Publishing Choices

By Terry Wright

A couple weeks ago, I attended the RMFW May Workshop where I got into a conversation with other attendees about the publishing options available to writers these days. The subject of self-publishing came up, and I discovered there were differing opinions on what that entailed. So I’d like to share with you my thoughts on this subject.

There are three main routes you can take with your manuscript to come up with a book (or e-book).

#1. Traditional Publishing. This is any royalty-paying publisher, be it New York’s Big 6 or Anytown USA small press, that does not charge you a fee of any kind to publish your book. Most writers set out to be traditionally published. Whether these publishers pay an advance or not does not affect their “traditional publisher” title. These published books, paper and electronic, go through the editing process to ensure the best quality product gets to market.

#2. Vanity Press. This is any publishing or printing company that charges you a fee to produce your book. These companies offer a variety of ‘services’ and ‘packages’ in different price ranges. Problem is, they will put most anything in print, edited or not, quality or junk. After all, money is money. Some vanity presses disguise themselves by setting you up in your own publishing company under a separate marquee. And there are those who offer file conversions and uploads to Kindle (for example) for a fee. These too are vanity presses.

#3. Self Publishing. This is where you set up your own publishing company, take charge of every aspect of the process from beginning to end, and risk every dime of your investment on the success or failure of your book. Unlike vanity publishing where the ‘company’ does everything, you may have to wear many hats or hire professionals to do the work of editing, cover design, book formatting, printing, POD, file conversion...the list goes on.  If you self publish, you are the boss of your own business.

The route you choose depends on what you want from your writing career...or not. Is your goal to make the New York Times Bestseller list? Traditional publishing may be your best bet. Do you just want a few (or a hundred) books to sell or give to your family and closest friends? Vanity Press, by all means, don’t get into the business. Or maybe you want control over your books, be hands on in the business, then self publishing may suit your entrepreneurial aspirations.

Whichever you choose, be the best that you can be.

Insider Trading…As in Agent Query Mails

This suggestion could significantly increase your chances of acquiring representation. And chances are, you probably haven’t heard it before. It’s like making millions off of insider trading, but this isn’t illegal. If you read our blog regularly, I want you to know this trick. It’s too good to keep hush hush from driven pre-published authors. In fact, I want dedicated Rock readers mainly to know of this because you probably fit the said demographic, so I’m not even going to publicize this posting. And I’m going to take it down in a few days.

It’s a lot like when you go on a vacation and decide to ditch the tour bus, winging it, and discovering beauties in that country that most tourists don’t trample over regularly.

It’s also how I got my agent. It’s how some good friends of mine got theirs as well. The theory had come to me three or four years ago. I wish I would have tested it sooner.

Got to say this before spilling the secret. If you’re doing what thousands if not tens or hundreds of thousands of pre-published authors are doing to query, then you’re in a traffic jam. This little essay has been brewing in me for a quite a while because it’s one instance in which technology is choking us rather than helping. And whereas I embrace bold new technology used wisely, I don’t believe we achieve that as a whole. After all, our society has this problem now called Texting and Driving. But I digress.

The trick is this, as I’ve said, get off the tour bus.

For years, I used Agentquery.com to seek representation. It’s a great tool. And if you want to start your research there or spend a little time emailing your query to the agents recorded in it or others like it, by all means, go right ahead. I’m not saying that by doing so you can’t or won’t get noticed by an agent, but the probability is reduced…so much so that they call it the slush pile. Think about it. With those oodles of authors out there, internet right at their fingertips—the path of least resistance, isn’t that what everyone is going to take, actually turning it into the path of most resistance?

Invest a couple of dollars. I’m the cheapest ba****d on this planet, but I’ll sing the praises of these purchases. Buy some stamps and a copy of The Guide to Literary Agents by our pal Chuck Sambuchino or The Writer's Market, or go to the library and check them out. There are agencies out there that accept only paper submissions. Query them. They’re not buried. There are agencies that do NOT advertise on internet databases. Find them in The Writer’s Market and send them your stuff. They’re not in a query gridlock.

