I got some stuff cleaned up in the Green Room last night, but I spent an hour or so revising my blog template and the front page of my homepage. It was nice to sit down and play on the computer for a little while.
The stained glass window on the header image there is, of course, the stained glass window in my living room, albeit a bit stretched out and funky. But I did that on purpose, and I guess I’m fairly happy with the outcome. There will be more changes, however. Just hold tight, because I’m still thinking.
And now, I’m going to address Mushtaq’s comment about agents, and the getting of one, because I have been thinking about that lately.
(I’m going to use the dreaded ‘them’ and ‘they’ here, so bear with me. In this case, ‘they’ are industry professionals: editors, agents, publishers, etc. And remember that this is my opinion.)
In 2001, I started actively submitting my work. I wrote query letters to my list of agents and sent synopsis and sample chapters to the ones who replied in favor. I submitted novels to publishers, or synopses and sample chapters, depending on their guidelines.
I ended up publishing The Tenth Ghost with an epublisher because (and this is the truth) I couldn’t afford the cost of printing out submission packages, I thought ebooks were cool, and I wanted a bit more control over the final version of my book than I would have gotten at a major publisher.
Epublishing and POD publishing is considered, at best, semi-publishing by ‘them.’ I have heard the term ‘semi-published’ used by an editor I hold in high regard, and it rankles just like ‘paraprofessional’ rankles. However kindly it is meant, it’s a put-down, and it frankly pisses me off.
I chose this. I didn’t settle for this. I don’t want my book to appear on the bookshelves for less than a month and then fall into oblivion. I’d rather build a readership, which I seem to be doing since my books continue to sell. (Modestly, yes, but they sell.)
In this section of the industry—and it is a section of the industry, semi-published or no—I can take my time and gather my readers as they come. I can create my own cover art, experiment with styles and write in my own worlds without fearing that I won’t be able to sell a sequel, the rest of a series, or a companion book set in the same world.
Contracts are simpler here. My characters and worlds are not tied up in complex legalese that prevents me from selling the rest of a series or a companion novel to another publisher. Only in one instance did the contract state that I had to allow the current publisher to consider a sequel before sending it somewhere else. (And that was for Second Coming, which is still looking for a home. More on that later.)
I have issues with the publishing industry as it stands today. The last fantasy novel (published by a major publisher) I purchased with my own money was the fourth Harry Potter book. (Mom bought the fifth one.) Every time someone suggests a new author to me and I find an excerpt of the novel in question, I find it lacking for some reason. (Except for Charles DeLint, but that’s another story, and I got his newest one for Christmas, so that doesn’t count. And Tim Powers and James Blaylock, of course.)
This is coming from a person who used to spend about $200/month on books, btw.
I have issues with the price of books and the lack of bookstores. But mostly, I have issues with the people in the industry whose snobbery really puts me off. Editors, writers, and agents all fall into this category. And publishing houses that break contracts, but that’s another story too.
I don’t write my stories and novels to win awards, because I refuse to pay to submit my story or novel to be considered for any award. I don’t write my stories and novels so I can be well-regarded at conventions, because frankly, up until ten years ago, I didn’t even know conventions existed and I wrote before then. I don’t really care if other writers like my work, because the readers are the ones who count. (Yes, there are writers who are readers. I realize that. I’m not talking about them.)
I don’t write my stories and novels for the money, because frankly, most books published by major publishers don’t earn out their advances, and while the money is nice and it would be nice to be a full-time writer, I get a larger share of royalties this way and if my math holds up and my books continue to sell, I might yet achieve that full-time status on my own terms. (That was one sentence!)
I hate promotion, I hate selling myself, and I hate prostituting my characters for the sake of a sale. I’d much rather be writing. And I believe--even in this day and age--that if you write a good story, people will remember and return for more.
I have friends who have sold their novels to major publishers and gotten agents, etc., etc. It can be done. I believe in all honesty that I write well enough (on good days, of course) to be published by major publishers, but so do a lot of other writers out there.
And I write fast enough that I would rather see the lag time wane between acceptance and publication instead of allowing my novel to wallow in a slush pile for a year or more.
If I end up with an agent eventually (and I may have to have one if things keep growing) that’s fine. If I sell to a major publisher, that’s fine too. But at the moment, I’ve decided not to actively pursue publication or representation by a scion of the industry. And the reasons outlined above are my reasons why.
(I realize that there are arguments for all my reasons. I’m a Libra after all, and I do weigh decisions before making them.)
(Note: Writing Counting the Stars was the only odd-novel-out at the moment. I wanted to see if I could write erotica, and then I had to see if it was good enough to publish.)
(Note #2: There are a lot of people who don't agree with me about all of this, btw.)
