Modern Good Reads discussion

FYI - heading out of the office for the day, and have a client dinner tonight, so won't be able to answer until tomorrow. Thanks for the great questions today!

Jeanne wrote: "Hi Seth, looks like my question was missed. I think I posted it right before your lunch time. Bad timing on my part. Anyway, I've cut and pasted my question below.
Would love to hear what you have ..."

Thanks very much, Seth. Appreciate your opinion very much.

Thanks - and enjoy your dinner.

Good morning, Seth. Open for questions again. Hope you have a great day, and thanks again for your great advice to all our visitors.

Good morning Seth,

I'll toss you a Texas softball for openers.

Please describe the perfect author for you to represent, assuming they have a great book and capacity to produce another every year for 5 years? Ideally how would you "agent" that and make your magic? Assume it's a great American classic in the genre of your choice. Think Tom Wolfe with no white suit yet...

Hi Seth,

Thanks for coming here.

I write humorous fantasy, the reason I self-published was because an agent said that as my name is not Pratchett
I have no chance. Do you feel there is a market for others, or that there is only a Pratchett market?

Hi Seth, so glad you're back for another day of questions. My next question is this: as a self-pubbed author submitting, is there any benefit in submitting a paperback version of our book to give a "complete" picture or do you prefer just the "plain" mss?

Oh and did submit an enquiry through to you today for Vampire Origins.

Hello Seth,
I just wanted to voice my appreciation for your time and effort. Most of the questions I had were previously asked by others. The writing community always amazes me, there is no guarantee for success, but it has the greatest support system and resources for those who take the risk. Thanks!
-Kristin

Does suck being on a vastly different time zone to you all. I'm off to bed now so lose the "live" aspect of the chat with Seth but look forward to reading all the responses tomorrow. Will leave one more question before I go to bed; as an Australian author who wants to conquer the world, is it best to go with a US or UK agent or try for someone local? One of my concerns with the Australian market is their strong bent towards literary fiction where I write genre fiction. The few agents I have approached here quake at even the mention of vampires.

Good morning everyone! Give me just a moment to catch up on email and such, and then I'll be back.
Seth

Also, just found out that my client's book, KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS by Shawn Goodman, was just named by SLJ as their pick of the day! Woo hoo! Great YA read. http://www.slj.com/2013/06/books-medi...

Peter wrote: "Good morning Seth,

I'll toss you a Texas softball for openers.

Please describe the perfect author for you to represent, assuming they have a great book and capacity to produce another every year ..."

Hi hi! Not sure this is exactly a softball, as it's so far-reaching, but I like it anyway! The magic point you made here was that we're talking Great American Novel writer at a thriller writer's pace of a book a year. That's the unheard of part here, which makes this author above and beyond amazing. But, if I took him/her on, I'd assume they have 1 book in hand, which we'd edit, I'd get really excited about, start talking about in meetings and lunches, draw up a list of editors, call 'em, submit/pitch/blow their minds, run an enormous auction, then shepherd the book to fame and fortune, THEN sell book two, do it again, and after that success we'd sell maybe 3 and 4. Life, let's say, would be fun. Is this your book we're talking about (grin!)

Clive wrote: "Hi Seth,

Thanks for coming here.

I write humorous fantasy, the reason I self-published was because an agent said that as my name is not Pratchett
I have no chance. Do you feel there is a market f..."

Clive, you are here for honesty, and I think I'll give it. Humor, of any sort, but particularly fantastical in the Piers Anthony, Pratchett, Adams vein, is very hard. A reason why it's hard, though, is that it's so difficult to write. I, personally, think humor is the most challenging type of writing in terms of alienation of reader. I believe firmly that good writing finds a home, but I'll not lie to you and say that humor fantasy is an easy thing. Instead, it has higher standards, fewer editors and agents taking it on, and therefore, fewer opportunities for success. But they are there, if the writing is strong enough. I hope that's not too much of a bummer - I really want everyone to know that they should write whatever they believe in, whatever they want, but with the understanding that some things are easier than others...

Riley wrote: "Hi Seth, so glad you're back for another day of questions. My next question is this: as a self-pubbed author submitting, is there any benefit in submitting a paperback version of our book to give a..."

