Frequently Asked Questions From Writers
Q. I have this great idea for a romance novel, and I've already written the first three
chapters. Should I start sending out query letters now?
A. No. Not yet. Finish that whole novel first, then finish any rewriting and polishing it
needs. After it's the very best you can make it--still don't send it out. Instead, do some good
market research, making sure it's the right length and style for which publisher you have
in mind, and picking out a specific editor to address it to. You might even decide to send
out query letters to agents instead--don't forget that research first. You can also enter a few
writing contests, like the ones that many of the RWA chapters have.
Why wait? It's not a good idea to send out query letters on unfinished work because so
many writers start manuscripts that they never finish. Editors, nor agents, like to get
burned by putting in the time and effort of reading a query, or chapters, and sending a
request only to have to learn the work isn't done. It's a good way to burn a bridge that isn't
even behind you yet. Don't count on the request being slow in coming either, or just
keeping the editor or agent waiting. Most requests take forever it seems, but just as sure as
you don't have that story ready to go, it'll come in record time, sometimes in less than two
weeks. You don't want to be caught in the spot of having to send a letter saying that the
manuscript won't be ready for months, or even weeks. And you don't want
to rush to turn it in, giving it less that your best effort in the hurry.
The truth is that many editors don't want to see anything from a manuscript that isn't
finished unless you have already had a book published by one of the bigger print houses.
Many don't want to see unfinished work until you have sold that second manuscript. And if
the work you are trying to sell is a romance novel, then that means the already published
work should also be a romance novel.
Q. Can I send out query letters to lots of publishers at once?
A. Most publishers ask that you not submit work to them that other publishers are
considering. That's why it can be so important to get to work on that next manuscript as
soon as you send a query off. If you are going to offer the manuscript to more than one
publisher, then you should say so in your query letter.
Q. I've seen a lot of books that are over 400 pages long, some double that. Is longer better?
A. Not with what the cost of ink, paper, and postage is in today's world. Stick to whatever
word count the publisher listed in it's guidelines. It's better to come in under the count by
a few words, than to go over. (And make sure that manuscript if formatted in standard novel
formatting, and that you are using the right form of word counting. I have details on both
on my Manuscript Preparation page.)
Q. I queried an agent and she rejected the MS, recommending an editing service that she
felt could really help me. She said she would look at the MS again afterwards, but I can't
really afford the editing service. What should I do?
A. Toss that letter in the trash where it belongs and mark that agent off of your list. Any
agent that works with an editing service, recommending work to them, isn't one you want
to deal with. Check out some of the articles and agent info here.
Q. What are the chances of my work be stolen?
A. Between my website and the critique group I run, I get this question all of the time from
new writers. Some fear entering any contest, joining any critique group, even doing one on
one critiques...because they just know someone is going to take their work. I've even gotten
messages from some who are afraid to send work out to an agent or publisher, because
they fear that agent or editor will copy it too.
First, I've never heard of a story being bought that hasn't ever been seen by someone else.
(Smile) Second, plots and ideas aren't under a copyright, and I don't think there is one left
out there that hasn't been done a million times at least. We just all do them a little
differently. And lastly, actually taking a novel from someone and passing it off as your own,
or passing it on to another writer to then pass off as her own, is as one of my characters
says...about as rare as hens teeth. (Smile) After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Q. I noticed that print publisher pay small royalty rates, like less than 10%, but I've found
listings that say e-pubs offer their authors 50% royalty. Why such a big difference?
A. Those small royalty percentages from a print pub usually adds up to thousands of
dollars. On the other side of the coin...the huge royalty percentages from e-pubs usually
adds up to less than a hundred bucks. Those larger percentages might look great on paper,
but a little bit of thousands is better than a whole lot of a couple of hundred. How much of
a royalty percentage a publishers offer is only one of the things you need to look out when
picking a publisher you wish to send work to. Read some of the articles and go through
some of the info I have on my Publishers & Agents page to help you make up your mind
which kind of publisher is right for you. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Q. Can I send out query letters to a number of agents at once?
