Publishing, Query Letters, and More

The other day, I was asked by a friend if I had any advice about getting novels published, or if I had any advice about using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service. The question caught me a little off-guard, so I took a day to think about it before I sent back my answer. 

(Yes, I dabbled a bit in KDP publishing, but as of right now, I have decided that self-publishing is probably not the way that I want to go with my writing career. Lately, I have been researching and querying over the past few months. So far, my queries have been unsuccessful or I have never gotten a response.)

But as I was seriously thinking about the topic, a lot of different thoughts and useful tips that I have either gathered from experience, from writing professors, or from research popped into my mind, so I sat down and wrote a bunch of advice, trying to tell this person what I wish I had known much earlier as a writer. 

Since this blog was mainly started as an outlet for my writing and such, I figured I would post this (rather long) list of advice and explanations, just so that anyone who is thinking about publishing (whether traditionally or self-published) can have it for reference! 
In no particular order, here we go! 

#1. Know the different types of publishing. 

First, there is standard “traditional” publishing through an established publishing company, usually via a literary agent. Then there is Amazon’s KDP publishing, which, at the other end of the spectrum, is totally self-serve and self-published — no review process or editors or anything. Lastly, there are “hybrid” models. I’ve heard mixed reviews on those, though, so I would approach them with caution -- these are the websites that say "we'll publish your book! You can be in control, but we'll do the heavy lifting!" or that make you enter an email "if you're interested," prior to spamming you with eight emails a day. A lot of them claim to be “the best for your book if you don’t want to self-publish but don’t want to bother with agents and such,” and maybe that’s right for some people, but I tend to be wary of companies with few or no reviews by previous users. There's something that just doesn't feel right to me. 

#2. If traditional publishing is the way you want to go eventually, then your best bet is to first find a literary agent who knows how the technical aspect of communicating and making a deal with publishers works. 

A lot of agents work for specific publishers, so they have an “in” to get your work published after review and all that fun stuff. An agent will work with you to get your work published by a reputable company, making you a professional author, not a "self-published" one. As a writer who isn’t established in the field, try looking for a junior agent or an agent who is still building a list of people to represent! To find agents, simply Google publishing companies and their agents, read the bios, and send off emails or letters accordingly. It can be tricky and very intimidating, but hey, the worst that can happen is them saying "no" to you. You might as well try! Just stay away from querying to agents who represent big name authors -- you're not going to, as an unpublished writer, query to Stephen King's agent, if you know what I mean. 

(There was a book published this year called “Guide to Literary Agents 2020," which looks helpful! It looks like it gives you different agents and what they are looking for -- I would check your local library website for it and other similar resources! I'm guessing there'll be a 2021 version published soon.)

#3. Amazon or similar “self serve” publishing services are great if they have all you need! 

If you just want to be able to have copies to share with family and friends, or if you’re willing to be your own advertising campaign manager and constantly plug your works, then Amazon is great! It gives you total control over your formatting, editing, and publishing options, lets you publish ebooks and paperbacks, and isn't bad quality at all! I know that a lot of writers (especially those who got started as bloggers or writing fan fiction) succeed as self-published authors, mainly because they put a huge effort into advertising and promoting their stuff. But if being a recognized author is a goal (i.e. walking into Barnes and Noble to see your book on display), then using KDP is going to be a lot trickier in the endgame, even though it is easier to get started that way. 

#4. Write a query letter/pitch!!!! 

Even if you don’t send out queries to any agents and you decide to self-publish, condensing your book into one or two paragraphs (or less) is a valuable thing to be able to do. You need to have your story condensed so that when somebody asks "well, what's your book about?" you can explain without rambling on and on, losing their focus. I have taken a couple screenwriting courses, and learning about pitching a movie to a producer is really similar to the skills that a writer needs to pitch a book to an agent/publisher. You have to be able to explain WHY your story is a story worth an agent’s/publisher's time, or why that person browsing Amazon should buy your book and not one of the thousands of other self-published books. Without being snobbish, you have to say "my book is the best one you've seen today, and you should pick it up." Learning to do that takes time and practice! 

In addition, if you're querying agents, you can make slight changes to a basic query letter that speaks to the specific things that different agents look for. Maybe one is looking for character-driven stories, and another is looking for stories set in a futuristic world -- so if your story is both, then make sure to cater to those specifics. For the first agent, lean on the fact that it's character-driven, but for the second, lean on the futuristic setting. 

(If you have time, look up “the One-minute pitch” lecture by a screenwriter, Pilar Alessandra. It’s a great tool to compress your story into what’s really happening and what really matters -- hopefully it's available on the open web!) 

#5. Be patient. 

With Amazon:  you’ll have to be patient with the monotonous and dreadful self-editing and formatting nonsense. They have tools to help you, but to get it how you want your story to look, it takes a lot of trial and error and re-doing of things!  

With agents? They may not write you back in less than 3 months, if ever. I sent out four queries in March and have only heard back (a polite refusal) from one of them so far.

#6. Along with being patient, don’t be discouraged. 

Most agents aren’t sitting in their offices, cackling, rubbing their hands together, and saying "Mwahahaha, I’ll refuse this manuscript to spite this person!” No, they’re busy people who are just trying to do their job and put bread on the table for themselves and their families -- just like you. Maybe your story just didn’t vibe with them that day -- it doesn’t mean that your story is bad, just that you might not have the same tastes, or you might need to re-work how you're presenting the story. 

Save your refusal letters, don't trash them! Most authors aren’t accepted on the first try, or even the thirty-first try! Don’t get dragged down into a funk because you got refused by a few agents or even a hundred agents — these things happen to everyone. The key to becoming successful is to never give up trying. 

#7. If you’re sending queries (and I can't stress this enough), DO THE FORMATTING CORRECTLY!

Little things like spelling or punctuation errors, or clunky professional writing, can throw off an agent. As a student writer, I've done a lot of peer reviews, and it's incredibly difficult to see a good story or good ideas through a messy layer of technical issues -- it's a distraction, it seems super unprofessional, and detracts from the actual content of a story. 

Put the information in the letter that the agents ask for -- don't leave things out that they want, and don't go overboard on extras. Keep your tone professional and polite, but also strong. Also, as I mentioned earlier, different agents look for different info and details in your letter; make sure you read up on their submission requests and submit accordingly. 

#8. Last but not least, don’t give up!!! 

This is a TON of information (by no means comprehensive), and it looks overwhelming at first! Also, these are just my personal opinions, what I've found helpful, and maybe something totally opposite of what I've said will work better for you. By all means, work however works for you! 

If I can be of any further help, or if any of this needs more clarification, let me know! 

And always keep writing!!!!! :) 

I found this really helpful!