R. L. Stedman

Writer

Publishing

How to Get Published

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How to Get Published –

How to Get Published

So you’ve got a story you’re aching to share?  Here’s a step by step guide to getting published.

This is the fifth post in a series called Options for Publishing. This series is based on a talk I did recently in Taranaki.

Before reading this post, I suggest you go back and read the other posts in this series, as they tie together. Here’s the links:

This is a long post; you can download the PDF here.

Here are the slides from the talk:

 

How to Get Published:

1. Write

Keep a journal, a diary or a blog. Write poetry. The more writing you do the better. Think of it like fitness training; you don’t build a muscle without exercising it.

2.  Read a lot

Read books from diverse genres. Read classic books, read contemporary novels. I prefer reading books that are ten + years old more than the latest blockbusters, because I find time sifts out a lot of dross. However, I know that’s not always the best idea if you’re trying to work out what the market wants, and writing styles are constantly evolving. But you can NOT write well if you do not read. Period.

3. Write for free

Writing for a wider audience is good discipline, and helps you to get used to criticism aka “feedback“. I edited a professional magazine; it taught me about deadlines, formatting and word redundancy. School or universities generally have magazines and often welcome contributors. If you’re in a community or church group you could either start or contribute to a magazine or blog.

4. Training

Doing a writing course is not essential, but it does help. There’s nothing like intensive tuition to improve the craft of writing. Personally, I wouldn’t suggest spending enormous amounts of money or time. Gaining a Masters in Creative Writing is expensive and may not be any more beneficial than say a twelve-week course at a polytechnic. I prefer face-to-face to online, but there’s nothing right or wrong. Just make sure you participate. You won’t learn if you do not do.

5. Develop networks

Often in this world it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. Talk to other writers. Join professional societies, like the New Zealand Society of Authors. Attend meetings. Read the magazines. Interact in forums. Talk to writers on twitter. Be helpful. Only one rule: Don’t be a dick.

If you write romance, or novels with a romantic theme I strongly recommend joining your national Romance Writers Association. RWAs are generally very commercially savvy and they’re highly internationally networked.

6. Go to conferences

In New Zealand there are very few writing conferences, alas, but if you’re in the States it’s a lot easier. Reason for conferences: you meet other writers (networking), you can have lessons in craft (training) and most usefully of all: you can often do cold reads or pitch agents/publishers. This can short-cut a lot of slush piles.

7. Submit to competitions

This was my break. Competitions are frequently listed in the forums of various professional organisations, and you’ll find more online. I suggest the smaller comps, as anything with thousands of entries are almost a lottery. But with some of the smaller ones, like the RWA ones, (another reason for joining), you’ll get feedback from the judges, and if you’re shortlisted, you may get your manuscript read by an agent or publisher.

8. Publish your own

The last four posts are my explanation of why this isn’t as crazy as it seems! There are pluses and minuses to publishing your own work, just as there are to using a publisher. These days, it’s more about understanding your options than recommending one particular path.

But whether or not you use a publisher to reach your audience, or you do it yourself, I would still follow steps 1 – 7 above.

How to Get Published

How to Submit to Agents/Publishers

If you decide that you don’t want the hassle of publishing your own work, then you’ll probably need someone to publish for you. Generally this involves an agent or a publisher. This is the classical approach, and until 2010 (ish) it was pretty much the only way to get your book published.

Warning: This can take a long, long time.

1. Write your book

2. Find out who the publishers and agents are that might be interested. You want to know who’s looking for new writers, what kind of work they want (no point in sending erotica to a children’s publisher, for example!), what format they want you to submit in. FOLLOW THIS!  Generally, this information will be on their websites.

Here’s what to do:

3. Make a list of who’s looking in your genre.

Be strategic – don’t submit to everyone at once. I’d start with 5 established agents with a great track record and 5 new ones who are hungry. Follow their submission instructions (have I said this before?!).

