I was just involved in a Facebook discussion with two traditionally published authors who were both saying that it's just about essential to have short story credentials (literary journal publications and/or success in contests) in order to get an agent for a novel. Of course, I know that such credentials would *help* impress an agent, but how crucial would you say they are?
They are, in fact, super important. Imagine that you are hiring an interior decorator for a house. You'd want someone with a portfolio-- and if they hadn't decorated a whole house before, you'd at least want proof that they'd done a room here and there, or an apartment. Novelists need a track record showing that their fiction resonates with people, and literary mag publications are a great way to show that. Same thing with memoirists: if you haven't published any essays or op-eds around the topic your book deals with, that's going to be a hard sell for most agents and editors.
I wanted to mention that I've been reading a bunch of short stories, took a Udemy course on how to write them, and have been working on a couple of my own. And it's been intrinsically fantastic! So even if they don't help me with getting an agent for my novel (because they don't win any contests or don't get published) the process has been, and continues to be, incredibly enjoyable!
Thank you, Courtney! This completely makes sense. I have non-fiction published (I'm a freelance writer) but no fiction. Time to try to get some short story skills before I'm ready to query my novel! 😬
Hi Courtney, I'm an English teacher considering a career change after almost 10 years in middle school and high school classrooms. I'm writing a fantasy book currently, but I'm also interested in working in the publishing industry as a literary agent, editor, etc.. I'm not sure if I would even be seriously considered because I don't have any industry experience. I have a bachelor's in English Secondary Education and a master's in English. What do you think are the current expectations for someone entering the publishing industry? Do you have any advice for me? Thank you!
Hey Katie! I'm trying to answer everyone's questions chronologically but there are a lot of them, so really quick, if you don't already have it you should get a copy of the book this substack is based on "Before and After the Book Deal." All the expectations are laid out in that book. It's true you'll have to play some catch up but I try to explain how/where/why/what in that book!
I'm revisiting all my questions- what I would suggest is seeing if you can get someone at a literary agency or publishing house to see if they'll talk to you about job possibilities and requirements for applications. I'm not sure-- on closer persual- that my book will answer all these questions for you.
What advice would you give to someone who is ready to query Book Two, but has five agents who still have the full manuscript for Book One? Should I let those agents know I have a new book? Or wait until I (hopefully) have an offer of representation for other agents to nudge them? Thank you!
I'm trying to answer questions chronologically but a lot of questions have come in, so I'm giving quick and dirty answers so that people at the tail end of the questions don't have to wait forever. If you have five agents with fulls: yes, you wait! Ideally you want an agent to stretch with you as your career builds so that special person will want book one and two! Be patient. There's no reason to rush right now-- the market is hyper competitive at the moment, and everyone is backed up with work.
Hi again Courtney: Here's my question: I've had five agents read fulls since early spring. One passed because she didn't connect with the voice. One because it didn't possess an "element of novelty needed to position fiction in today's crowded marketplace." Another because it was "a touch too character driven," with the other two siting marketplace issues as well but didn't recommend revisions. I've been calling my novel upmarket book club fiction. A tragic event implodes a family. The topics are timely. I'm at a loss how to proceed. Keep sending queries out or redirect my agent hunt to only those seeking literary novels? Should I put the manuscript in a drawer until the market is more receptive--but to what? I'm untethered and flapping around emotionally here about what to do.
I'm still going through questions chronologically and given the number of questions I don't think I'll be able to give dedicated post time to each one but the sense I have from reading this feedback is that your writing might not be "there" yet. If you don't have a trusted reader or writer friend who can give you real feedback, I offer this for people, I'll post link in a sec. But I would stop querying and figure out what is happening at the writing level to keep people from connecting with the material. https://www.courtneymaum.com/querydoula
Hello Courtney! I’ve written a YA contemporary romance that’s an Australian ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’. Not the same story, of course, but similar themes - grief, family issues, two boys, friends to lovers, summer vibes - but set in Australia. I’d like to give the book its best chance of finding an audience in Australia but also the US and UK. If I decide to self publish, would you recommend I try and find a US editor or Australian editor to work with? Or it doesn’t really matter as long as they are good? Thanks!