Insider trading. Don’t send this secret to anyone. ;)

Gusto

Just Do It!

by Pat Stoltey

Sunday morning I did something I haven't done in a long time. After I finished reading the paper, I poured a cup of coffee and went into the living room for a thinking session. There's a special chair in there for meditating or puzzling through a problem. It's a beige swivel rocker that can be turned toward the picture window. Rocking seems to help my thinking process, moving it along in a way. The motion is calming, and don't we all think better when we're calm?

What I needed to think about was:

Reading, critiquing, blogging, and tweeting,
Lallygagging, sleeping, gardening, and eating,
There's not enough time to do them all,
Who in the flying hell do I call?

For help, I mean. Is there such a thing as procrastination-busters? A group dedicated to breaking the television/movie habit? How about a twelve-step method for beating the "meet me for coffee at Starbucks" or "let's do lunch" addiction?

The same two manuscripts I was talking about three months ago, one that needed "one more good read" and the other that was ready for revisions, have somehow been dumped back into the "one more good read" category. They're printed out, sitting on the otherwise clean and dust free dining room table, waiting patiently.

Meanwhile, I'm fiddling with my own blog and making contacts to schedule more guest bloggers, collecting information for the Chiseled in Rock posts, doing what needs to be done to publish my second Sylvia and Willie mystery on Kindle and Nook, and playing Spider Solitaire. I had two raised garden beds installed, so I'm outside more, watering and finding new things to plant. I'm planning a couple of trips to visit family, and Skyping with the granddaughter and her mommy and daddy as often as their schedule permits. I rewrite my To Do List daily, but I've recently noticed it doesn't have anything on it about daily writing time.

What is it about sitting down to write or revise, or to send out those queries and submissions, that's so difficult? I see the question pondered over and over by writers. I did get a little poke from my Horoscope on Sunday though. (Yes, I read my Horoscope. When you stop giggling, read on.) It said:

"It won't help you to be a perfectionist now. Get your work out there in whatever form it happens to exist, at least to a small audience who would help you take it to the next level."

So I thought and thought and rocked and rocked. What I finally decided as I sipped my coffee and rocked is this: Revising my manuscripts forever is one more form of procrastination. It's a lot of work compiling a list of agents and/or publishers, checking out the submission guidelines, writing a separate query for each one, logging the submissions on a spreadsheet, and on and on.

It's painful waiting for replies to queries that never come. And what if an agent or publisher likes a book and wants me to produce another one in a year? Could I do that? On the other hand, what if every rejection is accompanied by constructive feedback, but all the feedback is different? What will I do then? Maybe I better revise the novels one more time before I send those queries.

So Sunday morning I rocked, thought about my procrastination as irrational fear, took a deep breath and let it out. I felt better. Even felt a little bit like working on that final proofread and putting together my agent list with notes on submission guidelines for each. Just do it, I thought. Just do it.

But first, I set the sun tea jug outside, wrote this blog post and pre-scheduled it for today, pre-scheduled Bailey Cates' (aka Cricket McRae) post on my own blog for yesterday, dug up the dying lavender plant near the house and replaced it with gladiolus bulbs, and scheduled a Super Shuttle pickup to the airport for my upcoming trip.

And so it goes.

This is an updated version of a 2010 post on my own blog.

Lessons from Gary

Earlier this year Mark Stevens shared much of the following information with me. When I learned that publication of Gary Reilly’s first book in the “Murph” series would soon be celebrated, I invited Mark to share this very special story on Chiseled in Rock. ~ Janet Fogg

------------------------

Gary Reilly

My pal Gary Reilly never took for granted the power of a good story to entertain. He loved being amused.

Gary had the ability to subject himself to the storyline and analyze why it worked. (Or didn’t.) He wrote a treatise on story structure.

Gary also wrote fiction. In 1977, he published a short-story called “The Biography Man” in The Iowa Review. It was later included in an anthology of the best writing from magazines and small presses. “The Biography Man” was Gary’s lone publication credit, but failure to land an agent or a publisher didn’t stop his production.

