Author Spotlights (Saturday)

December 12, 2008 by admin · 4 Comments 

Our Spotlight Authors today are Aundrea Lacy, Gil L. Robertson IV, Regina Louise, and Darrell King.

Aundrea Lacy – http://luvsbrownies.com
Author’s Bio: Aundrea Lacy, born and raised in San Francisco, has been a model, a television journalist, and a marketing executive for Fortune 500 companies. She earned her MBA from Golden State University. In 1996, she went from baking brownies for friends to building her own online bakery business, Luv Brownies. In addition, she gives career presentations for girls and women from around the country.

Gil L. Robertson IV – http://www.notinmyfamily.com
Gil L. Robertson IV is a journalist whose work has appeared in Essence, Billboard, Black Enterprise, the Source, Los Angeles Times and Atlanta Journal Constitution, among others. He has appeared on The Tavis Smiley Show, CNN, and BET, and his syndicated column, The Robertson Treatment, appears in over 30 newspapers, reaching more than 2 million readers across the country.

Regina Louise – http://www.reginalouise.com
Author’s Bio: Regina Louise has been a keynote speaker at numerous foster care and social workers’ conventions across the country. She has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, the CBS Early Show, and the Tavis Smiley Show, and a one-woman play version of her story was produced by the Sacramento Theater Company in May 2007. A successful businesswoman and salon owner, she currently lives in Berkeley.

Darrell King – http://www.myspace.com/dak1968
Mr. Darrell King, Sr. has been writing ever since the age of eight. His first published work of fiction was penned during the fall of 1976 as a student of Mary Field’s Elementary School on South Carolina’s Daufuskie Island. This effort, an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Hobbit,” was both written and illustrated by Mr. King and was published in the school’s quarterly periodical, “The Daufuskie Kid’s Magazine.” Mr. King went on to write several unpublished stories and numerous poems, several of which were published in the 1995-1996 “Poetry Anthology” by the National Library of Poetry in Owings Mills, Maryland. During the 90s, Mr. King was attracted to and inspired by the lurid tales of inner city crime and drama that he read on the pages of novels by great writers such as Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. This, coupled with an enduring appreciation for the hard-edged, yet enlightened lyric of the era’s gangsta rap icons like Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Easy E and others prompted Mr. King to begin writing his very own stories of urban crime and inner city drama.

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Workshop – Top 10 PR Secrets for Christian Authors

December 12, 2008 by admin · 10 Comments 

 TOP 10 PR SECRETS FOR CHRISTIAN AUTHORS
 Presented by Pam Perry


http://www.PamPerryPRCoach.com 

1.      Pray. Ask God to show you WHO to contact and WHEN.   If you are hiring a publicist, ask God to lead you to the right person.  Know in your “knower” that it is a divine connection.

2.      Be a database collector.  I have been known to go to my 30-year reunion and add folks from there to my database.  Eblasts are great. It’s called viral marketing – it spreads like virus. Have a system to stores and retrieve your names/contacts.

3.      Join groups where media attend.  I joined the National Association of Black Journalists as an associate member. I go to their meetings and some have become friends and it’s a lot easier to get things in the press if people know you. Go to CBA!

4.      Read what the “best sellers” are doing. Go to their websites. Look at their previous hits. See if you can get their galley and see what their marketing plan entailed and modify to fit your book.

5.      Ask your target market (you have defined one right) what they read, listen to and how they get their news and information – and you read the publications too. Research.

6.      Go to other author book signings. You reap what you sow and you will learn a lot in the process. They may even share their “secrets” with you.  Fellow Christian authors are never competitors…. we are all in the business of spreading the Gospel.

7.      Know what constitutes a best-seller. How many copies need to sell?  What stores report? How to they report? 

8.      Contact at least two media people a day.  Building relationships is key.  Use your “signature” on everything. Never let something go out without your website on it!

9.      Look at other author press kits. Go online and see other author’s “press rooms” on their sites. Embellish your kit to add the “best” ideas of the best.

10.     Apply at least ½ the information you know about PR and marketing from conferences, books and articles you read.  You’ll be ahead of the game for sure.

