Amanda Aksel on Crossing Over to Trad Publishing

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 Amanda Aksel, author Delia Suits Up. She loves anything that's smart, sexy, and funny. She's the author of Delia Suits Up, The Marin Test Series and The Londonaire Brothers Series. You'll often You'll often find her writing novels about fabulous, independent heroines. Get a FREE short story along with smart, sexy, funny updates from Amanda. Just sign up at www.amandaaksel.com

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I’d like to consider myself a plotter with a pantser rising. Whenever I begin a new book, I always plot it out and attempt a beat sheet. But you can’t plan everything. By the time I get in there, I have new insights that lead me to unplanned places. That’s usually where the magic is.

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

Wow! This one is tricky. I’ve written a novel from start to publish in just three months and work on others that have taken a full year. I can usually get a solid book done in about seven months.

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

Usually only one at a time, though whenever I’m working diligently on one, another one sneaks up. I keep digital folders of ideas for my projects so I’ll often add new thoughts, scenes, and dialogue to other projects while I’m focused on a book.

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

The first time I sat down to write, I had no fear. Now when I sit down to write, I have fear—go figure. It really comes from a desire to write something worthwhile and delight my readers. I have to always remind myself that it’s a process and to be okay with a terrible first draft.

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

So funny story, I’m also an indie author and I’ve published all the other books I’ve written before I got an agent. I can’t imagine writing a book and not having it published. Let’s see how long I can go.

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

My agent is Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media and I could not be more thrilled! We connected after I began a podcast with one of her authors. She became a fan of the show, which led to our introduction, and subsequently the opportunity to send her a book I was looking to sell. She loved it and offered representation. It was a pleasantly surprising turn of events that I’m incredibly grateful for.

How long did you query before landing your agent? 

I sent queries for about a year before I took a break. It was at that time that I got connected with my agent.

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

Yes, I always say that rejection is protection. It means there’s something bigger and better waiting for you. If I’d had representation, I wouldn’t have been free to work with my dream agent when the opportunity presented itself.

Have the courage to believe in your book enough to wait for the agent who believes in it and you just as much. Never give up!

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

Nerve-wracking! I realized, uh-oh people are actually going to read it. But seriously, seeing Delia Suits Up. on the shelf at Barnes and Noble on release day was really special. When I get to hold a physical copy of my book for the first time, I also feel immense pride. It’s so fun to thumb through pages and know that you authored all those words.

How much input do you have on cover art?

I was fortunate enough to have a lot of input on the cover. The whole process was really fun. I was presented with a handful of concepts (all beautiful) and then cover art was drafted from there. After a few tweaks, it was perfect. I’m so in love with it.

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

As an indie author, books will be in the final stages of editing and proofreading just weeks before release. Sometimes a little more and sometimes less. I was surprised to find the timeline in traditional publishing is much, much longer. I turned the book in for copyedit a year before release. Edit review and layout proofs known as pass pages trickle in as things move along. There’s plenty of time in between to work on other projects.

How much of your own marketing do you? 

My publisher has a great marketing and publicity team that really helps get the word out about the book. But it’s always good for authors to continue to engage with their readers and find new ones. Coming from an indie author background, I’m no stranger to marketing. I’m in charge of my website, social channels, and maintain a healthy newsletter list with different drip campaigns depending on where the readers find me. I love to engage with other authors for cross promotional activities, as well as bookstagrammers, and enjoy regularly running promotional and ongoing advertising.

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

If you have a way to build a platform while you’re seeking representation, it will only help you in the long run. It’s never too early to start. I had my website, author pages, newsletter, and blog up well before I published my first book. It’s grown steadily but organically over time. If I could do it again, I would put up a short story or novella as a reader magnet for a newsletter and find ways to get it in front of more readers to grow my list organically. Why a newsletter? You own your list, unlike your followers on social media.

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Yes, it definitely can! I know I’ve discovered new authors from social media. However, not all successful authors engage on social media. I don’t believe there are any hard and fast rules. It really depends on your readership. You have to find what works for you and your author business. Social media is great because it makes authors more accessible to readers. And who doesn’t love connecting with authors? I know I love chatting with readers.

Successful Author Talk with Indie Author Garon Whited

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 Garon Whited, who has written novels and various short stories and shows no signs of stopping. His first book, Nightlord: Sunset, features a human physics teacher who is turned into a vampire against his will and proceeds to go on fantastical adventures.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

Yes!

I have a definite plan on what’s going to happen and where it’s going.  Unlike a Dad driving the kids somewhere specific on a road trip, I’ll detour on the way to Disneyland to visit roadside attractions and have no problem with stopping for ice cream.  Then I explore that narrow little lane that nobody seems to ever go down, find the dilapidated old house, meet the wizened old man who never seems to do any maintenance around the place except for the pristine fountain in the back yard, find the portal to a magical world through the water, and eventually save the kingdom from—

Hang on.  This was a different question.  Uh… I plan the story, yes, but I’ll also follow where the characters want to go on the way.

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

It depends on the novel. The Nightlord novels are big, heavy tomes, usually around a third of a million words or more.  Those take about a year. Dragonhunters is my shortest one, to date, and it took a couple of months.

