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Topic: Have Book, Need Agent
| Author | Message |
| cherryames727 | Posted – 10/18/2006 6:30:25 PM | show profile | email poster I am a journalist and now a newly minted fiction author. My first novel, Click, was released in September by the print-on-demand house AuthorHouse. They have been great, supportive and professional...but I still would really like to go the traditional route and have an agent and traditional publishing house. Any advice on sending a published book and query letter to agents? The book is a suspense novel, set in Damascus, Syria, Chicago, IL, Vail Colorado and finally, New York City. There is a 9/11 tie-in and AuthorHouse has been trying to play that up, but as a first-time author, it's been hard going. Any advice would be appreciated! Carrie Ann |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/18/2006 8:23:55 PM | show profile Well, you're kind of going at it backwards, self-publishing and then looking for an agent. The fact that you self-published on authorhouse will at best be neutral or perhaps a negative to agents unless you can demonstrate that the book has sold pretty well so far. In any case, I wouldn't highlight to agents that the book has been "published" unless, again, you can show hefty sales figures. In terms of getting an agent, I think you'd just do the exact same thing as if you hadn't self-published on authorhouse: look up agents in directories, or get references from friends, and then send a query letter with the first chapter. In fact, I am not sure I would even mention authorhouse in the first letter. Good luck. |
| cherryames727 | Posted – 10/18/2006 8:34:25 PM | show profile Have Book - Clarification Okay, to the person who responded and anyone else who may read my post...I am a professional. I spent two years sending out query letters, going to conferences, writers' events, meetings with agents and publishers, networking with other writers, getting referrals from friends who are published authors. I received several encouraging letters back from agents who loved the story, but don't work with first time authors, suspense, etc. and passed on other agents' names with their blessings. I entered contests where the prize was a publishing contract...in short, I researched the topic of publishing as I would any journalism assignment and I became well-versed in the world of publishing, reading magazines, on-line articles and daily checking publishing and writing websites. I have a dozen books on publishing, query letters, etc. I ended up exhausted and frustrated. Somehow, my book landed on the desk of Bill Judd at Author House. I decided to go the print-on-demand route. Any assistance or advice on making the leap to a traditional house, would be appreciated. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/18/2006 9:08:09 PM | show profile OK, sounds like you did all the normal things to try to get published. Probably the best thing you could do at this point is promote the heck out of the book, hoping to get some decent sales. If you show some good sales through authorhouse, that might entice a regular publisher. Good luck, |
| pointybirds | Posted – 10/18/2006 10:08:18 PM | show profile Honestly... I read the beginning of an excerpt of "Click" on the author house website. The first two sentences repeat the word "swirled" in close proximity. Six of the first seven sentences begin with the word "I". Then I stopped reading. Don't take this the wrong way, but hire yourself a good copy editor before approaching agents and publishers. |
| LotusBlossom | Posted – 10/19/2006 11:18:32 AM | show profile Keep At It I think you sound very determined and that usually pays off. Just keep going. And by the by, I also took a look at the first few graphs of "Click," even though you did not ask for a public critique, and I think it looks sexy and fun. Onward! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 10/19/2006 12:50:37 PM | show profile And while you're at it, if you haven't already, start on your next novel. Sometimes it takes a few to break through. |
| nellie bly | Posted – 10/19/2006 12:58:08 PM | show profile You might might pick up some tips by reading about first novelists who found some form of success via the print on demand route. There's one woman in particular, whose name I can't recall. Rose something? Of course, it's very, very tough to sell fiction. Period. I find it demoralizing to see dozens of copies of used (and new) books selling for $1.23, etc. when you look up a book on Amazon. They're not selling either. I agree with both Lotus and pointybirds. Keep at it, girl. Good luck. And...invest in a professional copy editor. I read the first page of Click and unless I'm mistaken, caught a typo on the first page. It says "mulled" when you meant "milled." Not trying to be cruel, just thought you'd wanna know before you send it out. If youre relying on spell check, it's not gonna catch something like that. Good luck... **I peered through the mirror at everyone mulling around. The lobby was thick with people in tuxedos and black gowns waiting for the American and Syrian motorcades to arrive so the partying could officially begin*** |
| bart23ny | Posted – 10/25/2006 1:57:57 PM | show profile You've gotten good advice so far. I'll add my two cents?start writing your next novel and try the agent route again. Good luck. |
| m_kennedy12 | Posted – 10/26/2006 8:08:04 AM | show profile | email poster The woman who did really well publishing her books POD and then finding traditional publishers is M.J. Rose. Just google her name and you'll find her web site, blog, etc. She has made quite a name for herself - not only in having published POD first, but also in helping writers get published and have success whether by traditional publishing (which isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes!) and by POD. |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 10/30/2006 6:04:49 PM | show profile Try a book consultant such as Lucy Hedrick (www.lucyhedrick.com). She'll be speaking at the Connecticut Press Club meeting, Agents and Beyond, on November 16. (www.ctpressclub.com). |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 10/30/2006 6:05:15 PM | show profile Correction--that's November 15. |
