As you imagine yourself becoming a published author and the next bestselling sensation, images of grandeur may leave you delusional. It may be frustrating and depressing to stare at piles of rejection slips no matter how politely they were worded.
Unlike the happily-ever-after story you have slaved over for years, life isn’t fair. Life isn’t a fairytale nor a Hollywood movie. The sooner you accept that, the better you can get on with your life and the more rationally you can think as a would-be published author.
For instance, Xlibris always reminds writers considering self-publishing that book sales are dependent on any number of factors including the quality of the book, the author’s ability and motivation to reach audiences, and reader interest in a particular topic. While Xlibris provides information and services to give authors the opportunity to build a platform, the supported self-publishing provider does not guarantee book sales.
Traditional and self-publishing advocate Brooke Warner blogged on the Huffington Post about the Best Practices for Selling Your Book to Agents and Editors (or How to Avoid Being Delusional About Getting Published). Here are some of her practical advice on how to be on your guard, in control, and confident in your publishing journey.
On pitching to agents
Limit the number of agents you sent to at any given time to 20. Follow up after two months. If they don’t get back to you, they don’t want to represent your project. Move on. Remember that agents only get paid when they sell your book. They have a trained eye toward what publishing houses want, and they represent projects that they think they can sell for significant money.
On pitching to traditional publishers
… shop directly to publishers, bypassing agents (though some want or need to go the agent route first). The process is the same. You simply send your query letter to editors instead of agents. Bigger publishers will not accept unsolicited queries (meaning they have to be agented), but there are many small- and medium-sized publishers looking for projects, who want to collaborate with savvy authors who don’t necessarily need to be celebrities … Follow up after two months. If they don’t get back to you, don’t press … Shop to as many publishers as you want to, until you feel you’ve exhausted all of your options.
On alternative publishing
Others come to this decision as a last resort. For some, choosing to publish independently means giving up on a dream, or needing to work through what it means to them to green-light their own work. Alternative publishing paths involve paying to publish, so money is a big consideration here. Do you value your work enough to pay for it to see the light of day? Do you have a judgment about subsidizing your own work? Do you believe industry rejections mean your work isn’t good enough? If so, you need to hear that it’s no longer the case that manuscripts are rejected because they’re not publishable, but instead because traditional publishing is contracting; because more and more books are being published every year; because authors don’t have strong enough platforms; because a house has recently published something similar. Publishing independently allows you to create the experience you want.
Visit the Xlibris Writer’s Workshop for more free writing, editing, and book marketing tips. Hear the stories of Xlibris self-published authors on the Xlibris Blog and the Xlibris Indie Authors Roundup.