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My newest writing reference book, GET A LITERARY AGENT, is finally out from Writer’s Digest Books! As the book subtitle says. it’s a complete guide to securing representation for your books. This book has been a long time coming, and it’s a small labor of love, so I’m excited to share it with you now.
Every year, I edit the Guide to Literary Agents, which is essentially a huge database of agents — who they are, what they seek, how to submit, etc. It’s got good instructional articles upfront, but it could have so many more if space would simply allow. That’s why Writer’s Digest Books came to me a while back and said, “Why not compile everything you know about getting an agent into one book? And while you’re at it, loop in advice and opinions from active literary agents — at least 100 of them.” And thus GET A LITERARY AGENT was born. I’ll explain more about the guide in a moment, but first — the giveaway!
GIVEAWAY: I am giving away 3 copies of GET A LITERARY AGENT to random commenters. Simply comment on this blog post anytime before the end of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. If you want to be entered 3 times instead of once in the contest, simply share this tweet about this giveaway: There’s a Book Giveaway going on at for the new guide, GET A LITERARY AGENT: via . Make sure you leave my handle in there so I can see you tweeted it. And include your own Twitter handle below in your comment if you tweeted it.
TWO BIG REASONS TO BUY THE BOOK:
1. More than 100 literary agents offer advice and guidance in its pages. For this book, I wanted to create something that brought together tips and instruction from as many places as possible. That meant getting tons of literary agents to chime in on all topics. It’s their advice that drives this book. It’s them chiming in on query letter pet peeves. It’s them chiming in on the difference between romance and women’s fiction. It’s them chiming in on why agents reject your work after reading the first chapter. They’re offering advice through every section of the book.
2. The book truly is a one-stop resource. I try to cover everything that you’d possibly need to know when seeking a literary agent. If you’re just starting out on your writing journey, the book is an ideal for you because it addresses the entire process of submitting your book to agents for consideration. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing — nonfiction, fiction, books for adults, books by kids, self-published books — GET A LITERARY AGENT addresses your concerns.
THIS BOOK WILL TEACH YOU THE FOLLOWING:
- What literary agents do on a daily basis, and what they can do for you
- How to polish/revise your own writing and understand when you can stop rewriting your work and finally submit with confidence
- How to find the most agents to query through researching both books and the Internet
- What word count guidelines (low and high) may make some agents balk at your submission
- How to write a compelling query letter that gets attention
- How to write an effective synopsis that conveys your plot
- How to write a thorough nonfiction book proposal that makes your title seem timely and interesting
- Several ways to contact literary agents that don’t involve a query letter
- The pros and cons of signing with a new literary agent
- How many agents to submit to at one time
- How to prepare a complete Submission Checklist to consult before sending out your work
- How to write an interesting Chapter 1 that pulls agents (and readers) in quickly
- The basics of writer platform and marketing yourself
- How requests for an exclusive submission work
- What questions to ask an interested agent when they call you
- How to work well with an agent and foster a long-term, multi-book relationship
- How to tell what genre you’re writing in
- How to get a literary agent interested in a self-published book
- And much more! Buy the book here!
GIVEAWAY: I am giving away 3 copies of GET A LITERARY AGENT to random commenters. Simply comment on this blog post anytime before the end of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. If you want to be entered 3 times instead of once in the contest, simply share this tweet about this giveaway: There’s a Book Giveaway going on at for the new guide, GET A LITERARY AGENT: via . Make sure you leave my handle in there so I can see you tweeted it. And include your own Twitter handle below in your comment if you tweeted it.
The 2015 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is out and available in major bookstores! What better way to celebrate its release than a giveaway contest? The CWIM a great resource guide for writers of picture books and novels for kids (young adult, middle grade) as well as illustrators.
The new 2015 edition of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is updated and packed with info. Now in its 27th year, the newest edition still provides great market and submission/contact information for book publishers, art reps, international publishers, literary agents, contests, magazines, conferences and more. In addition to hundreds of markets for your kids book, this new edition has the following:
- Interviews with some of today’s most amazing writers and illustrators, such as Lauren DeStefano (Wither series), illustrator Loren Long (Of Thee I Sing with Barack Obama), and Kathy Appelt (The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp), among many others.
- Interviews with 13 debut authors, explaining how they came to get their picture books, middle grade, board books, and young adult books published. Hear their stories and learn from them.
- Interviews with 9 debut book illustrators, explaining how they came to see their work come to life. Hear from their stories and learn from them.
- Instructional articles on Writing For Boys (and Other “Reluctant Readers”), How to Write a Query Letter, Your Presence on the Web (Connecting With Readers), How to Write & Sell Nonfiction, Middle Grade vs. Young Adult, Tips on Selling Your First Children’s Picture Book, and more.
- “New Agent Spotlights” that pinpoint new/newer literary reps who are actively seeking submissions and clients NOW.
- A supplemental webinar all about how to revise & self-edit your own work to make it amazing before you submit. The webinar was recorded by contributing editor Harold Underdown, who runs The Purple Crayon website.
- And much more.
Buy it here! (It is available wherever books are sold, including Barnes & Noble or on Amazon, but know that when you order any product from our Writer’s Digest shop, you get the same deep discount you find on Amazon.) Need more reasons to buy? How about 8 darn good testimonials below from these very cool people, many of which are bestsellers, and some of which have even had movies made out of their books.
THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In two weeks, I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy. Note: If you share news of the contest on Twitter, you’re entered into the contest twice instead of once. To do this, simply share this tweet — The 2015 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is out now! Giveaway contest: http://tinyurl.com/lj72wx9 – via @chucksambuchino — and then comment on this post and leave your Twitter handle in your blog comment.
“Whenever anyone asks for publishing advice,
I tell them to grab the latest edition of Children’s
Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market.”
- JAY ASHER, author of the #1 New York
Times bestseller 13 Reasons Why
and The Future of Us
“CWIM is a great resource for artists and writers
who are ready to share their talent with the world.”
- MEG CABOT, author of multiple #1 New York Times
bestsellers, including the Princess Diaries series
“CWIM is an invaluable resource for any aspiring
writer hoping to get published. It helped me a lot
and I recommend it to everyone.”
- JAMES DASHNER, New York Times best-selling
author of The Maze Runner series, the first book of which
is soon to be a major motion picture.
“Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is invaluable
for writers of children’s books. Chock-full of publishing
resources, it’s a must-have.”
- BECCA FITZPATRICK, author of Hush-Hush
and Crescendo
“If you’re serious about writing or illustrating for
young people, the information, tools and insights
within the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
will get you started on the right path.”
- WENDY TOLIVER, author of Lifted
“Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market has all the things
a new writer needs to know about the business, like who’s
who and how to submit to agents and publishers, but it also
has all the intangibles, like advice and encouragement.
Buy it for the information, keep it for the inspiration.”
- JOSEPHINE ANGELINI, international
bestselling author of Starcrossed.
“Chuck Sambuchino’s Children’s Writer’s and
Illustrator’s Market has all you need to
master the publishing process.”
- JULIE CANTRELL, New York Times and
USA Today bestselling author of Into the Free
“In my pre-published days (and there were many), purchasing
and perusing the new edition of the Children’s Writer’s &
Illustrator’s Market guide was such a hopeful time of year
for me. I really got my optimistic juices flowing while reading
the articles and highlighting names of editors and agents.
You’re part of a great publication!”
- CLARE VANDERPOOL author of the
young adult novel, NAVIGATING EARLY
(Delacorte, 2013)
Pick up the 2015 edition of CWIM here!
THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In two weeks, I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy. Note: If you share news of the contest on Twitter, you’re entered into the contest twice instead of once. To do this, simply share this tweet — The 2015 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market is out now! Giveaway contest: x — via @chucksambuchino — and then comment on this post and leave your Twitter handle in your blog comment.
The book is out and available everywhere books or sold — in major bookstores and online!
