Publishing Pitfalls
As writers our ultimate goal is to be published. Much easier said than done as you all know! Luck plays a large role in landing a contract even if you write beautiful, grammatically perfect prose. You have to find that publisher who "gets" your style, likes you genre, etc.For some of us who write on the cusp between genres, it is even more difficult.
Besides romance, I write urban fantasy. While there are similarities between the two, they are not the same. Romance is all about the hero and heroine's struggle to overcome the odds to reach that happily ever after...or in erotic romance...happy for now. Urban fantasy is more about the fantasy and mystery with a romantic thread woven into it.
While the urge to get published is often overpowering, I always advise writers to stick to their guns. Don't add gratuitous sex just to get signed. Don't change the POV just because a publisher doesn't like first person and DON'T sign with the first company that offers a contract until you weigh everything.
In this digital world in which we live and write, editors come and go. The one who loved your work may be replaced by one who doesn't or the house may switch gears a lean more toward one genre and away from another. For writers of series this can spell disaster. What do you do with books 2, 3, four, etc. if the publisher of book one doesn't want book two?
Did you read your contract? Often your publisher wants first right of refusal...sometimes they don't. Let's assume they do and have rejected it. Do they own your character rights? If they do, even if your second novel can stand alone you would have to change all the names in order to market it. Did you think about that? Read your contract thoroughly before you sign it!
The best advice I can give it to research, research, research your publishing options. Make SURE the houses you choose represent your genre and will continue to do so regardless of staff changes. If there is something you don't like in the contract you are offered , the time to negotiate is before you sign not after the ink has dried.
Good luck to all of you and may the force be with you!
Besides romance, I write urban fantasy. While there are similarities between the two, they are not the same. Romance is all about the hero and heroine's struggle to overcome the odds to reach that happily ever after...or in erotic romance...happy for now. Urban fantasy is more about the fantasy and mystery with a romantic thread woven into it.
While the urge to get published is often overpowering, I always advise writers to stick to their guns. Don't add gratuitous sex just to get signed. Don't change the POV just because a publisher doesn't like first person and DON'T sign with the first company that offers a contract until you weigh everything.
In this digital world in which we live and write, editors come and go. The one who loved your work may be replaced by one who doesn't or the house may switch gears a lean more toward one genre and away from another. For writers of series this can spell disaster. What do you do with books 2, 3, four, etc. if the publisher of book one doesn't want book two?
Did you read your contract? Often your publisher wants first right of refusal...sometimes they don't. Let's assume they do and have rejected it. Do they own your character rights? If they do, even if your second novel can stand alone you would have to change all the names in order to market it. Did you think about that? Read your contract thoroughly before you sign it!
The best advice I can give it to research, research, research your publishing options. Make SURE the houses you choose represent your genre and will continue to do so regardless of staff changes. If there is something you don't like in the contract you are offered , the time to negotiate is before you sign not after the ink has dried.
Good luck to all of you and may the force be with you!
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