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Writer's Access File Drawer #6

Ref 102. Dear Meg, thanks for your response...I was anxious to hear what you thought. I did, in an effort to get my article read, submit it to the "readers editor", but I did clearly state that this is my true life experience and that I thought this would be a good time to submit my "article" because it looked like a readers market, since they had a question from a reader, dealing with the same thing I wrote the article about. I did send in a letter to them last week trying to clarify the situation, and I am giving them time to respond, and if not I plan to submit to another publication. This is a children's magazine and it has several different editors. I was always told not to submit to the main editor since they are so busy and rarely have time to read from unsolicited writers...so I was like I said trying to get my foot in the door. The magazine in it's masthead states that anything submitted becomes the property of the magazine and they can use it for any other media...but, that is for questions, pictures, etc...they do pay for stories submitted. And that is what mine is... So I will give them a few weeks to respond and then go elsewhere!

Thanks again! I'm sure I will be sending more questions when I finish the outline for my book I've started.
S.H., Texas

Ref 103. Response to Ref 102: I think you have done and are planning to do everything that can be done to solve this problem. It might not be a bad idea to write to the senior editor about your complaint. I wish you luck. And look forward to hearing from you again. Meg.

Ref 104. Hi, My nonfiction novella was recently semi-rejected by Discus Press. They are newly established, with no complaints from the better business bureau.
They have said that they do not have an editing staff. They told me to submit my ms to Edit Ink and upon completion of the editing they will do a second read.
How do you know if you should go with a "small press" who has not published any books yet? Does one take the chance. I understand that requesting "book doctors" is the way of
the future...but...how do you know if...do you go back and resubmit to the small press after it is edited or just start over again with new publishers?
Thanks again for your patience and help.

Ref 105. Response to Ref 104: I'm afraid I don't know anything about Discus Press, but I'm a little wary of a publishing house that is without editors. I imagine this referral to Edit Ink means you would be expected to pay for "book doctoring." I've heard of other people who have been told to do this and it makes my very uneasy. For one thing, such book doctoring does not guarantee a sale. There are book doctors who are very good and perfectly honorable, and if you feel you can afford it and that your manuscript needs some help, then it's up to you to decide if you want to go that route. I'm not so sure this is the way of the future. It seems to me that if you want to make a career of writing, you would be better off studying your craft enough that you are sure of your work, then submitting it to a publishing house where it will be either accepted or rejected on its own merits and then given editorial input if such is necessary. Personally, I would not lay out any money on anything I wasn't sure of. My way has always been to submit to a publishing house that I knew something about. I'm afraid I haven't been much help, but this is a topic it's difficult to give advice on. I can only repeat that I wouldn't personally spend any money on editing. Only you can decide if your work needs this kind of help.
Good luck, Meg

Ref 106. Response to Ref 104, part II. I'm adding to the answer I gave above, as I've done some research on this subject and want to give a stronger reply. In my opinion, which is all I'm qualified to give, if a publisher refers you to a particular editor or book doctor, I would be extremely wary, especially if payment is requested. If you feel your work needs editing before you submit it and you can afford to pay someone to do some line or copy editing, then I see nothing wrong with that, as long as you choose the person yourself, though I wouldn't personally pay anyone to work on my stuff. I want anything published under my name to be my own work.
Cheers, Meg.

Ref 107. Hi, Margaret. I am a first time novelist and I have almost completed
my first novel. I have just begun looking into finding an agent, but
most of the agents I look for, they all want a referral. I really
don't have many contacts since I'm just starting out. What should I
do, just try to sell my manuscript on my own or go through an agent?
How do you suggest I do this?

Ref 108. Hi, Margaret. I am a first time novelist and I have almost completed
my first novel. I have just begun looking into finding an agent, but
most of the agents I look for, they all want a referral. I really
don't have many contacts since I'm just starting out. What should I
do, just try to sell my manuscript on my own or go through an agent?
How do you suggest I do this?

