Getting the Call: Ruth Cardello

This fantastic lady’s success story makes me truly envious. Who wouldn’t love to have writing be their full time job? It certainly proves that in this day and age there are so many ways to achieve the dream. Be sure to check out Ruth Cardello’s One Month Promotional Challenge at AQC, where she shares tips on getting yourself and your work out there. It's really worth a look.

A little over a year ago, I had just about given up that my book, Maid for the Billionaire, would ever find a home.  I had written it as a category romance, but the lines I had written it for passed on it.  Each pass said about the same thing, “Good writing, but it’s not what we are looking for right now.  Do you have anything else?”

Maid for the Billionaire was the first book in a series I intended to write, but when it wasn’t selling – I wasn’t sure if I should continue the series or start a new one.

A self-published author came to our local romance writer’s group and discussed how her rejections had been the best thing that could have happened to her.  After hearing her story, I thought – why not?  It’s free and might provide me with the feedback I needed from readers. 

I put my first book up for free and held my breath.

I never dreamed that it would be as well received as it has been or that self-publishing would bring so many wonderful people into my life.  Within months, over 200,000 people had downloaded it and my reviews were mostly positive – creating a good base of readers for the release of my second book.

Self-published authors don’t get “the call.”  We don’t usually have agents or contracts.  It’s difficult to feel published -- difficult to know when to celebrate.  For me, the moment I celebrate is when my second book cleared $100,000 in the first six months. 

After some soul searching, I finally left my day job to write full-time.  My third book, Bedding the Billionaire, is expected to be released mid-July.  The best part of writing full-time? More time with my children. I write every day from 8-3 then I close my laptop and am simply MOM.   No more waking up at 5 am to write before the kids wake up.  No more sacrificing my own sleep to find time to write after everyone has gone to bed.  Weekends are time for family, friends and relaxing again.  I couldn’t be happier.

There is an ongoing debate in many circles regarding the best route to publication.  The only thing I’m sure of is that change is ongoing and inevitable.  What this will all look like a year from now, five years from now – I have no idea, but I pray I’m still a part of it.

You can find more about Ruth Cardello at her website or at Facebook under Author Ruth Cardello.  Check out this link to find her on Amazon.

Getting the Call: Mindy McGinnis

You might know this writer as the moderator Big Black Cat from AQC. Not only does Mindy McGinnis have an amazing debut YA novel coming out in 2013, but she … wait for it … critiques query letters on her blog! I can’t think of a better way to help fellow writers and pay forward the success she richly earned.  Thanks for sharing your story, Mindy.

I started querying when SASE was a byword in the querying world, and a hopeful writer set aside part of their income to pay for postage. So when I got an email from Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary looking for a good time to schedule The Call, it was truly a surreal moment. 

As a long-time member and newly minted moderator of the AgentQuery Connect forum, I knew exactly where to get my information to prepare for the call. I had my laptop fired up and my browser on this thread, my questions at the ready. It's as indispensable as oxygen when that moment comes for the aspiring writer.

My palms were sweaty and I think the butterflies in my stomach had butterflies in their stomachs when Adriann answered the phone. She talked first, telling me how much she lovedNOT A DROP TO DRINK, which I lapped up like a kitten in a swimming pool filled with cream. After that, she told me a little about the background of her agency, and what they had to offer me.

Then it was my turn, and I ticked off the questions. What changes, if any, did she foresee for DRINK? What houses did she think it would fit in best, and what was her approach as an agent to them? What was her revision process like, and how heavy-handed or light on the reins was she in it? 

Adriann had all the right answers, and after we'd exchanged the business side of things we had a little side-talk about how great The X Files was in its heydey, and what books we were reading at the moment. Even though I had another offer of representation, I knew right away that Adriann was the one for me.

Hey, she likes the X Files.

Bio: Mindy McGinnis is a YA librarian and writer repped by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary. Her debut YA novel, NOT A DROP TO DRINK will be available from Katherine Tegen/ Harper Collins, Fall 2013. Mindy blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire, and serves as a moderator on the writing forum AgentQuery Connect. She also contributes to the group blogs From the Write Angle, The Lucky 13s, Book Pregnant and Friday the Thirteeners.

Getting the Call: S. K. Keogh

A book cover recently knocked my socks off. So much so, that I bought the book for my kindle without reading a word of it first. Now half way through this action packed story of pirates and revenge, I’m so glad I did. I love a nautical adventure, especially if it has romance. I knew I had to ask S.K. Keogh to the blog even though we write in different genres. Her rousing story will inspire everyone. Thank you, Susan, for traveling here to share your story. 

