Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office
Weather: 67º and cloudy
First, let’s talk about yesterday’s worst case scenario– when your queries go out to a dozen agents and . . . nothing. I appreciated the responses. Excellent.
Here’s what I offered as options:
A. You wait patiently to hear from the seven potentially open queries. Several of you said this would be your first instinct but then most of you decided to move on to a more proactive approach. Good for you. While one or more of these of these may eventually come through to request the proposal your time is as valuable as the agent’s. And when an agent is too swamped to read a query it’s probably inevitable that they are too swamped to take on new clients at that moment. When you don’t hear or you get a non-descriptive “no” it means nothing. Let me repeat that. When you don’t hear or you get a “no” it means nothing. Don’t extrapolate any meaning from that. It doesn’t necessarily mean the query is bad, the book is not viable, the writing is lacking or the author is uninteresting. You can’t read meaning into it– there’s not enough information. It could mean the agent has no time, it could mean he’s full, it could mean he has a client with a similar project, it could mean he doesn’t have the kind of contacts to sell that particular book. I know there’s nothing more frustrating to a writer than no feedback but unfortunately that’s what happens. (As to the why, we could do a whole blog post on why editors and agents don’t give feedback when we pass– suffice to say experience has taught us that feedback begets arguments or dialogue or offers to rework, etc. When we pass we don’t have the time to invest on correspondence. Sad but true.)
B. You decide the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You recontact everyone, giving more information and even a little nudge or two along the way. A couple of you chose this course of action. As Jen said, things do get lost. Bill and Kathleen suggested that it was the proactive course. While this would not be my top choice, it is business-like and there is nothing wrong with it. I’m not sure how effective it is because most agents respond to queries pretty quickly if they are interested, but it is appropriate and should not be considered out of line. Of course, you may not hear back even after the nudging.
C. You reconsider the query itself, the chosen recipients and the method of querying. More than half of you chose this option. And it would be the one I’d recommend. Take a good hard look at the query. Is it the best it can be, describing the book and introducing the author? If so, okay. If not, time for a tweak or two. When you start to get feedback in the way of a personalized response or requests to send the proposal and/or partial, you’ll know you’ve found your effective query style.
Then look at the agents you first targeted. Did you read the websites and query them according to their guidelines? Our guidelines state that we only take e-queries, giving a specific email address for queries and yet every day I get dozens of queries sent to my working email address along with a handful of snail-mailed queries. Those I throw in a basket to answer if I ever get a chance. So far, not many have been redirected to the correct query protocol since it falls outside of my routine. So, pick the target agents carefully and send them exactly what they need.
And then consider changing up your method of querying. Sarah suggested conferences– meeting the agent in person. Excellent. I would guess that a good percentage of my clients I met or observed at conferences long before I signed them. You notice I said observed as well as met. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get to formally meet an agent at a conference. We are there with your eyes open and very often we are impressed with a writer long before that writer is ever introduced.
D. You give up. You gave it your best shot and failed miserably. A number of you said that this is your default but that you pick yourselves up and eventually choose another option. Good. Somehow you have to separate emotions and this career or you’ll get beaten to a pulp. Silence upon submission is not a commentary on you or your writing. It can mean any number of things, most often that the open slots are few and there’s precious little time agents can spend responding to writers they can’t fit in. It’s an unsatisfactory state of affairs but it’s reality.
So. . . that brings us to tomorrow’s worst case scenario. Here it is:
You have an amazing book burning a hole in your life. You have the material, you have the expertise but you have no platform– no built-in audience– where you can help market the book. What do you do?
A. Throw in the towel. It’s hard to sell a book these days even when the author has a well-established platform.
B. You find an expert or a celebrity who has a huge platform to co-write with you.
C. You self-publish.
D. You begin to build a platform.
Which of these would you do? Please feel free to comment, choose your strategy and tell us why. Again, if you have real world experience with this, please share.
I suggest D. It takes time to write a book, and it also takes time to build a platform to market it. You obviously have the expertise, the passion, and some idea of your market. Why not develop a website, write a few magazine articles, or offer to speak at related gatherings? At the very least, you can begin to develop relationships with the people who aided you in your research. Since they were part of your process, they will be enthusiastic allies once the project is complete.
It can be a real balancing act to make time for both writing and platform building. I could be mistaken, but to me it makes more sense to invest time developing a platform with readers in a specific niche than just a general social site, though friends and fellow professionals can be wonderful to help start a “buzz.”
First, can I just say how much I love these posts? It’s like a pop quiz without the grade attached, and so applicable! 🙂
My first instinct on this one is D, although I think I’d add market research to the material and expertise I’ve already gathered. If it’s nonfiction, it seems like a lot of material can be found for free online these days. Is my idea unique enough to be separated from all that free material? If not, I’d rethink the idea, making sure I have a twist or some other grabber to make it stand out, before investing hours (or years) building a platform.
‘B’ would be cool, if it were possible. And if the book were incredibly timely (ie. if in ten years it would be old news), I might be seriously praying for this type of instant platform. But, in a real world, it probably wouldn’t be possible to find someone willing to do this with me. It would have to be a God-thing — something that fell into my lap. A miracle. I wouldn’t start emailing celebrities asking them to co-write with me. That would be a little psycho.
‘D’ is my final answer. I’d start blogging, build a website. I’d also try to pick up speaking engagements on the topic, and maybe get more education. This is definitely not an instant-gratification answer, but it’s the answer that would make my project stand out in the long run.
My first response to this question is to point out a possible contradiction. When it comes to having expertise, in most cases this should not only be “learned knowledged” but experienced expertise, which will often lead to networking opportunities and relationships which are part of a platform. It may be that a platform exists, but just needs to be understood more clearly, and learned how to leverage. It may be that this person is not quite ready to launch and may need to “bake the idea” further while developing the kinds of relationships which will guarantee future sales.