The new 2015 edition of the Guide to Literary Agents is out, all updated and packed with info. I realize there are other places you can turn to for information on agents, but the Guide to Literary Agents has always prided itself as being the biggest (we list almost every agent) and the most thorough (guidelines, sales, agent by agent breakdowns, etc.). That’s why it’s been around for 24 years and that’s why it’s sold more than 320,000 copies. It works—and if you keep reading, I’ll prove it to you below with proof from 47 people.
Buy it here at an amazing 50% discount! (It’s only $14.99 in our shop as of me writing this post — I don’t know how long the deal will last!) When you order it online from our WD shop, you get the same deep discount you find on Amazon and other websites. Need more reasons to buy? How about some testimonials below from these very cool people.
THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In two weeks (Sept. 25, 2014), I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy.
1. Lee Kelly, author of the debut novel CITY OF SAVAGES (Saga Press, 2015), which she sold in a two-book deal:
“The Guide to Literary Agents has been on my nightstand for years and I swear by it. GLA is an invaluable guide to navigating the publishing world. I used it on my road to finding my agent, and would recommend it to any writer at the beginning of her own journey.”
2. Lindsay Cummings, author of the YA thriller THE MURDER COMPLEX (Greenwillow, 2014) and several other novels:
“I got my agent, Louise Fury of The Bent Agency by using Guide to Literary Agents.”
3. Caroline Carlson, author of THE VERY NEARLY HONORABLE LEAGUE OF PIRATES: MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT (HarperCollins, 2013) and its sequels:
“I used the Guide to Literary Agents in my agent search!”
4. Renee Adhieh, author of the THE WRATH AND THE DAWN (Penguin/Putnam 2015) and 2 more books:
“The first book I ever bought when I began my publishing journey was the Guide to Literary Agents. And it’s one of the first things I recommend to any aspiring writer.”
5. Annie England Noblin, represented by Lotus Lane Literary:
“Anytime anyone asks me where to find a list of agents, I always direct them to the Guide to Literary Agents. It has been an invaluable resource. Thank you so much.”
6. Kim Baker, author of the middle grade debut, PICKLE: THE (FORMERLY) ANONYMOUS PRANK CLUB OF FOUNTAIN POINT MIDDLE SCHOOL (Roaring Brook, 2012)
“I read the Guide to Literary Agents religiously when I was planning submissions”
7. Kate Maddison, author of debut THE INCREDIBLE CHARLOTTE SYCAMORE (Holiday House, 2013)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was the very first book I bought on the business of writing, several years ago. I remember the bookstore, the time of day, and what the young cashier looked like who sold it to me because she struck up a conversation, as she too hoped to get published one day. I read that thing from cover to cover!”
8. Jeri Westerson, author of the fantasy BLOOD LANCE: A MEDIEVAL NOIR and several other novels
“The whole writing industry is so confusing. Where to start? I started with the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents, where I not only created my list of agents and game plan, I received all sorts of excellent information in crafting my winning query letter. I recommend it to anyone starting out. And yes, I did get an agent through the Guide.”
9. Gennifer Albin, author of young adult novels CREWEL and ALTERED (FSG, 2013/2014)
“I’m a big fan of the Guide to Literary Agents. I got a lot of mileage out of mine, when I was looking for an agent, and I frequently recommend it.”
10. Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill, author of A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage: The Essentials For Long-lasting Togetherness (Cider Mill Press)
“For some time I had been working on queries to publishers that would accept manuscripts directly from authors, with moments of hope, but no contract. I read the Guide to Literary Agents and thought, maybe it’s time to consider an agent! I immediately sent out several queries and later that same day my manuscript was requested by Jackie Meyer of Whimsy Literary Agency in New York. The following day Jackie asked for my okay to send the manuscript on to a publisher she had in mind, and within 24 hours she had sold my book!”
11. Lynne Raimondo, author of the mystery debut, DANTE’S WOOD (Seventh Street Books, 2013)
“The Guide to Literary Agents is how I found my agent [Brooks Sherman of FinePrint Literary].”
12. Marisha Chamberlain, author of the literary fiction novel The Rose Variations (Soho):
“Guide to Literary Agents oriented me, the lowly first-time novelist, embarking on an agent search. The articles and the listings gave insight into the world of literary agents that allowed me to comport myself professionally and to persist. And I did find a terrific agent [Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary].”
13. Eugenia Kim, author of the literary novel The Calligrapher’s Daughter (Holt)
“After so many years working on the novel, the relative speed of creating the query package prodded the impetus to send it out. As a fail-safe measure, I bought the Guide to Literary Agents and checked who might be a good fit for my novel…”
14. Eve Brown-Waite, author of the humorous memoir First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria (Broadway)
“I bought the Guide To Literary Agents… and came across Laney Katz Becker. So I sent off a very funny query. On March 15, 2007, Laney called. ‘I love your book,’ she said. ‘I’d like to represent you.’ Three and a half months (and several proposal revisions) later, Laney sold my book—at auction—in a six-figure deal.
15. Mara Purnhagen, author of the young adult novel Tagged (Harlequin Teen)
“I trusted the Guide to Literary Agents to provide solid, up-to-date information to help me with the process. I now have a wonderful agent [Tina Wexler of ICM] and a four-book deal.”
16. Richard Harvell, author of the mainstream fiction novel The Bells (Crown)
“Guide to Literary Agents contains a wealth of information and good advice, and was crucial in my successful search for an agent. I found a great agent [Daniel Lazar of Writers House] and my book has now sold in 11 territories and counting.”
17. Patrick Lee, The Breach (Harper)
“The Guide to Literary Agents has all the info you need for narrowing down a list of agencies to query.”
18. Karen Dionne, author of the thrillers Freezing Point and Boiling Point (Jove)
“I’m smiling as I type this, because I actually got my agent via the Guide to Literary Agents. I certainly never dreamed that I’d tell my [success] story in the same publication!”
19. Heather Newton, author of the literary fiction novel Under the Mercy Trees (Harper Paperbacks)
“I’d definitely be interested in guest posting—especially since I found my literary agent through the Guide to Literary Agents!”
20. Michael Wiley, author of the crime/noir novels The Last Striptease and The Bad Kitty Lounge (Minotaur)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was very useful to me when I was getting started. I always recommend GLA to writers.”
21. Les Edgerton, Hooked and 9 more books
“Just signed with literary agent Chip MacGregor and I came upon him through the Guide to Literary Agents. If not for GLA, I’d probably still be looking.”
22. Jennifer Cervantes, author of the book for kids, Tortilla Sun (Chronicle)
“Within 10 days of initial submission, I found an energetic and amazing agent—and it’s all thanks to GLA.”
23. Carson Morton, author of the literary novel Stealing Mona Lisa (St. Martin’s / Minotaur)
“I wanted to thank you for the Guide to Literary Agents. After contacting 16 literary agencies, number 17 requested the full manuscript of my historical novel. Within a few weeks, they offered to represent me. Hard work, perseverance, and good, solid, accurate information makes all the difference. Thanks again.”
24. Darien Gee, author of Friendship Bread: A Novel (April 2011; Ballantine Books)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was an indispensable tool for me when I was querying agents. I highly recommend it for any aspiring author—in addition to a comprehensive listing of literary agents, it contains valuable information about the query and submission process.”
25. Stephanie Barden, author of the middle grade novel Cinderella Smith (April 2011; HarperCollins)
“When I felt my middle grade chapter book was finally ready for eyes other than mine to see it, I got some terrific advice: Go buy the Guide to Literary Agents. By the time I was through with it, it looked like it had gone to battle – it was battered and dog eared and highlighted and Post-It Noted. But it was victorious; I had an agent. Huge thanks, GLA – I couldn’t have done it without you!”
26. Lexi George, author of the paranormal romance Demon Hunting in Dixie (April 2011; Brava)
“I positively haunted GLA on the road to publication. The Guide to Literary Agents is an invaluable resource for writers, whether you’re published or unpublished.”
