Twitter 101 for Authors

Hello Fellow Writers!

Let's talk Twitter. I'm on Twitter (@ShoshannaEvers), and if you follow me I'll follow you back.

This is an excerpt about Twitter from my #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller in Authorship book, How to Write Hot Sex: Tips From Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors. There are 12 essays from best-selling and multi-published authors in this book, and this excerpt comes from my essay "Getting Published".

***

Oh wait, you say you’ve never heard any of these terms bandied about because you’re not in any publishing circles? Let’s get you connected really quickly then. Join Twitter.

Don’t tell me you don’t “get” Twitter. Simply put, if you are an author or are aspiring to be one, you are shooting yourself in the foot by avoiding Twitter. You don’t need to have a fancy phone or be able to text (myths that kept me off Twitter for years).

Just go online to www.Twitter.com and use your pen name as your Twitter handle. That way you’re building name recognition every time you Tweet. I like to use TweetDeck, a free software that makes Twitter really easy to use.

You can set up searches for hashtags, which are topics. On TweetDeck, I create a separate column for each of my favorite hashtags: #amwriting #amediting #amreading #askeditor #askagent #writechat and #pubwrite.

Just like that, you’ve found other writers and authors and publishing peeps online to connect with.
One thing I’ve heard over and over again is “I tried Twitter, but I have nothing interesting to say.” No! You’ve got it all wrong. Twitter isn’t about shouting into the Universe, it’s about listening.

Follow anyone you like. Follow Publisher’s Weekly. Follow all the big literary agents. Follow your favorite authors—and tell them they’re your favorite! We love that. Really really truly.

***

Read the intro to How to Write Hot Sex here.

How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors is available now for only $4.99 from Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble.com. 

Release Date: Sept 16th 2010!

Hello Fellow Writers!

I'm happy to announce that I've finished my edits on Punishing the Art Thief for Ellora's Cave and I now have an official release date: September 16th, 2010! Whoo hoo!

I've also created a Twitter account for myself. I know, the last thing I need is *another* social networking site to constantly check, but hey, that's the age we live in. So follow me on Twitter @ShoshannaEvers !

For anyone interested in reading the excerpt from Punishing the Art Thief, click here, and please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Now that I've made my initial revisions for Ginger Snap, my erotic Christmas "Quickie" for EC, I'm now free to make another round of revisions on Hollywood Spank and incorporate the notes my two beta-readers gave me. When I finish those notes I plan on resubmitting it to my editor at EC.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers (I know, I know.)

A Second Book Contract from Ellora's Cave!

Hello Fellow Writers,

Oh boy, I've got big news. I'm so excited I just had to share. Remember how I wrote a kinky Christmas story, hoping to be part of the Ellora's Cave "Merry Kinkmas" anthology they are coming out with this Christmas? Well, I just got word from my editor that my story "Ginger-Figged for Christmas" (tentative title) is not really fetishy or kinky enough for "Merry Kinkmas". Apparently ginger-figging is too common to be considered kinky! LOL

Bummer, right? Nope! She wants me to add a few things and said if I'm willing to do that then she'd like to offer me a contract on it as a stand-alone book.

And as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm willing! My editor has a real knack for knowing how to make a story shine, so her suggestions will come in handy when I start revising (and lengthening) my Christmas story.

The funny thing is, I was planning on spending this week reworking my WIP Hollywood Spank to include the revisions my beta-readers suggested, but now I'm putting Hollywood Spank aside to work on the Christmas story.

I am over-the-moon happy to have sold my second book. I'm kind of in shock that it actually happened :) Wish me luck revising tomorrow, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Rejection Letter? Get Back on the Horse!

Hello Fellow Writers!

Well, I finally heard back from Harlequin/Silhouette Desire regarding my manuscript "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant". They had requested a partial and I had been waiting to hear what they thought.

They passed.

BUT - it was a very nice letter, and it was not a form letter at all. I could tell that they put actual time and consideration into the rejection, which is awesome of them. And they had some nice things to say! Specifically, they said aspects of the story are compelling and the premise is interesting. So that's a plus.

I also got some more specific feedback relating to the characters. They said it might work for another publisher, so I am going to take that advice and see if another publishing company might be interested in "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant"!

