When submissions can change plot

KSelwonk · Oct 31, 2012

Hey AW, I'm kind of in a pickle... Recently, i self published a book through the Vanity Publisher, Xlibris. A lot of folks on here told me to never mention that to any agent I would try to submit to unless it was absolutely necessary.

My book is for kids, yes, and it is part of a series. Upon writing the second part of the book, the story begins kind of where the last book left off.

My question is, to avoid the damning mark of Xlibris on my submissions line, should i try to sculpt the book in a way so that the first part of the series is irrelevant? This would avoid any question of a previous book, or... Should I just include some sort of prologue to kind of catch the reader up? I could also come up with entirely different characters and go through that plot line.

I realize publishing with Xlibris was a mistake, but it's not going as badly as I thought it would. I really don't want to self publish anymore because I'm confident enough in my works now to seek out the traditional route in publishing. I don't have to rewrite anything at this point. I'm just trying to get this all figured out before i start the new manuscript.

Polenth · Oct 31, 2012

It'd be easier for you to start an entirely new series or stand alone. You're more likely to be able to sell the previously self-published book and its sequels if you've sold something else.

KSelwonk · Oct 31, 2012

I don't think that would be easy, i don't have any other ideas for stories but this one. I've put a frightening amount of creative energy into it and I'm willing to go the hard route for it. I'm just worried no agents would work with me if they found out about the xlibris thing. And i'm not really concerned about selling the previous self pubbed book really. I just want more people to know about my work, you know better publicity. I know a traditional publishing house could provide that..

veinglory · Oct 31, 2012

What might stop agents from working with you is lying (even by omission) about the book or series you are currently shopping when a cursory Googling will show you currently have it on sale right now through a self-publisher.

Shopping one book whilst having previously self-published another completely different book, possibly under another name, is not going to bother too many people unless the book was egregiously offensive in some way.

KSelwonk · Oct 31, 2012

@Veinglory, i'd love to keep the name of my book's series intact. My book is not offensive in any way... So are you saying i shouldn't try to avoid the agent noticing my xlibiris thing? I really don't see what the big deal would be. It's not like my audience really cares who it's published by.

MorganMarshall · Oct 31, 2012

I have a previous beta version of my shopped manuscript self-published. It's not available for sale, and I really only did it to get reader response (middle grade readers tend to be far more willing to read a book than a manuscript). The new version isn't really even the same story, and so I have no worries in that regard. Still, it forced me to change the title, which I loved.

Sometimes, though, we have to cut off the toe to spare the foot.

Sage · Oct 31, 2012

Let me see if I have this right, so I don't answer the wrong scenario. You published book 1 through xlibris and now you're writing book 2 and you want to sell it through a publisher.

It's incredibly unlikely that you can sell book 2 if it's dependent on book 1. Some sequels aren't truly dependent, and if this is the case, you can possibly get by trying to sell this one. If it's not dependent, though, is there any way you could change all the names and tweak things enough that you're in a whole different, but similar, world as your book 1? A standalone would be a much easier sell than a sequel.

If you query it as a sequel, you will have to tell the agents that there's another book in that world out there. And that might raise red flags just because they assume that it will be dependent and you've already lost first rights.

KSelwonk · Oct 31, 2012

ughh, well my dream is to have this book with all the names and all the places in tact... I guess i will have to self publish the rest of this series since xlibris has stained my ability to seek out agents. It sucks, but i can't change the names, i can't make it a different world. This is the book that must be... It's too personal to be just edited to be more appealing to the literary agent. Maybe going through a vanity publisher was the right thing to do, as I am just too vein about this whole thing.

But i do own the rights to my book still.

MsJudy · Oct 31, 2012

It seems to me you'll have to make a decision at some point. But it sounds like you could write this "second" book as though it were a stand-alone. Write it so that no one needs to have read the Xlibris book to understand or enjoy the new one. Query it as a stand-alone book. Then if an agent shows interest, you need to be frank and honest about having a self-published book set in the same world.

No publisher is going to want Book Two of a Series. But if your "Book Two" can be "Book One" you don't actually have a problem.

Polenth · Oct 31, 2012

KSelwonk said:
ughh, well my dream is to have this book with all the names and all the places in tact... I guess i will have to self publish the rest of this series since xlibris has stained my ability to seek out agents. It sucks, but i can't change the names, i can't make it a different world. This is the book that must be... It's too personal to be just edited to be more appealing to the literary agent. Maybe going through a vanity publisher was the right thing to do, as I am just too vein about this whole thing.

If you take the self-published version down, there is a chance an agent might look at it. Some won't look at self-published books with low sales, but some will. However, it's going to be difficult to have a career if you only have one idea and you're not willing to change anything in edits.

If you do continue self-publishing the series, you might want to look around at other options. Paying a large up-front fee isn't necessary and you're unlikely to see that money back. There's a self-publishing forum on AW which discusses a lot of those issues.

KSelwonk · Oct 31, 2012

Oh i know there are better ways to self pub, that's why i admitted xlibirs was a mistake. Thanks for all your help guys, I'm just going to write the second part of the manuscript as kind of a standalone, but not change the names or characters. I may change the title a little, but i'm not so worried anymore, as i've done a bit more research today. =)

djrashn · Oct 31, 2012

Hey KSelwonk, I am NOT an expert, I don't even play one on TV. BUT, it seems to me that there are NO ABSOLUTES in the game/business/world of publishing. For every rule out there, an example can be found where it was broken and wound up being successful.
Write your book exactly like you want it, and then query. Be honest about the first book and make them tell you no. Someone might say yes.
If you get more rejections than you can stand, then change the book to be completely stand alone, or keep self-publishing, but don't tell yourself no.
Good luck.

Erin Kelly · Nov 5, 2012

Why not rewrite book one? Polish it, make it better, give it more UMPH. Then take down the existing self-published MS and approach agents with the improved version. Then, you can pitch it as a true series. I have a writer friend who found representation for her self-published novel after she decided to re-approach and rewrite the MS. She's now represented by Daniel Lazar.

Best of luck!

KSelwonk · Nov 5, 2012

Well, that's not a bad idea Erin Kelly.I just have a lot of new ideas for a different story and am excited to work on a new plot. Maybe in the future i'll come back to the original self published manuscript but honestly, i'm sick of looking at it.

When submissions can change plot

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots

Polenth

Mushroom

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots

veinglory

volitare nequeo

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots

MorganMarshall

I keep my head firmly in the clouds

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots

MsJudy

Polenth

Mushroom

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots

djrashn

Deus ex Harry Potter.

Erin Kelly

Writer

KSelwonk

Faeries wear boots