E.L. Deards on If At First You Don’t Succeed, Edit, Edit, Edit

If there's one thing that many aspiring writers have few clues about, it's the submission process. There are good reasons for that; authors aren't exactly encouraged to talk in detail about our own submission experiences, and - just like agent hunting - everyone's story is different. I managed to cobble together a few non-specific questions that some debut authors have agreed to answer (bless them). And so I bring you the submission interview series - Submission Hell - It's True. Yes, it's the SHIT.

Today’s guest for the SHIT is E.L. Deards, author of Wild with All Regrets

How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself? 

Not very much to be honest, but I used my handy dandy google skills to put together a basic query letter and submission package (which includes query, bio, pitch, comp titles, target audience, synopsis (of varying lengths), and a section at the bottom for ritual sacrifice which may or may not help.  

After a number of rejections I sought some professional help and had my novel edited and the query package reviewed and tweaked.  I think I have the basics down now, and have had more success with more newer works with querying than I did with Wild with All Regrets. 

Did anything about the process surprise you? 

How simultaneously formulaic and soul crushing it was! I think many baby writers probably start thinking that it’s going to be hard to pick an agent from the billions of offers you’re sure to get right form the offset, but my story was largely one of rejection or just being ignored.  

Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that? 

Absolutely! This is a must do for anyone querying agents.  There are hundreds of agents getting hundreds of submissions every day, and it’s important to make yours stand out.  So my process is basically this: go on a website like querymanager or MSWL and filter by your genre.  Then go through all of the who are interested in your genre, and go to their pages.  From there, I try to see if we have similar interests, goals, or passions when it comes to fiction.  It’s worthwhile making sure they are actually open to queries, and also to make sure there isn’t another agent at their agency who might be a better fit for you.  Then, I tailor the query letter to reflect what it was about this person who made me want to submit my work to them.  

Sending out five specific, targeted queries is probably more likely to garner a positive response than sending out twenty random ones.  

What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors? 

Completely variable, some will respond in a day, some don’t respond at all.  Being a cute little autistic like I am, I have a giant spreadsheet where I keep track of submissions and try to include notes like ‘can poke in 8 weeks’ or ‘will only reply if interested.’

What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety? 

Don’t take it personally.  I made a concerted effort to stop having ‘hope’ about any of my submissions, and just assume that they’d all be rejections.  What this meant was that I was never sad and would sometimes have a pleasant surprise.  It’s a lot easier to do this once you realize that most agents will say no, and that it doesn’t reflect on you as a writer.  That being said, the project you’re working on now is probably not the last thing you’ll ever write, or even the best thing you’ll ever write.  Keep honing your craft and try your best.  Not everyone will get an agent, and that’s okay too. Try your best, and write if it makes you happy.  

If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections? 

That was a lot harder, since one tends to get one’s hopes up a little more when you’ve made it past the slush pile stage.  You start questioning if you’re a good writer or if anyone will want to read your work and so on.  I kept reminding myself that I wouldn’t want representation from someone who didn’t believe in the project anyway, and a good fit was worth waiting for.  I think what helped me was realizing that my book was quite niche and weird and it’s not that surprising if a traditional publisher wasn’t that excited about taking a chance on it.  It’s hard.  It’s really hard.  I think my main advice would be to try and keep an emotional distance from the process. 

If you got feedback on a rejection, how did you process it? How do you compare processing an editor’s feedback as compared to a beta reader’s?

I didn't get any feedback from rejections unfortunately, but with any kind of feedback I try and determine whether it's worth making any changes to the narrative.  Feedback you get consistently is probably worth looking at, but other types of feedback may not be as valuable.  Some people have different tastes, and no manuscript is going to be perfect for anyone.  I tried to weigh up the vision I had for the book, how difficult making a change would be, and whether I thought it would improve the narrative, before adjusting anything in the manuscript.  I'd probably give more importance to an editor's feedback than a beta reader's, but if they've already rejected me I don't need to change everything to make them happy.  

When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal? 

It was unbelievable.  Submitting to SheWrites was actually going to be my last attempt at getting Wild with All Regrets published since I was so frustrated with the process.  I got an email basically saying that my book had been greenlit and I was so happy that I danced around my desk for a bit and left early cause I was too excited to do any real work.  I remember driving home, blasting Ukranian folktronica music and just going YES!!!

Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult? 