In the meantime, I have no intention of wallowing in self pity or anything. I have another novel polished and ready to send out to Harlequin! So Monday my plan is to mail off my query and synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" and see if that story strikes a chord.

I also have my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment" almost ready to resubmit to Ellora's Cave. Fingers crossed!

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

How to Publish Nonfiction

Hello Fellow Writers!

That's not a picture of me on the left, folks. That's Annette, and I just thought the photo was appropriate for today's blog. Here's her blog, which you may find useful.

Anyway, the other day my mother approached me with an idea for a nonfiction book based on her area of expertise as a social worker. She asked me to ghost write it for her. I told her I'd help her write it but since I'm an RN, BSN, my input as a professional should earn me a co-author byline, right?

So, as I think about how I'm going to go about writing this book, I suddenly remembered that getting a nonfiction book published is a whole different animal than getting a fiction book published. In short, with fiction you have to write the book first, then sell it. With non fiction, you sell it first with a book proposal, and then write it!

I found a great article about writing a killer book proposal. Here's an excerpt from "How to Get a Nonfiction Book Published: A Bulletproof Book Proposal for Publishing Agents, Editors, and Companies" by Robert Bly. Read the whole article here.

Every book publisher asks five key questions about every project he or she considers. Here's how to make sure your book proposal gives all the answers, and convince your book agent to help you publish your book.
You have a great idea for a nonfiction book. Everybody thinks it's a great idea. But will a book publishing company think it's a great idea - enough to pay you an advance, commission you to write it, publish your book and sell it?
That will depend largely on your book proposal. Here's where you demonstrate persuasively that your idea has merit, and that the company will benefit from publishing your book. Of course, even a solid idea and a great book proposal can't guarantee success, but they surely can tip the odds in your favor. But if either the idea or the proposal is weak, your chances of a sale are slim to none.
Book editors look for certain things when reviewing book ideas and proposals. To improve your chances of winning a book publisher's contract, let's look at the five key questions they ask and the best ways to answer them.

The article goes on to explain in detail the five key questions, which include:

1. Is there a large enough audience interested in this topic to justify publishing a book?
2. Is this a book or a magazine article? Will it sell?
3. What's different or better about your book?
4. Will people pay $25.38 for this book?
5. Why should the publishing agent hire you to write it?

While I contemplate these questions, I am still waiting to hear back from Harlequin regarding the partial they requested, and I am waiting to hear from my critique partners about how they think I did on my erotic romance revision that Ellora's Cave requested. I'm waiting to hear back in case I have to fix something before I resubmit it to EC. In the meantime I'm keeping busy by working on a new erotic romance so that I'll have something else to show EC when the time comes.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

How to Submit to Avon/Harper Collins

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've completed my revision of my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment" and I'm waiting to hear back from my critique partners before I send it off to Ellora's Cave. In the meantime, I figure I'll start another erotic romance. That way if EC likes my book I'll have something else ready to show them.

UPDATE (12/2011): I sold that book! It's Punishing the Art Thief and is available now at Ellora's Cave in case you're interested. Okay, back to the blog post!

ANOTHER UPDATE (2/10/2014): Three years after selling Punishing the Art Thief to Ellora's Cave, I got my rights reverted back to me, and I self-published the book with fresh edits, a new cover, and a much lower price! Check it out!

...and, back to the blog post ;) 

Someday when I write a longer book, maybe I'll try to get published with Avon/Harper Collins. The pic on the left is an example of an Avon book. Here is what I learned on Brenda Haitt's "Show me the money!" site:

Avon/HarperCollins
Average advance (first book): $19,700 Median: $8000
Average advance (subsequent books): $28,000 Median: $15,000
Advance range: $5000 - $100,000
Standard royalty percentage: 8%
Average earn-out: $23,000 Median: $26,500 Range: $12,000 - $35,000

I found the submission guidelines for Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, on their blog. See the original here.

