To Agent? To Traditional Pub? To Self-Pub? Are These The Questions?

I’m thinking: ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question!‘ This famous quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act II, Scene1 – see the full scene in the link!), comes to mind as I ponder whether or not attempt to swim the tumultuous waters of traditional publishing or make a raft and adventure the unpredictable waters of self-publishing. Is ‘to be’ a parallel to traditional publishing, and ‘not to be’, a liken to self-pub? Where does an agent fit in, inside this slippery metaphor?

This afternoon, I attended a four-hour virtual workshop entitled ‘How to Get Published’, organized and offered by Brian Henry (Quick Brown Fox). Brian is a fantastic teacher. I’ve been following his blog for decades, and attending workshops on-and-off for years. I trust his expertise. I trust the people he invites as experts to his workshops. I’ve been upping my workshop attendance game this past year because I finished my YA novel and I want to give myself opportunities to see and hear from agents and editors in the traditional publishing world. Often, there is even an opportunity to submit a query letter or the first pages of writing directly to the agent/editor who attends the workshop. Brian always gives writers an opportunity to submit, by the way, and those of us whose writing gets chosen to receive feedback, I know from personal experience…well, the feeling during and after can be both terrifying and elating.

How Does One Choose What To Do When A Writing Project Is Ready for Submission?

To agent? To publisher? Which one first? Can you submit to both at the same time? Do I submit my query to an agent in hopes that I find a heart-match with someone? If I do this, does that mean I *shouldn’t* submit to a publisher at the same time?

Based on research, experiences writers have shared with me, and information from attending workshops, it seems a writer can get in sticky situations if querying both an agent and a publisher at the same time.

Here is a scenario:

A writer submits a query to a Canadian Press for a children’s picture book. In Canada, there are many publishers/small presses that will take submissions directly from writers (aka ‘unsolicited’). There are ‘reading’ periods, which means, a writer can submit to a publisher during a specified window of time (example: June 1 – July 1). So say, said writer submits her query to this small Canadian Press, whilst at the same time, because she’s so excited to have a completed (professionally edited!) piece of work, she also queriers a few agents with the same story.

She waits and waits. And waits. And waits. Then, a bite from the publisher. The publisher says no, thank you, but offers some tender feedback and wishes her well. Then, a nibble from an agent. The agent is enthralled. The agent is considering representing the writer…and the agent asks what’s been happening with the manuscript. If the writer tells the agent that a publisher passed on it…there could be some tension. Because, it could have been possible for the agent to have submitted (aka ‘solicited’) the manuscript to the publisher on the writer’s behalf to the publisher, but now…that opportunity is no longer possible. Or…maybe it’s possible, but it’s sticky now.

Or, the writer gets offered a publishing contract from the small press, and then hears from an agent who suggests that the writer NOT sign the contract from the publisher…but rather wait for the agent relationship to solidify first. But the publisher is eager and wants an answer faster than, perhaps, the agent will solidify representation with the writer. Time is critical in this part of the situation.

If the writer had *only* submitted to the agent, perhaps, the agent could have pitched the publisher, and a contract for publication could have happened under the representation of the agent.

This is a complicated, but not unheard of, situation. I see three possible endings to this scenario:

The agent reps the writer and is able to submit the manuscript and get it acquired with a publisher, and the book gets published. The writer chooses to sign the contract with the publisher, and the book gets published. The writer is confused and panics, and it takes too long to sign the contract, and the relationship with the agent doesn’t happen, nor does the book deal.

These are best and worst case scenario endings…

Is navigating the agent vs. publisher question really this complicated? It can be.

I think, as of today, and the humble wisdom I was offered in the workshop, was that if you WANT an agent (especially if you write Young adult, children’s books, and/or fiction or non-fiction – basically not short stories and/or novellas, and/or poetry), then you should attempt to get an agent first. Submitting only to agents.

If you aren’t sure and/or if you want to head straight for publication by a small press or a publisher that is not one of The Big Five: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster (these publishers do not take unsolicited [un-agented] manuscripts, I believe, most of the time…), then you can go right ahead and submit directly to the publisher (following their guidelines which are located on their websites).

It’s possible to have books published and then attempt to get an agent. Absolutely.

Either way, there will be a (potentially) Long Waiting Period with (potentially) no response at all at the end of the Long Waiting Period. The submission guidelines in all cases will clearly define the response process. Some say, ‘We’ll respond within 6-8 weeks.’ This means you’ll get some sort of response by the end of that time. Or, some say, ‘We’ll respond if we are interested. This could take 6 – 8 months. We will only respond if we are interested.’ This means, you could wait for 8 months and hear nothing back. Basically, your response will either be an actual response- interest or acceptance or rejection OR nothing, which is a rejection.

The thought of my novel sitting in a darkened cyber-drawer for 8 months and then not receiving any kind of response makes me want to puke. It’s a part of the system that breaks my heart.

