Editors and agents work directly to help shape the participants» query letters, pitches, and manuscripts, and I really enjoyed this hands - on approach.
Not exact matches
One can also watch the genesis
and development of her
work as she related its progress to her friends, who included not only her literary
agent and editors, but also people whom she never met face - to - face.
Whether you're pitching your proposal to
agents, waiting as your
agent pitches your proposal to publishers, or standing by as
editors and designers
and marketing departments
work their magic on your manuscript, the process is long
and the wait can be frustrating.
(It also tends to gloss over the hard
work of real people, like
agents,
editors, sales reps, marketing people, designers,
and assistants whose gifts
and creative energy make a lot of what we create possible.
It was time to sit back
and wait to see if an
editor at a publishing house believed in my
work as much as my
agent did.
I tell my clients to (temporarily) disregard the feedback in literary
agent rejection letters, because, if I'm
working with the author in a long - term program to help them get literary
agents reading their
work, I know their writing is at a high enough level that they should give the manuscript a chance before making radical revisions
and / or hiring an
editor.
How do you see the laying - off of so many in - house
editors in the past couple of years affecting the
work you both do,
and how these new independents with publishing contacts
and skills will play out in the workforce — both as literary
agents and as independent
editors — in the next few years?
More important,
agents spend enormous amounts of time making
and cultivating trusting relationships with
editors, so they know just who would be most interested in a particular type of
work.
That talented
agents like talented
editors will not only market books creatively
and aggressively, but will help authors make their
work the best it can possibly be.
Manuscript critiques are an important part of our conference, providing a way for you, the writer, to discuss your
work one - on - one with experienced writers,
editors and agents.
--
Agents work for the publishing houses, vetting slush
and trying to keep their five
editor - friends happy.
This session, taught by a literary
agent who represents (
and adores) speculative fiction, will share helpful tips on how write great SF / F, how to set your
work apart from other submissions, how to make your unique world come to life,
and how to effectively pitch your sci - fi
and fantasy to literary
agents and editors.
Depending on what your publisher has planned for your book (which an
editor often shares with you
and your
agent 6 months to a year before your book launches),
and depending on your budget, a freelance publicist (who usually
works on fewer books at any time than an in - house publicist) can supplement or enhance what your in - house publicist will be doing.
Predators &
Editors Website: www.pred-ed.com Provides writers with information
and contacts for the purpose of seeking publication of their
work, including tips on how to avoid scams, etiquette on contacting
agents, submission checklists,
and more.
There was a query letter critique, some Q&A sessions with an impressive list of
agents and editors, some workshops
and lectures,
and the opportunity to pitch my
work face to face to a
working professional.
The term first came from fan fiction,
and it means a person who reads your
work - in - progress (or «WIP») when you, the writer or «alpha,» are ready for feedback — before it goes into final draft to be sent to your fanfic page,
editor, or
agent.
During August all
work comes to a virtual halt as
editors,
agents, proofreaders, typesetters, CEOs, dog walkers
and everyone else on the planet takes a much - needed vacation.
Bizarrely, 3 of my 4
agents also balked at sending my
work to
editors who had specifically told — me - they wanted to see it (
and who usually did indeed make me offers when I sent the
work there myself).
Helping authors find publication by offering
agents»
and editors» critiques of authors»
works - in - progress.
I've
worked with beta readers, critique partners
and hired multiple
editors and a couple industry insiders, including a former
agent.
It's an extremely organized conference that allows participants to
work directly with
agents and editors to hone pitches
and queries as well as the craft of writing.
Our experienced fiction
and nonfiction
editors know what
agents and publishers want
and will provide a detailed, written critique of your opening, a candid assessment of whether or not your
work is ready for the marketplace,
and specific suggestions to make your opening more captivating.
Through Writer's Relief, our submission strategists assist writers with pursuing traditional publishing routes by sending out their
work and improving their submission strategies to literary
agents and editors.
We have to find the
agent and / or the
editor who loves our
work enough to champion it.
And increasingly, agents today expect you to have worked with a professional editor before you submit; as well, they may want a marketing platform outlined and included along with your submissi
And increasingly,
agents today expect you to have
worked with a professional
editor before you submit; as well, they may want a marketing platform outlined
and included along with your submissi
and included along with your submission.
