Will Write for Shoes
In the April 2009 issue of the Romance Writers Report (RWR), romance writer Maria Conner wrote an excellent article called “Tough Economics.” Rather than retype the whole thing (which was excellent), I copied a few interesting tidbits to share.
Connor wrote that Simon & Schuster has been forced to eliminate some 35 positions, about 2 percent of the company’s workforce. And Random House, the country’s largest general trade publisher, recently announced it was reorganizing its principal divisions, downsizing from five to three.
Tina Jordon, vice president of trade publishing at the Association of American Publishers (AAP) said, “While the publishing industry has historically been known to weather economic storms, the recession has indeed hit the book world as well, whether it is the shrinking of publishing staff, a downturn of book sales, or the impact of budgets on public libraries, state and communitywide.” Jordon’s research included interviews with more than 50 editors, agents, and publishing decision makers.
Basically, he said that publishers are doing business as usual, but are becoming more conservative when it comes to buying manuscripts. The trend is that readers are becoming more discerning shoppers; sticking with favorite authors or reading Amazon.com for reviews and recommendations.
This means that it’s even more difficult for unpublished authors to break into the market, and even midlist authors are turning to smaller houses. In addition, CNN reported that e-publishing and self-publishing are taking on a new legitimacy.
Terry Burns, an author and founding agent at the Hartline Literary Agency said, “publishing houses want authors to take a greater risk in the process, which means they’re looking to cut back on advances.”
They want writers with an established platform, although Burns warned that writers should not get so distracted by creating a platform that they forget to master the essentials of the craft. “The first element for any writer hoping to survive during the depressed economy is patience,” he said. “The second component is diversification.”
So what’s a writer to do?
Sherry Davis, another romance writer for the April issue of RWR, wrote an article called “Progress,” and offered some great suggestions.
- Take a hard look at your marketing and promotion. Assess what works, and then focus your energy there. Become more aggressive about making appearances, and do more signings at bookstores and writing venues.
- Take advantage of free publicity. Send a press release to your local newspaper, be a guest blogger at sites that will gain maximum exposure or combine a speaking engagement with a book signing in an area you don’t normally visit.
- Take stock of your membership in writing organizations. What groups offer the most benefit? Is membership really worth that extra $25, $50, or $75?
- Teach an online course, hire out as a copy editor, freelance for magazines and newspapers, or work part time at Starbuck’s.
- Finally, know the market.
Davis advised writers to learn about the most current market news by subscribing to Publishers Lunch, a daily, abbreviated version of Publishers Marketplace. Unlike Publishers Marketplace, Publishers Lunch is free. Writers who are close to publication may want to invest in the full version, making a list (or better, a spreadsheet) of the agents selling their specific genre.
Then, narrow down your target. You easily could find a plethora of possible agents and/or editors to target. Make a list of 10 or 12. Do the same for a B list, and C list. Check and double-check the guidelines listed for each publisher/agent and only submit what is stipulated.
If you belong to the Romance Writers of America, take advantage of your RWA membership and hit the Web site for the list of Eligible Agents and non-Subsidy/non-Vanity Publishers. The site lists only royalty-paying publishers and lists agents who are members of AAR (Association of Authors’ Representatives). They’re the gold-star association for agents, only agents with proper practices, who’ve met stringent guide-lines for at least two years.
Finally, Davis says, submit! She suggests sending out all of the a-list submissions at the same time. Then when those 12 come back (or not), read through all the comments. Make adjustments to the manuscript where necessary. Resend, if requested. Work up the B list. Get those submissions ready and send them out the door.
I hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Jillian