Hopefully that wasn’t too much information, but it was a loaded comment. ;)
The stained glass window on the header image there is, of course, the stained glass window in my living room, albeit a bit stretched out and funky. But I did that on purpose, and I guess I’m fairly happy with the outcome. There will be more changes, however. Just hold tight, because I’m still thinking.
And now, I’m going to address Mushtaq’s comment about agents, and the getting of one, because I have been thinking about that lately.
(I’m going to use the dreaded ‘them’ and ‘they’ here, so bear with me. In this case, ‘they’ are industry professionals: editors, agents, publishers, etc. And remember that this is my opinion.)
In 2001, I started actively submitting my work. I wrote query letters to my list of agents and sent synopsis and sample chapters to the ones who replied in favor. I submitted novels to publishers, or synopses and sample chapters, depending on their guidelines.
I ended up publishing The Tenth Ghost with an epublisher because (and this is the truth) I couldn’t afford the cost of printing out submission packages, I thought ebooks were cool, and I wanted a bit more control over the final version of my book than I would have gotten at a major publisher.
Epublishing and POD publishing is considered, at best, semi-publishing by ‘them.’ I have heard the term ‘semi-published’ used by an editor I hold in high regard, and it rankles just like ‘paraprofessional’ rankles. However kindly it is meant, it’s a put-down, and it frankly pisses me off.
I chose this. I didn’t settle for this. I don’t want my book to appear on the bookshelves for less than a month and then fall into oblivion. I’d rather build a readership, which I seem to be doing since my books continue to sell. (Modestly, yes, but they sell.)
In this section of the industry—and it is a section of the industry, semi-published or no—I can take my time and gather my readers as they come. I can create my own cover art, experiment with styles and write in my own worlds without fearing that I won’t be able to sell a sequel, the rest of a series, or a companion book set in the same world.
Contracts are simpler here. My characters and worlds are not tied up in complex legalese that prevents me from selling the rest of a series or a companion novel to another publisher. Only in one instance did the contract state that I had to allow the current publisher to consider a sequel before sending it somewhere else. (And that was for Second Coming, which is still looking for a home. More on that later.)
I have issues with the publishing industry as it stands today. The last fantasy novel (published by a major publisher) I purchased with my own money was the fourth Harry Potter book. (Mom bought the fifth one.) Every time someone suggests a new author to me and I find an excerpt of the novel in question, I find it lacking for some reason. (Except for Charles DeLint, but that’s another story, and I got his newest one for Christmas, so that doesn’t count. And Tim Powers and James Blaylock, of course.)
This is coming from a person who used to spend about $200/month on books, btw.
I have issues with the price of books and the lack of bookstores. But mostly, I have issues with the people in the industry whose snobbery really puts me off. Editors, writers, and agents all fall into this category. And publishing houses that break contracts, but that’s another story too.
I don’t write my stories and novels to win awards, because I refuse to pay to submit my story or novel to be considered for any award. I don’t write my stories and novels so I can be well-regarded at conventions, because frankly, up until ten years ago, I didn’t even know conventions existed and I wrote before then. I don’t really care if other writers like my work, because the readers are the ones who count. (Yes, there are writers who are readers. I realize that. I’m not talking about them.)
I don’t write my stories and novels for the money, because frankly, most books published by major publishers don’t earn out their advances, and while the money is nice and it would be nice to be a full-time writer, I get a larger share of royalties this way and if my math holds up and my books continue to sell, I might yet achieve that full-time status on my own terms. (That was one sentence!)
I hate promotion, I hate selling myself, and I hate prostituting my characters for the sake of a sale. I’d much rather be writing. And I believe--even in this day and age--that if you write a good story, people will remember and return for more.
I have friends who have sold their novels to major publishers and gotten agents, etc., etc. It can be done. I believe in all honesty that I write well enough (on good days, of course) to be published by major publishers, but so do a lot of other writers out there.
And I write fast enough that I would rather see the lag time wane between acceptance and publication instead of allowing my novel to wallow in a slush pile for a year or more.
If I end up with an agent eventually (and I may have to have one if things keep growing) that’s fine. If I sell to a major publisher, that’s fine too. But at the moment, I’ve decided not to actively pursue publication or representation by a scion of the industry. And the reasons outlined above are my reasons why.
(I realize that there are arguments for all my reasons. I’m a Libra after all, and I do weigh decisions before making them.)
(Note: Writing Counting the Stars was the only odd-novel-out at the moment. I wanted to see if I could write erotica, and then I had to see if it was good enough to publish.)
(Note #2: There are a lot of people who don't agree with me about all of this, btw.)
Hopefully that wasn’t too much information, but it was a loaded comment. ;)
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