How do literary
agents who blog, tweet
and carouse online find the time to do the real
work of
agenting: reading, hobnobbing with
editors, reading some more
and making great book deals for their clients?
SHARE: Your
work must be out into the world for
editors and agents to find you.
We think about how sick we get of our stories when we're
working on them
and agents and editors deal with the same problem.
Hell's bells, if we have to make sure we send an edited manuscript to our
agents and editors before they «edit» it —
and yes, there are a number of authors who pay freelance
editors to go over their
work before submitting it because they know there will be no real editing done by their
editors at certain legacy publishers —
and we have to do our own marketing
and promotion
and do it on our own dime, why are we giving legacy publishers the majority of money earned by our hard
work?
Like most writers, I had always wanted the validation of seeing my book in a physical bookstore
and having an
agent or
editor tell me they loved
and believed in my
work.
Someone writing for that market might be rejected time
and again by
editors and agents (
and I know a few) when their
work was just fine.
Human beings (yes, I'm including New York
editors and publishers in that category) prefer
working with people (including literary
agents) that they know, like, trust,
and respect.
In this process over the next five to ten years, the slush pile will almost vanish as we know it now
and editors will go mostly to solicited novels, either from
agents who have published their clients
work or from indie publishers.
Kathleen is an award - winning
editor and agent who has been
working in the publishing business since 1979 — first as an
editor at W.W. Norton where she published DEAR AMERICA: Letters Home From Vietnam, which became an Emmy award - winning documentary, then as a senior
editor at Poseidon, formerly a division of Simon & Schuster, where she published
and edited Mary Gaitskill
and Ursula Hegi.
It seemed that the industry's gatekeepers
agents and editors and publishers didn't even look at your
work unless you had amazing pedigree or a publication list a mile long.
However, as I wrote HOPE ROAD
and worked with my
editor /
agent on editing it, I got more
and more interested in the burgeoning ebook market.
Kelly Harms is a former
editor and literary
agent where she
worked with a wide array of bestselling
and award - winning authors of commercial fiction.
Editors and agents might have liked the manuscript but the publishing house sales
and marketing people said they could not sell enough to make it
work.
After
working with a print - on - demand publisher on her first title,
agents and editors refused to even look at the book, still clinging to the stigma that initially marked self - published titles.
It's so much fun to hit this stage in the publishing journey, because it's the culmination of lots of hard
work on the part of the author,
editor,
and agent.
Book coaches often have experience writing their own book (s)
and it is helpful if they also have experience
working in the publishing industry either as a content
editor,
agent, or acquisitions
editor.
After finishing my book, GLORY... THE HAIR
and working with an
editor, I too had planned to wait for an
agent.
- SFWA's Committe on Writing Scams, which
works behind the scenes to collect documentation on questionable literary
agents, publishers,
editors, publicity services, contests, vanity anthologies, magazines, websites,
and anything or anyone else posing a danger to writers.
This could be several hundred dollars (or more),
and they'd have no proof that the bad literary
agents did anything on their behalf, even though the literary agencies will say that they submitted everyone's
work to lots of publishers (good luck getting copies of the rejection letters from
editors that the bad literary
agents supposedly submitted your
work to).
Some
agents worked with writers for Hollywood
and some
agents worked with a few writers to deliver manuscripts to New York
editors for writers who lived outside of New York.
We have a level of trust
and confidence between our companies that should allow us to overcome the inevitable language barrier by letting Rosinante's
editors select, present,
and recommend the right books for these non-Danish speaking
agents to
work with.
Otherwise the response time on the project will be longer; the book might be submitted to the wrong person (often someone who doesn't even
work there anymore); the
editor will wonder what's wrong with the literary
agent or the author since no one cared enough to make a real pitch;
and, if you do get an offer, it will be smaller because it will probably be the only offer.
Also, many new writers probably send their manuscripts to
agents and editors before the
work is ready.
As for the gatekeeper, the acquisition
editors and the
agents, that model imploded a long time ago when the publishers basically outsourced the slush pile to the
agents, thus turning them into freelance employees of the publisher
and away from being the advocate for writers
and their
work.
Prior to the internet the only writers who could connect with readers were those who met the tests of various gatekeepers (
editors, publishers,
agents) or who were wealthy enough to self - publish
and auto - distribute their
works.