Reaching for the Stars is Easy when You have a Platform that Touches Them

What I'm Listening To: Miracles Happen-Mya

I'm still recovering from an awful bout of carpal tunnel, but I should be fine within the next few days. I just wanted to update you on my website overhaul. I am so excited about it! I have spent the last few days outlining marketing plans, budgeting proposals, figuring out photo shoots and the book cover design and am absolutely exhausted. Who knew that publishing had this much math/work involved? (And if you only knew how awful at math I was, you would understand my dismay). I guess that's what has happened over time. At least writing the book is the same, but those days of writing the book and sending it off for the tell tale stork to drop onto a publisher's doorstep are over. Now you have to be somebody to get something published. Well, technically you don't really have to be somebody, you could be anybody, but it's a lot easier if you are somebody. Like Oprah. Or Howard Stern. Or Snookie (kidding, I don't even watch Jersey Shore but I guarantee you that Snookie would get a deal before I do because she has a platform.)

What is this elusive platform you say? Apparently it's something that authors have to built on, so it helps if you are somebody. It's kind of a catch 22--most people are trying to become published authors to be somebody, but in reality you already have to be somebody to become a published author. Now isn't that a regrettable instance of reverse psychology? And literally, you could be any somebody, as shown by celebrities like Tyra, Hilary Duff, and Lauren Conrad with Lo Bosworth from The Hills who tried their hand at publishing. And they all got the deals, not because they definitely had the talent (that is TBD...kind of) but because they were considered famous and mostly everyone in the U.S. knew about them (last part might be debatable). 

So here is my stab at trying to be somebody. It kind of takes a ton of hard work and a little money to be somebody, as I am finding out. Somebodies have websites and blogs and have friends. Apparently I don't have enough of the latter, so I'm going to make 50 new friends in every one of the fifty states of the U.S. and hope that they will like me as a friend so much that they will tell their friends. And then their friends will tell their friends. And since friends like to know what other friends are doing, they'll learn about the books. And possibly want to read them. I should add this into my 5-year marketing plan. It could work with a lot of effort. Then I'll go by continent. Basically, Noah Lukeman, a literary agent that you've probably heard me brag about, told me (or rather wrote me in one of his books) to be somebody and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Maybe then, he'll want to be one of my new friends and want to take me on as a client. Maybe so?...ah wishful thinking

Taking Rejection (the query kind)

What I'm Listening To: Telephone-Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce


I sent out a batch of query letters last week, and got my first rejection letter today. No one needs to know who it is or why, but I wanted to talk a little bit about getting those rejection letters, especially form ones. If you are a writer and are seeking representation for your work, first of all I want to say that you are brave, trying to put your creation out there in the world. Secondly, I want to say prepare to be rejected A LOT. Sure there are those exceptions when a writer magically combines what the industry is looking for + her own voice/style and it gets to an agent who that resonates with. When you don't get a form rejection, to me that means that an agent actually cared enough about your work to give you advice or to actually respond with their own words. And of course there is the rejection part where an agent may request a partial or full and then decide that it isn't something that they want to represent. I'm still waiting to get to the level of the second type of rejection letter from an agent.

Above all, you have to remember to stay positive. Don't trash the agent or agency, don't email them an angry letter back--none of that. Just file the rejection letter away, research another agent to add to your list to query, and then get out there again and query them. Right now I have three other query letters out that are still waiting for a reply. So any one of those could possibly be a request for a partial or full. You honestly have to look at the bright side and remember to query widely. Even if that was your dream agent, the one that you thought would be the absolute best fit for your work, you need to get that out of your head because there are plenty of capable agents out there. I suggest that if you have the time and money, to go to a book conference and meet some of them.

Another thing that I would recommend is to make sure that you are adhering to query letter guidelines. It's fascinating to me that most all agents have their own guidelines for query letters listed on their website or blog. So pay attention to that. DO YOUR RESEARCH when querying agents and it will definitely pay off. Always google your agents and definitely check to see if they have a website or blog, and what their preferences are. If the agent doesn't list any preferences, I suggest that you adhere to Noah Lukeman's How to Write a Great Query Letter The man knows what he's talking about, and even better, the book is free. Another thing is to make sure that you know your genre, you state your word count, and that you state what happens succinctly and the choices/consequences that the main character makes.

Just remember, there are so many agents out there and I bet you haven't queried them all. This wasn't my first rejection, and it most certainly won't be my last, but if you truly want representation for your work, you aren't going to let one person dissuade you. Another person could like it. Make sure that your book is finished and your adhering to the guidelines of the agents for the query or a general one like Noah Lukeman and you will be fine.

Two Books Every Aspiring Author (who really wants to get published) should read

What I'm Listening To: My Life Would Suck Without You-Kelly Clarkson

So while I was in NYC, another author from Kentucky who had a stellar query letter told me that she had gotten all of her tips from this book. And it was free. I turned to her in disbelief. I had never heard of this book before and I had been searching he internet high and low for some pointers on a good query letter. She told me that it was by Noah Lukeman and immediately when I got home, I looked it up. Sure enough, there was a FREE downloadable e-book called How to Write a Great Query Letter by Noah Lukeman. He has also written How to Land (and keep) a Literary Agent which I also bought. He also has a couple more books that are pretty good. And why, you ask, are they good?

Noah Lukeman has had over 13 years of experience as an agent. So when he points out some of the key mistakes and what not to do, I definitely am going to follow it. He has represented many bestsellers and prize winners as well. The same is true about Donald Mass, the author of the next book I'm going to talk about. It's called Writing the Breakout Novel. This book has all of the key ingredients of a good book, and I was really happy to see that I already had many of them. However, it doesn't hurt to enhance or go over your book to see that it definitely is top notch. Another thing to note, is that in both book titles, the authors both put INSIDER advice or INSIDER tips. They both are really successful agents, they both know what agents are looking for, and that gives them the credibility over any other to write these types of books because they will help to get aspiring authors published. I know that I'm going not going to regret the money I invested in buying these books and definitely listen to their advice, how about you?