{"id":6087,"date":"2020-01-31T10:38:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T10:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/townhouse\/articles\/short-and-grumpy-ii-the-sequel\/"},"modified":"2020-01-31T10:38:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T10:38:42","slug":"short-and-grumpy-ii-the-sequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/short-and-grumpy-ii-the-sequel\/","title":{"rendered":"Short and Grumpy II, the Sequel"},"content":{"rendered":"

If ever I feel alone or friendless, or fear that these emails are falling into the Great Void of Unknowing, all I have to do is to write a grumpy email about agents and\/or publishers. The torrent \u2013 the surge, the tsunami, the deluge \u2013 of responses tells me that you are out there, and listening, and care as much as I do.<\/p>\n

That surge of responses deserves a direct reply.<\/p>\n

Before I get to that, though, I do need to ask for your help, please. We\u2019re trying to figure out what we\u2019re doing right, what we\u2019re doing wrong, and what you\u2019d like from us. We ask you about courses, membership, events and more. The survey runs to just ten questions. Your responses will shape what we do next.<\/p>\n

Please take the survey here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thank you. And now for some short-and-grumpy thoughts about all things Agent and Publisher.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of you \u2013 and I mean a lot \u2013 wrote to me with stories broadly similar to those I mentioned last week. Probably the commonest tale was the one which, simplified, runs: \u201cA literary agent took on my manuscript with a lot of gushing excitement, but then, as time passed, stopped communicating with me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I repeat: that\u2019s not OK. Yes, they\u2019re busy. Yes, until you have formally signed with an agent, you aren\u2019t technically their client. You don\u2019t have an actual contractual claim on their time.<\/p>\n

But \u2013<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t accept that as an excuse. I once had a shouting row with an official of the Association of Authors Agents<\/a>. He claimed that agents owed nothing to non-clients, because they weren\u2019t clients. I argued \u2013 and still do \u2013 that no honourable agent can treat the community of writers with disdain.<\/p>\n

I still think that\u2019s obviously true.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t get me wrong. I don\u2019t have a problem with agents rejecting work. I don\u2019t have a problem with them doing so with the blandest and least helpful of form-emails. But if an agent engages in a personal way with your work \u2013 perhaps they ask for a full manuscript, or they meet you at a Festival and tell you how great they think your work is, or they ask for editorial changes, or anything of that sort \u2013 then they owe you a timely, personal and considered response.<\/p>\n

If that response is a \u201cno, sorry, changed my mind\u201d \u2013 well, OK. That\u2019s not what you want, but if it\u2019s honest, clear and timely, you can\u2019t really complain. Just seize your manuscript and make it better.<\/p>\n

Too many agents, too often, fail to give that personal, timely response, and it\u2019s not OK. (Our advice on getting agents here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Second:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

One or two people who have had bad experiences wrote to tell me that they have basically given up. They\u2019ll write for themselves, but will no longer seek publication.<\/p>\n

People need to make their own decisions, of course, but I do think that\u2019s a pity.<\/p>\n

The fact is, that for all its problems, Planet Agent is genuinely open to new and unknown writers. If the story you write is blisteringly attractive, it will be picked up. It will secure an agent. It will secure a book deal. From the perspective of the individual writer, these things may feel like a matter of black chance and blind luck, but they\u2019re really not.<\/p>\n

At Jericho Writers, we see a lot of manuscripts and a lot of authors. When we see something that really dazzles, we basically know it will find an agent and a deal. Equally, some of the manuscripts we come across aren\u2019t yet publication-ready. That doesn\u2019t mean the author is an idiot. It just means they have more work to do. Those manuscripts, we know, are not yet ready to sell.<\/p>\n

And then, yes, there is an intermediate category of good-but-not-yet-dazzling. Those books are sometimes picked up. Sometimes not. In those cases, it is more of a dice roll.<\/p>\n

But the smart advice remains the same as it always has. Find a genius concept. Develop your craft. Tell your story well. Write better.<\/p>\n

Most of what we do at Jericho Writers is to help you do those things. Do them well enough and the whole getting published bit is reasonably easy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Third:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avoid, avoid, avoid the vanity presses.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s hard getting a literary agent, people are tempted into the vanity snake pit. As it happens, I think there\u2019s a whole email\u2019s worth of comments to make about those snakes, so I won\u2019t say much now.<\/p>\n

Simply this: if a publisher asks you for money \u2013 via \u2018partnership contract\u2019, \u2018hybrid publishing\u2019, or whatever other term they prefer \u2013 they aren\u2019t a publisher at all.<\/p>\n

Publishers make their money from selling books to readers.<\/p>\n

Vanity publishers make their money from selling dreams to writers.<\/p>\n

Please keep your money in your wallet and say no to the snakes. Vanity publishing, I do not love thee.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fourth:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Self-publishing is an utterly viable route to publication and readers. It\u2019s not second best. It\u2019s just different.<\/p>\n

The only real caution here is that you have to commit. You can\u2019t just toss a book out onto Amazon and hope that it flies. It won\u2019t. You must view your writing as a business and your publishing as a career. Your first book won\u2019t make money so don\u2019t expect it to. If you do well, though, then by the time of your third or fourth book, you\u2019ll be seeing results that make you think, Yes, this writing lark might actually pay me. I am finding readers. I have a community of fans. I\u2019m an author, and proud of it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fifth:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Protect yourself.<\/p>\n

Even if you go trad, even if you have a wonderful agent, even if you have a terrific publisher, protect yourself.<\/p>\n

The single best way you can do that is to write steadily and build a mailing list. That list will, if properly managed, guarantee your access to readers and income for years and years to come. Don\u2019t neglect it, just because your publisher looks shiny and the excitement is palpable. That mailing list is your rock. You may one day need it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sixth \u2013 and last:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget why you write.<\/p>\n

You never came into this game because you wanted this agent or that book deal. You came into this game because a story forced its way into your head and wouldn\u2019t let you goi.<\/p>\n

The joys and challenges of that story are real no matter what. So are the rewards. We writers are lucky. We carry joy in our heads.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it from me. I promised you I\u2019d be Mr Sunshine this week and \u2013 in a slightly undependable, British January way \u2013 I\u2019ve delivered on that, at least approximately.<\/p>\n

(Oh yes, and the granular, golden header image to this post is a photograph of the surface of the sun. Each one of those little granules is about the size of France. My six-year-old sun is currently planning to walk on the solar surface. I said, “Don’t you think you might get too hot?” He looked at me with the joy of a six-year-old outsmarting his father and said, “Nooo. I’m going to wear a special suit.” One-nil to him, I reckon.)<\/em><\/p>\n

And again: over to you. What are your experiences? Your worries? Your hopes? Your beliefs? Are you bitter, hopeful, cautious, or just happily nuts? Tell me what you think below and let’s have a Solar Heated Debate.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If ever I feel alone or friendless, or fear that these emails are falling into the Great Void of Unknowing, all I have to do is to write a grumpy email about agents and\/or publishers. The torrent \u2013 the surge, the tsunami, the deluge \u2013 of responses tells me that you are out there, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29292],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-harrys-friday-email"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJericho Writers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/short-and-grumpy-ii-the-sequel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Short and Grumpy II, the Sequel – Jericho Writers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If ever I feel alone or friendless, or fear that these emails are falling into the Great Void of Unknowing, all I have to do is to write a grumpy email about agents and\/or publishers. 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