Marketing Your Novel: Promo Tips from a Newish Author

Hi everyone – so I’m a newish author with a YA dystopian book (published by a small press) that’s been out in the market for six months now (has it really been that long already—wow!). Anyway, all I have to say after six months is that if you think writing is hard…well, promo is at least TWICE as hard (at least it has been for me so far).

Now, this post isn’t a “how you should market your book” post. Far from it, actually. I admit it, as much as I’ve delved whole-heartedly into the whole promo thing, I’m still learning the ropes, even after six months. After all, it’s a gigantic topic with an overwhelming abundance of info you can find all over the Internet—it can be exhausting just to try to research and sift through it all.

So…rather than go through an incredibly long list of alllllll the types of marketing/promo you can do for your book (in fact, I’ll list a few of the absolute necessities right now that I’ve heard countless times on industry sites and blogs: have a website, create business cards with your book on it, find the social media applications your readers use the most and interact with them, etc.), I thought it would be fun to list a few things that I know for a fact have led to at least a few sales and/or have expanded my book’s presence in the marketplace.

1. Find Facebook reading promo groups that deal specifically with your book’s genre and post in them about your book (be sure to include the buy link). There are TONS of reading groups on Facebook, but after posting in a lot of them, I found that hardly any sales resulted (very sad, I know). The only exception was when I posted in the very few groups that deal specifically with my genre. Not only did my posting in those groups result in sales, the readers were the only ones who even reacted to my post at all—and they were EXCITED to hear about/read my book. Interestingly, it was the groups that deal with the dystopian genre that got the most response, rather than the age category of young adult (at least for my book, anyway).

2. Locate (or establish if it’s not already) your book on Goodreads, and then start adding it to groups that deal with your genre in the listopia function. If you’re not familiar with listopia, it’s comprised of a bunch of lists of books that anyone can create and that anyone can add books to. Just make sure you read the guidelines of each group before you add your book. Some group creators don’t want outside people (i.e., not them) adding to them, or outline specific things that may not apply to your book (i.e., they want only standalone dystopian novels to be listed versus series, and you have a series). I haven’t been able to tell for sure if this has resulted in actual sales, but it has definitely resulted in people adding my book to their “to-be-read” lists, and thus has resulted in some ratings and a review so far for my book, so I imagine at least some people have bought the book via the listopia function. If not, my book is definitely more visible in the marketplace.

3. Participate in other authors’ Facebook release parties (I would also recommend having a release party for your own book when it comes out). This can admittedly sometimes be hit-or-miss, as it depends on how many readers are attending the party, and that, of course, depends on how popular the author is or how much advertising the author has done for the party, but it can be a great opportunity to do a giveaway of your own book and interact with readers on Facebook. Plus, it’s just good karma—us authors need to help each other out, after all! I’ve participated in a few release parties so far, typically giving away a free e-book copy of my book to a randomly selected reader, and it has always been a fun time at the very least.

4. Making your book free or putting it on sale for 99 cents for a limited amount of time. My publisher told me that 99 cents usually garners the best response from the market, and I have to say it has led to a few sales for me. Of course, you still need to get word of the sale out into the world, but who can argue with getting a book for free or for under a buck? SPEAKING of which, my book is STILL on sale (OK, OK, so this is the shameless plug part of the post; you can find my on-sale-book here: Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/z474hq9 ) for only 99 cents now until February 14.

Anyway, funnily enough, these four things are the only ones that I know for a fact have translated into actual sales, or have expanded my book’s spot in the market at the very least. I still have a long way to go in terms of learning the way of promoting and building a platform, but I’m sure I’ll be employing these four things again down the line—with this book and others down the line. If anybody here knows of any awesome marketing tactics that have worked for them, feel free to drop them in the comments below! Again, us authors need to help each other out! :-)

In the future, no adults exist. Ever since the plague swept the world 100 years ago, no one has lived past seventeen.