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

I prefer to work on one project at a time.  I like to focus on the people and events in the story rather than be distracted and confused by other stories.  It does no one any good if I keep thinking Sir Edwin of Barrowdale is a knight on horseback in the high fantasy story when he’s really the elderly guy in a dressing-gown, puttering around his library.

Although, come to think of it, he might very well be hallucinating being the knight in the high fantasy story… hang on.  I need to make notes…

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

Yes. Fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of success… and if you don’t think you can be afraid of success, you haven’t thought about it.

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

I’m still not agented!  I’m an indie author. I wouldn’t mind being traditionally published, but I’m not going to waste my time hunting for an agent and dealing with deadlines when I have stories to write. I did try that route, but I have enough faith in my own writing to turn it loose on the world without an agent.

I think I’m justified. I’m making a living at it.

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

No, I never have. Even if it never turns into its own story, it will still become part of another one. Maybe it means there’s a particular character in story #2 that has a LOT of unnecessary background… but is that a bad thing? 

I don’t have to put all of it into the second story. But I know the character, I know their situation, I know why they do what they do—because they were part of another story the reader will not see. Like an old castle, torn down and buried, acts as a foundation for the new castle, the old story give the new one something to build on.

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

While I did seek an agent for some time, what I learned was: They want to represent someone.  Maybe not you, but they do want to represent someone. They’re in it as a business. Rejections aren’t personal. They are judgments, yes, but the judgment is “Is this person producing stuff I feel is commercially viable?”

You can write the most beautiful story since Gilgamesh, but if they don’t think it’ll sell, they won’t represent you.

On the other hand, bear in mind there’s someone out there who will see your story for what it’s worth and work with you to put it in everyone’s library. Persistence—while you keep on writing—means you’ll eventually find each other.

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

“I did that.  Whatever else I’ve done or haven’t done, I did that.”

How much of your own marketing do you? 

I try not to do marketing. I don’t want to spend my time as a marketer; I want to spend my time as a writer! I do have a website, complete with book listings and free stories, but I don’t think I can call it a blog. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook.

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

I tend to think a platform is something you build from the first instant you decide to write. It starts with a few nails—your friends and family—and you gradually acquire lumber. (The things you write.) The more lumber you have, the more nails you get, the more platform you have, and, lo, you have a very nice deck out back. I think bringing this to the table when finding an agent is a strong positive. 

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

I do. I can’t really evaluate how much it helps; it’s not like I can go back in time and try again, this time without social media. But it does tell people I exist, and therefore tells them I write. If a thousand people see my picture and one of them decides to read a book, that’s someone I never had before—one more nail in the platform we’re all building, making it that much bigger, grander, and stronger, together.

Debut Author G.F. Miller On Pushing Through Rejection

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 G.F. Miller, author of Glimpsed. While the stories she has brewing in her soul vary wildly from one another, there are three things they will always have in common: love, snappy dialogue, and happy endings.

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I’m a hybrid—a plantster. I start with a premise—basically the set up and the inciting incident—then, based on that, start writing chapters. Around the break into Act 2, I have to stop and plot things out before I go on. For me, this works really well because I want to organically get to know my characters, put them in a few situations and see how they respond, and even see who turns up that I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes characters just show up, and I’m like, “Hello, where’d you come from?” and they turn out to be some of my favorites. I usually realize what needs to happen in Acts 2 and 3 from there. So about a third of the way in, I switch over from pantsting to plotting.

Now that I’ve had a book published, I’ve been forced to write a couple of full synopses as I pitch books to/with my agent. Too bad for her, I haven’t changed my plantsting core. As I write the MS, I inevitably have to stop at the break into Act 2 and rewrite the bulk of the synopsis because I was just wrong about what the story was truly “about.” And then I’m like, “Should I tell her? Nah. It’s probably fine.”

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

My first three books each took me about 6 weeks to draft and then the better part of 10 months to revise. Once Glimpsed got picked up by Simon & Schuster, it got revised and polished 5-6 more times over the course of about a year. Now I’m scribbling away at a new manuscript, and it’s taking me forEVER. My attention is split between the new project and promoting Glimpsed, and I have zero groove at the moment.

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

Turns out I work best when I can focus on one thing at a time (see above). 

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

I think we have to overcome some fears every time we sit down to write. Creation is an act of courage. Whatever our particular fears are (I’m not good enough, this is trash, I don’t know what to write, no one will read this, this is too hard/too raw/too real, I’m wasting my time, I should be cleaning my house, I should have gone to dental school…), we put words on the page in defiance of them. For anyone still in the “aspiring” stage of writing, I’m here to tell you: the fears don’t go away when we get an agent or a book deal or a starred review. (Okay fine, I’ve never gotten a starred review. Maybe that really is the moment when all our fears vanish. Here’s hoping!)  

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

Glimpsed was my third completed novel-length manuscript. Every so often, I pull those first two out of the trunk and give them a cuddle. But I think if they are ever to be published, I’ll need a whole new pen name, because they aren’t “charming, sparkly rom-coms perfect for fans of Jenn Bennett.” So, my friends, be on the lookout for a searing interrogation of the American Dream by F. G. Mirell and a heart-pounding thriller by Georgina F. Moonmore.