Gary wrote 20 novels over the next 34 years, including 11 novels about a Denver cab driver named Murph and, among many genres, two of the finest Vietnam-theme novels I’ve ever read. (Gary had served as a military policeman in Qui Nhon, a city on the coastline halfway between Saigon and the DMZ.)

I met Gary in about 2004. I was duly impressed with his dedication to the craft and started reading his entire stack of unpublished manuscripts. The “Murph” stories, in particular, struck me as utter gems. I fell in love with the character and with Gary’s style. Gary, in turn, was an enormously valuable editor and mentor to me.

To my surprise, however, Gary queried agents and publishers only occasionally. He would go for months without marketing his works. I would push and prod him. I suggested he get involved in Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I wanted him to meet other writers and make connections. I knew his chances of getting lucky, so to speak, were better at a writers’ conference than sitting at home editing and rewriting another “Murph.”

I encouraged him to publish the first “Murph” adventure electronically and for free—and just see what might happen. No matter what tack I tried, Gary’s approach didn’t change.

On November 15, 2010—four months before he died—Gary wrote me the following email:

One of the things that I wanted to discuss with you...was the idea you had a couple years ago about putting the Murphs on a website and sending codes to agents and so forth. I told you I wanted to think about it first, but now that I have cancer I do not know how long I will be around, and the fact I have wanted to put Book #1 on the net, I wanted to ask you what the logistics of that whole idea consisted of. I was leafing through my Murphs over the weekend and thinking that these books are worth getting out to the public in some manner, even if it means forgetting traditional publishing and experimenting with internet publishing, that vast and unexplored area...I think it's realistic to say that traditional publishing is out as far as my body of work is concerned, but I would like readers to have the opportunity to enjoy Murph. I think it's time to get a serious dialogue going on this, and I would appreciate your input.

I'm currently reading David Copperfield. I just finished all of Proust. I'm trying to get as many of "the big books" read before I dive into The Big Sleep.

Keep writing.
Gary

Gary didn’t have the “joiner” gene. It just wasn’t in him. He decided on having a “serious dialogue” a bit too late. He died on March 10, 2011.

Writers need alone time (lots of it!) but today, unless you are the reincarnation of J.D. Salinger or strike lightning like J.K. Rowling—you need to get out there and mingle.

You have to meet, pitch, confer, have a coffee or have a drink. You need friends. You need advocates. You need readers. You need to meet agents in person, chat with editors. You need to sacrifice some writing time and pour it into networks—real ones with real people reading your words and giving you useful feedback. Sure, not always. Cold queries still work, but so do lottery tickets.

A new writer friend put it this way: “Having talent allows you to get in the game. Whether you are successful or not depends on a lot more than whether or not you have talent.”

One thing is for sure—agents and publishers aren’t wandering the streets and knocking on random doors in hopes there might be a writer hiding inside banging away at a computer.

Gary won’t be around when Murph goes public but thanks to Gary’s three-sentence will, my pal Mike Keefe and I were given permission to publish his works. We formed Running Meter Press and, based on the quality of the Murph stories, quickly made partners with the venerable Big Earth Publishing in Boulder. (They fell in love with Murph, too.)

National distribution starts Tuesday, June 5 with the publication of Murph #1, The Asphalt Warrior. (It will be free as an e-book for the first three days, too: June 7, 8 and 9.)

If you’re around, come to the Lodo Tattered Cover on Tuesday June 5, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. (1628 16th Street, Denver, CO). We’ll celebrate release of Gary's book The Asphalt Warrior, and afterwards, head to the Wynkoop to raise a toast to Gary, to Murph, and to friends.

By Mark Stevens
Mark Stevens is the current president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the author of two Colorado mysteries, Antler Dust (2007) and Buried by the Roan (2011), which is a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. 

The Asphalt Warrior will be available June 5, 2012 at The Tattered Cover and wherever books are sold.  You can learn more about the book at The Asphalt Warrior, on Facebook, or on Twitter @Asphalt_Warrior.  Murph #2, Ticket to Hollywood, will be released in December 2012 or January 2013.