27. Bill Peschel, author of the nonfiction book Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature’s Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes (Perigee)
“The Guide to Literary Agents gave me everything I needed to sell Writers Gone Wild. It was the personal assistant who found me the right agents to pitch, the publicist who suggested conferences to attend, and the trusted adviser who helped me negotiate the path to publication.”
28. Laura Griffin, author of Unforgivable and eight other romantic suspense novels.
“Writing the book is only the first step. Then it’s time to find a home for it. The Guide to Literary Agents is filled with practical advice about how to contact literary agents who can help you market your work.”
29. Derek Taylor Kent (a.k.a. Derek the Ghost), author of the novel for kids, Scary School
“The Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental to my getting an agent and subsequent three-book deal with HarperCollins.”
30. Tamora Pierce, best-selling author of dozens of novels for teens
“The best guide to literary agents is the Guide to Literary Agents, published by Writer’s Market Books … These listings will tell you the names and addresses of the agencies; if an agency is made up of more than one agent, they will list the different agents and what kinds of book they represent; they will include whether or not the agent will accept simultaneous submissions (submitting a manuscript to more agent than one).”
31. Wade Rouse, author of many books, including It’s All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine (A Memoir)
“And when you think you’re done writing your book? Write some more. And when you think you’re finished? Set it aside for a while, go back, redraft, edit, rewrite and redraft … Then pick up the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents.”
32. Brent Hartinger, author of several novels, including Geography Club
“Get an agent. Having a reputable agent means you will be taken much more seriously by busy editors who are eager to find any reason to reject your book (and if you’re agented, editors will offer you more money, more than canceling out the cost of the agent’s commission!). There are hundreds of good agents out there, with all kinds of different tastes (check The Guide to Literary Agents for a complete list).”
” 
33. Jessica Brody, author of several novels (women’s fiction, YA), including The Karma Club
“To put it in perspective: It took me two years to finally find an agent to represent The Fidelity Files [my first novel] and once I did, she sold the manuscript in 10 days. That’s the difference an agent makes. I would recommend purchasing a membership for an online agent directory like WritersMarket.com. You can also use an agent directory in book form like the Guide to Literary Agents.”
34. Dianna Dorisi Winget, author of the middle grade novel A Smidgen of Sky (Harcourt, 2012)
“Guide to Literary Agents is simply the best writing reference book out there. I don’t think I would have landed an agent without it.”
35. Adam Brownlee, author of Building a Small Business That Warren Buffett Would Love (John Wiley and Sons, 2012)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was invaluable for me in many ways. Specifically, the sections on ‘Write a Killer Query Letter’ and ‘Nonfiction Book Proposals’ enabled me to put together a package that led to the publication of my book.”
36. Carole Brody Fleet, author of the self-help book Happily Even After: A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond!) the Grief of Widowhood (Viva Editions)
“I am not overstating it when I say that Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental in my landing an agent. Moreover, I wound up with numerous agents from which to choose—how often does THAT happen to an unknown and unpublished author? Thank you again for this book. It not only changed my life forever, but it led to our being able to serve the widowed community around the world.”
37. Guinevere Durham, author of Teaching Test-Taking Skills: Proven Techniques to Boost Your Student’s Scores (R&L Education).
“I was looking for an agent for my book. I had been trying for 7 years to find a publisher. I have enough rejection letters to wallpaper my office. Finally, I researched the Guide to Literary Agents. Three months later I had a contract with Rowman & Littlefield Educational Publishers. My agency is Educational Design Services, Inc.”
38. Kelly Fiore, author of the young adult debut Taste Test (2013, Walker Books for Young Readers)
“There are many web resources for writers – resources about agents, about editors, about craft, and so on. What I love most about the Guide to Literary Agents is that it’s a comprehensive resource – a place to go for information that spans more than just one topic and that covers everything that today’s writers need to know.”
39. Terri Lynn Merritts, writer
“I love the Guide to Literary Agents. I am admin of the Vegetarian page (over 239,000 members) at facebook.com/vegetarianpage and I used the GLA to find a literary agent to represent the vegan cookbook I am working on. The very first agent I approached loved it and now we are working together. The articles in the Guide to Literary Agents showed me how to research the perfect agent and approach her. The listings gave me all the information I needed to find that perfect agent on my very first try. I owe all of this to the help I got from the Guide To Literary Agents and the priceless information it contains. This book really works for writers who need and want to find an agent.”
40. Chana Stiefel, writer
“I am a huge fan of the Guide to Literary Agents. I queried agents for a new humor book and just signed with Laurie Fox at Linda Chester and Associates.”
41. Nicole Steinhaus, writer
“Let’s just say this: when I first jumped into the query process, I was clueless. I bought the Guide to Literary Agents, and scoured for hours through the pages. Two weeks after sending [agent Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary] my full manuscript, I received an email saying she wanted to offer representation.”
42. John A. (Buddy) Howard, writer
“As a first time author, I found the Guide to Literary Agents invaluable, particularly with the ability to screen for agents and publishers by area of specialty. I signed with Whimsy Literary Agency. Getting an agent would not have been possible without your invaluable website, book and support. Keep up your great work and thanks for your past and ongoing help to me and so many other authors out there.”
43. Frank Giampaolo, author of multiple nonfiction sports guides, including CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS
“I followed the formatting and submitting advice given by Chuck and the Guide to Literary Agents. Within a month I was signed to the Quicksilver Books Literary Agency. My agent, Bob Silverstein, negotiated a wonderful publishing deal for me. My second book, Championship Tennis, is scheduled for release worldwide with hard copies, e-books and phone apps in April 2013. The Guide to Literary Agents is a must have resource!”
44. Emily Saso, writer
“Chuck’s is the reason I landed my thoughtful, supportive agent, Linda Epstein of The Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. I didn’t just discover Linda through the Guide to Literary Agents, his blog also taught me how to write a quality query that would catch her eye. Thanks, Chuck! Keep up the great work!”
45. Tim Bullard, author of the nonfiction book Haunted Watauga County (History Press of Charleston, 2011)
“Buying the Guide to Literary Agents paid off last year with publication of my book. Fighting the urge to quit and admit total failure, I pressed on until all the advice I had received through your books stuck. Now I am about to publish my second book. God bless you!”
46. Noelle Sterne, author of TRUST YOUR LIFE: FORGIVE YOURSELF AND GO AFTER YOUR DREAMS
“Your Guide to Literary Agents and the features from authors on the often-hard lessons learned from the dream of publishing have helped me immensely to keep my feet on the ground, butt in the chair, and fingers on the keyboard. Thank you, Chuck, for taking all the time and effort and for caring!”
47. Jessica Lidh, author of the YA debut THE NUMBER 7 (Merit Press, 2014):
“I found Dee Mura Literary in the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents. Kimiko Nakamura is my agent. She’s honestly an endless supply of support, encouragement, and hard work. I was so lucky to find her. The GLA was the best $25 investment I ever made.”
THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In two weeks (Sept. 25, 2014), I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy.
Buy the 2015 Guide to Literary Agents here!
Some news from my writing life: First off, I will be signing books at Cincinnati’s huge book festival,
Books by the Banks, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013, at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati. Come by and say hello! But there are way more reasons to pop by the festival than to see me. Here are a few other people in attendance (and you can find the whole list on the
BBTB website):
- Maria Semple, author of bestselling WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE?
- Stuart Woods, bestselling mystery writer
- R.J. Palacio, author of WONDER
- Fellow WD staffer Brian A. Klems, author of the humorous parenting book OH BOY, YOU’RE HAVING A GIRL
—————
HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, was featured by
Mental Floss, an awesome magazine I have peeked through for years.
You can see the article here, but essentially it was a list of how-to books you won’t believe actually exist. Ha. Well, I’ll take it. Any press is good press.
If you’re interested in other stories about my books and my writing life (that shed light on the publishing process and how a book gets optioned for film like GNOME did), then see my Writing Life articles here
!
Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:Agent Marie Lamba Seeks YA, MG, Women’s & Adult Fiction.
How to Get a Scene From Your Head to Paper.Sell More Books by Building Your Writer Platform.5 Ways to Get Rid of Writer’s Block.Blogs vs. Journals: Are They Becoming The Same Thing? The story of how young adult sci-fi writer Christian Schoon met his agent.Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him
on Facebook. Learn all about
his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and how to write a query letter.
Enjoy a little rock & roll music from time to time? Who doesn’t? Well I’m trying something fun and different (again!) today as a Tuesday pick-me-up to try and get your week going. It’s my own crazy variation of NAME THAT TUNE and I’m calling it WD’S TUNESDAY. This is Volume 2. It runs until Dec. 19, 2012. See Volume 1 here.
The rules and the gist are simple. Watch the video. I play 12 riffs on my guitar. You try to name as many of them as you can, and e-mail me your answers to literaryagent at fwmedia dot com. The person who names the most correct answers gets lots of cool prizes (see below). It’s a great excuse to call upon friends and relatives to help you ID the songs, as they are from different decades. It’s also a great excuse to blow off whatever dull work you’re doing and listen to music instead. And if you can’t name all 12 songs, feel free to enter anyway! If no one can name all 12, the closest number wins. ALSO: If you can name 8 correctly, you automatically get entered into a drawing to a win a free WD book!
You think you got what it takes? Need a little rock & roll music to liven up your day? Then listen in as I try to do these riffs justice on my guitar. Simply click on the video to play. The rules and prizes are below. Good luck! Feel free to share news of the contest with this TinyURL link: http://tinyurl.com/b6etzfw
THE PRIZES
- A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com (value: $50)
- A free critique by me of any one of the following: 1) your query letter, 2) your synopsis, 3) your first 2 double-spaced manuscript pages.
- A short, lighthearted “Winner Interview” with you posted on this blog and the WritersDigest.com homepage to get to know you and your writing projects real quick. (Receives 100,000+ page views a month. The interview, naturally, is optional.)
- Praise from yours truly as the first awesome winner of the Tunesday challenge.
HOW TO ENTER (IMPORTANT — READ THIS!)
To enter, email your answers to [email protected]. DO NOT LEAVE OFFICIAL ENTRIES BELOW — THEY DO NOT COUNT. E-mail is the official way to enter because if you write some of the answers below, you cannot win and people will only steal your answers. I cannot shut off comments for this post, but if you leave a comment that has answers, I will delete it as quickly as I can. That said, feel free to ask questions or talk about anything else in the comments. You can also email me, if need be.
RULES FOR VOLUME 2 (AND STRATEGY)
- E-MAIL me your answers to compete. That is the only way to officially enter to get the awesome prizes below.
- Past winners cannot win again.
- E-mail your answers to [email protected] with the word “Tunes” in the subject line.
- You need to correctly identify the song title in full or at least very close. You do NOT need to correct ID the artist, but feel free to.
- If multiple people are able to guess all 12 riffs, then the first one to do so correctly is the grand-prize winner. So time does factor in. That said, it will be interesting to see if someone guesses all 12 right and how quickly. It is unclear whether speed will be of the essence or if someone will wait a while until they figure out all 12.
- You are only allowed one entry per person, so make sure you get your guesses right before submitting.
- If no one guesses all 12 correctly (quite possible), then the person who guesses the most, the soonest, will win.
- If you can guess 8 correctly, you are automatically entered into a raffle to win a free WD book. So there is value in entering even if some tunes stump you.
- The song choices vary a lot, and I tried to make this somewhat difficult. I highly encourage you to call upon relatives of different ages to help you decipher these tasty licks.
- Contest is over at EOD, Dec. 19, 2012. I will then review all submitted emails and announce winners 1) on this post, 2) in a new post, and 3) by a personal notification via email.
- Contest is open to all persons worldwide not working for F+W Media, or directly related to someone who works at F+W media. Questions? Leave them in the comments below. Good luck!
The Songwriter’s Market is the bible for unsigned
artists looking to find an artist or producer and
showcase their musical talents.
For years, I played around town in a Cincinnati
cover band and blogged about the ridiculous
soap opera on this blog. Read all the humorous stories here.
The book is out and available in major bookstores!
The new 2013 edition of the Guide to Literary Agents is out, all updated and packed with info. I realize there are other places you can turn to for information on agents, but the Guide to Literary Agents has always prided itself as being the biggest (we list almost every agent) and the most thorough (guidelines, sales, agent by agent breakdowns, etc.). That’s why it’s been around for 22 years and that’s why it’s sold more than 300,000 copies. It works—and if you keep reading, I’ll prove it to you.
Buy it here! When you order it online from our WD shop, you get the same deep discount you find on Amazon. Need more reason to buy? How about some testimonials below from these very cool people.
THE GIVEAWAY!!! Comment on this post and just say anything nice about any element of Writer’s Digest you enjoy — from a blog post to a class or a book or anything else. In two weeks, I will pick 3 winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It’s that easy.
1. Marisha Chamberlain, author of the literary fiction novel The Rose Variations (Soho):
“Guide to Literary Agents oriented me, the lowly first-time novelist, embarking on an agent
search. The articles and the listings gave insight into the world of literary agents that allowed me to comport myself professionally and to persist. And I did find a terrific agent.”
2. Eugenia Kim, author of the literary novel The Calligrapher’s Daughter (Holt)
“After so many years working on the novel, the relative speed of creating the query package prodded the impetus to send it out. As a fail-safe measure, I bought the Guide to Literary Agents and checked who might be a good fit for my novel…”
3. Eve Brown-Waite, author of the humorous memoir First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria (Broadway)
“I bought the Guide To Literary Agents… and came across Laney Katz Becker. So I sent off a very funny query. On March 15, 2007, Laney called. ‘I love your book,’ she said. ‘I’d like to represent you.’ Three and a half months (and several proposal revisions) later, Laney sold my book—at auction—in a six-figure deal.
4. Mara Purnhagen, author of the young adult novel Tagged (Harlequin Teen)
“I trusted the Guide to Literary Agents to provide solid, up-to-date information to help me with the process. I now have a wonderful agent and a four-book deal.”
5. Richard Harvell, author of the mainstream fiction novel The Bells (Crown)
“Guide to Literary Agents contains a wealth of information and good advice, and was crucial in my successful search for an agent. I found a great agent and my book has now sold in 11 territories and counting.”
6. Patrick Lee, The Breach (Harper)
“The Guide to Literary Agents has all the info you need for narrowing down a list of agencies to query.”
7. Karen Dionne, author of the thrillers Freezing Point and Boiling Point (Jove)
“I’m smiling as I type this, because I actually got my agent via the Guide to Literary Agents. I certainly never dreamed that I’d tell my [success] story in the same publication!”
8. Heather Newton, author of the literary fiction novel Under the Mercy Trees (Harper Paperbacks)
“I’d definitely be interested in guest posting—especially since I found my literary agent through the Guide to Literary Agents!”
9. Michael Wiley, author of the crime/noir novels The Last Striptease and The Bad Kitty Lounge (Minotaur)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was very useful to me when I was getting started. I always recommend GLA to writers.”
10. Les Edgerton, Hooked and 9 more books
“Just signed with literary agent Chip MacGregor and I came upon him through the Guide to Literary Agents. If not for GLA, I’d probably still be looking.”
11. Jennifer Cervantes, author of the book for kids, Tortilla Sun (Chronicle)
“Within 10 days of initial submission, I found an energetic and amazing agent—and it’s all thanks to GLA.”
12. Carson Morton, author of the literary novel Stealing Mona Lisa (St. Martin’s / Minotaur)
“I wanted to thank you for the Guide to Literary Agents. After contacting 16 literary agencies, number 17 requested the full manuscript of my historical novel. Within a few weeks, they offered to represent me. Hard work, perseverance, and good, solid, accurate information makes all the difference. Thanks again.”
