A novel has been called a piece of prose that has something wrong with it. Here’s how to ensure your novel has nothing wrong with it: twelve ways to get agents and editors excited about your work.
1. Your idea: new, creative, timely, informative, entertaining, transformative, commercial, helpful, aimed at a large, proven market
2. Your writing: style, tone, humor, drama, inspiration, insights, voice
3. Your irresistible first page: compels editors to turn the page
4. Your readers: the community of readers who give you feedback while you’re writing your book and when you’re done
5. You: your passion, commitment, track record, credentials
6. Your platform, visibility online and off: blog, short stories, teaching, speaking, a blog, social media, networks
7. Your test-marketing: a blog, podcast, e-book, self-published edition, serialization, website
8. Your promotion plan: a list of things you will do, online and off, and how many of them, a budget
9. Your book’s promotion potential: online and off, reviews, media interviews, endorsements
10. The markets for your book: consumers, libraries, subsidiary rights, reading groups
11. Your future books: your book’s series potential, the synopsis for your next book
12. Your book’s spinoff potential: merchandising products, short stories, music
There’s a Sipress cartoon in the New Yorker showing a medieval torturer in a dungeon standing in front of a guy being stretched on a rack, and he’s saying: “Don’t talk to me about suffering—in my spare time, I’m a writer.” Using these ideas will lessen your suffering on the road to publication.
I’m researching material for future blogs and looking forward to writing to you soon.
Michael Larsen is a literary agent and consultant to nonfiction writers. He and his partner Elizabeth Pomada are co-directors of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference.
Thankyou Michael for sharing with us these important points, they are very helpful to me as my publisher is just about to launch my first two novels.I am currently looking for contacts in the US because both of my stories are perfect for film/animation, except one of them at the moment is a trilogy and in my opinion extra special.So any help and advice that you could offer me at this stage would be warmly received. Many thanks Noel
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Maybe your publisher can suggest contacts for you to try. The Screenwriter’s Guild in LA has a list of agents who may be able to help you. Good luck!
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michaellarsen Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Check publishersmarketplace.com and Publishers Weekly to see which Hollywood agents are selling books to movies and contact them. Good luck.
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Love your blog! I have a couple of questions regarding self publishing—#7 on your list. How do agents and publishers view self-publishing and posting work on places like Amazon? If I decide to do this, any suggestions on how to include this information in my query letter? Thanks, Michael.
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 8th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Glad you’re enjoying the blog! If you sell enough books, publishers will come looking for you. If you approach them, impress them, if you can with what you’ve done. Provide the number of copies you’ve sold, quote from reviews, whatever you can tell them.
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Mr. Larson,
Thank you for this list. After sending a query to your company email, and then stumbling upon this afterward, it’s reassuring that it seems I’m on the right track!
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 8th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Persevere!
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That’s it in a nutshell. Thanks for the pep talk!
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 8th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
You’re welcome! Good luck.
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 5:17 am
Good luck!
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Thank you. This is a very interesting checklist.
Numbers 6,7,8 and 9 seem to be where many of us dig in our heels. We begin our careers wanting (ahem) to write. I compare this to an educator who wants to(ahem) educate. How disconcerting it is to discover that much of that valuable teaching time is spent being a babysitter and referee!
In a similar state of disbelief, we new writers learn we’re expected to promote ourselves to the point where we morph into an almost a “sure bet” for a publisher.
I whined about this for a good long while but now look at promotion of my work as an exciting “brave new world.” It is actually as big a challenge as the writing itself.
I put up my blog because I knew “I had to.” However, I quickly realized that every posting I do is a productive excercise – an opportunity to stretch my brain, improve and diversify my writing skills.
I now thoroughly enjoy creating my Monday-Friday postings and the results are reflective of this. The technology is so easy… I had my blog up in just an afternoon. If I could do that, anyone can.
Blog on!
Joanna
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 8th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
That’s great! Anyone can. The challenge is to bring the passion and dedication you bring to it. You’re a model for other writers. Best of luck!
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 14th, 2010 at 5:20 am
It’s super that you’re doing what needs to be done. Best of luck with it.
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After ten years and countless revisions, my project, “The Mandolin Case,” is due for release.
I’m unique in that I’m the world’s only physician bluegrass fiction writer, but my real secret was I wouldn’t go away.
Dr. B
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michaellarsen Reply:
July 8th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
You proceeded as if publication was inevitable and it was! Wish you could heal all doubting writers. Best of luck.
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You won’t be sacrificing your book. You’ll be building an audience for it.
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This is a great list, and timely. I’m hoping to excite a pro in two weeks. I’ve got 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,11 covered.
I hope you don’t mind, I’ve some questions. How do you find sales figures for competing titles? For an unknown writer, how do you design a promotion plan? I can see the potential market, but I’m lost regarding the planning.
Thank you, Simon.
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michaellarsen Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Editors will find sales figures if they need to. For info about a promotion plan, visit larsenpomada.com, check elsewhere online, check books (including mine), and see what other authors are doing.
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I’m slowly building on a few of these things. I was especially interested in your number seven. I can’t help but think the growth of self-publishing on Kindle, along with blogs and such, is the new magazine market – a place for us to gain experience.
I am very interested in the serialization idea. I haven’t decided what I’m going to try yet, but I’m thinking hard….
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michaellarsen Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Blogs are an easy and excellent to build a readership and get feedback. Do it!
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Camille Reply:
May 13th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
I have a blog – what I’m thinking about is serializing a novel. I have one YA novel that isn’t in my main genre. I published it on kindle, but it’s also really suited for serialization – and others have said they have great luck promoting ebooks by publishing them free on the web.
I’ve been saving my mysteries for the traditional route but I do have one that really suited to serialization. I’m considering sacrificing that to build an audience for future stories in the series.
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