Hi Kathleen! I've just finished a novella and am at the stage of approaching agents (here in the U.K.), I'm drawing up a list of first, second and maybe even third tier to send the MS to to as have heard advice that it is a good idea to send out to circa ten agents see what comes back, make changes if needed (if I agree with them!), then send out to next tier, and repeat. Do you agree with this method firstly? (I am researching agents of course and basing my choices on aligned tastes and profiles.)
A second question is what do you think about a young agent who is building their list / new to a house, pros / cons?
Really any advice on this part of the process would be much appreciated. (The novella character-driven and is focused on family dynamics and consent and is circa 30,000 words, I've had one other book published previously but that was NF and very different.)
Thanks so much for this Kathleen. Yes, I wasn't too sure myself about the method!! (I read it on some Writers blog but who knows how valid this method is!) So I guess most agents are really just reading pitch letter, synopsis and the first line or two. There's so much info out there so this is really useful to have concise, informed advice - thank you. Thanks also for that advice on the more youthful agent 🙏. Much appreciated!
Hi there! I didn't see this until late last night, so apologies for the delay. I can't speak to the difference between querying in the UK vs. the US. That said, in the US, once you're querying, you're querying. I wouldn't query any agents I didn't realistically want to represent me, and you can't rely on feedback, because you might receive form rejections. Since you're querying fiction, an agent would need to request pages from you to give you feedback, which is an investment of their time they don't get paid for, so I don't really agree with the method you've put forth.
I don't think a "young agent" is a barrier. It could be an advantage, depending on your book. What you want in any agent is someone who will champion your book/career, and who has relationships with editors. An agent building their list will be selective, which is not a bad thing.
I hope my book will be published in July, at which point press releases will be sent out by the marketing company I hired.
They only list my website on the release, and don't provide any direct contact information.
The book is newsworthy at this time. Do you recommend that I list my domain email for contact as well as my website so I can be more easily contacted by any interested journalist?
You need to have contact information on the press release, or it’s a waste to send it. Journalists don’t want to click through & fill out a contact form, etc. There is really no point in sending it unless an email address is included. It’s industry standard.
I just had a poetry chapbook published by wipfandstock, which confines itself only to Christian-based writing. They did a beautiful job, incidentally.
However, I have written around 1,200 poems in the last 10 years, many of which have been published, and I won one big award. Since I am now 87, I'd like to gather some of the poems into a full book...and get at least 80 of these poems published. I have no idea whom to contact, where to start, do I need an agent, etc. And how does one SELL a book of poetry?
I need advice. I don't have tons of money, so I'd rather find a traditional publisher.
Finding an agent can be time-consuming, and, to be honest, poetry books are an extremely hard sell to most big publishers. I would take some time to review the list I found, review the requirements, and prepare your poetry manuscript for submission. I'd also work on a letter that you can submit with it that gives context for the poems, what they represent, and information about where your poems have been previously published and the award you won. This is the best starting point for you. I hope it helps.
I am self publishing a Cookbook Cooking Up Connection : Meals that Gather Us. I want to have it available in November to capture Christmas sales. How big a sales opportunity is Christmas?
Hi Alison, Christmas is a big sales opportunity IF you have a strategy for marketing and PR to ensure the book's audience knows about it. You'd want to publish it in early November, so you have a runway to promote for the holidays. Does that make sense?
yes. I live in Santa Fe, NM and I am already trying to build an audience with people who know me by using posts on Facebook. I am going to start writing on Substack starting tomorrow. I joined a while ago but have not posted any content. I have a local restaurant and market that sells books where I will do the initial launch. My strategy is to start local and expand in 2027. Thank you for your advice.
Thanks Kathleen for opening up this space for advice. My book, Lifeline, which is about the US government saving millions of lives of those with AIDS, is being published this October. My question: you write a lot about how it’s incredibly important to engage with your readers. But for first-time authors, how do you build this engagement? There’s social media channels/podcasts/events, but it still seems like too little. Grateful for your thoughts. John Donnelly
Kathleen will reply with her wisdom, but as a non-fiction publisher, I'll chime in.
What I ask authors with books like yours that are part of what I call the Public History area is to start volunteering to do presentations with allied organizations and in other public spaces. Your local library. Looks like there's an intersection of public health, non-profit services/management, LGBTQ and other groups advocating for HIV/AIDS families, historical societies, business groups (hey, the Rotary Club is still a thing). Develop all the pegs you can speak to related to your research and the book. (I'm seein a recent trend in "Look at the damage DOGE did" stories...your work fits right in. You're in an area with lots of universities, lots of speaking opportunities.
Create a solid base presentation that you can customize to fit a group's specific interest. And don't charge! Many people charge, and that's fine, but you have an ulterior motive...sell books. You have a reputation as a journalist and now want to establish yourself as a 'public intellectual' in the community and then expand as much as you're able. You build your reputation this way. If you're not comfortable public speaking, join something like Toastmasters now and learn a few skills on how to do it better.