13. Darien Gee, author of Friendship Bread: A Novel (April 2011; Ballantine Books)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was an indispensable tool for me when I was querying agents. I highly recommend it for any aspiring author—in addition to a comprehensive listing of literary agents, it contains valuable information about the query and submission process.”
14. Stephanie Barden, author of the middle grade novel Cinderella Smith (April 2011; HarperCollins)
“When I felt my middle grade chapter book was finally ready for eyes other than mine to see it, I got some terrific advice: Go buy the Guide to Literary Agents. By the time I was through with it, it looked like it had gone to battle – it was battered and dog eared and highlighted and Post-It Noted. But it was victorious; I had an agent. Huge thanks, GLA – I couldn’t have done it without you!”
15. Lexi George, author of the paranormal romance Demon Hunting in Dixie (April 2011; Brava)
“I positively haunted GLA on the road to publication. The Guide to Literary Agents is an invaluable resource for writers, whether you’re published or unpublished.”
16. Bill Peschel, author of the nonfiction book Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature’s Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes (Perigee)
“The Guide to Literary Agents gave me everything I needed to sell Writers Gone Wild. It was the personal assistant who found me the right agents to pitch, the publicist who suggested conferences to attend, and the trusted adviser who helped me negotiate the path to publication.”
17. Laura Griffin, author of Unforgivable and eight other romantic suspense novels.
“Writing the book is only the first step. Then it’s time to find a home for it. The Guide to Literary Agents is filled with practical advice about how to contact literary agents who can help you market your work.”
18. Derek Taylor Kent (a.k.a. Derek the Ghost), author of the novel for kids, Scary School
“The Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental to my getting an agent and subsequent three-book deal with HarperCollins.”
19. Tamora Pierce, best-selling author of dozens of novels for teens
“The best guide to literary agents is the Guide to Literary Agents, published by Writer’s Market Books … These listings will tell you the names and addresses of the agencies; if an agency is made up of more than one agent, they will list the different agents and what kinds of book they represent; they will include whether or not the agent will accept simultaneous submissions (submitting a manuscript to more agent than one).”
20. Wade Rouse, author of many books, including It’s All Relative: Two Families, Three Dogs, 34 Holidays, and 50 Boxes of Wine (A Memoir)
“And when you think you’re done writing your book? Write some more. And when you think you’re finished? Set it aside for a while, go back, redraft, edit, rewrite and redraft … Then pick up the Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents.”
21. Brent Hartinger, author of several novels, including Geography Club
“Get an agent. Having a reputable agent means you will be taken much more seriously by busy editors who are eager to find any reason to reject your book (and if you’re agented, editors will offer you more money, more than canceling out the cost of the agent’s commission!). There are hundreds of good agents out there, with all kinds of different tastes (check The Guide to Literary Agents for a complete list).”
” 
22. Jessica Brody, author of several novels (women’s fiction, YA), including The Karma Club
“To put it in perspective: It took me two years to finally find an agent to represent The Fidelity Files [my first novel] and once I did, she sold the manuscript in 10 days. That’s the difference an agent makes. I would recommend purchasing a membership for an online agent directory like WritersMarket.com. You can also use an agent directory in book form like the Guide to Literary Agents.”
23. Dianna Dorisi Winget, author of the middle grade novel A Smidgen of Sky (Harcourt, 2012)
“Guide to Literary Agents is simply the best writing reference book out there. I don’t think I would have landed an agent without it.”
24. Adam Brownlee, author of Building a Small Business That Warren Buffett Would Love (John Wiley and Sons, 2012)
“The Guide to Literary Agents was invaluable for me in many ways. Specifically, the sections on ‘Write a Killer Query Letter’ and ‘Nonfiction Book Proposals’ enabled me to put together a package that led to the publication of my book.”
25. Carole Brody Fleet, author of the self-help book Happily Even After: A Guide to Getting Through (and Beyond!) the Grief of Widowhood (Viva Editions)
“I am not overstating it when I say that Guide to Literary Agents was absolutely instrumental in my landing an agent. Moreover, I wound up with numerous agents from which to choose—how often does THAT happen to an unknown and unpublished author? Thank you again for this book. It not only changed my life forever, but it led to our being able to serve the widowed community around the world.”
26. Kelly Fiore, author of the young adult novel Food Fight (2013, Walker Books for Young Readers)
There are many web resources for writers – resources about agents, about editors, about craft, and so on. What I love most about the GLA blog is that it’s a comprehensive resource – a place to go for information that spans more than just one topic and that covers everything that today’s writers need to know.
27. Terri Lynn Merritts, writer
“I love the Guide to Literary Agents. I am admin of the Vegetarian page (over 239,000 members) at facebook.com/vegetarianpage and I used the GLA to find a literary agent to represent the vegan cookbook I am working on. The very first agent I approached loved it and now we are working together. The articles in the Guide to Literary Agents showed me how to research the perfect agent and approach her. The listings gave me all the information I needed to find that perfect agent on my very first try. I owe all of this to the help I got from the Guide To Literary Agents and the priceless information it contains. This book really works for writers who need and want to find an agent.”
28. Chana Stiefel, writer
“I am a huge fan of the 2012 Guide to Literary Agents. I queried agents for a new humor book and just signed with Laurie Fox at Linda Chester and Associates.”
Buy the 2013 Guide to Literary Agents here!
One of the most exciting things about having a new book released is sharing the exciting moment with family and friends. This past weekend, I got to do that with a low-key-yet-very-nice book release party for RED DOG / BLUE DOG that I hosted at my house. (For my last book, I organized something bigger, so this time I went simple.) Needless to say, my dog, Graham, was a huge hit at the event and was plum tuckered by the time everything ended. This is a quick picture of Graham not being very excited that the festivities were about to begin:
Another exciting moment in the life of a new book is finally seeing it in bookstores. This picture is the first time my wife saw the book in a Barnes & Noble:
Naturally, when I got to a bookstore finally, it was time to bust out the “Autographed Sticker” copies and ink a few books. (My wife loves it when I get to do this.)
Meanwhile, this photo below shows my other humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, at a cut shop in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. It’s always such a thrill to find your books sneaking into small and unusual locations.
MEDIA/REVIEW COPIES
Are you part of the media or run a large blog/newsletter of some kind? Would you like a review copy of RED DOG or GNOMES? Please just email me and let me know. chuck.sambuchino at fwmedia dot com.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh the big day is finally here! My new humor book, RED DOG / BLUE DOG: WHEN POOCHES GET POLITICAL, comes out today, July 31. So exciting! There’s some basic info about the book below, but I’ll just skip to the giveaway info:
GIVEAWAY CONTEST:
– In celebration of release day, I will be picking three (3) commenters on this post to win a free copy of ANY of my books that they choose. Winners can pick from the following: 2012 Guide to Literary Agents, 2012 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, Create Your Writer Platform, Red Dog / Blue Dog, and How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. (If you tweet or share news of my book release and this contest through social media such as Facebook, you get 2 entries into the contest instead of one. Thank you for spreading the word!) Good luck! Comment within 2 weeks to enter.
RED DOG / BLUE DOG is a photo collection of dogs doing stereotypically liberal and conservative things. It rips on both sides equally and is designed to be pure levity in an election season. It makes a good gift book for dog lovers and politics gurus. I dedicated the book to my flabby dog, Graham, who, though he contributes nothing to the household, is a big snuggly ball of love — and I am grateful for him. As my dog is a rescue himself, I am excited to donate a portion of the proceeds to rescue organizations and no-kill shelters.
You can find RED DOG / BLUE DOG on Amazon here. Find the book’s accompanying website here. And I want to give one big shout-out to ALL of those who submitted photos for the book’s consideration. This book came about with the help of many, and was a labor of love (and fun!).
WooooHoooooo!
