WRITING IS LIKE A JOURNEY
Let's open with prayer.
Although there are plenty of you who start a vacation by getting in the car and driving with no destination in mind, most people take the time to plan. When can I go? Where do I want to go? How do I pack? Where, realistically, can I afford to go?
While I can name at least one person who decided on the spur of the moment to write a book, send it out and get it published within a few months, that typically doesn't occur in the publishing world. Cool when it happens, but for the rest of us mortals, our writing career should be planned from the moment we put pencil to notepad. Start by asking:
What am I writing?
Why am I writing?
For whom am I writing?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a series of stories for your kids or grandchildren. There is nothing wrong with making up poems to put in cards you send to your friends. There is nothing wrong with writing book reviews or society articles for your local newspaper or keeping a blog. Do these activities make you a writer? Absolutely. You love writing; you write anything anywhere, any time. But there’s a difference between being an amateur hobbyist and a career author.
You can earn response points for defining Amateur and Professional.
Kathy Carlton Willis, owner of the Christian full-service author assistant company Kathy Carlton Willis Communications (http://www.kathycarltonwillis.com), says: "A hobbyist is in love with the idea of being a writer more than the idea of writing. He/she flirts with writing when it’s convenient or when an idea hits, or after surges of inspiration and motivation from outside sources (like attending a conference or receiving praise from another than they are a good writer). A writer writes like a mail carrier delivers mail or a bride and groom’s wedding vows. Writing happens in good times and bad, in good writing conditions and bad, it happens because the writer can’t not write. When a writer learns how to apply his/her craft to the business standards of the industry (queries, proposals, networking, branding, platform, etc.), then the contract and money will follow. Sheer tenacity."
Why am I writing?
If you want to earn a living at writing, there are several ways to go about it, and most of them don’t result in hitting the NY Times Best Seller list with your first efforts. Many authors simply want to see their writing in print, or hold a book in their hands. Using writing as a ministry is honorable. What’s your reason for wanting to be published?
Who is my target audience?
CS Lewis started writing the Chronicles of Narnia for his nieces and nephews. Am I writing for young adults, children, people who like fantasy? Readers of romance or history or espionage? The kind of writing you do for a specific audience will help narrow your choice of publishers and agents. For more help on identifying WHAT you write, your genre, your category, visit The Book Industry Standard Group: http://www.bisg.org/what-we-do-0-136-bisac-subject-headings-list-major-subjects.php. Publishing Questions is a great site to visit, as well. This article can help you define your writing: http://www.publishingquestions.com/booktext/genres.html. This older Webinar is a little insight into how booksellers are trained to categorize books: http://pdfs.nbnbooks.com/BI/SAC/BISACWebinar.pdf
Award-winning author and writing coach Linda Rohrbough (http://www.lindarohrbough.us/) has this most excellent article and chart on her web site: http://lindarohrbough.us/images/pdfs/The_Genre_Hurdle_by_Linda_Rohrbough.pdf
Kathy Carlton Willis, owner of the Christian full-service author assistant company Kathy Carlton Willis Communications (http://www.kathycarltonwillis.com), says "Imagine your book on a physical bookshelf at a bookstore. What books surround yours? For fiction, since they often go by author name rather than type of book, also consider your genre and style. What publishing houses print books similar to yours? These provide your comps (comparable books) and markets. Also select markets where you can strategize a way to get your foot in the door—perhaps you will meet the acquisitions editor at a conference or a writer friend is willing to write a letter of introduction if you don’t have an agent. Think of your contact strategy and this will help you narrow your search."
Your goal for today will be to identify what you want to submit – and at this point it doesn’t have to b a finished project. We’re simply starting to identify what to submit and how to start the process.
A Writer magazine article by an acquisition editor advised that she didn’t want to see a proposal with a coffee cup ring on it. It was early in my writing career, for sure, as I can still remember the shock that someone would do something like that. Then I thought about all the effort it took to type perfectly that one letter on a manual typewriter all the way through without any mistakes, and I wondered if I was that person.
I submitted two things for publication before I took a writing course and officially crossed over the threshold into authordom. The first was a little child’s book I wrote and illustrated in high school about bees pollinating flowers. It was cute. I still have it somewhere in a trunk, I think. Imagine my excitement when the company, whose ad I found in a ladies magazine, wanted to publish it! I only had to pay them $300. Fortunately, we couldn’t come up with the money, even if my husband had been interested in paying. The second was many years later, after I’d gained all this experience being a Bible study leader and used study guides that I was sure I could improve upon. I wrote up a whole course and sent it to the company that published the guides. I really just wanted to help them out. I received a very nice letter with my submission explaining that the company did not accept unsolicited material. I had no idea what that meant.
Years later, I read another ad in another ladies magazine…this time for an on-line writing course. I took it, and much to my chagrin, learned there was an actual process to this publishing thing. But I did learn. And went on learning.
You can earn response points for looking up “solicited” in the dictionary and reporting what you found; and another for commenting on the opposite of “solicited” in your own words.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about finding your target. Feel free to share today about the work you want to submit, your goals, your audience, and whether to an agent or a publisher.