Update (4/30/12): They changed their submission guidelines recently. Here's a link that will take you to the right place.
http://www.avonromance.com/avon-romance-submission-guidelines/


Update (8/1/12):  It seems that unagented submissions are all going through Avon Impulse now, their digital-first imprint. Here's their link: http://www.avonromance.com/impulse/ 

Avon Romance Submission Guideline

by Tessa Woodward

Avon Romance Submission Guidelines
Your dream: To become an Avon romance writer!
Your desire: To figure out how to get started.
Your questions: Will all be answered here.
As a writer, your imagination allows you to create so many stories. And at Avon Books, we are eagerly seeking those stories. Our program allows us to publish the most unforgettable voices in historical and contemporary romance.
Your mission: to write the very best book possible.
Our goal: to find the perfect spot on the Avon list for that book.
Right now we are looking for romances in several areas–Historical Romance; Contemporary Romance, including romantic suspense, paranormal romance, women’s fiction, African-American Romance, inspirational romance, and Erotica.
So, don’t hesitate! Here’s the information you’ll need to get started. Now is the time to make your dream of becoming an Avon romance writer come true!
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
(90-000- 100,000 words)
At Avon, we’re seeking deliciously romantic historical novels for all parts of the list. These are love stories set primarily in Great Britain before 1900, and they are filled with all the promise–and passion–that Avon readers expect.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
(90,000-100,000 words)
We seek stories of emotional complexity, written by authors with unique voices. Books with humor, drama, romantic suspense -– all types and tones can be right for Avon. If your manuscript is exciting, electrifying and exceptional then we want to see it.

PARANORMAL ROMANCE
(90,000-100,000 words)
Vampires, and werewolves, and witches, oh my! We are seeking all types of paranormal romance, contemporary or historical. The darker the better.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ROMANCE
(90,000 words)
We are actively seeking romance with African-American heroes and heroines. These should be contemporary or historical love stories of approximately 90,000-100,000 words, set in the United States. If your manuscript has the unforgettable emotion, irresistible characters–especially the hero–and sizzling sensuality that are hallmarks of Avon romance, please send it right away.
AVON A
(60,000-90,000 words)
General commercial women’s fiction as well as quality non-fiction books that readers can relate to and get something out of. Both historical and contemporary stories are welcome. Some of our Avon A authors include Meg Cabot, Jacqueline Sheehan, and Tracy Grant.


INSPIRE
(60,000-90,000 words)
A new line of inspirational romances from Avon Books. These stories and their characters are primarily Christian, and promote traditional values and beliefs. They also are first and foremost stories of the heart, romantic novels about learning to trust, to open ourselves up to love, both to the men in our lives but ultimately to God. Set in America, contemporary settings as well as historicals will be considered, as well as romantic suspense and romantic comedy. There should be no alcohol, drug use or premarital sex for the main characters. For non-Christian characters, these subjects can be explored but primarily to show their destructive nature and how a virtuous life is the better path. Foul language should be avoided at all costs.
How To Submit A Manuscript

Please note Avon’s submission policy
To submit your romance or women’s fiction (only), please query first. You must query by e-mail. When you do so, please put QUERY in the subject line. Due to the overwhelming amount of Spam email we receive, subject lines that have manuscript titles often do not reach the editors. Your query should be brief, no more than a one-page description of your book. Do not send chapters or a full synopsis at this time. Also, please do not send attachments – THEY WILL NOT BE OPENED. You will receive a response — either a decline or a request for more material — in approximately six to eight weeks.
Please e-mail your query to avonromance@harpercollins.com.

Update (4/30/12): They changed their submission guidelines recently and no longer accept queries through that email. Here's a link that will take you to the right place.
http://www.avonromance.com/avon-romance-submission-guidelines/


Update (8/1/12):  It seems that unagented submissions are all going through Avon Impulse now, their digital-first imprint. Here's their link: http://www.avonromance.com/impulse/ 

Very exciting stuff! I've never written a novel that was 100K words long... but it is a goal worth reaching for. So far my books are in the 50K word range since they are targeted toward Harlequin/Silhouette.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Revise & Resubmit from EC!

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have exciting news. I heard back from Ellora's Cave regarding my erotic romance submission to their "Alluring Arts" series.

I truly wish I could just copy the whole letter right here for you, but at the bottom of the letter it said that I could not share the letter!

Basically, the letter said that while "The Art Thief's Punishment" wasn't right for the "Alluring Arts" series they were doing, if I revised and lengthened the book I could resubmit it as a standalone. The editor said some really encouraging things about my writing style and even offered some specific tips on how to improve upon the story.

Needless to say, I am thrilled!

So I've been working on world building and getting to know my characters better as well as pacing, and my goal is to have "The Art Thief's Punishment" ready to be resubmitted by the end of March.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Common Mistakes Writers Make

Hello Fell0w Writers!

