The Curtain Pulled Back: What Publishing House Editors Say about Your Next Book

The Curtain Pulled Back: What Publishing House Editors Say about Your Next Book

by | Jun 20, 2020 | Why is publishing so hard?, Writing | 0 comments

The Curtain Pulled Back: What Publishing House Editors Say about Your Next Book

 

Every November is National Novel Writing Month. Tens of thousands of writers bang out a novel in a month and think, “Great! I’m done! Now, I can get it published!”

 

But even if you’ve managed to crank out a great story in just thirty days, getting published is far from a done deal.

 

Publishers are looking for work that meets a certain standard. They are looking at books on multiple levels, with an eye toward how it can be successful and how they can move a book out into the marketplace. There are lots of quality issues to deal with, so publishers and editors can get a little persnickety.

Here’s what New York Times bestselling author Mike Bender has to say about the subject:

“They’re seeing the bigger picture,” Mike says. “They know exactly what’s out there, and they know what the trends are. They know the books in their own library that are being published.”

When Mike finished his second manuscript, his editor thought it was a great story, but she also remembered what made Mike’s first book so successful.

“She took me back to the first book and said, ‘Well, what I really loved in that book is that there was an educational aspect to it. Like, you were teaching the kids about this concept’,” Mike says.

“I had to rethink the way I was writing the book,” he says, “and the manuscript we ended up writing was (geared more toward) teaching it to the kids. There had to be an educational aspect to this book for libraries to want to pick it up in schools. And that’s not something, as a writer, I was thinking about. I was just thinking about story.”

That’s the kind of thing we’re doing over in the Writing Gym.

We take good writing and not only help you make it better, but we work with you to make sure your novel meets industry standards.

If you’re serious about getting your work published, I’d love to chat with you. You can book yourself into my calendar, and we can talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.

Until next time, Happy Writing!

The Ultimate Writer’s Dream: Your Book Made into a Movie

The Ultimate Writer’s Dream: Your Book Made into a Movie

by | Jun 8, 2020 | Uncategorized, Writing | 0 comments

The Ultimate Writer’s Dream: Your Book Made into a Movie

 

Many of you know I have the opportunity to speak with writers all over the world about every day of the week, and I’ve noticed some of the universal desires writers express.

They used to say, “I want to be on Oprah.”

Today, they say things like, “I want to be on Ellen,’“ or “I want to be a New York Times bestseller,” or “I want to be on so-and-so’s reading list.”

But what many of them say to me is, “I really want to have my book made into a movie.”

These are dreams that are pretty universal to writers. We’d all like to get the amazing publishing contract with a the multi-book deal, and we’d all love to have our book made into a movie. 

Over in the Writing Gym, we are all about having big dreams, and dreaming big dreams — and we’re all about getting results.

I’m excited to share today that over in the Writing Gym, we’ve got a new module on how to get your book made into a movie!

We have Jeanne Covert, who is a professional screenwriter and a member of the Writing Gym.

She’s the real deal. Jeanne has several credits on IMDb, been on the Red Carpet and on set, along with other Hollywood experience. 

Anyway, she came in and taught the members of the Writing Gym how books actually get made into movies. What is the lens that producers are looking at movies through in order to get books actually made into movies? How do we go from the dream–it’s a great place to start–to reality, actually living that dream? What are the steps that are going to get you there?

As you’ve heard me say, time and time again over at the Writing Gym, we’re about real results. Real results.

We want to get your book made into a movie, and we want to show you how.

This is the kind of thing we’re delivering over in the Writing Gym: Real professionals, talking about real results.

So, for those of you already in the Writing Gym – congratulations! You’re on the inside track to living the author lifestyle. And if you haven’t talked with me or someone on my team about the Writing Gym and the results that we get over there, I or someone on my team would be happy to get on the phone with you to talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there and whether or not the Writing Gym is the right solution for you and if you’re the right fit for us.

Until next time, Happy Writing!

The Behind the Scenes Scoop on How to Publish Traditionally

The Behind the Scenes Scoop on How to Publish Traditionally

by | Jun 3, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Publish, Why is publishing so hard?, Writing | 0 comments

The Behind the Scenes Scoop on How to Publish Traditionally

 

One of the questions writers ask me a lot is: “What does it take to get published?” or “How do I do this thing called publishing?”

Some of you have heard about the work that we do over in the Writing Gym, and the results we get.

 

Today, I’m really excited because I get to celebrate two of our amazing Writing Gym Rats–we call them that.

It doesn’t sound very nice, but, they’re Gym Rats. They’re working out. They’re working their writing toward publishing, and I’m super excited about it!

First, I want to tell you first about my work with Jim.

Jim has been writing this great book. We finished working on it about eight months ago. He’s been putting together his package and querying, and we are in negotiations with an agent. 

