On My Mind by, Sara Megibow (Agent) ~ from Newsletter Article

(This is an article from Nelson Agency - Permission was granted to me to repost by Sara Megibow)

 

On My Mind by Sara Megibow

My son is seven years old, and he’s short. I’m short, my husband is short. No big surprise there, right? Last month the kid and I were in line for ski passes. For those of you who don’t ski, please know that ski passes are not cheap. They range from $80 to $150 per day per skier. But we like to ski, so we budget for it. At the cash register, the total was much lower than I expected so I said, “That’s two regular-priced tickets, please, not one.” Cashier said, “Oh, I thought your son was five. He would have been free at five.” The woman in line behind me said (loudly), “Why on earth did you say anything? You should have taken the free ticket.” And all I could think to say was, “Because I don’t want to teach my son that honesty is only for rich people.” So, I paid full price, and my son was there to learn the lesson.Honesty.

When an author has a book for sale, one of our goals is to sell that book for money. Most authors will make a little money, some will make more money, and a verrrrrry few will make a lot of money. Regardless, in publishing, one goal is to bring in money. (Another goal is high artistic integrity, but more on that in another post.)

When readers pirate books for free, they are not paying the authors for those works. Those authors earn nothing for all their hard work. Now, I get that it's tempting to get a free book. And I also know that an author is popular if he/she is being regularly pirated. Pirated books can and probably do spread the word to legitimate book buyers. But that should not be the rationale.

Don’t take music files without paying for them. Don’t post pictures on your website that you don’t own. Don’t sneak into a movie without paying for it. Don’t lie to get cheaper ski passes. Be honest.

Sincerely,

Sara

What's Hot by Sara Megibow

I spent a week in NYC this month. Mostly I was enjoying New York ComicCon and geeking out with 119,000 other comic-book fans. But I did manage to do some work between getting autographs and being a fan girl. What’s hot in the world of adult science fiction and fantasy right now?

Based on meetings I had at ComicCon:

• The mash-up! Science fiction with steampunk, fantasy set in an historical time period with vampires, space opera with magic wands and prophecies. This is one reason Michael Martinez is getting such amazing advance publicity for THE DAEDALUS INCIDENT, his debut science fiction mash-up scheduled for early 2013.

• Commercial, fun, high-action science fiction. Think spaceships, aliens, battles, cool gadgets--the works.

• Epic fantasy with a unique story. A story bigger than “adventurers on an epic journey to find the magic object that will save the world.” Betsy Dornbusch has an epic fantasy called EXILE (Feb 2013) set in a totally unique world. This is what’s hot.

Visit Sara Megibow at: www.nelsonagency.com  (I was given permission to repost from Sara.)

Happy Submitting,
Dawn Chartier
www.dawnchartier.com

Great Marketing Tips for Aspiring Authors!!

This is a great tip from, Sara Megibow with the Nelson Agency....


TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE

This is more of a marketing tip than a query letter tip, per se. Still, I find this to be an important step for all writers who take the business of publishing seriously. Before starting your submissions (whether to agents or directly to editors), make sure your web presence is polished and up-to-date.

I know, I know — another thing to “polish” but believe me, it’s important. If I am reading sample pages that I like, the very first thing I do BEFORE asking for the full manuscript is a Google search for your website. Hopefully, you’ve included the url in your query letter but if not, I go on a hunt. No, it’s not a deal breaker if you’re not 100% web savvy, but I consider websites, blogs, etc., to be a part of the package, a part of the “resume,” so to speak. And, yes — I take it seriously.

1) If you don’t have an author website yet — get one. And get a professional one. Even if it’s a basic template, make sure it looks professional and has professional content on it.

2) If you don’t have an author blog, think seriously about starting one. Right now, blogging is a hot way to increase your own marketing. Next year maybe it will be something different, but for now, a great blog is #2 behind a great website. A few suggestions ... avoid blogging about how the book is going (i.e., avoid entries like this, “I wrote 80 pages today — yippee!” or “I am on chapter 10 and it’s giving me problems.”) The general masses aren’t going to read your blog and want to come back again and again to find out about your writing progress.

Instead, have a hook or a spin to your blog. Is your book a Scottish Highland romance? Then, maybe your blog hosts some really fabulous in-depth information about Scottish clans and their histories! Also, at all costs, avoid blogging anything negative about your submission process (i.e., "so-and-so agent was SOOO rude" = oops.) This business is too small and interrelated to risk a blog entry like this - even if it was true.

3) Consider other social networking sites, but if you do — make them professional! My husband is a musician and he has had tremendous success with marketing through Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and youtube.com. So, check them out and see if they are right for you and if you have time to keep them up-to-date. If you go this route though, remember that agents and editors will probably take a look — so nix the drunken bikini shots from your last beach vacation. It’s a bummer, I know, to lose that kind of privacy and freedom. And, it’s just my opinion, but if you treat all these things like your resume instead of like your personal photo album, it’s a stronger professional representation of who you are.

4) Check out what other successful authors are doing. If all this information feels overwhelming, spend a few afternoons seeing what other people do, what kinds of information they post, what kinds of pictures, what kinds of questions they answer and what kinds of “spins” or “hooks” they use. Two great places to start — http://www.allycarter.com/ and http://www.sarahreesbrennan.com/.

Permission to post, by Sara Megibow
Nelson Agency

Thanks for stopping by,
Dawn Chartier