When Michelle invited me to write an article on how I landed my first book deal and the journey I took to get there, it surprised me to realize that nearly nine years have gone by since I first sat down to write my historical adventure novel, The Prodigal. Of course, I've been a writer for much, much longer than that.

Like many writers, I began writing when I was just a kid, dabbling in such things as Young Adult and Westerns (yep, Westerns). My first publishing credit came about from research I had done while writing a Civil War novel. I submitted a short article to the national magazine America's Civil War, and was pleasantly surprised when they wrote back to say they liked the article so much that they wanted me to expand it so they could use it as a feature article. (I recently reprinted the article on my blog, in a four-part series: http://susankeogh.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/prelude-to-chickamauga/ )

I had hoped that the article would help me find a publisher for my Civil War novel, but, alas, it did not (I recently started reworking that manuscript). Having no success with that manuscript, I actually drifted away from writing for three years, being heavily involved in other interests. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever be inspired enough to write again.

Then along came the Disney movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" in 2003. That movie piqued my interest in that era in general and pirates in particular, so I began reading whatever I could find on the subject, and it was during that time that I came up with the idea for The Prodigal. I wanted to write a plot-driven, quick-read adventure, something relatively short (less than 90,000 words by the time it was ready for publication). The small word count was strategic because I figured a publisher would be more apt to take on a debut author with a cheaper-to-produce word count than a debut author with some massive epic. 

So lots of research and five drafts later, I had the finished product, perhaps two or three years' worth of work. I can't remember for sure. Even when it was "finished", I still revisited the manuscript often to read it with fresh eyes and tweak it some more (I'm notorious for that). I marketed it a bit with agents, then small presses. One publishing house had it for a year but ultimately passed on it. I continued on during that time with writing what I hoped would be a sequel then a trilogy.

During a more recent search for an agent, I was contacted by an agent who had been an assistant at one of the agencies that had read a full of my manuscript. She was opening her own agency and wanted to take me on. Since I had no one else interested in me or the novel at the time I figured what the heck and signed with her. During our one-year relationship, she shopped it around to some of the bigger houses like Random House, etc. but had no luck selling it. 

A fellow writer, whom I met on a historical fiction website, (Jim "Alaric" Bond) contacted me directly and invited me to submit my work to his editor at Fireship Press. I did so and notified my agent of the contact, encouraging her to touch base with them. However, I never heard back from the editor, and my agent claimed he had not responded to her inquiries. A short time later, that gentleman unexpectedly passed away. So I figured that was that. However, Jim contacted me after having met the new president of Fireship Press and again encouraged me to submit, saying that the new president (Michael James) didn't find any record of my previous submission or any contact from my agent.

This was toward the end of my contract with my agent. After submitting The Prodigal to Michael James, I tried to contact my agent to let her know, but oddly enough she had vanished off the face of the earth after the birth of her first child. I tried contacting her by email (bounced back), telephone (straight to voice mail with no return call), and certified mail (that letter eventually came back, unclaimed). It was a big mystery. Meanwhile, Fireship had contacted me for sample chapters then a full. Since my contract with my agent had by then expired, I officially terminated our relationship. Shortly thereafter, Fireship offered me a one-book deal for The Prodigal. 

There are good things and bad things when a writer compares big publishers with small publishers. I will focus on the positive things. With a small, niche publisher like Fireship, my book received immediate attention toward getting it to the finished product. They had actually started editing it before I had even signed the contract (which I had reviewed by a literary lawyer before signing). I had the copy edits back within the first month (fortunately the edits were nothing major, mainly words choices, etc. and a tweaked ending) and the galleys in my hands the following month. By the third month we had a cover chosen and a jacket blurb written. Another positive thing is that I was allowed the majority of say in the cover and the blurb, both things that debut authors at large houses rarely if ever get a say in.

So all told, from contract signing to release, The Prodigal only took three months of production. Compare that to large houses which can take up to a year and a half to produce a book.

So there is my own personal success story. Like many things in life, in my case it was not only what I knew (how to write a good story) but who I knew (Jim Bond). So the moral of this writer's story is network, network, network! You never know who will offer to lend you a helping hand...and you never know who you might be able to help on their way toward publication as well.

