Yipee! I’ve got a publishing contract!

I’m excited to say the least.

eXcessica publishing has picked up Survival Games for publication. The release date is set for May 17, 2010. Both print and ebook will be offered through Amazon.com and the ebook version will also be avaialbe online at eXcessica as well as other venues such as Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, BookStrand, Smashwords, A1 Adult Ebooks, Fiction4All, My Bookstore and More, and Mobi/Amazon/Kindle.

Now that I’ve done the celebratory dance, filled out forms, signed a contract and given blurbs and excerpts to the publisher, I’m wondering what’s next? What kind of ride am I in for? Excitement, hesitation, fear are all now working my bones now that this is real.

So, I’ve got to start planning like a fiend now that another step in the great publishing quest has been attained. I’m talking an all out sales blitz!

WooHoo – you up for the ride?

BEWARE!!!

Some of you may have been following my back and forth with an Agent on my facebook page.  She contacted me via that venue and asked me to attend her open house and call for submissions.

I immediately said thank you but no thank you, especially after the dead agent fiasco in August. And when I saw conflicting work history (she supposedly worked for the dead agent long before that agent opened her doors) – I wanted no part of it.

But I thought twice about just letting it go because I didn’t want some writer desparate from rejections to jump at an open call for submission from an unknown and end up getting burned.

I wrote a note on my blogspot blog (and facebook) about the experience with the dead agent and what I learned, so those of you who are writers, you might want to take a peek. http://jetaylor75.blogspot.com/

That episode cultivated some of he best advice I’ve ever gotten. It was from a writer friend of mine (Keith – I adore you!) and here is his nugget of wisdom:

***
I’m sorry this happened, but it serves as a lesson to you and others: make sure you know something about the agent you’re querying BEFORE you query. The fact that Googling her turns up nothing of real substance should be a warning sign. Even a new agent should have some history that shows them somehow involved in the publishing biz.

Bottom line: don’t lower your sights in your desperation to get an agent.

You need somebody who can sell your book, not just somebody who likes your book. So I think you need to look for people for whom there is some indication that they are experienced enough – or at the very least somehow qualified through other expertise or connections – to represent your work. If they are so far off the grid that Googling reveals nothing, you have to wonder how effective they’d be in the very relationship-oriented business of selling books.

***

So it’s not enough to be able to recognize “good writing” but they also need to know what will SELL and to know the publishing industry well enough to work the system. Enthusiasm is great – but it doesn’t necessarily open doors.

I hope my Q&A session was enough to open eyes. The said agent may be legit – but with no verifyable experience – this is a very risky proposition.

If you jump the gun, you might get burned. So writer, beware!

Happy Writing and I wish you patience and prosperity!

JET

PS – After my posting of this note on Facebook as well as my last graceful thank you but no thank you – I’ll wait to submit until you have verifiable sales – the agent in question blocked me and deleted my questions from the Open House forum. I guess she didn’t want any hint of questioning her validity.

101 Questions for the prospective agent . . .

You’ve got that agent hooked and they want to represent you.  Now what?  Well, it’s always wise to do you homework and ask a lot of questions before you settle into a contract. 

Do I have 101 questions? No – just 16 at this point that I’ve collected through my own experience and that of some very astute authors - but if you have questions that are not on the list and should be, I would welcome any thoughts you may have on the subject matter:   

1.   How long have you been in the business?

2.   Latest significant sales in the same or similar genre? 

3.  How many authors do you represent?

4.  May I contact any of them as references?

5.   Fees – what are your customary contract fees?  Do you have any other charges that I should know about up front?  (copying, mailing, editorial service fees – beware of the last one). 

6.  Can you tell me the extent of your experience in negotiating publishing contracts? 

7.  Do you have any experience with publicity and what do your recommend an author do in this space?

8.  Are you associated with any literary organization – for instance AAR?

9.  Do you sign a client agreement?  If so, is it for one book or all work?

10.  What other services does your agency offer?

11.  How do you handle film and foreign rights?

12.  When it comes to editing and generating ideas with your clients, how active are you in the creative and editorial processes?

