It’s Who You Know
Anna Elliott on Mar 26 2010 | Filed under: Business, REAL WORLD
There’s a persistent myth, I think, that getting published is all about who you know, that you’ll never sell a book unless you have a personal connection to someone in the publishing world. But it is a myth—I promise you, it’s a myth. If getting published was really all about who you know, I would have been published YEARS before I actually was.
I do have connections to the publishing world. Many of them, in fact. My father was an author when I was very small, and published several novels. My mother was an editor with a (now extinct) New York publishing house. And let me here and now confess that when I was 21 years old, just out of college and desperately hoping to become an author, I had no real scruples about using those connections. I tried it. My parents contacted old friends among the literary agents crowd and helped me craft query letters. But here’s the thing: it didn’t help. At best, it got my manuscripts read, led to some requests for the first 50 pages of my books. But I simply hadn’t written a publishable book yet, and the answer I always got back was a polite but regretful “no thanks.”
When I finally had the manuscript for Twilight of Avalon finished and was ready to start the agent querying process yet again, I was completely exhausted by even trying to contact people my parents knew. I happened to be reading a book by Margaret George at the time, and thought, Margaret George writes historical fiction somewhat similar to mine, I wonder who her agent is? A visit to her web page, and I had her agent’s email address. I sent him a query letter describing my project, he asked to take a look, and later signed me as a client. Three months later, we had a three book contract. At no point in the process did who I knew even remotely enter into play—and you know, I’m much, much happier with the accomplishment than if any of my connections had somehow led to a book deal.
A publishing world connection might get your foot in the door, might get you a reading and possibly even some useful feedback. But that’s all. And that really is good news: that it’s still ultimately far more about what you write than who you know. So if you don’t have a useful aunt who happens to moonlight as a literary agent, don’t worry. Just focus on writing the best story you can, on crafting a sparkling query letter that will best catch an agent’s eye. As Jane Yolen, one of my favorite authors, wrote, “Love the writing, love the writing, love the writing… the rest will follow.”
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Anna – From experience, I agree. Luckily, the system of querying strangers really does work. But I’d add that more than “writing the best story you can,” or “crafting a sparkling query,” writers seeking to break in today need to bear in mind certain criteria it seems debut novels must meet. A certain TYPE of story. Told a certain way (hint: dramatic present all the way). And that maybe the most important people to know are the ones who can help keep us in the loop about what those ever-changing criteria are.
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Sharon, that’s a very interesting point you raise, and I do think true to some degree. The publishing industry is obviously commercial, and has trends and fads like any other. At any given point in time, certain novels are simply going to be more marketable than others, and it’s certainly a good idea to stay on top of publishing trends by reading the trade journals and keeping an ear to the ground about books that are selling well. But I do think you have to balance that with telling a story you’re passionate about. If you simply chose to write a book because you think it’s likely to sell–and this is just my opinion–you’ll likely be missing the element of passion that *will* make your book sell.
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There’s a lot of wisdom in what you say, Sharon. Although I haven’t ever had the option of even trying to go through connections, I have great faith in the normal process. My radio dramas with both the BBC and CBC were plucked from the murky depths of the slush pile, and the meetings and phone calls I had with agents before I signed a contract, all came from here as well.
Although I’ve not yet had a bite from a publisher, I still trust in the process. It’s a question of the book landing on the right desk at the right time, and while the right time may not be this month or next, there is no real point in worrying about things I can’t change. What IS in my control is how good the book I’m working on while waiting, so that’s where my energy belongs.
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Anna – I agree. Sent in a sample post about this to WU, in fact. But as one who’s about to self-publish a book that WAY too many agents have said “is very good” but that they “don’t know how to break it into the current fiction market,” the whole debate strikes a (tender) chord.
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Your words are encouraging! I think there’s a misconception that knowing someone will get you published, but like you said, it’s just likely it will get you to the top of the slush pile but no further.
I’ve sent queries to agents by referral and completely cold with the same percentage of each both asking for pages and saying no thanks.
I do appreciate the extra care my letters may be given if there’s a connection. Sometimes those agents will give a bit of feedback instead of sending a form letter — and in this biz, at this time, every bit helps.
.-= amy sue nathan´s last blog ..Pride without Prejudice =-.
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Completely. Agree. :)
.-= Lydia Sharp´s last blog ..Make Something Out of Nothing =-.
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“Although I haven’t ever had the option of even trying to go through connections, I have great faith in the normal process.”
Ditto. Great post, though. It’s refreshing and reassuring to see the proof.
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Feeling human after all =-.
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Agreed, completely. Before I was published, I had published friends, I knew some people who knew some people; but in the end, it was a “cold” query letter that got my first novel published.
I think (and some may find this crass or hackneyed) it behooves any young author to know the market; you’re writing for readers, true, but you’re really writing for acquisition editors who care about what is good, but necessarily also about what sells. I don’t feel it’s selling out to do the research about what’s hot, what’s selling in volume, what the specific publisher you’re submitting to has accepted recently. Take those guidelines and put your own stamp on it; use it as a framework for your creativity. If you’re trying to get published, you’ve already established that writing your books is not ALL about art; it can be, at least in some part, about making money. With which you may then indulge your art habits :-)
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Thanks for this! I hear so many conflicting opinions about how important (or not) it is to have connections in the publishing world. It’s reassuring to hear about your real world experience.
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I have no real contacts in the publishing business, which is why every time I sit down to write, I remind myself, “Make the writing speak for itself.”
That thought encourages me–that I can’t necessarily control who I know, but I can control what I write.
Thanks!
.-= Suzannah´s last blog ..15 Reader Frustrations to Avoid in Your Novel =-.
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Del, that is exactly my opinion, as well. If you want writing to be your full-time job, it obviously needs to pay enough that you can support yourself and your family, and therefore to a degree you have to write what the market is willing to pay you for. And this is such a tough publishing climate just now, that I don’t think it’s at all “selling out” to know what’s hot and what publishers are buying–I think it’s essential that you do familiarize yourself with the workings of the market. I just think, too, that it needs to be balanced by real passion and drive behind the writing–that a book written *exclusively* for the market is always going to ring hollow.
Best of luck to everyone going through or about to go through the querying process. It’s not just me, I know dozens of other writers who have landed an agent through a cold-query. And even in this tough climate, new deals *are* still being made every week!
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I was picked up in the slush pile. I spent a lot of time on my query. Someone is going to fall in love with your novel. Stay with it.
Greg Gutierrez
Zen and the Art of Surfing
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For writers, more than any other profession, the saying holds true that, “When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.” And I’m pretty sure every agent and editor worth his/her salt is avidly on the lookout for manuscripts which would meet that description – the top .01 percent.
So, for writers, it’s a matter of both turning out work that is not just excellent but superb, and of keeping the faith throughout the writing process. This, by the way, is a sort of metaphysical teeter totter, as each is impossible without the other.
.-= Sarah Aiglen´s last blog ..Far from the Tweeting Crowd =-.
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