This sounds like a beautiful story! I'm not sure I understand-- if you self publish, you normally would not be working with an editor. (You would be your own editor.) Perhaps you are asking about the hiring of a developmental editor? If so, I would go with an Australian so that they understand the cultural nuances. I wrote about choosing the right developmental editor here: https://courtneymaum.substack.com/p/thinking-of-hiring-a-developmental
Thank you for your reply Courtney! Yes if I self publish, I want to go through all the steps to make it the best possible book - so developmental edit, copy edit, proofread etc. I appreciate your advice!
I would choose an Australian team then, as US copyeditors probably wouldn't be familiar with Australian turn of phrases and other cultural norms and thus, could mis-edit you! Good luck!
Thank you Courtney! Then do you think it could transfer to the US market and a US audience without changes? I know that Bluey, the Australian children’s show of all things, is doing really well in the US. And my book isn’t colloquial Australian. There’s no “she’ll be right mate” in my book! I’m thinking it would be relatable.
If it's truly self published, there wouldn't really be a "transfer" in the US Market. This is a pretty particular situation you're inquiring about-- if you'd like to set up a phone call consult we could possibly get something on the books. It's not something that makes sense for us to keep dialoging about here. Consult info is here if that's ever of interest! https://www.courtneymaum.com/querydoula
Hi! Thank you for this opportunity. You have a lot of questions already, so no worries if you can’t get to this. Figured I’d throw it out there just in case!
I self-published my debut novel, Summer Breakdown, a year ago. I loved the process and would definitely do it again, but I am still drawn to getting an agent and trying the traditional route, too. Mainly for additional support (not just me) and reach—getting the book out to more people. So, I do think I am going to query my current work in progress to see what happens. I’m wondering—in my query, should I say that I’ve self-published a book? Will they care? Is that looked down upon? I’ve sold about 5,000 copies which *I* feel super good about, but don’t know if that’s something an agent would care about or not.
I will respond in a Friday post at one point (it's true I have a lot of questions to answer) but I just want to tell you that 5K is an AMAZING number you should be shouting from the rooftops! So many Big 5 books aren't breaking 2K copies at the moment. Those are awesome awesome numbers and you should definitely include, and make it clear that it's still selling!
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it SO much. I respect and admire you very much so to hear this from you is really encouraging and I’m very grateful. Thank you!!
hello hello! my question has to do with graphic novels. how is the publishing process different in this space? the comics space is wild, and I've known folks who have done everything from self-publication to first publishing online (and then getting picked up by a print publisher) to the big comic houses. I'm still in my initial draft phase so I've got time but I'd love to be prepared once I'm ready to move from creative headspace to market headspace. thank you for offering this, courtney!
Hi Heather! I won't be answering your question in one of the Friday posts simply because I lack the knowledge to answer with any bit of confidence, having not published in this space myself. A lot of my friends in the graphic novel/memoir space make zines and/or self publish, or have formed their own independent presses to put out their own books and books like theirs. Mira Jacob is the only personal friend I have who had a lot of success with her graphic memoir-- but it was a memoir, not a novel. I apologize for not being much help here-- probably the best thing to do would be to go to your local bookshop, take notes about who is publishing graphic novels and who the author was, then cyberstalk both parties for any articles or other material they have shared about the process. Good luck!
No apologies necessary! :) I'm definitely already cyberstalking, and I've got a great local comic bookstore as a resource. Appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Hi Courtney, I have questions about Substack. I have a burning personal story regarding gender that I want to tell. I have previously published 3 books with traditional publishers (as well as won some prizes, had some stories anthologized), but the process has taken so long that I don't want to wait in this case, and am interested in engaging readers more immediately in a DIY way. That said, I still would eventually like to publish this in book form. Question 1) If I start telling the story in a Substack, will agents/publishers be more interested in publishing my book - as they see that I'm engaging with and collecting an audience as I "show my work" (Austin Kleon) - or less interested because I've already started putting the material out there? 2) Does it make sense/is it common practice to share my introductory Substack post with my email list of, say, 100 people so as to let people know what I'm doing, or is that considered annoying? 3) Is there an elegant way to make a Substack bilingual, as half my audience is English-speaking and half Spanish- speaking?
