With the world falling apart, we interrupt this highly personal and informative blog for a public service announcement:
KEEP YOUR COTTON-PICKING HANDS OFF YOUR STOCK INVESTMENTS!
Before I began my intrepid journey seeking to crack the elite cadre of published authors, I was a marketing communications director for a large investment company for nearly 30 years. One of my main duties was writing investment strategy materials for non-investment professionals, especially for times like these. So here's what I would advise investors to do right now with your stock portfolio:
NOTHING! KEEP AWAY FROM THE SELL BUTTON! Here's why:
From 1995 to the end of 2015, the STOCK MARKET averaged nearly a 10% annual return.
During that same period, the AVERAGE INVESTOR averaged just over 5%. (All numbers are from the S&P 500 and compiled by Dalbar, Inc.)
Why did investors make half the gain of the overall market over the last 20 years? Because of panic selling.
Two emotions rule the stock market: greed and fear.
Greed: When the market is going up, everyone piles in and buys and stock prices skyrocket.
Fear: When the market crashes, everyone sells as prices plummet. In other words, the average investor buys high and sells low. The result: most investors do much worse than the market over time.
So my advice? Ignore what's happening in the market. You don't know how long or how much it's going to drop. You also don't know when and by how much it's going to recover. Instead, invest according to your goals. Are you saving for retirement? A house? For education? Those are the things that should drive your investment decisions--not how fast the market is dropping or rising. That's a fool's game.
Proof? Me. I weathered the Dot Com bust in 2001, the Great Recession in 2008 and was able to retire at age 62. How? By saving real hard and never letting the market dictate my investment decisions. I didn't beat the market, but I didn't underperform it either. I put my money in broad index mutual funds and, most important, LEFT IT THERE!
I know it's tough. Today we officially entered a Bear Market (a drop of 20% or more from a recent high). The temptation to sell is super powerful. But if you sell now, you're locking in your losses and the potential gain when the market turns around--and it will.
Most bear markets recoup their losses in under two years. So make sure you have enough LIQUID INVESTMENTS (savings, CDs, money markets, short-term bonds) to get you through at least two years without selling any stocks and you'll be fine.
Let me know if you'd like more of my priceless investment wisdom in this blog.
An author's step-by-step experience, from perfecting his manuscript and finding an agent to landing a publisher and promoting his book.
Reboot
After a productive consultation with The Book Doctors, we were able to perfect my query letter and agree that my diagnosis regarding the lack of traction on the agency front was probably correct. In other words, it's time for another edit.
Some tightening of the book's opening chapters is called for, which can usually be accomplished with a line edit. It has already been through a developmental edit, but I'm still not sure that all the elements that go into a great novel are embodied in my masterpiece. So I'm going back to the drawing board. I have engaged a highly experienced editor in my genre (young adult dystopian fiction) to do an in-depth developmental and line edit of the entire thing.
As you can guess, this is not an exactly an inexpensive proposition. But if you've ever tried to get a first novel traditionally published, you have to produce an impeccable manuscript and then hope to get lucky. I can do my best to achieve the former, but there's not much I can do about the latter. In the past I have actually written a highly praised manuscript, only to be told by several agents that, as much as they liked the book, there was simply no market for that kind of story! So luck does matter.
Fortunately, I'm in a position in which I can invest in my publishing endeavor. It's my hobby and my passion, and it's still cheaper than golf!
Incidentally, Part 1: The cost of securing a professional editor varies depending on their experience, track record, and breadth of services offered. I've seen prices ranging from $600 to over $4,500 for a 90,000-word manuscript. My first developmental edit ran closer to the lower figure. My second, more comprehensive edit, is a bit closer to the second figure. GULP!
Incidentally, Part 2: If you're looking for editorial services, proofreading, preparing a manuscript for self-publishing, I highly recommend Reedsy.