Yesterday I met with my writing group at Barnes and Noble. They liked the first chapter of "Snowed in With a Millionaire", and I incorporated some of the little changes they suggested. My query and synopsis for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" is ready to go. Now I just have to get up the chutzpah to mail it off to Harlequin!

From eHarlequin.com, here is an excerpt from an article entitled "Presents: The Beginning" about writing for the Harlequin Presents line. I think you'll see that this advice applies to all writers, however! Read the whole article here.

Here are the most common writing personalities and their mistakes that our editors see when they’re reading unsolicited submissions while searching for new Presents talent:

• The Free Spirit has no idea what her story is or where she’s going when she begins her book.
• The Procrastinator “writes herself in.” She spends two to three chapters unfolding a long, rambling back-story and setting the scene, and there’s no romance or hero-heroine action in sight.
• Ms. No-Man’s-Land doesn’t introduce the hero until chapter two…or even later!
• She-who-saves-the-best-for-last, and who clings to the assumption that readers (and editors) will be understanding and hang in there until chapter four or five when her romance really gets going.
• Me-Me-Me uses a lot of descriptive narrative, choosing to tell the story by inserting herself between the readers and the characters, rather than letting characters speak for themselves.
• The Party Animal includes loads of minor characters—but who are the hero and heroine?
• The Show-Stopper thinks of a great opening line or paragraph and then…her book goes downhill from there!

Let’s be clear about a couple of things. In terms of word length, these are short books (50,000 words total). So you haven’t got time to warm up or wait for the hero to arrive! And, despite the quickness of the read, every reader expects to have taken a ride on an emotional rollercoaster by the time she finishes your book.

Today I will email my writing group Chapter 2 of my WIP. My father-in-law is visiting this weekend so I'm not sure how much I'll get done!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Uh oh! Harlequin Drama?

Hello Fellow Writers!

There's some drama brewing in the romance publishing industry. Harlequin, as you know, is a publishing company that I love to bits. I read most of the books they publish, and I am planning on submitting my novels to their Silhouette Desire line.

So what's the drama? Well, it looks like Harlequin has made the decision to open up another line just for self publishing. They called it Harlequin Horizons. This immediately upset so many people that they decided to change the name to DellArte Press.

From author NK Jemisin, here is an excerpt of a post about the issue. Read the whole article here.

And although Harlequin has already announced that it will be changing the new division’s name to something without “Harlequin” in the title, how much do you want to bet they’ll still make heavy use of the brand name in marketing the service to aspiring writers? A most unromantic seduction.
This impacts more than just the romance genre, as the MWA has clearly realized. For one thing, however great the potential financial gain in the short term, reputable publishers cannot be permitted to get into the business of exploitation — not without consequence. That hurts the whole industry in the long term. For another, fantasy writers like me who write “fantasy with strong romantic elements” (according to RWA) often attempt to sell books to romance publishers; Harlequin runs LUNA, one of the better-known romance/skiffy fusion imprints. If one of the juggernauts of the industry has decided to dilute its own brand like this, that cuts down on the number of places I can sell future titles. After all, how long will it be before “I’ve got a book out with Harlequin” becomes as meaningless and laughable as “I’ve got a book out with Publish America?
Hopefully it won’t come to that. I guess we’ll have to see.
ETA: Ask and ye shall receive: SFWA has declared Harlequin a non-qualifying market for membership purposes, and issued its own statement in opposition to Horizons-or-whatever-they-call-it.

Well, I think Jemisin hit the nail on the head by saying that Harlequin authors are worried that if Harlequin has a vanity press in addition to it's regular publishing lines, people will be confused and think all Harlequin books are self published.

Carol Thomas from Examiner.com has been following this all very closely. Here is an excerpt from her article. Read the whole article here.

Participants in the ongoing discussion being held on the Smart Bitches Trashy Books website defied the prediction made yesterday, November 19, 2009, by the Nora Roberts Examiner. The group did indeed regain its focus on the consequences of Harlequin Enterprises' decision to enter the self-publishing arena with its currently named Harlequin Horizons division....
The Smart Bitches discussion also picked up a more recent development. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America has prepared its own "Statement on Harlequin’s self-publishing imprint." This statement was issued after Harlequin Enterprises CEO Donna Hayes announced yesterday that Harlequin Horizons would change its name in response to the concerns of its writers. Consequently, the SWFA statement contains the view held by that organization's president, Russell Davis, and its Board of Directors as to Harlequin's most recent action:

SFWA does not believe that changing the name of the imprint, or in some other way attempting to disguise the relationship to Harlequin, changes the intention, and calls on Harlequin to do the right thing by immediately discontinuing this imprint and returning to doing business as an advance and royalty paying publisher.