Riley, hi. Thanks for coming back! And a good question. I think it's natural to want to send a fully furnished book, but documents are way easier. Why? Because we can edit on them. When I'm reading a submission, if I get the tingle inside that it's good, I pull out my pen and start editing as I go, so I don't have to reread and reedit. Sometimes I pass anyway, but with a paperback, it's very hard to allow me to do that kind of editing. We have taken on ONE client from slush who has submitted a paperback self-pubbed. So it happens, just rarely.

Kristin wrote: "Hello Seth,
I just wanted to voice my appreciation for your time and effort. Most of the questions I had were previously asked by others. The writing community always amazes me, there is no guarant..."

Thanks Kristin! I think some people believe we are a world of intense competition and jealously, and while this certainly happens, I like to believe that the biggest most positive thing about the self-published and social media world (see goodreads!) is the community support. How often is it ever worth it to slag someone off? Very rarely. Support each other and we all can have better shots at decent writing careers (whatever that means!).

Riley wrote: "Does suck being on a vastly different time zone to you all. I'm off to bed now so lose the "live" aspect of the chat with Seth but look forward to reading all the responses tomorrow. Will leave one..."

Riley, I'd say UK, because UK publishers actively push into the Aussie market. Get sorted in the commonwealth, and then move beyond.

Let me ask YOU all a question. I have awful handwriting... My signature looks embarrassing. How do I prep for autographing!? Thankfully it's a YA book, so I can just pretend my main character's signing...

Seth wrote: "Hi Simon (and everyone, as this is the first answer). This is a fairly tough question, I admit. We agents read and sell books 2 years before they come out, so we DO want to look ahead. Some thin..." Thanks Seth for that reply, given me food for thought about my vampire release.

Seth, not a question but a thanks given out to you and all of the others for the great information that I've picked up from this discussion. It's been a great read. And I'm in the same ballpark with Seth on the handwriting since mine is atrocious, thus the comfort of computers....

One more question as I still haven't managed to go to sleep - what is your view on cliffhanger endings? Do you think they make books harder to sell?

Seth, as a reader who has met a lot of authors, just sign away in your own hand. Don't try to be anybody else. They are there because you wrote a book that touched them in some way. Readers want to see you, look you in the eye and smile, shake your hand, and remember the experience when they look at the ink a week later. In fact, the more distinctive the handwriting the better. Then, hopefully, they don't turn around and sell your book on EBay!

Shannon wrote: "Seth, not a question but a thanks given out to you and all of the others for the great information that I've picked up from this discussion. It's been a great read. And I'm in the same ballpark wi..."

God bless computers! Thanks Shannon!

Riley wrote: "One more question as I still haven't managed to go to sleep - what is your view on cliffhanger endings? Do you think they make books harder to sell?"

Riley, hi. Go to sleep! haha. Cliffhangers are fine, if you have a seriers up and ready to go. My book ends on a major cliffhanger. I think some people like wrap ups so that they can 'end' a series if it doesn't work, but I say go for it.

Courtney wrote: "Seth, as a reader who has met a lot of authors, just sign away in your own hand. Don't try to be anybody else. They are there because you wrote a book that touched them in some way. Readers want to..."

Haha, there's NO WAY you can copy my handwriting. Unless you have your infant son try. Thanks Courtney, what kind and thoughtful words.

Seth wrote: "Also, just found out that my client's book, KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS by Shawn Goodman, was just named by SLJ as their pick of the day! Woo hoo! Great YA read. http://www.slj.com/2013/06/books-media..."

Congrats to you and to Shawn.

Seth wrote: "Kristin wrote: "Hello Seth,
I just wanted to voice my appreciation for your time and effort. Most of the questions I had were previously asked by others. The writing community always amazes me, the..."

I agree that the writing community has always been very supportive of each other. That was true even before the Internet and Goodreads. (smile) I was active with a writers group that sponsored a major conference in Dallas for a number of years and everyone who attended - editors and agents from NY and CA and all the writers - were willing to share and support each other. Many careers were launched from those conferences and that support.

Hi Seth. Thank you for helping us mere mortals with our questions. I have read all three pages of this Q&A and you have managed to answer question I didn't even know I had!! Great Job and thanks again.
Natasha Johnstone - PS my time zone also sucks!

Natasha wrote: "Hi Seth. Thank you for helping us mere mortals with our questions. I have read all three pages of this Q&A and you have managed to answer question I didn't even know I had!! Great Job and thanks ag..."

