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Thoughts lately...
1) I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in the night to be completely horrified by my reading lamp looming over me.
2) Hair smells funny.
3) I think everyone who complains about long flights or car trips should try traveling in a Conestoga.
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 (Submission Hell, It's True) is Jennifer Brody, the award-winning author of the The 13th Continuum. Her book is a Gold Medal Winner from the Independent Publisher‘s Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. She is a graduate of Harvard University, a creative writing instructor at the Writing Pad, and a volunteer mentor for the Young Storytellers Foundation. She’s also a board member for the non-profit writing competitions the Roswell Award and the Tomorrow Prize. She lives and writes in LA, where she’s hard at work on her next book.
How much did you know about the submission process before you were out on subs yourself?
Only a little. I knew the basics—that my agent would submit my manuscript to editors at publishing houses, hoping that they’d want to offer on my book and give me a publishing contract. I also knew that the best case scenario would be to sell at auction with more than one publisher wanting the MS, but I also knew that was rare and kind of like winning the lottery. My debut which sold—THE 13TH CONTINUUM—was the second book I wrote and the second book to go on submission to publishers.
Did anything about the process surprise you?
Yes—how long it took! My background is working in Hollywood, where I read submissions (scripts, books, comics, etc.) and then passed or optioned them. And I thought Hollywood was slow! Turns out, we’re much faster than the big publishing houses. We’re talking months and months and months dragging on without a response. Now I know that the editors at these houses are inundated with submissions. I also know that they often only read a small bit of the manuscripts they’re submitted (while in Hollywood, we utilize professional readers so everything gets read in its entirety by at least one person). It’s a very slow process and industry at times. Of course, some lucky authors sell their debuts quickly. There can be a lot of variation.
Did you research the editors you knew had your ms? Do you recommend doing that?
Actually, I didn’t research them. I was so green in the industry when my first book when on submission that I didn’t know anything about the editors or many of the publishing houses, plus my agent was very experienced. I trusted her to know who to approach with my book. I also knew my book would be a tough sell given the current market at the time, where nobody wanted YA science fiction.
What was the average amount of time it took to hear back from editors?
Some editors responded quickly in the first few weeks, but others took upwards of six months or longer. Some we never heard back from, which was surprising. My first book didn’t sell after months and months on sub, then my next book THE 13TH CONTINUUM was out on sub for more than a year before we landed a book contract. It goes to show you that you have to keep trying and keep the faith in your book.
What do you think is the best way for an author out on submission to deal with the anxiety?
I always recommend that you start writing a brand new project. That helps take your mind off the MS on submission. It also helps not to feel like that MS is your only shot to ever publish a book. Many MS don’t sell, which was the case for me. My first book landed me a great agent, but didn’t get a publishing offer.
I’m glad I started writing THE 13TH CONTINUUM while that one was on submission because that one went on to sell and become my debut. Also, talking to other writers going through similar experiences helps. That way you don’t feel so alone in the process. I run a large author group called BookPod, and right now there’s a thread called THE WAIT about … waiting for agents and editors to get back to writers about their work.
If you had any rejections, how did you deal with that emotionally? How did this kind of rejection compare to query rejections?
The rejections were the toughest part. My agent would forward me the pass emails … and it hurt to read that editors didn’t love my book. In the beginning, I would take to my bed and just lay there feeling the worst emotions. Now, it still hurts, but I try to remember that it’s better not to publish with someone who doesn’t get what you’re doing or love your writing. That would be like being in a bad relationship. I also try to remember that I’m going to keep writing no matter what and find a way to get my books out into the world.
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?
A lot of the feedback wasn’t helpful for THE 13TH CONTINUUM because it had more to do with the market, which was saturated with YA science fiction after HUNGER GAMES, etc. That’s just bad luck and timing. With books you can’t write to market, since they take so long to draft and go on submission. Now SF is hot again, even though I’m still writing the same things. Also, sometimes the rejection was all over the place. One editor loved my protagonist, but had other issues. Another editor didn’t connect with my protagonist. So that’s not very helpful in the end. I listen to my agent and trusted beta readers more than editor responses. Most of them don’t even read the whole book anyway, so the feedback isn’t that helpful.
When you got your YES! how did that feel? How did you find out – email, telephone, smoke signal?
The YES was amazing and felt so unreal. It had been such a long and demoralizing process in many ways, but I’m glad I kept the faith and kept trying different avenues. Turner Publishing has been amazing to work with on many levels. They’ve been champions for my books and committed to publishing the whole trilogy (that was something that had made the books a harder sell for many of the publishing houses). Everything from the cover design, to the editorial, to the marketing was fantastic. I got really lucky. Now my books are publishing in other territories, so it’s fun to work with foreign publishers. I love my Russian publisher.
Did you have to wait a period of time before sharing your big news, because of details being ironed out? Was that difficult?
Actually, the announcement hit Publishers Weekly fairly quickly, so that was nice! My book and publisher also got featured on the cover of the magazine a few months later, so that was fun. Then everything becomes a whirlwind of deadlines, so you have to get back to work. Sharing the news felt validating after so many years of working and struggling in obscurity. Now readers around the world know my characters and books, so I’m really glad I stuck it out through the highs and lows of the submission process.
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.