Sixteen-year-old Gorin, a collector of curious artifacts left over from the pre-plague civilization, is on the verge of perishing from that deadly epidemic. And his last wish is to find a way to visit the rulers’ reputedly magnificent, off-limits mansion.

Up against the clock, he and his friend Stausha steal into the mansion and discover a secret more horrifying than they ever could’ve imagined—a secret that holds the key to the survival of the whole human race.

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble 

Chris von Halle has had many different lives in many different worlds—the near and distant future Earth, other planets, and even other dimensions—and his books recreate his childhood memories of such outlandish locations. In thisworld and life, he lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and enjoys such extraordinary activities as playing videogames, tennis, and basketball, and writing the occasional comic strip.

Website: chrisvonhalle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.v.halle?fref=browse_search
Blog: http://chrisvonhalle.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @ChrisvonHalle

Reading In Your Genre

On twitter, I've talked about the advice to read newly released books in your genre, but I never really did a blog post about it. In fact, I never knew the importance of that advice until I wrote my fifth manuscript.

You see I got an agent with my fourth manuscript. It was a humorous middle grade, and it never sold on submission. I'm pretty sure now that was because I hadn't read enough middle grade books before I wrote it. I usually read in adult fantasy with the occasional middle grade thrown in.  

Then while my MG was out on submission, I did this thing called sign up for NetGalley. NetGalley provides free advance copy ebooks in exchange for honest reviews of those books. It's one of the main sites used by book bloggers. I'm not a book blogger per se, but I love reading. And there's never enough money to buy all the books I can read. So NetGalley provided me free books and all I had to do was write a review on Goodreads.

Actually, I was getting so much more.

By reading books that were newly released, I learned so much. I'm not talking about plot trends. These books were purchased by the publishers a year ago or longer, so trends of plot have passed by the time the public gets to read them. 

No, I mean writing style and pacing and timing and so many other important things. Such as, how long you should wait before an inciting incident? How to space out your action chapters for your genre? What sort of pace is too slow? How much world building should you do? What sort of prologues work? How unlikable can you make your characters and still have people tolerate them? All sorts of information comes from reading lots and lots of recent books.

I find that I've developed an inner rhythm to writing now. My manuscripts fall right into the sweet spot for word count without my having to try. I know how much description works and what sorts makes a reader bored.

My gut tells me it's time to add some action or to slow things down. I sense when the characters need a building relationship scene so they can bond. I believe I know when the story needs new elements added to bring up the interest. At least, I hope I've gotten pretty good at judging these things now. The reviews for Grudging so far have been pretty strong. (And I'd appreciate your support!) 

Regardless of what genre you enjoy, there's a lot to be said for spending a day on the couch just reading. Consider it research!

Book Birthday for DARK CONFESSIONS

About DARK CONFESSIONS

For Sherrif's Deputy Elizabeth Caine, seeing is believing. But in the past few months, she's witnessed an otherworldy realm of ancient magic and ghostly spirits that defies explanation. When a friend connected to that world of witchcraft is taken captive by a ruthless criminal, Bess will risk anything to find her, even if it means enlisting the help of a former lover she can no longer trust.

Ferdinand Lafitte can't tell Bess the truth about his feelings for her, not while a powerful spell binds him. But he can guide her through the lush bayou in search of Mala LaCroix, whose fate means as much to him as it does to Bess. Yet as their search reveals the darkest kinds of sorcery, they find themselves drawn together more passionately than ever before . . . 

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Confessions-Angie-Sandro-ebook/dp/B01AGR87FG

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dark-confessions-angie-sandro/1123242151?ean=9781455537662

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/dark-confessions

https://play.google.com/store/books/author?id=Angie+Sandro

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dark-confessions/id1073661680?mt=11

Excerpt:

“Does that include working with me?” Ferdinand asks.

