We need a rejection bell

[Emurelda]

You were right, Emurelda. That does feel better.

I will join your submission process soon...ish.

As I am at the fetal stage of submissions, I have the luxury of selecting my first agent ...it is a compulsory naive process I must go through before I too will hit the mass submission button.

 

[AgentPete]

Would it be cheeky to ask @AgentPete to give an opinion on it too?

Sorry for a late reply. I'm slowly getting back up to speed here after much work behind the scenes - you will see the fruits shortly - and a very intense period at my "day" job... which is basically the same, except I get paid for it

Yes, definitely up for giving an opinion on any query / pitch / cover letter. Post away.

 

[AgentPete]

Trends in Submissions (may be of interest)

• I’m getting far fewer than I was five years ago. It was very hard to cope then, could easily get 100+ a week.
• These days I receive between a dozen and two dozen a week. The majority come via the web, very few old-fashioned postal submissions now.
• The quality has improved enormously. Not quite sure why this should be, it may have something to do with the website. The writing quality, and indeed overall commercial quality, is noticeably strong.

 

[Karen Gray]

Sorry for a late reply. I'm slowly getting back up to speed here after much work behind the scenes - you will see the fruits shortly - and a very intense period at my "day" job... which is basically the same, except I get paid for it

Yes, definitely up for giving an opinion on any query / pitch / cover letter. Post away.

It's nice to see you @AgentPete it kind of feels like a bit of a tame 'empty' when you're away. For those of you who don't know what an empty is look up an empty and Kevin Bridges lol.

Does this mean the houses are going to make an appearance soon by any chance ?

 

[AgentPete]

Thanks, Karen. I’m often poking around here, not necessarily posting. Litopia is more about you than me: it’s a community and as such we are all one big resource for each other.

The Houses? Yes indeed! Everything is pretty much ready to go on that front. You will soon see a totally new front-end to Litopia (not the Colony). It will be the biggest update / repositioning ever, and it’s taken a lot of thinking/planning to make it all hang together (at least, I hope it does!). We’re at final design now, but I’m not going to give a ETA.

The “conventional” publishing business is changing very dramatically. I guess that’s an obvious statement, but I don’t quite mean it the way most people would assume. On a deep level, it now requires huge amounts of creative thinking, much of it focused around how a deal is structured. That is totally new. The past few months have been very intense.

 

[Karen Gray]

Is that because authors are putting more pressure on the system or is it because the system is so loaded that you as agents and publishers are having to find new ways to be noticed? if you know what I mean?

 

[AgentPete]

There are lots of new dynamics at work, all of which need careful factoring. Most of which eventually bear down on the poor author. I’ll be more specific soon

 

[Jason Byrne]

There are lots of new dynamics at work, all of which need careful factoring. Most of which eventually bear down on the poor author. I’ll be more specific soon

AgentPete! Pleasure to finally meet you in 'person.'

Writers seem to have a penchant for punishment, anyway. Though your cryptic warnings pique my curiosity.

 

[David Steele]

Look busy, Jason. The boss is back.

(*Grabs a broom)

 

[Karen Gray]

Pmsl You two crack me up!



I love our little colony

 

[Alistair Roberts]

The only boss you have to REALLY worry about is yourself! No one else is going to get your work/writing done for you. Might have to 'crack' our own whips

 

[David Steele]

There are lots of new dynamics at work ... Most of which eventually bear down on the poor author.

Science fiction time:

With my business head on, I can see publishers and agents becoming more like design, branding and distribution consultancies, with each book being/series being regarded as a start-up business in its own right.

You want press-releases, book signings, high profile reviews? Okay - Here's our rate for that.
You want ten thousand copies printed? Here's what we charge for that. Now, let's have a look at the binding and cover services we offer.

In my imagination, the publishers of the future will offer a modular set of consultancy services to authors who are prepared to invest in their work. I think the days of a house taking on a book, all the associated costs, and the entire portion of financial risk are a thing of the past. The model we'll be looking at will be based on an assumption of "shared risk".

The publishing houses of the future might well look very much like the vanity publishing outfits of the past, but that doesn't mean they will be out to fleece unsuspecting authors. Every book will start with a financial risk assessment and business plan, Consultants will be available to help authors make an informed decision about the appropriate amount financial outlay the 'product' is worth, and how likely it is to return on the author's investment. Publishers will then decide whether to be "in or out" (think Dragon's Den) based on the perceived risk/reward matrix.

That said, there will still be a gap in the market for a consultancy to organise and rationalise these services and find the best rate for a supply /distribution model at the lowest possible rates. That's where an agency will come in. They'll administrate the business side of the product according to the author's degree of financial investment, attempting to gain the maximum possible value for the writer / consortium, maximising exposure through media connections.