The Way of the Dinosaurs

By Terry Wright

Here’s something you don’t see very often. I found this phonebooth on Highway 6 at the Nevada – California state line in the middle of nowhere USA. Who uses one of these contraptions anymore? Its mere existence struck me so hard I had to take a picture. And looking at it today, I realize that technology is as much a catalyst for change in our lives as a comet was to the dinosaurs. The impact has all but wiped out our memories of how things used to be.

The automobile replaced the horse and buggy. The telephone replaced the telegraph. The cell phone replaced land lines, and here it comes: the e-book is replacing the printed book.  Will it be total annihilation, as it was with the telegraph and the dinosaurs? I, for one, believe not.

I recall when movies came out on DVD. Everyone said that “going to the movies” would be a thing of the past. But movie-going is an event, an activity, an outing that hasn’t lost its luster to DVDs. We still love the excitement of opening night, the aroma of popcorn in the air, the pulse of the crowd, and the rush to get a good seat. DVDs can entertain us some of the time, but popping one into a player can never replace the ‘experience’ of going to the movies.

I’m hearing the same thing about printed books; that they and the bookstores that sell them will also become distant memories. E-books are already outselling printed books. The future is chiseled in rock. But like going to the movies, holding that special tome, feeling its weight, thumbing through its pages, reading it while curled up in an overstuffed chair is an event to be experienced. Our e-readers can entertain us some of the time, yes, but not all of the time.

That’s why I believe printed books will not become as hard to find as a phone booth or a dinosaur.





The Revisionist Approach to Contracting

by Matthew Swihart, Esq.

Last time, we talked about what a contract was, and how to get into one. Congratulations, you’ve signed your contract and are on your way to having your paperbacks collect dust in a bookstore while the e-book version makes you millions! Now that you’ve crawled into bed with the agent and/or publisher of your choice, things are wonderful.

Or are they? What if you wake up one day after having drinks with another author who also contracted with your agent and/or publisher, and somewhere inside the cement that has become of your brain, you swear she told you about how she had negotiated better terms out of a critical provision of the contract. This other author told you the terms she was able to negotiate, and swore her current success (as demonstrated by her picking up the rather excessive tab you’re your absinthe and champagne binge at Green Russell) was all due to her expert negotiating skills with that single provision of the contract.

As your head clears over the course of the morning, you decide you want the same terms your fellow author received. The more you think about it, the more unfair it seems that your contract wasn’t as sweet. Why didn’t they offer to you the same thing the other author got? Was your agent and/or publisher trying to screw you? It’s just not fair!

But, alas, you have already signed your contract. And in the contract, near the end of the contract, in letters of the same size and shape as those in the rest of the contract, sits a provision which states the contract may not be amended, revised, altered, modified, rephrased, or tinkered with (most contract attorneys believe the more descriptive words they throw in the better—this harkens back to a time when contract attorneys charged by the word, but still resonates today because we still charge by the hour) unless done so in a writing signed by all parties to the contract.

So, you’re screwed. They’ll never agree to any modifications now that the contract is signed. Right?

For the most part, this is correct. People are loathe to tinker with a product once it’s finished. This is why it is absolutely vital that you make sure you are fully comfortable with any and every contract before you sign it. Further, negotiating a contract after you’ve signed it is typically considered poor form and can be considered underhanded. This can dramatically impact the other party’s willingness to contract with you again in the future.

I say “typically”, because there are exceptions to every rule. If you want to change one provision of a signed contract in your favor, then you will most likely need to find another provision which you can alter in the other party’s favor, to give them an incentive to modify the contract.

However, if there is an aspect of the contract which is void as a matter of law, or your book becomes so successful that rights not previously implicated may be affected, such as e-book, film, and translation rights (there are several lawsuits going on right now about who owns copyrights to e-books when the contract does not specifically refer to them), then you’ll find the other party more receptive to modifying the contract.

Once the parties have decided to modify it, it is in your best interest to revisit, review, and reconsider every single provision in the contract (not just the new or modified provisions), because you may not get the chance ever again.

