Preparing for Battle
Planning can be daunting, but doing your research can help!
04/19/2023
Hello! Nice to meet you : )
Exploring a new professional world can be daunting, especially when it comes to the publishing industry. As a physician, I had never considered writing a book until I had an idea for a science-fiction novel that I just had to put on paper. But taking that book and creating an audience, writing a cover letter, making a landing page, and finding a literary editor was a whole new world for me.
I quickly realized that my social and work networks had almost no affiliation to the creative writing world. Now, I spend a lot of my limited free time reaching out to old friends from high school or college to see if they had a friend of a friend who could help. I talk to anyone that reads books to see if they'd be willing to read mine. There is a lot of unfamiliarity, and I feet lost at times.
One of the biggest challenges I am currently facing is finding a literary agent. I spend hours researching literary agents, reading their bios, and checking their submission guidelines. So far, from my research, I’ve found that the best way to find an agent is to look for those who represent authors in my genre, science-fiction. Go-figure! I also have checked out websites like QueryTracker, Manuscript Wishlist, and Publishers Marketplace to get an idea of what agents are looking for. Initially, I focus and search for agents that have represented some of my favorite authors. Unsurprisingly, many of my initially sought after literary agents are closed to new projects. Doors are opened when you have a warm introduction, but at this point, I’m still looking for people who can offer that!
Once I have a list of potential agents, I’ll craft a personalized query letter for each of them. Did you know that you can find each of their specific submission guidelines online? Yeah, I didn’t either! Turns out, many agents will immediately reject queries that don't adhere to their rules. Tips: Make sure to mention why you choose that individual to query and include a brief bio and synopsis of your novel. You may also consider including the first 10 pages of your manuscript. For me, this is still a work in progress. Tip: Professional literary agents should NOT require a feed to read or present your work. Agents win if you win. Don’t fall into this very common scam.
What are my expectations? Rejection! Of course, excluding the rare unicorn, getting someone to take the time to read and then represent your work is like winning the lottery. Remember, if you’re a starving artist, it can be hard to be selective, BUT, in the long run, finding the right fit in selecting a literary agent will be beneficial. This means make sure you understand the big picture behind your work—will this be a series, is there value to your IP which could mean merchandise, TV series, movies? I’m still setting my expectations. I’ll keep you posted.
HF, The Ugly Lantern