We’ve gotten some great feedback from one agent, and we’ve gone back and forth a couple of times with revisions on that piece. You may not know this, but sometimes an agent will like a piece of work, but will want some changes made.

They might say, “I want to represent this, but I need to see a version where Chapter 3 happens before Chapter 1.”

In Jim’s case, he has moved some of his chapters around, moved some of his content, and now it’s back in the agent’s hands. Congratulations, Jim!

I also want to make a shout-out to Vivian.

Vivian just had THREE requests for full manuscripts!

Many of you know that agents will typically ask for five pages, ten pages, fifty pages, a hundred pages. They put their toes in the water, thinking, “Am I interested enough to read the whole thing? Because I don’t want to waste my time.”

When you get asked for a full, it’s kind of like going from dating to being engaged. It’s a switch in the investment that the agent has on you.

This is an agent saying, “This is interesting enough to me that I’d like to see the whole thing.” And to get THREE requests for a full manuscript within the course of about two weeks is amazing!

Vivian is rocking her querying and her submissions. She and I worked really hard on those submission materials.

Yesterday, I was chatting with a publisher. As you know, I speak with publishing industry professionals every week, all week. I’m always chatting with someone about what’s going on in the publishing industry. She and I were having a chat about negotiating audiobook contracts: how audiobooks become part of the book deal you get when you publish, and how we can work toward getting better publishing contracts for the people who are in the Writing Gym–those Writing Gym Rats.

And over the course of the conversation, she said, “I would love to see some pieces from your writers.”

This happens pretty frequently when I’m speaking with publishers and editors and agents because in the industry, I’m a known entity. People know that the writing that comes out of the Writing Gym is going to be high quality. It’s ready to go.

That doesn’t mean, as we saw in Jim’s case, that they don’t have some changes that they want to make. But it’s going to be polished, not something typed up during NaNoWriMo and sent in. 

As I was speaking to this woman, she said, “I’d love to see some of the writing that comes out of the Writing Gym,” and I asked her what kinds of pieces are really interesting to her these days. She said, “I’m really interested in environmental pieces these days.” And I said, “Well, I’ve got a story to tell you.”

I told her about the novel that Vivian has been working on, and she said, “That sounds amazing! I absolutely love that concept.”

I asked, “Can I send you a query and a synopsis?”

And she said “I absolutely want to see that.”

So, that’s how things happen in the Writing Gym. It’s sort of like having a matchmaker to find you your mate. Having somebody to help pair you with the right person can be absolutely essential.

You can do it on your own. If you want, you can go out and write your book, and try to revise on your own, and try to find an agent.

But, I spend some time trolling around in other people’s groups and listening to the kinds of things that writers are saying, and the things that I hear are: “Agents are jerks.” “Why is it so hard to publish?” “They keep rejecting me. What’s the deal?” “Why are they so snobby?”

I hear all kinds of things like that, and I understand the frustration of trying and trying without positive results. That can be really frustrating, and you might think that the agents you’re submitting to are just jerks. You can try to do it on your own, or you can stop running on that constant treadmill of frustration and find a solution that works.

I’m sure Jim and Vivian would tell you that it feels a whole lot better to alleviate the stress, to submit and manuscript that they knew was ready to go with a query in tip-top shape, and an interesting synopsis.

All the pieces they needed were in order, and I could pick up the phone and call these people and ask them: “You want to see this synopsis? Would you like to see that query? Are you interested in this book?”

That’s what happens for people who invest in themselves and in their future.

I want to be really clear here: There are no guarantees. I do not have a magic wand where I can make the people in the publishing industry do what I want them to do. But I am part of the publishing industry, and that makes a huge difference.

Think about the people in your community, whether it’s the fellow parents who drop their kids off to school with you, or maybe people your church or your temple or your Rotary Club. Those are the people you know. They are the folks you can call when you need something. They are your people.

When it comes to your book, you want to work with someone who has people she can call too.

Now, this isn’t for everyone. This isn’t a magic pill, and I’m not going to give you some magic thing  to get your novel to publishable. The Writing Gym is for people who are looking to become the kind of writer who can publish time and time again, who want that publishing career and are committed to doing the work and putting in the time.

If that sounds like you, I’d love to have a chat with you. Let’s talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there. Until next time, Happy Writing!

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

by | May 26, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Publish, Writing | 0 comments

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

 

 One of the questions I frequently get asked, whether on social media or when I’m speaking at a conference, is:

“What are agents really looking for? What is it that they want? Why do I keep getting rejected?”

So, what are agents looking for?

If you’ve watched any of my videos in the Facebook group, you know I’m on the phone with agents every day, asking questions about the industry. I ask agents what they’re looking for, but another question I ask is, “What trends are you seeing in the marketplace?”

