Hi, I am almost at the query stage and I am wondering about the "I wish you hadn't done that" things that drive agents/editors crazy. There is a great sticky over in Book Promotion on How to promote your book, it's meant for self-pub but most of it seems like a good idea for any writer. But are there things a querying writer should stay away from? For instance, leave Goodreads to the professionals, don't mess it up before you really need it. Or perhaps "you posted chapters where?" along with hair pulling by agent. Or should I just go for it, and if I do it wrong someone can fix it later - all assuming that the contract fairy left something under my pillow of course. Thanks for your time.
Promotion while querying
- Thread starter rixwrites
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There's not much point in promoting a book that isn't good enough to find an agent or a publisher. If the book is good enough, you're going to have at least a year, and possibly up to two years, to promote the heck out of the book before it's actually published. Even if you find an agent tomorrow, and even if she sells the book next month, it still won't be published for a year at the very minimum, and probably not for at least eighteen months.
Spend you time getting your next book ready for publication. Any promotion you do right now will be long forgotten before anyone can actually buy your book.
Spend you time getting your next book ready for publication. Any promotion you do right now will be long forgotten before anyone can actually buy your book.
I'm not an agent, just another writer going through what you are. I just wanted to say that google is your friend here. There are some wonderful blogs that go to great lengths to tell you what to do, and what not to do in a query letter. I particularly recommend Nathan Bransford’s blog, and everything he’s ever written about querying.
There are a few no-no’s that come to mind:
For the most part, never send anything as an attachment. If you send a synopsis or sample chapter, it goes in the body of the mail.
Don’t give a lot of personal information. Only put what is relevant to the subject. Publishing history, platform, and so forth.
Don’t put the agency name in the greeting, send it to a specific agent.
No tricks in the subject line for an email, unless otherwise specified, it should read “Query- (title) maybe genre and word count.”
Keep in mind that I’m no expert. I recently found out that I was writing the title of my book all wrong!
There are a few no-no’s that come to mind:
For the most part, never send anything as an attachment. If you send a synopsis or sample chapter, it goes in the body of the mail.
Don’t give a lot of personal information. Only put what is relevant to the subject. Publishing history, platform, and so forth.
Don’t put the agency name in the greeting, send it to a specific agent.
No tricks in the subject line for an email, unless otherwise specified, it should read “Query- (title) maybe genre and word count.”
Keep in mind that I’m no expert. I recently found out that I was writing the title of my book all wrong!
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I'd leave all of the book promotion type stuff alone until you have and agent and can talk to your agent about what to do. You definitely don't want to post chapters anywhere that can be freely accessed (SYW doesn't count). Don't make any websites or Facebook pages or anything like that specifically for that book. Wait until you have an agent.
That would be my advice, but I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
That would be my advice, but I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
I am also fairly inexperienced, but I have gathered that before publication of the book or signing with an agent you want to focus on platform building (building a following) versus book promotion (trying to sell a book that isn't available for sale yet)
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You don't really have anything to promote yet. But it is probably a good idea to have a basic blog or website set up.
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Some agent guidelines specify to send the synopsis and/or sample chapters as attachments. However, if they do not specifiy, it is best to copy everything into the email itself.
Thanks for the comments. I think I have the actual query letter down, I have read every single archive of QueryShark and many other agent blogs. And I'm working on the blog/website/online presence for myself.
I have a music PR background, and often an artist innocently sends an advance copy to such and such journalist and they write about it months before it's even for sale and then I have to yell at them for wasting an excellent opportunity.
I was wondering about similar situations in publishing, such as beta readers on Shut Up and Read, because your family can only tell you so many times how good your book is.
So, dumb mistakes that new writers make which result in a Homer slap to the head and a "doh."
But per other replies, pehaps its best just to shut up and wait.
I have a music PR background, and often an artist innocently sends an advance copy to such and such journalist and they write about it months before it's even for sale and then I have to yell at them for wasting an excellent opportunity.
I was wondering about similar situations in publishing, such as beta readers on Shut Up and Read, because your family can only tell you so many times how good your book is.
So, dumb mistakes that new writers make which result in a Homer slap to the head and a "doh."
But per other replies, pehaps its best just to shut up and wait.
There's no real point in promotion for a book you're going to query. Assume a situation in which the agent loves your book and offers representation in a matter of days. Likewise, they then find an editor who makes an amazing offer by the next week. Even with that quick of a turnaround (which is not usual), you're still looking at 18-24 months before the book hits shelves. People who have seen your early promotion will likely either forget by that time, or at the very least lose some of their enthusiasm.
Seconding that.
Don't try to promote books you're querying. Definitely don't promote books you've not finished writing yet.
Save your promotional efforts for when you've got a book that your readers can buy, there and then.
Don't try to promote books you're querying. Definitely don't promote books you've not finished writing yet.
Save your promotional efforts for when you've got a book that your readers can buy, there and then.
Thanks for the comments. I think I have the actual query letter down, I have read every single archive of QueryShark and many other agent blogs.
----usually add my thoughts in red but can't change font color for some reason right now....go through QLH anyway. Because lots of folks who read QS still make very basic mistakes, which is no slight on Janet at all, just that seeing something versus doing it are often different animals.
And I'm working on the blog/website/online presence for myself.
I have a music PR background, and often an artist innocently sends an advance copy to such and such journalist and they write about it months before it's even for sale and then I have to yell at them for wasting an excellent opportunity.
I was wondering about similar situations in publishing, such as beta readers on Shut Up and Read, because your family can only tell you so many times how good your book is.
So, dumb mistakes that new writers make which result in a Homer slap to the head and a "doh."
But per other replies, pehaps its best just to shut up and wait.
biggest mistakes:
Not going through QLH until they have a couple dozen (or hundred) rejections already
Not running chapters through a good, impartial beta and/or SYW here (friends and family rarely count, and SYW is beautiful in that you might get a dozen opinions, instead of one or two)
Putting things up pre-emptively, including excerpts, free copies, promotionals, etc.
Yes, I intend to put up my query shortly, actual feedback is always better. Thanks for the input.
Just a twist on the original post question. What about promoting your book directly to agents?? But you know, not in the annoying way. I know a couple of writers via Twitter that had agents contacting them because of a 5 to 600 word excerpt of their finished novel.
Also, I'm working on some self-promotion--pre-audience building. Self publishing a novella, a small anthology of poetry and flash fiction is already online, & will be self-publishing a short story as well. All things I've seen on Amazon being hocked to potential readers. If you get a readership through that route, how okay is it to tout those numbers to a potential agent for a book you want to take the traditional route?
Also, I'm working on some self-promotion--pre-audience building. Self publishing a novella, a small anthology of poetry and flash fiction is already online, & will be self-publishing a short story as well. All things I've seen on Amazon being hocked to potential readers. If you get a readership through that route, how okay is it to tout those numbers to a potential agent for a book you want to take the traditional route?
You'll need to have made at least fifty posts here before you'll be able to start a thread of your own in Query Letter Hell. The best way to reach fifty is to help others with their query letters: that way you'll be more likely to get critiques when your turn comes.
Promoting your book directly to agents is called querying. Don't pitch on Twitter, you'll only get blocked.
It's "trade publishing", not "traditional".
If you sell tens of thousands of each book you self publish then agents might be interested. If you only sell a few hundred, you'll have proved to them that your work has very limited commercial potential.