4. Send your submissions

  • Submissions generally consist of a query letter, a brief synopsis and, if requested, the first three chapters. This may vary, so again: check.
  • General rule of thumb seems to be that simultaneous submissions are okay to agents (that is, you it seems acceptable for you to submit to more than one agent at a time), but a definite no-no to publishers. If you are submitting to multiple agents at a time, I would let them know this; at the very least, it’s polite.
  • Here’s instructions on query letters and Marissa Meyer’s really good blog post on synopsis writing.
  • If an agent likes your work you’ll generally hear reasonably quickly. Publishers seem to take longer.
  • I allow 4 -6 weeks for an agent, and then I follow-up with an email.  If I still don’t hear anything I follow-up with another email advising I’m sending elsewhere. If you’ve submitted to a publisher you may  not hear anything for 4 – 6 months. Longer than that, and I usually send an email.
  • If you don’t get a good response to just a query submission, it might pay to rework your query letter.
  • Keep a spreadsheet of who you’ve submitted to, the date and the outcome.
  • Try not to get depressed. I know of writers who have submitted 1000 times before landing a deal!

If you want to short cut this process, enter competitions and go to conferences (see above!).

5. While you’re waiting, write another book. Or two. Or three…

An alternative approach:

Be famous or otherwise notorious!

Publishers and agents LOVE writers with an audience. If you’ve got a million followers on wattpad, SAY this. If you’ve got a huge youtube following, again: mention it in your pitch.

Options for publishing

What’s best?

This depends on your goals.

If you are desperate to see your book in book stores, you may be better to follow the classical approach of using an agent/publisher. Book stores tend to work through established channels, although there are signs this is changing. If you love literary fiction and you prefer to write richly textured novels, you may be better to approach traditional publishers. If critical acclaim and acceptance is important, again: a traditional model may be better.

However, if you’re just wanting to find people who want to read your work, if you write in a commercial genre with a huge readership (such as romance) and you’ve previously run a small business, my suggestion is self-publishing.

I say this because in the long run, you may be better off by finding your own route to market than by relying on a publisher third-party, who may or may not have the same goals as you. It’s also about the rights. Given that your copyright can last 50 + years, and that rights are constantly evolving, you may be better off in the long run to own the lot.

The good news: nowadays writers have options.

Publishing and Profits

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Publishing and Profits —

This post is a continuation of the previous blog post. So if you’re starting here, I suggest that before beginning, you read this.

fairytale book
Image source

Publishing Industry

Today there are five large publishing houses. They’re headquartered in NYC and are international; that is, they publish work across the globe.

  1. PenguinRandom
  2. HarperCollins
  3. Hachette
  4. MacMillian
  5. Simon and Schuster

Mergers and acquisitions have become common in the publishing industry. You can see this in the names of these companies: PenguinRandom, for example, was once two separate  publishing entities: Penguin Books and Random House.

Each house has a number of specialist imprints, such as Mills & Boon, Tor, Picador and Doubleday. My first book, A Necklace of Souls, was published under the Voyager imprint of HarperCollins; Voyager being a specialist Scifi-Fantasy imprint.

Although some of these large houses have an office in New Zealand, the NZ based office is really an offshoot of an Australian-based industry. Interestingly, some of these publishers operate in regional territories. Thus, rights that are held by one branch are independent of another.

So, if you sell your rights to the NZ office of say HarperCollins, you should not assume that the English branch of the same house will publish your work in the UK. The UK office have told me that an author holding a publishing contract with the NZ based office is a disincentive to obtaining the rights, because they will have to pay an additional fee to the NZ-based enterprise than if they, the UK office, owned the rights.

It is worth considering territories before you sell your work to a NZ based publisher; because in so doing you may build a barrier to reaching a global audience. This is particularly problematic in today’s ebook publishing industry; after all, Amazon and iBooks have a global audience.

history of publishing - the online store
image source

Retailers

Traditionally, publishing was broken up into the following functions:

  1. Selection, curation and distribution
  2. Printing
  3. Retail

All three arms of publishing were quite separate and (generally) performed by different entities.

But today many online retailers act as publishers. Some, like Amazon, also have a print division (CreateSpace). In the online space the differences between the functions are blurred.