With a gasp, I turn. He lounges against the doorframe, and I’m caught in his trap again, mesmerized by sheer perfection. He reminds me of a priceless Egyptian statue, painstakingly carved from ebony by a master craftsman. A real piece of work, this man. More beautiful than anything I saw in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and more cunning than a grifter running a long con.

I blink to dispel the haze clouding my eyes. “I don’t like the idea, but it seems I don’t have a choice.”

Ferdinand shakes his head. “You have free will. It’s a gift, which shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

I refrain from snorting. It’s not at all lady-like. “Well, if I did, then I’d still have you in handcuffs.”

Ferdinand’s dark eyebrows rise. “Is that so?” His gaze travels leisurely down my body, leaving a trail of heat that pools between my thighs. “Your wish is my command, Chérie doux.” His accent thickens. “Any time. All I require is for you to say the magic word. Merci.”

My breath catches. It feels like I’ve got a stray piece of apple pie lodged in my throat, and no matter how much I swallow, I can’t clear the block. “I need some water,” I choke out, eyeing the door. Why won’t he move?

“I’ll go with you.” He turns sideways, waving his arm for me to precede him. As if I want him hovering behind where I can’t see his hands. Oh God. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Five quick steps take me to the door. My skin puckers as I brush past him. Every inch of me feels jittery, on edge, like I’m about to leap out of my skin. His long fingers skim the small of my back beneath the edge of my bulletproof vest, and a spark arcs between us. The resulting burst of liquid heat causes my overly sensitive nerves to tingle. My bound breasts ache from being confined.

The bathroom is only a few paces away, but I can’t reach it fast enough. Ferdinand almost walks on my heels. He’s so close that the space between our bodies hums with electricity.  Does he plan on waiting for me to come out? That won’t do.

I throw open the door to the single stall bathroom and flip on the light. Ferdinand rocks forward on his toes, head close to brushing the top of the doorframe. My hand whips out, and I grab the waistband of his jeans and yank him into the room. The door slams shut behind us.

Confusion and hunger war within his dark eyes. The heady combination threatens to bring me to my knees. His long eyelashes fan down, then up. “Lieutenant Caine?”

“Shut up. Not another word.” I thumb the door lock. Neither of us can escape now. “I can’t…not one more second.”

His hand lifts, but I wrap my fingers around his wrist and shove it down. “Don’t touch me.” I can’t take it anymore. So why be miserable and keep fighting?

Rising onto my tiptoes, I grab his collar and drag him toward me. His lips part. Perfect. My mouth slams against his—hard and rough. I steal his kiss. The one owed to me. He’s been taunting me with the possibility for hours—holding this moment over my head while playing on my emotions. No more. It’s my reward for being so damn patient. 

About Angie Sandro

Angie Sandro was born at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Within six weeks, she began the first of eleven relocations throughout the United States, Spain, and Guam before the age of eighteen.

Friends were left behind. The only constants in her life were her family and the books she shipped wherever she went. Traveling the world inspired her imagination and allowed her to create her own imaginary friends. Visits to her father's family in Louisiana inspired this story.

Angie now lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and an overweight Labrador.

https://www.facebook.com/Angie-Sandro-253044268078356/

https://twitter.com/AngieSandro

http://anjeasandro.blogspot.com/

Getting the Call with Josh Hlibichuk

A timely reminder that contests aren't the only way to finding your agent. Thanks for sharing your journey with us, Josh! 

I had been writing for years, but the first project I ever queried was a YA fantasy. In retrospect, I have no idea what I was thinking. I queried across thirty or so agents, all of whom realized what I should have at the time: it wasn’t ready. The whole manuscript was one giant darling. The death knell came months later when I got accepted into PitchWars 2013 with a different manuscript, a YA steampunk. I put away the old and got excited about the new.

I was beyond thrilled to be in PitchWars. I’d heard the stories about other writers getting a bajillion requests and offers from their PitchWars projects, and I was certain this was going to be my debut. My mentor and I busted our butts to get ready; I cut something like fifteen thousand words. I chopped a beloved character. I cleaned up the beginning. I wrote a query letter I didn’t hate!

