The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit

by Elizabeth Lyon

ENHANCE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING YOUR NOVEL PUBLISHED WITH THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND GUIDE   Writers often spend years perfecting their first novel—then hit a dead end when it comes to getting it published. Learning to market your novel will make it stand out from the thousands of other books clamoring for the attention of an ever shrinking number of publishers.   In this book, Elizabeth Lyon offers the wisdom of more than twenty years of experience as an author, book editor, writing instructor, and marketing consultant. Step-by-step, she details what editors want, what questions to ask them, and how to develop a marketing strategy. You will   ·         How to categorize your novel, and the sixteen ways of describing it ·         Nine ways of selling your novel ·         Descriptions of the jobs of literary agent, editor, and writer ·         Examples of actual story synopses, and successful query letters—in all the genres ·         How to prepare sample chapters ·         Thirty questions a writer needs to ask a prospective agent

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Rebecca L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good advice, helpful tips.

[David Katzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selling your novel to an agent or a publisher is not the fun part of being an author. It’s about strategy. It’s about condensing your entire book into a page. It’s about summarizing the highlights. It’s about categorizing your book into a genre so that an editor or agent will “get it” without having to read it. All in all, it can feel degrading. I know that my book is a living thing all its own. A multi-faceted meme, a catalyst that interacts with each mind in a different way (some with love, some distaste). It’s a work of art with many reflections that aren’t fairly represented in a single page query letter. Nonetheless, this is what I must do to sell my second novel to a publisher.

Elizabeth Lyon helps make the medicine go down with a great deal of sympathy and understanding. She is a fiction writer herself, and so she understands the dedication (and emotional effort) required to bring a work to life. As her introduction says, “Many authors emerge from the safe cocoon of writing a novel into the foreign realm of marketing, a realm that seems hostile, confusing and mercenary.” I also loved her for statements like “You will be asked to rewrite [by agents or editors:]. It will be up to you to define how much these changes improve your book or to refuse changes that would compromise your vision.” Now we’re talking! This is a much different attitude than you’ll find in a similar guide book Give ‘Em What They Want which focuses purely on selling. The book business is only as mercenary as you allow it to be. It all depends on how far you are willing to go to be published. We each must draw our own lines. (And also be careful not to get ripped off by unscrupulous agents and vanity publishers.)

The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit provides an excellent guide to: the writing and formatting of query letters and synopses, attending writers’ conferences, approaching agents and publishing companies, dealing with rejection, and even approaching book contracts.

Quibbles: I found several of the query letters she holds up as examples rather poorly written, but there were a few clear home runs as well. And she doesn’t recognize that authors have the option to self-publish. The last edition of this book seems to be from 2002 and much has progressed since then in the self-publishing realm. However, I published my book in 2000, so it was not unheard of in 2002. Most of her writers “put their novel in a drawer” and move on to their next book when they don’t get a “sale.” This to me makes authors far too dependent on others. Yes, try to find a publisher if you want, but I say if you believe in the value of your work, after a while, get it out into the world. Give it life, let it breath. And then start your next book. Life is too short to put all your words in a drawer. Self-publishing isn’t for everyone but an acknowledgement of that option would have been nice.

I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to sell a work of fiction.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer to seeking a home for your novels. Lots of examples of queries and synopses, with notes on what makes them effective, or not. Also, tribulation and success stories at the end of each chapter and a good section on what questions you should ask prospective agents.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this while I was spending an afternoon in the library looking up writing books. I finished it in one sitting and appreciated how Lyon gives a coherent summary of how to market one's work once it's completed, including a ton of helpful examples on how to write good queries for publishers/agents. However, it does show its age and doesn't take into consideration the digital platform for marketing. I wish I could find a book that included some of the information that was in this book, but also included a more updated and expanded section on e-marketing.

Nonetheless, it was worth the time spent reading.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, I won't use a whole lot of time reviewing a non-fiction book. However, I did find this book very helpful and specific, and the layout is pretty good for reference purposes. I only found a couple faults with Lyon's book. The first was that it's outdated by a few years. (It was published in 1997, when the Internet was still pretty young and emailing queries still seemed a bit too casual.) The second is, like a lot of people who teach and write on publishing, she favors her own methods above all others, hers being a writing group. There's nothing wrong with writing groups, but they aren't the only way to publishing success.

[Brenda Clark Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books I've read on this topic. I do wish the author would update the book, though. This one still talks about sending paper manuscripts and SASE envelopes! Still, I like how the book gives inside information and a marketing strategy. Many writing books do not get this specific. I learned a thing or two. This book was recommended by Robert Dugoni for his writers' retreat that I will be attending in October.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So you've written, rewritten, and rewritten. You've workshopped your manuscript at a conference. You've joined a writer's group and gotten feedback. You've let your manuscript cool off and rewritten it again. Now you think you're ready to sell it. This book is a crash course on getting an agent and more. Don't start querying until you've read i

[T.M. Carper · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't as useful as I'd hoped. Some of the charts are good, but keep in mind that the book is dated. I don't recommend spending your money on purchasing it--if you're interested, borrow it from your local library. There are more helpful resources on the internet for query letters and synopses.

[Mothman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've spent months reading this book off and on. It's very, very informative and has many query letter examples. I would advise taking some of the content with a grain of salt though, since it is from the 1990s, and the industry has changed quite a bit since then.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. I'll definitely want to re-read it when I have a finished manuscript ready to shove out of the nest.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I ordered this to help me with the novel I am 'trying' to write. I have enjoyed it so far, and gives the information on the publishing world in simple terms.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise advice on what you need to do to get your book sold. The query letter and synopsis examples are incredibly helpful.