I'm working my way still through all the questions. Generally if you have a Substack on a topic you plan to work on that people are engaging with and commenting about and are just generally keen on, that's a very promising sign to editors. Definitely share your Substack with people! And finally, that's a great question for bilingual projects-- I'd try to contact one of the higher ups at Substack for an answer on that! You could always put the translations (paragraph by paragraph) in the footnotes. Best of luck!
Is it a bad idea to publish my memoir chapter by chapter on Substack, with the hope of attracting an agent at some point? I queried a few batches, maybe 30 total, before going back through another set of revisions and feeling the need to build a platform. Then I just felt the need to get it out there and started revising and publishing a chapter at a time on here for paid subscribers. I probably should have asked about this before I started doing that. Thanks!
Hi Jake! Generally I find that gatekeepers will be more excited to see you writing *around* the topic of your memoir than actually serializing your memoir here on Substack-- that could potentially be seen as self-publication, which could complicate things for you. Sari Botton is a great example of someone who writes tons of nonfiction that dances with the topics of her nonfiction, without actually serializing her work.
Hi Courtney, I appreciate this opportunity. Here's a question I've wanted to ask for a long time. I'm an older writer and I don't want that to be the reason my queries might be rejected, as I understand most agents want "career" writers. I don't have my age on my Instagram or Facebook or web page but are there other ways that the agent will know my age? Will they automatically research me just to find this out? I know eventually it'll be revealed but I'm wondering how long I can hold it off.
Your age can be a benefit! More experience, more to write about, more friends and a bigger network. While it's true that a lot of gatekeepers get all excited about the twenty-something debuter, there are so many examples of women who have published much later at life. Look at the authors of "Lessons in Chemistry" and "Where the Crawdad Sings" for inspiration. Don't let people be ageist! Probably where the biggest obstacle might come in is with social media-- publishers want you to be social media savvy. But you're here on Substack, so you already are!
Thanks for this opportunity, Courtney. Are there places, other than literary journals, to send personal essays to? My essays range from 500 to 2500 words. I most recently submitted an essay to some top tier places and I’m waiting on rejections from the sun, rumpus, oldster, and the Atlantic.
Something very basic. Decades ago, there was a standard format to submit manuscripts: double spaced in a simple font like a typewriter would produce. Today, how much layout and formating is suggested, if any? Paper or Word or pdf?
Word is still standard, 12 point font. Most agents will probably want full manuscripts in 1.5 or double spaced font but many will ask for the first 5 pages in the body of an email, which would be single spaced. Most guidelines are written on the agency's website somewhere, and it's highly rare for people to accept paper manuscripts any more (sadly!) PDF is tricky because it's challenging to edit in.
Hi Courtney! I have two questions. What is your take on authors spending their own money on independent publicists alongside debut book publication? When does doing so make sense? I would also be interested to know what you'd assume if an agent or editor encourage an author to do so.
Could you comment on how to approach querying agents if you have a non-fiction book proposal as well as a finished novel manuscript? Should these be bundled somehow, or does picking one and once agented, mentioning the second make sense? (These two books are on wildly different subject matter.) Thank you!