When the agent round came, the entries around mine collected request after request. By the time the dust settled, I had gotten only one request--a partial--and it was quickly rejected. Undaunted, I queried widely. This one caught more eyes, got more partials and even a couple fulls, but in the end none of the agents wanted to go in on it. This continued for several months until I decided it was time put this one away too.

I was frustrated, and I was disappointed, but I wasn’t done writing. I began writing a new story that had been rattling around in my brain for a while: a fantasy heist novel. I love heist and con stories, be they books (Scott Lynch) or movies (Ocean’s Eleven) or television (Leverage). This was something I could do.

Over the course of the next year I wrote The Violets of Tavarem in fits and spurts. I eventually finished the first draft in August of 2014 after powering through the final 30,000 words in about three weeks. I revised, I sent it out to crit partners, and we made it even better.

I began querying in July 2015, and my query garnered only a nibble or two. More revision, more querying. My community of writer friends rallied with me and helped shine my query to sparkling, and then the nibbles turned into bites. I entered PitchWars 2015 to hopefully boost my chances (even going so far as to write a dreaded synopsis), but I was not selected.

The PitchWars rejection was a huge blow to morale. I had already gotten in once, two years ago. What did it say about this project, if I couldn’t get picked this time? Was I delusional, or was this simply a matter of taste?

(You’ve probably already guessed, in this industry so much is a matter of taste. Don’t let a contest rejection keep you from pressing onward!)

After I recovered, I entered PitchSlam and was selected for entry. This time, I got six requests; three of them were fulls. I was ecstatic, despite the rejections that still trickled in--even the rejections were encouraging. Partials turned into fulls.  I was finally on track, and this train was moving.

Fast forward to November. I first met Caitie Flum on a Reddit writing community (shout out to /r/yawriters!). Caitie was a smart new agent who had a lot of great industry experience, but she did not rep my genre (YA Fantasy). Imagine my pleasant surprise when she announced that she was now going to accept scifi and fantasy queries for YA, having opened doors that were previously closed.

Meanwhile, another agent at her agency already had my partial. I let her know as much. She offered to look at the query and the partial anyway, even to give feedback if it wasn’t for her. (Caitie is huge on helping writers--one of the many things I love about her.)

A few emails later, Caitie had gotten her hands on my query, and I sent her my partial. Less than a week later, she wanted to see the full. Twelve days after that, on a Friday, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize.

Now, I live in Iowa during a heated election season. Most of the phone numbers I don’t recognize are robocalls or other pollsters. I usually let everything go to voicemail and come back later. So, I ignored it. And then I got an email from Caitie: “I just finished and would love to talk to you about this. Do you have time for a call today?”

Proceed to freak out. I replied that yes, I did, and in a few minutes the very same phone number from earlier came back on my phone.

I had ignored a phone call from an agent!

Caitie was a great sport about it, and we talked for a bit. She offered representation. From Reddit and following her online, I knew so much about her--two of my writer-friends were already clients--that I didn’t have as many questions as I might have had for another agent. I researched further to get a sense for Caitie and for Liza Dawson Associates, but I had queried the agency in the past and already knew that this agent and agency were perfect for me.

I gave the other agents a week to read partials and fulls, but I knew in my heart they would need to make strong cases to change my mind. In the end I picked Caitie to champion my work. As we continue through a revision ahead of going on submission, I still couldn’t be more thrilled at the opportunity to work with her.

--

Josh Hlibichuk writes YA fantasy and dabbles in contemporary. He works as a web developer in the Midwest where he lives with his wife and kids who tolerate his flights of fancy and occasional outbursts of song. When he’s not writing or powering the Internet, Josh enjoys board games, amateur photography, and tweeting at other writers.

Website: http://www.caffeinatedpages.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/qrevolution

Team Snow Picks for 2016

It's that time! And when better to announce the news then on Super Sunday!

