Spending years working on a writing project is hard when you know how low the odds are of getting published, particularly when there's no one around to objectively tell you if you're on the right track. There are several writers who have put helpful stories on their websites of how they finally got published. Some of the good ones are: Jennifer Weiner (of Good in Bed fame), Nicholas Sparks (Message in a Bottle), John Scalzi, Ned Vizzini (author of the forthcoming Be More Chill [June 2004]), and I will add more as I find them (e-mail me any good ones you come across). Also, Bloomsbury Publishing has a whole site full of advice and a great list of agents here.
I had plenty of rejections over the years before my novel came out, and I can see why, when I read them later. Still, sometimes we work on a worthy project that would have a real chance at publication if only the right people were there to give objective advice and shepherd it along. So I'll share what I've learned about submitting your work in case it will help somehow.
I'm not an expert on this, and these are just my humble opinions. But before I give some general observations, I'll start with the most important piece of advice:
Write only a story or novel that, when you're finished, you will be glad you wrote even if it never gets published.
Why? Spending years on a novel just to sell it and get famous will end up leaving you angry if it doesn't. Revisions and submitting can take double or triple the time that it took to actually write the first draft. To stay in it, you have to really believe in what you're working on. If there's a story gnawing at your brain and clawing at your heart, then write it. Your goal won't be publication; it will be having written. Now of course, most of us want to believe that what we're working on will inspire or affect readers someday. We often do, inside, need some hope that it will get published. And that's fine. It just might. But publication shouldn't be your only goal.
Early writing efforts can still be valuable in the long run, and not just for the practice. Another benefit is that you might get rejected with a positive comment from an editor. The editors and agents who wrote on my stuff, "I like the writing, and I'll be happy to look at whatever else you do" became contacts for future projects.
The 23-year-old literary wunderkind who skipped all those steps gets so much attention mainly because he or she IS so rare, not because he's the norm. Most of us take a while to get there, and still struggle with our writing afterwards (and so do they).
So once you've started writing something you love and you want to send it out, what next? (If you've been at this for a while, you can probably skip 1. and 2. below, but everyone is at a different stage, so...)
1. Bounce it off other people. If you don't have a writing group or class where people share critiques, or friends who are willing to read and be objective and constructive, start a writers' group in your hometown. Put notices up at the library, in the local paper, etc. People's tastes differ and you shouldn't throw your story in the trash just because a few people don't get it, but on the other hand, other people's opinions are helpful on things like mood, tone, and points that aren't clear enough to the reader. If you hear a few people telling you the same thing, don't get defensive - consider that you might have to work harder to be readable and make your points. They might be saying the same thing an editor or agent will say when he/she looks at your work. Trust your instincts, but also keep an open mind.
2. Take time off between revisions. Unfortunately, it's very hard to be affected by our own writing; we already know who murdered Mrs. Jones and the punchlines to our jokes, so we can't keep ourselves in suspense. Giving yourself a little time after writing will allow you to look at your work fresh. Don't rush. When you do send it out to editors and agents, you want it to be your best - they're not going to say, "Well, submit it four more times and I'll look each time." Granted, sometimes it's hard to wait a long time to finish, because someone else might be working on a similar plot. Writers live in fear of that. You kind of have to balance the urge to get it out in a timely fashion with the knowledge that it should be at its best when you do. (And note that if you want to keep track of movie and novel plots that have sold, you can check out scriptsales.com for films and Publisher's Lunch for books.)
3. Submitting: When you're ready to submit, send out the first three chapters or about 50 pages to a few agents. Also include a summary of the book - I've heard that it can be anywhere from two to ten pages, but I'd guess that you're better off being on the lower end. (People don't have a lot of time). You can also send the chapters to editors instead of agents, but it might take longer, depending on who gets it. And some houses now say they only look at agented submissions (they can't help it; they get buried in mail). But there is one thing you have going for you, no matter how many other people are writing, and it's this:
Editors and agents are afraid of missing something.
For all they know, you ARE the next literary genius, or your book IS the next bestseller. Would it be wise for them to leave it sitting on their desk for a year?
No.
So they'll at least take a quick peek. That peek is very important.
Imagine that you're an editor who gets 200 submissions in a week. What's going to make you spend time on one and not the others? What's going to make you sit and read all 50 pages when you've got 200 submissions to get through? You might first look at the cover letter and then the first page to see if the idea or writing instantly captures your attention. And if it does, THEN you'll read on.
So snag them right away. Include a one-page single spaced letter saying what the book's about, where you've been published before (if you have), and anything else relevant. Make it neat and well-formatted. Include the summary (double spaced) and approximately 50 pages (double spaced) or three chapters. Make your first few pages really, really great. Consider what it is that keeps YOU reading a book when you pick it up at the library or in the bookstore. Editors are no different. They want to be intrigued.
4. To find agents who don't charge a reading fee (more on that below), a place to start is Literary Marketplace or one of the Writers' Digest guides. They'll tell you which genres each agent represents. Then, call their office to make sure the agent is still working there and will look at new writers. If they aren't, ask who IS looking at new work. That might actually be a better bet because you might get a name of someone new and hungry who wants to make it by developing new talent. New agents get ahead by discovering people, and they might have more time to spend on you than an established agent. You can even try that to begin with - call a respected agency and get the name of whoever's looking at new writers.