Changing Technology: Online Bookstores

There are four main online bookstores:

  1. Amazon
  2. iBooks
  3. Kobo
  4. Nook

Amazon is the dominant player. See the image below for the US 2015 market share (image from Author Earnings). This proportion and market share is likely to be reflected around the globe, although some significant non-English speaking regions, such as Russia and China, are dominated by language-specific stores.

Market share by publisher
Image Source

Books for children and adult nonfiction are still mostly sold as print. This is probably not surprising, as parents want kids to have less time on screens, not more. However, with the rise of Augmented Reality (AR), schools purchasing ePub files, and the increasing use of AI and voice activation technologies, its likely this may change.

It’s already changed for adult fiction. In the US, adult fiction sales are now 70% digital. That’s a MASSIVE shift.

2016 book sales by format
Image Source

I don’t really know how I feel about this. Personally, I love my bookshelves, and there’s something deeply satisfying about holding a book in the hand. But when I’m travelling it’s a simpler to take a kindle, and it’s a lot easier (and cheaper) to buy with one-click. So because I’m a book lover I mourn the decrease in books, as a reader, I love having access to cheaper and plentiful stories.

publishing market
Image Source

As a writer, though, I’m pretty excited. Because not only are most fiction sales digital, nearly 42% of sales are NOT through the large traditional publishers. So although there are only 5 major international publishers, there is an increasing proliferation of small-time and independent presses. It’s easier now to have your work published than it ever was. Publishing is no longer the provenance of the wealthy and well-connected.

As long as you have a computer, time, energy and a little money, it’s possible to share your work with the world.

How to Write a Picture Book

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Picture Book
Image Source

Want To Write A Picture Book?

There’s so few words in a picture book, surely it should be easy? Well, NO. Fewer words = every word counts. You cannot pad in a picture book.

Picture Books are Important Books

Picture books introduce kids to words and rhyme and the idea of sitting still. Often they become classics, enjoyed through generations.

Picture Books are fun for adults, too. I loved reading stories to my kids; it was fascinating to see what they noticed in the pictures and to hear their commentary on the story.

My boys are teenagers now, but they still remember some of the books we’d read together, and they can still recite the rhymes!

How to Write A Picture Book

I’ve never written a picture book, so I’ve no idea where to start. But I’m writing this post because I’m off to give a series of talks shortly in Taranaki* . As part of my preparation I reached out to Chrissy Metge, picture book writer at Duckling Publishing.

Chrissy has an intriguing background in screen animation, and has worked on major projects like The Jungle Book and Fast and Furious 7. She definitely understands words and visuals. She’s written four picture books now, about Max and His Big Imagination, and they’re fun, beautifully illustrated stories.

* I’m judging the Ronald Hugh Morrison Literary Awards in 2017. Want to know more about these awards? Click here
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Chrissy Metge’s Big Imagination

Chrissy Metge and her picture books

Tell me a bit about you. What made you want to begin to write?
I did creative writing at school and loved it! Because of the movie and animation industry I work in, I am always around great ideas and creative people so have had many ideas of my own.

I always wanted to write my own kids books and when my son was born six weeks early I had time at the beginning — so I began to write them down! 🙂

Are the stories about Max’s adventure based on real-life events?
They are inspired from true events. My nephew Max inspired the first two books and my son inspired the latest one.

How does Max feel about being in a book?
He thinks its pretty cool!

What things did you have to consider when writing a picture book?
It’s a huge learning curve! When I did the first book I had FIVE print proofs done before I was happy. Looking at it on the screen is not the same when you hold the printed copy in your hands 🙂

You have to think of composition, make sure it’s not too busy. You don’t want things too close to the top or bottom of the page. Everything has to be easy to see and read.

You’ve got an amazing background in film and TV. What’s the most exciting project you’ve worked on in your Day Job?
Oh that’s a hard one! I think to this day it is still Dawn of the Planet of the Apes — I had the most beautiful dedicated team. Also the Fast and Furious 7 — they were just blown away by what we achieved.

How does your Day Job help with your writing – what skills and/or qualifications have you found useful in your writing career?
I can see the images in my head and can convey to people what I see. For my day job it’s all about helping the director and artist’s vision become a reality. That’s helped so much in getting what I see to paper :).