A. As long as it's only a query, yes. Once an agent request to see the manuscript, then you
need to send it to them alone, or let them know up front that other agents are also
considering the work.
Q. Is it better to try and get an agent before I send out work to publishers?
A. That can be a catch twenty-two. Many of the better agents want you to have sold a
manuscript first. Maybe of the better publishers want you to have an agent first. I know lots
of writers that tried both at the same time. Note that once a manuscript has been around to
the publishers though, many agents don't want to see it. They say it's already been
"shopped around". The correct answer to this depends on each writer and where they are in
their career, and where they want to go.
Q. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about e-publishing and how good authors stay away from it.
Is that true?
A. A number of years back e-pubs really had a bad name--that they created. An e-pub
author was lucky to earn fifty bucks for her novel, and wasn't warned of this, so was kind of
blind sided when it was time for their first checks to come in. E-pubs also put out a lot of
books that were way below standard.
It has been a hard battle for the better e-pubs to slowly rise and start to turn things
around. But some of them are, they are publishing great authors, paying them better, and
a couple have even sold enough to earn RWA recognition.
Small press has often walked along some of the same troubled paths, many of them flirting
a little too much toward vanity though. You just have to find out who the good guys are and
who the bad ones are.
There are even larger NY print pubs that have some skeletons in their closet. (Smile) Just
like with everything in this world if you look at any type of publishing you will find some of
the good, the bad, and the ugly, all mixed in. Nothing is ever all good or all bad.
The key to being happy with any publisher is really simply though. It does take a little
effort from the author. First, know what you want. What your goals are. What you expect,
what your dreams are. These can be tough questions, so make sure you are honest with
yourself. It's not like you have to tell anyone else.
This is really important. There is no bad decision here as long as you, the author, are
happy with the end results. Maybe you have extra money and you just want to see your
book published and you don't care how. Then vanity press might be right for you. Maybe
you don't have the money or just don't want to pay to get your work published, but you
really would like to see it published, but in print, and you'd like to have the chance to earn
a little something. So then maybe a really small press is just what you want. Maybe you
want others to be able to read your story and you want the chance to earn at least a little,
and you don't want to pay to see it happen, and don't really care if that story is in print or
on CD, or just in the computer, as long as others can read it. Then maybe e-pub is just
right for you. Maybe you want to see your writing in print, sitting on the bookshelf on a big
book store and you want to earn enough to pay you for some of the hours you've spent
writing it, and you don't care if it takes you ten years to get to that point, then maybe the
big print pubs are for you. Maybe it's even a mixture of two or more of the above types, or
something that falls some where between some of them.
Once you know all of that about yourself, then you do lots of homework. You ask around,
like you did here, you go to a few big search sites and type in the publisher's name and the
editors name. You look at the publisher's website and see which authors write for them,
then go to Amazon or some other big online store and look up those authors. Find out if
their books are offered at places like Amazon...what the price is. Is it way more than most
other romance novels? Is it offered other places too?
Don't stop digging. Check out the Show Me The Money report and see if there's some info
there on what the publisher pays. I have a link to that report and a couple of others like it
on my Articles page and my Publishers & Agents page. There are also some links there to
other sites to check out publishers and to some articles that tell you what to look out for
and what to expect. See if you can contact at least a couple of authors who have published
with the house, and see what they feel about them. Some will tell you and some won't.
When you think you've checked all you can, check a few more things. This is your
homework. Your peace of mind and happiness depends on you getting all the facts and
then mixing them together with your wants, and coming up with a happy ending.
Only when all of your homework is done is it time to make up your mind for sure about
where you would like to submit to and where you wouldn't. (Oh, part of that homework is
also finding out what kind of work each publisher wants and if yours will even fit there.)
There is no right or wrong to any of this, no better or worse, no you against them. As long
as you know what you want and get what you want and walk away happy, then you made
the right choice for you. In that case, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. This
one is all up to.