Ha, awesome. But remember - and this is a big thing, WE ARE NOT IMMORTALS. We are human, and you have to imagine that when we get tons of queries, we might be having a bad day, we might be annoyed at something else and could take it out on a query. We might have had the best lunch ever. We might be looking for fantasy but not cookbooks. We might have just watched Game of Thrones and are traumatized and never want to read fantasy again. So many human things go into our decisions... If I send a book out to 15 editors, and 14 reject it, we still win!

Seth wrote: "Natasha wrote: "Hi Seth. Thank you for helping us mere mortals with our questions. I have read all three pages of this Q&A and you have managed to answer question I didn't even know I had!! Great J..."

I shall keep that in mind. Thank you kindly fellow mortal. Hahaha

Thanks for your honesty Seth, it's what I thought. I will keep plugging away though, keep my fingers crossed and hope that one day......!

On a different note, I think I'm going to feel very sorry for your assistant when your inbox gets an extra Ooomph of query letters!

Seth wrote: "Let me ask YOU all a question. I have awful handwriting... My signature looks embarrassing. How do I prep for autographing!? Thankfully it's a YA book, so I can just pretend my main character's ..."

I feel my signature looks different every time I sign something. I figure as long as enough letters look similar people will be satisfied. :P

Clive wrote: "Thanks for your honesty Seth, it's what I thought. I will keep plugging away though, keep my fingers crossed and hope that one day......!

On a different note, I think I'm going to feel very sorry ..."

hahaha, true!

FYI, lunch!

Seth - thanks for playing ball with us.

You said: a Great American Novel writer at a thriller writer's pace of a book a year.

Once you needed 5 books in print and SELLING to live like a full-time author circa 1980s. Now, as an Indie, you need 15+. So 3 books/yr. is an Indie survival rate.

GOAT-RIPPER is in hand. My NYC/Yale/Newsweek editor says it's great. I'm too close to it. But it's the best I can do until my next in the series due in October.

You say: running an enormous auction. THAT is hella exciting. I have a big wine auction scene in GOAT-RIPPER.

The Sonoma Knight series will be a 5-pack by this time next year. Then global translation rights and Hollywood beckon. Becasue GOAT-RIPPER is about wine & cheese & murder, Californians read it and wonder if they're in it. Europeans and Asians read it and take a holiday.

My Bronze Star hero, Jake Knight, runs a sheep dairy in Sonoma. He needs a shepard that can pitch low and inside across a NYC publisher's lunch plate. With a signing bonus for desert. GRIN!

As to your book signings, may I suggest you sign your first name and draw a big heart. It worked for Mr. Vonnegut.

Thanks again for fielding our bloopers, Seth. Us writers want to run wind-sprints for ya now. Best!

Peter wrote: "Seth - thanks for playing ball with us.

You said: a Great American Novel writer at a thriller writer's pace of a book a year.

Once you needed 5 books in print and SELLING to live like a full-tim..."

Peter, that was a chaotic and fun bit of writing there. Everyone else, I'm back and ready to answer.

Hi, Seth, by the way, I love your cover. Very distinctive. And Thank you for doing this little webinar. Always good to know. Here are my questions:

1. How much control over editing and promotional ideas do you have with your book?

2. What sort of publicity will they conduct to make sure your book sells as much as it can? What is your share of the responsibility?

Thanks so much for the insight.
Joss Landry

Joss, thanks for the kind words. Before I answer, clarification: do you mean 'your' book, as in everyones? Or MY book?

Also, remember everyone! Today is a chance to ask NYTimes Bestselling author (and my client) Alex Grecian about his thriller series and books, THE YARD and THE BLACK COUNTRY!

Hi Seth,
We're very grateful you could join us and give of your time so freely.
So what do you think is going to be the Next Big Thing in publishing - either in terms of technology or the way reading tastes will move?
Best,
John

Hi Alex, pleased to emeet you all the way from S Wales UK. How on earth did you manage to snag Seth as your agent?