The first physical copies of my next humor book, RED DOG / BLUE DOG: WHEN POOCHES GET POLITICAL, appeared at BookExpo America in New York last week. Look below to see my agent, Sorche Fairbank, holding the first physical copy of the book I’ve seen. And I was super-pumped to see the book get its first major mention, as the huge political news site, Politicalwire.com, gave the book a shout-out this week, as well.
Keep reading the learn more about the chance to receive a review copy of the book.
- My agent holds the book at BEA.
CALL FOR BLOGGERS / REVIEW COPIES:
My Running Press publicist has asked me to put out a call for any websites or media or blogs that are interested in reviewing or talking about RED DOG / BLUE DOG (July 31, 2012). People I’m looking for include, but are not limited to:
- Bloggers or journalists with a pet/dog focus
- Bloggers or journalists with a political focus
- General book reviewers.
- Anyone interested in interviewing me in print or online, whether the primary focus is the dog book itself or general writing advice on getting an agent, getting published, or building a platform.
- Anyone who reviews or discusses quirky humor books, through roundups or gift lists or anything else.
I know that when my latest humor book came out, a lot of bloggers reached out with interview requests that focused on writing and how-to stuff. That is A-OK this time as well.
If you have a website, blog, column, or radio show, please e-mail me at chuck.sambuchino (at) fwmedia.com and let me know about yourself and the website/media. (Please include a physical address if you are asking for a copy of the book.) All requests will be passed on to my Running Press publicist and she will be in charge of sending out advance review copies and such. Thanks so much, everybody! (By the way, if you have friends or websites in mind and want to share, please comment or e-mail me. Much appreciated.)
Was so pumped to see this. Political Wire is probably the first site I read in the morning after checking my e-mail.
Red Dog relishes pooping on the New Y
The new 2012 edition of Guide to Literary Agents has more than 20 brand new literary agencies never before listed in the book. I realize there are other places you can turn to for information on agents, but the Guide to Literary Agents has always prided itself as being the biggest (we list almost every agent) and the most thorough (guidelines, sales, agent by agent breakdowns, etc.). That’s why it’s been around for 21 years and that’s why it’s sold more than 275,000 copies. It works—and if you keep reading, I’ll prove it to you.
THE GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post, and in one week's time, I will pick three winners randomly to win a copy of the book! It's that easy. Read more
I had a nice "writer moment" today in a bookstore. I went into
a bookstore and spotted several Gnome books in the humor section, so I started
to sign them. Then this mom & toddler duo walks up to the humor section, and the
toddler grabs a Gnome book from the shelf. The mom takes it and examines it.
I let her know that it's my book; she's skeptical. I say, "Really, it's my book. Look
on the back and there's a photo of me." Upon seeing it really was me, she was so taken
aback that she had my inscribe a copy right there to someone for their birthday. It
was just such a wonderful moment.
More Recent Coverage & Interviews:
-
On Monday, an interview with me will go live on The Traveling
Writer blog. The blog, which is one of the few non-agent sites I check religiously,
is run by Alexis Grant. I have asked Alexis to include a free giveaway of a book to
a random commenter. The random winner will have their choice of getting either the 2011
Guide to Literary Agents or Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, 3rd
Ed. Here is the site URL, and the interview
will be live Monday, May 9, 2011. We discussed plenty of subjects, but being that
Alexis is an expert on social media, we spent a lot of time talking about how to maintain
and grow a successful blog.
-
Writer Elizabeth Varadan recently posted a nice review of Gnomes on
her site. See
it here.
-
I am still in awe to see my
name on the SlashFilm website, regarding news of Sony optioning my book. If you
are not reading SlashFilm, you are letting the best movie-news website on the Internet
slip through your fingers.
Never forget the danger that
gnomes present! They are killers.
Image credit: Imageshack.
Media requests & interviews: If you would
like a free review copy of Gnomes for an interview or roundup or any kind of
mention, please contact me at literaryagent(at)fwmedia.com(dot)com and I will send
your information to my publicist. Thanks!
More Gnome news: To see all the news & reviews & coverage of
my book, click on "My Writing Life" at the end of this post.
On Friday morning, I got an e-mail from a coworker with the
subject line reading "Holy. Crap." That just about sums up my weekend. I received
word late Thursday night that Sony Pictures Animation is in the final stages of optioning
film rights to How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. Robert Zemeckis, the director behind Back
to the Future and a ton of other movies, is attached to the project and plans
to make it a combination of CGI and live action. First, I will explain how the book
giveaway works. Read below to learn a little about how this film deal came to be.
BOOK GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post within one week. I will pick 2 (two) winners
at random and send both of them all 3 of my books: 1) How to Survive a Garden Gnome
Attack; 2) the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents; and 3) Formatting &
Submitting Your Manuscript, 3rd Ed.. You may win this contest even if you have
won blog contests before.
THE DEAL:
Here is a basic timeline of events:
-
Sept 2010: My humor book is published.
-
Sept 2010: I signed with Gotham Group to handle book-to-film
rights. Luke Sandler is the man who runs point on this. The book is sent out to producers
for their consideration.
-
Oct 2010: Some producers show interest; others don't. No news.
-
Nov 2010: I am told that the book is now out on exclusive to
a production company. When I remark that this goes against our plan not to allow an
exclusive, I am told that the company is big enough to be granted one. I ask who the
producer is and am told, "Robert Zemeckis." I call my agent a liar.
-
Dec 2010: For the first time, I am told that Zemeckis is attaching
himself to the project. This makes a possible film adaptation of Gnomes go
from 0 to 100 mph instantly. I call my agent a liar again.
-
Jan 20, 2011 (9 p.m.): My agent calls me. I am busy and do not
answer.
-
Jan 20, 2011 (9:04 p.m.): My agent calls again. I pick up this
time, wondering what is so important. She says Sony is going to pre-empt the deal
and option the film rights. I would have called her a liar but I was speechless.
-
April 14, 2011: The news finally breaks, and the deal is reported
by everyone, it seems. News appears in The
Hollywood Reporter, IMDB.com, Variety, Ain't It Cool News, Slashfilm,
and more.
WHAT IT MEANS:
I wrote about this previously in a news roundup, so I won't rehash everything here,
but what an option means is that the studio buys the rights to develop the
project for a set amount of time: 18 months. After that, they can option it again,
buy the rights outright and greenlight the film, or just give the film rights back
to me. This good news does not mean that Gnomes will become a movie tomorrow
or next year. Lots of stuff gets optioned that never gets filmed. We just don't know.
This is just one step in the process,
CONTINUATION OF MY
SIX-MONTH ANALYSIS:
Six months ago, How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack was released into the wild. It has been an
interesting, and sometimes incredible, six months. It's my intention to do a series
of posts of behind-the-scenes stuff relating to the book's sale and release, in an
effort to illuminate what you can expect when it happens to you. This is Part 4.
Today I want to explain a little bit about how sales work.
How can you track your own sales?
We editors have always been able to track the sales of all books because we
subscribe to a service called Nielson BookScan. Subscribing to BookScan and seeing
the sales of books is expensive, which is why it’s not feasible for writers to have
access to it. But recently, something remarkable happened. Amazon gave writers access
to the BookScan numbers of their own individual titles. So while you can’t look up
the stats on any and all books (like we can), you can access the sales stats
of your own books.
This development is both good and bad. BookScan numbers can illuminate a lot—but that
isn’t always a good thing. If your book comes out and doesn’t catch anywhere, the
numbers can be depressing. Then again, if sales are OK or good, it’s quite a jolt.
So the number seen through BookScan—is that the real number of copies sold?
No. Everyone uses BookScan because it’s the closest tool we have when tracking book
sales, but it only tracks some channels of where books sell. It tracks sales
made through Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon and a few other places. But it doesn’t
record sales at any small or independent shops, or purchases made by writing groups
or libraries, or even books bought by the authors themselves. So the number you see
on BookScan represents anywhere from 40 to 80 percent of the total books sold. You
just use it as a gauge.
If BookScan doesn’t tell you the real number sold, how can you find out what that
number is?
