Posted on 07/01/2025 3:50:50 PM PDT by Ciaphas Cain
Okay Freepers, you are a magnificent resource to draw upon. I'm hoping that among you are some who have already broken the ground I now seek to tread, and maybe you can give me some advice. Perhaps even tell me if I'm doing something wrong and could change up my approach.
A lot of people have told me over the years that they wanted me to write my life story. It took ten years of on and off labor (and there came to be even more things to write about in that time) but in the end this past November I finished my autobiography. The months since then have been spent revising the manuscript, tightening things up, making it something that will hopefully stand a chance of getting published and into the marketplace.
(My life story is something that is VERY complicated. Among other things there is mental illness, childhood abuse, trying to find God, and there are numerous episodes like running for office and swindling operations and being a filmmaker... oh yeah, and Free Republic is mentioned along with two well known Freepers. It has a little something for everyone :-)
For the past few months I have been trying to persuade literary agents to represent me and my book. I've sent out dozens of queries. Most of them haven't replied back. The ones who have responded all come back with variations of the same message: "Your book isn't a good fit for us."
My query letters are as good as they probably can be and still fit on one page. I've also assembled a fifty-page nonfiction proposal: something of a business plan about my book, its contents, who its audience is projected to be, how will I promote it, etc. I'm jumping through all the hoops that an author shopping his first book around is confronted with. But so far, it's gotten me nowhere.
It might just be enough difficult a project for anyone to want to represent. I'm telling many people that it's too Christian for the secular market and it's also too secular for Christian readers. There is a lot of overlap. It's going to be hard to place in a bookstore. But that's where I want it to appear in. My father was my biggest cheerleader, he especially wanted me to write this book. I believe he would have been proud of me, if he knew that I had written an entire book that was on the shelves of Barnes and Noble.
So, I am querying YOU guys now. Have you ever gotten a literary agent? Or otherwise have understanding of what it takes to get one? I have the manuscript sitting on my desktop PC and iPad. I'm actively seeking an agent. I know where I want this journey to end,. What do I need to do to bring my book from here to there?
Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :-)
I have several songs through library of congress. It’s easy to do, but I suggest a lawyer.
Just don’t pull a John Kennedy Toole.
Agreed. He’s written several books.
I bet they are more difficult to land than a helicopter.
I’ve got a lawyer here in Texas. You want his #? PM me. He handles music and books and things like that.
I've got a blog that I've actively maintained since 2004. It's racked up more than two million readers.
I don't do TikTok. I've posted a few videos of me offering commentary, on YouTube.
Some of my film work has been seen at Cannes and American Film Institute.
I've been published on a number of outlets including Western Journal, The Federalist, and American Thinker. But I don't know how much pull that would give me with an agent/publishing house.
I've been writing for most of my life. Unfortunately a significant portion of that life has been spent fending off manic depression. That disease has cost me a LOT, personally and professionally. It's something that gets considerable focus in my book.
If I knew how to increase my social media visibility, well... I would definitely be doing that. It seems so elusive though.
Yes, years ago. Well known agent. Writing again now that I’m retired and self-publishing. In many ways these days it’s the smarter way to go.
From your description of the book you’re trying to get published — an autobiography / spiritual journey by a first-time author with no previous publication history, who is not already famous for something else (e.g., an actor or sports star) — I’m afraid any agent you can get now is likely to be one you don’t want.
Understand, legitimate literary agents are commissioned salespeople. They make their livings by taking a percentage off the top when they sell your book to a publisher, and then continuing to take a percentage off the top whenever a royalty check come in. Therefore, they have an incentive to look for easily pigeonholed books they can sell quickly, to a publisher who expects to move a LOT of copies.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people who *claim* to be literary agents, but who really make their livings by taking money from aspiring authors, for things like agency fees and “story doctoring.” Thus the first rule: the money always flows *to* the writer. Any agent who wants money *from* you is a parasite, and to be avoided.
Given what you say you’ve written, I think the people who are advising you to self-publish are right. It’s not that difficult. Find a good proofreader/copy editor you trust, to go over your book with a fine-tooth comb and tell you how to fix the spelling and grammar errors. Spend a little money on getting decent, professional-looking cover art, and a little time learning how to create an epub file, or make friends with someone who can do it for you. Then upload your book to something like KDP or draft2digital, and away you go.
As for getting your book into your local Barnes & Noble: even seasoned professionals have trouble doing that. When you walk into a store and see books prominently displayed in the story or on an endcap, know that the publisher very likely *paid* B&N to have the book placed there.
I remember that in the news; but never was interested in the book.
Did you read it?
I have several copies of Confederacy Of Dunces due to a connection.
I asked if you actually read it.
Yes.
My experience with agents is 30 years ago, so no longer relevant. I followed the directions in the book and sent out a one page proposal that exactly matched the specs, then I got creative with the layout. Turned it angled and had a picture of a vampire, if I remember correctly. Also cheeky and not in the slightest business-like. Did spam it out, as others described. Got back 17 offers to read and 7 offers to represent after reading.
30 years ago!
When I came to put out books 10 years ago, I didn’t go the agent route. I self-published thru Amazon. 2 of the 3 books I put out were the type that have little market but I personally needed to get them out, so I’m happy. I have 3 more to get off my duff and send off, and I’ll put them out the same way. I have NO social media presence, though I do have 2 websites, and only gave a few talks 10 years ago and a few more along the way. Today I wouldn’t even do that.
I support the comments about Amazon and the value of social media. It’s much more work than letting a publisher do the grunt work, but it’s nice to see the final result and there’s a different level of pleasure of having total control of layout.
You’ve chosen a tough area to write in. And whether you’re on a bookshelf in a physical bookstore or in a virtual one, you know your father would be bursting his buttons over you.
What did you think of Donna Tartt’s first splash?
(It turned me off of so-called ‘literary fiction’.)
There are people who tell literary agents who to look out for, and they are lawyers. You need people to vouch for you to the agent, who he respects. Lawyers and people he knows can be those people.
The most important things in the arts are: 1) the patron, 2) money. Money is better than people because it can buy the right people and their abilities. Money gets things done. The patron is the insider who also gets things done through their influence. The patron can be a person or a family, and usually they are wealthy.
If you are starting out, it may not be all what you think. For example, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, ended up secretly buying Beatles records in order to get the band listed as a best-selling group. They were nobodies before and became financially respectable artists after that. That is why money and a patron are important.
Also in the arts, a lot of stock is placed on perception, and personality. People will be looking at you if you look the part of a writer, and could you hack the strain of a book tour and media campaign. And, if you are successful, how many more books are still in you to write? Are you young enough to you carry an audience through a long career? But I’m jumping the gun here.
Anyway, best of luck.
Books sell because people hear about them. It’s like any marketing.
The question becomes, how do people hear about your book? The only — only — advantage to a big name publisher is that they can market your book and create the awareness. However, even the big publishers know that it’s a lot easier to sell something people already know about or want.
I write history. My books were published by specialty publishers who have the ability to place them in libraries. Not a big market, but an important one for me. Outside of that, the most I ever sold books were at events, like conventions, meetings, any place people gather; i.e. marketing.
Get your story “out there,” one way or another. The book sales will follow, not the other way around.
Sorry brother. I can’t help you with that. I get excited when three people respond to a FR post.
I did get 30,000,000 views of a video someone shot of me training a new product at a trade show though.
I didn’t know the guy was even filming me until friends started calling and telling me they saw me online.
Bookmark
You have e to pay to increase followers on Twitter.
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