I hope everyone had a good time and learned something. Contests are for fun and meeting new friends after all!

As I said on twitter there were a ton of great entries, but I only had room for sixteen. With 200 entries that means a lot left behind. Be sure to check the Team Sun picks over at Amy's blog, and remember that contests aren't the only means to get in front of agents. 

I never made it in to any large contests, so I know exactly how you feel. I got my agent from a query. And everyone's journey is different. Keep on keeping on!


The following entries will be on Team Snow:

Middle Grade:

#Momolives- Contemporary
The Princess of Tangled Days- Fantasy
Sixth Grade Secret Service- Humor, Adventure
Riley Cooper, Inventor- Contemporary


Young Adult:

Down and Across- Contemporary
Ophelia- Gothic
The First Idol- Fantasy
The Wish Stone- Contemporary Fantasy
The Curious Will of John Glenarm- Contemporary
Mongrels- Science Fiction
The Green Well- Fantasy
Ballad of a Teenage Cannibal- Humor, Fantasy
Swimming Lessons- Contemporary


New Adult:

If You're Ever in Town- Contemporary Romance


Adult:

Here and Open- Women's Fiction
Spy Act- Espionage Thriller


Mentors should be contacting you soon, but give them until Monday afternoon.  

Get your revised entry back to me no later than Thursday, February 18 at 3:00 pm EST. That’s so I have time to format the entries and have them ready to post for the agent round on Monday, February 22. Mail your revised entry to the contest email Sunversussnow (at) yahoo (dot) com. Please use the exact same format and don't forget the Sun versus Snow question.

And do find me on twitter (@Michelle4Laughs) so I can add you to my list before the agent round! I hope everyone sticks around to party and see if Sun or Snow gets the most requests. 

Team Snow will be ready to kick it to the sun!

Getting the Call with Peggy Rothschild

It seems appropriate to share a success story from previous contests this week. It's not necessary the requests from a contest that are the most important part. The advice is priceless. Thanks for sharing, Peggy. 

I entered Query Kombat in 2014 and received so much helpful feedback that I decided to enter the June 2015 contest with a new manuscript. (You might remember it was called Guilt by Association.) Once again, the critiques were enormously helpful. Using that feedback, I polished my query between each round. Although I’d sent out queries in the past, I hadn’t actually queried my contest manuscript. In late June, as the dust was settling from the competition, the wonderful Melissa Jeglinski of the Knight Agency requested the first 50 pages of my manuscript. I sent them off, then turned my attention to a different manuscript. Three months later, I received a request for the full. After giving it a quick polish, I sent it off. Then in November, I received an email giving me some feedback. Melissa also wanted to set up a time when we could talk.

I didn’t immediately realize that this was "The Call". I was anticipating feedback and a possible revise and resubmit, but not an offer of representation. Maybe it was because I wasn’t expecting an offer, or maybe it’s because Melissa is genuinely warm and easy to talk to, or maybe it was the fun of chatting with a fellow cat-lover, but I was relaxed and had a great time getting to know her. The offer was the unexpected icing on top of that cake!

--------------------------------------------------

Peggy Rothschild grew up in Los Angeles. Always a mystery-lover, she embraced the tales of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys before graduating to the adult section of the library. An English major in high school, she switched to art her – other passion – in college. Peggy has authored two adult mysteries, CLEMENTINE’S SHADOW and ERASING RAMONA. PUNISHMENT SUMMER is her first young adult book.

At present, Peggy lives in the beach community of Ventura with her husband and their cats. In her spare time she focuses on transforming their yard into a drought-tolerant paradise and creating art pieces.

Website - www.peggyrothschild.net

Punishment Summer - http://amzn.to/1VIgnLu

@pegrothschild

https://www.facebook.com/peggyrothschildauthor

amazon.com/author/peggyrothschild

Sun versus Snow 2016 Submission and Twitter Party

CLOSED!

Today is the day for Sun versus Snow to begin! Michelle and I are beyond excited to get this party started!

