Tag Archives: publishing

Open Door… got Qs?

  By Shiloh Walker | 1 September, 2010 - 9:00 am |
4 Comments
Kindle

Image via Photobucket | dbthielman


I’m probably going insane today, since I leave tomorrow for DragonCon.  Driving down, not flying.  So instead of thinking up something clever and witty to blog about… why don’t all do it for me?  :)   Any questions for me?

Can be book related, writing related…doesn’t matter.  Although, if it’s something that could get long, I reserve the right to answer the question in separate blog post…

By the way, I’m doing another twitter contest… if you’re twitter and you’re not following me, you might want to… if I hit 2500 followers by the time Veil of Shadows releases, I’ll be doing some sort of giveaway for a Nook (the BN ebook reader).  Details here~ And, one more thing…want to read a letter from Syn, the heroine from Veil of Shadows?  She’s talking about Xan, and how much trouble he was for both of us…

Share

My mini-crash course on epubs/dig pubs

  By Shiloh Walker | 23 August, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
2 Comments
Kindle

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Okay, so I’ve had a lot of people commenting/emailing/DMing me about an article I had in the RWR-the magazine for RWA’ members. Basically, it was a look at the pros and cons of digital/epublishing.  Because it does have it’s pros and cons.

Now I’m getting some questions about what to look for in an epublisher/digital publisher, what makes a good contract, etc, etc, etc.

I don’t think I’m any sort of expert and please don’t take this as any sort of expert advice.

But if I was shopping for a new epublisher-and I’m not, so any epublishers who might be reading this, please do not take this as an invite to leave your info.  It’s not one…and pretty please, please take note that I reserve the right to redecorate/re-edit posts that come off as overly-spammy versus actually contributing to a conversation.  If you want to contribute, by all means, but that means…um…discuss, not just spam my blog. (Yes, this happens, it irritates me.  A Lot.)

If I was shopping for a new digital publishing…the first things I would do:

  • Investigate the potential epub/dig pub on Absolute Write-if the horror stories don’t make me run screaming, then I proceed
  • Do a google search for the ‘pub name’ + complaints-same as above-if there are more complaints than NON-complaints…eh, I proceed with caution
  • Check out the website.  If it’s professional, I proceed. If not, I stop.
  • Look at the covers.  If they are professionally-done covers, I proceed.  If not, I stop.
  • Read the excerpts. If they are well-edited, interesting, I proceed. If not, I stop.
  • I buy a book.  If it’s a hassle, I may well finish buying the book, but then I stop-this is crucial guys, because if it’s a hassle for YOU to buy the book, it’s a hassle for your readers.
  • I look at where the title can be bought…their site only? Nook? Amazon?  If just their site?  I’m gone.
  • I do more moseying around on the web because I want a feel for the publisher/web presence, although I do this all the time anyway and generally, I have a feel for a lot of them anyway.  This is a big thing for me, because some epubs have people in charge–not writers–but people speaking for them who tend to make asses of themselves.  That’s not who I want in charge of my books.

If all of this worked for me, then I’ll submit a book.  If it’s accepted and a contract is offered, that doesn’t automatically mean I’m signing.  Certain things will make me pause, and certain things will make me stop cold turkey.

Now one thing that doesn’t make me stop, at all, worldwide English rights–YOU WANT THIS.  In my opinion, at least, this is a good thing, because one thing my digital publishers helped me do was build a world-wide fan base and those readers were waiting for my traditionally published books the day they hit the shelves.  Without those digital books, they wouldn’t have even known about me.

Pauses

  • Lifetime rights…I’m hesitant to do this with digital.  I just am.  Depending on the work, and what it would-# of sales, how I could get the rights back before, I may still sign
  • Right involving translations-depending on who, what opportunities I see coming from this, I might still sign.
  • Definition of out of print…needed to get my rights back, generally.
  • royalties not paid monthly or at least bi-monthly-this is one of the biggest pluses of digital publishing, and I’d be less inclined to sign with somebody who doesn’t offer that plus, because it also makes it a little bit harder to build that regular income that is such a positive for digital publishing.

