Journey to Publishing: Celebrating Barbara

Journey to Publishing: Celebrating Barbara

by | Oct 1, 2020 | How to Publish, Why is publishing so hard? | 0 comments

Journey to Publishing: Celebrating Barbara

Today I’m excited for two things: to celebrate Barbara’s success in her publishing career, and to give you some insider information on what it looks like once you get that publishing contract.

Barbara and I met at the Writer’s Digest Conference in 2017, when she decided to start investing in herself as a fiction writer. Barbara had gotten her MFA in 2002 and went directly into teaching, becoming a freelance writer on the side. 

She had always wanted to be an author, but with her busy life, 16 years passed with Barbara putting her fiction writing dreams on the back burner. After meeting me, she decided to invest in herself and joined the Writing Gym, where she turned her MFA thesis into a novel.

We began working together in spring of ‘18, and had her manuscript ready the following summer/early fall. We started querying and reaching out to agents, and then Covid happened.

The publishing industry slowed down significantly.

Despite setbacks, Barbara kept querying and had a breakthrough when she pitched her novel to PitMad. A week later, she got a tweet from an editor at a publishing house called Literary Wanderlust, indicating interest in her manuscript. Months later, she got a contract.

Barbara began reaching out to other writers, got encouragement, advice from me, and eventually signed the contract!

 

I asked Barbara to recall some of the questions she had at that point of receiving a contract.

She told me there were many terms in the contract she wished she understood more, and writers have to look for what rights the publisher will have over not only the book, but the writer too. 

Barbara asked to renegotiate the contract, and decided to keep her movie rights. She also asked about royalties, but in the end. Barbara knew this wasn’t going to be the book she quit her day job for. She decided to take the plunge and sign, because she wanted to open new doors for herself through publishing.

For Barbara, there were no red flags and she went with her gut. She got her contract checked by an attorney, and feels confident moving forward.

Her advice is: read the fine print, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and if it feels right for you, you should do it. 

I also asked Barbara what she learned about publishing that she didn’t know beforehand. 

Barbara told me that one of the things she did know was that unless you’re getting some 6 figure, 7 figure deal, which happens rarely, there will be a lot of groundwork for her in terms of marketing and getting into bookstores, especially during Covid. 

She also told me that books aren’t waiting in a big warehouse like they used to be. It’s very much print-on-demand. At the same time, publishing is very slow. There is a length of time after hitting “send” before the book gets published. As of now, she’s in the editing process and her book won’t be out until the fall. 

Finally, I asked Barbara about the impact of the Writing Gym, and how it helped her move toward publication.

“[The Writing Gym] made me believe that I could be a novelist, and actually complete a book which I hadn’t done in the past.”

The Writing Gym helped Barbara get her writing confidence back, and provided her with a community full of fellow writers.

 

One of our goals in the Writing Gym is to create the author lifestyle, and that means different things for different people. Most people want to publish as much as they can.

Like Barbara.

Barbara is planning to come out with book number two, tentatively titled “Good Breeding.” We’re so excited to follow her on her journey as a writer! 

 

It was so amazing to watch Barbara on her journey, seeing her grow as a writer, watching her embrace her fiction, and really become a novelist. Her novel is hilarious, and I can’t wait for people to read it. 

If this sounds like something you would be interested in as well, I’d love to chat with you. 

Until next time. Happy writing.

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

by | Sep 16, 2020 | How to Publish, Uncategorized | 0 comments

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

 

This week I received a manuscript in the mail from one of our Writing Gym members, Mary, and I’m so excited to take a look over it. Let’s take a moment to congratulate Mary. 

She has written so many pages with us in the Writing Gym, and has entered the next stage of the process by joining the Publishing Mastermind.

People ask me all the time, “How is it that you work with authors?” “What is it that you do?”

Once someone joins the Publishing Mastermind, I begin to lay down the foundations for you to become a published author.

For example, Mary is about to enter the Publishing Mastermind’s reading period. During the reading period, I read her entire manuscript not once, not twice, but several times. In addition to reading her manuscript, I’ll help Mary tell the best story she can while maintaining her voice and integrity as an author. But, I’ll also be looking at her manuscript from an industry perspective. 

 

What exactly does the industry perspective entail?

Well, it includes what types of books are selling now, and what kinds of conversations I’m having with publishing house editors, acquisitions editors, and agents. 

When a manuscript is ready, I pick up the phone and start calling agents I know are interested in this kind of thing.

Let’s use Mary’s work as an example, as I happen to know it’s historical fiction set during World War 2. I’m going to start calling agents I know are interested in historical fiction and say, “Hey, I’ve got this manuscript set in World War 2. Here are some things that Mary’s doing. What are your thoughts on that? What are you seeing in terms of what is being acquired right now, and how can we position this?”

What happens with these conversations is those agents become interested in that novel once we’re finished revising it.

We set up a system where Mary will get to the front of the line with her manuscript, because of the conversations with agents and the foundation I’m lay for her.

Once I finish reading the manuscript, I begin working with Mary in the revision phase, and finally, we can pitch it to the industry.

Mary has gotten the attention of an agent, and has gotten to the front of the line because of the conversations I’ve been having with industry professionals on her behalf. 

There’s no shortcut to publishing, but there is an accelerated way.

And that’s what we do over in the Writing Gym: getting you connections based on a quality manuscript that publishing houses and literary agents are looking for.

 

Do you want to accelerate your progress?

Are you tired of getting rejection letters from agents?

Are you unsure if it’s your query, your manuscript or synopsis holding you back?

Are you ready to do something that works? 

 

If that sounds like you, I’d love to chat with you.

I’ve made some time in my schedule next week to chat with writers who are serious about getting traditionally published. Let’s chat.

Until next time. Happy writing.

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!

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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