Timewaster's Guide Archive

Stacer's my editor.  She edits for Mirrorstone Books, a new-ish young reader imprint of Wizard's of the Coast.  

You know, I'm kind of torn on the SASE thing, because both the reasoning for and the reasoning against make sense when looked at in certain lights.  Me, I'll just send 'em 'cause, well, that's what they ask for and I really don't care if I actually get it back or not.  The $0.40 is not exactly gonna put me in the poor house.

The one thing I find iffy is the advice to send a photo.  I always assumed one of the perks of being a writer is that you don't have to be in the public eye.  To think that one of the considerations for being offered a contract is the way I look?  That actually irritates me.  Appearance is a consideration for so many things in life -- can't we geeky writers just hide in our little caves and write good books and not have to worry about being judged by whether or not we have the good fortune to be photogenic?  I don't think I'd actually want to write for a publisher who would try to market based on a writer's appearance and not a writer's work.  But that's just me.  I guess, if you do have movie star looks, whatever works . . .

I agree with Parker, also. We're not auditioning for a TV or movie role.  If I were an editor who got a submission with a photo, I'd roll my eyes and be automatically biased against them.

There are a lot of publishers out there that do take unagented submissions.  You don't necessarily need an agent--I don't have one yet, and I've done just fine so far.  

As an alternative to Stacer's suggestion, I would actually suggest a sort-of reverse way of searching (though both ways work fine).  In the back of Writer's Market they list publishers by what genre they publish.  Since I write YA fantasy/sci-fi, I would go through and highlight every publisher listed that publishes books in that area.  Once I have that narrowed down list, I'd look at each imprint/house one by one and determine if they would be a good fit for me, by reading their guidelines and noting what they say they're looking for.

I'd then Google the publishers I have left, or go to Amazon.com, to see what their most recent books are.  That'll help me narrow the list down to a nice group of publishers who would be perfect for a query for whatever it is I've written.  You can also at times find interviews with editors or notes from conferences where they out and out say specifically what they want ("sports stories for girls!" or whatever).

Some of the publishers on your final list will only take agented subs, sure.  But there'll be plenty who'll take queries, too.  And with a targeted list you're much more likely to hit.

Of course, it's possible you all already knew that, but I'm new  I think this way may give you a wider group of publishers to query, even for a manuscript with a genre you find hard to define, so I hope it helps some....

Spriggan, people totally do that.  Some include chocolate or other gifts.  Money excepted, I imagine most editors toss the gifts and roll their eyes at the sender.  Me, I'd take the $50, assume the manuscripts must be awful if they feel they need to bribe me, and then send back a rejection with a big fat NO on it.  But, then, I'm inherently evil.

The SASE advice I don't agree with at all.  Publishers post guidelines.  If you don't follow those guidelines, you come off as someone who thinks they're above the rules, and who wants to work with someone like that?  

Perhaps the heroine could be used for medicinal purposes?  

I love LOST, but I'm constantly taken aback by the extreme measures some of these people take for seemingly little problems.  Hurley doesn't want everyone to hate him . . . so he plans to blow up all the food.  Eko wants to lay to rest the brother he betrayed . . . so he sets fire to a plane full of fuel and other useful parts.  At some point I hope the series shows a more realistic portrayal of being, y'know, stranded on an island full of mystery and death, rather than focusing solely on the soap opera, as interesting as that may be.