Like any marketplace, the publishing industry is volatile. Things change from day to day, right?

There was a book, “American Dirt,” that came out about a month ago, and really influenced publishing industry trends. The London Book Fair was cancelled because of this virus that we’re all dealing with. There are countless other examples.

Things are always changing in the industry, and knowing what the trends are, what’s impacting the industry, and what kind of books are getting published is key.

I recently had a conversation with an agent friend, and one of the interesting things we talked about was a recent trend in the publishing industry. Changes are taking place, and there is a shift from looking at the book as the product to looking at the author as the product.

What does that mean for you?

It means you better know how to create a product that is viable in the traditional publishing marketplace, and that’s exactly why we do things the way that we do them in the Writing Gym.

First and foremost: we get our information straight from the horse’s mouth.

I’m meeting with industry professionals every single week so I can bring that information to the writers in the Writing Gym.

I’m able to say: “Okay, here are the things that we want to target. How does your book fit into that?”

The second thing is that the Writing Gym is a comprehensive program.

If you got an MFA (a Master’s in Fine Arts), you might learn how to write, which is pretty important.

But that’s about all you’d learn. In the Writing Gym VIP Program, we start by teaching you to write a quality draft that is movable quickly into revision for publication.

People who go from the VIP into the Publishing Mastermind—those who are accepted—are doing the market research. We’re talking about what agents are looking for, and our writers have gone to presentations where I presented an agent to them, had a publicist from a publishing house ask them questions, and allowed them to ask their questions in real time and get them answered.

Our writers are gaining an understanding of the industry, which is very important.

During that time, I’m also reading their manuscript, not once but twice, sometimes three times, and I’m getting on the phone to agents to say: “Hey, I’ve got this manuscript about, say, cows. What do you think?”

Frequently, that conversation leads to: “Hey, when it’s done I want to see it.” 

wWe go from writing the novel in the VIP to doing market research in the Publishing Mastermind. This creates the foundation for their platform.

Next, we move into the revision phase.

This is important, because they’re getting the right kind of feedback, learning who they are as writers, gaining confidence, and revising a novel to publishable. They move on to the Publishing Bootcamp, where they submit  their manuscripts and I make introductions to editors, publishers, and agents on their behalf.

Here’s the part I want to talk about today.

There are two ending programs that happen after the book is finished: Paths to Pulitzer, where writers are improving their craft; and Novel Selling U, where they’re creating their author platform.

 

If the product isn’t just the book, but also the author, then it’s awfully important to know how to package yourself.

I’m sorry to put it that way, but publishing is a business, and if you don’t know how to address it as a business, if you’re thinking of your book as an art and you as an artist, then you’re missing out on what what can happen and the potential of what your book can become.

This is what agents are looking for.

They may love your book and writing.

They may love your concept and your protagonist.

But if they don’t have a package that they can pitch to the Publishing House, you aren’t getting any further. That was the confirmation I got this week in a conversation with my agent friend.

With the emergence of audiobooks, Alexa devices, and all of the changes we see in the publishing industry, we’re at a turning point now.

If you don’t know how to market yourself or how to package yourself, you’re going to be lost. It’s no longer about writing a good book, it’s also about knowing how to place yourself in the market.

If you’re ready for real results, I would love to chat with you.

This isn’t for everybody. It’s for people who are serious about having a publishing career.

This isn’t something that happens in a week or a month or even sometimes six months.

This is a long-term process to build a career, because that’s what we’re doing over in the Writing Gym.

If that sounds like something that you want, and you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and to get real results, I’d love to talk with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there. You can put yourself right into my calendar and we can chat sometime in the next week or so.

Until next time, Happy Writing!

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents?

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents?

by | May 26, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Publish, Uncategorized, Writing | 0 comments

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents? 

 

One of the most common problems people come to me with at writers’ conferences and events is: “How do I find an agent? Why is finding an agent so hard? I’m getting a lot of rejection, I’m not sure why. Is the publishing industry like all other industries out there in that it’s all about who you know?”

These are questions that I get asked a lot. One of the things writers complain about when it comes to agents is the lack of response, or the brevity of the response.

They keep getting the typical four-word email: “Not for me. Thanks.” You may have seen some of those in your inbox as you’ve been querying agents. The problem with such a brief response—and this is something that writers talk about a lot—is you’re wondering, “Was it my query? Was it my manuscript? Was it my synopsis? Was it my hair?” You don’t really know.

There’s no feedback to help you try to improve or to change, and that’s frustrating for a lot of writers because they don’t have the connections.

They can’t call up an agent and say “Hey, what was wrong with my submission?” And I understand this is frustrating.