Stops

  • Non-negotiable. If I’m told something isn’t negotiable.  Sorry.  Don’t want to hear this–even when I first signed with Berkley and all I had were digital titles to my name, they were willing to negotiate on some things.  Both of the digital presses I write with now have negotiated with me on my contracts, and I’m not  interested in signing with a digital publishing who won’t negotiate, especially since I know there are other digi-fish in the sea, so to speak.
  • Low royalties. My royalty rates range between 37-40% for direct sales and just a bit lower than that for 3rd party (amazon, nook, etc).  I won’t sign for under 35% percent royalties for direct and if I’m told I’d get less than 25% sales from digital publisher for 3rd party sales…well, that’s a big fat stop.  I mean, BIG. FAT. STOP.  My personal definition of low royalties for an epub/digital first pub? 30% and under for direct sales, and anything under 25% for 3rd party sales.  (One minor caveat?  If it was a shorter work that didn’t take me much time-and by short, I meant short story/novella stuff and I’d also be weighing in promo/exposure possibilities-but I wouldn’t be looking to build a career with a company that offers low royalties, not when there are better fish in the digital sea, and not when the sales from 3rd party vendors are becoming such a huge portion of sales, often 20-30 percent of my monthly income)
  • How do I get paid-net v. gross.  They can nickle and dime you down to nothing-I will not let this happen.  I also am not likely to sign if they have a reserve against return on ebooks, as generally ebooks don’t get returned.
  • Failure to have print plan in place. Especially if they are asking for print rights.  If they want the print rights to my books, then they have better be able to lay out their print plan to me.  If they can’t or aren’t willing, then they don’t need the print rights to my books.
  • First Right of Refusal.  This is a major stop for me-one of the reasons epubs/digital pubs work for me so well is because of the versatility.  If I lose that versatility, then things get bad.  So if I’m not doing first rights.

For a more comprehensive list of things I’d look for on digital pubs, you can check this post out.

My advice to those looking to digital publishing–talk other digital authors and hang out at the forums on absolute write, that sort of thing. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and remember, it’s your book.

Don’t be so excited to get it published that you end up signing a contract that doesn’t get you the best deal you can get.

I don’t believe publisher contracts are out to screw authors over, but those contracts are designed with the publisher in mind, not the author. If you know how to negotiate, or get an agent who knows the ropes, you can work out a contract that benefits both of you.

If you don’t have an agent, make sure you get a contract attorney to review it before you sign.

Share

Thursday Tips…BAD Reviews

  By Shiloh Walker | 5 August, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
17 Comments
Kindle

Thursday Tips are geared toward the newly published/contracted writer

BAD Reviews

Here’s the deal.

You will get them.  They are a fact of life.  It is impossible to please everybody and if you expect to never get a bad review, in effect, what you are expecting is to please everybody.

Now I realize this is probably a little easier for me to say than some—I’m one of those people who have gone through life fully aware of the fact that I can rub a lot of people the wrong way and while I’m sorry about that, I’ve never changed how I am to suit anybody else and I have no intention of changing that now…and that includes all aspects of my writing.

Bad reviews can suck and there’s no denying that.  I do have that knee jerk reaction and yes, it can sting. But I’m not going to let it pull me down and letting it piss you off, pull you down, pull you off your rhythm is the worst thing you can do.

Perhaps it will help to look at it like this: a review, in the end, reflects one person’s opinion.  Unless every single review out there says the same thing (ie: this person’s book sucks rotten eggs), why worry about it?  Do they really affect sales?  In my opinion?  No.

Negative reviews have actually led me to purchase books.  Especially when I find a reviewer who just happens to have taste in books that run opposite to mine.  A negative review, after all, doesn’t have to mean that your book sucks—what it can mean is that it just didn’t work for that reviewer.  What didn’t work for that reviewer could be exactly what will work for me, and hundreds, thousands of other readers.

So don’t get worked up if you don’t get a positive review.

