“This [talk] is titled ‘How Not
to Get Published,” Richard C. White noted at the Oct. 6 workshop. “Actually,
I’m going to help you all GET published, but I’m going to help you avoid some
of the silliness that goes on in the world.”
Richard’s seen a lot of silliness
over the years as one of three members of the publishing watchdog group, Writer
Beware, and as an author who’s written everything from comics and super heroes
to nonfiction and noir. He started writing at fifteen, working for a local
newspaper, and currently is a technical writer. “I have no pride, I’m a writer,”
he laughed.
“Writing is an art, but publishing
is a business, and it behooves everyone to learn the business behind writing.”
He encouraged writers to do a lot of research before launching their queries
for an agent or publisher.
We spend a lot of time creating our
work, yet a lot of people send it to the first agent they find. But anybody can
print up some cards and call themselves an agent, as noted on a satirical
website called Bad Agent Sydney
“And that’s how cats end up getting manuscripts,” Richard said.
If your agent doesn’t have the same
goals as you do, it will be a waste of time. Don’t be afraid to pass up an
agent that isn’t a good fit. “A book publishable by one is publishable by
many,” he said.
The traditional route is trade
publishing. Agents are the gatekeepers, publishers are the producers, and
readers are the target market. You have both desirable and undesirable agents.
Desirables are established agents or new agents. Undesirables are amateur,
incompetent, and fee-charging agents, who are essentially scammers.
Agents
Agents sell their clients’ books to advance-paying publishers. They
work on commission and have experience in the publishing industry.
“Many are former editors or have come
up as a junior agent through an agency,” he said. They know editors and how to
get your books in front of them. They proudly show off their clients’ work.
There is no such thing as a “stealth agent”-- it’s all about networking.
New agents should still have experience in the publishing industry.
Most worked for other agents when they started out, but have broken off to
start their own agency. Many are looking for their own niche or to specialize
in genre or age group. Like experienced agents, they work strictly on
commission.
“AAR (Association of Author
Representatives) specifically says you cannot ask for money up front and be a
member,” Richard says. “If you’re paying [an agent] up front, they don’t need
to sell your book. They’ve already got your money.”
Amateur and incompetent agents aren’t necessarily bad people. They
have little to no experience in the publishing industry, and they know very few
(if any) editors personally. Consequently, many send manuscripts to
inappropriate editors. Many got frustrated selling their own books and turned
instead to selling others’ books. Some are agents as a side business and work
on your book as a hobby. Most became an agent with the best of intentions, but being
an “agent is not an entry-level position … Would you trust a doctor who skipped
medical school?” Richard asked. “Whether new or established, get an experienced
editor.
Fee-charging agents may require a reading fee with submission, or
may have a “marketing,” “submission,” or “evaluation” fee before accepting you
as a client. Some offer a “detailed critique” for a fee or sell “adjunct”
services, like editing services. Fee-charging agents might recommend a vanity
publishing company, which is also a fee-charging company. They may refer you to
a freelance editor or editorial service/offering or require an agent’s paid
editing service before they will publish you.
While some established agents do offer their services
as editors, the difference is there’s a firewall between the businesses. You
can’t submit to them as an agent and also as an editor.
Other undesirable agent red flags
are agents who specialize in new authors, specifically. That’s basically
telling you “we’re going after people who don’t know what they’re doing.” They
may have no list of clients or post anonymous testimonials. These agents may
refuse to talk about sales or have no verifiable sales. When agents approach
authors, it’s called trawling.
“If you land a plane in the Hudson
River and no one gets killed yes, you’ll have agents lined up to approach you,
but not everyone is Captain Sully,” Richard said. Agents on Pitmad and Pitwars
and other Twitter contests are often legit, but many are not. Undesirables
scoop up new authors, including NaNoWriMo writers, trying to scam them into
sending money. These fake agents are trying to take advantage of ignorance.
Another red flag is non-standard
commissions. Standard commission is 15%, with 20% for foreign sales. If an
agent is asking 40%, that is a scam. Consider an agent’s correspondence and website.
If these are not free of grammatical errors and typos, that is a warning sign.
“You don’t want to write better than your agent,” Richard said. Additionally,
offering agent services to poets is a red flag because agents do not generally
represent poets. “If an agent brings up any of these points or asks you for
money, run, do not walk, to the nearest exit,” Richard said.
Publishers
There are different types of
legitimate publishers. Commercial publishers are those like the Big 5
(Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon &
Schuster). Medium-sized publishers might specialize in different genres or
niche titles. University, regional and specialty publishers will know what bookstores
and outlets would be appropriate for the market. This includes books on civil
war, local ghost stories, etc.
Small press and e-publishing companies
are not always a bad idea, he said, noting some do gangbuster work for romance
and erotica. They may give you resources you do not have yourself, such as licenses
for characters, distribution deals, and the like.
If the publishing company you find
is new, wait at least two years before submitting to them to make sure they are
stable.
