Let\u2019s just say that you\u2019ve been writing for a while. You\u2019re serious. You\u2019ve taken a course or two. You\u2019ve probably had at least one manuscript assessment, and maybe more than one.
\nWhat\u2019s more, you\u2019ve got your stuff out to literary agents. Not timidly, but properly. You approached at least 10-12 agents, and you chose those dozen with some care. You wrote a decent query letter. You polished the first chunk of your manuscript until you could see your face in it.
\nAnd?
\nAgents liked it. You got some full manuscript requests. Yay \u2013 You went crazy and drank half a glass of white wine before eight o\u2019clock. (You devil!)
\nThen \u2013
\nSome agents just never got back to you, even though they\u2019d asked for the whole damn manuscript and even though you carefully nudged some 6-8 weeks later.
\nAnd a couple of agents maybe did get back to you, with what could be described as positive, but not really positive feedback. You heard things like this: “I loved the concept and your writing, but didn’t feel quite engaged enough to want to offer representation. Another agent may feel differently.”
\nAnd look. At this point, we need to say, WELL DONE. Most writers don\u2019t get to even this point. You only get as far as this if your work has some serious credibility. Agents are a very, very tough bunch and if you\u2019ve almost persuaded them, you\u2019ve already done very well indeed.
\nBut you don\u2019t want praise. You want to get published.
\nSo what are you meant to do now?
\nSpend MORE money? Another course, another manuscript assessment?
\nIf you\u2019d done little or none of that already, you would be nuts not to make the necessary investment at this point. (If agents are flirting with you before you\u2019ve had professional feedback on your work, they\u2019ll be dancing with you once you have.)
\nBut suppose you\u2019ve done all that. Partly, you just don\u2019t want to spend more money, but also you feel (probably rightly) that another spin on that merry-go-round won\u2019t alter the final outcome.
\nSo what, realistically, are your options?
\nThis is a hard question and I don\u2019t have an easy answer. But here are some of your choices:<\/p>\n
1. Spend more money<\/strong> 2. Approach more agents<\/strong> 3. Make direct approaches to digital-first publishers<\/strong> 4. Question your elevator pitch \/ write another book<\/strong> If you have this problem, then figure out the solution that works best for you. And GOOD LUCK!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s just say that you\u2019ve been writing for a while. You\u2019re serious. You\u2019ve taken a course or two. You\u2019ve probably had at least one manuscript assessment, and maybe more than one. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ve got your stuff out to literary agents. Not timidly, but properly. You approached at least 10-12 agents, and you chose those<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":22987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29292],"tags":[29213],"class_list":["post-22986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-harrys-friday-email","tag-harry-friday-email"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIf you\u2019ve already done one or more courses and had one or more manuscript assessments, then personally I wouldn\u2019t recommend this route. You buy a manuscript assessment because you want to move the needle on quality.
\nFor me, one manuscript assessment is, almost always, an excellent investment. Assuming you are even vaguely rational about using advice, your skills will develop and your manuscript will improve. The same can often be said for a second assessment of the same book.
\nBut a third assessment? A fourth? I don\u2019t think so. For me, that\u2019s an investment too far. (For most authors, most of the time. There are always exceptions. A clear exception would be if the feedback from agents gives you a clear editorial pathway to follow.)<\/p>\n
\nWell, maybe.
\nPersonally, I think that for a standard novel \u2013 something mainstream and in principle easy to place \u2013 you shouldn\u2019t need to go to more than a dozen agents. If you try a sensibly chosen dozen and they say no, then you should only persist if you have strong evidence that you only missed by a whisker. (Let\u2019s say two or three agents were effusive, but passed on the manuscript because it was too similar to things they already had, for example.)
\nFor me, the idea of just banging on 40 or 50 doors doesn\u2019t seem right. Not fair to the agents, and not really a sensible strategy for you either. Agents are easier to persuade than publishers, so if it\u2019s that hard to get an agent, is it really likely that you\u2019ll end up with a publishing deal? The answer is no.<\/p>\n
\nI like this idea, especially if your book is the right sort.
\nAgents and publishers never tell you this, but increasingly the traditional industry is looking at a book to see if it\u2019s more of an ebook or more of a print book.
\nThe more mass market \/ genre-based a book is, the more likely it is to sell well via ebook and not necessarily so well in print. The kind of books I\u2019m talking about? Horror. Many thrillers. Lots of crime novels. Most SF, especially space opera. Urban fantasy. Romance and the less literary end of women\u2019s fiction. All those genres (and more) sell largely as e-books. That\u2019s not territory that the Big 5 have ever done well in. Some of the areas on that list (hello, space opera, or volume romance) are more than 80% self-pub or digital-first.
\nThe trad industry still puts out this idea that ebooks have peaked at a relatively low 20% share of all books. And that\u2019s true \u2013 if you\u2019re only talking about the traditional industry. But there\u2019s a whole world beyond trad.
\nThere is a host of digital-first publishers, there\u2019s all of self-publishing. Those things combined are far larger than even Penguin Random House. It\u2019s a whole continent that the regular books-media simply ignores.
\nIn short, you need to think where your book most happily lives. Perhaps your manuscript just doesn\u2019t feel print-booky \u2013 perhaps it\u2019s not something you\u2019d find on the front tables at Barnes & Noble or Waterstones. That\u2019s not a good\/bad judgement. It\u2019s just a judgement about where your manuscript is most likely to sell. If the answer is \u201cpredominantly on Amazon\u201d, traditional publishing is not likely to be your answer. Digital-first publishing is an excellent answer. So is self-publishing (so long as you do it properly.)
\nIf your best route to market is self-pub or digital-first, you are best advised to skip agents altogether. The reason you\u2019re getting that \u201calmost but not quite\u201d message from agents is that they like the book (ie: you can write) but they can\u2019t see it as a Big 5 book. In which case, don\u2019t pursue that route. Don\u2019t spend more time or energy chasing it.
\nJust submit direct to some digital-first outfits. Or self-publish.
\nThat way lies joy \u2013 and control \u2013 and maybe sales.<\/p>\n
\nWhy should anyone in the world read your book? What\u2019s the one sentence that makes a potential reader exclaim, \u201cOoh, sounds interesting, tell me more\u201d?
\nThat\u2019s such a central question and you have to have an answer.
\nIf your basic pitch isn\u2019t strong enough, your book won\u2019t get picked up by agents. It won\u2019t get picked up by the industry. Even if you skip all that by self-publishing, your book will still struggle to sell because you can\u2019t put a compelling reason to buy in front of your target reader.
\nAnd (sorry) but it\u2019s common for good writers to write a competent first book that lacks a powerful elevator pitch. And that\u2019s OK.
\nIn effect, your first manuscript is, it turns out, a learning project. It\u2019s where you learn the tools of the trade, the processes, the tempo. If you write a competent first project that interests agents, but fizzles out for want of sufficient commercial grab, please throw it away.
\nCome up with an idea that blows your brain \u2013 then deliver that idea, using all the craft you\u2019ve acquired along the way.
\nThat\u2019s not failure. That\u2019s a really intelligent way to navigate towards success. I can\u2019t even count the number of people who have got their second or third novel published in this way. Many of them were utterly passionate about their first novel, their baby. They were disconsolate when it wasn\u2019t picked up. They questioned their dream of authorship.
\nAnd then, when the right book was eventually published, they admitted that the first one just hadn\u2019t been ready and never would have been, no matter how many manuscript assessments had been thrown at it.
\n***
\nI like #3 and #4 as options on this list. I like #1 and #2 the least. But every book and every author is different.<\/p>\n