You can write and submit op-eds...especially with your background at the Boston Globe but don't forget other newspapers. If you have a presentation lined up, submit an op-ed to that area newspaper. Does your local public radio station have a local or issues-focused talk show? WBUR has a great syndicated show, Here & Now. Send them info about you and your book, and offer to be a guest expert when they have discussions about your areas of expertise. (This is a nice warm-up when you want to pitch them to talk about YOUR book on the program.)
A key to remember is that there are no shortcuts. You have to do the work In Real Life to drive folks to your social media platforms. You've got great blurbs. There has to be substance beyond "hey, I wrote a book". By establishing expertise in the public intellectual space, you earn the authority people can trust. And hopefully, those people become your readers.
Notice that none of what I wrote is about social media... Unless you already have a social media platform, building one from scratch in 3 months isn't going to work. Think about who your ideal readers are, then figure out where they 'live' and meet them there. The people who would be most interested in your work aren't on TikTok or Instagram.
My caveat is: this is how I would do it. This is a methodology that has worked for us. Kathleen will most likely have another point of view. There may be others who add their ideas as well. My last recommendation is to sift through all advice and honestly assess which strategies and platforms will work for you. If you're not comfortable or don't spend a lot of time on socials...then leaning into a social media strategy may not be the best path. The best marketing/PR/author outreach is one an author can successfully and consistently execute.
Good luck to you...the book looks interesting and important.
Thanks so much Christina for a) taking the time to research my book and my background; and b) taking even more time to write a long and thoughtful comment. I really like a lot of your ideas -- for instance, creating a base presentation; writing op-eds/commentaries timed with in-person events in various cities/towns; and taking the initiative and reaching out to organizations to volunteer to speak about my book and broader issues linked to the future of foreign assistance. I took one of Kathleen's six-course workshops on the book publishing world (I learned a great deal!) and she said over and over that authors shouldn't expect publishers to do everything and instead view promotion as a partnership with the publisher.
Your last point, Christina, about sifting through various pieces of advice and deciding what works for the author is a very good one. I think your message, though, also is about getting out of your comfort zone and to do far more than you had ever dreamed of doing. Thank you!
Hi Kathleen! I've just finished a novella and am at the stage of approaching agents (here in the U.K.), I'm drawing up a list of first, second and maybe even third tier to send the MS to to as have heard advice that it is a good idea to send out to circa ten agents see what comes back, make changes if needed (if I agree with them!), then send out to next tier, and repeat. Do you agree with this method firstly? (I am researching agents of course and basing my choices on aligned tastes and profiles.)
A second question is what do you think about a young agent who is building their list / new to a house, pros / cons?
Really any advice on this part of the process would be much appreciated. (The novella character-driven and is focused on family dynamics and consent and is circa 30,000 words, I've had one other book published previously but that was NF and very different.)
Thanks so much for this Kathleen. Yes, I wasn't too sure myself about the method!! (I read it on some Writers blog but who knows how valid this method is!) So I guess most agents are really just reading pitch letter, synopsis and the first line or two. There's so much info out there so this is really useful to have concise, informed advice - thank you. Thanks also for that advice on the more youthful agent 🙏. Much appreciated!
Hi there! I didn't see this until late last night, so apologies for the delay. I can't speak to the difference between querying in the UK vs. the US. That said, in the US, once you're querying, you're querying. I wouldn't query any agents I didn't realistically want to represent me, and you can't rely on feedback, because you might receive form rejections. Since you're querying fiction, an agent would need to request pages from you to give you feedback, which is an investment of their time they don't get paid for, so I don't really agree with the method you've put forth.
I don't think a "young agent" is a barrier. It could be an advantage, depending on your book. What you want in any agent is someone who will champion your book/career, and who has relationships with editors. An agent building their list will be selective, which is not a bad thing.
Hi Kathleen
I hope my book will be published in July, at which point press releases will be sent out by the marketing company I hired.
They only list my website on the release, and don't provide any direct contact information.
The book is newsworthy at this time. Do you recommend that I list my domain email for contact as well as my website so I can be more easily contacted by any interested journalist?
Thank you
Debra
You need to have contact information on the press release, or it’s a waste to send it. Journalists don’t want to click through & fill out a contact form, etc. There is really no point in sending it unless an email address is included. It’s industry standard.
Hi, Kathleen,
I just had a poetry chapbook published by wipfandstock, which confines itself only to Christian-based writing. They did a beautiful job, incidentally.
However, I have written around 1,200 poems in the last 10 years, many of which have been published, and I won one big award. Since I am now 87, I'd like to gather some of the poems into a full book...and get at least 80 of these poems published. I have no idea whom to contact, where to start, do I need an agent, etc. And how does one SELL a book of poetry?
I need advice. I don't have tons of money, so I'd rather find a traditional publisher.
Thank you.
