The Lizzie Borden Society archive

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1. "Dave's Life"
Posted by dave rehak on Jan-24th-02 at 12:47 AM

Hi Everyone:

I've just been catching up on the posts. Life has begun to be pretty hectic and nerve-racking and very busy now that I got a new job and also I'm having to take care of a few things with my publisher, so I'm in constant contact with agent, textual editor, publisher & management, and legal advisor. I barely have enough energy now to read the posts, let alone to post myself at the end of such a long day.

Anyway, ya, I got a new job a few days ago as a lifeguard at an indoor swimming pool arena. I dont know what I'm doin', but I know the guy who runs the place, so he got me the gig. Its not what u know, its who u know--or who u blow LOL!!!!!! Anyway, I learned First-Aid in gym class ages ago, and besides, I'm a sort of good swimmer LOL!!! Na, I swim well. So basically, I get to just sit or stand around chatting with people and fellow employees or watch the hot babes in swimsuits all day. Occasionally, I'm sure I'll have to rescue one of these hunnies and give her a mouth-to-mouth frenchkiss. Dont u feel sorry for me? LOL!!!!!

The other matter envolves my book. To make a long story short-er, what happened was that the professional "readers" and editorial staff accepted my novel, and it was proofed into the format this publishing house uses for its books. But the story contains some violent and sexual scenes which are pretty graphic and obscene, really descriptive and raw, even tho the story itself has a moral message.
I was informed that the publisher consulted his lawyer or legal advisor and he suggested that the book might become a liability if published in that state--in other words, the censors might come after it. So of course the publisher freaked. But I made the necessary changes. Well, they asked for 3 more changes! which I finished this evening and sent those in. I hope that will be enough. Hopefully I'll hear from them tomorrow or later this week and get the green light on the final stages of my book's production. Please keep yr fingers (and toes!) crossed for me. Thanks.


(Message last edited Jan-24th-02  12:49 AM.)

Hope you wear "JAMS" and have a pen that writes underwater.-

edited to insert the word "BAGGY" before the word "JAMS"
 

(Message last edited Jan-24th-02  6:19 AM.)

Publishing hints would be much appreciated Dave. Whats the first step? Who to submit to? (I gots a nearly finished manuscript) and how? What did you do first?
Much obliged, any information...

Hmmm Dave? How can I get published?

Kash --

Here's a link to help search for literary agents:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~tjp4773/literaryagentwelcome.html

Send out as much of yr best stuff as you can, to as many publishers & lit agents as you can.  Find out what kinds of work these people are looking for, & go for the ones who closely match the type of stuff you want to put out there.

Most publishers have websites which will tell you who they are & the type of stuff they want, how to submit, etc.

You can also do web searches for "Publishers Call for Submissions" which will sometimes turn up companies who are looking for specific work for special projects.

Just keep on trying.  As my Dad sez, "Throw enough mud at the wall & some of it's bound to stick".

Happy Hunting!

T.

Hi Kash, very sorry for the delay. I havent been to the baord in many
days. Thats great that u have a nearly completed manuscript. What genre is it in?

1. The very FIRST thing u must do when your book is all written is to give it a good edit and revision. Editors HATE line-by-line editing. Editorial staffs have become quite lazy these days and in-depth structural editing is very time-consuming and mind-numbing for them. So before u send it anywhere, make sure its as polished as u can possibly make it. It nees to look professional. You dont wanna shoot yrself in the foot even before the pistol's out of the holster.

2. Try to find a good agent. This can be tricky. There are a lot of money-grubbing sharks out there masquerading as agents when really theyre just editors or agent-wanna-be's who havent sold a book in their life. They charge u whats called a representation fee. I fell for one of these once and went out of pocket 130$, and he didnt sell my book. But then I did my research, I was referred to a good agent, and the rest is history. If yr going to pay a fee, make sure you've done yr homework and checked the agency's history and that theyve actually sold books. If u prefer to work without an agent, do yr research and send yr manuscript to publishers whose books are VERY similar to the one you've written.

Remember, if yr book is good enough, it will eventually find a place, u just need a lot of patience and perseverence--it could take years. You're going to take yr bumps and bruises, it happens to all new/inexperienced writers, but dont give up. If worst comes to worst, u can always self-publish. Some writers choose to self-publish for a whole host of reasons, like the fact that YOU get 100% of the profits rather than some puny 8 or 10 % royalty rate from the publisher. Contraversial books have also often been self-published throughout history. Also, I know of one bestselling author who has self-published one of his bestsellers which went out of print. Some good books are, and have been, self-published.

But if yr like me and cant afford to self-publish, u should try and find a publisher who will pay for the production/promotion of yr book like I was lucky to have done. Best of luck to you!

Many thanks for all advice