Articles
| Tips to Getting Published
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Answers to Some Everyday
Questions
The Top Twenty
DON'TS for Submission
Answers to Some Everyday Questions
How do I know whether I need an attorney or an agent?
If you’ve written a novel that you think has potential
for a commercial market and you hope to sell it to a trade
publisher, you need an agent to represent you. Most editors
at trade publishers will not accept submissions directly from
authors, except for those from conferences and contests, so
you’ll need an agent to get your manuscript reviewed.
An agent can also help you editorially to polish your novel
to maximize its marketability. An agent’s knowledge
of the market can also help you to target just the right publisher
for your project. An attorney, on the other hand, can step
in and handle negotiations with a publisher who has already
seen and is interested in your manuscript. An attorney can
review any publishing contract that you may be offered and
suggest changes to better protect your interests. A publishing
attorney can also help review a contract from an agent or
with a collaborator or editor and can advise you on permissions
or other pre-publication issues, but an attorney generally
doesn’t get involved in editorial or marketing issues.
How do I go about finding an attorney or agent?
With both attorneys and agents, it’s important to find
someone who’s knowledgeable about the issues where you
need assistance. If you need help in negotiating with a publisher
or reviewing a publishing contract, it’s important to
find an attorney who has experience in reviewing these types
of agreements. Publishing contracts contain terms that are
unique to the industry and it is imperative to find an attorney
who knows what is standard in order to help you evaluate the
precise terms that have been offered. Similarly, it’s
important to find an agent who handles projects of the kind
you have written. They will be most helpful both in evaluating
your work and in identifying those editors most likely to
be interested in seeing it. Your local bar association or
local writers’ groups should be consulted for referrals
for both publishing attorneys and agents. Also, for agents,
there are a number of directories, like Literary Marketplace
and Writer’s Guide to Editors, Publishers, and Literary
Agents, that provide information about not only about the
agencies but also about the kinds of projects they handle.
What can I expect in terms on costs?
Attorneys generally bill for their services based upon the
amount of time that is spent on a matter. Some may charge
a flat fee based upon the customary amount of time needed
to handle a particular matter (e.g., reviewing a contract)
or others will simply bill for time spent. Inquire in advance
about hourly rates and watch out for minimum billing periods.
Billing by the tenths of an hour are best because they are
closest to actual time. Agents, on the other hand, get paid
only from the proceeds of the sales they handle. Typically,
agents receive a commission of fifteen percent of the proceeds
an author receives from a publisher. If the agent retains
subsidiary rights and sells those separately, the agent may
receive twenty or twenty-five percent of that income, since
they typically share these commissions with sub-agents. Beware
of agents who charge reading and/or editorial fees. Such fees
violate the canon of ethics of the Association of Authors’
Representatives.
Is it necessary to have an agent in New York?
No. Reputable agents who provide superb services to their
authors are located all across the country and overseas. Particularly
in today’s marketplace, contacts are often made via
telephone and email, rather than in-person meetings. It is
important to find an agent experienced with your type of project
and familiar with that market. But most importantly, you want
to find an agent who loves your project and sees its potential
in very much the same way that you do and is willing to give
his/her all to sell it.
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The Top Twenty DON'TS for
Submission
20. Seal your package so completely with tape that it is impossible
to open.
19. Include knick-knacks (other than chocolate !) that fall
out as soon as the package is opened.
18. Include talcum, cigarette ash or other unidentifiable
white powder in your envelope.
17. Include photographs of yourself and/or your children.
16. Perfume your submission materials with anything (cigarette
smoke counts here, too).
15. Have your friend, secretary, or mother write the cover
letter, telling how wonderful you are.
14. Describe all your family, including pets, in your cover
letter.
13. Address your letter to another agent.
12. Open your letter with an ethnic (or other) joke.
11. Demand a response within say, ten days.
10. Type your manusript is some Afancy@ font.
(anything other than Courier, New Times Roman or Bookman Old
Style is considered Afancy@)
9. Single space your manscript so it will appear shorter.
8. Query the agent with all 26 of your manuscripts at the
same time.
7. Ask the agent to read your query or manuscript by checking
out a website.
6. Put down other authors in your genre or other agents who
have rejected your work.
5. Misrepresent your prior publishing experience.
4. Query an agent with your project when that agent has publicly
stated she doesn't represent such projects.
3. Send a full manuscript when only a partial was requested.
2. Provide a detailed, multi-page outline of each scene when
a synopsis was requested.
1. Neglect to include your name and address with your submission.
*While this list may be somewhat “tongue-in-cheek,”
it will hopefully give you a chuckle, but there are some important
lessons to be learned here.
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