Author Topic: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio  (Read 8672 times)

guitarbabe

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Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« on: January 16, 2006, 07:47:02 PM »
Okay, so I've published an LDS chick lit book called, 'Rules of Engagement.' It's a romantic comedy about the dating scene around here...BUT it was by far WAY easier to publish than it EVER was with my sci-fi. I can't tell you how many times I've been rejected with the sci fi. In fact, when I got the call from the publisher, I thought it was a joke! My friends have been known to prank me, but before I could say, 'Shut up' and hang up the phone, I decided to 'look stupid,' and play along. Luckily, I soon realized that it was the real thing. AMAZING! I can't tell you how many times I have tried to send my sci fi in with no results, yet the first publisher I sent my romantic comedy to, accepts it? It was ridiculous...yet really really nice for once.
So, I've been reading up on all the 'for dummy' books, and 'marketing strategy' books, and I thought, 'hey, since I've published something, maybe now I have a chance to get some of my sci-fi published.' No big fat chance! Is it a connections thing? Is it an agent thing? Is it an amazing query thing? Is it just pure dumb luck? Does anybody know here?
I actually started writing for a magazine to get some resume (but yeah, it's not sci-fi), and to be perfectly honest I wrote the romantic comedy for resume too (even though I really like that genre now and I'm totally going to do some more that direction), but without the know-how, I feel my sci-fi books are doomed to never see the light of day :'(
Anyhoo, maybe I just need some more input, especially from the sci-fi crowd. Some of my friends are completely clueless about that. If you want, check out my website. It's www.stephaniefowers.com AND I have the blurbs there. Maybe I just need to figure out what places to send it to?--I heard (and maybe I read it on this site) that you need to find out what publishing companies take your kind of books and go from there). And yeah, one of my friends helped me out with the website. Totally awesome of him, but he stuck everything in a pink background. Lol, what can I expect paying someone with just Taco Bell?--he probably was just trying to get his revenge on me. Anyhoo, if you can ignore that part, read the blurbs and give me your honest opinion on the books. That would be awesome! I seriously would appreciate it.
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The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2006, 08:54:21 AM »
EUOL will have a lot to say about this, as he has before.

But mostly it's a persistance thing. You have to go to cons and meet the agents and editors. Treat it like a business. Keep writing new manuscripts so you can keep them in circulation to different publishers. Work hard at it.

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2006, 09:04:44 AM »
also realize that putting spaces between your paragraphs makes them easier to read.
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guitarbabe

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2006, 10:55:31 AM »
Ha ha, thanks :D
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Tink

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2006, 03:21:18 PM »
I went to your Web site and in your "About Me" section you say you won an award for your "Only a Princess" story and you say it's sci-fi. Is it really sci-fi or are you including fantasy in that genre? (I personally think they're completely separate, so I was wondering since the title sounds more like fantasy.)

guitarbabe

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2006, 07:01:50 PM »
Hmm, good point. Well, it takes place in the future...but it's written like fantasy. I wonder if that makes sense? All of my books, besides 'The Few,' which is definitely science fiction work that way.

You can click on the 'Only a Princess' blurb on the website if you like, but basically after a geological mishap, a ten on the Richter scale, (the survivors call it the ten plagues), the continents are split apart (another Pangea), leaving a mass of islands in their wake. Whether it was caused by the leftover debris or the volcanic eruptions, no one (conveniently) knows. All that is left are myths and legends, and a struggle for power.

You can imagine how much I had to pick apart the brains of my science major friends and siblings to get these 'possible geological end of the world scenarios.' And the research...it was fun, but a headache. A lot of it can't be confirmed or are just theories of what could possibly happen, so then of course my characters don't know 'the real story' either (they just know that their God saved the survivors; whoever, that God may be, depending on their culture). It's my favorite strategy when even I don't know the answer. I guess it's a little like real life in a way, so many creation theories, no one knows the 'whole' story. I actually think a lot of authors do it, and that's when I say, "Ah hah, they didn't know either."

So, anyway, the islands are the background of the story, but I zone in during the turning point of the war. Our heroes are losing. A dictatorship looks like it will finally take control. The pirates of the American Seas and the Revolutionaries of San Andreas can't stop the invaders...and the only one who stands a chance against it...is supposed to be dead.

I'm actually thinking about tearing the story apart (somewhat) and rebuilding it (I just want to make it shorter)--I really like the concept.

Anyway, I would totally appreciate it if you looked at the blurb on the story and told me what genre I should classify it (I bet that would really help when sending it in to publishers).

As I was writing the blurb, I realized that it might be a little 'Dunish,' except Dune takes place on a completely different planet. What's that classified as? I might classify all my books that way (except 'The Few' of course). Also, the titles are definitely up for change. My little brother tells me all my titles are c*&p ;D. Maybe that's what needs to change?
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Skar

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2006, 08:00:39 PM »
Just from your synopsis in that post I'd have to say it's definitely Sci-Fi.  

