June 10, 2011

The slush pile of old, where my first book was discovered, was an actual tall stack of unsolicited manuscripts. They were read by lower level publishing staff called “first readers.” We thought at the time that the slush pile was huge–hundreds of manuscripts piled up.

Today slush piles have gone electronic–and backed-up inboxes may hold many, many more manuscripts than that. Why the big change?

What Happened?

Several things led to the demise of the traditional slush pile, says children’s author Chris Eboch in “The Modern Slush Pile” (Writer’s Guide to 2011). [With permission, much of this post is adapted from her article.]

Before computers, printers and copy machines, you typed every copy individually. It took forever–and writers then were much more careful about targeting appropriate markets. But now, with the push of a button, technology allows massive multiple submissions, and authors often target publishers using a scatter gun approach. Result? Overload at publishing houses.

“First readers” are gone too. Staff cutbacks took care of them. There’s no one there anymore to open the slush, enter the title and author and date into a book, and later read the manuscript and return it (with the appropriate letter) or pass it along to an editor.

Where’s the Slush Now?

Slush–those manuscripts waiting hopefully for someone to read them–have shifted locations.

• Agents have much of the slush in their inboxes now. Many of the new agents are displaced editors who were victims of cutbacks, and new writers are sending much of the unsolicited material to these new agents.
• Editorial consulting companies receive some of the slush too, but they charge for their services (while reputable agents don’t.) Just be sure to check the credentials of those who are offering their “expert” advice. One company (Stephen Roxburgh’s namelos) is highly respected. Other companies, however, promise way more than they can deliver, and their “expert” advice may be from someone who has never published or has little editorial experience.
• HarperCollins has a “virtual slush pile” at Authonomy.com where authors upload manuscripts, readers read them (for free) and vote on them, and then editors read the top rated manuscripts. A few do get published.

Getting Out

Thirty years ago, you had to wait your turn for a first reader to get to your manuscript. It would happen eventually–in about three months. Now, because of the higher volume of submissions everywhere, it helps if you get noticed in order to get your manuscript read.

How do you do that? Chris Eboch had these suggestions:

• Submit queries with a personal note of some kind (like maybe you read an article by the agent or read some books they represented).
• Attend conferences and workshops to meet editors and agents, and get permission that way to submit to otherwise “closed” houses.
• Membership in professional organizations like the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (SCBWI)
• Volunteer at conferences–you may drive the agent or editor around or get to eat lunch with them, giving you a chance to get to know them. Your query will mention that connection and get a closer look.
• Network with other writers (or, in other words, make friends with writers.) After you make some sales, such friends often recommend each other for projects. I’ve done it for books I didn’t have time to write, and I’ve received work several times because a writer friend recommended me for a series project.
• Social networking helps, as long as you have time to actually participate in groups, list servs, discussion boards, and forms.
• Some contests have a prize which includes a contract and publication.
• A master’s program in fine arts can open publishing doors. Editors and agents have come to realize that authors with an MFA graduate with books that are high quality and may even be ready to publish. 

Some Things Never Change

The nature of the slush pile has changed. Ways to get noticed in the slush pile are now numerous. One thing, however, hasn’t changed at all.

And that’s how you get from the slush pile to an editor’s desk to a bookstore. Quality is the key. In the end, that’s the only thing that will sell your book. Quality of idea–and quality of writing. “Write a good book,” says Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at a Scholastic imprint and author of Second Sight: An Editor’s Talks on Writing, Revising & Publishing Books for Children and Young Adults.

You don’t have control over electronic slush piles or the economy or the changes in the publishing industry. But you do have control over the most important aspect of your career–the quality of writing.

So focus on that. Write a good book.

(* “The Modern Slush Pile” by Chris Eboch is only one article of thirty-three articles in Writer’s Guide to 2011. The book covers these topics: Markets, Style, Business & Career, Research, Ideas, and Contests & Conferences.)

May 18, 2011

I heard a sermon recently about life being filled with “fillers” and “drainers.” The pastor was talking about people, of course.

Fillers are people who know how to encourage you and build you up. Drainers are in your life because they need encouragement and help; however, they don’t have time for you if you need something in return. (You know the type. They think a “give and take” relationship means, “You give, and I take.”)

A rare person is both a filler and a drainer in your life, and you’re blessed if you have a person or two like that in your family or circle of friends.

Writing Relationships

If we narrow the “fillers and drainers” idea down to writers, I think you will find the idea holds true there as well. You will meet filler writers who are great encouragers for you, who help keep your self-esteem intact through the tough times of rejection, writer’s block, poor sales and negative reviews.