Q: I actually have two questions. I’m getting ready to enter my first contest. The rules give
formatting details to follow, like font and size and even margin width. Does it really matter
if I don’t follow all of the formatting suggested? Also, the contest says I can enter the first
twenty-five pages, but my first chapter is only twenty-one pages long, and the twenty-fifth
page would end at kind of boring spot. Do I have to send in the whole twenty-five pages?
Or, along the line of my first question, can I use a smaller font and margin so I can get more
of my story on those twenty-five pages?
A: If a contest says to use standard MS formatting--that’s really the best formatting to use
anyway--that’s what you should use. It shows you know what standard formatting is. If you
don’t know what standard is, I have plenty of info on that on my Manuscript Preparation
page.
If the contest’s rules give you a choice of a couple of different types of formatting, but list a
font and size they prefer or a margin width they expect, make sure you stick to what they
ask for. By doing so it proves you can follow rules. You would be surprised at how many
people seem unable to.
As for using a smaller font or some other trick to try to get by the rules and get more
writing into your submission. Don’t. First, judges don't get paid for their time, so if they
agreed to judge twenty-five pages, they expect to judge twenty-five MS formatted pages or
less...not more because someone used a smaller font or more lines per page or a smaller
margin. Judges are usually writers and readers as well. They already have tired eyes.
(Smile) Do you really want them to have to struggle to read your entry? Or do you want
them wishing it would end all ready because they know—and they will know—that you
either didn’t know what you were doing or you deliberately stuck them with crowded text
just so you could get a few more words in?
Lastly, where to end your entry is up to you—as long as you don’t go over the page limit.
You don't have to end your entry at exactly the last page allowed. In fact, it's better to end a
few pages short and leave the judge wanting more, than to push it. It doesn't take twenty-
five pages to know good writing when you see it. And yes, you should have a good story
way before page twenty-five because few readers, much less agents or editors, are going to
read that far waiting to get to the good stuff. I've heard many say they give a story three
pages or less to decide if it's worth reading more. If a good agent or editor can make up her
mind about a manuscript in three pages or less, I think a judge can do the same about
most of your writing weaknesses and strengths in twenty or less. (Smile)
chapters. Should I start sending out query letters now?
A. No. Not yet. Finish that whole novel first, then finish any rewriting and polishing it
needs. After it's the very best you can make it--still don't send it out. Instead, do some good
market research, making sure it's the right length and style for which publisher you have
in mind, and picking out a specific editor to address it to. You might even decide to send
out query letters to agents instead--don't forget that research first. You can also enter a few
writing contests, like the ones that many of the RWA chapters have.
Why wait? It's not a good idea to send out query letters on unfinished work because so
many writers start manuscripts that they never finish. Editors, nor agents, like to get
burned by putting in the time and effort of reading a query, or chapters, and sending a
request only to have to learn the work isn't done. It's a good way to burn a bridge that isn't
even behind you yet. Don't count on the request being slow in coming either, or just
keeping the editor or agent waiting. Most requests take forever it seems, but just as sure as
you don't have that story ready to go, it'll come in record time, sometimes in less than two
weeks. You don't want to be caught in the spot of having to send a letter saying that the
manuscript won't be ready for months, or even weeks. And you don't want
to rush to turn it in, giving it less that your best effort in the hurry.
The truth is that many editors don't want to see anything from a manuscript that isn't
finished unless you have already had a book published by one of the bigger print houses.
Many don't want to see unfinished work until you have sold that second manuscript. And if
the work you are trying to sell is a romance novel, then that means the already published
work should also be a romance novel.
Q. Can I send out query letters to lots of publishers at once?
A. Most publishers ask that you not submit work to them that other publishers are
considering. That's why it can be so important to get to work on that next manuscript as
soon as you send a query off. If you are going to offer the manuscript to more than one
publisher, then you should say so in your query letter.
Q. I've seen a lot of books that are over 400 pages long, some double that. Is longer better?
A. Not with what the cost of ink, paper, and postage is in today's world. Stick to whatever
word count the publisher listed in it's guidelines. It's better to come in under the count by
a few words, than to go over. (And make sure that manuscript if formatted in standard novel
formatting, and that you are using the right form of word counting. I have details on both
on my Manuscript Preparation page.)