Some tightening of the book's opening chapters is called for, which can usually be accomplished with a line edit. It has already been through a developmental edit, but I'm still not sure that all the elements that go into a great novel are embodied in my masterpiece. So I'm going back to the drawing board. I have engaged a highly experienced editor in my genre (young adult dystopian fiction) to do an in-depth developmental and line edit of the entire thing.
As you can guess, this is not an exactly an inexpensive proposition. But if you've ever tried to get a first novel traditionally published, you have to produce an impeccable manuscript and then hope to get lucky. I can do my best to achieve the former, but there's not much I can do about the latter. In the past I have actually written a highly praised manuscript, only to be told by several agents that, as much as they liked the book, there was simply no market for that kind of story! So luck does matter.
Fortunately, I'm in a position in which I can invest in my publishing endeavor. It's my hobby and my passion, and it's still cheaper than golf!
Incidentally, Part 1: The cost of securing a professional editor varies depending on their experience, track record, and breadth of services offered. I've seen prices ranging from $600 to over $4,500 for a 90,000-word manuscript. My first developmental edit ran closer to the lower figure. My second, more comprehensive edit, is a bit closer to the second figure. GULP!
Incidentally, Part 2: If you're looking for editorial services, proofreading, preparing a manuscript for self-publishing, I highly recommend Reedsy.
Another Quality Check
So far I've had 23 official rejections out of the 63 agency queries I've sent out for my novel COME THE HARPIES. Of course the number of "unofficial" rejections is considerably higher, since many agencies do not send out rejections at all; they just don't respond. Since I will never assume that my submission package is perfect until I start getting more requests for material, I periodically engage professionals through workshops and other means to critique my materials.
I think my current query letter is very strong and that perhaps it is my opening chapter sample that is not gaining traction with agents. As alluded to in previous posts, it's critical that the first five to ten pages of a novel be amazing in order to capture an agent's interest. Thus, I'm constantly going back and tinkering with my first chapter to make sure it's as clean as I can make it. I've participated in a couple of agent-led workshops, one of which did critique my sample and suggested a few minor edits. One nice bonus was the agent requested additional material based on the quality of the sample. (I have yet to hear back from her!)
My plan is to reach out every few months for additional critiques of my work from legitimate agents and other outfits with proven expertise in the current publishing industry--there is no shortage of agencies and other entities willing to provide such services for a fee (usually ranging from $100 to $300). It ain't cheap, but I'm committed to investing in my publishing effort since I have a lot of faith in my manuscript.
Another potential benefit of taking this approach is to raise the visibility of my work. Agents receive hundreds of queries and proposals a month, and in their rush to cull the slush pile, they probably end up rejecting a lot of seriously great books. But when you are paying an agent to analyze your query and sample, they're forced to slow down and really evaluate your work. In my case, the two times I've had my work evaluated, the agent found value and requested additional samples, so I consider the money well spent.
It seems in the submission business, there are many ways to skin a cat.
I think my current query letter is very strong and that perhaps it is my opening chapter sample that is not gaining traction with agents. As alluded to in previous posts, it's critical that the first five to ten pages of a novel be amazing in order to capture an agent's interest. Thus, I'm constantly going back and tinkering with my first chapter to make sure it's as clean as I can make it. I've participated in a couple of agent-led workshops, one of which did critique my sample and suggested a few minor edits. One nice bonus was the agent requested additional material based on the quality of the sample. (I have yet to hear back from her!)
My plan is to reach out every few months for additional critiques of my work from legitimate agents and other outfits with proven expertise in the current publishing industry--there is no shortage of agencies and other entities willing to provide such services for a fee (usually ranging from $100 to $300). It ain't cheap, but I'm committed to investing in my publishing effort since I have a lot of faith in my manuscript.
Another potential benefit of taking this approach is to raise the visibility of my work. Agents receive hundreds of queries and proposals a month, and in their rush to cull the slush pile, they probably end up rejecting a lot of seriously great books. But when you are paying an agent to analyze your query and sample, they're forced to slow down and really evaluate your work. In my case, the two times I've had my work evaluated, the agent found value and requested additional samples, so I consider the money well spent.