Here is a reminder of all the rules and details...

The submission window for Sun versus Snow will open TODAY at 4 pm Eastern time!

Act fast. We will only be taking the first 200 entries. Please do not enter early or your entry will be deleted. You can resend at the proper time if this happens accidentally. Confirmation emails will be sent. If you don’t receive one, don’t resend. We don’t want duplicate entries. Please check with us on Twitter first to confirm your entry did or did not arrive, then you may resend. There is only ONE, yes that’s right, ONE entry per person allowed. Any attempt to cheat will result in entries being thrown out. This contest is only for finished and polished stories.

Important note: The story can’t have been in the agent round of any other contest in the past five months. We are doing this at our agents's request to prevent contest overlap.

Also, Michelle and I have decided not to accept picture books for this contest. Though we love picture books, contests just don’t seem to be the best place to get them requests. We do accept all MG, YA, NA and Adult genres, excluding erotica. To enter you must be followers of our blogs. Click the “join this site" button on my blog. Find Amy's blog here.

Also consider checking out the FAQ for answers to other questions. 

The Format:

Send submission to Sunversussnow (at) yahoo (dot) com. Only one submission per person is allowed. It doesn’t matter if you write under different names or are submitting different manuscripts. You are still one person and get one entry.

Here’s how it should be formatted (yes, include the bolded!) Please use Times New Roman (or equivalent), 12 pt font, and put spaces between paragraphs. No indents or tabs are needed. No worries if your gmail doesn’t have Times New Roman. No worries if the email messes up your format. Yes, we will still read it! :-)  (Here’s a trick to keep your paragraph spacing: copy and paste your entry into your email and then put in the line spaces. They seem to get lost when you copy and paste. It may look right but sending scrambles the spacing.)

Subject Line: SVS: TITLE, Age Category + Genre

(example: SVS: GRUDGING, Adult Epic Fantasy)

In The Email:

Title: MY FANTASTIC BOOK (yes, caps!)

Genre: YA dystopian (Age category and genre. YA/MG is not a genre.)

Word Count: XX,XXX (round to the nearest thousand)

My Main Character would use sun or snow to battle their biggest obstacle: 

Which would your character find more helpful in fighting through their biggest obstacle–hot or cold. And why? Tell us which weather would be the most helpful to your character.

(Can be in your MC’s POV, but doesn’t have to be. 100 words or less.)

Query:

Query goes here! Include greeting and main paragraphs. Please leave out bio, closing, and word count + genre sentence. You may include comps if you’d like. There is no word count limit on the query but please aim for 250 – 300 words.

First 250 words:

Here are the first 250 words of my manuscript, and I will not end in the middle of a sentence. But I will not go over 257 words. Be reasonable and don’t make us count. Don’t forget to space between paragraphs!

If you have any questions prior to the sub window opening, please let Michelle or I know.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing your entries!

Twitter Party Time!

Here are the topics for the twitter party. Come join the fun at #sunvssnow! We'll be tweeting tips about slush.

February 1st: Submission day! What genre and age category will/did you enter?

February 2nd: It’s very important to read new books in your genre to get a sense of pacing and timing as well as style. What book in your genre have you read recently?

February 3rd: Is the setting of your manuscript sun or snow?

February 4th: Is your next project in the same category and genre? If not, what made you change? Basically do you write in the same category and genre all the time?

February 5th: Where do you write? Coffee shop, office, kitchen table?

February 6th: Do you make a playlist for your manuscripts? If so, what music style do you tend to choose?

February 7th: What's your best editing advice?

February 8th: It's announcement day! Celebrate by posting a silly picture of you in sun or snow wear.

Book Review of Arena

A fast-paced and gripping near-future science fiction debut about the gritty world of competitive gaming...
 
Every week, Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV. 
She’s died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...
 