And for the love of all books…

Don’t attack or question the reviewer!

This isn’t just pointless, it’s downright foolish.  When you do this, basically, what you are doing is telling that reviewer that they don’t have a right to an opinion.  They didn’t like your book…and guess what…they are allowed to not your book.  Have you loved every last book you’ve ever read?  If not…then you can’t expect everybody to love your book.  Just let it go—move on.  Your life as a professional writer will be a lot easier for it, and you won’t end up trotted out as one of the authors behaving badly on some blog, nor will you run the risk of alienating a slew of readers.

Share

Thursday Tips…Reviews

  By Shiloh Walker | 29 July, 2010 - 8:00 am | ,
Comments Off
Kindle

Thursday Tips are geared toward the newly published/newly contracted writer.

Reviews

As release date draws closer, you might have people contacting you about reviews, especially if you’re already have a fairly visible presence online.

I’ll be honest—I don’t do handle review requests anymore.  There are too many review sites and I can’t keep up with them.  My standard line is posted to my website, in the FAQ section:

I’m a reviewer and would like to review your books.  Can I contact you?

Aside from occasional contests for ARCs on my blog, I no longer handle sending out books for reviews.  You would need to contact my publishers to inquire about receiving copies.

With new review sites going up every month or so (at least it seems that way), it’s just too hard to keep up with it any more.  Publishers have people who handle these sort of requests and who vet the sites.  So I let them handle it.  If a reviewer is serious about wanting to review the book, then they’ll understand and respect that.

Authors, of course, have to develop their own system and what works for them.  But as often as I have books coming out, it was just getting to be too big a hassle keeping up with the releases and the review sites and eventually, it just go to the point to where it was easier to let the publisher handle it.

Exceptions to my rule:

I’ve always got exceptions, always, always, always.

Certain review sites have a well-established reputation and I won’t feel the need to go and check them out.  Yes, it does boil down to that.  No offense intended here, but as often as review sites go up, then down, and considering how many reviewers there are, a writer wouldn’t be very savvy if they didn’t cover their bases by at least checking the site out.

But sites like Writerspace, All Romance Reviews, Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Mrs. Giggles…eh, not that they do contact me, but if they were to contact me from their domains?  Yes, I’d probably send them a copy.

Note, I wouldn’t be as likely to send to a Sally Jo from Hotmail who says she reviews for the All Romance Reviews, unless it came from Sally Jo’s All Romance Reviews email addy.

Another exception…author friends.  Friends.  Or…authors I’ve seen online and I like their presence.  Why? Well, one of the best promo tools we have is word of mouth and one thing we authors do love to do is talk books.

So if a friend asks to read one of my books, yes, I’ll let her.

Please note, though, I’m not doing this as a “You scratch my back” exchange and I don’t expect anything from her/him.  If a friend reads my book and decides to mention it?  Awesome.  If she lets me read hers, and I love it, chances are I’m going to mention it, because that’s just what I do—I love to talk about books I loved, and if I’ve read them early, that makes it even more fun for me.

If an author I’m not exactly friends with but am familiar with—say I’ve seen them online and I like their presence, how they act, etc, contacts me and expresses an interest, chances are I’d offer to let them read it.  Again, not as any sort of an exchange—frankly, those sort of ‘exchanges’ irritate me when one comes my way.  I don’t like feeling like I’m made to ‘owe’ somebody anything.  I’ll talk about a book if I like it and beyond that…nope.

Now, is this going to happen with you?

Yes. More than likely.

How should you handle?

That’s easy.

What are you comfortable with?  You need to think about it now, and understand one crucial thing… It’s perfectly okay to say NO.  It’s your book.  If somebody asks to read it early and you’re not comfortable with it, that’s fine.  If nothing else, just say, ‘I haven’t talked it over with my editor/publisher/agent yet, so I’m afraid I can’t.  I hope you understand.’  If they get pushy?  Well, when they get pushy, that’s always an easy reason for me to just start ignoring them anyway.