It seems in the submission business, there are many ways to skin a cat.
The Deafening Silence of an Agent's Non-Response
I belong to a writing group whose members have set receiving 100 rejections as a goal for the year 2020. The rejections can be for poetry, short stories, fiction or non-fiction books, essays or articles. The obvious thought behind this goal is to acknowledge that writing is a rejection-intense labor of love and the importance to keep plugging away even when the market responds unkindly.
The problem with this goal is that you don't always know when your work is being rejected. For example, of the more than 60 queries that I've sent out for my novel, COME THE HARPIES, I've received less than 20 rejections. Does that mean that more than 40 agents are still considering taking me on as a client?
The answer is no.
The reason is that many agents say that they are so inundated with queries that they don't have the time to respond unless they're interested in reading more of an author's manuscript. Keep in mind that most submissions are done by email and that it takes all of about 10 seconds to hit "Reply" to an email and add a brief message like "Sorry, not for me." One can construe this non-response policy from agents as a lack of empathy or just plain arrogance.
I don't like it much because, like all authors, I track my submissions and hate to be left dangling with non-responses. But I tend to cut agents some of slack in this regard because I absolutely believe that in the age of electronic submissions, agents do get overwhelmed with queries simply because it is so cheap and easy to submit.
Years ago, before email, everything was done via the postal system and writers had to make a real commitment to submit. Between queries and manuscripts, I spent a small fortune in paper and postage when I tried getting one of my books published back in the 1990's. While book agents have always had a heavy load of submissions to wade through, the advent of electronic submissions (and MFA programs!) has made that workload many times larger.
Still, my sympathy for the agent community goes only so far. If an agent doesn't have 10 seconds to respond to a query, perhaps they're over-extended and should stop accepting queries for a period until they can catch up with their backlog. I don't know about other writers, but I spend hours researching appropriate agents and customizing queries for my particular book. At the very least I would appreciate the recipient of my query to spend a few seconds on a response.
Until then, I don't know if I've had 19 or 40 rejections for my novel. So how will I know when I've reached 100 rejections for the year?
The problem with this goal is that you don't always know when your work is being rejected. For example, of the more than 60 queries that I've sent out for my novel, COME THE HARPIES, I've received less than 20 rejections. Does that mean that more than 40 agents are still considering taking me on as a client?
The answer is no.
The reason is that many agents say that they are so inundated with queries that they don't have the time to respond unless they're interested in reading more of an author's manuscript. Keep in mind that most submissions are done by email and that it takes all of about 10 seconds to hit "Reply" to an email and add a brief message like "Sorry, not for me." One can construe this non-response policy from agents as a lack of empathy or just plain arrogance.
I don't like it much because, like all authors, I track my submissions and hate to be left dangling with non-responses. But I tend to cut agents some of slack in this regard because I absolutely believe that in the age of electronic submissions, agents do get overwhelmed with queries simply because it is so cheap and easy to submit.
Years ago, before email, everything was done via the postal system and writers had to make a real commitment to submit. Between queries and manuscripts, I spent a small fortune in paper and postage when I tried getting one of my books published back in the 1990's. While book agents have always had a heavy load of submissions to wade through, the advent of electronic submissions (and MFA programs!) has made that workload many times larger.
Still, my sympathy for the agent community goes only so far. If an agent doesn't have 10 seconds to respond to a query, perhaps they're over-extended and should stop accepting queries for a period until they can catch up with their backlog. I don't know about other writers, but I spend hours researching appropriate agents and customizing queries for my particular book. At the very least I would appreciate the recipient of my query to spend a few seconds on a response.
Until then, I don't know if I've had 19 or 40 rejections for my novel. So how will I know when I've reached 100 rejections for the year?
Are Writer’s Digest Workshops a Rip-Off?