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

While querying Glimpsed, I distracted myself by writing a second-world fantasy. But once I signed with my agent, I knew I had to put that partial draft away and focus on revising Glimpsed for publication and writing the book that would be the natural “next thing” (similar in genre and style). I’m not sure if I’ll ever go back to it. But it was fun to work on for a while. (If I ever do finish it, you’ll find it published under the pen name “Gwendleforth Mystorian”)

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

I’m represented by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds. While looking for an agent, I tried pitching at an SCBWI conference, having friends refer me to their agents, and submitting to PitchWars. Those turned out to be an exciting variety of ways for me to experience rejection. Ultimately, Kim plucked me out of the slush pile. (Fun fact: Kim rejected my first book. Remember to be kind and professional to everyone, because you never know who you’ll be working with in the future.) So, to sum up: yes, try everything! And, yes, the old-fashioned query really can get you an agent!

How many queries did you send? 

I racked up 123 rejections (but who’s counting, really?) over three years and two manuscripts. More than 100 of those were for the first book that I ended up shelving. So once I had Glimpsed, the query process was actually pretty short.

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

I could feed you some honey-coated crap about it making you stronger or that you’ll grow from it. But here’s the truth: querying is the actual worst. There isn’t one good thing about it. All you can do is maintain perspective (consider chanting, “I can’t actually die from this”) and keep the following things on hand at all times:

-       A shoulder to cry on that is connected to the body and head of someone who really loves you and also has the gift of encouragement.

-       Comfort foods, including but not limited to buckets of ice cream, dark chocolate, fresh muffins baked by sympathetic friends, and anything covered in cheese. (If you are lactose intolerant, I can’t even help you on this step. I’m so sorry.)

-       Booze of your choice. But not so much that you can’t properly access your creative genius, because you’re going to need to keep writing.

Seriously. Write the next thing. It distracts you from refreshing your email every twenty seconds and also gives you something else to query when/if all these jerkwads fail to see the brilliance of your current tome. (Also, do not refer to the collective of publishing gatekeepers as jerkwads. They are human beings with feelings and do not appreciate it. One of them may end up offering you representation someday if you don’t act like a jerkwad—see above.)

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

It felt like: “Wow, my husband is crying in public at this Barnes & Noble. And my tween is so embarrassed that she is hiding behind the book stacks like a shoplifter. What must this poor salesperson be thinking? Gah! She wants to take my photo for their Instagram?! Oh, when will I be famous enough to travel with a hair and make-up team? Maybe I can sneak out through the lifestyle magazines and lay low at Claire’s for a while.”

How much input do you have on cover art?

Approaching zero percent. I pretty much saw the final cover and asked for three small changes, one of which they made. But hey, I specifically put myself through query hell in order to get traditionally published so that professionals would do things like put a cover on my book. So I can’t complain too much that the professionals did, in fact, agree that I should stay in my lane. My book has cover art, and that is rad!

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

How quickly things get dated! My book is contemporary YA, and in the time it took to go from draft to final pass pages, technology and vernacular were both in need of an update! For instance, in the original draft, Charity and her sister talk over Skype. In final revisions, I was like, “Who even uses Skype now?” Also, Star Trek fandom is a huge part of the book, but there is no mention of “Picard” because the show came out when we were in our final stages of revision, and I was just like, “Should I? No. We’re done here.”

How much of your own marketing do you do? 

I do almost all of my own marketing. This was another surprise to me. I kind of hoped I could be a diva author, and a team of publicists a la Mad Men would market the living daylights out of my book while I sipped sangria on the pool deck and wrote works of incredible significance. But, no, it turns out I’m the marketing department. The good news is, it’s actually fun to connect with readers and book bloggers and librarians—they’re totally my kind of people! So please come connect with me on Instagram @author.gfmiller, on my website gfmiller.com, on GoodReads, and on BookBub! Let’s be reading buddies! 

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

As a fiction author, neither my agent nor acquiring editor seemed to give a hoot about my platform (I mean the fact that there wasn’t one). And, honestly, I thought about making an author website, but couldn’t think of anything to put on it without a book pending. So I did all my platform-building (what there is of it) after my book deal. On the other hand, I know authors (cough: Mindy McGinnis) who are much more savvy and committed to the process, who’ve built terrific followings through blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and social media. If you’ve got an idea for high-value content and the time, go for it! It can’t hurt!

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

Hmmmm….too soon to tell, I guess. I haven’t really figured out where all the cool librarians are hanging out on social media. For YA discoverability, I think kids need to be able to find my book face out at the library and/or spotlighted on the scrolly banner on the library website. Between the ages of 12 to 18, I pretty much never had $20 on hand to drop on ONE book. I mean, that’s like five soft serve cones at the Twist & Shake on route 59. Who can afford that kind of opportunity cost? Therefore, I got almost all my reading material from endlessly browsing the shelves at libraries. The point is, if you are a librarian, you are a tenth-level wizard, and I would like to be “mutuals” on Instagram.