Self-publishing is evolving. Tools
are becoming more available to authors to edit, market, and publish their own
work.
“The average small press sells
something like 75 copies of a book over its lifetime,” Richard said. “Many
small presses can’t do much more for you than you can do for yourself
self-publishing.”
However, most larger publishers
will not accept un-agented material, which is where medium, small, and
self-publishing come in. “With self-publishing becoming so much more popular,
the sharks are moving out to the self-publishers,” Richard warned.
Vanity Presses
Vanity presses do little more than print your book for a fee and
put their name on it as the printer. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for some
specialized books with limited appeal, like a family history, memoir, or recipe
book that will only sell to a very select group of people. Those with a
built-in audience can get some benefit from having a printer, for example,
speakers who offer a book companion to a talk.
Vanities are not good for fiction. Because
of short print runs, the sticker price is usually higher than trade published. A lot vanity presses don’t edit,
but print “as-is,” and they offer no returnability, making them harder to get
into bookstores.
While vanity presses are up-front
about their services, reverse-vanity
presses advertise as “traditional” publishers. The also offer little to no
editing and books are priced beyond the casual reader’s interest. Few bookstores
accept them because they are usually non-returnable or return at a bad
discount.
There’s no up-front fee at these
presses because their primary income is from selling books to the authors. They
target retirees, college kids, and new authors. “They tend to be an author farm.”
Richard said. “They accept everything that comes in.” They have setup fees or
deposits on books, pressure authors to buy their own books, and have a
pre-purchase or pre-sale requirement.
“If they force you to buy 75 copies,
that will cover their entire print run and some profit for them,” Richard said.
“No publisher should ever be asking you for money, no agent should ever be
asking you for money.”
Watch for terms like “subsidy,”
“co-op,” “joint venture,” or “partner.”
“There are hybrid authors, but not
hybrid publishers,” Richard said. Companies that volunteer to match your
investment are taking your money.
Self-publishing
When it comes to self-publishing, it’s important to
understand the difference between being a writer and being a publisher.
Self-publishing is a full-time job in itself, which has a lot of hidden costs.
You have to balance your time between writing, publishing, promoting, and
working with artists and editors. Publishing can eat into your writing time.
“If you’re not paying yourself, then
why are you doing it?” Understand how to separate paying the company from
paying the writer. Find successful mentors who can help guide your path to
success. Be honest with yourself. For instance, if you’re not good at editing,
you should hire an editor.
“If you are a writer [only], do not pay for an editor. Edit yourself, have beta
readers. If you are a publisher, you probably should hire an editor,” Richard said. “If
you put out an unprofessional-looking book, you will probably never sell
another one.”
Create a business plan and stick to
it. Do not spend your savings to get a book out, and if it’s not working, know
how to walk away. There’s no shame in admitting when something isn’t working --
ninety-percent of new businesses fail in the first two years. Remember highly successful authors in
self-publishing are notable because they’re rare.
Editors can be predatory as
well. Make sure your editor has qualifications, and ask for a chapter or sample
gratis to test their style. Make sure they are the type and style of editor you
need at the time. While publicists
can help, make sure you have a very good sense of what they’re doing for you
and for how much. You need to make sure you’re getting a good return on
investment. Publicists even have a hard time selling books for big companies.
Watch out for reviewers who ask
for money, including Kirkus. Kirkus reviews are good when they are organic, but
paid ones do not weigh the same in the minds of librarians and booksellers.
Always ask yourself, “What’s in
it for them?” Be clear about what are they doing for you and what they doing to
you.
When in doubt, remember Yog’s Law: “Money flows to the author.”
Also recall Crispin’s Corollary:
“The only place an author signs a check is on the back.”
Self-publishing is different
because you are also a publisher, but you -- the author you -- should also be
paid. “We all want to be read, but when you take six months to a year to write
your novel, take a second and think, ‘Is this really what I want to do with
it?’”
Writer Beware
Writer Beware’s mission is to track, expose and raise
awareness of the prevalence of fraud and other questionable activities in and
around the publishing industry. Founded in 1998, Writer Beware is concerned not
just with issues that affect professional authors, but also with the problems
and pitfalls that face aspiring writers. Writer Beware is sponsored by
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers
of America, with additional support from the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
Writer Beware: www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/
Writer Beware Blogs: www.accrispin.blogspot.com
Absolute Write Water Cooler –
Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Checks (especially for those who don’t
write science fiction and aren’t self-published) www.absolutewrite.com/forums
NOTE:
If you have a lead on a bad agent or publisher, or get a suspicious
solicitation, forward your email to beware@sfwa.org
Speaker Bio
Richard C. White
is the author of tie-in fiction for a number of media franchises,
including Star Trek and Doctor Who, as well as an original works
such as Gauntlet Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil and Harbinger of Darkness.
Among other interesting jobs, he has worked as a journalist, a substitute
teacher, an independent comics publisher, an analyst for the military, and,
currently, as a technical writer. Find him at richardcwhite.com or on Twitter
@nightwolfwriter.