Pam Perry, www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com
for Greater Grace Temple’s Pastor & Church Leaders Conference

www.blogtalkradio.com/ministrymarketingsolutions
www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com
http://www.PamPerryPRcoach
NEW: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pamperryprcoach
If you believe the invisible — you can do the impossible.
VICTORY is assured to those who endure!
visit My Blog! http://www.ministrymarketingsolutions.blogspot.com

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10 Ways to Promote Your Writing During the Holidays

December 12, 2008 by admin · 12 Comments 

10 Ways to Promote your Writing Through the Holidays

Presented by Dee Stewart

Dee Stewart

 We have a few more weeks before Christmas, Kwanzaa, Watch Night and New Years. Bookstores have geared up for holiday shoppers, so no instore events for you to grab at the last minute. Public libraries have geared up for holiday reading events, so no author readings for you to participate in at the last minute. So what do you do? Table selling your books until 2009 or do you take advantage of Holiday Cheer? I say take advantage. Here are 10 ways to do promote your writing through the holidays.

1. Host a free children’s book drive at your local library. 

It’s not too late to schedule a meeting room or space at your local library or church bookstorefor a free children’s book drive. If you plan it now, you have time to get a local reporter and local vlogger to the event. Invite the public to drop off new books to the library for either giveaway or for the libary’s children’s section. On your event day have holiday punch and cookies and invite the public to pick up their free children’s book.

2. Give your book to local coffeehouses to include in holiday gift baskets.

Next week I meet with a popular lil house in my town by request of the owner. He loves authors and great books. And he’s Christian. We’re going to talk gift baskets with my client’s books inside and whether the spot will the my new spot for my Winter Reading Series. Local Atlanta Authors, let’s do this.

3. Host an Under the Dryer Book Signing at a Beauty Salon.

Have you ever been in a beauty salon? The long wait, the old reading material. What if someone was selling a book I could read while sitting under the dryer. Bingo!!  A client of mine sold out this weekend doing this event.

4. Write a Christmas story and have it published in your local community paper or regional magazine.

I wrote a story for Precious Times Magazine a few years back titled “Kissmas Time” from that story I received so many invitations to write articles for other magazines. I have a mailing list of people interested in my book (whenever that comes.) And I have had speaking engagement requests since that story.

5. Sponsor your local Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts Christmas Parade Float.

I just participated in my town’s annual Christmas parade. Loads of fun. I saw many familiar faces and have become a friend of the mayor. Yippee. Just because I’m out and about in the community. Sponsoring a float, making a banner, providing costumes, or just chaperoning kids in the parade will put you out in the community. People will become familiar with you. If you are an author, have the kids pass out bookmarks with candy attached to them or take your little Christmas story package it up and give it out to those on the parade route.

6. Read Christmas Stories at your local elementary school media center.

If writing is your life long passion, if you write for a young adult market, a soccer mom market, then get yourself to your local school and read the coolest book to kids. Host a Santa letter party.

7. Host an Online Book Giveaway, but not your book, instead giveaway:

·       one you know your readers want like Ted Dekker’s Kiss that comes out in January, or

·       one tied to the holidays like a Paula Dean Holiday Cookbook, or

·       give away a book to your friends you know are afraid to buy, but would love to read (for instance Carleen Brice’ Buy a White Friend a Black Book Month Project)

promote the giveaway and the winner by sending a press release to the winner’s local paper.Put the book in a gift basket from your local coffeehouse, Avon lady, you know what I mean…

8. Host a Holiday Book Party at a local restaurant

Publisher and author Dwan Abrams will be hosting a party this weekend in downtown Atlanta to celebrate her birthday, the holidays, and her fourth novel book release Married Strangers. The event is free to attend. It is also a book drive for a Women’s Prison Literacy Project. She’s got localebrities, book reviewers and bookstore managers popping through. The event has been promoted on local gospel radio stations, online mags, local papers, and to anyone within two paces of her.You do know now is the time to throw a party?