I keep sliding back and forth between thinking I want an agent and thinking I don’t. After today’s workshop, my faith in agentry (new word alert) has been restored. The agent was thoughtful, very caring, and spoke for and from the heart. She perked up my protected heart and I felt…that maybe it is possible to find an agent who gets me and my writing.

Having said all of this, the Big Truth is that there really is no ‘typical’ path getting an agent and/or getting traditionally published. There is a systemic pathway that most of us follow, certainly. But even then, there are so many reasons that could make or break your dream of getting an agent and/or getting traditionally published.

If you ‘know’ people in the industry, perhaps it will afford you a connection that gets your manuscript into an agent’s hands or into an acquiring editor’s slush pile. It’s possible that a writer you know who has an agent, can tell her agent about you…Or a writer you know whose editor works for a publisher, can share your manuscript with the editor. These pathways, perhaps, are unspoken…or maybe unique is a better word (?)…but they happen. Maybe I’m not supposed to write about this, but it comes from stories shared….and a hopeful dreamscape.

The same hopeful dreamscape that includes me getting an agent and a publishing deal in the traditional publishing system. With one of The Big Five. A dream I’ve had for as long as I’ve been reading and writing. A dream that shifts in the ‘how’ of it coming true.

What If You Don’t Want To Wait?

What if you wait 6-8 weeks at a time for a response from an agent? And you’re coming up with rejections each time? Does that mean that your manuscript isn’t publishable? Maybe. But also, maybe not. It could be great, but it hasn’t found its match in agent. You could wait an entire year for a ‘yes’ response, and then that yes could still not pan out. Or you could get an agent, and then wait another 6 months to get it under contract with an acquiring editor on the road to publication. And then it could take up to 2 or 3 years before the book is actually out in the world.

The entire process of getting an agent, getting a publishing contract and having the book in your hands could take from 3-to-5 years. It could take less, but rarely does it happen quickly. It’s not right or wrong, it just is that way currently in the traditional publishing system.

What if you just don’t want to wait that long? What if waiting reaps a substantial financial increase in your writing career? How do you know if any of it will work out?

You don’t know. Herein is another Big Truth in publishing – we don’t know if it will work out no matter how much we love our precious manuscript, no matter how well it’s written, no matter how important or fun or goofy the story is.

That whirling-dervish of hope in your chest that you get when you write, that jittery elation you feel when know you’ve written an outstanding paragraph or finished a stellar chapter…what we feel in our bodies as we create does not always translate beyond our selves.

For me, right now, this is something I’m struggling with. The thought of it feeling so magical and necessary in my body as I create it…but then it never causing that kind of feeling in an agent or publisher…it makes me stop and consider whether I want to share it at all.

As far as the financial pay-off…the possibility of, say, a two-book deal with a five or six-digit advance? Perhaps this possibility is what keeps that fire for waiting ignited within you. Perhaps any contract at all, the money doesn’t matter, but getting the book in readers’ hands/ears is what’s keeping that fire for waiting ignited is within you…it’s a question you will inevitably have to answer if you want your writing published traditionally. It’s a very personal question, indeed.

If you don’t want to wait, you can choose to self-publish.

Self-publishing takes time too. And money. And an extraordinary amount of research and work.

Essentially, you do everything to get your story into readers’ lives – hands/ears/what have you. And, unless you publish via Amazon (and maybe with the help of a hybrid self-publishing company), you will have to do all the distribution yourself, which does not include direct marketing and sales with bookstores and libraries and the education system, for example, in the way it does with traditionally publishing.

You write it. You edit it. Then you pay a professional editor(s) to edit it. Then you design the inside and outside of the book (or hire someone). Then you try to get blurbs/reviews/ARCS so you have some levity with marketing and publicity. Then you decide if you want an e-book or a hard-copy of the book or both. Then figure out where to sell it (distribution is a part of this process that is very different than traditionally publishing), how much, and be sure to keep track of it all. Or, you can hire hybrid publisher’s to help you with each step of the process, including distribution. You can sell your book(s) on consignment in most independent bookstores or gift stores, but this is a bit harder with major bookstore chains.

You put in the time and money. You have control of all creative decisions. You do your best to get your book in readers’ hands/ears and on bookshelves or e-readers. This can take a long time too.

Years? Sure.

How much money? Thousands.

Will you make it all back? Maybe.

So maybe you don’t want to wait, and you write and produce an incredible book that is selling well on-line and in the locations you’ve got it selling in…how do you show this success? Amazon can track your sales if it’s on Amazon. Goodreads can track reviews. But if you’re not involved in either of these, how do you measure your success in a trackable way? A way, that say, a major publisher would be able to see?

For me, this is the part that makes me take a moment when considering self-publishing. And, I’m pretty ignorant, really. I’ve just begun researching how it’s done successfully. There are ways to track your sales. There are lists. But the thought of managing it all is daunting. Equally as daunting as waiting two years for responses that could constantly be No.

