The Hyperion adult trade publishing list is being sold to Hachette Book Group. Disney, which is the entity selling the Hyperion list, will now publish children’s and YA books as welll as books based on franchises from its Disney/ABC TV operations.
Keep track of these changes so you know which publisher to approach when you’re ready to send out your work.
Poets & Writers published a cool guide to literary and writing sites in different cities here. But the list is far from inclusive. If you know some great sites in your area, why not pitch them a round-up from your hometown?
Agent Amy Rennert was quoted in Poets & Writers as saying:
“I predict that people will continue to write [books]. I do feel that there is a persistent and insatiable desire for long-form prose–that there is something about the experience of disappearing into a long piece of writing that has enormous appeal to enough people in the world to maintain the publishing industry through the foreseeable future.”
Eric Simonoff of William Morris Endeavor, says of publishing:
“What I see is an industry in which we want nothing more than to discover an amazing voice. Who wouldn’t? If you actually have a great book, it matters who sends it out, because you want someone who understand the business, who has the best possible relationships, and who can negotiate the right deal for you as a client. But your book will get discovered regardless. It might just be a question of when.”
Seal Press puts out 30 titles per year. Their books are by women for women. They specify that authors should send a query letter and proposal.
As you look for an agent, you will likely find at some point that an agent will ask for an exclusive look. That means they want to be able to read the manuscript and consider representing you without any other agent reading the manuscript at the same time.
This is standard practice. Agents don’t want to spend time reading and falling in love with a work only to discover they lost you to the competition by a single day.
However, you have your own needs…and you don’t want to wait weeks or months for the agent to respond.
When you are asked for an exclusive, set a timeframe. Tell them yes then ask if two weeks is enough time. It’s very likely they will ask for three weeks. But if you offer three weeks they’ll ask for four. So set your own limit right from the start. Three weeks is plenty of time. And you’ll come off as a professional because you knew to set a time limit from the beginning!
Nowadays, authors know they have to hone their manuscripts as near to perfection as possible to enhance their chances of being picked up by a publisher…or if they’re self-publishing, to enhance their appeal to readers.
Writer’s Resource was founded on the idea that authors should help authors. Part of that is helping with the financial investment. Occasionally the market is surveyed to ensure that costs are at the lower to middle range for comperable levels of experience and services.
This year, the Freelance Editor’s Association found that standard costs across the market are $45-65/hour based on the experience of the editor. A 70,000-word manuscript could take 56 hours for developmental editing. The result is a fee between $2,520 and $18,200. Copy editing, a much lighter form of editing, averaged $25-50/hour for a fee range between $840 and $7,000.
That’s quite an investment.After twenty years in business, this shop maintains price structures that are on the lower and middle ends of the ranges quoted above. The higher level of editing used by the association is also divided into separate services called developmental assistance, consulting, rewriting and line editing.
Breaking things down ensures that each client is able to select only those items they truly feel will help…and the different options help them keep to a budget!
Standard copy editing ranges from $2.50 per page to $3.95 per page. Line editing ranges from $4.00 per page to $7.50 per page. Line editing includes everything offered under copy editing, of course.
Developmental work and rewriting fees are set based on each individual manuscript’s needs; generally, they are higher than the highest level of line editing.
Consulting is performed on an hourly basis.
Whether you’re aiming for a publisher’s attention, self-publishing or tackling both options at once, call or email for your editorial and developmental needs.
BookStats reports that e-book sales in fiction rose 42% in 2012 to a total value of $1.8 billion.
Nonfiction e-book sales grew 22% to $484.2 million.
E-book sales in children’s and YA categories increased a whopping 117% to $469.2 million.
E-books now account for 20% of publishers’ revenues.
Net revenues for publishers are also up slightly. The industry is recovering. If you have a manuscript that’s been lying in a drawer somewhere collecting dust, it’s time to pull it out and start pitching!
The work I offer through Writer’s Resource covers a range of age groups and genres including juvenile works. Juvenile is defined as anything from children’s picture books through young adult (YA).
Authors are often surprized to learn two things…that they should have a submissions packet for their juvenile works, and that agents will represent fiction and nonfiction targeting younger readers.
Fifteen years ago, the landscape was much different. It was much more difficult to locate agents who represented works for young readers outside the academic market. Today, things have changed so much that juvenile works are well respected…and agents want to represent the works whether they’re for the academic market, the mainstream reader, or both.
It used to be that when a client asked me to put together a list of agents for their juvenile works, the research turned up only a handful of agents. Nowadays, it is common for those lists to include dozens of names…often a hundred or more.
If your project has a wide target, consider adding an agent to the team of individuals you work with to help you along your publishing journey.
Just heard back from a client about his project’s status. We’ve been working on revisions and his agent is sending it out to publishers now.
If you’re questioning whether your work is ready to send out, consider a few things first.
Is the opening as compelling as it could be?
Does the story have a rising action with one event leading readers forward to the next?
Are your characters developed just enough–deeply for the protagonist and antagonist, and in a well-rounded manner for secondary characters?
Does the pace rise and fall throughout to provide readers with enough time to process emotional milestones while still driving them forward to the next chapter?
Does the ending fulfill the promises made in the opening pages?
Before you even begin the editing process, be sure your storytelling aspects are honed. You’ll be much further along than if you simply copy edit the words.
Agent Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inklings Literary seeks adult, new adult and young adult fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, historical, contemporary, horror, light sci-fi and thrillers.
Often I am asked how authors can generate more suspense in a novel. The answer is simple…although it seems counterintuitive.
The best way is to slow down. That is, slow the pace of events in the section where suspense is needed. Focus on the details of what the protagonist sees, hears, smells and touches. Describe the setting in ways that enhance the tension or ominous tone. Bring in details one by one, and give each detail room to breathe on the page.
Why does this work? Imagine a film. You don’t get to see the monster right off the bat. The protagonist walks down a dark alley and hears a bottle clanging across the sidewalk but can’t see through the darkness to what threat might wait ahead. Utilize the same darkness by drawing out details leading into the big confrontation, and you’ll enhance suspense in your writing.
Here are a few figures from the success of World Book Night, which was April 23.
130 million people reached through their marketing efforts, up from 35 million for the first year.
607,000 visitors to WBN’s Facebook page during the week of April 22.
Celebrate reading! It is alive and well!
Check out this link to advice from famous writers.
Here’s a link to a visual montage about the power of books.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 