The only place you can go is the marketing & sales department of the publishing
house. That’s the only 100% bet to get accurate numbers. After your book has been
out three months or so, your agent will probably call and inquire as to the sales
numbers. Once you have that accurate figure, you can compare it against BookScan and
see what the ratio is.
For example, if BookScan reports 6500 sales over three months and your publisher estimates
the true number at 10,000, then that means BookScan’s reports will likely only show
65% of your true number going forward, as well.
A novel, which typically sells through big channels such as Amazon and Borders, will
be represented well through BookScan. You may see a number on BookScan that represents
75% of your real total sales. But a gift book, on the other hand, such as GNOMES,
which is sold in all sort
CONTINUATION OF MY
SIX-MONTH ANALYSIS:
Almost six months ago, How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack was released into the wild. It has been an
interesting, and sometimes incredible, six months. It's my intention to do a series
of posts of behind-the-scenes stuff relating to the book's sale and release, in an
effort to illuminate what you can expect when it happens to you. This is Part 3.
Today I want to talk about the process of how film rights are sold.
How does a book become a movie?
That is a long and complicated process. I will try and explain some of the process
here, using what I have gone through in the past six months.
And just to be clear: Have the film rights to Gnomes been sold?
Not yet. We are deep in the process. Wish us luck.
How does the book-to-film process begin?
Your literary agent will likely hook up with a co-agent to help broker the deal. See,
a literary agent is an expert in selling books, but 99% of them are not experts in
selling to Hollywood. So an agent teams up with a co-agent (usually based in LA) who
specializes in book-to-film work. They work together to move the deal forward.
In September 2010, I was notified by my agent (Sorche Fairbank) that Luke Sandler
at Gotham Group would be our book-to-film agent. Luke & I spoke on the phone,
and he is very skilled and nice.
So a writer needs two agents for a deal? Does that cost more?
Yes. Instead of a 15% commission, it's now 20%, which is then split between the two
agents.
After a co-agent is onboard, what happens next?
The co-agent will begin sending the book and information about it out to Hollywood
producers, who work with film studios of all sizes. Producers are the ones who work
behind the scenes to make sure a movie gets made. They bring all the players together
and oversee money. If a producer is interested in a project, they may buy the rights
outright, but more often than not, they will try to get a script or treatment written
then assemble a package around it.
The first step to getting a movie made is getting a screenwriter to take a crack at
writing the script adaptation of your work. The producer sets this up and foots the
bill, if there is one. The screenwriter may write the entire script, or they just
may write a loose outline or a treatment, either of which simply paint a picture of
what they had in mind. Once the writer has provided something, the producer can use
that as bait to attach actors and form a package.
What is a package?
It's when you attach "talent" (writer, director, actors) to a script to make the project
more attractive to a large studio. For example, if an actor likes a script, they will
attach themselves to it. Meaning, they sign to be part of the project if the mo
Coverage & Interviews:
-
Fangoria, a magazine and site dedicated to news about
horror and the strange, included GNOMES on a fright
fiction roundup review.
-
Book Nut—a
site about, yes, you guessed it, book—reviewed
GNOMES here.
-
To see all coverage of my book, including coverage by Reader's
Digest, USA Today, AOL News and more, simply click on "My Writing Life"
at the end of this post.
CONTINUATION OF MY
SIX-MONTH ANALYSIS:
Almost six months ago, How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack was released into the wild. It has been an
interesting, and sometimes incredible, six months. It's my intention to do a series
of posts of behind-the-scenes stuff relating to the book's sale and release, in an
effort to illuminate what you can expect when it happens to
you. This is Part 2. Today I want to talk about the book's release and promotion.
How did my books get sent out to the media?
My publicist sent out review copies. (If the book is still being edited, the media
will receive in-progress copies of the book called ARCs (advanced review copies) that
are not 100% finished, but close enough so that the media member can still read &
review it.)
I had a publicist in the summer of 2010 who made contact with me and said she would
be in touch more as my release date of Sept. 7 approached. Very soon after that, the
publicist was laid off. As an editor myself, I know we are insanely busy. The only
people I know who are busier than us because of layoffs are publicists. They are a
small, overworked bunch. My publicist at Ten Speed was laid off, but luckily I was
given another.
How did I get the wonderful mention ("coverage") in Reader's Digest?
Some magazines have a "long lead time," which means that if you want to get your book
reviewed in them, they need to see the book 4-8 months before the coverage would come
out. So before my first publicist was laid off, she sent out the book to long-lea
Almost six months ago, How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack was released into the wild. It has been an
interesting, and sometimes incredible, six months. It's my intention to do a series
of posts of behind-the-scenes stuff relating to the book's sale and release, in an
effort to illuminate what you can expect when it happens to you. This is Part 1.
How did my agent pitch the book to editors?
She pitched a bunch of houses at once. Slowly, over the course of several weeks, responses
trickled in. The responses were 50/50 between: 1) No; and 2) I like it and I have
to show it more people. For a book to get bought, it has to be approved by everyone
on every level—editorial, marketing, etc. So when someone liked the book, it wasn’t
a yes; it was simply not a no, and the next person in line at the house
would review our proposal. This process takes months.
How did it end up with Ten Speed Press?
As several houses considered my book, one house—Ten Speed Press —started conversations
with my agent on how they thought the book should be done. In other words, they had
a vision for the book. Two weeks later, my agent said Ten Speed wanted to buy Gnomes
in a pre-empt.
What is a pre-empt?
It’s when a publisher beats everyone else to the punch and purchases your book before
other offers are made and an auction forms. Ten Speed wanted it bad, so they offered
to buy it now for a reasonable sum rather than have us wait to see how the
proposal played out with other houses.
Why did we like Ten Speed Press and accept their offer?
At that point in the process, no one matched their level of enthusiasm. Also, my agent
had worked with Ten Speed before; she knew they would deliver a fine book. Plus, there
was no telling whether waiting would net us a better deal; after all, this was a guaranteed
offer.
How did we negotiate with Ten Speed?
My agent negotiated deal points with Ten Speed. Deal points are the major points
of a contract, such as upfront money (an advance), back-end money (royalties), subsidiary
rights (film rights, foreign rights), and such. Once my agent and editor came to an
agreement on deal points, my agent called me in October 2009 and said, “Pop the champagne.”
How does payment work?
Deals vary, but typically writers get an advance, like I did. An advance is a lump
sum of money paid to you upfront for you to keep no matter what. Advances, sadly,
are typically paid in 3-4 installments, over the course of more than a year. (I'll
explain how royalties work in a later installment.)
Do I receive the payment checks or does my agent?
She receives the checks. Then she mails me a new check (from her) to me, as my payment.
Other agents' MOs may differ.
How did I meet my editor at Ten Speed?
I never met her in person, and this turned out to work just find. Just after the deal
points were finalized, we spoke over the phone for an hour and she explained everything
she wanted to see in the book in terms of tone. She told me that Ten Speed would be
handling all the photography for the book (thank god), but I would have to provide
all the garden gnomes for the photographs.
How long did I have to finish the book?
It was due Jan. 15,
The Christmas mad rush is over and the dust is settling. My
book did very well over the holidays and I still see tweets and Amazon reviews from
people who got it as gifts. Very exciting to see, and if any of you picked it up for
the holidays, I am eternally thankful. Right now, the next big thing to come along
in the book's journey will be 1) seeing how the release of the feature film Gnomeo
& Juliet (Feb. 11) affects sales, if at all, and 2) when can my awesome film
reps at Gotham Group in LA sell film rights?
Coverage & Interviews:
-
It's after Christmas now, but The Casual Gardener website included How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack on her list of "Top
5 Christmas Gifts Under $40."
-
On the same note, writer and platform guru Christina Katz listed
Gnomes as one of her top
gift book choices in 2010. (Christina is the author of Writer Mama and Get
Known Before the Book Deal.)
-
The "My Life as Jenny" website did a nice
post on the book.