There are certain tags that make things Sci-Fi, like: spaceships, taking place in the future (your case), and the pre-eminence of technology as a motivating factor.

I'm leaning towards use of the term "SF" or "Speculative Fiction" as an all encompassing label for things that don't take place in our current world or its past. (or that include magic of any sort or... well, a lot of things)
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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2006, 08:04:48 PM »
We the Fantasy advocates disapprove of your all-encompassing label. We Fantasy people were here first.
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guitarbabe

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2006, 09:06:11 PM »
So what's your definition of sci fi/ fantasy, Archon? Let me hear the other side too.

By the way, that guy slamming his head on his computer until he's a bloody pulp is repulsive. I'm showing all of my friends!
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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2006, 10:09:11 PM »
If it's in the future, but there's magic, I think it straddles both worlds. In children's lit, some people use "science fantasy" as a term for such things, but I don't really like that term. I think Skar's "speculative fiction" would be a more appropriate umbrella term. It also sounds mystical more than magical, but a mysticism in which the belief/power is magic?
« Last Edit: January 17, 2006, 10:12:08 PM by norroway »
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guitarbabe

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2006, 11:18:07 PM »
That is very informative (all of yous). Man, I wish I knew about this place a few months ago. I bet it really would have helped with my query letters. So, if I called it speculative fiction, that would be the better term? Or should I just stick with sci-fi? Votes?

Sooo, to go along with the portfolio for science fiction, what are some of the things you've all done to build up the resume? Magazines? Other genres? Is this something that's important to publishers or does anybody know?

Has anyone here tried to write a screenplay? (maybe that's a completely different topic)

As for that guy who wrote a killer query letter and that publisher is looking at his stuff because of it...I should look up who that was...what would you suggest?
I've tried so many different types of queries, from 'purely informative and to the point' to hyper 'get excited' to movie trailer like.  So far...

Hey, wait...one of my friends told me that our own Mr. Brandon had 27 rejections before his book was accepted. Is that true? She said that she would have crawled into a hole and given up if that had happened to her. Is preseverence the key then...or strategy? Both?

And THEN there's the waiting period. Man, sometimes that's the worst. I have checked out those 'writing market' books, but I think they get outdated fast. I can't tell you how many places I've sent them to and got a letter a few months later to tell me that they've been out of business for awhile.

I wish there was a way to kind of check the waters before you dive in and wait the allotted three to six months before you get another rejection. Like I said, I really like the idea of checking out books that are like yours to see who published them. Is there a way to see who was their agent? That could be very informative.

Anyhoo, just some crazy questions before I dive back to writing. I'm writing 'Meet Your Match' (another LDS chick lit novel), and I'm actually doing the narrative from the eyes of a 'sorta' villain. It's a new experience for me. I just hope it doesn't turn me evil or something. Yeah, scary! :D

I remember what C.S. Lewis said when writing 'Screwtape Letters.' He had to think like a villain and it was a little dark. Not like my story goes to such great lengths, but it's really hard for me to go that deep (ha ha, that could totally be used against me).
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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2006, 09:51:53 AM »
As primarily a fantasist (A term coined by EUOL, I believe), I have no objection to the term Speculative Fiction. It's a good super-category label. There are many elements that fantasy, science fiction, superheroes and even a good deal of horror share, and they tend to have a huge amount of crossover in fans. There's no reason not to associate them if you keep in mind that there are differences.

But maybe that perspective comes from also being a comparatist: there's no such thing, in my mind, and hard and fast boundaries separating genres, especially such similar ones.

The best way to "check the water" I think, is to keep multiple manuscripts in submitable status. That way you can circulate them to different people.

guitarbabe

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2006, 10:45:26 AM »
So do simultaneous submissions? I hear publishers get mad if they catch you doing that without telling them? So, I guess that's an easy one...tell them. That's in the query letter, right?

What's a diplomatic way of saying you're going to do that (even if you're just thinking about keeping manuscripts handy)? Any ideas? I've also read that they won't look at your manuscript as seriously when it's a simultaneous submission? Is there a way to get around that?

Ah la! We need to interview an agent about these kind of things. Too bad I just resigned at the magazine I write for.  That's always a good excuse to get connections 8)
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The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2006, 10:58:55 AM »
no no no, not simultaneous submissions. That's sending the same manuscript to multiple publishers concurrently. I'm saying send a different manuscript to each publisher.

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Re: Agents/ publishers/ portfolio
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2006, 05:35:41 PM »
It does put the odds in your favor if you have 4 or 5 books written and are shopping them around.
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