The big, bad publishing FAQ

Oh hey there, readerly folks,

I know writing and publishing a book is a dream for a lot of people. And lately I’ve been getting an uptick in questions from friends of friends and readers. So I thought it’s about time to create a resource you can dig into (and revisit when you need it).

So, here it is.

My big, bad publishing Q&A.

Let’s go.

The basic basics

Do I need to copyright my manuscript before sending it to alpha readers/critique partners/agents/publishers?

No. Your manuscript is automatically your intellectual property as soon as you create it.

What do people mean by [insert publishing term here]?

Agent: A literary agent (the most common thing people mean when they say “my agent”) is someone who submits an author’s work to publishers and then negotiates contracts for the author.

A film agent does the same for film rights for the author’s books.

A foreign rights agent does the same for foreign translation/rights.

Alpha readers: The first people who read a draft of someone’s book in order to provide feedback/suggestions.

Beta readers: The next round of readers recruited to give feedback on a manuscript.

Critique partners: Other writers recruited to give feedback on a manuscript. (Often used interchangeably with beta reader/alpha reader.)

Copy edit: Editing a manuscript for typos, punctuation errors, etc. This typically happens after a line edit.

Developmental edit: Editing a manuscript for content. This typically means big-picture changes such as changing point of view, addressing plot holes, or cutting word count. This is typically the first step of working with an editor.

Editor: The person who edits a manuscript. Depending on context, this could be:

An acquiring editor – who works for a publisher and is responsible for buying author manuscripts and editing them.

A freelance editor – who is hired by an author to edit their manuscript (developmental, line, and/or copy editing).

A copy editor – who is responsible for copy editing a manuscript (see copy edit above).

Line edit: Editing a manuscript at the individual sentence and paragraph level. This typically includes addressing echo words, overused words, confusing sentence structures, etc. This typically happens after a developmental edit.

MS: Short for manuscript.

Proofreader: A specialized type of editor who provides (typically) a final check for errors in a manuscript. This often includes a fact-check.

Proof pages/P1/P2: A near-final manuscript already formatted for printing. Typically, the author gets to review one or two final times for final typos and other issues. P1 is first proof pages. P2 is second. And so on.

Querying: The act of emailing literary agents to find representation for your work.

Query letter: A short email to a literary agent politely requesting that they consider your work for reprsentation. Most queries include genre, age category, a short description of the book, a short bio of the author, and a personalized line or two about why you are querying the agent.

R&R/revise and resubmit: When an agent or editor asks an author to revise their manuscript and resubmit it for consideration.

Synopsis: a short overview of the book, including spoilers.

WIP: Work in progress

Questions on querying…

When should I query?

In general, for fiction, you are ready to query if you have a completed manuscript that has been through beta reads and revisions.

For non-fiction, you are typically ready to query when you have a completed proposal and some sample chapters.

Now, there are some exceptions to those rules. For example, if you are an already-published author querying for the second (or third, etc.) time, you may be able to query with a partial manuscript instead of waiting until you’re done with the full enchilada.

How do I write a query?

The best resource on query writing is the late Janet Reid’s Query Shark. Read her archives, write your query, and then workshop it with fellow writers (there are various groups for this on social media if you do a bit of searching).

How do I find agents to query?

Manuscript Wishlist is a pretty comprehensive list of agents, along with details (from said agents) about what kinds of projects they are looking for.

Publishers Marketplace is also comprehensive and gives details about agent sales records. This is a great place to check if an agent has a good track record in your genre and age category, among other things. (The downside: this site is paid. I typically recommending buying a one-month subscription and doing all your research in one fell swoop.)

Once you have a list of potential agents, research them via their websites, social media, etc. And look out for bad actors…

How do I know if an agent is legit?

Unfortunately, anyone can call themselves an agent…which means you have to be careful not to end up with a bad actor, someone with no real industry connections, or someone who will do actual harm to your career.