A different technique, and one used by some successful young writers I know, is looking through novels that you liked or that are the same genre as yours and contacting the agents for those books. You can find the agent's name in the author's acknowledgments. Be resourceful. And be careful: Don't blindly send your work to people you wouldn't actually want to represent you. Even if you're the one at a disadvantage, that could change some day. You might as well be happy with what's happening with your book, or not do it at all.
And for god's sake, DON'T PAY AN AGENT TO READ YOUR BOOK. That's not how it works. An agent who takes your book does it for free as an investment. (Asking for reimbursement for copying and postage is OK). He does it because he loves the book and/or thinks it will get published. That's how he'll make his money. If an agent makes you pay him a large sum of money, then he's not so confident that your project will sell and probably won't be out there hustling for it. (Check preditorsandeditors.com for warnings on certain agencies.) Since the odds of a book selling are so low, in order for someone to pitch it and overcome all those obstacles for you, they have to REALLY love it. They can't just think it's semi-okay. And then, they have to find an editor who REALLY loves it who will tell his or her publishing company why she or he REALLY loves it and why readers will REALLY love it. You wouldn't marry someone you only sorta like just as a reward for their pursuing you, would you? You have to love them enough to get through the obstacles of life.
It's all about commitment. Publishing companies are not charities to subsidize you because you spent so many years on your book. (I know - I wish!) If they buy your book, they're committing to spending a year or more editing it with you, and to spending a lot of money to publish it, and they need to recoup some of their investment, either in money, in reputation, or both. That's why those initial obstacles are there.
Not everyone to whom you send your book will love it. One writer I know started off by sending a few chapters to a handful of agents, and only one agent was interested. She sold his book and it became a hit. That doesn't mean that all of the agents who rejected it had bad taste. They just had different taste.
5. In your package, include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a response, and state whether or not you need the book back. Truthfully, most people, if they're really interested in seeing your book right away, will get on the phone and call you, or they'll e-mail you (don't forget to include your e-mail address). They're not going to send you a letter. However, send the SASE anyway, because some editors or agents might not be ready to meet you but might have some feedback and suggestions. Free feedback is very valuable! I got a lot of it while I was submitting novels, and it proved useful in revising. And again, those people became contacts for later submissions.
6. Don't get completely discouraged. Tastes are different. How many times have you picked up a best-seller - a book that obviously many people loved - and you didn't understand what the fuss was about? It's possible that lots of people will love your book someday, but the few you sent it to just didn't like it for some reason. So listen to their suggestions, but don't give up right in the beginning. (Eventually, you may have to, but that's another essay).
(By the way, for screenplays, the process is different. It's hard to get producers to look at your script. They don't want to get sued for allegedly stealing your idea. So if you have a script and no contacts, it's best to send to agents or to enter contests. You can get a list of agents willing to look at query letters from the Writers' Guild of America in NY or LA. When you send to film agents, most just want a letter first. Include a one or two-page summary of the script. Then they may request the screenplay. As for contests, you'll probably have to pay $10 to $50 to enter. That's the breaks. But your script will get read.)
A lot of people ask how I got my book published. The short version is that I sent out the first 50 pages to six agents. One gave me two pages of good suggestions even though he wasn't ready to represent it, one wanted to meet me, one person gave it to someone at yet a different agency who he thought might like it, the others were not as interested. I took the first person's advice regarding revisions and kept working on the book. Eventually, a chain of contacts that emerged from one of the other people led to an agent. (As I was meeting various people, I also was constantly revising the book, so the people who saw it in the end got to read a much, much better version than the ones in the beginning. That's just how it goes sometimes.)
I'm open to any questions about this process at readings, by the way.
Also: if you're interested in writing a so-called "chick lit" book, there is a wealth of information on the listserve ChickLit@yahoogroups.com. Send an e-mail with "subscribe" in the subject head and you'll get the daily digest. Lots of chick lit writers are on there. Checking out www.reddressink.com, my publisher, is also good - click "community" or "guidelines."
It feels a lot better when I write now. I'm not completely in the wilderness any more. But it's also making my writing process a lot longer because I don't want to rush my next project out. I'm revising and revising.
I love writing and publishing, but it's damn slow.
E-mail me with questions or comments. Or return home.
PS#1: Here is an address for some legal advice on someone's website: http://www.ivanhoffman.com/helpful.html
PS#2: Here is a sample query letter:
Dear Ms. Editor,
I'm enclosing the first three chapters of my recently completed comedic novel, UGLY IN PINK. I'm a big fan of Readme Inc. books, and I think my book would be perfect for your line.
UGLY IN PINK is a dark comedy about a not-so-great-looking 26-year-old female who goes to a Halloween party disguised as a mermaid and meets the man of her dreams - except, she has to keep dressing like a mermaid every time she dates him to satisfy his fetish. She also has an angry parrot who talks back to her and a father who runs a religious cult.
I was a journalism major at Catatonic State University and have written short stories for some time, although I work full-time as a hair dresser. My novel is approximately 310 pages.
If you would like to see the rest of UGLY IN PINK, please e-mail me at publishmeplease@desperate.com or call me at (212) 555-5555, or feel free to send a note in the enclosed stamped envelope.