About the Literary Business

Now that you have written your masterpiece and while we wait for the sweat stained pages to dry, let us take a few moments to draw a road map to the promised land - a Mecca where a large publishing house may be found waiting to offer you a lucrative publishing contract.

Like many trips into uncharted waters, it is a good idea to take a guide along with you to avoid the whirlpools and drop offs you may encounter along the way. In the world of publishing, that guide is a literary agent. And like any adventure requiring a guide, some guides are better able to lead you through the morass than others.

Choosing a guide (literary agent) requires homework before you can even get started. There are any number of literary agency listing services available. The two best known are Literary Market Place and Jeff Herman's Guide to Literary Agents. Jeff Herman's Guide to Literary Agents is one of the better sources for information about agents. It is available at most bookstores and is moderately priced. Literary Market Place ("LMP") is very expensive, but may be found in many libraries. It is probably the best sources for finding experienced literary agents because in order to be listed in LMP the agent has to supply LMP with a number of references from publishers.

In addition to print publications, there are a number of free literary agency guides available on the internet. These will give you a good idea of the services available from the agents listed there. Finally, there are listing services that charge a fee to provide authors with an analysis of certain agencies.Authentic Creations does not recommend purchasing any of the online resources since many of these contain erroneous information; contain information that is freely available at other sites; frequently are tied into other promotions; and, in some cases, are known to charge an agent a fee to be listed, which leads to a bias against those agents who do not choose to be subjected to such charges.

After choosing a book source or maybe one of the free websites, to begin your search for an agent, look for an agency who has an interest in the type of work you have written. It does no good to contact an agent about a science fiction novel if the agent only handles non-fiction. You are not only wasting your time, but your money as well. Instead, make a list of agents who handle the kind of work you have written before contacting any agents.

Once you have obtained a list of literary agents you consider qualified to be your guide, you need to contact each of them to learn if one or more of them might be willing to consider your project. This contact is done by a query letter. Be sure to send a carefully crafted and thoughtful letter. Remember all those long hours spent writing your manuscript. It only makes sense to invest a few more additional hours to make sure that your query letter is sufficiently lively to interest the agent of your choice. If the agent is interested in the project, she or he will contact you to request your full manuscript. It is a good idea while waiting for the agents to reply to your query letters to spend the time going over your manuscript one last time to make sure it is as close to perfect as possible.

It is sometimes a difficult concept for authors to accept, but there are generally far more rejections than there are acceptances at every level of the process leading to publication. Therefore, you must strive to maintain a positive outlook. Since writing comes from the heart more than the head, there is a level of satisfaction just knowing that your work has found its way onto paper. Even if others do not see the merit of the work, that is their loss, not yours. Now that we have spent some maudlin time waiting for the agents to reply, let us continue our journey.

At last one (and maybe many more) perceptive agent has agreed to look at your manuscript. The time period during which an agent is considering your work can be agonizingly slow and difficult to bear. Just remember, this is only training for the long and arduous task that lies ahead in finding a publisher for your work.

When that perceptive agent finally recognizes the quality of the manuscript in her hands, an agency contract will follow. Do not think that at this point your journey is over. Instead it has barely begun. Only now you have an agent who will be able to guide your manuscript into the hands of suitable publishers. The process used by a literary agent is very similar to how the author goes about selecting the right agent for his work. An agent needs to know if the manuscript is the right fit with the publisher. And the process can be quite time consuming. Although there may be a contract in as little as three weeks, there are situations where the contractual process can take more than a year.

Once the great day arrives and a publisher makes an offer on the manuscript, the work does not end there. Although most often there is little room to negotiate for first time authors, there may be certain key provisions which do require modification to achieve the author s specific career goals. In such situations, the agent with input from the author, handles the negotiations. It is a good idea for the author to have an attorney look at the contract as well

The date of publication is generally a year after the date on which the contract is signed. During this time, the publisher and author work together to produce a finished copy of the manuscript that is suitable for publication. Prior to the date of publication, the author will receive a copy of the cover.

After publication, the author will participate in the promotion of the book through book signings and similar events. These activities when handled with enthusiasm and ingenuity can turn a mid-list work into a best selling book. The author is expected to make the most of these opportunities, as well as create her own media exposure. This may include hiring a publicist to work with the author to gain maximum media exposure.

Now that you have arrived at your nirvana, there still remains much to be done. It is still not time to quit the day job. For most first time authors there is not too much in the way of royalties. First time authors do not have large followings eager to purchase their books and so the total royalties generated by the sales of the book are frequently in the $10,000 range. The second and third works produce ever greater returns, so the first step you need to take if you want to have a writing career, is to get started on your next work as soon as you have completed your first book.

This has been a rather brief journey through the world of publishing. Authors may have vastly different experiences in getting published. Still, for most authors this road map is a fairly concise explanation of what to expect on the way to having your first work published. The most important point to keep in mind is that writing is an art form that improves with ever greater use. So, keep writing and you will fulfill all of your dreams.