The RAGE tournaments—the Virtual Gaming League’s elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a no-holds-barred fight to the digital death. Every bloody kill is broadcast to millions. Every player is a modern gladiator—leading a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
 
And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
 
Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world—until one of her teammates overdoses. Now, she must confront the truth about the tournament. Because it is much more than a game—and even in the real world, not everything is as it seems.
 
The VGL hides dark secrets. And the only way to change the rules is to fight from the inside...

Expected publication: April 5th 2016 by Ace

My Review:

I was so excited to get an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Net Galley. You might remember this book from the second year of Query Kombat. It's nickname was Tag, You're Dead! After Query Kombat, Holly went on to get an agent and a book deal and we are so happy for her!

I couldn't wait to dig into this story about virtual gaming. I want to say upfront that it wasn't what I expected. I keep waiting for the scenario where Kali has to diffuse a bomb in the virtual world that will carry over to the read world. Or stop some kind of creep inside the game. That's totally not what this book is about. It's about the players and how the game effects their lives. The pressures involved, like adjusting to the social stardom, the drugs, the sponsors, and the whole atmosphere of big name sports. That's actually a way cooler plot. I found it so refreshing that Kali's problems handling her teammate's death don't just magically get better after a few kind words. Real life isn't like that. Problems can't be solved quickly. You can't snap your fingers and stop feeling guilt or using drugs as a substitute. Kali had real struggles and she didn't resolve those with one therapy session. This would actually be a great role model book for younger women. That's not to say that it is preachy or sermonizes, because it doesn't. But it takes familiar problems and puts them in an intriguing setting and shows glitz and glamour aren't the answers. That you have to put in the hard work to find a balance in your life. Oh, and there are great virtual game scenes too. I love how Kali pulled her estranged teammates together and made a true team out of them.

Sun versus Snow Chat with the Mentors

Are you excited for Sun versus Snow to start?

Here's how you can get a jump on the fun. As mentioned in our mentor post we are having a chat time on twitter Friday, January 29th. You can ask about your writing genre. Tips about editing. Word count rules. About how they got their agents. What to expect from submission. What it feels like to be published. Just about anything writing oriented you want to know about.

Oh, and the hosts will be there too to keep things rolling!

So join us at 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM EST at the hashtag #SvSChat. Each session will last an hour. And bring some questions!

Find the rules to submit here. Submission day is February 1st. Find the list of Snow mentors here.

Dan Koboldt on Writing and Selling Standalone SFF

I grew up reading doorstopper fantasy novels. It started with J.R.R. Tolkien, and continued with the likes of Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and Raymond Feist, and Robin Hobb.  If a series didn't have at least three books in it already, I wasn't interested. Naturally, when I started writing my own novels, I wanted to have a long-running series of my own.

I know I'm not alone in this, because many of the query letters I've seen (through Pitch Wars and similar contests) from aspiring SF/F authors promise books that are "the start of a trilogy" or "part of a planned 6-book series." It worked for Robert Jordan, didn't it? In my opinion, you should not say these things in a query letter, for three specific reasons:

It can be daunting to the agent. Attracting the attention of a literary agent is kind of like trying to lure a wild turkey into a clearing. You don't want to make any sudden movements to scare them off. That's what you're doing when you say you've written three books and have planned four more.

      The first book needs to stand on its own. When you're trying to break into a crowded, selective industry, you have to deliver your very best writing in a single book. If you try to hold things back or leave too many open questions for subsequent books, your first book may not be satisfying enough.

      It's assumed. Look, unless you've done absolutely zero research, you can assume that the agent you're querying has read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. They know how it works. They will expect you to leave room for a book.  

My debut novel, The Rogue Retrieval, is about the mission to retrieve a scientist from a pristine medieval world. The gateway to that world was discovered and kept secret by a powerful corporation. When the head of their research team goes rogue, they obviously want to get him back before he can reveal the secret of the gateway's existence.