Here's the compilation of findings from participants:
Where do we find publishers and agents?
You can do a general search on the Internet – but how do you know to trust them? (You can check Editors and Predators: http://pred-ed.com/peba.htm.
My favorite place was after the names of people who had books coming out – you know, after their signatures; then I know someone has published with them, and I can ask questions. Blogs, Author web sites. Books. ACFW: http://www.acfw.com/member_resources/writing_guidelines. Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com. Writer’s Market Guide (which you can also find in a library reference section); for a small monthly fee you can sign up on line: http://www.writersmarket.com/LearnMore.aspx. Christian Writer’s Market Guide (which Jerry Jenkins just bought) http://stuartmarket.com/default.aspx. Agent Query: http://www.agentquery.com/. http://www.christianpublishers.net/. WD Guide to Literary Agents http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com.
This is only a start. Where else can you look?
Assignment:
Find ten different targets of mixed agent and publisher websites. Visit those websites and, from the front page, report how easy or difficult it is to find the submission guidelines. Make a note of the sites that allow unsolicited submissions from authors (we’ll be visiting them again later). It doesn’t matter at this point if these are people or publishers that you want to target for your work – it’s just general practice. Are the submission guidelines on the front page? How many clicks do you have to take before you get to them? What are they called? (Hint: sometimes they’re hidden on the “contact” page.) Are there sites you’ve checked that didn’t list the submission guidelines at all? You will also want to be very careful to check what kind of materials the publisher releases. Look in their catalogs. Check out the company news. Look at the book titles, the book covers. Especially check the price of the books. If you’re looking at an agent, find out who else is represented. Look at the author’s Amazon ratings. We'll talk about the ins and outs of publishers/agents and some of the terminology next week, such as when and who should you pay if you're going to hire somebody to help me. Legitimate publishers and agents do not charge any kind of fee for any service, no matter what they tell you – not even for your ISBN.
Share your discoveries, and remember if you have a story to tell, no grousing without some kind of solution.
Here's the compilation of findings from participants:
Here’s a compilation of what respondents to the search of publishers and agents came up with so far. I’m detecting a pattern, here: are you too? You all, almost all, shot for the bullseye from a mile away. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but might I suggest you start a little closer up? I don’t know that anyone went to look at the main loop for the middle and smaller publishers from our own authors, or to author’s blogs and web sites to see who they work with.
With the bigger name publishers and agents, the trend seems to be, if they accept your uninvited submission, please meet me at a conference, or at least get a referral. Why? Because they are inundated with requests, many of which don’t follow their guidelines.
Let’s keep working on this research through the weekend. If you have questions, please ask. I’ll be around this afternoon and early in the morning; then I’ll be away until Sunday at a conference.
Thanks for your input so far.
Lisa
Agents
Steve Laube - 2 clicks for guidelines, lists authors represented and titles of their books, accepts unsolicited queries
Tamala Hancock Murray - 2 clicks for guidelines, gives the list of authors and book titles she represents. *Note here, I found my novel would not be a fit for her, accepts unsolicited queries
Chip MacGregor - doesn't give guildines for submissions because he doesn't accept unsolicited queries
Seymour Agency - submission guildines is 3 clicks away - gives the author's name, genre and title of book, accepts unsolicited queries
Rachel Gardner - submission guidelines is 2 clicks away, gives a full page to each of her authors with a blurb about the author, accepts unsolicited queries
Books & Such: 1 click to submission guidelines, queries only, strict guidelines
Hartline: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, select agent --concise guidelines
Blythe Daniels Agency: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, concise guidelines
Sandra Bishop: 1 click to submission guidelines, no unsolicited accepted, referrals from current clients
Wheel House: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, concise guidelines
Hartline: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, select agent --concise guidelines
Blythe Daniels Agency: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, concise guidelines
Sandra Bishop: 1 click to submission guidelines, no unsolicited accepted, referrals from current clients
Wheel House: 1 click to submission guidelines, unsolicited accepted, concise guidelines
Writer’s House Literary Agent – accepts queries by mail only. Submission info is on the home page.
Alive Communications Literary Agency – doesn’t accept unsolicited queries. Easy to find guidelines.
Van Diest Literary Agency – Accepts unsolicited queries and provides a link to the guidelines on the first page.
Living Word Literary Agency – Accepts unsolicited queries and provides guidelines on the home page.
Nelson Literary Agency – Accepts unsolicited queries and provides guidelines on the home page
Bethany House - no information about how to submit - it advertises the book and authors available with the company
MacGregor Literary—Submissions link right on the home page. MacGregor Literary works primarily with established authors. At this time we are not looking to add unpublished authors except through referrals from current clients.
Hartline Literary Agency-- Submissions link right on the home page. This is the only agency I have had any experience with. I was rejected, and while that rejection was justified, and I learned much from what the agent had to say, the comments from his reader were un-necessarily harsh, in my opinion. They do accept unsolicited materials, Their submission package requirements are extensive.
WordServe Literary-- Submissions link right on the home page. WordServe Literary is currently CLOSED to unsolicited queries from new unpublished authors
Natasha Kern Literary Agency—Two clicks, under the For Writers link. Their page did not specify solicited or unsolicited. Their guidelines seemed streamlined and easy to understand.
