Unpublished Author Check List by Jim Hart

Unpublished author check list: 

 

1. Take writing classes. Either on-line or a local community college. See if your library has to offer continuing education classes.

2. Attend writers’ conferences. Take advantage of every resource that you can. Even a small one-day conference will have something of value.

3. Keep writing content.  Submit to blogs, magazines and newspapers.Write for your church bulletin.

4. Engage with your future readers. Write quality blogs that invite comments and grow an e-mail list; make a YouTube channel; do pod-casts.

5. Craft a killer proposal.  Really do your research on this one. Your proposal is either going to open that door just a bit wider for you, or cause it to slam shut. Every section of your proposal needs to sing, there should be no weak links.

6. Find a literary agent. Again, research is key in this area. If you send a proposal for your five-part epic YA fantasy to an agent who does not represent that particular genre you’ve not succeeded in making a friend in the industry.

7. Practice patience.  This doesn’t mean that you do nothing while waiting for a response from your agent or publishing house. Keep writing, keep learning, keep working, keep moving forward. Memorize the Chicago Manual of Style. Patience is an attitude, not a coffee break. And you can quote me on that.

And finally, but perhaps the best point to both begin and end with:

8. Give it to the Lord. Pray for His wisdom, leading and direction. He will be faithful.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6 The Message)

Why Are There Submission Instructions? by Linda S. Glaz

We handle very little sci-fi/fantasy/spec fiction of any kind. And we definitely DO NOT handle anything that has profanity or graphic sexuality. We each also have particular genres that we prefer to see. We ask that authors follow our non-fiction or fiction guidelines and then submit to us.

And yet…I continue to get erotica, fantasy, erotic fantasy…well, you get the picture.

We also spell out exactly how we would like submissions to come to us. In a proposal with specific information included as well as sample chapters…the first three sample chapters. And still, I get the first chapter, the last chapter, and the “one that’s really good”!

Editors and agents spell out what they want to see for a specific reason. We can move through them much more easily if they all are in a specific format. They is nothing that hurts the eyes more than to be on submission 20 for the day, and have it come through single-spaced, Arial-10pt. At that time of the day, I’m lucky to still be able to see double-spaced, Times New Roman-12 pt. But at least my eyes are used to it, so I can still see well enough to do what I think is a good job responding.

It is never good or professional to send proposals to all of the agents in one agency, even worse to blanket the entire industry of agents with the same email. All of us listed for each other to see.

When a professionally done proposal per agency guidelines is sent to one agent at a time (and I’m fine with authors sending out multiple submissions; I wouldn’t want you waiting before sending another), we can take those proposals more seriously. A well done prop gets your foot in the door. The more professionally done, the better.

Think about whether or not you would want your instructions followed; it opens the door immediately. And even if the writing isn’t quite there yet, an agent will probably be willing to have a second look if you followed the instructions the first time.

Do your homework. Know what the agents are looking for. Don’t ‘assume’ anything. If you follow the guidelines on agency sites, the chances are you are already ten steps above most.

Good luck, best wishes, and follow those instructions to a ‘t’.

2014 ACFW Random Observations From My Corner of the World by Jim Hart

I was able to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in St. Louis in September and here are a few random observations:

For me, the best part of conferences is meeting authors, whether at an appointment, sharing a meal, or waiting for the elevator. And I had some great conversations with a number of editors. It’s energizing to be around so many creative types.

As I met with my appointments I discovered that the range of genres represented was very diverse. I never knew what story an author was going to pitch: A cowboy love story? A deaf musician? A boy who rides dragons? A young pick-pocket who goes to work for the police? A story of racism in a farming community? A story featuring a major Biblical character? It’s almost like digging into a box of chocolates (without hearing Tom Hank’s voice). As a short-attention-span person, I really enjoyed it.

I found the number of writers who are writing YA and/or YA fantasy amazing. It seemed like every fourth person had a YA fantasy to pitch. Obviously a lot of people are reading that genre. It’s a shame that they are so hard to sell. I tried to be as encouraging as I could, because it seemed that nearly every editor at ACFW was NOT looking for for YA or fantasy/sci-fi. Although I did read a blog today from an editor who acquires YA fantasy for a general market publisher and her advice was to write from your heart, not to what is trending. Great advice!

So to all the authors that pitched to me at ACFW – thanks! You were the highlight of my day(s)! Especially those who had their proposals, one sheets, samples and manuscripts on a flash drive.

One author handed me a flash drive business card, which I had never seen before.  I had to wait until she got up from the table to try and figure out how to open it. I would suggest to every writer who has to make a pitch to stop what you’re doing now and google ‘flash drive business card’. It was a pretty impressive piece of tech, one that’s probably been available much longer than I realize.

And it was especially great to be able to share a meal…..and a long walk…..with a nice group of our Hartline clients. A special thanks to those that helped push Mom’s scooter across the street as it’s battery began to die. (That’s one way to work off a plate of lasagna).

Because Joyce and Linda Glaz were both nominated for the ACFW agent of the year award we were anticipating the awards banquet. The saying "two out of three ain't bad" says it all! And though the award was presented to Chip MacGregor there were a lot of authors in the room rooting for our Hartline agents!

And now…..back to reading the proposals and samples that I picked up at the conference!