Chirenjenzie discussion
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To query or not to query, that is the question
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Elizabeth
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Aug 02, 2010 09:37AM
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Cause I'm a total noob...what is querying and how does it work?
Sending out query letters is what you send out for a MS or idea for a new MS. It is the process for finding representation from a literary agent...It is pretty tedious and what I like to call..."my ego's dose of reality" :) So literary agents will read a query letter and decide if they are interested in reading your completed book proposal (for a non-fict MS)or if it moves over into your "rejected" pile **tear**
Amanda wrote: "Sending out query letters is what you send out for a MS or idea for a new MS. It is the process for finding representation from a literary agent...It is pretty tedious and what I like to call..."my..."ah, ok. that's what i thought--but i wasn't sure lol. not sure i have any plans to do it in the near future, but figured i oughta be in the know ;)
Amanda wrote: "Sending out query letters is what you send out for a MS or idea for a new MS. It is the process for finding representation from a literary agent...It is pretty tedious and what I like to call..."my..."
Now that we know what a query is, how do you go about choosing who to send it to? Do you intentionally target literary agents who represent whatever type of novel your MS is?
Now that we know what a query is, how do you go about choosing who to send it to? Do you intentionally target literary agents who represent whatever type of novel your MS is?
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A woman I follow on twitter reads the slushpile and tweets about problems with queries, which she calls "query slams." I find her tweets very entertaining (and informational). Check her out @iternamie
Thanks so much Izz! That would be helpful. I really believe in my MS, know that it isn't perfect, but am getting a little discouraged. Thanks so much Regan! I love @internaime her #queryslam is awesome!! :)
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Are you sure? I just tried that and it came up as not a page. Can you @ me with her on there and then I'll follow the link?
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"Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing"
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=986
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http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/g...
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xoxo
I'm a complete DIYer when it comes to my works. I'd rather represent myself, since I know what I like or don't like, and with the internet, who needs a publicist or an agent? You can submit Press releases for free, send in the books for review yourself, and promote all over the place yourself, and not even have to leave your house if you don't want.
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Have you done book tours? If so, how did you book them?
I'm more indie published since I don't have the money to go the whole self-published route, buy my own ISBN's and bar codes, print up my own books at Kinko's, figure out how to get them distributed etc. I'll leave that to CreateSpace, iUniverse, etc.I've only been doing this 3 years and because up until last October I was working full time(until the library I worked at had its budget cut) and going to college half time, I had no time to do anything else, besides write my novels here and there. I've done one blog tour, mostly because I just happened to stumble on one that other authors were doing themselves. With as much time as I have now, I've discovered more places to promote my novels cheaply. Where I live now only has two major bookstores and I don't like either of them to even want to sit there for a few hours and be bored stiff. So, I don't do book tours, at least not until people actually know who I am! lol
The dinosaur media needs to realize that the internet has made them obsolete, so they should go away already.
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Here's her website:
http://web.me.com/imagobooks/IMAGO_FA...
Also, there are some fabulous bloggers on here that love to read indie stuff because it isn't cookie cutter literature. Not to say that all traditional published literature is that way, but I think that indie writers who invest so much of themselves tend to be more about the story, the art, and not the bottom line. At least that's my take on it.
I've gotten criticized in reviews for my last novel, Don't Mess With Earth being not very cookie cutter(paraphrasing). Complaining that the characters are 2D(didn't want to write a character driven novel), there's too much exposition, the timeline isn't correct(it's an alternate history novel! sheesh), yadda yadda. I focused on the story itself, and made it where people had to actually read the novel instead of skimming it, and its so full of details that when someone does review it, I can tell if they didn't read it all the way through. Sometimes dialogue and characters are over-rated for some novels, but, that's just my $.02.The Usurper, on the other hand, is character driven, and easy for everyone to read. I read tons of cookie cutter novels, since I went to school for a BA in English, so I prefer being different most of the time.
I'll bookmark her website and check it out.
RE: @LornaSuzuki, good person to know. I just got her interview questions for my Immortal "blog tour". She's great.
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And Cliff, the one thing I have to say about reviewers is: opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has one. ; )
"And Cliff, the one thing I have to say about reviewers is: opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has one. ; )"Oh, I definitely agree with that, and it seems that Amazon attracts all of them.
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Alrighty! My ears were burning until it set my hair on fire! Looks like I missed an interesting discussion on the hellish ordeal of query submissions... Am I too late to join in on the fun?
My 2 cents worth to someone considering sending out queries:1. Make sure the agent is actually accepting submissions. Some become so overwhelmed, they freeze until they can work through the hundreds they receive.
2. Make sure the agent you are submitting to actually represents your genre.
3. Make sure you address it to the agent, not to "Whom it May Concern"
4. Do Not sent a complete or partial ms, until you are invited to.
5. Do not email or phone the agent to see if s/he has read your query yet. Depending on the agent, it can take 4 to 8 weeks, sometimes longer to hear back.