If you are interested in The Prodigal, it is available in paperback or e-book through the usual purchasing channels: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+prodigal+by+s.k.+keogh

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/The-prodigal-by-s-k--keogh?keyword=The+prodigal+by+s.k.+keogh&store=allproducts

http://www.fireshippress.com   

Getting the Call: Terri Bruce

When you’re a writer, success can come in various forms. Here is a taste of another method of getting The Call. I asked friend and fellow writer, Terri Bruce, to inspire us with her recent adventure. Terri writes a blend of women’s fiction and fantasy, creating her own genre. For more about Terri and her novel, HEREAFTER, releasing this September, check out her website.  Thank you so much for sharing, Terri.

I wish I could say my “call” was a big dramatic moment, but alas, it wasn’t. Instead, it was a series of small, pivotal moments mostly lacking in drama that inched me closer to the final moment when I could say I was a signed author with an impending release date.

I was home alone because my husband was away, traveling for business. It was late—I had been watching t.v. and chatting online with my AQC friends—and I was wrapping up to go to bed. I was just about to close the laptop when I decided to check my email one last time—and there it was, an email from the acquisitions editor that I had just submitted my full manuscript to only a few days prior.

My heart sank.

The response was an email (not a call) and had come back so fast that it surely must be a rejection. I frowned and moved to close the email window. I’d read it in the morning. Then I chided myself for being such a dismal coward and opened the email, figuring I’d just rip the band-aid off now, rather than wait till later. I read the words and they hardly penetrated.

They wanted to publish my novel.

I blinked and read them again.

They wanted to publish my novel.

I don’t remember a lot after that—just like everyone else who experiences this moment, my brain sort of melted. I tried calling my husband, got his voicemail. I tried calling my sister, got her voicemail. I just sat on the couch, staring at the t.v. not sure what to do next.

My sister called me back almost immediately and we were on the phone when my husband called. I was trying to switch back and forth between two calls and trying to read them the email…on further investigation there were instructions: I’d be getting a formal offer/contract from the CEO by separate email, there was an author information sheet to read about the process of working with Eternal Press (mostly about how they’d really prefer authors to not eat the editor assigned to them).

The best moment, however, was the next day. My coworkers have been following my book publishing odyssey closely and offering much emotional and moral support. It was so hard not to start shouting the moment I walked through the front door. It was even harder not to spill the beans to my boss, with whom I share an office or another coworker who had been one of my beta readers (the first non-writer, non-family member I had ever let read my work).

Instead, I waited until staff meeting where I announced I wanted to share a letter I had received the night before. Without any further build up, I simply read the email. Before I had even finished, everyone erupted into applause and cheers. That’s the moment when it really hit me this was happening and I started crying. In the afternoon, my boss bought cupcakes for the office and let me ring the “good news bell” (okay, honestly that sounds like a four year old’s birthday party, but it was actually a really awesome celebration!).

This was all just the start of “the call”—at this point all I had was an email from the acquisitions editor but no actual contract yet. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask and I wasn’t entirely sure I would accept the offer—this publisher has received mixed reviews from different online sources, and while I had done my own, first-hand research, including talking to dozens of their authors (who all had only good things to say), I still wanted to talk to the staff directly and get my own impression of their professionalism and personality before deciding anything. Then two other publishers indicated interest in the manuscript and there was a frantic week of back and forth emails and nail biting and contract review with a lawyer.

Once the lawyer gave me the go-ahead on the contract, I exchanged emails with the CEO as I asked questions and requested a revision to the contract. Since the offer was just for the first book in the series I had written, I was most concerned in knowing EP’s criteria for publishing the rest of the books. EP’s contract is pretty straightforward, plus with the contract they had sent some more documents explaining the publishing process, so I felt pretty knowledgeable about what to expect if/once I signed.

By this point I was pretty sure Eternal was my top choice of the three interested publishers—they had the best royalty rate, the best distribution (including accepting returns), the longest track record/most experience, a substantial built in market, and the most efficient/organized process (plus the speed with which they responded to queries, submissions, and emails showed that they stay on top of stuff). The final clincher was the professionalism, honesty, and transparency of Eternal’s CEO, which struck me immediately in my exchanges with her—I asked a lot of annoying, newbie questions and she was amazingly patient about everything. That was the final piece of the puzzle for me—the company’s authors spoke highly of them, mutual colleagues spoke well of the CEO, and the CEO herself was someone that I felt comfortable working with.