Q. I queried an agent and she rejected the MS, recommending an editing service that she
felt could really help me. She said she would look at the MS again afterwards, but I can't
really afford the editing service. What should I do?
A. Toss that letter in the trash where it belongs and mark that agent off of your list. Any
agent that works with an editing service, recommending work to them, isn't one you want
to deal with. Check out some of the articles and agent info here.
Q. What are the chances of my work be stolen?
A. Between my website and the critique group I run, I get this question all of the time from
new writers. Some fear entering any contest, joining any critique group, even doing one on
one critiques...because they just know someone is going to take their work. I've even gotten
messages from some who are afraid to send work out to an agent or publisher, because
they fear that agent or editor will copy it too.
First, I've never heard of a story being bought that hasn't ever been seen by someone else.
(Smile) Second, plots and ideas aren't under a copyright, and I don't think there is one left
out there that hasn't been done a million times at least. We just all do them a little
differently. And lastly, actually taking a novel from someone and passing it off as your own,
or passing it on to another writer to then pass off as her own, is as one of my characters
says...about as rare as hens teeth. (Smile) After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Q. I noticed that print publisher pay small royalty rates, like less than 10%, but I've found
listings that say e-pubs offer their authors 50% royalty. Why such a big difference?
A. Those small royalty percentages from a print pub usually adds up to thousands of
dollars. On the other side of the coin...the huge royalty percentages from e-pubs usually
adds up to less than a hundred bucks. Those larger percentages might look great on paper,
but a little bit of thousands is better than a whole lot of a couple of hundred. How much of
a royalty percentage a publishers offer is only one of the things you need to look out when
picking a publisher you wish to send work to. Read some of the articles and go through
some of the info I have on my Publishers & Agents page to help you make up your mind
which kind of publisher is right for you. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Q. Can I send out query letters to a number of agents at once?
A. As long as it's only a query, yes. Once an agent request to see the manuscript, then you
need to send it to them alone, or let them know up front that other agents are also
considering the work.
Q. Is it better to try and get an agent before I send out work to publishers?
A. That can be a catch twenty-two. Many of the better agents want you to have sold a
manuscript first. Maybe of the better publishers want you to have an agent first. I know lots
of writers that tried both at the same time. Note that once a manuscript has been around to
the publishers though, many agents don't want to see it. They say it's already been
"shopped around". The correct answer to this depends on each writer and where they are in
their career, and where they want to go.
Q. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about e-publishing and how good authors stay away from it.
Is that true?
A. A number of years back e-pubs really had a bad name--that they created. An e-pub
author was lucky to earn fifty bucks for her novel, and wasn't warned of this, so was kind of
blind sided when it was time for their first checks to come in. E-pubs also put out a lot of
books that were way below standard.
It has been a hard battle for the better e-pubs to slowly rise and start to turn things
around. But some of them are, they are publishing great authors, paying them better, and
a couple have even sold enough to earn RWA recognition.
Small press has often walked along some of the same troubled paths, many of them flirting
a little too much toward vanity though. You just have to find out who the good guys are and
who the bad ones are.
There are even larger NY print pubs that have some skeletons in their closet. (Smile) Just
like with everything in this world if you look at any type of publishing you will find some of
the good, the bad, and the ugly, all mixed in. Nothing is ever all good or all bad.
The key to being happy with any publisher is really simply though. It does take a little
effort from the author. First, know what you want. What your goals are. What you expect,
what your dreams are. These can be tough questions, so make sure you are honest with
yourself. It's not like you have to tell anyone else.