Oh, and there will be legal teams, of course. Plenty of those.

I'm obviously not an industry insider. It's just basic business. Nobody pays for anything up front any more, and everybody's services are on a clock. With my science fiction head on I can see that everybody who wants to make any sort of living will become a product and commodity in their own right. How well you survive in that eco-system depends on how that brand gets marketed and how long you can stay at the top of the pile. Hence the current best seller by Joey Essex.

 

[AgentPete]

That’s very interesting, David. A lot of what you speculate makes sense. However, you might be surprised to learn that there is also a strongly retrogressive movement inside conventional publishing currently. When faced with an uncertain future, some folk see it as an opportunity, while others see as a threat to their established business models, and hunker down. An awful lot of hunkering going on right now...

 

[David Steele]

There's always going to be room in a market for genuine quality. The challenge for such companies will be translating their own sense of self-worth to a public sense of perceived value!
I can imagine a lot of smaller houses will be feeling under siege at the moment.

 

[AgentPete]

Believe me, it isn't just the smaller houses. In some ways, they are potentially more nimble, and more able to adapt.

 

[David Steele]

Believe me, it isn't just the smaller houses. In some ways, they are potentially more nimble, and more able to adapt.

Novel Plot Klaxon: Right there.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I've been noticing that recently; Tartarus Press for instance. Quality is their 'thing,' and quality of the physical product. Elegant jackets, and stitching, not glue; now moving to add in, not replace with paperbacks and already selling ebooks.

 

[Emurelda]

Sorry for a late reply. I'm slowly getting back up to speed here after much work behind the scenes - you will see the fruits shortly - and a very intense period at my "day" job... which is basically the same, except I get paid for it

Yes, definitely up for giving an opinion on any query / pitch / cover letter. Post away.

Ok brilliant thanks .

I am going to follow @Robinne Weiss' lead and post in her query thread.

 

[David Steele]

I'm gonna need a bigger plane.

 

[David Steele]

Adding to that "shared risk" model of click-charge publishing services, I saw this on the #amwriting twitter-tag today. I can't work out if these guys are heroes or villains. What do you think?
Click here for a promotional video from Calumet Editions
I'm tempted to have a look, but Like the Dalai Lama says, there's one reborn every minute, and my Shark Radar is flashing.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

The total write-off of 'self publishers' rings alarm bells for me. Whilst most will never become trade published or famous, the fact is some have. Like anything, you can't throw all under one heading, there are always variables, so I'd be weary of that video. I'm sure it's all about money, and little about helping new authors

 

[David Steele]

My thoughts exactly. In my experience, if any complete stranger is bending over to be nice to you, watch your wallet. (Present company excepted, of course)

 

[Jason Byrne]

Sorry for a late reply. I'm slowly getting back up to speed here after much work behind the scenes - you will see the fruits shortly - and a very intense period at my "day" job... which is basically the same, except I get paid for it

Trends in Submissions (may be of interest)

• I’m getting far fewer than I was five years ago. It was very hard to cope then, could easily get 100+ a week.
• These days I receive between a dozen and two dozen a week. The majority come via the web, very few old-fashioned postal submissions now.
• The quality has improved enormously. Not quite sure why this should be, it may have something to do with the website. The writing quality, and indeed overall commercial quality, is noticeably strong.

Intense period at the day job... far fewer and far better submissions... its sounds as though the aspiring writers have fought themselves down to the most prepared few, and stiffer the competition for us!

In the spirit of which... where is my rejection bell...
For yesterday: ding!
For today: ding ding ding ding!

41 submissions, 25 rejections — 8 by denial letter, 17 by expiration of submission.
Another two submissions expire tomorrow, and another six on Friday. I find my thus far indomitable optimism beginning to flag.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Not to be a killer Jason, but it is early days yet! I think the rejection bell could make a fine tune, if repetitive though. Maybe wrap it in cloth, and push on, and on and on and.....

 

[Jason Byrne]

Haha, no rest for the never weary.

 

[Marc Joan]

41 subs, 25 rejections? Ha, amateur. I have many more rejections than you can possibly dream of. And I mean that.

 

[Jason Byrne]

41 subs, 25 rejections? Ha, amateur. I have many more rejections than you can possibly dream of. And I mean that.

Yeah but you also have acceptances!

 

[Karen Gray]

DING DING


Next!

 

[Robinne Weiss]

DING! A very polite rejection today. Always nice to get one that isn't just a cut-and-paste from the last 10 rejections the agent sent out!

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Actually I had a nice rejection yesterday as well....