Folio Literary Management-- Submissions link right on the home page. Their page did not specify solicited or unsolicited. Their guidelines seemed streamlined and easy to understand.
Books and Such - accepts unsolicited email queries. I looked here because one of their agents has my ms. She requested it at a conference. They list their authors with links to their websites and list their awards as well.
Steve Laube - 1 click - accepts unsolicited proposals by mail only. Strict guidelines. Lists authors with links to websites.
Hartline Literary Agency - accepts unsolicited proposals. strict guidelines. working with "select first-time authors."
Rachelle Gardner - 1 click for guidelines, another for "What I'm looking for." Accepts unsolicited email queries. Strict guidelines. Has a list of all her book deals since 2008, and links to author blogs.
Les Stobbe - 1 click. accepts unsolicited proposals. Strict guidelines.Some testimonials but no list of clients.
Publishers
Tyndale - no information on how to submit, it provides a list of authors and titles
Zondervan - submission limited to Academic, reference, and ministry. The site refers you to 2 books to help prospective authors. The Christian Writer's Manual of Style and Christian Writers' Market Guide, They also refer to a free online site where one can submit - www.authonomy.com/Christian
Axiom Press - gives submission guidelines in 3 clicks. provides a download of a 6 page author info packet.
B&H - submission requirement very clear, accepts unsolicited queries.
Emerald House/Ambassador International: 1 click to page, 1 click to guidelines: unsolicited accepted, concise guidelines New Author friendly
Marcher Lord Press: 1 click to guidelines, 1 click to form: closed to submissions at present New Author friendly
Charisma House: 1 click, clear, concise guidelines, Accept unsolicited from new authors, agents and published authors.
Broadman and Holman Publishing: nothing found
Journey Forth-BJU Press: No submission guidelines
Marcher Lord Press: 1 click to guidelines, 1 click to form: closed to submissions at present New Author friendly
Charisma House: 1 click, clear, concise guidelines, Accept unsolicited from new authors, agents and published authors.
Broadman and Holman Publishing: nothing found
Journey Forth-BJU Press: No submission guidelines
Bethany House's guidelines can be found at the website
Tyndale House no longer reviews unsolicited manuscripts
Tyndale House no longer reviews unsolicited manuscripts
Harper Collins – doesn’t accept unsolicited except for Avon Romance; Refers authors to authonomy – their site for writers. The link to the submission guidelines was on the home page.
Random House – doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts; Strongly suggests that all authors use an agent; The link to submission guidelines is on the home page.
Zondervan – accepts queries in Academic, reference, and ministry resources but for all other categories they recommend uploading manuscript to Authonomy Had to search for submission information
Tyndale House – Doesn’t accept manuscripts unless they are through an agent or from a published writer. Guidelines were on the first page.
Baker Publishing (Bethany House and others) – does not accept unsolicited manuscript except through an agent. They recommend using one of the following: Authonomy.com, The Writer's Edge, and Christian Manuscript Submissions – the submission guidelines weren’t easy to find.
Revell—2 clicks to get to their subscription guidelines (They are under the contact us link) They state that they will consider unsolicited work only through one of the following avenues. Materials sent to our editorial staff through a professional literary agent will be considered. In addition, our staff attends various writers' conferences at which prospective authors can develop relationships with those in the publishing industry. They also recommend the manuscript submission services such as The Writer’s edge or Christian Manuscript Submissions. This is a traditional publisher
Barbour Publishing—two clicks, also under the contact us link. They state that Barbour does accept manuscripts from authors to review for publishing. There is another link that takes you to the guidelines. This is a traditional publisher.
Harvest house— two clicks to get to the guidelines, thet are under the “about” link. Harvest House no longer accepts or reviews any unsolicited queries, proposals, or manuscripts. They also recommend services such as The Writer’s edge or Christian Manuscript Submissions. This is a traditional publisher.
Bethany house—two clicks to the guidelines, under the contact link. This is a traditional publisher. Their remarks match those of Revell-- They state that they will consider unsolicited work only through one of the following avenues. Materials sent to our editorial staff through a professional literary agent will be considered. In addition, our staff attends various writers' conferences at which prospective authors can develop relationships with those in the publishing industry.
WaterBrook Multnomah—four clicks to get to the guidelines. Connect, to FAQ, to the guidelines. They are no longer giving consideration to unsolicited materials unless presented to us by literary agents.
Moody Publishers - 1 click - accepts unsolicited fiction proposals. Fairly strict guidelines. Only one in my genre, but doing very well.
Zondervan - 1 click- will not accept unsolicited fiction proposals. Only a few in my genre.
Thomas Nelson - 2 clicks - accepts proposals only from agents or ChristianManuscriptSubmission.com. Only a few on my genre.
Revell/Baker/Bethany House - 2 clicks - does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Reviews authonomy, cms.com and writers edge. Publishes almost all Biblical fiction today.
Tyndale House - 2 clicks - does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Publishes Francine Rivers. Extensive author pages.