Nah, I just kept things vague while the details were being hammered out.  I couldn’t really believe it was happening and I didn’t want to jinx it.  I still kind of can’t believe it happened, I’ll let you know if it was a dream I guess.

E.L. Deards grew up in New York City and attended Barnard College at Columbia University for her undergraduate degree.  She studied Japanese literature and biology and won two awards for writing during this time.  She was then accepted to The University of Edinburgh and completed her veterinary degree, and remained in the UK after completing her degree.  All throughout this time she has been honing her craft and writing every single day.  She loves being a vet, but writing gives her more peace and satisfaction than anything in the world.

Liv Constantine on How Two Sisters Write Together Without Killing Each Other

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today’s guest for the SAT is Liv Constantine, author of The Senator's Wife, the story of a D.C. philanthropist who suspects that her seemingly perfect employee is secretly plotting to steal her husband, her reputation—even her life.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

We call ourselves Plantsers. We have a broad outline, we know the main twist, but the rest of it gets written as we go along.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?

Our first draft takes three to four months and then we spend another two or three months going through several rounds of edits. So from start to finish takes anywhere from five to seven months. 

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker?

We concentrate on one fiction project at a time. We like to immerse ourselves in the story world so it’s difficult to have more than one project going. That said, if we are in edit mode in one book, then we have the creative energy to work on something new, especially crafting and scoping out the next story and its characters. 

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?

There was excitement the first time we sat down to write. However, sitting down to write the book that followed The Last Mrs. Parris and its success, was when some fear arose for us. The sense of freedom we felt when writing the first book was not something we felt as we wrote The Last Time I Saw You, our second book. There was always the knowledge that the bar was now set higher, that The Last Time I Saw You would be compared to and judged against The Last Mrs. Parris. It was definitely a much tougher umbrella to work under. 

How many trunked books (if any) did you have before you were agented?

One. 

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time?

Yes, the book we wrote before The Stranger In The Mirror became lack luster for us after the first draft so we decided to shelve it and start a new book. We may at some point go back to that one, but for now, it’s in a drawer.

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them?  

We got our first agent with The Last Mrs. Parris through the traditional query route, although we did have a personal referral to her. We met her at Thrillerfest a few months after sending the manuscript and she offered us representation.

How long did you query before landing your agent?  

We spent three years querying agents before finally landing one. The book that we put away was the book we had been querying and we would get close. Agents would ask for a partial, then a full but it was never quite right. Once we shelved that book, we went to work on The Last Mrs. Parris and that’s how we found representation. 

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell?

Perseverance is key as well as the ability to take criticism. Make sure that your manuscript is pristine and in the best shape possible. If you’re able, hire a freelance editor to help you make sure your manuscript is ready for submission. And the old saying…if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. 

How did it feel the first time you saw your book for sale?

It was amazing! We were at Bouchercon in Toronto, and we went to Indigo Bookstore and there it was – prominently displayed on the shelf – maybe ten across. We got chills!

How much input do you have on cover art?

A lot. We’ve been very fortunate with our publishers in that they want us to be happy with the covers and it’s been a collaborative effort.

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

How many hands touch your book. There’s such a large team that takes a book from manuscript to finished book. The passion and dedication of our publishing teams have been such a blessing and we’re so appreciative of all the hard work that goes into it. 

How much of your own marketing do you?  Do you have a blog / site / Twitter? (I'll insert the links here)?  

We’re active on social media. We love to interact on Facebook and Instagram, and we also have a Facebook reader group where we do lots of fun giveaways and discussions. We also do giveaways on our newsletter that are exclusive to our subscribers. Twitter

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

Definitely before. It’s good to have a website and social media built up well before that first book is on sale. You can build relationships and goodwill by sharing other authors’ news and books, and it gives you a leg up once you have your own book to sell.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Absolutely. Social media is a great way to connect with readers, other authors, bloggers, bookstores, and libraries. 

Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Lynne and Valerie are Wall St. Journal and USA Today international bestselling authors with over one million copies sold worldwide. They are Library Reads Hall of Fame authors.  Their books have been translated into 28 languages, are available in 33 countries, and are in development for both television and film.  Their books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Their debut novel, The Last Mrs. Parris, is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection.

What I’ve Learned Along the Way

By: Polly Holyoke

I’ve been writing and selling books for over twenty-five years, which means I’ve been lucky enough to work in my sweatpants and pjs long before COVID made working remotely so popular. I do have a new middle grade fantasy series out from Viking Children’s Books this month, and Skyriders’ publication has given me an excellent opportunity to pause and take stock. I’ve learned a great deal about the publishing business over the past decades, and these are just some of the things I wish I could have told a younger, greener me decades ago.

Be kind, share and give. People I helped along the way turned around and helped me, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. One debut author I’d met online was attending the same conference I was, but he had no dinner plans. I invited him to join me and my friends, and he has gone on to become spectacularly successful. Now he is wonderful about blurbing my books. A mentee I helped with her romance writing turned around and helped create striking, professional sell sheets for me. I always send handwritten thank you notes to the librarians who host me at their schools, and in turn, they often send me wonderful testimonials I can use on my website or line up more visits for me. 

Join professional writing organizations. There is SO much you can learn from folks farther along in their careers than you are. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel! For years I was writing sensitive, well-written and well-researched historical romances, but they were WAY TOO LONG to sell. Once I joined Romance Writers of America and won a critique from a published author, she set me straight. I trimmed 30,000 words from my manuscript and made my first sale three months later. Also, writing can be a lonely, solitary business, and attending conferences and chapter meetings gives you a chance to meet fellow writers who share your goals and friends who share your passion and ambition.  

Be patient and persistent. Very few writers become successes overnight. Very few writers sell the first project they submit. You’ve probably heard some of these stories. Kathryn Stockett was rejected by 60 agents before the 61st agreed to represent The Help. Madeline L’Engle’s classic story A Wrinkle in Time was rejected by 26 publishers, and Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery-winning Because of Winn Dixie was rejected 473 times. 

You have to be submitting your work to agents and publishers, and submitting frequently, to increase your odds of making a sale. Luck does play a factor. You never know when your work may hit an editor’s computer right after the marketing team asked for more school stories or more fantasies. Whenever I have a project out on submission, I already have the next project polished up and ready to send to my agent. 

Fortune favors the brave. This old Latin proverb is particularly true for professional writers. You can’t sell your work if you don’t take a chance and send it out into the world. I know a dozen fine writers who never actually sold books (and they probably could have) because their projects were never finished or never good enough, in their eyes. Deep down inside, some of these talented people were so afraid of failure, they never took the risk of trying to sell their work. 

Treat writing like a profession. If you take your writing seriously, then your family will as well. You have to protect your writing time and set boundaries. Spouses and kids can be trained (after some effort) to respect the time you set aside to write. If you know you write best in the morning, then find ways to protect those morning hours. Rachel Caine, the author of the wonderful Great Library series and sixty-two other books, used to get up before her day job and her family to write for two hours before going to work. If it’s important, you can find the time. 

Never stop working on your craft. You can always get better and learn from other writers and teachers. Some of the most talented authors I know still go to writing conferences and classes. They read books and blog posts on craft, and they are continually finding new ways to improve their writing. 

Know your goals and why you write. I’ve always written to be published and to make money, and that works for me. I recently joined a small-town writing group where most of the folks don’t wish to be published. But they are having a great time writing their memoirs and their thrillers to share with their friends and family, and that’s a valid reason to be writing as well. 

You need to LOVE writing! Publishing is a brutal business, and I often think it’s sad and ironic that the very sensitivity one needs to be a fine writer also leaves authors open to despair and depression. You may write a wonderful book, and yet it is quite possible that it will sell poorly or be ignored by your industry. Right now, many terrific books in my field of children’s literature are failing because some school districts are requiring (thanks to all those book challenges out there) that a book have at least two positive reviews from the biggies in our industry: Library School Journal, Kirkus, The Horn Book or VOYA. And yet those magazines don’t have as many reviewers as they used to, and some authors are lucky to receive a single review, much less two. 

Finally, be kind to yourself. Don’t compare yourself to peers who first debuted when you did. Some are going to be far more successful than you are. Others are going to be less successful, but writing is not a race, and it is not a zero-sum game. Envying others can only make you unhappy and less productive in the long run. Take pride in every book you finish. Be proud of every excellent sentence you write, and do your best to enjoy the journey. 

Polly Holyoke is the award-winning author of the middle grade sci/fi Neptune Trilogy (Disney/Hyperion) and the new children’s fantasy series, Skyriders, releasing from Viking Children’s Books this month. When she’s not tapping away on her computer, Polly enjoys skiing, hiking, and camping in the mountains.