In the case of someone who clearly has expertise, but no platform, Social Media provides opportunities which didn’t exist in the world of public relations ten years ago. They might consider getting a professional to get them off of the ground, and then commit to the hard work to build this platform, fan by fan. Social Media brings New York level PR tools to everyday users. It will just take a good launching point and a lot of digital elbow grease.
I agree with Sarah when she says these are fun posts.
As for the question…I did write to Jerry Bridges once and ask if I could co-write a book with him. He wrote back with a long and lovely letter and was not opposed to the idea but it never panned out.
The reason I had the audacity to write to him? I was able to honestly tell him, that while I considered JI Packer to be my father in the faith, Jerry was surely a beloved uncle. And then I told him specifically how his books had helped me all through my Christian life.
He appreciated hearing that.
So I think if you have a favorite author or movie star who might be too busy to write the book you’re writing and you know him well enough through his writing or chosen roles and interviews to be sure he’d like to get behind a book like yours, it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely.
Dandi Daley Mackall wrote to Art Linkletter five or six times, I think, before he finally agreed to put his name on her first book. Her book was going to make him money and it was going to cost him nothing to produce and it was a perfect fit for his brand. She was very smart in the way she approached him and presented her cause.
But I suppose the best answer is really “D” because it’s the only thing you can really control. You can’t make others give you a boost up onto their platform, but you can set about to work each day at building a platform.
D I’m going to sound like my mom, but there’s just no substitute for hard work. And I’m finding out that writing the book is the easy part, everything that comes after just gets harder and harder!
Day or two behind, but loving this series. I’ve been looking at the last 3 for a few years now. Option 1 isn’t an option – I feel too strongly about the message, even if the book part of the message doesn’t ever work out, God’s put a unique idea in my hands and I will take it whatever directions I can.
My friend who first told me “you have to write this book” also told me if I didn’t he would, but he wanted me to run with it and has been solid in his support and encouragemnt ever since. The same message of support but encouragement for me to continue with it on my own has come from other author-friends.
Self publishing is that ever-tempting ‘look it really is a book” but without the platform there’s not much potential. I had a couple lengthy discussions with Phil Downer who has effectively done the traditional and self publishing routes – but self published only after he and his family were out speaking a great deal.
The platform and networking is the hard work, but also a blessing in itself. If you are only out meeting people and talking to them because you want them to eventually buy your book, it WILL come through.
My ministry started with a newsletter, and then speaking, and now training, all of which have worked together to network with new people and different groups. Most of my networking had been in the men’s ministry ranks, but recent efforts with promoting Christian films around Peoria has led to a dramatic increase in women visiting my website/newsletter signups.
My question on the platform building relative to a specific book/project is how close should a platform-building website touch on the project/book itself. I’m thinking about a simple webpage as somewhat of a ‘teaser’ of the book, but am not sure the timing of when to start this. To do it before any contract or at least an agent seems to be an easy way to give the whole idea away and someone else to run with it.
At the same time, I am still speaking on the topic 2-3 times a year, and next year will be taking it to Detroit, so I’m already ‘putting it out there’ for others to take if they wanted.
Oops. post got long and wordy, but would greatly appreciate any feedback on the website timing of a new non-fiction idea from the Books & Such Blog.
Wendy says, “You notice I said observed as well as met. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get to formally meet an agent at a conference. We are there with our eyes open and very often we are impressed with a writer long before that writer is ever introduced.”
For those of you pre-agent, Wendy brings up a great point. Agents and editors are always watching you. They they might watch someone for months or years to see how committed they are, how they take critique, how they interact with other authors, editors and agents.
I have a friend who signed with an agent who told her, “I’ve had my eye on you for two years.”
The publishing world is small. Editors and agents talk to each other. You’re building a reputation whether you know it or not. Agents want great writing, but they also want to work with authors of high character.
You’re being watched, which can be a very good thing in the long run.
D for me. I’ve taken this year off from writing novels in order to build that platform.
I’ve joined two social networking sites. In addition, I’ve created two blogs, one specifically for my niche [http://Pro-LifeTribe.blogspot.com] and the other more biblically-focused [http://JulieSurfaceJohnson.blogspot.com]. Also, with the help of a professional web designer, I’ve built a new website [www.JulieSurfaceJohnson.com].
I’ve also spent time editing (again!)my finished but unpublished novels and read several novels in my genre. Now I’m studying up on improving my queries, proposals, etc.
Later this month, I’ll be attending Chip MacGregor’s seminar “Writing a Best-Selling Novel.” It’s been an incredibly busy time for me that I hope will bear fruit in the future.
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“It is such an honour to become recognized by our longstanding partner, Walmart Canada, for the work we do and also this award is shared amongst the countless individuals at Bison which take pride in doing the suitable things to service our own clients, ” said Jeff Pries, Bison’s vicepresident of profits and marketing.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. Bison Transport has won a couple awards from Walmart The us: the Overall Store Delivery Carrier on the Year award and your Shining Star Award. Bison was recognized with the Annual Walmart Canada Company Awards banquet in Mississauga Jan. 20.
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The inaugural Shining Star Award was handed to Bison’s recentlyappointed vicepresident of central operations, Steve Zokvic. He was selected by Walmart for the reason that key person amongst many its carriers’ staff associates who stood out when having provided them with the overall best customer support.
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Bison won the Overall Store Delivery Carrier in the Year award for it has the ontime performance, commitment to excellence, innovative approach, and customer service, according to officials. Bison’s ontime performance to get Walmart Canada in 2011 was well over 99%, handling deliveries of general merchandise, groceries, and perishable food items to Walmart stores all over Canada.
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