Share

Thursday Tips…Promo

  By Shiloh Walker | 22 July, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
3 Comments
Kindle

Thursday Tips is geared to the newly published/contracted author

Promo

When to start and what to do…oh, now those are some questions for sure.  And they aren’t easy questions.

With print books, it’s helpful to get the word out to booksellers and librarians and you need to do that about 8-12 weeks (roughly) before the book is released, but you need to start planning well before that.

Months before.

If you’re a member of RWA, you can get your book listed in ROMANCE SELLS.  I’ve yet to use this, but it’s an option and it’s a relatively inexpensive one.

If you’ve got an awesome cover, another fairly inexpensive option is getting a cover story trailer done with Circle of Seven (disclaimer: yes I’ve used their services and love them, but no, I get no compensation for recommending them).

They cost $350 and Circle of Seven sends these out to a wide variety of outlets…including bookstore sites, bookseller lists and librarian lists that we don’t have access to.

You can view one of mine…

Other options include getting some postcards-you get them cheap from Vista Print-make sure you don’t sign up for services you don’t want (watch the ‘bonus’ offers at the end of the purchase) and send them out to mailing lists—I’ll try to remember to touch on mailing lists in a later topic, but if I forget, somebody remind me.  Here’s a hint, though-when you’re out at events or even just talking to booksellers online?  If they seem receptive, get their info-ask if it’s okay to add them to your mailing list.

With ebooks, you need to focus your efforts to online promo.  But online promo can be effective for print and ebooks, so if you’ve contracted with traditional publishing, this stuff can still apply.

If you are looking to do ads, start planning a few months before the book releases, and sooner if you can.  As soon as you have your cover art and the other info, if possibly.  Six months, if possible.  For some of the bigger places, that’s not soon enough.

An effective way to get the word out is join some of the ‘group’ sites, but some of the bigger ‘author’ sites are pretty pricy, especially for newer authors and while they are certainly appealing, we all know that money is tight.  You can focus on the smaller places and still get exposure.

(Please note… this isn’t an endorsement or recommendation-do your research and make sure you know where you’re placing your money)

And that’s just a starter’s list.   For a little bit of money, you can get a banner placed on reviewer sites that will link back to your site.

Cheap/free promo?  Try a blog.  Blogging can get old, but it’s also an experiment in writing—you train yourself to write a little daily and that will pay off in the log run, both in your craft, and in promo if you manage to develop a regular following of visitors who enjoy the blog.

Other cheap/free promo would be things like myspace/facebook/twitter and while social media is a craze right now, you also have to be careful not to get caught up in the massive time suck, as well.

One thing you do need to think about though…promo is important.

I can’t remember who said it, but the other day, another writer on twitter made a tongue in cheek comment… “Remember the writer who didn’t promo…no?  Neither does anybody else.”

Share

Do not ask. Please.

  By Shiloh Walker | 28 June, 2010 - 8:00 am |
7 Comments
Kindle

For the most part, when writers get asked questions, they are related to the books, the characters, and that sort of thing.  It’s not very often that I get asked questions that leave me feeling uncomfortable or offended, but sometimes it does happen.

As some of these have happening fairly recently, either in email, on twitter, blogs, or in person via signings.  There are some questions that writers get asked that just shouldn’t be asked.  Not unless you’re a very close, personal friend. Really, some questions?  Just don’t ask them.

Please don’t:

Ask me about my sex life.  I’m sorry, it’s none of your business.

Yes.  This happens.  And while I try to polite to people, especially when it’s work related, this is something that pisses me off.

A lot of the time this question is phrased like… So…do you really do all the stuff you write about?

I tend to smirk and say, No.  I haven’t killed anybody recently.

Those who don’t get the point and let it go and persist, No, that’s not what I mean…I mean the…well, you know…sex.

Okay, if you’re going to be so bold as to ask, stuttering and stammering about it is kind of foolish.  As is giggling about it. And the answer still isn’t going to come. 

My sex life isn’t anybody’s business. Period.  Some writers might be perfectly fine discussing their sex lives.  I’m not one of them and I’m pretty good about making my boundaries clear, and I’m not going to pushed or nagged or wheedled into discussing something I consider personal.

