormals became all the rage, but now appears to be making a comeback. It's unlikely it will ever be a HUGE draw the way paranormal was in the wake of Twilight or dystopian was in the wake of The Hunger Games, but agents and publishers are still looking for it.

However, because of the economy and the whole self-publishing revolution, it's tough to sell ANY kind of book these days, much tougher than it was even 5 years ago.

YA is the one category where taking risks is favored. You can really write things as crazy as you want to. Write from the point of view of a coffee table or tell the whole story backward. Teens are looking for different, and publishers know this and want to take risks. Following a trend isn't a risk, and it isn't the best use of YOUR talents. I advocate ignoring trends and writing the book YOU want, in the most creative, out-there way you can imagine. Just go wild. That is what breaks barriers, and sells, too!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Thanks GF for all your help.

I checked out the site you sent and I am requesting reviews, though many are not accepting new material right now.

MY book is slightly paranormal in concept, and I agree there are just so many books out there now. I wish it wasn't. I think a teen has been transformed into every creature except the blob.

 

[shamrock30]

If you write contemporary, then I have good news for you. Paranormal and dystopian-- everything that's taking over the shelves at B&N right now (and indeed they even created a separate place for those books!), is waning. Where advances for these books used to be astronomical, as the market has gotten glutted with them, advances and sales have crept way down. Contemporary, while once popular, suffered when paranormals became all the rage, but now appears to be making a comeback. It's unlikely it will ever be a HUGE draw the way paranormal was in the wake of Twilight or dystopian was in the wake of The Hunger Games, but agents and publishers are still looking for it.

However, because of the economy and the whole self-publishing revolution, it's tough to sell ANY kind of book these days, much tougher than it was even 5 years ago.

YA is the one category where taking risks is favored. You can really write things as crazy as you want to. Write from the point of view of a coffee table or tell the whole story backward. Teens are looking for different, and publishers know this and want to take risks. Following a trend isn't a risk, and it isn't the best use of YOUR talents. I advocate ignoring trends and writing the book YOU want, in the most creative, out-there way you can imagine. Just go wild. That is what breaks barriers, and sells, too!

Thank you so much for the great advice, and for giving such a complete answer! A college writing program would be lucky to have you as a professor.

I do have a contemporary novel that I sent out only once, directly to a publisher. They kept it for a year before returning it. It was an odd situation, and I ended up shelving the book for far, far too long. Then I got caught up in other things and moved away from writing fiction. So I recently had a talk with myself about focusing on the things I love. I need to revise this novel so I can get it out of my head and then start a new one. I guess I was still working on it in the back of my head because I finally feel like I know how to proceed.

 

[Desnik]

You're welcome!

And good for you! You WILL constantly doubt yourself, that is the norm for writers, no matter how many books you have completed. What makes you succeed is perservering despite those doubts. I am glad you're throwing away the "rules". Too many writers think they can't do that, but as the writer, YOU know your story best. Good luck and let me know how things are going!!

Thank you!!

Its been six weeks since I turned in my last ms... hoping to hear back soon. Should be any day (Week) now! crossing my fingers for good news. I could use some good news these days.

Good luck! Sending your way!