Ref 109. Response to Ref 108: This is probably the question writers get asked more than any other. It's not an easy one to answer. Getting a literary agent is like getting a bank loan, first you have to prove you don't really need one. Agents are in business to make money in order to survive. Their income is 15% of their clients' income, so it follows they want clients they are sure can sell books. The best thing to do is to first sell some of your work yourself. If a contract is offered, then approach an agent to handle the negotiations for you. You need to study the markets, in books like Literary Market Place and Writers Market, both available at good libraries, both updated annually. You need to learn who publishes what kind of books and what length they should be and how much of a book you should submit and whether the publisher requires a query letter first. One way of getting acquainted with an agent is to set up an interview with one at a writers conference. There are writers conferences all over the country--all over the world, I suppose. Be prepared to describe your work succinctly--you'll rarely get more than 15 minutes. Don't take the whole book manuscript with you--agents don't want to carry loads of ms on the plane home. Selling a manuscript on your own is not easy, but it can be done. A lot depends on what kind of book you are writing. If it is a genre book--a mystery or romance or science fiction novel, then you can probably get a reading. I'd suggest sending a good query letter first. Don't send the whole manuscript anywhere until somebody asks for it. Try a query letter, ask if you can send a proposal--which is a synopsis of the novel and the first three chapters. Check the publishing house to see which editor you should send the query letter to and address the editor by name. You can send query letters to several publishing houses at a time, but I wouldn't send out more than one proposal at a time. I hope some of this has been helpful. Feel free to ask more questions if you have them.
Meg

Ref 110. Hi Meg. I'm Ref #104. I guess I got a case of the "I can't's" and
didn't trust myself. I knew the work was good, but don't have the
grammar background. I did get the copyediting...which did need the
work. I learned though. I guess we all learn from mistakes. I don't
think I will ever put out that kind of money again. They did do a
good job. I am just saying if I wasn't so excited I probably wouldn't
have been in such a hurry on my first venture. I chalk it up to a
learning experience. I think I will go ahead and try other publishers.
The editing company suggested that I should try all avenues, not just
the one that referred me to them. So off I go. I did get some nice
handwritten comments on top of the rejection form letters. I know that
someone will pick it up and put it onto the shelves one day. I guess
I asked after the fact of sending to an editor. I am off and running again.
Well, I need to retype it with corrections. Guess I can send off my
query letter though. Thanks for answering me, twice.

Ref 111. response to ref 110: Good luck.

Ref 112. Hey there Meg. I am back. I know you are wondering why I'm not doing my rewrites. I just wanted
to say that I appreciate your time. It is really great that you are offering to help us "newbees".
Of course you knew that I had another question. When looking through the Writers Market to submit to publishers
what is it that I look for. Specifically, do I care that most of them only publish 12 books a year? Or that it takes 18 months
to two years to publish my work? Do you go for the publishers that are smaller than your Random House etc? Once you get the nibble, what
is the next step? For example, I got the "nibble" from Discus. They were in the 96 Writers book. I asked for a catalog and they said they
are a new company - never published (new since 1996 book). I called Better Business and they had just registered with them Oct 96 with no complaints lodged against them.
They recommended the editing (I'm ref 104-110). Your response and Writer's Essential Desk Reference also says it's okay to edit. Well, I went to the library and saw the 97 writers market
is out. Guess what? No surprise I guess. Discus Press is not in there due to Editors Decision-whatever that means. The flag has gone up. They (D.P.) advertises in our local paper all of the
time. In other words, how do I know that I am submitting to the "right place"? Or do you stick with the BIG Names?
What is the "rule of thumb"? I have asked writer's resource groups and they "can't really tell me".
Hope you can provide me with some kind of insight. Thanks again for your patience and time.

Ref 113. Response to Ref 112: Well, I guess if answers were easy, nobody would bother to ask me questions. So I'll give this my best go. First the easy part. 18 months to 2 years is not and unusual time between acceptance and publication. It doesn't always take that long, but it's quite common. The book I'm working on now--November 1996, won't come out until 1999. I got ahead of myself on a mystery series! How to decide which publisher to send your manuscript to? When I started out I did some in-depth research. First I talked to booksellers and asked about various publishers of the kind of fiction I wanted to write. I also talked to librarians. Then I looked at books in bookstores, and noted the publishers of the kinds of books I wanted to write. And I wrote the publishers and asked for their catalogues. Which they supplied. I then made my choices and listed them 1-10. Naturally, the first ten turned my manuscript down. So I made another list. And eventually, that first book was accepted.