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	About the Literary Business

	Now that you have written your masterpiece and while we wait for the sweat stained pages to dry, let us take a few moments to draw a road map to the promised land - a Mecca where a large publishing house may be found waiting to offer you a lucrative publishing contract. Like many trips into uncharted waters, it is a good idea to take a guide along with you to avoid the whirlpools and drop offs you may encounter along the way. In the world of publishing, that guide is a literary agent. And like any adventure requiring a guide, some guides are better able to lead you through the morass than others. Choosing a guide (literary agent) requires homework before you can even get started. There are any number of literary agency listing services available. The two best known are Literary Market Place and Jeff Herman's Guide to Literary Agents. Jeff Herman's Guide to Literary Agents is one of the better sources for information about agents. It is available at most bookstores and is moderately priced. Literary Market Place ("LMP") is very expensive, but may be found in many libraries. It is probably the best sources for finding experienced literary agents because in order to be listed in LMP the agent has to supply LMP with a number of references from publishers. In addition to print publications, there are a number of free literary agency guides available on the internet. These will give you a good idea of the services available from the agents listed there. Finally, there are listing services that charge a fee to provide authors with an analysis of certain agencies.Authentic Creations does not recommend purchasing any of the online resources since many of these contain erroneous information; contain information that is freely available at other sites; frequently are tied into other promotions; and, in some cases, are known to charge an agent a fee to be listed, which leads to a bias against those agents who do not choose to be subjected to such charges. After choosing a book source or maybe one of the free websites, to begin your search for an agent, look for an agency who has an interest in the type of work you have written. It does no good to contact an agent about a science fiction novel if the agent only handles non-fiction. You are not only wasting your time, but your money as well. Instead, make a list of agents who handle the kind of work you have written before contacting any agents. Once you have obtained a list of literary agents you consider qualified to be your guide, you need to contact each of them to learn if one or more of them might be willing to consider your project. This contact is done by a query letter. Be sure to send a carefully crafted and thoughtful letter. Remember all those long hours spent writing your manuscript. It only makes sense to invest a few more additional hours to make sure that your query letter is sufficiently lively to interest the agent of your choice. If the agent is interested in the project, she or he will contact you to request your full manuscript. It is a good idea while waiting for the agents to reply to your query letters to spend the time going over your manuscript one last time to make sure it is as close to perfect as possible. It is sometimes a difficult concept for authors to accept, but there are generally far more rejections than there are acceptances at every level of the process leading to publication. Therefore, you must strive to maintain a positive outlook. Since writing comes from the heart more than the head, there is a level of satisfaction just knowing that your work has found its way onto paper. Even if others do not see the merit of the work, that is their loss, not yours. Now that we have spent some maudlin time waiting for the agents to reply, let us continue our journey. At last one (and maybe many more) perceptive agent has agreed to look at your manuscript. The time period during which an agent is considering your work can be agonizingly slow and difficult to bear. Just remember, this is only training for the long and arduous task that lies ahead in finding a publisher for your work. When that perceptive agent finally recognizes the quality of the manuscript in her hands, an agency contract will follow. Do not think that at this point your journey is over. Instead it has barely begun. Only now you have an agent who will be able to guide your manuscript into the hands of suitable publishers. The process used by a literary agent is very similar to how the author goes about selecting the right agent for his work. An agent needs to know if the manuscript is the right fit with the publisher. And the process can be quite time consuming. Although there may be a contract in as little as three weeks, there are situations where the contractual process can take more than a year. Once the great day arrives and a publisher makes an offer on the manuscript, the work does not end there. Although most often there is little room to negotiate for first time authors, there may be certain key provisions which do require modification to achieve the author s specific career goals. In such situations, the agent with input from the author, handles the negotiations. It is a good idea for the author to have an attorney look at the contract as well The date of publication is generally a year after the date on which the contract is signed. During this time, the publisher and author work together to produce a finished copy of the manuscript that is suitable for publication. Prior to the date of publication, the author will receive a copy of the cover. After publication, the author will participate in the promotion of the book through book signings and similar events. These activities when handled with enthusiasm and ingenuity can turn a mid-list work into a best selling book. The author is expected to make the most of these opportunities, as well as create her own media exposure. This may include hiring a publicist to work with the author to gain maximum media exposure. Now that you have arrived at your nirvana, there still remains much to be done. It is still not time to quit the day job. For most first time authors there is not too much in the way of royalties. First time authors do not have large followings eager to purchase their books and so the total royalties generated by the sales of the book are frequently in the $10,000 range. The second and third works produce ever greater returns, so the first step you need to take if you want to have a writing career, is to get started on your next work as soon as you have completed your first book. This has been a rather brief journey through the world of publishing. Authors may have vastly different experiences in getting published. Still, for most authors this road map is a fairly concise explanation of what to expect on the way to having your first work published. The most important point to keep in mind is that writing is an art form that improves with ever greater use. So, keep writing and you will fulfill all of your dreams. Return to Top