I think that's more than 2 cents worth now...
Oh yeah! & what Italia said about all agents are not created equal... So true. Also, having an agent, even one that receives good marks with "Predators & Editors" and has proven sales does not guarantee you'll get published!Now, that's my 25 cents worth...
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xoxo
Oh yeah, & Elizabeth is right too! There are plenty of options if you go self-published, just do the due diligence thing to make sure you get the best publisher price and distribution as they vary greatly.Sadly, many wonderful pieces of literature are passed up because the author has difficulty doing a face-to-face pitch or can write a wonderful epic novel but writing a 1 page query letter is another animal altogether.
Can I add this to my first 2 cents worth about queries:Do yourself a favor and stick to the submission guidelines. I know of one writer who felt he could not do his novel justice with a 1 page query and how dare the agent dictate to him how long he should take to describe his work.
Well, agents are BUSY people, they do not have time to read epic query letters.There's a good reason why they ask that it be to the point and kept to one page.
Thank you! I will be quiet now...
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Just judging from what other authors have to say about iUniverse, Createspace, Lulu.com, I get the sense Lightning Source does the best job in terms of producing print books at a reasonable price and has one of the best distribution systems of all the publishing companies.I had one writing friend who had just published with Lulu.com now telling me he's pulling his works to publishing with LS after reviewing the info I forwarded to him.
LS does require you to have some knowledge in formatting your work, in my case, my hubby is great at this stuff. Me, not so much.But with the other companies, if you do not know how to make your novel print ready, then they will charge you for this service.
Also, where some of these companies have numerous complaints, it seems that LS only had 3 in the past year or so with the BBB.
Those who use LS seem to love the price per book & distribution with the only complaint that it takes a while to list with all their distribution channels.
If Elizabeth is interested, I can forward her pricing details, shipping, etc. for LS.
Anyone wanting to know more about my experiences with agents or self-publishing are welcome to contact me through my website @ http://web.me.com/imagobooks. To get all the sad and sordid details though, now that will require plying me with alcohol! lol
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Ooh ooh, great posts! I wrote a blog post last year about the hilarious drudgery of querying agents--you might find it entertaining: http://jacquelynwheeler.blogspot.com/...On self-publishing: I use both CreateSpace and Lightning Source. CreateSpace is cheaper both in terms of setup and for ordering copies to give away, sell, etc. (Note: if you're in California, you'll need to get your reseller permit so that they don't charge you sales tax when you order from them, but this was a shockingly easy process.) LSI, on the other hand, has much better distribution, and my books are on Amazon in Italy, Germany, France, UK, and Japan as well as barnesandnoble.com as a result. I'll second the point about file requirements being more stringent with LSI...I had a terrible time getting my cover to match their requirements, whereas I had no trouble whatsoever with CreateSpace.
Thank you so much everyone for all of your comments re: querying. I am in the process now, as some of you know. I feel your pain, Lorna. It is an exhausting process but all of the information everyone has shared here is fantastic!!
I used iUniverse for "The Other Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and was very happy with them, in general. Of course, when I signed up it was dirt-cheap compared to today. In 2002 they were almost the only game in town. Getting it into bookstores proved to be a big problem because their standard rates don't include returns-- the option didn't exist at the time.
I'm an independent book reviewer. I post my reviews to the Midwest Book Review, my blog and now my new employer, The Pigeon Post. You have the option of not having the review published in the Pigeon Post and having a different version of it entered on Goodreads, in order to avoid copyright issues. I can't promise a "good review" but I can promise an open minded and fair review. Send me your information at rivawriter@yahoo.com and we'll figure out how to get the book, or e-Book, so long as it represents the final version of the book, to me. - Tracy
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On another note:
The url link on twitter didn't go through ... what is the website for The Pigeon Post?
Sorry, I sent a second Twitter post correcting the first one, but you must not have seen it. It's http://thepigeonpost.org
I was wondering how hard it was to use LS, because I wasn't sure, and I was also wondering about Baker&Taylor's Text Stream POD Service. Anyone have any experience with that? I would have to buy my own ISBN though to use either service, right?I currently use both Lulu and CreateSpace for my new novel, mostly to see which one gets me more sales or distributed further(even though my novel costs more on Lulu). Having gone through iUniverse and then Virtualbookworm, I find that I like setting up my own novels, creating my own cover, and all that, so I'll continue to use CS or Lulu in the future.
My main problem is that I keep forgetting to send the pre-published material to be reviewed so I can be reviewed by places like Library Journal, PW, Midwest, etc. Mostly, I guess, because reviews rarely influence my decision to buy a novel, so it affects my business decisions.
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Those of you interested in the query process, there is a hashtag discussion on Wednesday at 10:00 by @CA_Marshall She's a wealth of information regarding standard publishing procedures. the tag is #querychat (pretty straight forward, huh?)
Chirenjenzie
Books mentioned in this topic
Don't Mess With Earth (other topics)The Usurper (other topics)