But I also know that the internet is a fickle beast. That a kid from a small town in Canada can make 2 minute videos about cooking with cucumbers, cause a cucumber shortage, go bonkers viral, and become one of People Magazine’s Most Influential People. This also puts my stomach in an uproar (no offence to the cucumber influencer.)

The world for creatives is…well, it makes my throat close. I’m finding it difficult to want to navigate. I’m finding it challenging to hold hope as a companion.

And oh yes, I wonder about ways I could go viral…I try to come up with savvy marketing plans that could get attention…but then I get shy or I feel…like it’s pushing too hard…and rooted in a kind of desperation that makes me uncomfortable. I’m not saying that desperation motivates those who are successful on-line and/or influencers. And herein begins the…slickness of sharing anything here in the inter-webs.

There is context. There are words with meanings. And intention. But it’s possible that these realities can cause…confusion, pain, damage, etc.. No matter which publishing path I choose, and have any kind of ‘success’ in – there is the navigation of this part of the process. The getting-it-out-into-the-world part. And the word is on-line as well as in bookstores. And there are opinions that can change context, meanings and intentions.

Be Specific About Your Publishing Dream

I don’t know what I want to do with my novel, or any of my completed manuscripts, for that matter, right now because the knowing changes.

It changes with revisions. It changes with feedback. It changes when I read a book that’s so good it makes me never want to write again. It changes with my peri-menopausal hormones. It changes with workshops I teach or attend. It changes when I scroll on social media for work or for pleasure.

What I know that doesn’t shift (at least as much!) is that I have dreams. I have visions.

I can see myself holding up my novel, at a mega-reading event in my favourite bookstore in New York City (Hello The Strand!). I can see people reading it. I can see starred reviews and movie deals. What I see are visions of dreams that I’ve had since I was a child.

I have my own spiritual belief system about what these life-long visions mean. I believe that it is in these belief systems that I am able to continue to be creative, to write, to share my writing…and to cultivate my curiosity for and courage to be a part of the publishing world.

I can tell you that it feels so damn amazing in my mind and heart and body and spirit when I write and when I read. Writing and reading are absolutely conduits for love in my creative life. And I am leaning in to the possibility that the process of writing and the joy of reading could be THE part of Being A Writer that is most important. That can Be Everything. That can result in no attempts to get published.

If I share, it’s on my terms that include feeling utterly safe and authentic in the sharing. Maybe in a book club or in a writing group or at an open mic.

It certainly makes the Big Dream of Being Published much, much smaller…but that doesn’t mean that it changes the huge size of emotions that I feel in the making – in the writing (and sewing/crafting!) and reading.

I feel that my relationship with The Outcome of my creativity continues to shift. Yes, it is shifting as a result of my lived experiences as a writer over the last few years…but, I believe, that is essential in my soul’s creative evolution. Change is curiosity’s vessel…and I’m committed to being curious even when it hurts, when it’s scary, when I have to stand in the murky, muddy swampland of I Don’t Know…even when it’s so damn amazing I don’t want to do anything else but write and read. Those moments are momentous.

Our Questions Are Subjective Because They Are Rooted In Our Dreams

There is no question that I am a writer. That I am a reader. That I love to be creative.

The questions gather when I think about what I want to do with the things I create.

Right here, right now, I want to be a published novelist, but I’m not sure about the How. I want to be published because I believe in my stories. Because I want people to read my stories. But I don’t know the path I want to take to get these stories into the world. Or even if ‘The World’ is where I want to share them.

My dreams, however, don’t know time or space. They only know how it feels in my body when the stories are in the world – and my body is in all my visions – holding books, reading books, signing books, watching the books as films on the silver screen with Tom Cruise as the lead. These dreams are rooted in continued visions cultivated by the acts of creativity that I’ve been engaging in my entire life.

So what will it take for my publishing dreams to come true? It takes me continuing to write and read. It takes me listening to my body and inviting curiosity to the page. It takes patience and courage and saying no and saying yes. It takes me asking myself questions that matter to me so I can keep integrity with the Dreams.

What I do know is that I’ve got a load of revisions to do on the novel. I don’t even know the title! I do know that I will follow my heart and body when it comes to submitting anything. A poem here. A children’s book there.

I do know that not knowing is an integral part of the creative process.

I have dreams that there is an agent (angel?) out there for me. I have dreams that my novels and kids’ manuscripts get published. I’m gonna keep the dream and keep the creativity thriving.

And, I’m gonna celebrate what I have had published. Because that matters too. I have to practice the art of pride in what I’ve accomplished thus far. Quietly, humbly, yet alive-ly. So, I’d like to share that I’ll be reading on the Biblioasis stage with poet/writer Molly Peacock this coming Thursday, December 5th beginning at 7pm. Molly is having her Windsor launch for her new poetry book The Widow’s Crayon Box. There will be cupcakes!

Thanks, friends. We’re in this together. Let’s be together joyfully.