Ask me how much money I make.

There are a few limited instances where I have/will discuss this… with colleagues/friends.  But unless somebody knows me really well, this isn’t a question you just toss out.  Again…it’s rude.

Ask me for medical advice.

Yes, I am a nurse.  But I’m not qualified to give medical advice.  That’s doctor territory and unless I was your doctor?  I’m not legally able.  But I’m not a doctor.  And if I was…well, I wouldn’t likely be your doctor.  And it makes me really uncomfortable when people ask me if they should do this, or that, or take this or that…guys, I don’t know you personally and telling what you should or shouldn’t do isn’t something I’m qualified to do.  Call your doctor, don’t ask somebody online who claims to be a nurse.  Yes, I am a nurse, but hell, anybody can say they are.  Nurses can’t give medical advice, though.  It’s actually something that can get us in lots and lots of trouble. So…please. Do. Not. Ask.

Ask me to read your book.

I can’t help you.  Really I can’t.  I suck at craft advice so if you’re needing pointers, I’m not a good person to ask.

And I’m not going to point anybody to my agent or editor.  I’m just not.  This isn’t to be rude, but part of this business is learning the ropes…and you don’t learn the ropes by taking shortcuts.  You need to learn those ropes because otherwise, if you do find an agent, and if you do get published, but you don’t understand the business, you’ll get eaten alive–so it really does serve you better not to look for shortcuts.

Share

My publishing story…

  By Shiloh Walker | 25 June, 2010 - 8:00 am | , , ,
3 Comments
Kindle

Image via dreamstime free

I’ve been asked a few times on twitter how I got published.  It’s a convoluted sort of story and it started with a rejection letter.

I’ve written most of my life… literally.  I’m 33 now, turning 34 later this summer and I know I’ve been writing since the 6th grade, probably earlier than that, and my mom says it was definitely earlier than that.

Pretty much since high school, I knew I wanted to write when I grew up, although even then, I was realistic and I knew it wasn’t going to be as simple printing out a book and shipping it off to NYC.

So… back up plan.  Nursing.

Even though I wrote through most of nursing school, I didn’t really actively seek publication until later.  I think I was about… ummm….maybe twenty-two or twenty-three and I sent a few queries out.  Nothing happened and things in my life were hectic.  We’d just had our first and that will teach you a thing or two about life… Writing fell by the wayside for a couple of years, but after our second was about a year old, I starting writing more, and pushing harder to get published.

I’d sent a book out and gotten a rejection on it roughly the same time I’d discovered Ellora’s Cave. And whoa… I was in heaven.  I’d always loved the secret anthologies where I’d found Angela Knight & Mary Janice Davidson and oh, they had books there.  I was happy, so happy. And while I was glomming on these books, I decided I was going to try revamping my book and sending it to EC.

That was in the fall of 2002. Sometime in late November, I heard back and they told me they wanted it.  I was delighted, although at the time, I didn’t have any idea what was going to come of it.

It took about seven months to get that first book out-it was Her Best Friend’s Lover and not too long after that, I started my Hunters series.

I never had an agent with Ellora’s Cave  ( I still don’t use an agent on my epubbed stuff-I know those contracts well enough~however, I don’t recommend ever signing a contract with anybody with having an agent/contract attorney review it).

I signed with them right before they got mega-huge, although they were definitely getting big.  I also had a popular vampire series right before the paranormal trend really took off.  And I was already getting established in erotic romance.

All of these things played into how I happened into New York, because I wasn’t seeking publication there.  Yes, it was a goal.  Definitely was a goal.  But I’m not organized and I didn’t have time frame in mind, didn’t have a game plan.

In 2004, I got an IM from Lora Leigh.  She kind of took me under her wing and adopted me…I’m her baby sister, of sorts, or her brat, depending on how much I’m annoying her.

The IM conversation started with Lora going: I need your phone number.  I have to talk to you.