I accepted the offer, sent back the contract right after our last exchange, and let the other publishers know that I had accepted another offer. Then rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the hard part—prepping a manuscript for editing and preparing the information sheet for the cover artist. Anti-climatic indeed—since I signed there hasn’t really been a free moment to just bask and enjoy this moment. I guess I’m going to have to wait for the book release party this fall for that!

Guest Blogger Al Lamanda: Rambling Musings of the Mistakes I’ve Made Along the Way to Being Published.

**Please welcome author Al Lamanda, who is this month's guest blogger.**

You’ve sweated, stressed over, lost sleep because of, skipped meals, stood up friends and family, wrote, rewrote, gave up on, went back to, and finally finished the book you started out to write.

Finally, it’s finished. Your book. Now what?

When I first started writing, there weren’t the choices there are today. My choices were traditional publishers and that was it. Today, if you so choose, you can self-publish on a dozen different eBook publishing sites.

Before you try the eBook route, you want to take your best shot at getting you book scooped up by an agent, who will then in turn sell it for the best deal possible to a publisher. Where do you start?

Why, at the beginning, of course, because very little has changed in the world of traditional publishing. Your best chance of selling your work to a publisher is to get an agent who believes in you, and that isn’t easy. In fact, it’s very difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

So, with that in mind, here are some of the things I did wrong and what I did to correct them along the way.

First, assuming you’ve finished your book, you must write a perfect query letter to an agent. One page or less, preferably less. An agent may receive hundreds of query letters in a week, how much time do you think will be spent on your six page rambler? My first query letter was almost seven pages. I included everything but my height and weight in it, and guess how many responses I got in return?

So what’s in a perfect query letter? Who you are, what your book is about, your contact information and a short bio of your work, if you have one. You can find many good examples of query letters on the sites I will list below. Note they are all one page or less. Practice yours until it’s the best query letter you can make it. Remember your query letter is your face, your introduction and your first impression. Make it a great one.

Now you have a query letter, so what do you do with it? Send it to an agent, of course. I mean, how could they not love it? After all, it’s your book. Right? So what I did was send my query to about five hundred agents. I figured volume query lettering would have to work if you send out enough of them. Of course, that proved to be the exact wrong thing to do.

Here’s why. If you do your homework, you’ll find that most agents represent the type of books they are interested in. So why query an agent looking for women’s fiction and tell them about you great mystery/thriller? Why query an agent looking for action/suspense with you great new western or romance novel? Do you homework and find the agents interested in your genre and query them. If you check the websites I’ve listed below, you can locate the agents interested in your genre. Those are the ones to target.

So you written the perfect query and sent them to your targeted agents and yikes, an agent wants to read your work. What now?

Simple, you do what the agent asks. Some will want to see a synopsis and first three chapters. Others will want a synopsis and the entire manuscript. Most, if not all will request a synopsis. The first time an agent asked me for a synopsis, I sent one nearly the size of my book. I never heard back. A synopsis should be two to six pages and no more. An agent doesn’t have the time to read a twenty page outline. If you had to read twenty or thirty of them a day, would you? Check the websites I list below for samples of some good synopsis writing. Practice writing yours and make sure it’s the best it can be before sending it out.

You’ve gotten this far, but you’re not there yet. When the agent asks to see your manuscript, what is expected is a manuscript formatted to industry standards. Nothing fancy in the least. Just 12 font, double spaced and as mistake free as possible. They don’t expect perfect, but they do expect industry standards and good. If the book is sold, a professional editor will take it from there. Check the websites below for samples of industry standards.

After that, it’s a waiting game. Don’t bug the agent. Normal response time is three months to get back to you, some as much as six months. After all, yours is not the only manuscript they have to read on their desk.

One final note on a doozy of a mistake I made early on. I took rejection personally. It isn’t. Resist the temptation to let that agent know what you think of their rejection notice. Rejection is just part of the business. Every reader won’t love your book and neither will every agent. Keep in mind that the agent who rejected your first book just might love your second one, but they will never read it if you make them an enemy.

Remember, when it comes to agents, it only takes one. If you don’t make the mistakes I did and your book is good enough, you will find that one.

Thanks for letting me share some of my mistakes with you and I hope they help you along your way.

http://www.agentquery.com/
http://www.guidetoliteraryagent.com/
Predators & Editors

Al Lamanda is the author of the books Dunston Falls, Walking Homeless, Running Homeless and Sunset (release date 2012.)

