Finding Your Audience (and getting paid)

Your job, after you’ve written, is not to try to get everyone to read your story. Because you will never write something everyone likes. In fact, it’s highly unlikely you’ll write something even most people like. Read these quotes from two old pros.

“An author needs a lot more than one person to succumb to his literarily seductive charms, but, like Saul, he must realize that he doesn’t have to–and indeed cannot–capture the hearts of every possible reader out there. No matter who the writer, his ideal intended audience is only a small fraction of all the living readers. Name the most widely read authors you can think of–from Shakespeare, Austen, and Dickens to Robert Waller, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling–and the immense majority of book-buyers out there actively diecline to read them” (Thomas McCormack, former CEO and editorial director of St. Martin’s Press, The Fiction Editor, The Novel, and the Novelist, p8)

The thing Character wants, the danger that threatens fulfillment of this desire, and the decision he makes, determine what specific readers will enjoy the story. One likes sex and violence, another tenderness and love, another the competitive striving for success, another intellectual stimulation. Relatively few college professors are Tarzan fans–and even fewer sharecroppers succumb to Finnegans Wake. The trick, for the writer, is merely to pinpoint audience taste…then to refrain from attempting to inflect his copy on the wrong people.” (Dwight V. Swain, Techniques of the Selling Writer, p137)

So your job is to try to find the folks that are likely to enjoy your type of story and then to get it in front of as many of them as you can.

How do you do this?

For short stories, you study the market. Where are stories similar to yours published? WritersMarket.com is an excellent resource as are its annual hardcopy publications, which include good articles on the business as well as market listings. Duotrope.com lets you search markets. If you’re writing SF & F, you’ll want to add Ralan.com to your research.

For novels, you need to study the publishing houses and editors at each house. Find stories like yours and then find out who publishes them. WritersMarket.com will help. Sometimes, however, you need to know not just the publishers, but the specific editors at the publisher who acquire your type of story. You can sometimes find editors names printed in the front of the book with the copyright information. Sometimes they’re mentioned in the author’s acknowledgements. Sometimes you’ll have to hunt the information down. A good resource for this is Publishers Marketplace, which often lists what’s being sold to different editors.

But many publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. So what do you do?

1. Get an agent.

Use AgentQuery.com, QueryTracker.net, and Publishers Marketplace to identify the agents who represent your type of stories. Yeah, PM costs some money. Big deal. This is business. Did you think you could go into business for yourself for free?

You’ll want to consult a few other sites as well. Many agents have websites and blogs. Follow an agent’s blog for a while. You can get a good idea about them from what they write. You’ll also want to go to sites that provide some warnings about specific agents; for the SF&F genre there are places like Preditors and Editors. 

But what do you do once you find an agent that looks good to you? Purchase and study Your Novel Proposal by Camenson and Cook and Agents, Editors, and You by Howry: they will guide you through the process.

2. Meet editors and agents in person by going to conventions and workshops.

Many editors and agents don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. So how do you get them to solicit even a partial from you? You meet them in person and intrigue them with your story, that’s how. And how do you do that? You go where agents and editors can be found, which is at conventions and workshops. Then, when the time is right, pitch your project to them. Some conventions even have formal pitch sessions you can sign up for.

For example, if I wanted to break into the YA market, then I’d look for YA conventions and workshops. And when I started looking, I’d see that, good golly, a local university (BYU) hosts an annual “Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers Workshop” that’s loaded with pros (authors, editors, and agents). And so I’d do whatever it took to get my hiney to that workshop. And as many others I could afford. Then I’d make sure I chatted with all those that interested me. You’ll have similar events in your area, even if that area includes places eight to twelve hours away.

Make sure you avoid treating editors and agents as prey. Do not stalk and hunt, cornering them in the bathrooms or butting in on conversations. Do find a way to talk to them because they are all on the look out for new material. Tell them you are an aspiring author and would like to get their advice and would they have a few minutes sometime (not necessarily right then) to chat. Often, they’ll say yes. When you meet you can ask them about what they’re working on right now. Maybe you have a few other burning questions. Finally, tell them you have a maunuscript you’d like to run by them and are they are currently looking at new authors? They’ll probably ask you what your story’s about.  That’s your cue for the pitch (not the saga). If they don’t ask, then you ask them if you can send the manuscript to them.

If you still want more help with this, let me recommend these resources:

• Writing Excuses podcast: The Dos and Don’ts of Attending Cons
• Diana Rowland: How to Network at a Convention and Networking 201: How to Work a Room 
• My blog on agents and conventions

You can begin to make contacts even if you’re not quite ready with a finished manuscript. Here’s the answer I gave to an aspiring author.

QUESTION: Do these connections need to be made only when you are ready right then?