9. Build a tip sheet

Center the sheet around your book’s theme and the holidays, submit the tip list as filler for major local magazines and online magazines your readers read. My client’s can pull these tip sheets out throughout the year and tweak the

10. Be a frontdoor vendor at your local bookstore.

Ask your local bookstore if you can set up a table on the weekend to sale your books. Ask for two tables. One to sell your book and another to giftwrap patrons book gifts as a free service to the bookstore. All bookstore chains allow authors to do this. However, some bookstores will only talk to publicists or publishers.

Bonus, contact your bookstore every week to see if any big time authors had last minute cancellations for their Holiday In Store Events. But be prepared to get books to them on short notice. You can do that right? If not, you might not to sign up for my BMP coaching sessions in 09.

If you read the lines, you will see that the most important thing here is to become a part of your community. The holidays are the best and most opportune to do this. There’s something to say about holiday cheer. It comes once a year. Take advantage of it.

This month Christian Fiction will host it’s last 1 question interview series of the year. The question is  what’s your favorite Holiday book. Send me a private message with your answer, blog site address, and book blurb, and I will post your answers on the blog.

Related Posts:

·    Pay it Forward Fall: Gifting Your Service

·    How to Maintain Peace through the Publishing Process

·    10 Book/CD Release Party Don’ts


Dee Stewart is a bookseller, multimedia journalist, novelist, publicist and now talk show host.  She is also inspirational book reviewer for Romantic Times Magazine, Atlanta Satellite Bookseller for The Mocha  Bookstores, and owner of Christian Fiction Blog.  Her writings have appeared in: Spirit Led Woman, Gospel Today, Advanced Christian Writer, Atlanta Christian Family, Mosaic Literary, Precious Times, Vertical Fix just a few.  In 2009 she will begin hosting book marketing coaching sessions for Christian artists. Follow her on Twitter at DeeGospel. Or visit her site at www.deestewart.com.

Don’t forget every Tuesday at 8pm EST join Dee and her gal pal, EIC of Good Girl Book Club Magazine, Marina Woods on Dee & Marina Reports on Blog Talk Radio. It’s a current events talk radio show discussing book publishing, media, and Christian entertainment from a progressive Christian WOman’s point of view.

Filed under: Articles, DAY 6 (SATURDAY), Panels & Workshops, Promo & Resources
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Workshop – So You Want to Write

December 12, 2008 by admin · 12 Comments 

 

 

“So You Wanna Write!”

Presented by Renee Daniel Flagler

Renee Flagler

Renee Flagler

An interactive and informative discussion that explores and examines the basic elements of fiction writing.

 

Abstract

Many people are interested in writing, especially avid readers. This discussion explores the components of writing a vivid and interesting story in a way that readers and novice writers can understand and put into practice.

 

The 3-part discussion breaks down important components of story telling and helps the writer develop the skill of writing.

 

Part I – Getting started

Attendees will learn techniques for:

  1. Getting their stories and ideas organized on paper
  2. Using proper mechanics
  3. Developing a writing style

 

Part II – Characteristics of Characters

Attendees will acquire techniques for:

  1. Creating and defining characters 
  2. Establishing a characters voice
  3. Maintaining characteristic consistency
  4. Constructing multi-dimensional characters
  5. Character development throughout a storyline

 

Part III – Getting Your Story Straight

Attendees will learn techniques for:

  1. Basic story set up – establishing a beginning, middle and end
  2. Developing a solid plot
  3. Determining a theme
  4. Telling a story people want to read
  5. Shaping and executing a good story

Sessions will be led by Renee Daniel Flagler an author with professional writing experience that spans several disciplines such as fiction writing, journalism and copy writing.  

CLICK HERE for a copy of this workshop.

Filed under: DAY 6 (SATURDAY), Panels & Workshops
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Sharing Literary Resources

December 12, 2008 by admin · 16 Comments 

Sharing Literary Resources
by Tee C. Royal

I will be sharing literary resources, but don’t feel slighted if you’re not listed.  Instead, share your information (or any other links) you recommend in the comments section. 