 

But the real problem here is that so many writers treat publication like a do-it-yourself project. Basically, writers who do this are trying to play in the major leagues with little league equipment.

You wouldn’t try to be an NBA basketball player and show up wearing tennis shoes. You wouldn’t show up to an NHL tryout wearing figure skates, right? You don’t have the right equipment. You don’t have the means to play at that high of a level if you’ve got the wrong equipment.

Maybe you think you can get by with those figure skates, or any kind of sneaker. But the professionals, the coaches and the players, they know what the right equipment is. You’re not going to fool them by showing up with the wrong equipment and trying to fake it.

Writers who think that publishing is a do-it-yourself project are showing up without the right equipment, and I can tell you right now that the professionals are not fooled, the agents are not fooled.

They know what they’re looking for. They know what it means to play at the professional level.

And the result is that you look foolish when you submit like that. You exasperate the agents, and your submission goes straight over to the slush pile, rejected.

I don’t know what your profession is, but if a bunch of people were submitting subpar materials to you—if they showed up to NHL tryouts wearing figure skates— you might start to send these “Not for me, thanks” emails.

So, what’s different about the Writing Gym? Well, over in the Writing Gym we believe in real solutions and we’re getting real results. How do we get to the front of the line over in the Writing Gym? Well, I can tell you that just this last week and agent called me and she said, “Annalisa, I’ve got to tell you this is the best query letter I have ever received.”

Best query letter I’ve ever received. From one of our clients over in the Writing Gym! Can you imagine that?

Another Writing Gym member received a full manuscript request within five minutes of sending the query! If you ever queried, you know how rare it is to receive a full manuscript request. Last week, another member got a full manuscript request within 20 minutes. We’ve had many full manuscript requests. I don’t know how many—I’ve lost count just this year—over in the Writing Gym.

These are the kind of results that we’re getting, and it’s because we’re all about real solutions and real results. We’re about knowing what the market is and knowing what an agent is looking for, and we are delivering.

Now, before you go getting any big ideas, the Writing Gym isn’t for everyone. This level of success is a process. It doesn’t just magically happen; it’s a process.

If you’re tired of dead ends and rejections with no cause mentioned whatsoever, and you’re willing to put in the work to go through the process that creates publishable manuscripts, let’s chat. Just click here, and you can drop yourself directly into my team’s calendar and you’ll get on the phone for about an hour and talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.

Until next time, Happy Writing

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

by | May 16, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, Writing | 0 comments

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

 

People in other writing groups on Facebook ask: “What are agents doing these days?”

And, like most writers’ groups, people who have never actually met an agent in their lives are weighing in with conjecture. Well, I talk to a lot of agents every day, and I’m here to tell you what’s actually happening in the publishing industry while we’re shut down, so to speak.

Many of us are stuck at home. What are the agents doing? Well, many are taking advantage of the opportunity to read more. A lot of the agents I talk to are thinking, “This is great! I’ve got more time to read!”

The other thing I’ve been seeing is an increase in contract offers. They’ve got more time to read and make offers. Many of them are working from home. They’re getting on the phone with authors and holding interviews. Did you know that that happens?

Before you get offered a contract, you get interviewed to see if you’re a really good fit. There have been a lot of those happening, and I’ve seen numerous contracts coming through in my circle , in my sphere of writers, and others that I know.

Recently, I was talking with Jeff Kleinman. You may have heard of him. He’s a co-founder over at Folio Lit, an agency every author would love to have represent them. Jeff himself has multiple New York Times best sellers on his list.

Here’s what happened during that conversation: one of our Writing Gym members, Aaron, has this great literary piece he’s put together. So right there, on the spot, I was able to tell Jeff about Aaron’s work. And Jeff said, “Great. Send me the first 50 pages.”

Are agents still looking for high quality manuscripts? Are they still making offers?

Absolutely.

Are publishing houses still making deals?

Absolutely.

I can tell you what happened for Aaron. Like most agents, Jeff Kleinman has one of those submission forms where you put your query, or whatever it is that they’re looking for, in and eventually you hear back. Aaron hadn’t heard anything in a while. Since I know Jeff, I was able to call him up and check in with him about the status of Aaron’s materials. It turns out that he wasn’t able to receive Aaron’s materials.

But guess what I can do? I can send the materials straight his way. And I did.

I reached out to Aaron, got a copy of his query that he had sent to Jeff, zipped it over to Jeff and, like, quite literally 19 seconds later — if it was even that long — he got a request for the first 50 pages!

So, that’s the power of the Writing Gym.

That’s the kind of thing we’re doing for our writers.

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and not getting any results and being frustrated and wondering how you can get an agent, let’s chat. You can drop yourself right into my calendar and we’ll talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.

Until next time: Happy writing!

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