There is no "rule of thumb" I'm afraid. Nor are there any guarantees. Three of my publishers went out of business, one way or another. All I can suggest is that you try to educate yourself as I did, make a list of publishers, send out query letters and hope for the best. I'm sort of surprised that you took my responses above to mean I thought it was "okay to edit." So I'll restate my position on that. If you choose the editor, then it might be okay, but I'd be very wary of submitting to an editing business recommended by a publisher without some commitment from the publisher to buy the edited work. Good luck, Meg

Ref 114. Hi again. Hope you had a great Turkey day!! Thanks again for such a
prompt response. I did get your message about the editing, pls don't
take me wrong. I knew that it needed editing as grammar is not "my
thing"! I admit that I asked you after the fact (my work was at the
editor). I did check their references and all of the prices of copy
editing in my area and with my local resource writer's group. They were
in the "ballpark" price of editing. I guess according to what you have
said, I am "doing the right thing". I just haven't asked for catalogs.
Does it matter how many books a publisher has published (4-18 a year)?
Would that raise a flag or just means that they are small? Is there a
"magic" number of books that I should be looking at that a publisher
publishes?
Thanks again.

Ref 115. Hey there Meg, it's me again. I am getting the hang of this. Hopefully
not on a tree. Anyway, I guess the whole idea is to get published. I am going to apply
to the "big" houses, nothing like getting rejected by the best! Then I will go with the ones that say that they have a catalogue to send to you. I will start with the New York, New Jersey, Philly, DC ones first. I know this is probably the wrong time of the year to send the query letter, but, I am excited and want to get back on the road again. Sorry for being such a pest. I have been to the library and local bookstores. I guess you are right--it's like all things, a little wing and a prayer and hopefully some talent-or being in the right place at the right time. Thanks again. If you have any other words of wisdom I am out here listening. Thanks again.

Ref 116. Response to Ref 114&115: Yes, try the "big" houses first. Nothing wrong with starting at the top. Just don't get discouraged. Cheers! Meg. And a happy holiday season to all visitors!

Ref 117. Hi Meg. I'm back. Guess what? Everything you said was right on. It turns out that Discus Press was taken out of the writer's market book because they haven't published one book (since Feb 95) and the fact that they refer you to an edit company. I think I did okay with the edit company. They write a column in the Writers magazine (I saw it but forgot the name at the moment). I have retyped the corrections and have submitted to 8 "big" names and middle name publishers. I think, this is a question, that it is okay to send my work to a small publisher, but I should be requesting a catalog. I still am asking do I care that they only published 5-12 books? It's been two weeks since I sent the 8 query letters out. Does it hurt to send another 10 out each week? Have a good one. Thanks again.

Ref 118. Hi Meg:

Having written several stories, (five full lenght and half a dozen
short one) over the last few years, I now find myself in that all to
familar, and frustrating position, of trying to get published. I have
several copies of 'Writer's Market', and a drew full of requestion letter.
(using the trick of sending quiry letter instead of manuscripts) To date,
most of the rejection letter come back with "Thsi work doesn't fit our
editorial needs.." or "We we only accept work from agents.." (WM says
they do accept material direct from writers) and so on. The fustrating
part is, that it seems impossible to even get a publisher to even look
at your work.

I have tries different styles of quiery letter, tried adding first and last
chapter, etc. So, is there some way round this road block? Is there another
approch to getting published? or do you just keep in trying till the cows come
home?

Thanks for your time. {PS Like your page. Neat)

Ref 119. Hi, Mary-Louise here,
I want to get into the market of writing short fiction love stories. What is a query? What about getting a copywrite before submitting anything. I hope this will be the beginning of a long relationship with you. I desperately need your advice.

Ref 120. Hi Meg. I'm Ref 117. I guess I am understanding, maybe, that writing is like getting a job. It's all in how you approach the publisher in your query letters. It's a little bit of hit and miss and luck. I guess you just try everyone until one day someone picks you up. I guess I hear you say that there are no guarantees that a publisher won't go out of business, you just wish it'd be done. I guess we are all with the Clancy's and other authors who had to wait too. I guess the person after me and I need a little encouragement sometimes. Thanks for everything. Have a great holiday. Anything you can say will be great.

Ref 121. Response to Ref 117: Sorry it took me a while to get back here. I got caught up in the rush of preparations for the holidays. And my daughter is getting married Jan 4th so things are a bit chaotic at the moment.