As quoted on Examiner.com here, Harlequin Enterprises CEO Donna Hayes said:

"Most importantly, however, we have heard the concerns that you, our authors, have expressed regarding the potential confusion between this venture and our traditional business. As such, we are changing the name of the self-publishing company from Harlequin Horizons to a designation that will not refer to Harlequin in any way. We will initiate this process immediately. We hope this allays the fears many of you have communicated to us."

Wow! I'm very interested to see how this all unfolds.

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Getting Paid to Write

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I had my last writing class. The teacher, Vinnie Dacquino, said I was a wonderful writer. That made me feel pretty good. Of course, he also said that self-publishing counts as "being published", which is a statement I know most people strongly disagree with. I don't know why he said that, since he was published by Dell. Strange. The other women in the class and I are going to continue to meet up and share each other's work for critique, which I'm looking forward to.

In class we discussed how my heroine in "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" needs to tell her secret to the hero sooner to make her more moral, and then have a different conflict as the final showdown. I totally agree so I'm going to rework that today. I need to get it done before Sunday because when NaNoWriMo starts I will be busy on my next novel, "Snowed in with a Millionaire." Hopefully I'll get more words out of this as well to bring my word count up!

I wanted to share this inspirational video from writer Stacey Cochran. After 15 years of writing, and 2000 rejections (yes I said 2K), he finally gets a check in the mail for the very first time. $1500. I literally almost cried when I watched this video because you can just tell how getting this check for his work is an affirmation to him that he wasn't wasting his time all those years.



I never did get to watch that DVD yesterday, but I doubt I'll have time to watch it today since I will be adding a scene and rewriting another for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant." Also, I'm making my hero tall, dark, and handsome, instead of blond -I read that readers don't like blond heroes. Oh well.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Is Your Manuscript Ready for Submission?

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I got a ton done on my new chapter(s) for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" while everyone in the house slept. No further work was done on my plot for "Snowed in with a Millionaire". I think I'm going to just let it rest until it's time to start writing it for real on November 1st, when NaNoWriMo begins. I'll just have to figure out how it ends when I get to that point!

As I work on my WIP, I know I am improving it because, well - it just wasn't long enough to be submitted to Harlequin. By adding another chapter I am helping move the story forward as well as making it more submission-ready. But when is it time to stop revising and actually send it out?

I found this article entitled "When to Stop Revising" by 'amyallgeyercook' (sic). Click the link to read the whole article, it's wonderful. Here is an outline of the article, based on the five points the author made and then embellished on:

• You've changed something back to an earlier version.
• The revisions you're working on make the book 'different' but not necessarily 'better'.
• Your critique group opens your submittal and groans, "Ugh. Not this again."
• Your heart isn't in it.
• You can't figure out what else to do with it.

She says "Remember...one-hundred percent of shots not taken, don't score. Your book will never be published if it remains hidden on your hard drive. Take a chance. Send it out!"

That is such a good point. My novels will never get published if I keep them hidden away.

Today I will be working on finishing up another chapter for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" and I will be incorporating that into the rest of the novel.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

To get Published, Know the Market!

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I wrote a very long love scene for "The Movie Star's Personal Assistant" - so much fun! I also reformatted my manuscript based on something I read on eHarlequin.com, which basically said 1 inch margins all around, double spaced, and Times New Roman. Since I had it in Courier New, when I changed the font my page count went from 206 pages down to 158 pages. Yikes. The new chapter I just wrote added another 15 pages and 4000 words, so it looks like I'm going to have to write another chapter. I plan to work on that today, although my mother-in-law just arrived from Florida this afternoon. At least our bathroom renovation is complete, so that's one less thing to take up my time.

I found a good article on the Nebraska Romance Writers website, although their information applies to all genres. You can read the whole article by clicking above, this is just an excerpt of "How to Submit Your Manuscript" by Kathy Marks. Please note, however, that while the article on their site says that editors are looking at word count as 250 x # of pages, Harlequin is using computer word count as per Kimberly Lang, an author who has recently sold five category romances to Harlequin.