As I’ve said before, agents and publishers are not interested in taking advantage of you, but they are interested in making money off you and protecting their interests and investments. Though they may be friendly, they are business people and not your friends (though you may be or become friends, I always recommend you treat them as strangers while doing business—believe it or not, it helps your friendship last). A contract attorney will be on your side and protect your interests, and will typically catch most—if not all—of the issues you won’t think of until after the contract is signed, so utilizing one at the outset can save a lot of headaches.

Matthew Swihart is an attorney, mediator, writer, and martial arts instructor in Denver, Colorado. He is currently pitching his debut novel—an epic fantasy trilogy—to agents and publishers, and is also working on an urban fantasy and a literary novel.


If you have any questions related to this or other topics, or if you have a topic you’d like me to address in this forum, please leave them in the comments, or e-mail me at Matthew.Swihart@aol.com. You can also find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/matthewswihart. One caveat: unless you sign a representation agreement with me, nothing on here or in any e-mail response constitutes an attorney-client relationship.

*** RMFW Members: E-mail me your contract, and I will provide a one-hour initial consultation for free. Be sure you include your full name and a good phone number so I can call you to discuss your contract. This is open to RMFW members only. The free one-hour initial consultation will not constitute an attorney-client relationship or representation, unless I am later retained to represent the individual in relation to that contract. ***

Literary Agent With The Seymour Agency: Nicole Resciniti

E-mail interview by Pat Stoltey

Nicole Resciniti is an AAR accredited literary agent with The Seymour Agency. She represents most fiction genres and occasional nonfiction.

According to the January 2012 interview on Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents blog, Nicole is a member of AAR, ACFW, RWA, and Mensa. She has degrees in biology, psychology, and behavioral neuroscience.

CIR: Nicole, have your studies given you any help in unraveling the writer’s mind and behavior, or is that a hopeless quest?

Nicole: The psych definitely helps (grinning). From a neurological standpoint, creativity is a process. I’m always fascinated by the ways in which the human mind works, where people draw inspiration, how they select their words. I don’t think writing is a glimpse into an author’s soul, but I do think there is something indicative of the author’s beliefs/perspectives in everything they craft. I love getting to know someone through their books.

CIR: At what point in your life did you decide to become a literary agent, and what attracted you to that profession?

Nicole: I didn’t follow a traditional publishing track. I had interned with Mary Sue and found that I could help a lot of people. There is no better feeling in the world than making ‘the call.’ It is rewarding and joyous and satisfying in a way I don’t think I can adequately express. I LOVE my authors. I think they are among the most talented people on the planet. It’s a privilege to be able to assist them on their literary journey.

CIR: What are your most recent book sales? What authors and new releases are you promoting this summer?

Nicole: My most recent sales include Cecy Robson’s urban fantasy series, beginning with SEALED WITH A CURSE: A WEIRD GIRLS NOVEL (PENGUIN) which debuts in 2013 and Kaitlyn Ballenger’s paranormal romance EXECUTION UNDERGROUND SERIES (HQN) which also debuts later next year. I really like finding unpublished authors. Their debuts are an inspiration to everyone that it can be done!

For this summer, I have a bunch of projects that I absolutely love. I’m listing them alphabetically:

--Macy Beckett—This author also writes as Melissa Landers. Macy’s contemporary romances are set in Sultry Springs, Texas, where first loves find second chances. SULTRY WITH A TWIST, marks the first in this series. These are fun, flirty, bring-to-the-beach reads. Love this author! As Melissa Landers, her YA series kicks off later next year from Disney with ALIENATED.
--Amanda Carlson—You can check out the prequel to her UF series with the novella BLOODED, which is available now. Her kick-ass Jessica McClain series launches with FULL BLOODED (ORBIT, a division of HBG), both here and in the U.K. If you’re into action and adventure, with some sexy supernaturals, she’s your girl.
--Amanda Flower—Her Amish-inspired cozy mysteries release from B and H Publishing, beginning with A PLAIN DEATH. The heroine is awesome and once you read one, you’ll wish you had the whole series at your fingertips!
--Julie Ann Walker—Julie’s series features the men of Black Knights Inc. They’re custom motorcycle mechanics by day and Uncle Sam’s last resort by night. HELL ON WHEELS marks the first book, with back-to-back releases beginning in August. This author is amazing!
--In the fall, look for CONJURE by Lea Nolan and Jaime Rush’s new paranormal series THE HIDDEN.