Anyway, you can send query letters to as many publishers as you wish. Just be sure to enclose a self-addressed-stamped-envelope if you want a response. However, if someone expresses interest and wants to see more, it's best to submit to only that one and wait until you get a response before sending to any other. It's not really fair to let an editor think s/he is the only one reading a proposal or finished ms, if that's not the case. I'd be very patient this time of the year. When you say you've made the corrections and submitted to 8 "big" names, I'm not sure what kind of submission you are talking about. If you are sending a complete ms to this many publishers then you should tell them it is a multiple submission. It doesn't really matter how many books a publisher is publishing if they are the kind of books you are writing. It sounds to me as though you might be scattering your shots a little too widely. Are you checking for editors' names at the publishing houses you are submitting to? And sending to the particular editor most likely to be handling the type of book you are writing? No need to answer, what I'm saying, I guess, is that this is what you should be doing, if you want a timely response. You can always call the publishing house to check on editors names and which editor handles what. Writers Market will give you leads, then you can follow up on them by calling. Okay? Again, good luck, Meg

Ref 122. Response to Ref 118: This is the big question. How to get published. Very difficult to answer. Here are a few questions to let you check if you are on the right path. Are you researching, in Writers Market and Literary Market Place, the type of books and short stories published by each publisher you are approaching? Editors' names are listed for each publisher. But it's a good idea to call the publishing house and make sure the particular editor is still there and still handling whatever kind of book you are publishing. It may be that the ubiquitous "not suitable for our needs" is true. So do research each market as thoroughly as you can. The ideal thing of course is to get an agent. A lot of publishing houses will only accept mss that come through literary agents. I know, I know, this is a catch-22. You can't get in the door without an agent, but it's almost impossible to get an agent. I've given some suggestions for approaching an agent in earlier posts and also on the tips pages of my web site. Another approach is through writers groups. Depending on the kind of book you are writing, you might join sisters in crime, mystery writers of America, Romance writers of America, etc. These organizations offer advice from time to time on who is looking for what. Romance Writers of America is especially good on this. Is there a writers group in your town? Join it, even if the members are writing things that are not like yours. Many areas have annual writers conferences. Often editors and agents come from New York and other areas and it's possible to get a fifteen minute appointment in which to describe your work and ask permission to submit it. Conferences also often have writing contests in which the finalists are read by agents. I've known several people who placed in the finals in some contest or other and the judge asked to buy the manuscript. I hope some of these suggestions might help. Cheers, Meg

Ref 123. Response to Ref 119: I'll be happy to answer specific questions when you have them. I don't know a whole lot about the short fiction love story market however. I take it you are talking about what used to be called confession magazines. These are often a good market. A query is a letter, best kept to one page, giving an editor a brief description of your story or novel, perhaps telling a little about yourself, if you have some background in writing or some special occupation that is pertinent to the stories you want to submit. If the query letter is succinct and intriguing, the editor may ask you to submit the whole manuscript, thus turning an unsolicited manuscript into a solicited one. I would hope that you will study the magazines you want to write for very carefully through many issues. You do not need to copyright your material before sending it out. You can, but it's not legally necessary. According to the copyright laws, once you write something original it is yours. Be sure to keep your original disks or manuscripts, and have your name and the title of the piece on every page. Good luck, Meg

Ref 124. Response to Ref 120: You have the right idea. Getting published is tough, very tough. Usually there are no easy routes to publication. You have to hang in there and keep trying and keep working to improve your writing and storytelling abilities. And hope for the best. My first children's book was turned down by 25 publishers but went on to be published and had four printings. My first short stories were turned down by everyone.

Happy holidays to you too, and to everyone who has written me this year. I wish you all great writing success. Don't give up.

Ref 125. THE BUSINESS OF WRITING IS SECONDARY TO ME. BUT AFTER TWO DECADES OF LAWYERING, A CHANGE OF FOCUS IS DUE.
PLOTS, CHARACTERS, NEUANCES OF STYLE TO BRING OUT THE CHALENGE I HAVE BEEN SEEKING. I WOULD LIKE TO READ SOME GOOD SCREEN PLAY STYLE.
WHERE DO YOU SUGGEST THAT I LOOK. MH FROM FORT WORTH

Ref 126. Meg: Thank you for your reply to my question, and as you suggested,
I have investigated most of the usual avenues to getting published,
but to date finding little sucess. As you says, its most a question
of persistance than anything else, as, from what I have found in talking
to other writers, that quality of the writing has little or nothing to
do with your chances of getting any particular editor or reader to look
at your work. I have been priverledged to read some other writers work,
and wishing mine were as good, yet they are in the same boat at I, in
that they to have a draw full of rejections letter as well. My last
rejection was for a short story, which I duely submitted to a magazine,
where shortly thereafter I recieved a return letter saying that they had
rejected, and not read the attached story as it was to long for there
needs (7,500 words as compared to the 5000 they required)(and no, the
couldn't be shortened without spoiling the plot/story line)so, as you
say, keep trying Thank you again for your time. Happy New year
and all the best. D. St.John.

