A Year of Traditional Gameplaying

As many regular visitors know, I've spent this past year or so querying and trying to improve my query/synopsis/marketing plan writing talents all while dipping my toes into the "traditional publication arena" just to see what would happen.

I guess you can call this whole experience as my "taking a bit of my own advice" for most know I recommend everyone who has written a book, regardless of the market, to take a year off once it's finished to edit, shop, and create a plan before they put it into print. (For me the progression took longer for I edited for about six months then started the latter process.)

Anyway, I had three finished works to play with and after making sure I knew what my criteria was (as in: what I wanted in a publisher), I checked the Writer's Market books as well as AgentQuery, Preditors&Editors, AbsoluteWrite, Duotrope, Ralan, and some other sites to find what companies fit my ideal.

Now I found more agents and publishers than noted below but some weren't open to queries, many didn't take unagented subs, quite a few I found I just didn't want to work with, and a handful had closed so they were scratched from my list of potentials leaving me only approaching those agents or companies who I felt comfortable in building a professional relationship with. Those who had good track records. And those which had been around long enough to prove they weren't going to drop off the earth anytime soon.

But more than anything, when I was looking at my options, the publishers and agents I contacted had to have the potential to provide me with a bit more than can I give myself publishing-wise and with that in mind, here are my results:

Manuscripts Shopped: 3

• Manuscript #1: Novel, 98,000 wds, Futuristic with Romantic Elements
• Market: Traditional Print, Hardcover or Mass-Market (No e-Pubs or Trad PODs)
• Potential Publishers &/or Agents: Roughly 12
• Actually Considered: 9
• Queries Sent: 9
• Partials Sent: 3
• Fulls Sent: 2
• Rejections: 5 (2 pub, 3 agents)
• No Response: 4 (1 pub, 3 agents)
• Invites for Next Work: 3
• Contracts Offered: 0

Result: First, it has to be noted that this is a very difficult work to present for it's a cross-genred not-HEA SFFUT with Romantic elements (not your typical romance) that does not have a clearly defined market. Anyway, of the 9 agents or publishers queried, five either looked at a partial or wanted the whole thing. Not a bad response.

• Manuscript #2: Novella, 20000 wds, Contemporary Paranormal Romance
• Market: Electronic Book only
• Potential Publishers: Waaay too many lol
• Actually Considered: 4
• Queries Sent: 4
• Partials Sent: 1
• Fulls Sent: 3
• Rejections: 1
• Contracts Offered: 1
• Still Waiting: 1
• No Response: 1

Result: Although I was offered one contract, I couldn't get certain terms specified in the contract (like a publication date) so turned down the offer (as good as it was). I'm still waiting to hear from the last publisher but if they don't want it, it'll probably be available as an ebook sometime this winter since I do have an alternative for this work already lined up.

• Manuscript #3: Short Story, 7500 wds., Post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi Western
• Market: Magazine
• Queries sent: 1
• Fulls req.: 1
• Contracts offered: 1

Result: The contract for this one was accepted but magazine folded prior to publication. Will probably tweak the manuscript then put it out as an ebook sometime in the next year.

Overall, I think the whole thing has been a very educational experience even if it slowed progress a bit. It's given me that all important necessity of time to polish these works without the pressure of 'getting them into print' and has helped me strengthen my editing and querying abilities as well as be able to create a half-way decent fiction marketing plan outline that doesn't break the bank.

In the end, even with the heartbreak of the rejections I did receive, it's been kinda entertaining for I've always wanted to see how it was on the 'other side of the fence' - fi for no other reason than just to say I did it and that my writing was strong enough to at least get my foot in the door.

So, there you have it - where it goes from here we'll just have to see but oh, BTW, make sure you stay on the lookout for the upcoming announcements letting you know when these three works will be available - FINALLY!!