From Self-Published to Published By Jeff Rivera
posted Tuesday May 6, 2008 1:33 PM by Jerry D. Simmons
"Is it possible to land a top agent when you've self-published or published independently?"
3 years ago I set out on a dream to purposely be one of those rare writers who self-published a book and landed a deal with a major publisher and I'm happy to say I achieved that goal. A lot of writers ask me if there was one thing I learned that I would advise them on achieving that goal too and I tell them GET THE RIGHT AGENT.
The right agent can speed up the process tremendously. To give you an example, before I signed with Warner Books my manuscript had been rotting on their slush pile desk for 3 months. The moment I got an agent they read it over the weekend and had an offer within 7 days. Do you see my point?
Editors receive hundreds and in some cases thousands of manuscripts a month. They need some way to cut down the process. They need someone with credibility to filter the manuscript and sift the wheat from the shaft and that's one of the reasons they like to work with top agents.
But how does a self-published author or any writer for that matter, get a top literary agent. Two words, a query letter. Not just any query letter, but one that is crafted in such a way that presents you in the best light. A difference between a query letter you might get from reading a couple of books on query letters and one crafted by a professional can be the difference between signing a deal with a major publisher and getting a pile of rejection letters.
After interviewing quite a few top agents, I really got inside the inner workings of an agent: what they look for, what they want to hear and what immediately turns them off. I started helping quite a few writers craft their query letters and found that I had a knack for it. So much so that every single author I ever helped had requests from top agents for their manuscript or self-published book. Most had at least 15 agents request their books some more than 80 agents. One even had 3 television producers offer her a deal without even reading the book, based on the query letter alone.
Here are a few key things to remember when crafting your query letter:
1)Grab them from the first sentence. This can be in the form of a question, a logline or even the opening line introducing yourself. It can also be in the form of telling them who referred you.
2) Get to the point. The most successful query letters I've written for other authors are short. They are about 1/2 a page long. If you say too much you'll bore them, if you say too little you will not pique their interest. It has to be the right balance.
3) Remember agents, although often passionate about reading and books, are really only glorified sales people. Many do not make hourly wages or salary. They rely on 100% commission to put dinner on the table. So they need product, as much product as possible.
4) Here's something to think about. Most good agents don't want to sell just one book, they want someone who will stick by them and who want a long-term career. This doesn't mean you need to mention you have an 18 part series you've written but do let them know you want to work with them for the long term.
5) Stop thinking about your book as "art" or as your "baby" and start thinking about it as product that needs to be sold.
6) Think about what makes you different and special. Think about the "so what?" factor. Assume they've heard it all before (and they probably have). Is there something about your day job that makes you unique to write this particular book? What about where you grew up or how you grew up? Are you a teacher? A single father? A part time publicist? What about you makes you special?
7) Close your letter with a simple brief statement such as: "If you would like to see a copy of my book please feel free to contact me." And then leave your phone number and email address.
Keep these tips in mind when crafting your query letter and you'll be leaps and bounds above the rest.
Jeff Rivera is the award-winning author of Forever My Lady (Warner Books) For more information on writing query letters that will get agents begging you for your manuscript contact Jeff@JeffRivera.com.
SPECIAL OFFER: The first 50 authors to respond will receive a free critique of their query letter. Tell Jeff you read his article on Jerry Simmons' newsletter.
Categories: Never Published, Published Authors |
"Another New Dawn" A Success Story by Susan C. Haley
posted Tuesday May 6, 2008 12:37 PM by Jerry D. Simmons
I’m a writer. Since a small child, I’ve been a writer. It’s my best way of communicating. What often ends up as written words on a page usually begins in the rumblings of inner voices, in dreams, reactions to happenstance, and the little inspirations that fleet unexpectedly through my mind, a mind that was blessed with a pondering instinct. Often for days, I’ll languish in a mind corridor sorting out circumstances, questions, and ideas. My initial reactions to things rarely remain constant as emotions and thoughts, almost endlessly, sort and re-sort themselves.
For most of my adulthood, it was family . . . my husband, two sons, our home, that always perched first and foremost in my life and the purpose for living it. And I wanted it that way. My Jerry was a dream chaser and I was content enough chasing his dreams. My own of being a real writer, was placed on a shelf in a ‘someday’ closet.
Then death penned another new dawn. I was widowed relatively young. My sons were grown and on their own, so now it was the keeping a roof over my head, the financial obligations, that kept my dream safely stored on its ‘someday’ shelf. Oh, I’d soothe myself with all night sessions hunched over a keyboard purging my aching heart; the clattering keyboard sheltering my mind from the empty house and the silence that fairly screamed at me in the wee hours when the rest of the world was sleeping. Countless essays, poems, then the books, were piled on the shelf with the dream stuffed in the closet of a ‘someday’ room. There was the job and the responsibilities . . .