 RECOMMENDED BOOKS (FOR WRITERS)

  • Guide To Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, 2006: Who they are! What they want! How to win them over! by Jeff Herman
  • Kirsch’s Guide to the Book Contract : For Authors, Publishers, Editors and Agents by Jonathan Kirsch
  • Negotiating a Book Contract: A Guide for Authors, Agents and Lawyers by Mark L. Levine
  • On Writing by Stephen King
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
  • The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman 
  • The Shortest Distance Between You and a Finished Book by Susan Page
  • Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Connor
  • Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: Hands-On Help for Making Your Novel Stand Out and Succeed by Donald Maass
  • Writing the Fiction Synopsis – A Step by Step Approach by Pam McCutcheon

RECOMMENDED BOOKS (FOR READERS)

  • A Book Lover’s Diary by Shelagh Wallace
  • A Passion for Books: A Book Lover’s Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books by Harold Rabinowitz
  • Booknotes: The Booklover’s Organizer by Marilyn McDonald
  • How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler
  • Only in Books: Writers, Readers & Bibliophiles on Their Passion by J. Kevin Graffagnino
  • So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

GENRE SPECIFIC LINKS & ORGANIZATIONS

PUBLISHERS (includes major publishers & imprints)

  • Amistad
  • Dafina Books
  • Hatchette Books
  • Hyperion
  • Kensington
  • Kimani Press
  • NAL
  • QBoro Books
  • Random House
  • Simon & Schuster
  • St. Martins Press
  • Strebor
  • Urban Books
  • Urban Christian
  • Urban Soul

LITERARY GROUPS, BOOKSTORES & OTHER WEBSITES

LITERARY MAGAZINES & INDUSTRY NEWS

BOOK CLUBS & BOOK REVIEWS

MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES 

Again, this list isn’t all-inclusive (and was compiled last year), but I hope it is useful to those wanting to stay IN THE KNOW regarding the literary industry.  Also, be sure to check out the resources accumulated over the years on the RAWSISTAZ site under Reader’s Rack and Writer’s Block.

*List originally compiled for an article on Blogging in Black in 2007*

Filed under: Articles, DAY 6 (SATURDAY), General Forum
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Friday Spotlight – Literary Professionals

December 11, 2008 by admin · 63 Comments 

In addition to our industry professionals panel today, we are also spotlighting some of the best literary professionals on the net. Join me in welcoming: Marlive Harris (MsGRITS) of TheGRITS.com Literary Services, Pam Perry of Ministry Marketing Solutions, Ella Curry of EDC Creations, Sylvia Hubbard of Motown Writers Network, LaShaunda Hoffman of SORMAG, 3 Chicks on Lit (Nakea, Tiffany & TuShonda).

Bios (read full bios on the 2008 Participants page):

Marlive Harris – http://www.thegrits.com/literaryservices
Marlive Harris, aka MsGRITS, is the founder and business owner of The GRITS COM Literary Service, a niche web publicity service created in 2003 that develops online book campaigns for authors and publishers.

Pam Perry – http://www.ministrymarketingsolutions.com
Pam Perry is the founder of Ministry Marketing Solutions, Inc. a marketing consulting and public relations agency that brings a high level of understanding of positioning, branding, and promoting products and services that target the African American Christian Market (AACM).

Ella D. Curry – http://www.edc-creations.com/EDCCreationsMagazine/index1.html
Ella D. Curry is the president and CEO of EDC Creations, a marketing and branding firm in Prince George’s County Maryland, a radio show host, marketing director, and literary advocate. She is also the founder of Sankofa Literary Society which empowers independent and/or self-published authors through mentoring programs, Internet workshops, marketing and brand coaching.

Sylvia Hubbard – http://motownwriters.homestead.com/

Sylvia Hubbard is an author, lecturer & coordinator of Motown Writer’s Network and owner of Hub Books Publisher/Distributor. Established in 2000, the Motown Writer’s Network provides literary education and events in metroit Detroit.

LaShaunda Hoffman – http://sormag.blogspot.com
LaShaunda is the founder of SORMAG, an award winning online magazine for readers and writers of multi-cultural literature.

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Panel – Industry Insider Roundtable

December 11, 2008 by admin · 33 Comments 

I’m sure you have all been looking forward to our Industry Insider Roundtable. Joining us today, we have: Candace K – Web Designer/CanDann.com, Melissa Forbes – Freelance Editor/Carbon Copy Editing, Doug Siebold – Publisher/Agate Publishing, Misherald Brown – Literary Agent/ML Brown & Associates, and Chanel Smith/Web Design Presence.