And you’ll meet drainer writers, those who nail you in the restroom at the writer’s conference and want you to give a free critique, then introduce them to your agent or editor.

Occasionally you will meet a treasure: a writer who is both filler and drainer. When you do, treat this priceless person well, and do all you can to sustain the relationship(s).

It’s Your Choice

What kind of writer are you? You may not know other writers yet, so you might not be sure. But you’ll eventually meet writers at conferences, retreats, local writer gatherings or book store signings and readings. In the writing relationships you enter, strive to be a filler as well as a drainer.

If you’re unpublished or newly published, you might think you have nothing to offer. Not true! You don’t have to be published to be an encourager, an uplifter, or a good listening ear. Publishing advice isn’t the only thing other writers need. In fact, I would guess (from my experience) that it’s not even near the top of the list. (That’s why my blog is focused on the emotional issues of writing rather than how to plot or build characters or write a winning query.)

Do a Self-Check

After you attend your next writing event (large or small) ask yourself: “Was I filler or a drainer today?” Did you make encouraging comments as well as ask for help? Did you give as well as take? If you can find that kind of balance, you’ll be able to build writing relationships that will last a lifetime.

March 30, 2009

After mentioning a five-year dry publishing period last week (Do You Get Rejected?), I received several emails asking what I did during that time to stay financially afloat and keep on writing.

A Previous Recession

When my book career began in the 80′s, I had five or six relatively easy years with my editor Gail at Atheneum. We did eleven hardcovers together before Gail lost her job in a corporate take-over and downsizing. The publishing industry then was a lot like it is today.

At that time, I got two manuscripts back. Within six months, all my books went out of print– so there was almost no royalty income then. My last two books in a Christian series were not published either. (I found out much later that this happened to a lot of writers.) This horror was followed by five years of no new books, sending out proposals, rewriting proposals, writing queries, and spending a ton on postage and photocopying costs when I was making zilch on my book writing. (There was no online writing then, no email submissions, etc.)

Getting Out of the Slump

Then in a bookstore I found a book called Making It On Your Own: Surviving and Thriving on the Ups and Downs of Being Your Own Boss by Paul and Sarah Edwards. In the marketing section, a statement leaped off the page. This one piece of advice jump-started my disappearing career. “You need to experiment until you discover what particular combination of your skills and abilities at what price will be valuable to what group of people within the current economic realities.”

It said to experiment, so I tried different things to see what might work. The following year I wrote a story for an anthology, entered several contests, did some short manuscripts for children’s magazines, wrote some writers’ articles. I created a new workshop on revision and did eighteen months’ of school visits with it.

Time to Evaluate

The next step recommended by the book was  to use the 80/20 Principle on your experiments. So I sat down with paper and pencil and analyzed: “What 20% of my work has generated 80% of my income?” In other words, what strategies had worked for me? Where should I be putting the bulk of my energy to survive this financial writing slump?

Well, I had bombed on contests and all fifteen short stories; I did sell the story to the anthology; my fastest response and most money, though, came from writing articles for magazines and doing the revision workshop. More than 80% of my income was coming from that 20% of my work.  So (while I contintued to write my middle-grade fiction novels) I concentrated on those two things to pay the bills.

Down the Road…

During that time, some nonfiction articles became a series for Children’s Writer, which turned into ideas for “Support Room” articles when I became the Institute‘s first web editor. A few years later, those ideas sparked my book, Writer’s First Aid, as well as several articles for the SCBWI Bulletin.

The slump eventually ended, as it will again for writers struggling in the current recession. After five years of selling no books, I sold four of my middle-grade novels in one year. If I had quit writing my fiction during that recession, I would have had nothing to sell when publishers started buying again.

So during this slump, I plan to do the same thing: find ways to stay afloat to pay some bills, but also keep writing middle-grade fiction and studying and learning. This too shall pass.

March 1, 2008

If you’re an aspiring writer and want to get a writers conference in your inbox, consider joining The Writer View. It’s free. It’s amazing. And, seriously, you’ll learn everything you’d learn at a writer’s conference (sans meeting cool people face to face), only you don’t have to pay airfare.

How they work: Each Monday and Thursday a panelist poses a question about the publishing industry, the craft of writing, or anything related to the writing journey. These panelists are agents, editors, writers who are well known in the Christian writing industry. Then, panelists and members write posts about the question raised. I still learn new things every week. It’s a moderated loop, so there’s no blatant self promotion. Word counts are limited to 250 per post.

If you’re a beginning to intermediate writer, the group to join is TWV 2. For advanced, published writers, join The Writers View.

You will be asked to fill out an application that you then send to the group’s leadership. You’ll receive an email letting you know whether you’ve been accepted.