matt
I just mailed out a bunch of rejections this morning, which is never very fun. Based on what I read today I wanted to add a few quick faux pas and some general advice!
Many agents will take electronic queries these days (I prefer them). You can save yourself postage and reach out to those agents electronically. You might also get a more timely response. With agents that don’t read e-queries, be sure to follow their instructions and contact them appropriately.
If the agency is easily found and you have my contact info, then you should know I’m not “Sir or Madam.”
I don’t rep novels. Maybe someday, but not now. This is noted everywhere you might find my info except maybe in Everyone Who’s Everyone in publishing. I do want to see queries for memoirs, narrative non-fiction, how-to, reference, technical titles, design and photography, and anything of a western regional bent, including travel.
Keep track of your queries. If I turned it down once I will turn it down again.
Make sure the correct letter goes into the correct envelope.
Don’t quote your rejection letters. We know you need an agent before Scribner will read your manuscript. If you include five “positive” rejections you’re just telling the agent you’ve already shopped this and nobody bit.
Please don’t despair if you see a short rejection letter or even a form letter. Most often “it’s not right for me” is just that, even if your project might be great for someone else. You want your prospective agent to love your project, so it’s vital to weed out those who don’t. The history of publishing is filled with rejection. We hear it too on our side of the fence.
Good luck!
It’s great to see the kick-off of Dave Crenshaw’s blog tour in support of the The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing it All” Gets Nothing Done. He made a great effort to reach out to like-minded bloggers, folks who write about productivity, time management and organization, and he’s been successful so far.
In the last three days Dave has been covered, reviewed or interviewed in the following blogs:
Virtually Organized
Change Your Thoughts
Cranking Widgets
Genuine Curiosity
Awake at the Wheel
Dave’s great results so far aren’t the result of some high powered PR agency; it’s the result of his own focused preparation and roll-out plan.
Per my recent post, you can’t expect that people are going to hunt down your new book to review it. You have to take the lead in finding the very best possible reviewers with the most focused message and audience.
Don’t assume that just because you wrote a book someone is going to want to review it.
Too often I find that writers forget about following through once a book is published, but in reality that’s the most important time to plan for a real push to find and solicit reviewers of your book. This goes for Amazon reviews too.
Your publisher should solicit a list of potential reviewers who should be sent the book, but if they don’t, be sure to pipe up and send them a list. You can find reviewers throughout the blogosphere, or in user groups, or for tech books on sites like Slashdot, and if you have a trade title with a great niche (ala Sex in a Tent) then actively read the magazines that cover your topic and try to make connections with reviewers (Glamour, Cosmo, Outside, all fit the bill for SIT).
Very important: try to find reviewers who are definitely interested in your topic. Reviewers, and bloggers, are overwhelmed with review requests, so try to find a like-mind!
I know this sounds sort of basic, but someone just asked me today if I had seen any reviews of their book and I had to ask, have you asked for any reviews?
I promise, your publisher will be more than happy to send copies to prospective reviewers.
I figured I could keep better track of my twittering authors if I joined in, so you can find me on twitter now: I may not update often but update I will when I can!
You’ll find me doing all sorts of fascinating things, like stepping out to skim the pool, chasing the mailman down the street, or trying to find the darn SASE that goes with the query letter on my desk — and let me take a moment here to tell prospective clients that the absolute best way to query me is to query me electronically, by email, in which case I will most likely get back to you very quickly.
If you’re on twitter you can follow me here.
Welcome home, Katie Rose!
I’m so pleased to share the news that Katie Rose Davis is finally home with her mom and dad — my long-time clients and dear friends, Harold and Phyllis Davis — after her very, very, early arrival in our world.
Congratulations, we’re so very happy for you (and for Mathew, Nicky and Julian too!).
I’m really pleased to announce the publication of Dave Crenshaw’s first book, the business fable The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing it All” Gets Nothing Done, from Jossey-Bass.
Not only was it fun to work on a business fable, this is a really timely and needed book. We live in a time when we are told we can do everything simultaneously, and be more productive and happier as a result. But often, we lose focus and attention, and “multitasking” harms our productivity, and even our relationships.
I hope that Dave’s book helps remind people that we need to pay attention to the task at hand, that we have to, in the words of one of my favorite titles ever: Be Here Now.
Paradise Lost
ADAM: Paradise has arbitrary dietary restrictions?
DEVIL: They’re really more like guidelines.
GOD: Incorrect.
Enthusiastically linked.
Mood — smoky. Today we have over 840 wildfires burning in California.
The good news is that we have new books on the shelves.
Congratulations to Harold Davis on the publication of his amazing 100 Views of the Golden Gate (Wilderness Press).
Congratulations to Steve Horton and Jeong Mo Jang on the publication of Professional Manga: Digital Storytelling with Manga Studio EX (Focal Press).
Congratulations to Greg Velm on the publication of AP U.S. History for Dummies (Wiley).
Congratulations to Taz Tally on the publication of his labor of love 50 Hikes in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula (The Countryman Press).
And congratulations to Rich Wagner on the publication of his Building Facebook Applications for Dummies (Wiley). Rich is also about to embark on a one month cross country bicycle book tour to promote The Expeditionary Man (which repped by his CBA agency Alive Communications). You can follow his adventure at his website, WhyTheBike.
Best wishes to everyone. Thanks for working with me.
This is a first for my career probably 
I don’t usually see my books in Cosmo.
Michelle Waitzman, author of Sex in a Tent: A Wild Couple’s Guide to Being Naughty in Nature was quoted in Cosmo last week. Michelle was interviewed for a sidebar (to do with, ah hem, creative ways to use a hammock) and Wilderness Press reports that it seemed to spur some book sales.
Congrats, Michelle!
Here’s a shout out to Peter Shankman and his very cool site, Helpareporter, which matches reporters with experts. The queries come from all sorts of outlets, including bloggers, podcasters, trade magazines, book authors and big dailies.
I read his queries every day and pass leads to my clients when I see something that looks like a good fit, but HARO is also definitely worth checking out if you’re a writer and you’re looking for experts to interview yourself.
Peter has a fun blog and cool book, Can We Do That? Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them. Check them out.