Ref 127. Hi Meg,

My manuscript was accepted by a well known publisher in New York.It is lying idle there
three months without any progress. The least amount that I need to pay them is $6Thou. for 500 copies.
What shall I do with the 500 books? A hundred is reasonable enough.Where will i get the money?Bank Loan?
Pleae give me your advice. I need this book published as soon as possible.

Ref 128. Response to Ref 125: Dear M.H. I'm afraid I can't help on screenwriting at all. It's outside my area. If you scroll up to the top of this page you'll see a selection of titles. Click on screenwriting and try over there. Good luck!

Ref 129. Response to Ref 126. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. I don't know if it helps at all to know that most of us have gone through the same thing. Re your short story. If a magazine says it wants 5000 words that's what it means. Usually a magazine is divided up into its various departments and each department--fiction, lifestyles, whatever, gets a certain amount of space. So the editor has to fit stuff into that space. S/he can no more expand the space than you felt you could cut your story. I hope you can find a home for it. Happy New Year to you too. Meg

Ref 130. Response to ref 127--this is the wrong way around. Publishers are supposed to pay writers. What you evidently have here is a vanity publisher. I wouldn't pay anybody $6000 to publish 500 of my books. If you want to do that it's up to you. But you'd be better off withdrawing the manuscript and having it done into book form by a local printer and distributing it yourself. When a publisher pays for a manuscript, s/he is going to have the manuscript edited and books made up, and distributed and sold, and pay you a percentage of every book sold. If you can't sell your book to a publisher willing to pay you, but still want it done, I'd recommend doing it yourself. Especially if you only want 100 books. Sorry I can't be more help on this. I just wouldn't do it. Good luck, Meg

Ref 131. Hi Meg,

This is Ref 127 again. By the way ,thank you for replying.I forgot
to include his (editor) proposal that for every book(Retail Price=$10.40) sold 40%
of the price will be my share. But there is still the 6Thou. fee for the 500 copies.
6Thou is still expensive for me!!

Ref 133. I have always found it amazing that most books on the subject of submitting novel length manuscripts state that the manuscript be sent to a publisher unbound in an appropriately sized box. Is that really true?

Ref 135. If you're in Hollywood, any scuttlebutt on HOLLOWAY HOUSE publishers? A writer had a novel published two years ago, got only $1,000 advance, and since then, no word about royalties, no response to his requests for an accounting. Are theyout of business? Or are they just evading the issue? Which makes us rather suspicious.. Anyu news? Many thanks, Harry Preston, Stanton & Associates Literary Agency. E-mail me at preston8@netcom.com

Ref 136. Response to Ref 131: I'm sorry to be so late replying, I was away getting my daughter married! 6 thousand dollars is expensive, if not outrageous, for anyone. And if they pay you 40% of $10.40 (always supposing they actually sell the books) that's only $2080 return on your 500 copies. If you haven't signed anything, don't. Better to have the book printed yourself if you can't get it accepted by a legitimate publisher. Seems to me. Meg

Ref 138. Response to Ref 133: Yes, it is usual to submit a novel length manuscript unbound in a suitable box, such as one that would hold a ream of paper. It is easier to read and edit that way. Actually, I wrap mine in the heavy paper that holds a ream of laser paper and then send it out in a padded or a priority mail type envelope, and no one has complained. One thing I might mention here though is that it's not a good idea to send out a whole manuscript unsolicited. Better to send a query letter, followed by whatever the editor asks for--a proposal, which would include a synopsis of the plot and the first three chapters of the novel, or the whole manuscript if such was requested. Good luck. Meg

Ref 140. Response to Ref 135. I'm afraid I don't know anything about Holloway House Publishers. Sorry. Meg

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