Marianna Busching
Author of the chapbook "From Earth's Floor"
Hi Marianna,
I did a bit of research for you, and here is a list of small presses that accept poetry manuscripts and do not require the author to have an agent: https://www.pw.org/small_presses?field_genres_value=Poetry&subgenre=All&reading_period_status=1&items_per_page=25&fee=All&unsolicited=All
Finding an agent can be time-consuming, and, to be honest, poetry books are an extremely hard sell to most big publishers. I would take some time to review the list I found, review the requirements, and prepare your poetry manuscript for submission. I'd also work on a letter that you can submit with it that gives context for the poems, what they represent, and information about where your poems have been previously published and the award you won. This is the best starting point for you. I hope it helps.
Another resource for researching poetry publishers is CLMP (Community of Literary Magazines & Publishers). Here's their listing of all their member publishers filtered for poetry: https://www.clmp.org/readers/directory-of-publishers/?_dop_genre=poetry
I am self publishing a Cookbook Cooking Up Connection : Meals that Gather Us. I want to have it available in November to capture Christmas sales. How big a sales opportunity is Christmas?
Hi Alison, Christmas is a big sales opportunity IF you have a strategy for marketing and PR to ensure the book's audience knows about it. You'd want to publish it in early November, so you have a runway to promote for the holidays. Does that make sense?
yes. I live in Santa Fe, NM and I am already trying to build an audience with people who know me by using posts on Facebook. I am going to start writing on Substack starting tomorrow. I joined a while ago but have not posted any content. I have a local restaurant and market that sells books where I will do the initial launch. My strategy is to start local and expand in 2027. Thank you for your advice.
Thanks Kathleen for opening up this space for advice. My book, Lifeline, which is about the US government saving millions of lives of those with AIDS, is being published this October. My question: you write a lot about how it’s incredibly important to engage with your readers. But for first-time authors, how do you build this engagement? There’s social media channels/podcasts/events, but it still seems like too little. Grateful for your thoughts. John Donnelly
Kathleen will reply with her wisdom, but as a non-fiction publisher, I'll chime in.
What I ask authors with books like yours that are part of what I call the Public History area is to start volunteering to do presentations with allied organizations and in other public spaces. Your local library. Looks like there's an intersection of public health, non-profit services/management, LGBTQ and other groups advocating for HIV/AIDS families, historical societies, business groups (hey, the Rotary Club is still a thing). Develop all the pegs you can speak to related to your research and the book. (I'm seein a recent trend in "Look at the damage DOGE did" stories...your work fits right in. You're in an area with lots of universities, lots of speaking opportunities.
Create a solid base presentation that you can customize to fit a group's specific interest. And don't charge! Many people charge, and that's fine, but you have an ulterior motive...sell books. You have a reputation as a journalist and now want to establish yourself as a 'public intellectual' in the community and then expand as much as you're able. You build your reputation this way. If you're not comfortable public speaking, join something like Toastmasters now and learn a few skills on how to do it better.
You can write and submit op-eds...especially with your background at the Boston Globe but don't forget other newspapers. If you have a presentation lined up, submit an op-ed to that area newspaper. Does your local public radio station have a local or issues-focused talk show? WBUR has a great syndicated show, Here & Now. Send them info about you and your book, and offer to be a guest expert when they have discussions about your areas of expertise. (This is a nice warm-up when you want to pitch them to talk about YOUR book on the program.)
A key to remember is that there are no shortcuts. You have to do the work In Real Life to drive folks to your social media platforms. You've got great blurbs. There has to be substance beyond "hey, I wrote a book". By establishing expertise in the public intellectual space, you earn the authority people can trust. And hopefully, those people become your readers.
Notice that none of what I wrote is about social media... Unless you already have a social media platform, building one from scratch in 3 months isn't going to work. Think about who your ideal readers are, then figure out where they 'live' and meet them there. The people who would be most interested in your work aren't on TikTok or Instagram.
My caveat is: this is how I would do it. This is a methodology that has worked for us. Kathleen will most likely have another point of view. There may be others who add their ideas as well. My last recommendation is to sift through all advice and honestly assess which strategies and platforms will work for you. If you're not comfortable or don't spend a lot of time on socials...then leaning into a social media strategy may not be the best path. The best marketing/PR/author outreach is one an author can successfully and consistently execute.
Good luck to you...the book looks interesting and important.
Thank you! You nailed it!
Thanks so much Christina for a) taking the time to research my book and my background; and b) taking even more time to write a long and thoughtful comment. I really like a lot of your ideas -- for instance, creating a base presentation; writing op-eds/commentaries timed with in-person events in various cities/towns; and taking the initiative and reaching out to organizations to volunteer to speak about my book and broader issues linked to the future of foreign assistance. I took one of Kathleen's six-course workshops on the book publishing world (I learned a great deal!) and she said over and over that authors shouldn't expect publishers to do everything and instead view promotion as a partnership with the publisher.
Your last point, Christina, about sifting through various pieces of advice and deciding what works for the author is a very good one. I think your message, though, also is about getting out of your comfort zone and to do far more than you had ever dreamed of doing. Thank you!
Hi John, Christina really covered it all. She is terrific.