Sharing my own experience here with your first question: A co-author and I sold a cookbook to a big 5 and we talked marketing and PR very early — and even added elements to our contract that included the number of free copies we’d get for distribution to our own community and contacts. (Many new authors are shocked to learn they don’t get unlimited free copies or how hard it can be to buy them with your discount.) Anyway, because we discussed PR early, it was CRYSTAL CLEAR that we were going to have to do the heavy lifting and pay for our own PR, creating a strategy that we also started working on very early. TLDR: The publisher helped get me two TV spots and a celeb mag piece, but all the book selling events (and everything else) were ours to figure out. Several of my author friends have paid for PR for their books, spending $30K or more for approx six months of support (3 before/3 after launch). Or hired someone to set up a book tour and reading schedule (for less $). I know from this newsletter thay Courtney had impressive support from her indie press on “Year of the Horses,” so it is possible that a publisher can/will invest! But an author should absolutely bring it up early b/c PR support from publishers is not guaranteed. I came to think of their No 1 asset as distributors of our books to bookstores. Hope this helps!
Hi Courtney - I have a burning question about newsletters, and I know you've got a successful one, you convinced me-of-little-funds to subscribe to your paid service because I love you. I am a small fry author on the fence about starting a newsletter. On one hand, I can see the benefit of offering content via email to readers not on social media, and I did bite the bullet and hire a publicist (who was willing to work with my puny budget), and this is a service they offer and recommend. On the other hand, it irritates me that authors are constantly having to write for free. I don't think I have the bandwidth to keep up social media and write my next book and do events and write articles and start a newsletter. My website designer and agent both say they haven't seen evidence that newsletters are worth it. But publicists say they are. What say you, great and all mighty Maum?
Thank you, Courtney! I had not read this -- helpful! And I appreciate you sending the link and giving of your time. Can a newsletter still be effective if you're only posting seasonally, as in four times a year?
Thanks, Courtney!
I was just involved in a Facebook discussion with two traditionally published authors who were both saying that it's just about essential to have short story credentials (literary journal publications and/or success in contests) in order to get an agent for a novel. Of course, I know that such credentials would *help* impress an agent, but how crucial would you say they are?
They are, in fact, super important. Imagine that you are hiring an interior decorator for a house. You'd want someone with a portfolio-- and if they hadn't decorated a whole house before, you'd at least want proof that they'd done a room here and there, or an apartment. Novelists need a track record showing that their fiction resonates with people, and literary mag publications are a great way to show that. Same thing with memoirists: if you haven't published any essays or op-eds around the topic your book deals with, that's going to be a hard sell for most agents and editors.
I wanted to mention that I've been reading a bunch of short stories, took a Udemy course on how to write them, and have been working on a couple of my own. And it's been intrinsically fantastic! So even if they don't help me with getting an agent for my novel (because they don't win any contests or don't get published) the process has been, and continues to be, incredibly enjoyable!
For sure! I'm reading Emma Cline's "Daddy" collection right now. Quite dark, but she is a master of the form!
Thank you, Courtney! This completely makes sense. I have non-fiction published (I'm a freelance writer) but no fiction. Time to try to get some short story skills before I'm ready to query my novel! 😬
Hi Courtney, I'm an English teacher considering a career change after almost 10 years in middle school and high school classrooms. I'm writing a fantasy book currently, but I'm also interested in working in the publishing industry as a literary agent, editor, etc.. I'm not sure if I would even be seriously considered because I don't have any industry experience. I have a bachelor's in English Secondary Education and a master's in English. What do you think are the current expectations for someone entering the publishing industry? Do you have any advice for me? Thank you!
Hey Katie! I'm trying to answer everyone's questions chronologically but there are a lot of them, so really quick, if you don't already have it you should get a copy of the book this substack is based on "Before and After the Book Deal." All the expectations are laid out in that book. It's true you'll have to play some catch up but I try to explain how/where/why/what in that book!
Thanks for your quick reply! I have your book on my bookshelf already, but I haven't started it yet. I will look inside for more details!
I'm revisiting all my questions- what I would suggest is seeing if you can get someone at a literary agency or publishing house to see if they'll talk to you about job possibilities and requirements for applications. I'm not sure-- on closer persual- that my book will answer all these questions for you.
What advice would you give to someone who is ready to query Book Two, but has five agents who still have the full manuscript for Book One? Should I let those agents know I have a new book? Or wait until I (hopefully) have an offer of representation for other agents to nudge them? Thank you!