Okay, so I’ve given her my number about 50 bajillion times.  But…well, I know her, and besides, I’ve lost her number just as often.  I give her my number, and then I say, Why?  What did I do now?

She doesn’t answer, and the phone rings.

“You need to call Angela Knight,” she tells me.

“Why?  What did I do?”  Yes, people, I really am that paranoid…or maybe I’m just that prone to getting in trouble, although I’m trying to get better.

Lora just laughs and says, “Just trust me.  Call her.”

About this time, something in her tone gets through to me.  She’s trying not to laugh…and she’s like really excited.  Like really.

I tried to get her to tell me why, but she won’t.  Finally, I asked, “So is this like a really, really big deal?”

“Yup,” Lora tells me.  “Now call her.”

I wheedled more and about all I could get out of her was something circumspect like… well, maybe somebody important is trying to get a hold of you… like about a book.

And she tells me nothing else.  So I hang up and call Angela Knight.

The words out of her mouth?  I swear, I won’t ever forget them.

“Hi, Shiloh! Cindy Hwang wants to talk to you but your email is bouncing….”

Cindy Hwang.

If you’re not a romance writer or in the industry, that name might not mean a whole lot. But she’s big.  We’re talking like…whoa big.   (BTW, never let your email get so full IT BOUNCES!!! bad, bad bad!!!)

I’m dead silent and Angela laughs and asks if I’m okay.

“Um…yeah, but why does she wanna talk to me?”  I hadn’t sent anything, hadn’t planned on it, and I’m clueless.

Angela just tells me, “Here’s her number, her email.  Call her, talk to her.  You’ll be glad you did. Trust me. “  She gets me the number, the email.   And I’m still spaced, and stunned and confused and nervous.

I hang up and call the number, send an email, (it’s Sunday, so there’s no answer) and I also promptly cleared out my email so there was NO MORE BOUNCING.

I spent the next fifteen or sixteen hours on pins and needles.

Every time the phone rang, I think I jumped.

Finally, it rings on Monday and it’s a New York number and I answer.

“Hi, is this Shiloh Walker? This is Cindy Hwang…I’m with Berkley Publishing…”

“I know you are.” yes, I sounded very suave, I’m sure

Cindy: “Oh, good. Okay, listen…I’ve read some your books thru Ellora’s Cave and I like them. I was wondering if you’d be interested in writing a novella for me….”

At that point, I think it was a miracle I was still breathing.

Naturally… *G* I said yes.  I think I probably stammered and stuttered out something like, “Yeah, I think I can do that.”  I was still stunned when I hung up the phone.

Shoot, I think I’m still stunned.

But there ya go.  That’s my story.  O.o

Share

Thursday Tips…and Then What?

  By Shiloh Walker | 24 June, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
Comments Off
Kindle

Thursday tips are geared to the newly published/newly contracted writer.

Then What?

You’ve signed the contract, with or without an agent—whichever you decided was the best for your chosen career path.

What happens next?

Well, hopefully, you’re already working on the next book.  There is always the next book, you know.  Actually, when it comes to publishing, a writer tends to be working on three or more books at any one time—not writing them, exactly, but we are working on promo for whatever is coming out soon, we’re editing/writing what’s due out in the coming months, and we’re getting the ideas together for whatever we’re pitching next.  It’s never just one book.

At some point, you’ll hear from whoever your editor is going to be.  It may or may not be the editor who contacted you with an offer.

If you write for epubs, something you’ll probably get that’s different from traditional pubs?  Forms about things like cover art—cover art requests.

Huh? What’s that?  It’s just that.  You’ll get a standardized form asking what sort of artwork you have in mind for your cover.  Don’t freak if you don’t have anything in mind.  I rarely have any certain image in mind.  Just peruse the cover art of your publisher…and others…and get an idea for the ‘feel’ you want.   That can give an idea where to start.

With epubs, you actually get some say, or at least a lot of suggestion when it comes to cover art.  Although I will say I’ve been surprised with a number of my traditionally pubbed titles, I have been asked if I had anything in mind.  I think Chains was the first one, and I actually did have an idea of something I’d like—a woman, dark background…with chains.