As a follow-up to my last post, this is about a trap that I want to avoid when it comes to increasing the odds of my book actually attracting the interest of an agent. I’m calling it the “advice trap.”
Given the fact there are millions of us writers out there who dream of getting published and are willing to put in the investment of time and money to accomplish that goal, it stands to reason that there are numerous resources available to help get us there—for a price! Subscribers to Writer’s Digest receive emails every day offering workshops that promise to help you write irresistible query letters, slam-bang opening chapters, attention-grabbing blogs and so forth.
Most of these services are provided by reputable literary agencies and include a webinar and live chat session outlining best submission practices, and charge between $100 and $200. The cynical among us may think that these are simply quick money-makers for agents seeking additional streams of income to supplement the feast or famine commission structure of their primary job of landing publishing deals. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they are providing a valuable service that can move us struggling writers closer to our goal.
I’ve taken a couple of these workshops and I’ve encountered some pluses and minuses. They’ve helped me tighten my query letter and opening chapter a bit. This is, of course, critical because agents spend about seven seconds on each submission they receive, so you have to hook them quickly.
The webinars themselves mostly reinforce knowledge that I’ve already acquired from other seminars and especially from THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. However, the major value I’ve received is the agent critiquing your query has to spend more than seven seconds on it and is more likely to see the value of your manuscript and possibly ask for a larger sample. That has been the case in one of the workshops in which I’ve participated.
The downside is nothing is guaranteed. Even after two workshops, my improved submission materials have not generated any additional interest. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules when composing submission materials—and agents are inconsistent in even applying their own standards.
In one workshop, the presenting agent insisted that a fiction query include the book’s genre, word count, and potential audience. Also, she insisted that it’s a bad cliché to begin a book with the protagonist getting up in the morning. After covering all that, she produced what she considers the best query letter she’s ever received. The query was very good but it left out the word count, genre, and audience—and the synopsis begins with the protagonist waking up in the morning. Go figure.
So are these workshops a useless rip-off? Not necessarily. While some provide inconsistent and unreliable advice, they also increase your odds of making an agent provide a fuller assessment of your work than they would a cold query. For that reason alone, I will continue to sign up for the occasional workshop, not only to further refine my submission package, but also to develop relationships with the presenting agencies.
Query Critique
I have about 30 submissions out and 14 rejections so far. The rejection rate is probably higher than that because many agents will only respond to a query if they're interested in seeing the manuscript. As a policy I find that rather impolite to the writer, but then again, I'm not being pelted each week with several hundred queries that most agents receive. Frankly, I see agenting as a pretty thankless job, whether it's in real estate, acting, or books.
Book agents are inundated with proposals and that's only part of the job. They're also dealing with editors, publishers, marketing people, lawyers and that just seems like layers of headaches to me. Then there's the rejection thing--when their authors get rejected, the agent herself is being rejected. I assume if an agent is rejected by an editor often enough, that editor may think twice about reviewing the agent's future submissions. Too much pressure! My guess is a person goes into agenting for the jackpot potential and the thrill of turning an unknown writer into a superstar. I will never begrudge an agent his or her 15%.
So what am I doing now? I keep refining my opening chapter and query letter. I recently took a Writer's Digest course that included a query letter workshop and an evaluation of my query letter by a professional agent. I made some substantial changes on my draft based on the workshop and am awaiting the agent's critique.
At the end of the month I'll send out another batch of queries. If results don't improve by the beginning of next year, I'll engage a resource to analyze my query and first chapter to determine which elements need to be strengthen to improve my chances of landing an agent.
The bottom line may be that there is nothing wrong with my submission package. It could just be that I need to find the right pair of eyes to bond with my work. From what I've read, there's about a 1 in 100 chance that a query will generate an agent request to review a large sample of a book. And about a 1 in 400 chance that an agent may offer representation!
Given those odds, it's reasonable to call this a silly waste of time. But, heck, I'm retired--what else would I be doing with my time?
