What is the one thing I did differently at the start of 2024 that led to successfully querying a manuscript and securing a six-book publishing contract?
Phew! That’s a long question. Fortunately, there’s a nice short answer.
I did my research.
It was as simple as that.
I have spent more than four years querying agents and publishers with three different contemporary manuscripts. The only response I received (if I received a response at all) was rejection.
Some were straight out rejections.
Some were couched in encouraging terms, but still rejections.
Some were swift and blunt with no attempt to cushion the blow and required copious cups of tea to bounce back from.
Some were automated form rejections.
Some were full manuscript requests that raised my hopes but were subsequently followed by rejections.
The majority of the time during this whole process tumbleweed blew through my inbox as no response to queries arrived at all.
Hand on heart, I can honestly say that I’ve done my time in the querying trenches.
It was disheartening at times, soul destroying at others.
I came close to giving up.
If it weren’t for my family and some really supportive writer friends I might well have thrown in the towel.
But if I had given up, my writing dream would all be over.
The truth is, writing is such a subjective process and it’s a well-known fact that successful authors are the ones who don’t give up.
So how did I secure that six-book publishing deal?
I had an honest chat with an agent at a 1-2-1 (that’s a paid for fifteen-minute appointment – usually at a writing festival, or on-line).
First of all, the agent told me that I was a good writer. This did my bruised ego a world of good. Then, she told me that the manuscript I was querying, whilst good, was not what publishers were looking for. It didn’t fit into a specific genre which would make it harder to market. Publishing firms are businesses. They are all about the market. They see things in terms of numbers. They want to sell as many books to as many customers as possible. Agents appreciate this, which is why they are looking for manuscripts that they know fit what the publishers are asking for.
Therefore, as a writer it makes sense to offer both agents and publishers something that they know they can sell.
She advised me to research the genres that publishers were looking for and to write to fit that.
Which is what I did.
And I ended 2024 with a six-book publishing deal. Yay!
My advice is definitely keep writing, but maybe take the time to do a bit of research into the market, too.
Good luck
Alice
The Resistance Girls, the first book in a WW2 series, will be published on 1st April by Boldwood Books.
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