-
Got a nice mention by the Boise
Public Library site. (I love libraries!)
-
Over the past few months, the book got mentions in places like
the Chicago Sun-Times, the Denver Post, and many more papers. However,
the big coup was getting a small feature in Reader's Digest about the book.
If you missed it, see
it here.
Media requests & interviews: If you would like a review copy of Gnomes for
an interview or roundup or any kind of mention, please contact me at literaryagent(at)fwmedia.com(dot)com
and I will send your information to my publicist. Thanks!
More Gnome news: To see all the news & reviews & coverage of
my book, click on "My Writing Life" at the end of this post.
First of all, let's get right to my EPIC HOLIDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY.
Comment on this post to win. In one week's time, I'll pick three winners at random.
The grand-prize winner will receive all three of my books as a prize. That includes
1) The 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, 2) Formatting & Submitting Your
Manuscript, and 3) How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. Must live in the
continental US or Canada to win the grand prize. Prizes two and three are your choice
of either a 2011 Guide to Literary Agents or a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.
You do not have to tweet or spread the word to enter, but any sharing of news of this
contest is appreciated. Good luck!
Holiday Bump in Sales:
Tracking my sales last week, I saw a bump in copies sold, but the book actually went
down in Nielsen BookScan's rankings of humor books. What this means is everything
everywhere is up for the holidays -- at least in the humor book department. This is
good news during challenging times for bookstores. At least people are buying a lot
of books for the holidays (and we should, too).
Coverage & Interviews:
-
Brittany Rochelle interviewed
me over on The Write Stuff blog. Thank you, Brittany!
-
Buffalo Spree magazine included some very nice coverage
of the book in their Holiday Shopping Guide issue (cover below).
-
The Denver Post wrote
about my book, including it on a "Do-It-Yourselvers List of Home Books," perhaps
merely as comic relief on the list. No matter -- I'm grateful!
-
The book got a small mention in the Nov. 21 issue of The
Virginian-Pilot newspaper, though I cannot post the coverage here. Thanks to Krys
Stefansky for that.
-
Get Booked, a book blog website, gave my book some nice
attention this past week.
-
The book got listed on a Squidoo page that compiled good
humor books put today.
I was curious as to how Black Friday and holiday shopping affects
one's sales and I definitely saw a little spike (according to Nielsen BookScan) and
that was nice. On this note, please forgive my little bit of self-promotion here and
know that the
book makes an excellent holiday gift purchase for a friend or loved one, especially
those into gardening.
After the holiday season comes and goes, and then we see how the release of the animated
film Gnomeo & Juliet (Feb. 2011) affects sales, it will be interesting
to see if success comes in little waves. I will do a full analysis of the first 6
months when the time comes. This week celebrates the three-month anniversary of the
release of Gnomes.
Coverage & Interviews:
My bit of big news this week is simply that Ten Speed Press
went back to the printer for 15,000 more copies of my book. The first printing was
35K and this will make it an even 50K as we approach the book's three-month release
anniversary. That is extremely good news. So far, the book is doing outstanding and
I hope to have more big news regarding foreign or film rights one of these days. I
wonder how the holiday season will impact sales of my book and books in general. I
will track some books over the next month to analyze this.
The other bit of geek news I have is that my Amazon ranking for the first time ever
got into the top 1,000 books this week (peaked at 870 so far). That ranking total
includes ebook products mixed in, so it's tough to tell exactly how it's doing solely
among print books. Nonetheless, it's great news. Checking your Amazon ranking all
the time is something no one told me about but should have.
If you haven't nabbed a copy of GNOMES
yet, grab
one on Amazon! It makes a
fantastic holiday gift.
Coverage & Interviews:
How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack is finally available in eBook form! This
is very exciting. A word of caution though: Seeing as how the book is about 30% color
photos (and the photos really make the book), I would not order it as a B&W, no-photos
eBook. Order it on a color Nook, or better yet an iPad. And, of course, the print
version is the best option because its hard cover makes it ideal for gnome whacking.
Coverage & Interviews:
Gnomevicious Tweets!! WELL WELL WELL, it appears
my ultra-nemesis, the evil garden warrior known only as Gnomevicious, is tweeting
now as of yesterday. I would suggest everyone follow him on Twitter just to keep track
of his evil whereabouts. Follow him
here: @gnomevicious.
I guest blogged for literary agent Rachelle Gardner's large
writing blog, talking about how writers can write for
both love and money at the same time.
Coverage & Interviews:
Gnomevicious Tweets!! WELL WELL WELL, it appears
my ultra-nemesis, the evil garden warrior known only as Gnomevicious, is tweeting
now as of yesterday. I would suggest everyone follow him on Twitter just to keep track
of his evil whereabouts. Follow him
here: @gnomevicious.
GNOMES will be sold in Macy's, Lowes and Urban Outfitters!
I just got this news yesterday and was very excited. Getting into any specialty markets
is cause for celebration and stores like these are great to have your book available
in.
Someone sent me this pic of the book
in a Beverly Hills bookstore.
Interviews & Coverage: My Gnomes-related guest
post for The Huffington Post has yet to surface, but I will keep you posted.
60-minute recording of Jane Friedman and I: After my book release part for
Gnomes at Joseph Beth in Cincinnati, I was joined by Jane Friedman for a long, open
Q&A with writers in attendance. One writer there recorded
the entire thing, and posted a podcast online for all to enjoy. Look below to
see a picture of Jane & I addressing the crowd in Cincinnati.
It's a busy fall to say the least and there are a lot of good
writing events happening before the holidays land. (I've already blogged about how
I will be in Tucson
Sept. 24-26.) If you live in the greater Cincinnati area, think about popping
by to one of the following events.
SEPT. 20, 2010: "MEET THE WD EDITORS"
This a two-part event. There is a "Meet the WD Editors" panel going down at 7 p.m.
at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion. Basically, we are there to help you
on your writing journey. You ask questions; we give answers--it's that easy and it's
all free. Also, at 5:30 p.m., there will be a quick informal eat & schmooze book
party for my humor book that comes out on Sept. 7: How to Survive a Garden Gnome
Attack. Come and schmooze.
OCT. 2, 2010: BOOKS BY THE BANKS (CINCY BOOK FESTIVAL)
Books By the Banks is Cincinnati's premiere
book festival, and it's happening downtown at the Duke Energy Convention Center. It
all goes down from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
-
Free admission.
-
More than 100 authors will be there.
-
There is a Kids Corner for young readers.
You can see the big list of authors in attendance if you visit
the BBTB website online.
OCT. 16, 2010: KENTON COUNTY LIBRARY PRESENTATION
I will be presenting on "Everything You Need to Know About Agents" at 3:30 p.m., at
the Erlanger branch of the Kenton County Library in Northern Kentucky. Location: ten
minutes south of downtown Cincy. In fact, my speech is the final event of an entire
day's worth of writerly happenings at the library. I don't see the event online (yet),
so I don't know if it costs to attend. The contact is Venus Moose, venus.moose[at]kentonlibrary[dot]org.
-
10:30am: Marketing Your Short Story or Novel
-
1:30pm: The Freelance Lifestyle: Making a Good Living as a Writer
in the 21st Century
-
3:30pm: Everything You Need To Know About Agents
I Will Also Be Speaking
At These Great Writing Events in 2010:
Two very cool things are happening on Monday, Sept. 22, at
Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati.
First, at 5:30, I'm having an open event to celebrate the release of my book, How
to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack. The event is open and will have some free
snacks (score!). I believe I will be talking about the book for a little while, and
then moving on to the Bistro for some food. Come on down!
At 7 p.m., we are having a "Meet the WD Books Editors" event, which is essentially
a Q&A panel. The audience asks questions about whatever they want. We answer.
It's that simple, and it's all free. It's in honor of the release of the 2011
editions of the market books.
Joseph Beth Booksellers is an amazing independent bookstore here in Cincinnati. For
more information about JB or directions, click here.
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