Bios:

Candace K – http://www.candann.com
Candace Cottrell has been a web developer for over ten years. With her additional background in editing, design, and project management, she lends a wide spectrum of talents and strengths to her projects. Her company, CanDann Productions, is a full-service design and web technology firm. They pride themselves on keeping abreast of the latest technologies and trends and how they affect their clients.

Doug Siebold – http://www.agatepublishing.com
Doug Seibold, president and publisher, founded Agate in 2003. Formerly executive editor of The Noble Press, he most recently was founding editorial director of UNext, an online education company that creates graduate-level business coursework in partnership with Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and other leading universities.

Melissa Forbes – http://www.ccediting.com
Melissa Forbes has been copy-editing and proofreading since she can remember. Really. Her childhood and adult friends have dubbed her “Miss Know-It-All,” but they don’t hesitate to ask for help when they need their writing to be perfect. Melissa’s formal copy-editing and proofreading experience began in high school and continued throughout college. She was an editor and writer for both her high school and college newspapers. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Theater from Ursinus College in May of 1999 and her Master in Journalism degree from Temple University in January of 2005.

Misherald Brown – http://www.mlbrownassociatesllc.com
Misherald “Missy” Brown is the founder & lead agent of ML Brown & Associates LLC. Missy has extensive experience in the literary industry including years of being a publicist, acquisitions editor, reviewer and bookseller. As an agent, Missy uses her love for books and industry connections to help her clients make their dreams a reality.

Chanel Smith – http://www.w-p-d.net
Web Presence Designs is based in Stone Mountain, Georgia where Chanel Smith provides web and graphic design services. Whether you are looking for a one page design, a complex design utilizing flash and web forms, she can develop a web presence that complements your company image. She specializes in professional web and graphic design at affordable prices for authors, individuals, and small businesses. Allow Web Presence Designs to creatively design your web presence.

Attendees, as a reminder our panelists will be in throughout the day, so if they’re not here when you arrive, go ahead and post your question.

Filed under: Day 5 (FRIDAY), General Forum, Panels & Workshops
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Workshop – The Inner/Outer Self

December 11, 2008 by admin · 165 Comments 

Inner/Outer Self Workshop with Dr. Niama Williams  

Dr. Ni

Niama Leslie Williams “Dr. Ni” a June 2006 Leeway Foundation Art and Social Change Grant recipient, and a 2006 (July) participant in a Sable Literary Magazine/Arvon Foundation residential course in Shropshire, UK, possesses a doctorate in African American literature from Temple University, a bachelor’s in comparative literature from Occidental College, and a master’s in professional writing from the University of Southern California.  Dr. Williams’ master’s thesis at USC earned her an honorable mention in the University’s 1991 Phi Kappa Phi competition.  Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she currently resides in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Williams has participated in several writers’ conferences, including the Squaw Valley Community of Writers (2000), Hurston/Wright Writers Week (1996), and Flight of the Mind (1993).  Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine; Dark Eros: Black Erotic Writings; Spirit & Flame: An Anthology of African American Poetry; Catch the Fire: A Cross-Generational Anthology of Contemporary African-American Poetry; Beyond the Frontier: African American Poetry for the 21st Century; Mischief, Caprice, and Other Poetic Strategies (Red Hen Press); A Deeper Shade of Sex: The Best in Black Erotica, and Check the Rhyme:  An Anthology of Female Poets & Emcees. Check the Rhyme was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (2007).

Hand-Outs
1) Inner Self
2) Outer Self

Filed under: Day 5 (FRIDAY), General Forum, Workshops
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Workshop – What You Need to Know Before You Sign the Dotted Line

December 11, 2008 by admin · 15 Comments 

What You Need to Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

 By Pamela Samuels Young  

Finally . . .  after years of rejection, you’ve landed your first book deal!  You can hardly wait to sign your contract and cash that advance check. You go to bed at night dreaming about how great it’s going to feel when you walk into your neighborhood bookstore and see your masterpiece sitting on the shelf.  