Know the Market

No piece of advice is more valuable. You may have written the greatest category romantic suspense ever penned, but if you send it to a house that only publishes historical single-titles, you are going to get a rejection letter in the mail. (If you're not sure what some of these terms mean, keep reading; I'll try my best to explain.)
Research the publishers you're thinking about submitting to. Look up their listing in The Literary Market Place, which is updated annually and available in all libraries, and in other market guides (see our chapter on Markets). If the publisher has a web site—and most large ones do—check it for information. Some publishers announce what types of manuscripts they're currently looking for. Many publishers have tip sheets, which they'll send to you if you write and include an SASE. Never call a publisher and ask what they're acquiring these days or if your manuscript is appropriate. Editors are busy people, and they won't appreciate the interruption.
Of course, the very best way to get to know if a publisher is buying the type of book you've written is to read what they're currently publishing. That cannot be emphaSIZEd enough. Before submitting to a publishing house—Read, read, read.

That's key, I think. Read in the line you want to be published in. That's easy for me to do since I always read romance novels anyway!

Today I will work on my extra chapter for "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant", and I will try to get some wrapping up done for the plot of "Snowed in With a Millionaire." It's possible that I may start NaNoWriMo November 1st with most of the book plotted out - but not the ending. We'll see.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Why You Shouldn't Self Publish

UPDATE 2014: I wrote this post in 2009, when I was apparently stupid. Since then, I have gone on to have a hybrid career, publishing with several traditional publishers (including Simon & Schuster) while also successfully self-publishing. And Joe Konrath? He's all about self-publishing too, now!

I'm not gonna remove this blog post, because I like having reminders about how much we learn as we go. What I learned is: ignore the advice in this blog post. ;)

2009 (back when I didn't know what I was talking about)
Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I got a lot done. I worked on my plot for the book I will be writing for NaNoWriMo next month. So far I've got 36 pages of plot written, and according to The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing, I will need 40 pages of plot for a 50,000 word novel. Of course, I am no where nearly done plotting, so it looks like I will have more plot than suggested. I think that's a good thing. I also added a scene to help explain another scene for my novel "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant." All this while helping my hubby renovate the upstairs bathroom.

Now, some of you may wonder why I would put a title like "Why You Shouldn't Self Publish" on my blog when I am self publishing this very blog on the internet! Well, I'm not talking about blogs. I'm talking about people who write novels, and can't find a real agent or a real publisher so they publish it themselves. I found a very good article about this that I wanted to share, from fellow blogger Joe Konrath, a published thriller author. You can click here for the whole article.

IF YOU WROTE A NOVEL

I believe your first order of business is getting a well-respected literary agent. The best way to land an agent is: write a damn good book. After the book is perfect, there are a few ways to find agents.

• Visit writing conferences and conventions and pitch to agents in person
• Read books similar to yours, and find out who reps the author
• Pick up a copy of the Writer's Market
• Visit www.aar-online.org
• Befriend an agented author and beg for an introduction

After getting an agent, she'll want to submit the book to editors at large New York publishing houses. If you get lucky, you'll land a book contract. This is the best-case scenario.

Exception: You Can't Get an Agent

Getting a good agent isn't easy, which is why you should spend as much time as possible honing your craft, improving your writing, learning about narrative structure and the elements of a compelling story. I got rejected over 500 times, but the vast majority of these rejections were for books that were not very good.

Should you self-publish if you can't find an agent? I would say no. If a hundred lit agents all think the book needs work, I'd bet the book needs work, and releasing it into the world isn't going to win you fans or do your career any favors.

So there's the key - if you can't get an agent, then it's because the book isn't good enough to be published. That's why there's a stigma to self publishing - everyone figures that if the book were any good then it wouldn't need to be self published! Whether or not that's true, I wouldn't know. I never read self-published books.

I'm not trying to be mean, just honest. Personally, I'm too scared to even try to get an agent (one rejection letter from an agent and I was done). I hope to change that in the near future. Also, I know this discussion about self publishing is far from over so I will be posting more info about it.

Konrath says another interesting thing:
" There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published."

I like the sound of that! Today I will be working more on my WIP's plot.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers