Hannah R. Goodman On Indie Publishing Without An Agent

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 (Successful Author Talk) is Hannah R. Goodman, author of Till it Stops Beating released July 8, from Black Rose Writing.

Are you a Planner or Pantser?

I have trouble answering this. I’ve been a writer for decades and have written everything from feature articles in magazines to young adult novels and every type of writing in between. So, depending on the type of writing, I would say I go both ways….Planner for more structured pieces, like articles and Panster for more creative pieces, like personal essays, short stories, and novels.

The method for Pants-ing I’ve been using for the last 6 or so years is NaNoWriMo. I use it as a way to bang out a first draft of a novel that’s been rattling around my brain. I work manically for 30 days, and then I leave it, sometimes, for a year. Then, I become a Planner when I revise, and for that, I use things like Darcy Pattison’s Novel Metamorphosis to help me hone the structure and organization.

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

This is another not so simple answer...It can only take a month to write an entire novel, but that version of that novel is usually crap. Revision has taken, at the most, a decade for one novel, and for another, 3 months. My book that is about to come out in the summer was actually two novels I wrote quickly but 8 years apart. When I decided to put them into one novel, it only took me a few months. Revising that novel took about a year, but then it went on submission via my agent at the time for a few years and was revised during that period.

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

I like to have a few pots boiling. Recently, after two decades of writing non-stop, I’ve taken a slow, steady, and more focused approach. I think it’s just a product of age and time, though!

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

No. I was so young when I wrote my first complete short story that I didn’t have the wear and tear of rejection and criticism to create any fears. When I was in school getting my MFA, I found that I had a lot of fears when I sat down to write but it was a good fear, a kind of fear that I knew would disappear if I wrote my way through it. It was one of my most prolific times.

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

Another complicated answer...so I have had two agents over the course of my writing life and they sought me out due to some publicity I had from self-publishing projects. I stayed with them each for 4 and 5 years respectively... unfortunately, they were unable to sell my books. Only when I didn’t have an agent did I finally get a contract.

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

Remember that you are vetting them as much as they are vetting you. don’t be desperate. In this day and age, you can do this without an agent.

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

Again, this is a complicated response...my first published book was in 2004 and it was self-published. At my first book signing, I sold 100 copies of my book! When I saw people coming into the bookstore and looking to not only buy my book but have me autograph it...SURREAL!

How much input do you have on cover art?

Quite a bit! I selected the image and my BFF, who is a photographer, helped me edit it. We submitted it to my publisher and...there it is!

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

Indie publishing is my jam! Not that I know first-hand about working with one of the big five, but from what I have heard from friends, you get little say in a lot of the edits and in the cover art. Writing, for me, is purely about creativity and art—not making money, so I prefer to be very involved and collaborate with my publisher.

How much of your own marketing do you? 

I do, all of it! I'm on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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

Start now and today! The earlier the better because there is a learning curve involved in building your platform, so get started now and don’t be afraid to try different things and at the same time, don’t spread yourself too thin, across too many social media platforms.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Social media is the key to connecting to readers, and it helps you go beyond just the people in your neighborhood.

5 Tips for Querying Writers From Ingrid Palmer

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 Ingrid Palmer, author of All Out of Pretty. She has always had a touch of the pioneer spirit, having once crewed a sailboat through the Georgian Bay, drove sled dogs in Quebec, and went river rafting in Germany.  She has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Denver Publishing Institute.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I am definitely a Pantser, though I dream of someday mastering the art of outlining a book before I write it. I think it would save a lot of time in revisions.

The way it usually works for me is, I become fascinated by a character or group of characters, have a vague idea of some plot points, and then we all go on an adventure together. When I sit down to write each day, I'm never sure where we're going to end up!

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

Three years for the first manuscript I wrote, nine months for the second (this was my debut--All Out of Pretty), and about a year and a half for the third. That's how long it took me to finish the first complete draft of each one. After that, I put in many months to years revising.

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

It depends. All Out of Pretty is an intense, gritty book, and there were times when I needed a break from all the heavy emotions. On those days, I'd work on a different manuscript, so I ended up writing a good portion of my third book while I drafted All Out of Pretty. In general, though, I try not to stray from my main WIP too much.

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

I had a career as a journalist and I've been writing stories since childhood, so I didn't have a fear of the writing process, per se. But when it came time to let others read my words, the fear factor went through the roof!

Joining my first critique group was terrifying--until I realized I'd found some of my favorite people in the world. I think putting your work out for public consumption/review can be scary, and I don't know if that vulnerable feeling ever fully goes away.

How many trunked books did you have before you were agented?

I had one trunked book that I put aside before writing All Out of Pretty and finding my agent. But it's only temporarily trunked...it needs work, but I plan to revisit it. I have a deep kinship with those characters and haven't let them go for good.

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

I had to stop revising the first book, the one that's temporarily trunked, because I'd been working on it for too long to be able to see how to successfully reshape it. I knew it was time to move on after I'd queried, gotten some requests and feedback, and still felt kind of stuck. I learned a lot writing that book, though, and all those lessons carried over into subsequent projects.

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

My agent is Shannon Hassan at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and she's amazing! I found her the old-fashioned way--through the query process. She requested 50 pages, then the full and a description of other projects I was working on, and a few months later she sent an email with the three words that changed my life: "I love it!"

How long did you query before landing your agent?

I did two rounds of queries with All Out of Pretty. The first time around I had about a 30 percent request rate (which was great!) but I wasn't getting offers of representation. After I'd gotten feedback from enough agents to see a pattern, I stopped querying and spent two years revising. When I queried the second time around, I got the request/offer from my agent after a few months.

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

1. Never give up.

2. If you're getting requests but no offers, ask for feedback on what isn't working. I had some great email conversations with agents willing to share their thoughts/advice. I even had one agent (who loved the book but had another that was too similar) contact other agents on my behalf!

3. If you're not getting requests, take another look at your query, synopsis, pitch, and first pages. Have people with fresh eyes read it. Attend a writer's conference and pitch it in person.

4. Don't just send queries and wait. Start a new project. Immediately.

5. Did I mention not giving up?

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

Seeing the book up for preorder felt wonderful but surreal. Seeing the book on the shelf of an actual bookstore was one of the highlights of my life! But the first time I saw my ISBN number, I cried with joy. That was a surprisingly emotional moment.

How much input do you have on cover art?

My publisher and designer came up with the concept, designed it, and then sent it over for feedback. My agent and I proposed trying out a few small changes, and they did. Happily, we all agreed on the final version!

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

This wasn't something I ever thought about before getting published, but one of my favorite parts of the process was working on the Discussion/Curriculum Guide. It was so satisfying to collaborate with my publisher and create questions that analyzed the book's themes as well as my characters and their choices. Amazing!

How much of your own marketing do you do? 

My publicist arranges most events and signings, and she created a marketing plan for the pre-launch initiatives. I handle my own social media sites.

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

I think it's a personal choice. Before I was agented, I started a blog with my critique partners - We Heart YA - that I posted to a handful of times a year and had a Twitter account that I barely used. After I signed the book deal, I became more active on Twitter, created an author Facebook page, added Instagram, and hired the talented Stephanie Mooney to design my author website. It's a challenge to balance the marketing/promoting side of things with the actual writing, but I think it's important to make writing the priority.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

I'm not sure if social media directly affects readership numbers or not (I hope it does!) but either way, it's a supportive community and a great way to build relationships with other writers, readers and book-loving people. That in itself is worth the time and energy.

3 Tips For Surviving The Query Process From J. Anderson Coats

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 (Successful Author Talk) is J. Anderson Coats, author of The Wicked and the Just, one of Kirkus’s Best Teen Books of 2012. It also won the 2013 Washington State Book Award for Young Adults.

Her newest book is R Is for Rebel  (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018), a middle-grade novel about coercion and resistance in a reform school in a fictional occupied country.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Once upon a time I was a dedicated pantser, but now that my deadlines are less flexible, I’ve evolved into a hybrid of the two. Before I start drafting a project, I create a narrative outline in which I write down what will happen from start to finish, with as much detail as I currently know. “Outline” is a strong word, as there is no scene-level or even chapter-level details, but creating this document involves pantsing because I’m deciding (albeit in broad strokes) what is going to happen.

Having this document is helpful because the big choices have already been made into the backbone of the narrative arc, and there’s a lot of creative room to make small choices to get from big choice to big choice.

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

It took me six years to write The Wicked and the Just, my first published book. For my second, The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming, I got six months. There’s a book I’ve been working on since 2003 that I’d still like to see out in the world. There is no typically. The story takes as long as it takes.

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

I like working on one project at a time, but there have been times when I wrote new words in the morning and revised a different project in the afternoon.

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

I wrote my first book when I was thirteen. It was one hundred pages, single-spaced, hammered out on my family’s first clunky desktop PC. I had precisely zero fears because I was thirteen. Today I have firmly embraced the mantra don’t worry; you can fix that in the next revision.

How many trunked books did you have before you were agented?

I wrote and trunked eleven books before I wrote and sold The Wicked and the Just. Never give up!

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

A few. There’s one in particular that I had to give up on because I hadn’t done enough research and a key plot point was completely historically inaccurate. I was seventeen or so. I really loved the character and I tried every which way to write around the inaccuracy.

Ultimately, though, I had to let it go. I was torturing the story into something it wasn’t, and couldn’t be, so I reluctantly said goodbye and focused on something new.

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

My agent is Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literacy Agency, who I love to tiny little bits. I have to say I earned my “yes.” The EMLA agents are only open to queries if you meet them at a conference or via referrals, so when Joan said she’d read queries sent by readers of the blog Miss Snark’s First Victim till the end of that month, I leaped at the chance.

In February 2010, Joan loved my query and asked to read the whole manuscript of a historical I was this close to trunking. She liked it, but asked whether I could make some changes. I made the changes and sent back the manuscript. She liked those changes, but asked if I didn’t mind making a few more. I made those changes, too, figuring when she said no, I’d finally have closure on this project and be able to focus on something else.

In November 2010, I was at my day job when an email from Joan popped into my inbox. Ah yes, I thought, this is when I get the inevitable thanks but no thanks email. Only it wasn’t. It was the I want to sign you email. The ink wasn’t quite dry on my agency contract before I had an offer from an editor.

For the book I was about to trunk, that was published as The Wicked and the Just. I went from having no agent to having a book contract in less than ten days. #unreal

How long did you query before landing your agent?

I queried over two hundred agents for The Wicked and the Just. Before that, I queried four different books over ten years. I have shoeboxes of no-thanks letters. Folders full of them in my email. If I counted them all up, I probably have close to a thousand of these letters.

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

Retire the term “rejection letter.” People are not rejecting your work. They are indifferent to it. So if you reframe rejection letters as “indifference mail,” it’s a bit of a psychological cushion.

Always have a handful of queries out at any given time. When one comes back, send another that same day. The only time to pause the querying is if/when you get some feedback you want to implement before you begin again. Unless you’re revising, crank that query mill. It keeps you moving forward and makes it harder to dwell on any one no-thanks.

Be patient. It’s way better to wait for the right agent and have a book out in the world that you’re proud of than to make bad choices because you absolutely cannot wait another minute to be published. This is hard. This is very hard, but you will be glad you did it. While you wait, keep writing.

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

Seeing it on the shelves at the bookstore was pure uncut joy, but if I’m honest, finding it at my public library was downright magical. It’s this tiny brush with immortality that still takes my breath away.

How much input do you have on cover art?

My mileage has definitely varied on this one. For The Wicked and the Just, my editor sent me a more or less finished cover, but I was able to request some tweaks and adjustments. For The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming, my editor let me know what their ideas were and asked what I thought before the cover artist started work. (While I thought their ideas were good, I got the sense that they would have been open to mine.) For R is for Rebel, my editor asked *me* what I thought the cover should look like. I made a few crappy sketches, and the cover artist absolutely blew me away with what she came up with.

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

I was surprised to learn how many people at the publishing house have an active hand in making a book happen. I appreciate every single one of those hard-working folks behind the scenes who I’ve never had a chance to thank personally. Thank you!

How much of your own marketing do you? 

I tweet pictures of cats and talk about books. Sometimes they’re mine. Seriously, I don’t know how effective “marketing” is on social media. I use the platforms I enjoy to meet interesting people and build relationships, but the most effective way I’ve found to promote my work is in person. There’s nothing quite like show-up time, shaking a librarian’s or bookseller’s hand and chatting with them to make a genuine connection. I do as many events as I can because I think relationships are what make people invested in any book. I hope it makes them invested in mine.

If you’re interested in seeing my cat in various boxes, follow me on Twitter. If you like nerdy historical articles, check out my Facebook. If you’re curious what I’m reading, follow me on Instagram. If you want actual updates on my books, check my site. 

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

Honestly, I think it’s best to focus on your craft and produce the best book you can. A great book will find its audience, and the writing is something you can control. Meet people, make connections, and build relationships, because these are things that will help you develop a career. Platform can come later.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Perhaps it helps, but I look at social media as a way to develop relationships. I’ve met some wonderful, fascinating people online who I never would have met otherwise, and because I’ve come to like and admire them, I’m interested in knowing more about their work. Those people have brought me into their readership simply by being themselves.