I'm trying to answer questions chronologically but a lot of questions have come in, so I'm giving quick and dirty answers so that people at the tail end of the questions don't have to wait forever. If you have five agents with fulls: yes, you wait! Ideally you want an agent to stretch with you as your career builds so that special person will want book one and two! Be patient. There's no reason to rush right now-- the market is hyper competitive at the moment, and everyone is backed up with work.
Hi again Courtney: Here's my question: I've had five agents read fulls since early spring. One passed because she didn't connect with the voice. One because it didn't possess an "element of novelty needed to position fiction in today's crowded marketplace." Another because it was "a touch too character driven," with the other two siting marketplace issues as well but didn't recommend revisions. I've been calling my novel upmarket book club fiction. A tragic event implodes a family. The topics are timely. I'm at a loss how to proceed. Keep sending queries out or redirect my agent hunt to only those seeking literary novels? Should I put the manuscript in a drawer until the market is more receptive--but to what? I'm untethered and flapping around emotionally here about what to do.
Thank you,
Robin
I'm still going through questions chronologically and given the number of questions I don't think I'll be able to give dedicated post time to each one but the sense I have from reading this feedback is that your writing might not be "there" yet. If you don't have a trusted reader or writer friend who can give you real feedback, I offer this for people, I'll post link in a sec. But I would stop querying and figure out what is happening at the writing level to keep people from connecting with the material. https://www.courtneymaum.com/querydoula
Hi Courtney. Have you closed "burning questions?" I have one if you're still open in comments.
Thank you,
Robin
I'm closed at the moment as I still have so many to sort through!
Hello Courtney! I’ve written a YA contemporary romance that’s an Australian ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’. Not the same story, of course, but similar themes - grief, family issues, two boys, friends to lovers, summer vibes - but set in Australia. I’d like to give the book its best chance of finding an audience in Australia but also the US and UK. If I decide to self publish, would you recommend I try and find a US editor or Australian editor to work with? Or it doesn’t really matter as long as they are good? Thanks!
This sounds like a beautiful story! I'm not sure I understand-- if you self publish, you normally would not be working with an editor. (You would be your own editor.) Perhaps you are asking about the hiring of a developmental editor? If so, I would go with an Australian so that they understand the cultural nuances. I wrote about choosing the right developmental editor here: https://courtneymaum.substack.com/p/thinking-of-hiring-a-developmental
Thank you for your reply Courtney! Yes if I self publish, I want to go through all the steps to make it the best possible book - so developmental edit, copy edit, proofread etc. I appreciate your advice!
I would choose an Australian team then, as US copyeditors probably wouldn't be familiar with Australian turn of phrases and other cultural norms and thus, could mis-edit you! Good luck!
Thank you Courtney! Then do you think it could transfer to the US market and a US audience without changes? I know that Bluey, the Australian children’s show of all things, is doing really well in the US. And my book isn’t colloquial Australian. There’s no “she’ll be right mate” in my book! I’m thinking it would be relatable.
If it's truly self published, there wouldn't really be a "transfer" in the US Market. This is a pretty particular situation you're inquiring about-- if you'd like to set up a phone call consult we could possibly get something on the books. It's not something that makes sense for us to keep dialoging about here. Consult info is here if that's ever of interest! https://www.courtneymaum.com/querydoula
Yep great - thank you!
Hi! Thank you for this opportunity. You have a lot of questions already, so no worries if you can’t get to this. Figured I’d throw it out there just in case!
I self-published my debut novel, Summer Breakdown, a year ago. I loved the process and would definitely do it again, but I am still drawn to getting an agent and trying the traditional route, too. Mainly for additional support (not just me) and reach—getting the book out to more people. So, I do think I am going to query my current work in progress to see what happens. I’m wondering—in my query, should I say that I’ve self-published a book? Will they care? Is that looked down upon? I’ve sold about 5,000 copies which *I* feel super good about, but don’t know if that’s something an agent would care about or not.