When that mission ended, however, I had an entire secondary world that I'd just begun to explore. There were compelling characters that undoubtedly had more adventures in front of them. I was thinking, this should at least be a trilogy. Before we went on submission, my agent asked me to write a brief synopsis of the subsequent books in the series.

The model for this was straightforward: I thought of the original Star Wars trilogy. Every book would be a self-contained story, but they'd all feature most of the same characters. Book 1 is the adventure story where the scrappy upstarts score a victory. Book 2 is the great revelation, where the characters explore to develop newfound skills while under duress from the antagonist's counterstrike. Book 3 is when everyone must choose a side in the epic battle, with the fate of the world (or universe) in the balance. 

Even though I had an agent and was about to go on submission, I didn't write the subsequent books. As Michelle remarked in her guest post about writing and selling a fantasy series, you generally shouldn't write book 2 until you sell book 1.

And fast forward past a long period of submissions agony, and we had the unprecedented: an offer from Harper Voyager for The Rogue Retrieval. It was a thrilling moment! After talking with my agent, however, we decided not to push for a multi-book deal. There were a few strategic reasons for that:

1. The option clause

Most traditional publishing contracts have something called an option clause, which requires that you grant the publisher an exclusive first look at your next work of fiction. The logic behind these is that the publisher is investing in building you up as an author, so they should have an advantage over their competitors when your next book is ready.

The scope of the option clause varies by the deal, the house, and the agent. Houses obviously want it as all-encompassing as possible. Agents fight to narrow the scope to the next work in the same world, or featuring the same categories, or in the same genre. Sometimes they succeed. Other times, they don't. There's still a huge power differential between major publishers and most agented authors.

Bottom line, no matter how many books are included in your contract, you'll still have an option clause. In other words, if you write a sequel or prequel in the world of your book, your publisher's going to have first dibs on it.

2. Unknowns at the publisher

As this was my first book deal, I hadn't yet worked with David Pomerico (or anyone at HarperCollins). Artistic differences are always possible. If it turned out that I didn't like working with him in particular or them in general, I'd be stuck for however many books we'd committed to.

Alternatively, I might love working with David, only to see him leave for another publishing house. Editors move around from time to time, but an author's contract remains with the publishing house if the editor leaves.  When you sell a trilogy, that's usually at least a two-year commitment.

3. Long-term publicity

This last strategic reason might seem Machiavellian, and it's not nearly as critical (in my opinion) as the first two. When you announce the sale of a single book, I think it generates slightly less fanfare than the sale of a trilogy or quadrology. That's a disadvantage, but a slight one. But there's a long-term perk: it allows for a second burst of publicity if and when you announce the contract for future books.

Those Publisher's Marketplace announcements of book deals are widely read in the industry. They generate buzz, and all things being equal, I'd rather have two or three chances to do that to keep my name in people's minds.

Deadlines: A Double-edged Sword

Another important difference between selling a standalone and a series has to do with deadlines. When you commit to a series, the timetable and deadlines for subsequent books are often written right into the contract. This is useful, because it helps everyone involved in a book – the author, the publishing team, the readers – know when to expect the next one. Yet it also establishes firm deadlines that the writer is expected to meet. Sometimes life gets in the way of writing, and we can't finish a book as quickly as we'd like to. Turning a draft in late tends to wreak havoc on its publishing schedule.  

Then again, some writers work better with deadlines. When you sell a standalone novel, there's no deadline for the next book. No expected publication date, no slot in the publisher's promotion schedule. The fate of future books rests, as it so often does, only with the author.

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About the Author

Dan Koboldt is a genetics researcher and fantasy/science fiction author. He has co-authored more than 60 publications in Nature, Genome Research, The New England Journal of Medicine, and other scientific journals. Dan is also an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He lives with his wife and children in St. Louis, where the deer take their revenge by eating the flowers in his backyard.

Author of The Rogue Retrieval (Harper Voyager, January 19th, 2016)

E-mail: dankoboldt@gmail.com

Twitter: @DanKoboldt

Web: http://dankoboldt.com