Jenna Harte

Tag: publishing

  • One Step Closer

    One Step Closer

    As I wrote in my previous post, waiting is hard to do. But, today I heard back from a potential agent. This woman has been sooooo great.

    I first sent the query through the submission form on her website about a week before Christmas. I got an automatic message that the submission was received. In the beginning of February, I couldn’t wait any longer, so I emailed asking if she got the submission. Turns out it got lost or didn’t go through after all. So I sent my short pitch and few chapters. A week later I got an email in which she apologized for the delay and indicated she’d get to it soon.

    I emailed back thanking her for the update. By then I had a publisher ask for the full manuscript, so I mentioned it to the agent, who then wrote back and asked for the full manuscript as well. That was February 15. Today I received an email in which she wrote, “Just to keep you posted, I thoroughly enjoyed your manuscript so I passed it along to a coworker to get another read. We’ll have an answer for you as soon as possible.”

    I know that it could still be “no”, but each little step closer is exciting. And it’s validating. I love my story. My mom and sister like my story. But let’s face it, what we think doesn’t count. When an agent says she liked it, that tells me I might be able to do this writing thing after all.

  • If eBooks Don’t Make It and Traditional Books Don’t Make It, What Will We Read?

    If eBooks Don’t Make It and Traditional Books Don’t Make It, What Will We Read?

    The Guardian recently posted a article by Ewan Morrison questioning e-publishing and whether or not it’s bubble was about to burst. It was a follow up to his article “Are Books Dead and Can Authors Survive?”, which isn’t so much about whether books are dead but whether authors will be able to make a living in the digital reading world. My question is, if e-publishing is going bust and books are dead, does that mean people aren’t going to read? Albums and cassettes are dead and CD’s are following, but we still listen to music, or more precisely we still pay for music.

    I don’t think reading is going away. But the question about whether or not writers can make a living is a valid one. While Morrison talks about people’s expectations of “free” in the digital world, I think avid readers will always be willing to pay for a good books. Maybe not $25. Maybe not even $10. So I believe the change we’ll see is that except for the current big names (i.e. Grisham), authors won’t be getting the same deals they once had. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make a living. One thing that the Internet has done is leveled the playing field for writers. Amazon and Barnes and Noble are filled with new authors that were turned down by publishers, self-published, did well and now have traditional book deals. This suggests that authors who write well and market (which you have to do in the traditional world anyway) can have a successful writing career. Take HP Mallory, who now has a three-book deal with Random House after selling nearly 200,000 self e-published books.

    Clearly traditional publishing is going change. And while the big advanced might go away and book prices may drop, that doesn’t mean authors can’t make money. HP Mallory’s books sell for $0.99 to $2.99. At 100,000 books, that’s not chump change. What will change, which has already changed anyway, is that authors will need an existing audience and do their own marketing.

  • Beta Readers Needed!

    Beta Readers Needed!

    I’m still debating the self-publish and traditional publish (assuming I could traditionally publish) route. But wanting to keep both options open, I’ve decided that I need to vet the first book with readers beyond my mom and sister. While I value their opinion, I suspect they are biased. So I’m on the lookout for people who enjoy reading mysteries (light, like cozies) that involve a little romance including some light behind closed-doors scenes (more than cozies, less than Nora Roberts). If you’re not sure whether you want to beta read, you can read and excerpt of Deadly Valentine here. If you like what’s there and want to read more, sign up to be a reader*:

    1) Subscribe to the email list to the right. Click the box that says, “I want to be a beta reader.”

    2) Confirm your subscription. You will automatically receive the first eight chapters of the book.

    3) Watch your email for information about the beta reading program and how to get the rest of the book.

    4) Please contact me through this site or by hitting reply to my email with feedback on what you love, hate, suggest or other ideas you have for the book.

    * Reader will be asked to answer a short 3-question survey to insure that the Valentine mysteries are a good fit for your reading preference. While I want all feedback I can get, if you’re expecting a full-blown romance (ala Nora Robers) or a hard-boiled detective novel, you probably won’t like the Valentine mysteries.

  • Traditional or Self-Publish?

    Traditional or Self-Publish?

    I’ve sent out a handful of pitches to agents. So far only one has emailed back saying, “No thanks.” I’m no stranger to publishing so I know I need to accept rejection as part of the deal in traditional publishing. But with ebooks going like gang busters and hearing so many stories of self-publishers who are making great money selling their books directly through Kindle and Nook, I’m seriously wondering if maybe I should do that.

    I’m not sure I could get it out in time for Valentine’s Day, which would be perfect because book one ends on Valentine’s Day. But I’m sure I could get it out sooner than if I went through traditional publishing. I’ve actually already made a cover. It’s not perfect yet. And I’m not sure it really fits the mood of the book. Deadly Valentine is a murder mystery, but it’s lighthearted and romantic. This cover says “serious” to me. If you’ve read the excerpts and have an opinion, let me know. I’m on the hunt for good graphics to make a different cover. Perhaps I’ll have a poll to see which you think will be best.

    As I finish this post, it almost sounds as if I’ve made up my mind to self-publish. I’ve determined that I’m going to work towards that (formatting, editing and cover design take time), and if one of the agent’s I’ve contacted me are interested in the book in the meantime, then I’ll pursue that route. If not, and all the agents say “no”, my fall-back route will be ready.

  • Hitting “Send” is Stressful

    Hitting “Send” is Stressful

    There’s something too final about hitting the “send” button in email. There is no second chance to make a good first impression, so I stare and read and stare some more while my cursor hovers over the “send” button. Almost without fail, the error I’m worried about doesn’t reveal it’s self until after the message is sent.

    I read a lot of books and interviews from agents, so I know it doesn’t take much to send your submission to the reject pile. I think I do a good job avoiding some of the big ones like not sending a submission the agent doesn’t represent and not being cocky. But the typos and poor sentence construction are a challenge to me (I have yet to master the comma). I have a vision of an agent reading until the first little error and then immediately hitting delete. “There is no apostrophe in ‘its’ when it doesn’t stand for ‘it is’”.

    But there’s no way to get an agent without pitching, so I’ll keep hitting the “send” button until one says “Yes!”