Some Blogs Never Die--They Just Go On Hiatus

When last we met, I had just resurrected this blog to announce that one of my unpublished novels won an award. The book still hasn't been published, but...it won an award!

So here we are two years later and I finished another novel that couldn't find a publisher and, which (LOL) won an award! Well, actually, it finished second in the Literary Novel category in Book Pipeline's Unpublished Competition. That was pretty cool because there were close to 500 entrees in my category, which is a nice validation. But, of course, that hasn't resulted in any kind of book contract and I don't expect one given my track record! 

Still, there's nothing wrong being a highly decorated unpublished author. I do hope that a future public will discover my sterling work once I'm gone and will experience remorse that the author did not garner the respect and admiration his work merited when he was alive. I'm joking, of course. 

I'm working on another book which will be even more unpublishable than the others. 

Let me finish with a shout-out to certain folks in Hong Kong who seem to be taking an interest in this blog. I can't figure out why, but I appreciate your time and attention. 

So that's that-- maybe in another two years I'll drop another post. No promises.

He's Alive (?)

So it's been almost two years since my last post, which was gonna be my last post.

But here I am again. A wooden nickel in human form.

In the intervening period since I gave up on the idea of finding an agent/publisher, I was inspired by another book consultant to further polish my cover letter for COME THE HARPIES and greatly expand my universe of agents. That led to about 100 more rejections and further confirmation that if you don't write a certain kind of book or represent a certain type of author, there is no market for your output. 

Even the wildly successful James Patterson has been quoted and drawn a lot of flack for suggesting that white male authors haven't much chance in today's market unless they established their reputation and following decades ago. I've decided not to gnash my teeth over his observation.

One interesting piece of news is that my book was one of four finalists for the 2022 Maxy Award in the General Fiction category. That was a cool achievement and I did follow-up with some agents to promote that development, but still the response was crickets.

Periodically I check in with this blog and it does get some traffic, which I guess is primarily by accident. But for those of you who are here on purpose and are curious about my magnum opus, here's a link to its Amazon page. Print and e-book versions are available. 

It's got a pretty neat cover.

Also over the intervening period, I finished a draft of my latest novel, which is quite different from HARPIES, which I'll be editing over the coming months and then decide what to do with it.

So again I say farewell, or should it be au revoir for now. The future is forever fickle.

 

Journey's End (?)

The idea for this blog was to document an experiment. The experiment tested the idea that if you do everything right, would it be possible to successfully sell my novel to a publishing house? Along the way I would post the highs and lows of my journey and offer any insights gained from the experience. 

The first step in doing things right was producing as strong a manuscript as possible. Following expert advice, I wrote draft after draft until I felt confident enough to send it to a few beta readers, who then gave it a thumbs-up. After incorporating some of their suggestions, I then invested in a couple of rounds of revisions recommended by professional editors. 

At that point, I was assured that I had a well-written, tightly plotted manuscript. Further research taught me how to prepare a professional submission package containing a query letter, plot summary, and author bio, all of which I workshopped in sessions sponsored by Writer's Digest. By the time I incorporated various critiques from the pros, I was ready to go to market. 

I had what I thought was a great story, a spiffy query letter, and a focused list of agents who expressed an interest in my genre. In other words, I did everything "right," according to the experts.

My hopes were high. 

One hundred plus rejections later, it appears that my journey, similar to the Donner Party's, will not reach its desired destination! As engaging as the story was to my readers, it simply hasn't caught the fancy of any of my target agents. I don't know exactly why. Agents are famous for not providing reasons for rejecting a book, other than the boilerplate "unfortunately, your novel didn't pull me in like I needed to be."

So the conclusion of my experiment is that you can do everything right--including writing a compelling book--and still fail to place it. But going in, I knew that the odds of an unknown writer landing a publisher are infinitesimal. One factoid I picked up was that agents reject more than 95% of the submissions they receive. I have lots of company!

I also found out that the best way to stand out as a writer today is to be BIPOC (black, Indigenous and/or a person of color) and/or LGBTQ who writes stories that reflect those characteristics. Publishers and, by extension, agents are begging for submissions from these groups because the diversity police have been highly critical of the publishing industry for not showcasing more of these "under-represented voices."

These voice are now being heard. Half the fiction nominees for the UK Booker Awards and the U.S. National Book Awards are from Asia and Africa. And just this past Sunday, The Times reviewed four young adult books, one written by a Nigerian author, one by a Korean author set in Seoul, and one that checks two boxes by being about Latinx culture and featuring a gay-identifying trans boy!

I agree that a greater emphasis on under-represented voices does enrich the literary environment. But being a straight white male who has written a story about two heterosexual white teens who fall in love, puts me at a competitive disadvantage in today's market. I guess I have to sacrifice for the greater good!

So I will consider this the end of my journey, and probably this blog. (Or maybe a hiatus.) To be sure, the results are disappointing, but it doesn't mean that I will stop writing. I will always enjoy the thrill of pure creation--especially when something clicks. But the querying process is deflating and unpleasant. If I never submit my creation again, my mental health would probably benefit. 

As the years pass in a blur, I know our time on this planet is brief. I'd rather focus my energies on the things I truly enjoy in the time I have left.

Cheers!

Writer's Conference Debrief

The Writer's Digest Conference was a mixed bag for me. As a virtual event this year, the sessions on writing and marketing were no less effective had they been held in person. Some sessions were better than others, but I did pick up some valuable tips on handling dialogue and setting more effectively.

The main reason I attended was to pitch my book, which ended up being a bust for me. In a real one-on-one pitching event, authors meet agents in the flesh and try to establish some rapport. That was, of course, impossible this year. Instead, agents were assigned to visit my virtual "booth" (see my previous post), view my video pitch and then to engage in a typewritten (not video) chat to discuss my project. 

