Well, maybe not everything. But below are my answers to some pretty common questions. If I miss anything you’re interested in hearing me on, please use the comment section. Other writers’/editors’/publishers’ mileage may vary, and my responses are obviously limited to my own perspective and experience.
How difficult is it to get published?
Pretty difficult and becoming more so each year. The likelihood of your signing a book contract increases, however, if you are able to meet the three following standards to a significant degree:
1. A strong voice
2. A unique or needed message
3. A platform of some recognition
The stronger you are at #’s 1 and 2, the less #3 matters. The stronger you are at #3, the less #’s 1 and 2 matter.
The added problem is that everybody trying to get published thinks they have a strong voice and are providing a needed message. This is true for many but probably not for most.
How can I improve my writing?
Read a lot (and widely).
Write a lot.
Join a writers’ group that provides good, constructive feedback.
What books on writing would you recommend every aspiring author read?
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
On Writing by Stephen King
There are others I’d recommend based on one’s individual interests and gifts, but those are my two go-to rec’s.
Do I need an agent to get published?
Probably. If you are trying to write for the general market, most certainly. If you’re trying to write for the Christian market, more than likely. Fewer and fewer publishers are accepting unsolicited submissions. It’s not because they hate you or want you to jump through hoops. It’s because the number of people trying to get published increases every year, and it’s simply inefficient and unmanageable to try to keep up with and give a fair hearing to every submission. An agented manuscript has the benefit of a previous editorial filter. The editor(s) know that an agent would not be pitching a book if he himself didn’t think it would be successful. (The agent is not going to pitch work he doesn’t expect will make him any money, in other words.)
Check a publisher’s submission guidelines on their website, if they provide them, or look for their guidelines in the current edition of The Writer’s Market Guide. Some houses still accept unsolicited manuscripts—a few smaller publishers actually prefer them—but if you submit an un-agented proposal, you should prepare yourself for a long wait. Your manuscript is likely to hit the “slush pile” and be sorted through by an intern or assistant.
How do I get an agent?
There are guides and directories listing literary agents available at your local bookstore or via Amazon or even online. See what kind of manuscripts they represent. Look to see what authors they represent, if they list them. This will help you find the right recipients of your query.
Like publishers, agents will list their submission guidelines so you know what material and information they want to see when you contact them.
Do I pay an agent?
Yes and no. You do pay your agent but through your publisher. Agents typically represent authors based on a percentage (usually in the range of 10-20%, most frequently 15%) of the publisher’s payments on works accepted for publication. Sometimes you may need to reimburse an agent for office costs above the norm, but that’s not very typical. I have worked with two different agents over the last ten years and neither has ever charged me anything out of pocket. Occasionally a publisher has neglected to deduct my agent’s commission from their payment to me, which then makes me responsible for sending them a check out of my payment myself. But I’ve never had to pay any fees or anything like that to my agent.
Word of advice: There are lots of folks out there ready to take advantage of aspiring writers, so be on your guard. A reputable agent will not charge you anything to consider your query. A reputable agent will not ask you to pay a reading fee or other fee to consider your work. Reputable agents work primarily on commission. They receive a percentage of any monies you earn on publishing deals, per your contracted arrangement. If you pay them money ahead of time to represent you, you are de-incentivizing them to work hard to get your work seen by editors. And those kinds of agents aren’t well respected by publishers anyway.
Do I pay a publisher?
The above is also true for publishing houses. If a publisher wants you to pay them to put your book in print, it is, as we used to call them back in the day, a “vanity press.” Self-publishing is a growing—and in many cases, legitimate—market but there are, again, lots of places out there poised to capitalized on your ambition for their own interests, not yours. Publishing a book should be win-win for author and publisher. Self-publishing ventures are very often lose-win, with the author getting the short end.
Self-publishing makes the most sense if you already have a platform from which to distribute and market your books (eg. You don’t care about resourcing the general market but prefer mainly to resource your local church or stock a book table at speaking engagements). If you’re going the self-publishing route, do your homework. My guess is that you tend to get what you pay for and the cheaper presses aren’t worth the investment. There’s always Kinko’s.
Should I have a publicist?
Should you be one of the fortunate few to sign a book contract, it may be worth adding the work of a publicist to your marketing arsenal. Many publishers already have staffers designated for this work. Some will hire outside publicists or publicity firms to assist in marketing your book. It always depends on the marketing budget allotted to your book by your publisher. If you’re a new or relatively low-profile author, the bulk of publicity efforts will probably rest on you. If you’re a lower-profile author at a big publisher trying to promote quite a few high-profile authors, you will likely find that most of the publicity efforts are directed in the higher-profile authors’ favor. This isn’t always the case, but it’s normally the case. The growing expectation these days from publishers is that an author will carry most of the weight of promotion themselves. (I know—it feels gross.)
How long does it take to write a book?
Depends on the book, depends on the writer. The publishing process itself is usually run on a track of 1-1.5 years. Unless you are signing a contract for multiple books at once, you generally have 12 to 18 months from the time of contract signing to the time a book finally appears in print. You can generally assume 6 months to write the book and then the better part of a year for all the editorial processes involved in producing the finished product. This is not just because of the physical work of printing a book but because of sales plans, marketing strategies, catalog placement, and a whole host of other efforts that publishers engage in to run their business successfully.
How much input do I have in the editorial process?
Again, this depends on the writer and depends on the project. And it depends on the publisher, of course. Some publishers I’ve worked with wanted a lot of input and collaboration on cover design and the like and some did not. A project is usually assigned a marketing and promotion team in addition to editorial review. Some houses are very open to cooperation; some prefer their authors to trust their design and marketing expertise and hand off direction to them. But nearly all publishers want their authors to be happy with their finished projects, so you will more than likely always see things like book covers, page proofs, advertising copy, and marketing plans for your feedback or approval before they are made official.
Will I make a lot of money writing books?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Probably not. Your agent will be tasked with negotiating an appropriate contract based on your platform, recognition in the market, project strength, priority in the publisher’s catalog, etc. If you are a relatively unknown, you should be prepared for a nice little advance that, if you work hard to promote your book, you could probably “repay” your publisher for and begin to earn royalties over in a couple of years. Most authors I know have no complaints about income generated from their books—a few do, but it’s not my place to air their grievances ;-)—but there is a reason most authors I know have kept their day jobs (and it’s not greed). Most writers do not make a lot of money from book publishing. Again, this is not to say they aren’t appropriately compensated. It’s only to say that the dream of quitting your job to go live in a cabin in the woods and write books is just that—a dream. Many writers, given the amount they make off a book when factored against the amount of time invested in writing, editing, and promotion, could be more efficient earners if they worked on an assembly line down at the local auto plant.
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Lots of nitty-gritties folks are interested in but don’t want to make a long post longer. More questions on writing, publishing, etc. in the comments . . .