You’re definitely entitled to spend a few days savoring your accomplishment, then it’s time to come back down to earth.  Once you receive your book contract, it’s time to focus.  If you aren’t careful, you could be locked into an agreement that has negative repercussion for years to come. 

Though most acquisitions editors will insist that they have a standard publishing contract, the terms of which they seldom change, many provisions can be negotiated.  It will all depend on how badly the editor wants your book. 

The reality is, as an unknown author, you won’t get everything you want in your first book deal.  Frankly, it would probably be unwise to make too many demands.  Here are a few things you should keep in mind.  

1.  Don’t Sign It If You Don’t Understand It – All Of It

It’s important that you both read and understand the entire book contract.  If you don’t understand a particular provision, ask questions.  I’m a lawyer and I didn’t understand half of the legalese in my first book contract when I initially read the agreement.

If your agent can’t answer your questions (and he or she may not be able to), spend the money to hire a good intellectual property lawyer with experience in reviewing book contracts. There’s also a wealth of information available on the Internet.  If you’ve been offered a publishing contract from a major publishing house, you’re eligible to join the Author’s Guild and take advantage of the free contract review services offered to new members.  You can also purchase a copy of the Guild’s Model Trade Book Contract and Guide.  The cost to join the Author’s Guild is only $90 a year.  That’s an incredible bargain considering the invaluable services the organization provides.   Visit www.authorsguild.com for more information. 

2.  Don’t Give Up Your Copyright

Make sure the copyright for your book is registered in your name, not your publisher’s.  This should be non-negotiable. 

3.  Don’t Give Up Your Rights For Peanuts

Most acquisitions editors know that new authors are desperate to be published.  Hence, they will offer you the smallest possible advance and demand the broadest possible rights to your book.  If you’re getting a six thousand dollar advance, you shouldn’t be handing over e-book, audio, film, and other rights to your publisher.  If you do and your book turns out to be a bestseller, your publisher will be making the lion’s share of the profits, not you.  Unless you’re getting an advance big enough to compensate you for these rights, carve them out.  

4.  Make Sure You Maintain A Reversion Of Rights

If your publisher allows your book to go out of print, the rights to the book should revert back to you.  Make sure this is spelled out in your contract.  The revision provision should clearly state that if your publisher publishes less than a set amount of books or earns less than a specific sum over a set period of time, rights to the book will revert back to you.  You are then free to republish the book if you so choose.  

5.  Ask For Clear “Reserve” Terms

When you receive your first royalty check, you may be shocked to find that most of the royalties you expected to receive are being held in “reserve.”  Your contract will no doubt contain a clause allowing your publisher to establish “a reasonable reserve against returns,” a standard industry practice.  This means that the publisher doesn’t have to pay you right away for books that are sitting on bookstore shelves because they might later be returned.  You could be forced to wait months or even years to recoup these royalties.  Your contract should specify how long the reserves will be held and the precise percentage of total sales that will be held in reserve. 

The world of publishing is extremely competitive.  Unfortunately, most new authors don’t have much bargaining power when it comes to negotiating that first book deal.  You can protect your interests, however, by doing your homework and asking questions before you sign on the dotted line.  

The foregoing information is not offered as legal advice.  It is always best to have an attorney with publishing expertise review your book contract before you sign it.

Pamela Samuels Young is the bestselling author of the legal thrillers, Murder on the Down Low, In Firm Pursuit and Every Reasonable Doubt.  Visit Pamela’s website at http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/

Filed under: Day 5 (FRIDAY), General Forum, Panels & Workshops
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5 Tips for Dealing with Rejection

December 11, 2008 by admin · 7 Comments 

5 Tips for Dealing with Rejection

by Tee C. Royal

It’s a fact. Most people do not like to be rejected and this does not change for those in the literary arena.

I’m going to take a step back from RAWSISTAZ/being a book club founder & moderator and throw on my other hats. While it’s not something I actively promote, I have been a freelance editor and reader for around 7 years. I started both shortly after starting RAWSISTAZ, working directly for authors and also for a few publishing companies, but it’s never been the main focus of what I do, simply because RAWSISTAZ had the #1 slot. But during this time, I’ve seen hundreds of manuscripts, quite a few of which needed work and unfortunately I couldn’t recommend for publication.