Hi Seth,
I have read through most of the questions but am rushing out the door so I apologize if this is a repeat...I have queried about 15 agents so far and of course, get the standard 'no' for my book. I have received all four and five star reviews, though only a few of them and only one from someone I know. I've queried two publishers, both small and one has offered me a contract. They've requested this book and three more for it along with two spin off books for one of the youth characters. I would like to try to get an agent of course but also want to sign this contract. Is it worth contacting any of the agents who said no and telling about this? Or is it something I should say in my queries now? Not that I am intending to rush anyone but I'd like to have an agent to help with this and is it inappropriate to contact them about something like this?
Thanks
Carolyn

Hi John, thanks for writing. A million dollar question this one, but I do think the next big thing will be a growth in services by publishers and agents to make up for losing out to self-publishing. Self-publishers get so much DONE, and publishers need to keep up. This, practically, will mean that they will have to be more creative, active, spend money in nontraditional ways more often.

As to reading tastes, I think we just cycle around and around and around. I think crossover YA is legit, and will stick around, and people will start reading in that world more and more until there's no separation, BUT, until publishers connect the two, that won't fully cross.

OK, I'm wrapping up for the day! See you all tomorrow! Thanks for the great questions.

Have a great night everyone. I'm off to work to start my day :(

Since everyone has already asked Seth such great questions, I'm going to ask Alex one. Caveat: I can promise a question, Alex, not a great one.

(Thanks to both of you for agreeing to this Q&A, btw)

I was wondering whether you did a lot of research into the forensic sciences available to a progressive Victorian pathologist to prepare for your book? If so, was there a point when you just had to say, "Enough! I know enough to write my stories and I don't need to learn everything about everything."

My questions for Alex Grecian starts with: Has your publisher been forcing you out into the flow of social media traffic?

I have heard of these scenarios where authors were previously allowed to just write their books, nose to the grindstone, and never needed/wanted to get involved with social media.

But, today's publishing world virtually demands author engagement in social media.

And, so, my final question is: how has social media affected you as a writer?

Simon wrote: "Hi Alex, pleased to emeet you all the way from S Wales UK. How on earth did you manage to snag Seth as your agent?"

Hi, Simon! (And everybody; I've been lurking.) I met Seth through my comic book work. Somebody once said that luck equals being prepared when opportunity knocks (I'm sure I'm paraphrasing badly), but when Seth stumbled across my comics work I had two completed novels to show him (not counting the two I'll never show anybody). He encouraged me to write The Yard and then sold the hell out of it. :)

Travis wrote: "My question is for Alex Grecian starts with: Has your publisher been forcing you out into the flow of social media traffic?

I have heard of these scenarios where authors who previously just wrote..."

Great question, Travis! I'm also very curious about your thoughts on this, Alex. One of my very good friends Janet E. Cameron couldn't get a Canadian publisher to work with her because she didn't have a strong enough social media presence despite having written an amazing book. Insanity!

Happily, she was published by the great crew at Hachette Ireland but the social media issue was a sticky one for her elsewhere.

Leigha wrote: "Since everyone has already asked Seth such great questions, I'm going to ask Alex one. Caveat: I can promise a question, Alex, not a great one.

Thanks to both of you for agreeing to this Q&A, bt..."

Leigha, I read everything I could get my hands on about both current and Victorian-era forensics and then extrapolated from there. I do believe that a novelist's job is to make things seem realistic, not necessarily to draw (too strictly) from reality. So, yes, at a certain point, my poor research-sodden brain decided that I was writing about people I'd made up and I could allow Kingsley to be ahead of his time as long as the forensics work was at least *possible* for him. But I continue to read and extrapolate and try to find new wrinkles in historical forensics technology.

Travis wrote: "My questions for Alex Grecian starts with: Has your publisher been forcing you out into the flow of social media traffic?

I have heard of these scenarios where authors were previously allowed to ..."

Travis, I was already on Facebook and Twitter when Putnam stepped in. They helped me set up a Website of my own and they encouraged me to start a Facebook "fan" page. I'm still uncomfortable about that fan page, but I do appreciate that it doesn't have the same limitations as my regular Facebook page. I don't have to stop interacting with people when I reach some arbitrary cut-off point.

Social media is, of course, a valuable tool for authors. I tend to keep to myself and not bother people. I'm shy. But being able to interact with readers through my various social media has been invaluable and brought me out of my shell quite a bit. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd be Salinger-like and hide away from the world.

It's not about being a salesman and trying to shill my work (which is what kept me away from Twitter et al. for a long time). It's really about being able to reach my readers and talk to them, one on one. And communicating with other people is what writing's all about, right? ;D