Thank you!!!
I will respond in a Friday post at one point (it's true I have a lot of questions to answer) but I just want to tell you that 5K is an AMAZING number you should be shouting from the rooftops! So many Big 5 books aren't breaking 2K copies at the moment. Those are awesome awesome numbers and you should definitely include, and make it clear that it's still selling!
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I appreciate it SO much. I respect and admire you very much so to hear this from you is really encouraging and I’m very grateful. Thank you!!
hello hello! my question has to do with graphic novels. how is the publishing process different in this space? the comics space is wild, and I've known folks who have done everything from self-publication to first publishing online (and then getting picked up by a print publisher) to the big comic houses. I'm still in my initial draft phase so I've got time but I'd love to be prepared once I'm ready to move from creative headspace to market headspace. thank you for offering this, courtney!
Hi Heather! I won't be answering your question in one of the Friday posts simply because I lack the knowledge to answer with any bit of confidence, having not published in this space myself. A lot of my friends in the graphic novel/memoir space make zines and/or self publish, or have formed their own independent presses to put out their own books and books like theirs. Mira Jacob is the only personal friend I have who had a lot of success with her graphic memoir-- but it was a memoir, not a novel. I apologize for not being much help here-- probably the best thing to do would be to go to your local bookshop, take notes about who is publishing graphic novels and who the author was, then cyberstalk both parties for any articles or other material they have shared about the process. Good luck!
No apologies necessary! :) I'm definitely already cyberstalking, and I've got a great local comic bookstore as a resource. Appreciate you taking the time to respond.
If you're up for it, report back with your findings!
Hi Courtney, I have questions about Substack. I have a burning personal story regarding gender that I want to tell. I have previously published 3 books with traditional publishers (as well as won some prizes, had some stories anthologized), but the process has taken so long that I don't want to wait in this case, and am interested in engaging readers more immediately in a DIY way. That said, I still would eventually like to publish this in book form. Question 1) If I start telling the story in a Substack, will agents/publishers be more interested in publishing my book - as they see that I'm engaging with and collecting an audience as I "show my work" (Austin Kleon) - or less interested because I've already started putting the material out there? 2) Does it make sense/is it common practice to share my introductory Substack post with my email list of, say, 100 people so as to let people know what I'm doing, or is that considered annoying? 3) Is there an elegant way to make a Substack bilingual, as half my audience is English-speaking and half Spanish- speaking?
Hi Maxine,
I'm working my way still through all the questions. Generally if you have a Substack on a topic you plan to work on that people are engaging with and commenting about and are just generally keen on, that's a very promising sign to editors. Definitely share your Substack with people! And finally, that's a great question for bilingual projects-- I'd try to contact one of the higher ups at Substack for an answer on that! You could always put the translations (paragraph by paragraph) in the footnotes. Best of luck!
Is it a bad idea to publish my memoir chapter by chapter on Substack, with the hope of attracting an agent at some point? I queried a few batches, maybe 30 total, before going back through another set of revisions and feeling the need to build a platform. Then I just felt the need to get it out there and started revising and publishing a chapter at a time on here for paid subscribers. I probably should have asked about this before I started doing that. Thanks!
Hi Jake! Generally I find that gatekeepers will be more excited to see you writing *around* the topic of your memoir than actually serializing your memoir here on Substack-- that could potentially be seen as self-publication, which could complicate things for you. Sari Botton is a great example of someone who writes tons of nonfiction that dances with the topics of her nonfiction, without actually serializing her work.
Hi Courtney, I appreciate this opportunity. Here's a question I've wanted to ask for a long time. I'm an older writer and I don't want that to be the reason my queries might be rejected, as I understand most agents want "career" writers. I don't have my age on my Instagram or Facebook or web page but are there other ways that the agent will know my age? Will they automatically research me just to find this out? I know eventually it'll be revealed but I'm wondering how long I can hold it off.