You published your own picture books through Duckling Publishing. Why did you decide to run the process yourself?
I think the publishing industry in New Zealand is limited. They may only see a few books a year and you may not hear anything for six months. I believe in my books and I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to get them out there for the public to decide.

What’s been the highs of managing the process for yourself?
So immensely satisfying to see the books you have published in the hands of kids and in book shops and that they are loved! Plus, I have compete control of the whole process.

What have you learned?
Face-to-face is always best, I love going to markets to get feedback listening to kids and adults.

What advice would you give to other people thinking of writing a picture book?
Go for it! You never know until you try! Make sure you get an editor.

What advice would you give to people thinking of publishing their own work?
Do lots of research, sign up to Indie groups on Facebook and listen to lots of podcasts, also don’t give up!

What do you think Max will do next?
I have written books 4 and 5, I am so excited about book 4! Lots of adventure and imagination — that’s for sure!

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Want to know more about Chrissy? Check out this interview on TV’s The Cafe or read more at Duckling Publishing.

How to Market Your Book (without feeling like a salesman)

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How to Market Your Book —

Marketing seems to freak out many writers, me included!

writer's notebook
Notebook – Image from Pixabay

I guess it’s because we’re generally introverts who are happiest alone or in small groups – the thought of engaging with strangers to talk about a deeply personal work just doesn’t come naturally.

(Before I write a bit more, a big shout-out to all the salesmen and women who work ethically and professionally. You’re not who I’m talking about. I’m talking about the dodgy folk who prey on the elderly and vulnerable. No-one wants to feel like that.)

This is the third post in a series of three on selling your rights and publishing, sparked by a recent radio interview with Vanda Symon on Otago Access Radio. You can check out the first of these posts here (or you can listen to the podcast!)

 

5 Steps to Marketing Your Book

1. Know your audience.

If you don’t have an audience, think about the audience you want. It helps if you can get really specific here: not just male/female and age, but where they live and what are their interests; where they hang out, and who their influencers are.

Marketers call this ‘building an avatar’ – not a big blue alien, but an ideal customer. This has never worked for me, because being a writer, I have an extremely fertile imagination – and an avatar has to be reasonably accurate (i.e. not imaginary) to be useful.

Instead, I think of my two most passionate fans (that aren’t related to me:)) I don’t stalk them, obviously, but I know roughly how old these two fans are, where they hang out (facebook, goodreads, instagram, blogs etc) and I know what they like to read.

I develop content for ONLY these two fans. I call them K and N.

Quick side-note: if you’re new to writing, or you’re not really sure who your biggest fans are, then have a look at this podcast on the Author Hangout. Here you’ll find a quick step-by-step guide to developing a reader profile.

 

2. Develop content for your audience.

Every blog post is written for either K or N. (Except this one, although K might find it interesting). Every post on social media is designed for them. My only criteria about each post is: would K or N like this? (This approach also MAKES me sit down and write my current WIP, because I know that the thing they most want from me is my next book.)

Share your content. When I’ve developed content, like this blog post, I go onto twitter or facebook or whatever, and I say, hey, I’ve made this! I don’t say ‘Hey N, here’s another post just for you,’ – that’s kind of weird. But often one or the other will pick it up and share it or retweet or whatever, and I love that, because it means I’ve done something that makes them happy.

 

3. Marketing Through Sharing Love

It took me a long time to learn this approach, and I’ve only just started working like this since the beginning of March. But since then interest in my blog is going up and downloads of my books are increasing. Why? Because it’s not just N and K buying my books – hell, I’ve given them my books – it’s because there’s enough people out there like N and K, and they also like the same material.

I am really, really grateful to N and K for their support and I want to deliver more content that makes them happy. It’s just a side benefit that other people like it too.

I’ve summarised this approach in a pdf, which you’re welcome to download.

Before I wrap up this extra-long post here’s a couple of things to consider.

 

4. Social Media is Not Essential

Don’t be spammy. Don’t stalk. Be compassionate, respectful and behave like a normal human.

Marketing doesn’t mean you have to slather yourself in social media. Old-fashioned print or radio works too.