What happened in my case was five agents visited my booth, expressed no interest in the project, and took off. There was no chat--no back and forth . The one agent who did ask a question left my booth before I could finish typing my response. In other words, the pitching session was no more valuable than if I had cold queried those agents. My main regret was I paid extra for the pitch session, a total waste of money.

I did gain additional insight into why my book hasn't gained traction in the marketplace. Nearly all the writers and all the presenters at the conference specialize in genre fiction. The lesson constantly hammered home was you must become an expert in your genre, whether it be romance, mystery, fantasy, YA, sci-fi, etc. Every genre has specific components and formulas that readers expect, and successful genre authors always put their readers' desires first. If they don't deliver on those expectations, they will lose their readers. In other words, authors become slaves to their genre if they want to make a living writing books.

Unfortunately, I do not write that way. I write books involving themes and characters that excite me. I never consider genre. I worry about the audience after I write a book, not before. This goes back to my unfulfilling days as a marketing writer and generating sales collateral under very strict guidelines. I used my fiction projects as an outlet to let my creativity flow.  My books, as a result, are mongrels of various genres. COME THE HARPIES is part science fiction, part political satire, part YA, and part literary thriller.

In other words, this and my other books pose a steep challenge for agents pitching to publishers who are looking for the same old genre formulas. I do understand agents who don't want to touch my stuff, since they're trained to focus on categories. Most likely I'll end up being another unpublished writer with a good book.

In my next post, I'll explain why straight white males have an uphill climb in today's literary markets.

My Writer's Digest Virtual Booth

 The final phase of my COME THE HARPIES publishing venture will be my participation in the virtual 2020 Writer's Digest Conference. The highlight for me will be the chance to pitch my book to several agents who specialize in my genre. 

Since the conference is being conducted online due to the Covid-19 thing, each author presents him/herself through a virtual "booth." The booth is simply a landing page that agents can access that consists of my photo, a brief biography, a link to this blog, and a video comprising my pitch.

Last week I downloaded all those elements to the conference website. Making the video was a painful experience, and no one will confuse my presentation with a David Sedaris monologue. But it's done, and here it is.

After viewing this masterpiece, agents should be enticed to request a sample of my work. If not, they will lose my respect!

2020 Writer's Digest Conference Goes Virtual

Prior to the Covid mess I posted my intention of attending the August 2020 Writer's Digest Annual Conference in New York, where I would pitch my novel to several live agents. Of course all that went by the board as cases skyrocketed. Rather than cancel the conference, the organizers are hosting a virtual conference using some super-elaborate software to create a "world class meeting experience" that I will enjoy...in my basement early next month.

Instead of sitting across from a real live agent and stammering through my pitch, I will instead host a "virtual booth" containing my photo, a link to this very blog, and a 90-second video of me...pitching. The video will be an especially tedious and terrifying prospect because I don't consider myself all that telegenic. Maybe I'll wear a mask. A full-face mask. A Zorro mask!

In all fairness--if we must be fair--it's a pretty neat format. The major downside, other than not meeting face-to-face with agents via Zoom or Skype, is that we'll be communicating via keyboard in private chat rooms. So instead of exposing my weakness at in-the-flesh extemporaneous conversation, I'll be exposing my weakness at typing back and forth at lightning speed and thus accumulating a mountain of typos in the process. 

I guess the actual benefit of participating in the so-called "Pitch Slam" remains the same. My work will be on display to at least 3 agents who are required to give a modicum of feedback. Also, any agent at the conference can view my virtual booth and contact me if they have any interest. Plus, there will be an array of riveting sessions on writing, marketing, and promotion by well-known industry folks. 

Overall, I'm glad they didn't postpone the event, because I intend to make the conference my last grand gesture at marketing my book and didn't care to postpone that act of self-flagellation for another year. 

 

The State of Publishing

I don't follow the publishing industry that closely, since I don't really feel part of it yet. I've read, however, that even unpublished authors should avidly become acquainted with the industry since it should in some way help them in their marketing efforts. 

I don't necessarily believe that, but I did do some catch-up in this very interesting NY Times article, that does a good job of providing an overview of how the industry is faring during the Covid-19 crisis. It's told from the point of view of the world's largest publisher, Penguin Random House as it profiles its current leader. Here are some of my take-aways from the article.

• After a steep drop at the start of the pandemic, book sales not only recovered but surged. Unit sales of print books are up nearly 6 percent over last year, according to NPD BookScan, and e-book and digital audiobook sales have risen by double digits. Reading, it turns out, is an ideal experience in quarantine. It seems that people are looking to take a break from Netflix.
• Like Hollywood, which pours resources into universe-scale superhero franchises that are nearly guaranteed to get an audience, publishing has become increasingly reliant on blockbusters — a development that has left beginner and midlist authors struggling. (Deep sigh.)
• The virus has pushed most book-buying online, a marketplace driven by algorithmic formulas that serves up mostly the hits, driving a cycle so self-fulfilling it’s nearly tautological: Best sellers sell the best because they are best sellers.
• Random House is printing 3 million copies of Barak Obama's upcoming memoir (for which he received a $65 million advance!!!). This is exacerbating a current paper shortage in the book publishing industry. Many publishers have had to hold off or reduce print runs of upcoming books because printers have been going out of business, and those still printing books have had their supply chains disrupted.

As a writer, it's nice to know that people are reading more than ever. It's not nice to know that they're mostly reading the same books by the same authors because of the subtle positioning and hype bestowed by Amazon.