13.  What makes you want to represent my book?

14.  What publishing houses do you have contacts with?  And which ones were you potentially targeting for my book?

15. Do you think the book is ready to go out on submission?

16.  If it needs revisions, how does that process go?  What revisions do you suggest?

The nightmare that is editing!

I recently took it upon myself to combine two books and pare it down into one kick ass manuscript. At least that was the original intent and after peeling away close to 60 THOUSAND words, I think I’ve gotten there. The best of the two stories in one killer thriller.

But anyone who’s attempted this feat can understand the pain of looking at every chapter, every scene, every sentence and every word going – do I need this?

The exercise alone gave me a ruthless insight into editing – whether it is to shorten like in my case – or just refine a manuscript into a crisp, fast, compelling read.

It is painful to look at a beautifully written passage and shake your head saying – This is nice, but it really lends nothing to the story. And therefore it finds itself in the delete bin with the rest of the cut scenes, like trails of film on the cutting floor. Our babies dying a cruel but necessary death.

Ugh, and you thought a stake in the heart was painful!

Now that Hunting Season has been shrunken and honed to a fine read, I can get back to finishing the first draft of Georgia Rein.

To all those out there that are in the throws of editing, I feel for you, but remember – do what’s best for the story!

Backspace Conference

I’m getting ready to head down to the Backspace Conference tomorrow to meet some of the on-line writers that I’ve been talking to for the past year or so and I’m incredibly excited!  

I’m also doing a two minutes – two pages session with a couple agents.  Frankly, I’m nervous.  Speaking in front of a group always makes me nervous.  Just hoping I’ll pull it off without looking like a total idiot – LOL. 

I’m having dinner with a publisher that I’ve been talking to for over a year.  Maybe something will come of it – but maybe it’s just a dinner to finally meet in person.  Who knows.  

It’s a tough business, tougher than the securities industry but I’m up for the challenge.  I’m feeling the Irish luck smiling down on me – and it’s still May – the month I seem to have incredible luck.   Perhaps this will be my year. 

Thanks for swinging by!  Have a wonderful weekend all!

J

Georgia Skies

The latest book that I’m writing has gotten to a point where it’s even creeping me out.

Set in Atlanta, Georgia, my FBI agent, Steve Williams, is facing a truly demented killer – one that’s practicing surgery on the underage victims he abducts.

The outcome is still to be determined, but one advantage Steve has over the killer, he’s gifted with the power of telekenisis. He can control matter as well as read the minds of those whose path he crosses.

Now the killer has someone Steve knows and the race is on to find the child before the doctor practices his last surgery.

Hope you enjoyed the little mini synopsis of Georgia Skies!

J

Another Day, Another Blog – Go Figure

I just came across this handy dandy link in my LinkedIn world and decided this may be a better resource than the google blog.  Now if only I could figure out how to write in one place and have it appear in all, I’d be golden! 

I’m a writer, among other things.  Fairly new at it – two years and running with two short story publications under my belt along with seven completed novels and three partials in progress as we speak.  Oh yeah,  I work full time too.  

I admit – I’m a classic over achiever, but the rejection list I’ve got has humbled me A LOT!   First I was totally inexperienced in writing Query letters – these are the demons that can kill you if you don’t get it right and believe me, I’ve done everything that you can possibly do wrong.  Thus the long line of rejections.  OOPS.  Live and learn.  Now I’ve gotten some real good advisors, am working on doing some necessary polishing and will be back pounding the streets by mid summer. 

Let’s hope this time, I’m a little more successful. 

In any event, if you want to read some of my stories or the first chapters of those finished novels and get a flavor of what I’m about you can check my website out at www.JETaylor75.com. 

Thanks for tuning in!