If your fans don’t live online you may not even need a website (although I would, but that’s another post for another day); the point is, once you know who your fans are, you can design your marketing to serve their needs. Robert Free meets his fans through sending a ballad to Radio New Zealand every day. It seemed to take Robert AGES to get his website up and running, but I’m not sure this really mattered; he was already meeting his audience through radio.

Play to your strengths. If your fans are out and about on a variety of different channels – like blogs, youtube, instagram – chose the channels that suit you best. I like taking photos and I’m totally in love with my iphone, so instagram works well for me.

Kyle Mewburn, who writes books for kids, is a natural entertainer and has a youtube channel. This suits her fans, too, because teachers and parents can play it for their kids.

Finally, although I say you don’t need to be involved in social media, it sure helps you to meet more readers than traditional media. And unless you’re running adverts, social media is free. (As a side note, if you are thinking of running ads on social media, check out Mark Dawson’s Facebook training videos. They’re free, and are almost guaranteed to save you a ton of money.) It always saddens me when I hear (usually older) writers say “oh no, I don’t get facebook.” They’re missing out on an opportunity to hear and connect with readers, and surely, that is why we write, isn’t it?

 

5. Writing is Connection

Which takes me back to the beginning of this three-part series of blog posts: Why do we write? For me, it’s to connect; to share; to provide enjoyment. Writing, actually, is not about me. It’s about my reader.

Thanks for sticking with me through this incredibly long post. If you have any questions, please get in touch.Here’s a summary as a slide-deck:

 

And thanks again, Vanda and Otago Access Radio, who sparked this series of posts. Now you’ve navigated your way to the end of them, here’s the link again to the podcast interview. I hope you enjoy!

9 Tips to Getting Published

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How to Get Published

What most people actually mean by the question “How can I get a publishing deal?” is: “How can I see my work in print?”

 

writer's notebook

 

I totally get this. It is a buzz to see your book on sale at the bookstore (it’s a lot less of a buzz to see it in the sales bin!) My first novel was A Necklace of Souls and when it came out I spent a lot of time visiting bookstores and taking photos of it on the shelves!

Here’s a reprint of my article on Kura Carpenter’s blog last week. Thanks for the opportunity to share, Kura!

 

Inner Fire is at #5!!
Inner Fire is at #5!!

Here’s what worked for me…

  1. A ton of hard work. I wrote on and off for about ten years before I got an acceptance. Over that time I wrote one novella, one novel, and many, many short stories.
  2. Write for free. I edited a professional magazine, which gave me experience in working with deadlines, keeping to word counts, formatting documents.
  3. Join a writer’s association. I joined the New Zealand Society of Authors. Associations like the NZSA often have mentoring programmes for new writers and access to grants and competitions.
  4. Formal training. I completed a Certificate in Creative Writing at a local polytechnic, but there are other opportunities both on-line and in person. Just do be aware of cost if you’re doing this, as paid tuition at a university is not cheap.
  5. Develop networks. This sounds cheesy, but often in life it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. (And be POLITE. Apart from the fact it’s the right thing to do, the writing world is a really, really small place!)
  6. Submit to e-zines and small journals. My first paid acceptance was an e-zine which paid TEN DOLLARS! So exciting!!
  7. Enter competitions. Comps can be expensive, so now I only enter those with that offer the opportunity to get my script read by a publisher, or that provide direct feedback on my script. The Romance Writers of America has some good ones, and my lucky break was with Storylines.
  8. Keep writing. Evaluate critically. Write some more. When you feel it’s good enough – and only then – begin submitting to agents or publishers.
  9. And finally, and this isn’t something you can ever predict, you need to get lucky. Why was A Necklace of Souls accepted, when another person’s might have been equally as good? I don’t know. Maybe the commissioning editor liked fantasy. Maybe they were looking for a novel with a strong female protagonist. Maybe the stars had aligned.

Reality checks:

Don’t expect overnight success. Actually, don’t expect to make a living wage from writing, period. Treat it like a passion and then anything’s a bonus.

Or, you could just be famous, notorious or both. Then landing a publishing deal is way, way easier.

Me with a much less famous author...
Me with a much less famous author…