This is really important. There is no bad decision here as long as you, the author, are
happy with the end results. Maybe you have extra money and you just want to see your
book published and you don't care how. Then vanity press might be right for you. Maybe
you don't have the money or just don't want to pay to get your work published, but you
really would like to see it published, but in print, and you'd like to have the chance to earn
a little something. So then maybe a really small press is just what you want. Maybe you
want others to be able to read your story and you want the chance to earn at least a little,
and you don't want to pay to see it happen, and don't really care if that story is in print or
on CD, or just in the computer, as long as others can read it. Then maybe e-pub is just
right for you. Maybe you want to see your writing in print, sitting on the bookshelf on a big
book store and you want to earn enough to pay you for some of the hours you've spent
writing it, and you don't care if it takes you ten years to get to that point, then maybe the
big print pubs are for you. Maybe it's even a mixture of two or more of the above types, or
something that falls some where between some of them.
Once you know all of that about yourself, then you do lots of homework. You ask around,
like you did here, you go to a few big search sites and type in the publisher's name and the
editors name. You look at the publisher's website and see which authors write for them,
then go to Amazon or some other big online store and look up those authors. Find out if
their books are offered at places like Amazon...what the price is. Is it way more than most
other romance novels? Is it offered other places too?
Don't stop digging. Check out the Show Me The Money report and see if there's some info
there on what the publisher pays. I have a link to that report and a couple of others like it
on my Articles page and my Publishers & Agents page. There are also some links there to
other sites to check out publishers and to some articles that tell you what to look out for
and what to expect. See if you can contact at least a couple of authors who have published
with the house, and see what they feel about them. Some will tell you and some won't.
When you think you've checked all you can, check a few more things. This is your
homework. Your peace of mind and happiness depends on you getting all the facts and
then mixing them together with your wants, and coming up with a happy ending.
Only when all of your homework is done is it time to make up your mind for sure about
where you would like to submit to and where you wouldn't. (Oh, part of that homework is
also finding out what kind of work each publisher wants and if yours will even fit there.)
There is no right or wrong to any of this, no better or worse, no you against them. As long
as you know what you want and get what you want and walk away happy, then you made
the right choice for you. In that case, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. This
one is all up to.
Q: I actually have two questions. I’m getting ready to enter my first contest. The rules give
formatting details to follow, like font and size and even margin width. Does it really matter
if I don’t follow all of the formatting suggested? Also, the contest says I can enter the first
twenty-five pages, but my first chapter is only twenty-one pages long, and the twenty-fifth
page would end at kind of boring spot. Do I have to send in the whole twenty-five pages?
Or, along the line of my first question, can I use a smaller font and margin so I can get more
of my story on those twenty-five pages?
A: If a contest says to use standard MS formatting--that’s really the best formatting to use
anyway--that’s what you should use. It shows you know what standard formatting is. If you
don’t know what standard is, I have plenty of info on that on my Manuscript Preparation
page.
If the contest’s rules give you a choice of a couple of different types of formatting, but list a
font and size they prefer or a margin width they expect, make sure you stick to what they
ask for. By doing so it proves you can follow rules. You would be surprised at how many
people seem unable to.
As for using a smaller font or some other trick to try to get by the rules and get more
writing into your submission. Don’t. First, judges don't get paid for their time, so if they
agreed to judge twenty-five pages, they expect to judge twenty-five MS formatted pages or
less...not more because someone used a smaller font or more lines per page or a smaller
margin. Judges are usually writers and readers as well. They already have tired eyes.
(Smile) Do you really want them to have to struggle to read your entry? Or do you want
them wishing it would end all ready because they know—and they will know—that you
either didn’t know what you were doing or you deliberately stuck them with crowded text
just so you could get a few more words in?
Lastly, where to end your entry is up to you—as long as you don’t go over the page limit.
You don't have to end your entry at exactly the last page allowed. In fact, it's better to end a
few pages short and leave the judge wanting more, than to push it. It doesn't take twenty-
five pages to know good writing when you see it. And yes, you should have a good story
way before page twenty-five because few readers, much less agents or editors, are going to
read that far waiting to get to the good stuff. I've heard many say they give a story three
pages or less to decide if it's worth reading more. If a good agent or editor can make up her
mind about a manuscript in three pages or less, I think a judge can do the same about
most of your writing weaknesses and strengths in twenty or less. (Smile)
Copyright © by Charlotte Dillon.
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
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