Book agents are inundated with proposals and that's only part of the job. They're also dealing with editors, publishers, marketing people, lawyers and that just seems like layers of headaches to me. Then there's the rejection thing--when their authors get rejected, the agent herself is being rejected. I assume if an agent is rejected by an editor often enough, that editor may think twice about reviewing the agent's future submissions. Too much pressure! My guess is a person goes into agenting for the jackpot potential and the thrill of turning an unknown writer into a superstar. I will never begrudge an agent his or her 15%.
So what am I doing now? I keep refining my opening chapter and query letter. I recently took a Writer's Digest course that included a query letter workshop and an evaluation of my query letter by a professional agent. I made some substantial changes on my draft based on the workshop and am awaiting the agent's critique.
At the end of the month I'll send out another batch of queries. If results don't improve by the beginning of next year, I'll engage a resource to analyze my query and first chapter to determine which elements need to be strengthen to improve my chances of landing an agent.
The bottom line may be that there is nothing wrong with my submission package. It could just be that I need to find the right pair of eyes to bond with my work. From what I've read, there's about a 1 in 100 chance that a query will generate an agent request to review a large sample of a book. And about a 1 in 400 chance that an agent may offer representation!
Given those odds, it's reasonable to call this a silly waste of time. But, heck, I'm retired--what else would I be doing with my time?
Waiting is the Hardest Part
Here's the scorecard so far with my query activity for COME THE HARPIES. I've sent out 34 queries, received 9 rejections, and one expression of interest from an agent to see more pages based on her review of my first chapter. Thus, I await word from 24 agents on queries sent out between July 24 and October 5.
That of course does not mean that I will hear from all 24. Several agents indicated that they're inundated by so many queries that they only respond if they're interested in the submission, which probably means that my rejection number is higher than the nine I've received so far. While each rejection stings a bit, I maintain a decent level of confidence in the quality of my work and that my hope of finding a publisher is not misplaced.
My current protocol calls for sending out 10 queries a month to a carefully curated list of agents. I haven't explored sending direct to small publishers yet, but maybe that day will come. So what about the "meantime?"
I think my query letter is in pretty good shape and my manuscript is as strong as I can make it at this point. I did go back and edit my plot summary in response to suggestions made by an agent at the Boot Camp described in a previous blog post. So I think my submission package is totally up to snuff for now. But as any writer or creative writing instructor will tell you, your writing muscle should be exercised every day to keep in shape.
I'm not currently working on any particular writing projects, but since my novel ends on a cliff-hanger, it probably wouldn't hurt to start thinking about the sequel. I've already started collecting some research material, but don't have the vaguest idea for the story. Now's as good a time as any to focus some effort on that. It would also be a good time to work on some new musical recording ideas--don't want that part of my brain to fall asleep as well.
That of course does not mean that I will hear from all 24. Several agents indicated that they're inundated by so many queries that they only respond if they're interested in the submission, which probably means that my rejection number is higher than the nine I've received so far. While each rejection stings a bit, I maintain a decent level of confidence in the quality of my work and that my hope of finding a publisher is not misplaced.
My current protocol calls for sending out 10 queries a month to a carefully curated list of agents. I haven't explored sending direct to small publishers yet, but maybe that day will come. So what about the "meantime?"
I think my query letter is in pretty good shape and my manuscript is as strong as I can make it at this point. I did go back and edit my plot summary in response to suggestions made by an agent at the Boot Camp described in a previous blog post. So I think my submission package is totally up to snuff for now. But as any writer or creative writing instructor will tell you, your writing muscle should be exercised every day to keep in shape.
I'm not currently working on any particular writing projects, but since my novel ends on a cliff-hanger, it probably wouldn't hurt to start thinking about the sequel. I've already started collecting some research material, but don't have the vaguest idea for the story. Now's as good a time as any to focus some effort on that. It would also be a good time to work on some new musical recording ideas--don't want that part of my brain to fall asleep as well.
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