This is what I received.

Chains

Simple, striking, and in my opinion, perfect.

There will be revisions, probably.  Revisions can be from something as simple as a few minor changes to fairly substantial.

Don’t panic.  It’s part of the process.

And remember that.  It is part of the process.  Not a one of us are so perfect that we can’t improve our writing.

However, also remember…sometimes there might be requested changes that we feel will change the voice of our story.

Know when something is actually improving the story, and when something might be making your story not your story.   If it’s mechanics, that’s an improvement thing, and chances are, you need to do it.

If it’s changing your voice, though, then you need to think about whether or not you want to do that.  Editors like writers who are flexible and easy to work with.  But writers create the story and we want our story to remain just that.

Just don’t be a diva about it.  The diva routine, it’s gets old, fast, and if you’re new, your editor isn’t going to put up with it.  Even if you’re not new, your editor isn’t likely to put up.

Share

Thursday Tips…No agent?

  By Shiloh Walker | 17 June, 2010 - 8:00 am | , ,
2 Comments
Kindle

Thursdays tips are a new feature I’m doing…basically aimed at the newly published/contracted.  I’ll be compiling the posts and publishing them somewhere for download once I’m done with the articles.

No Agent?

In epublishing, it’s not uncommon to get a contract offer without an agent.  In epublishing, it’s not uncommon to sign and write without using an agent.  I don’t use an agent on my epublishing contracts and I’m comfortable enough with the lingo to navigate those waters on my own.

However…if you’ve just been offered a contract by an epublisher, no matter how big they are, how well established, how well known, please, please, please, have a contract attorney review the contract first.

I do know that my epubs have a ‘customized’ contract for me and each time I turn in a new work, this same contract is used.   You can ask if this is something that can be done so you don’t need to worry about paying that fee each time you sign a contract, but trust me, it’s better to pay a contract attorney than to not pay it and then spend years wishing you had.

In traditional publishing, it’s not as usual to get a contract offer without having an agent.  Many publishers do require an agent submit the work, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get an offer.

My first offer from a traditional publisher came without me submitting a work, and I didn’t have an agent.  I was still just writing for my epubs and was contacted by an editor about writing a novella for an anthology.  This has happened for other authors, so it does and can happen.

But…there’s no way I’m going to navigate the waters of traditional publishing without an agent on my side.

Why?

v  There’s more money involved

v  There are more markets involved

v  There are usually more books involved

v  There is more legalese involved

v  The contracts tend to be more complicated

With things like First Right of Refusal, Option on Next Work, etc, etc, etc, etc… I’m not signing those contracts without having an agent on my side.

The agent is there to push for my best interest.

She’s not affiliated with the publisher, she’s not working for the publisher, she’s there to help me, to fight for my best interests.

Share

You bet it’s a job

  By Shiloh Walker | 14 June, 2010 - 8:00 am | ,
6 Comments
Kindle

It’s not a ‘job’ if you love doing it.

Image via Dreamstime Free

I’ve seen this comment several times lately made in reference to writing for a living.

The first time was directed to one of the writers I chat with a lot on twitter, Yasmine Galenorn.

Well, the first thing I want to say… ?

I loved nursing, especially the years I spent working with kids.

But um…the vast majority of people are going to agree that nursing is a job.  Whether you love it or not.  Loving it doesn’t make it any less work.  It just makes it easier to do the work without hating the work.

And I’m rambling off tangent…I wanted to focus on writing as a job.  I can see, in general, where people think that when you love what you do, it makes it easier to do the job, as opposed to when you hate it.

Perhaps that’s the idea behind this comment?

I’m not sure.

But I really, really hope there aren’t aspiring authors out there operating under the assumption that if they can just get a contract…it gets easier from there on out and they will have their dream job.  If they are writing for a living, then it will so much easier than whatever they are doing in their dayjobs.

Let me state, up front, that while I love what I do for a living… make no mistake:

I work harder as a professional writer than I ever did as a nurse.