In the years since my husband’s passing, I’d written my way into a world of two published books, several published articles, essays, and poems. I found myself in a leadership role in the Florida Writers Association, and my simple but heartfelt ramblings were beginning to attract attention and sell. I was being invited to do presentations and events for my books and share my experiences. Although I was writing, these accomplishments had to blend around my job and often I had to decline. My dream expanded into soon retiring from the ‘day job’ and really devoting my life to the writing that was the backbone of my personality; and now, the source of strength that willed me forward in my solitary existence. Still, having always been a person driven by a sense of responsibility and loyalty to those, and to what, I’d made my commitments; the dream remained in the closet.
But another new dawn was just beyond the horizon. It so happened that a series of events at work led me to a decision that my time had come. Someday had arrived, in a somewhat unexpected way, but arrived just the same; it was time to empty some closets. I’d trained myself to always listen to the inner voices and they were telling me . . . “it’s now or never.”
I was so sure and so excited at finally deciding to take the plunge, I told family and some friends about my decision. And, I was so disillusioned by the cautions, the bewares, tossed back. “You can't do that! Don't burn bridges! How are you going to pay your bills? Don't do something you'll be sorry for! Be careful what you do on impulse, you'll have to live with it! You can't be without a JOB!” Only my sons and my writer cousin were the exceptions.
At first, I was angry. I thought, talk about bringing a person down! Doesn't anyone have faith in my ability to pursue my writing? Is it all just talk . . . the support, the accolades for my work? Then, I was hurt. I thought, couldn't just once somebody close encourage, rally me on, say “You, go girl!”
Then, my pondering nature kicked in and I was sad. It dawned on me . . . these aren't people who are jealous, competitive. These aren't people who want to keep me down in their own rigid worlds, people who don't have dreams. These are people who really do have love and concern. And, they're people, like me, who are so programmed, so brainwashed by shoulds and should nots, that any deviance scares the wits out of them. They've been raised since birth to stay in prescribed molds and put dreams in ‘someday’ closets. These are people who live in fear of the unknown, of taking a risk. They live in fear of wrong choices, so make no choices at all. They exist through a stretch of time, follow all the rules to the letter, obey all the signs, gather their material treasures, and think they've lived. How so very sad.
I thought of my father. Were he alive and I did such a thing, he'd be mortified! Often was, at my dream-chasing husband and the daughter who always chased it with him. Yet, always, when I looked really deep into his eyes, I'd see a small twinkle of admiration, a wistful acceptance of our folly and our adventure.
Unlike my husband, Dad died a tired man, a man who’d clung to the mold with a vengeance. His steadfastness, his wars, fifty years of hard work, and his material possessions, his only source of personal pride. He never traveled a road just because it was there. He never chased a dream, felt joy in the adventure of taking a risk. He knew only molded determination. Somehow I think he’s somewhere smiling and saying, "You go, little girl!"
Yet, our dreams aren’t usually fulfilled without a lot of help, encouragement, and active support from others. I have so many in the writing community to thank for my achievements, I’m humbled by that very fact. There are way too many to mention individually in a small space. But, one ‘giant’, and yes, to me he is a giant, who I want to thank here is Jerry Simmons.
I had the good fortune to meet Jer in 2006 at Infinity Publishing’s Annual Conference at Valley Forge, PA. In 2007, I was honored to sit on an “Authors Helping Authors” panel with him at that same conference. It was my first really ‘national’ speaking event and I was bordering on terror. After a practice session, sensing my fear, Jerry positioned himself beside me at the table and held me up to the challenge with gentle murmurings of encouragement. Because of him, I pulled it off quite well and gained a whole new measure of self-confidence and experience.
With all his personal success in this complicated and ever-changing world of writing and books, with his always time-burdened schedule, Jerry thinks about others. His contributions are just too numerous to list. Yet, he can always take a few precious moments to give me a personal reply to a question, or guidance in my cries for help. He offers ALL authors a stage in his “Nothing Binding” Community, and a voice in this newsletter and on his website. He’ll graciously appear at fledgling writers groups as willingly as National events. I am a firm believer in the circular tenet that in order to receive, one first must give. Jerry Simmons is the epitome of that philosophy. Thank you, Jer.
A staunch proponent of networking, Susan Haley, a multi-published author of several articles and columns, a coffee table book of essays and poetry, FIBERS IN THE WEB, and a fiction novel, RAINY DAY PEOPLE, sees herself “more in a helpful role” than just that of a fellow writer. She is the book reviewer for The Pepper Tree Press and does copy editing for other writers. Susan lives in Sarasota, Florida. Her heartfelt novel of triumph over tragedy, RAINY DAY PEOPLE is available on Amazon.com, BBOTW.com, Nothingbinding.com BarnesandNoble.com, and can be ordered at your local bookstore. She prefers to keep her own site, www.sucarha.com, non-commercial.
Categories: Published Authors |
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