Answer: you can connect anytime. Do it by making conversation. Often questions are the way to get someone talking, questions like “what project are you working on now?” and “which of your panels would you suggest for a new author?” You can also ask for other tips on a specific subject. In all likelihood, however, the editor will forget you very soon after the event, even if you have an excellent hour-long conversation. They just meet too many people. So you often need to build on the contact.  Here are some things you can do.

1. Send a polite note the following week saying it was nice to meet them and thanks for the tips (see Rowland–it’s easiest to find both articles here: http://www.sfwa.org/category/networking-and-self-promotion/ ).

2. You can then nurture that by contacting them again maybe a week or three after that, asking which events they’re likely to attend that next year because you’ll have your manuscript done by then and would like to look them up then to see if they’re still acquiring from new authors at that time. I’d do email. Phone calls from people you barely know demand immediate attention and can be a huge annoyance to some editors and agents.

3. Finish your book. It’s important to editors and agents to know you actually have finished. They will not want to waste time considering a story that’s not done or an author who hasn’t demonstrated they have what it takes to actually produce. Yes, there are stories of people who pitched, leading the agent or editor on, got an invite to submit, then went home and wrote like madmen. There are stories of some of these people finishing the manuscript and then getting a contract. But there are not many. Besides, do you want to work that way? Do you want the pressure? Do you want to start off a partnership this way? Just finish. This is business. You want to go to market with an actual product, not vaporware.

4. A few weeks before the event, you email the agent or editor again, remind them who you are (just use a reply all to the previous one you sent a few months before) and ask to verify they’re still planning on attending the event. You can even ask them at that time if there’s a best time to try to look them up. Sometimes you might even be able to arrange an actual meet.

5. At the conference you show up when they said it would be best (sober, hair combed, smiling), remind them who you are, ask them if it’s still a good time for them, then begin the chat. If it’s a busy area, you can ask if it might be better to “step over there” where you will be out of the crowd.

You can start off by commenting on the panel they were on or the latest book one of their authors published. That may lead to other topics you’re interested in.  Ultimately, you’ll want to move into “so are you still open to considering new writers?” Some may not be. If they’re not, ask them who they know that IS considering new authors for [insert your genre]. Then thank them. But most will say that of course they’re still considering. Agents and editors are continually searching for new blood. Otherwise their income stream dries up.

So at this point they might ask what you’ve got. If they do, you give them your two-sentence pitch. (If you don’t know what a two-sentence pitch is, go back and read the Rowland articles again. And don’t stress if it’s three or five sentences. The key is keeping it short!) If they don’t ask, you push forward and say, “I’ve got a finished [insert your genre:epic fantasy, paranormal, thriller, western, police procedural, YA, etc.]. It’s about [insert the short pitch]. Can I send you a full or partial manuscript to consider?” Or your action line could be “Would it be okay if I sent you a full or partial manuscript to consider?”

Don’t be fearful or pleading. This is business. If your book is good, you’re going to be making them some money. Remember: you’re offering something of value.

If they say partial, ask them what they want in their partial–the first three chapters or 50 pages? Everyone is a bit different. Some only want one chapter. Some want just the first 3 pages. Ask them also if they’d like a short synopsis of the rest. Of course, if you’ve done your research, you’ll know and can just verify. For example, “I read on your website that you usually like to get the first three pages and a synopsis. Would you like me to send that or a slightly larger chunk of the manuscript?”

Get their contact information right then.

5. Then you send what they requested in a big flat envelope [don’t be folding and stuffing in a regular envelope] with, as the Writing Excuses guys said, “Requested Material” on the front.

6. You can also at the same time send an email thanking them again for their time and notifying them the partial etc. is in the mail.

7. Wait. Do not harrangue them with emails and calls. If you don’t hear anything in two or three months, email and verify they got the package.

3. Join writers associations and groups.

Writer’s associations can often provide opportunities with editors and agents you can’t get anywhere else. For example, if I wanted to break into the romance genre, then I would be an idiot not to join the Romance Writers of America. It is one of the best organizations for writers, period, providing plenty of tips and opportunities to meet editors, agents, and other writers. But it’s not the only good one out there. There are associations of all types for all genres. Find one that suits you.

However, avoid joining these groups just to network. Nobody wants to be networked. More important is to join to make friends with other writers. The value of one writing buddy cannot be overstated. Not because they might have valuable connections (although they sometimes do), but because buddies help you learn, they cheer for you, they challenge you, they keep you motivated (there’s nothing like a whole group of buddies cheering for you when you make a sale or when you get another rejection). And you do the same for them. Friendship is its own reward.

4. Be professional and nice.

This is a job you’re looking for. Nobody cares about or has time for jerks, know-it-alls, and whiners. So keep your promises, shine your shoes, and make friends when you can.

5. Don’t give up.

You might have to write a few novels before one of them sells. You might have to query fifty agents to find the handful who like your stuff. It takes the vast majority of writers a number of years to break in. So keep writing. Keep knocking on agent and editor doors. Eventually, someone will open to you, look at your stuff, and invite you in with a smile.