I don’t mean to scare you, just to make it clear that once you have your agent list, more research is needed.

Resources to figure out if an agent is legit include Writer Beware, Query Tracker (read the comments under an agent’s listing), and Absolute Write.

There is one big agency completely missing from Query Tracker and even though they are a big deal…beware. There’s a reason they were removed from the site. (Also note that sometimes people are unspecific because some of these agencies have a reputation for suing.)

I also recommend asking other writers! Sometimes you’ll learn something from a friend that doesn’t appear elsewhere online.

Other than a query letter, what do I need in order to to query?

1) A completed manuscript

2) To check the guidelines on agent websites (each agent will require slightly different things – make sure you customize to their requirements)

3) (Usually) a synopsis (possibly several versions – some agents want one page, some want two)

How long does querying take?

Unfortunately, there’s no real answer to this. There are people who query for two weeks and people who query for 20 years.

I sent over 100 queries over several years on my second finished manuscript before I got my first agent. When I landed my next agent (after my first agent left the business and with two book sales under my belt), it took just a handful of queries and handful of weeks.

When you get an agent offer…

I got a request for a call with an agent! What now?

First, congrats! No matter what comes next, a phone call is a great sign. Chances are, you are about to either get an offer or an R&R (revise and resubmit).

The fabulous Sami Ellis has a script if you are simply too excited to know what to say next.

Before the call, I’d prepare to talk about any other ideas or projects you have in the works (are you writing something new? Have a sequel idea?) and figure out what questions you want to ask the agent.

Note that if the call is an offer (yay!), the industry standard is to ask for two weeks to think it over. This gives you time to talk to the agent’s clients (and find out more about their agenting style and any issues you might run into!) and to notify other agents of the offer (that way they can read your manuscript quickly and decide if they too want to offer you rep!).

What should I ask the offering agent?

Here’s a good list.

What is the protocol once I have an agent offer?

Contact all other agents who have your query or manuscript immediately (same day if you can!) to tell them you have an offer and give them the deadline for consideration. Sami Ellis has a script for this too.

If you know for sure you don’t want to work with one of those agents (for example: if you found out after querying that they’re a scammy agent), you can simply withdraw your manuscript for consideration (see Sami’s scripts for language).

Once the time is up and you’ve talked to all interested agents, it’s time to decide and notify agents of your decision.

How long should I give other agents to consider my manuscript?

Two weeks is industry standard. I’ve also seen people do three weeks during very busy times of year/the holidays or if they get an offer while on vacation. (That’s what I did.)

What do I do if an agent asks who my offer is from?

Up to you! There is no industry standard here. You can tell the agent or not, whatever you like.

What do I say when I email them?

Sami Ellis has you covered again. Here’s her scripts page.

What should I do while I wait for everyone to consider?

I recommend a bit more research on your offering agent. Contact some of their current clients, let them know you have an offer, and ask if they’d be willing to chat. It’s also wise to contact their past clients if you can. Ask why they broke up.

What should I look for in an agency contract?

Here’s what the Author’s Guild has to say.

So now you have an agent…

I accepted an agent offer! Now what?

Congrats! You’re agented! A good next step is to set up a sort of “welcome call” or send an email to check in and ask for next steps and timelines (e.g. when should I expect edits for my manuscript? What is our ideal timeline for going out on submission?)

All things publishers

What is submission?

Going on submission is when your agent sends your manuscript out to editors for consideration.

How long does submission take?

The answer is extremely variable. My fastest sale was after several months on sub and my slowest sale took two agents and three years. I know people who got an offer within weeks (VERY RARE, do not expect this) and others who waited years.

What is it like being on sub?

Incredible sci-fi/fantasy author Kate Dylan has a collection of anonymized submission stories on her site that should give you a great idea of the range of experiences.

What’s the difference between being published by a Big 4 publisher, mid-sized, and small press?

Honestly, these days, less than you’d think!