Bits O'Wisdom: Goals vs Expectations

Everyone has expectations and writers are not excluded from this. Oh...do we ever have our expectations! We throw them out there on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not. The problem is that some of us can create a lot of expectations, but we never bother building goals for us to meet them.
So what's the difference between the two?
Great question!

Things that you can control = Goals
Things anyone else can control = Expectations

Saying you're going to write a novel---This is a goal because nobody else has the power to do this for you. Sure they can wheedle, push, and demand but in the end, it's you and ONLY you who can pick up the pen and write.

Saying you're going to sell a book---This is an expectations because you can't control the market or even a publishers mind. Doesn't matter how much you wish it so.

It's important that we don't get the two confused because doing so can rob us of the joy we could have from achieving success in things we can control. Take this for example: You tell yourself that one day you will make the New York Time's bestsellers list. This is not a goal, it's an expectation (that control thing, remember?) and one that could lead to some misery if mistaken for a goal. What happens if you sell thousands and thousands of books but NEVER make the NYT bestsellers list? Does that mean you failed?

Heck no!

But in your mind, it may seem that way. Because you mistook an expectation for a goal.

Take some time to really think about this...sift through all those goals you have and strip away anything--ANYTHING--that you can't achieve on your own. It's great to have some expectations. Great to dream about the fan mail, the publishers clamoring for your novel, the word 'brilliant' after the title of your book in its first review. But it's more important to have goals that will help us get there.

So what are your goals? What are your expectations? Have you been able to tell the difference between the two?

Happy Writing!

The Green Eyed Monster

It's easy to be gracious...sometimes.

When a truly fantastic book hits best seller status and the author gets the kudos he/she deserves, it's easy to honestly say: "They totally deserve it. Good for them!" With a smile on our face.

Of course when it's someone you know...a fellow friend/peer...who makes it, well, we are even more excited for them. Of course! We get the whole struggle of trying to make it so when someone you know personally DOES make it--we're almost as ecstatic as they are.

Right?

Hmm...I'm sure we all like to believe we would be genuinely happy for our friends, and you know what? Most of us will be. Still, there is that chance that jealousy might rear its ugly head and you might end up smiling through the pain.

What if you and your friend(s) started writing at the same time? What if you started before them? And suddenly their book is finished--you're not even close. They send out a query--that's only a dream for you at the moment. They get an agent's attention--uh oh. They land a book deal--ummmmmmmmm

Yeah.

How easy will it be to feel happy for them? Not very. Not always.

I've seen and heard of friendships go down the toilet while screaming bloody murder because of jealousy. Not a pretty sight.

Let's explore this further and say a truly horrific book goes interstellar? You know the ones. Those overdone, lame, washed up plots that are so bad you want to cry every time another one pops up on the shelves while you're still struggling to get someone to notice yours. Yup, those are the ones. Gracious probably won't be our first reaction. You might want to scream. Try to resist.

It's easy to be envious...too easy.

Of course, we're only human. It's going to happen. And you know what? Fine. Jealousy is something that everyone feels, but you can't let it consume you. You can't waste your time on it. That evil, green eyed monster is blinding. It's a waste of time. It's self-destructive.

So what if that author of undead creatures feeding off the flesh of bunnies sells millions? So what if that romance where characters are in love with everyone and their mother is best seller?

I read somewhere that 'books draw the readers they deserve.'

Let me ask you this: If you were to have your name slapped on that wretched best seller about whiny teenagers who crave love in all the wrong places...would you be happy with the fans that come along with it?

It's a waste of time and energy to be jealous, even if the author is--not so great. Wasted time that could be spent writing and being happy. What good will it do to write dozens of bad reviews, or bash them, or bitch and moan about how unfair it is? How you could have written a better story with your eyes closed and no hands?

None whatsoever. Listen, if you want people to read better books THEN WRITE THEM!

Even if the author is a friend who started writing way after you and they are already on their way to publish-dom. Is there a scale of success somewhere I don't know about? If someone goes up does that automatically push you down to the bottom? If there is then I guess we're all pretty much screwed.

You only get this one life. And if you knew exactly how much/little time you really had would you waste it self loathing, being sad or angry over other people's success?

Success comes when you figure out what you want to do and then you DO it. If you are truly happy doing what you do, in this case it's writing, then anyone elses success or failures shouldn't matter to you. Nobody else can live your life and you can't live someone elses. Your life is yours. So how you choose to spend it is up to you.

Don't be petty.

If that green eyed monster comes calling--conquer it. Life is too short to be wasted. Write what you love and write with joy. Success will come.

~Happy Writing