"By the way, I have eliminated all paywalls in my newsletters and have opened everything up to all readers. Being a writer is hard enough. It is so important to have good friends who support you throughout the uncertainty." THANK YOU!!!
Thank you for sharing your valuable time with readers on Substack.
I have a question for you. As an experienced writer but a newbie at offering my work to the public, I found that self-publishing through a specialized company is an extremely costly venture. I don’t know if what I paid is the going rate or not. How can I find a list of REPUTABLE self-publishing companies so I can contact them and compare costs?
I would make your own list of companies that seem interesting however you can find them (friends, Google, reputable writing sites). Then make sure no one is on the Writers Beware website or has other red flags. You can also ask for opinions on forums like Absolute Write. Do as much research as you can, just like you would when looking for a dentist or buying a car. And if it seems too good to be true it probably is!!
Thank you for the advice, Kristen. I will also check out the two sites you mentioned. I didn’t know about Writers Beware, but it sounds like something an author would find useful.
Thank you, Kristen, from another debut writer here! Any advice on how often should an agent communicate with the author they represent? Every 3 months, 6?
Great post and discussion! One of the most important things I learned as a new writer was to not take feedback personally. It’s about the piece you’ve presented for critique. The one you’ve chosen to present to fresh eyes. And, you are in control as to what you implement and/or discard. The whole point is to strengthen your work, and you’ll begin to notice a pattern as to which readers are most valuable to achieve that goal. (i.e. some, you’ll find, want you to write the book exactly as they would write it, and that is not the point of critique.) Yes, it’s a long and surprising and humbling journey, but well worth the time, I think.
All so true! And this all is especially important! “you are in control as to what you implement and/or discard. The whole point is to strengthen your work, and you’ll begin to notice a pattern as to which readers are most valuable to achieve that goal.”
Hi Kristen! I hope you're well! I'm currently in the process of writing up my query letter and I find myself second guessing my hook line & one paragraph synopsis. I'm worried that perhaps they sound too mainstream? I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated!
"As Margaux, adrift and reeling from a recent breakup, arrives in Greece to stay with her best friend Celine and her stepbrother Alex, their conflicting desires ignite a powerful chain reaction of self-discovery that alters the trajectory of their young lives forever."
I wouldn’t say they sound mainstream. I would say they don’t sound specific enough. You need to tell us exactly what happens in the book from point a to point z with an abbreviated synopsis, almost like the back cover copy of a mass market paperback. What you have right now could maybe be the last line if you’re very detailed before that. If you want to send me the whole thing - look at my website for contact info - I can critique it for free (you’d be anonymous) inside a future newsletter).
Any advice for those of us who are pursuing small publishers? Specifically, how to evaluate them in terms of their professionalism and ability to get our books out into the world. I realize marketing is up to the author, my question is more around distribution channels.
Thanks for anything of the above questions you can answer.
Ask questions and look at the books they’ve already published. Talk to their current authors if you can. Research research research, same as evaluating the small publishers as I answered above!
I think you're right, Kristen. The best advice to a new writer is this: write. Write every day. Write often. Your voice and style will develop over time.
I think it was in Angela Duckworth's book, GRIT, where I learned that it takes something like 10,000 hours of practicing a specific skill before one becomes an "expert" or "talented" at it. It really does take time.
Something I am also learning is the concept of a writing persona. This is based on the book about the craft of writing, THE SITUATION AND THE STORY by Vivian Gornick, in which she shares that the way in which a writer is able to tell a story ABOUT a situation is their persona. It's not about whining or grumbling or self-aggrandizement or indulgence or sentimentality. These qualities, I believe, deepen and sharpen with maturity and life experience. I know I have grown significantly as a person, and I believe that has generalized into what I write, and how.
"By the way, I have eliminated all paywalls in my newsletters and have opened everything up to all readers. Being a writer is hard enough. It is so important to have good friends who support you throughout the uncertainty." THANK YOU!!!
You’re welcome!
Thank you for sharing your valuable time with readers on Substack.
I have a question for you. As an experienced writer but a newbie at offering my work to the public, I found that self-publishing through a specialized company is an extremely costly venture. I don’t know if what I paid is the going rate or not. How can I find a list of REPUTABLE self-publishing companies so I can contact them and compare costs?
voronforestauthor.com
I would make your own list of companies that seem interesting however you can find them (friends, Google, reputable writing sites). Then make sure no one is on the Writers Beware website or has other red flags. You can also ask for opinions on forums like Absolute Write. Do as much research as you can, just like you would when looking for a dentist or buying a car. And if it seems too good to be true it probably is!!
Thank you for the advice, Kristen. I will also check out the two sites you mentioned. I didn’t know about Writers Beware, but it sounds like something an author would find useful.
It is a wonderful site. It is a scammer’s worst nightmare and a writer’s best friend.
Thank you, Kristen, from another debut writer here! Any advice on how often should an agent communicate with the author they represent? Every 3 months, 6?
Great post and discussion! One of the most important things I learned as a new writer was to not take feedback personally. It’s about the piece you’ve presented for critique. The one you’ve chosen to present to fresh eyes. And, you are in control as to what you implement and/or discard. The whole point is to strengthen your work, and you’ll begin to notice a pattern as to which readers are most valuable to achieve that goal. (i.e. some, you’ll find, want you to write the book exactly as they would write it, and that is not the point of critique.) Yes, it’s a long and surprising and humbling journey, but well worth the time, I think.
All so true! And this all is especially important! “you are in control as to what you implement and/or discard. The whole point is to strengthen your work, and you’ll begin to notice a pattern as to which readers are most valuable to achieve that goal.”
Hi Kristen! I hope you're well! I'm currently in the process of writing up my query letter and I find myself second guessing my hook line & one paragraph synopsis. I'm worried that perhaps they sound too mainstream? I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated!
"As Margaux, adrift and reeling from a recent breakup, arrives in Greece to stay with her best friend Celine and her stepbrother Alex, their conflicting desires ignite a powerful chain reaction of self-discovery that alters the trajectory of their young lives forever."
I wouldn’t say they sound mainstream. I would say they don’t sound specific enough. You need to tell us exactly what happens in the book from point a to point z with an abbreviated synopsis, almost like the back cover copy of a mass market paperback. What you have right now could maybe be the last line if you’re very detailed before that. If you want to send me the whole thing - look at my website for contact info - I can critique it for free (you’d be anonymous) inside a future newsletter).
just sent it! thanks!
okay amazing thank you! I’ll definitely be emailing you
Any advice for those of us who are pursuing small publishers? Specifically, how to evaluate them in terms of their professionalism and ability to get our books out into the world. I realize marketing is up to the author, my question is more around distribution channels.
Thanks for anything of the above questions you can answer.
Ask questions and look at the books they’ve already published. Talk to their current authors if you can. Research research research, same as evaluating the small publishers as I answered above!
I think you're right, Kristen. The best advice to a new writer is this: write. Write every day. Write often. Your voice and style will develop over time.
I think it was in Angela Duckworth's book, GRIT, where I learned that it takes something like 10,000 hours of practicing a specific skill before one becomes an "expert" or "talented" at it. It really does take time.
Something I am also learning is the concept of a writing persona. This is based on the book about the craft of writing, THE SITUATION AND THE STORY by Vivian Gornick, in which she shares that the way in which a writer is able to tell a story ABOUT a situation is their persona. It's not about whining or grumbling or self-aggrandizement or indulgence or sentimentality. These qualities, I believe, deepen and sharpen with maturity and life experience. I know I have grown significantly as a person, and I believe that has generalized into what I write, and how.