Your age can be a benefit! More experience, more to write about, more friends and a bigger network. While it's true that a lot of gatekeepers get all excited about the twenty-something debuter, there are so many examples of women who have published much later at life. Look at the authors of "Lessons in Chemistry" and "Where the Crawdad Sings" for inspiration. Don't let people be ageist! Probably where the biggest obstacle might come in is with social media-- publishers want you to be social media savvy. But you're here on Substack, so you already are!
Thanks for this opportunity, Courtney. Are there places, other than literary journals, to send personal essays to? My essays range from 500 to 2500 words. I most recently submitted an essay to some top tier places and I’m waiting on rejections from the sun, rumpus, oldster, and the Atlantic.
Are you on Twitter? This great thread suggests tons of places to submit to! https://twitter.com/vauhinivara/status/1707424542162100722
Something very basic. Decades ago, there was a standard format to submit manuscripts: double spaced in a simple font like a typewriter would produce. Today, how much layout and formating is suggested, if any? Paper or Word or pdf?
Word is still standard, 12 point font. Most agents will probably want full manuscripts in 1.5 or double spaced font but many will ask for the first 5 pages in the body of an email, which would be single spaced. Most guidelines are written on the agency's website somewhere, and it's highly rare for people to accept paper manuscripts any more (sadly!) PDF is tricky because it's challenging to edit in.
Hi Courtney! I have two questions. What is your take on authors spending their own money on independent publicists alongside debut book publication? When does doing so make sense? I would also be interested to know what you'd assume if an agent or editor encourage an author to do so.
Could you comment on how to approach querying agents if you have a non-fiction book proposal as well as a finished novel manuscript? Should these be bundled somehow, or does picking one and once agented, mentioning the second make sense? (These two books are on wildly different subject matter.) Thank you!
Sharing my own experience here with your first question: A co-author and I sold a cookbook to a big 5 and we talked marketing and PR very early — and even added elements to our contract that included the number of free copies we’d get for distribution to our own community and contacts. (Many new authors are shocked to learn they don’t get unlimited free copies or how hard it can be to buy them with your discount.) Anyway, because we discussed PR early, it was CRYSTAL CLEAR that we were going to have to do the heavy lifting and pay for our own PR, creating a strategy that we also started working on very early. TLDR: The publisher helped get me two TV spots and a celeb mag piece, but all the book selling events (and everything else) were ours to figure out. Several of my author friends have paid for PR for their books, spending $30K or more for approx six months of support (3 before/3 after launch). Or hired someone to set up a book tour and reading schedule (for less $). I know from this newsletter thay Courtney had impressive support from her indie press on “Year of the Horses,” so it is possible that a publisher can/will invest! But an author should absolutely bring it up early b/c PR support from publishers is not guaranteed. I came to think of their No 1 asset as distributors of our books to bookstores. Hope this helps!
Thank you- very helpful!
Hi Courtney - I have a burning question about newsletters, and I know you've got a successful one, you convinced me-of-little-funds to subscribe to your paid service because I love you. I am a small fry author on the fence about starting a newsletter. On one hand, I can see the benefit of offering content via email to readers not on social media, and I did bite the bullet and hire a publicist (who was willing to work with my puny budget), and this is a service they offer and recommend. On the other hand, it irritates me that authors are constantly having to write for free. I don't think I have the bandwidth to keep up social media and write my next book and do events and write articles and start a newsletter. My website designer and agent both say they haven't seen evidence that newsletters are worth it. But publicists say they are. What say you, great and all mighty Maum?
Thank you for upgrading! I'll respond in one of my Friday posts but in the meantime, did you read this article I wrote on the subject? https://courtneymaum.substack.com/p/should-you-start-a-substack-5-tips
Thank you, Courtney! I had not read this -- helpful! And I appreciate you sending the link and giving of your time. Can a newsletter still be effective if you're only posting seasonally, as in four times a year?
I'll answer in detail on one of these Fridays, but the short answer is possibly, but not on Substack.
Okay - thank you, Courtney!