Period.

It doesn’t get any easier after you sign a contract, after you land an agent, after you sign a second contract, a third.  After you and your agent have a parting of ways and you have to start searching all over for a new agent… and try doing that job when you’ve got a proposal floating around and you desperately need advice.

Getting that first contract doesn’t mean you’ll never again experience the sting of a rejection.  It doesn’t mean you’ll never again have an agent pass on you, for whatever reason.

Those are the things the unpublished, aspiring author worries the most about, and those are worries that continue even after you’ve signed contracts.  I’ve been doing this professionally since 2004, and yes, I still have to worry about rejections-yes, I still get them.  When my old agent and I had a parting of ways, yes, I had agents pass on me.

But on top of those things, once you’re published, you now have new things.

There are deadlines.  For the book to be finished, for the synopsis/partials for following books in the contract, if you went the traditional route.  And those deadlines are important, especially early on.

There are also deadlines for edits-imagine the fun of opening your door one morning, when you’ve kids to get to school, a couple of doctors appointments, groceries to buy, you’ve got a deadline looming for the next book, and there is a white envelope from fedex… (although lately, all my edits are via emailed galleys) and included in those edits?

A little note that reads…

here are the edits/galleys/whatever…the deadline is such and such date (which is usually like 7-10 days away).

Plans for that weekend?  Um.  Maybe not.  If the plans can’t be canceled or changed, then look forward to several late, late nights.  And imagine the fun if you write for multiple places… I’ve had edits show up from Berkley and Samhain in the same week.  With a deadline looming the following month for a different project.

But those edits have to be done–everything moves on a certain schedule in publishing and if you don’t get those edits turned in, then you put them behind on the schedule…and know what that means? Well, that book that’s due out in July?  Maybe it won’t be out in July.  You messed up the timetable and since the schedule is a damned tight one, I dunno where they’d put you in at. You’ll get in, but where?  A few months down the road? Six months?  Better off just not to miss the deadline.

There’s promo, and contrary to what some people think?  Those pens and bookmarks and totebags and magnets, most authors don’t have a promo budget.  That’s on your dime, but spending money on promo is kind of necessary.  It doesn’t have to pens, bookmarks, etc, but you do need to spend the money, because now you’re self-employed and if you don’t shell out so much money on expenses and stuff, the IRS takes an even bigger chunk out of your tail.  Promotional expenses are an easy way to do it, easy to do, yes, but you still gotta pony up the dough, and that’s not always that easy, because again, contrary to popular opinion, getting published doesn’t mean we’ve got it made in the shade.

There’s the hassle of websites, and while most writers probably already know this, that’s another expense that’s on you, and once you’re contracted, keeping that site up to date is crucial because letting it lag behind is one easy way to lose readers.

There’s the mess with social media… which ones should you do, how much to do, whether you should do it all…

There’s the major, and I do mean major worries, that come up after you finish one contract up and start trying to negotiate another one.  And just because you got one contract, that doesn’t mean you’ll get another.  Even if you sold okay.  Selling okay isn’t enough.  A writer can get dropped for not being picked up by Walmart.  Shoot, I vaguely recall hearing about a writer who had a 3 book contract for a trilogy and the publisher can decided not to publish the third book.  All of these worries are why so many authors hustle with the promo and the social media because we don’t want to risk being the next author who gets dropped, or risk being the one who doesn’t receive an offer when we try to go back to contract-and yes, that does happen.

And on top of all of that, we still have to write.  Not when we feel like it, or when the mood strikes us, or when the ‘muse’ is there (I’m not a muse writer).  We have to write.  We’ve signed contracts, we’re obligated to fulfill them and that’s all there is to it.   It’s not just the one book for many of us either–even while we’re working on whatever book is due, we’re thinking about the next, and the next….

Writing, in the end, is only part of it.  It’s the easiest part, but ‘easy’ is relative.  There’s a whole lot more that goes into being a professional writer than just writing.

All of this-all of the time… you bet it’s a job. Whether you love it or not, it’s a job.

Share