Now, I’m an agent and focusing more on getting my agency running and taking what I’ve already done in the industry a step further and actually helping authors get their work published. Granted, there were a few deals I helped authors achieve prior to becoming an agent, but now I’m doing it “for real” and enjoying the experience. Unfortunately, one of the hardest parts is rejection. For the author and for me.

It’s hard rejecting potential clients, especially if I’ve enjoyed some of their previous work. It’s also hard having a client receive a rejection letter from a publisher. With the very first rejection I received, I was at a loss for words, couldn’t figure out why or what the editor must’ve been missing to pass on such a wonderful book. LOL. (I’m now sure this is what all authors think when they get rejections.)

The author took it better than I did, and I eventually put my feelings to the side and moved on. But it’s hard. Man is it hard. I also remember the first rejection I gave as an agent. I was overly concerned about hurting the writer’s feelings, so I took several weeks before I actually sent the email. Again, it is hard!

I said all that to say that I can now somewhat imagine being the author and dealing with rejection, but I do have 5 quick tips on the subject. Hopefully they will help those who may need that extra push to keep going.

1) BE PREPARED – Please don’t submit your work before it is completed. This not only means have the book finished, but ensure it’s been edited. I don’t know how many times I’ve received a query, requested more than the standard 3 chapters, but then I don’t hear from the author for several months. Why? Because they’re finishing the book.

2) ACCEPT CRITICISM – Again, no one likes being rejected, but you’ll find some agents/editors offer feedback on why the book didn’t work for them, suggestions on what needs improving, and things of this nature. Don’t be so quick to throw out these tidbits of information along with the rejection. Good can come from being rejected. Also keep in mind that it can be a good story, well-written, and all that, but it’s not right for that agent/editor, for that cycle, or various other reasons. It’s simply one person’s yes or no. Move on to the next person.

3) BE REALISTIC – There are thousands of authors out there, so you’re not the only one submitting your work to a particular agent or agency. Don’t assume that we’re sitting around fiddling our thumbs. We aren’t. Also, our existing clients are our primary focus, so while we would love to respond in 3-4 weeks or sooner, it simply doesn’t work out that way sometimes. Be patient and realistic while waiting for a follow-up. Inquiring every 2.3 weeks isn’t helping your case any. It actually hurts it. And, once you get the follow-up, don’t be arrogant, rude, obnoxious or all-knowing about it. It’s a turn off and could possibly turn what would’ve been an “I’m interested” into an “I’ll pass.” I loved an author’s work recently and could see the book doing well, but his reply to my request for the remaining chapters and a contact number totally changed my desire to work with him. Granted, it took quite a while to get to his submission and reply, but starting off his response with “It’s good to hear from you after 5 months,” wasn’t really too bright. Then, he didn’t send what I requested, but another “taste” of the book. What? LOL. Sorry, he had to go. Not following directions is one of my pet peeves.

4) KEEP ON MOVING – Don’t find yourself in the waiting mode; continue to write, query others, write more, and study the craft. Oftentimes, we find ourselves stuck in the “I’ma wait until” frame of mind, expecting someone to do something or for something to happen. While it’s good to be hopeful, it’s not good to be so expectant. Basically what I’m saying is don’t put anything on hold waiting on the “yes” because in some cases, you will be disappointed. Instead, live in the present, and again, continue to write, query, study and do research. Be confident in knowing that it’ll happen when and as it should.

5) CHANGE YOUR VIEWPOINT - Change your viewpoint about the rejection. Don’t take it personal, as an outright slight against you. The work was rejected, not you per se. Look at the rejection as one step further in recognizing your dream of being a published author (or of getting that agent, deal, etc.). Everyone started off with that first book. Many authors who were rejected numerous times over are now best-selling authors. So, continue to work hard, keep the faith, utlize the aforementioned tips and continue to perfect your manuscript. Then, submit again and again and again. It’ll happen.

Continued blessings to each and every one of you on the path to publication. May your rejections inspire you to work harder and one day secure your spot as a best-selling author.

Filed under: Articles, Day 5 (FRIDAY), General Forum
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