It used to be that bigger publisher meant more marketing push, among other things. But I’ve seen small press teams knock marketing out of the park and Big 4 imprints completely fail their authors.

The main difference between reputable (key word: reputable! There are some presses that are not – do your research) publishers in various size categories is how much advance they can offer.

For context, I have worked with all three. I have two Big 4 books, one mid-sized press book, and one small press book. The biggest marketing push came with the mid-sized press (to be fair, they were partnered with Netflix on the book). All seem to have pretty similar distribution, similarly great editing teams, similar cover processes, etc. And jury’s still out on whether the small press or Big 4 books are getting the bigger marketing push.

I’ve got an offer! What should I pay attention to in my contract?

Your agent should be well versed in contracts, but it’s always wise to read thoroughly and ask tons of questions along the way.

The Author’s Guild has example contracts and includes free contract review for members.

What happens after the offer?

The typical order of events starts with developmental edits. Your editor will provide an edit letter outlining their suggestions and you’ll decide how to address them. (Note: it is normal to sometimes reject suggestions! This is still your book; your editor is not your boss!)

Sometimes authors do one developmental edit, sometimes two or three.

Next up is your line edit. Your editor will provide a marked-up manuscript for you to edit on a line level. (Again, it is normal to reject some suggestions! If something doesn’t resonate with your voice or meaning, it’s ok to push back.)

Then comes the copy edit. Your editor (or a copy-editor) will provide a marked-up copy of the manuscript again, this time focused on things like typos.

Finally, you go into pass pages. This is when you get to see your book interior in design (fonts! chapter headings!) and address any lingering typos or other issues. Typically this is your last chance to make bigger changes, so it’s time for a careful read-through.

Depending on the publisher, you might also get to see second or third pass pages (P2, P3). At this point, you should be making very minimal changes – just if you notice a last typo or something that was supposed to be changed in P1 and got missed.

Somewhere along this process, your editor will usually also ask you to weigh in on back cover copy for the book, provide your author bio, write acknowledgements, and weigh in on several rounds of cover ideas, sketches, and designs.

As you get closer to publication, you should also be looped in with marketing, publicity, and possibly special sales for things like interview opportunities, book boxes (if applicable), etc.

The world of sub-rights

Who handles audiobook rights?

Usually your agent will sell these for you. Some publishers have in-house audiobook teams and they will try to buy rights to all book formats. Others may shop your audio rights to audio-specific publishers. And still others will let you keep audio rights for your agent to sell separately from your print/ebook book deal.

Fun fact: you can even sell audio rights to a self-published book. (The Lioness is self-pub in print and ebook and traditionally published in audio, actually!)

Who handles film rights?

Typically, your literary agent will submit your book for consideration by film agents, who would then handle selling your film rights.

Who handles foreign translation rights?

Typically your publisher will either have a foreign rights agent in house or work closely with a freelance agent to sell to foreign territories. In both cases, that agent will usually partner with overseas agents to sell in each country or territory.

Indie and hybrid publishing

What is a hybrid author?

An author that has both traditionally and self-published books. (Me!)

What are the pros and cons of indie vs. traditional publishing?

There are lots of great, in-depth articles on this topic, so I encourage you to do some Googling. For me, the big difference is timing and workload.

Indie means more money in your pocket per book, more control over your book (content, cover, distribution methods) and faster finished-draft-to-published-book timelines. It also means you are in charge of doing or paying for cover design, interior formatting, editing, marketing, etc. etc. Your distribution options are also less robust and it can be harder to gain reader trust at first since the quality of the indie world varies wildly.

For me, hybrid was the best option for a number of reasons, but mostly because it gave me the best of both worlds. My books with traditional publishers built up that reader trust so that when I released my first indie novel, I already had a following to kickstart my sales (not to mention reviewers knew my work, so I was able to get my indie into the hands of people who normally only review traditionally published books).

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Alright: what have I left out? Drop questions in the comments.

(And if this helped you, you could support me by grabbing one of my books.)

 

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