CIR: How do you find most of your new clients?

Nicole: Variety of ways. Conferences, recommendations and slush. Meeting clients is helpful because the agent/author partnership is a close one.

CIR: You and Mary Sue will be attending and taking pitches at quite a few writers’ conferences this year. What advice do you have for authors who want to pitch their novel to you?

Nicole:  Know your work. Be calm. Remember that we want new clients. We want to like your work. Prepare something that reads like the back cover of a book, a couple of paragraphs that comprise the essence of the project. Know your word count, target audience, and any comparable authors.

Try to make sure the agent you're pitching reps what you’re trying to pitch them. We don’t handle poetry, for example, so if someone were to take a pitch appointment with me about a poetry book, I would, unfortunately, have to pass on the project.

CIR: What are you currently looking for in genre and sub-genre? What are you tired of reading?

Nicole:  I’m open to anything commercial right now. I’m not really looking for any non-fiction at this point, unless there is a really strong platform.

I ALWAYS want romance, YA, MG, and anything sci-fi/fantasy. I’m burnt out on Dystopian and vampires. I’m very interested in contemporary stories, both YA and women’s fiction. I’d like to find more category fiction.

CIR: According to your agency’s guidelines, you accept e-mail and snail mail queries and are open to submissions at this time. What do you want to see in a query letter?

Nicole: The best queries, to me, read like the back cover of a book. Concise, engaging, and just enough to make me want to know more. I always need genre and word count, and any info about the author is appreciated.

I, personally, don’t take snail mail. Electronic is free and better for the environment.

In the email submission, please paste in the first five pages of the manuscript. Sometimes I skip straight over the query and right into the story.

CIR: The publishing world and social media opportunities have changed a lot since the January GLA interview. What kind of web presence do you recommend today for the unpublished author who’s looking for an agent?

Nicole: Start building your platform now. Website, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Goodreads, reviews… Get your name out there and establish an online presence. Editors look for this. They will check you out to see what you have to say and to determine if you’re dedicated to the marketing or just a random poster. With that said, make sure what you’re saying is professional. The industry is small and bashing another author or editor is NOT advisable.

CIR: Once a book is sold, what do you expect from your client in the way of marketing and promotion? For instance, do publishers ever send new authors on book tours? Do you think blog book tours (virtual tours) are useful?

Nicole: B and H is sending Amanda Flower on a very large book tour. Other houses are advertising for my authors in RT and RWR, Goodreads and/or on Facebook. Promotional materials are available and we negotiate for things like that throughout the process. I am 100% behind blog tours. These are a very useful way to reach readers and reviewers and with so much of the industry moving into digital fields for reading and purchasing, obtaining reviews and being accessible to readers is a must. We work with our authors to establish a balanced approach to marketing and advertising their upcoming releases. Our agency loop allows our authors to share information and marketing strategies. We encourage networking.

CIR: Finally, what do you do for fun (besides reading our queries and submissions)?

Nicole: Eat. I love food. Sad, and perhaps overly simple. But a good meal makes me happy. I also run (not fun, lol), but it helps with the stress and keeps me from becoming totally sedentary, as staring at a computer for ten hours a day can do.

CIR: Nicole, thanks so much for being our guest on the rock today.

Nicole: It was an absolute pleasure! Thank you so much for hosting me. I would just like to thank every author out there for giving me a job and something to get excited about each morning when I check my inbox. Keep writing. Do NOT give up. You can achieve your dream. Throughout your journey, I wish you the very best!

Writers can learn more about Nicole Resciniti and Mary Sue Seymour at the agency website and on Facebook. Nicole can also be found on Twitter.