Dear Lit Loves,
Well folks, it's been a long haul. I've been searching for a literary agent for years now to no avail. And to those that haven't been exposed to the world of traditional publishing, here's the problem: without a literary agent to represent you as a writer, you really aren't able to get your foot in the door of the "big" publishers such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, etc. etc. In essence, this makes literary agents the "gatekeepers" of the publishing industry. You don't get a foot in the door unless they say so, or that is, until now. These days, if you are unable to lasso a literary agent you have the additional route of what's called "self-publishing". Now, let me make it abundantly clear that as a well-educated, former English instructor, I tried moving heaven and earth to obtain a literary agent and hold out for a traditional publishing deal. Then I realized that if I wait to locate a literary agent who's invested in me as a southern writer, identifies with the genre in which I write (memoir), and advocates for me as an author over the long-term, I might just be waiting until I find myself becoming a bag of bones. So I decided to write on this blog why I am most disappointed with the traditional publishing industry and I think my explanation virtually paints a picture for you of why I am taking my work and finding my own publisher. I don't even care if I have to hire a graphic artist to do a book cover, get assistance formatting my manuscript to fit an e-reader, or do my own marketing campaign. This train is leaving the station so get on board or quite frankly, get the hell out of the way.
Reasons I'm Saying Goodbye To Traditional Publishing And Why I Believe More Writers Will Do The Same:
1) Literary Agents: There are a handful of literary agents I can vouch for and say they were professional, helpful and truly commit themselves to advocating for the writers they sign. Most literary agents I've come across as an unpublished memoir writer who focuses on writing in a candid manner about the big issues in life as I've experienced them, will tell me, "Oh God! This is seriously deep stuff. Somebody else would be a better fit." Or they may say, "Well, I really am unable to connect with your voice or the narrative voice of your work." My response: Well, fine. I write for the average Jane or Joe; I'm not writing to go win a prize or be voted the best memoir writer ever. And also, I just want to say that just because a literary agent is unable to connect with the memoir writer's voice doesn't mean that all readers won't be able to either. Then, there are the literary agents who just bluntly send you a reply of "You're not famous, you're not an academic, journalist, television host, etc. so you don't have a lot of people who have automatic interest in your work; therefore, he/she can't represent you." Wow. I know I had never heard of J.K. Rowling before the first Harry Potter book or Cheryl Strayed before she published her memoir entitled Wild, but hell, both of them found their audiences or at least I think they did. And many literary agents (not all) that fall under the generation termed "Millennial" appear to be under the illusion that serious life matters or serious women's issues will not happen to them. Life happens, people. You can run from the grim reaper, catastrophic illness, parental caregiving, and even death, but eventually life happens to all of us. Also, let me go on the record saying I think Facebook is a complete waste of time. I view it as a Brag Book and well, my work and actions speak for themselves. And I think the whole Facebook concept is a complete waste of time and juvenile. Twitter is just as insane. First of all, I can't say anything in 143 characters (ask my professors and former students) and well, who the hell cares what somebody is watching on television or what they think of Superbowl 50 or what they are having for dinner, for crying out loud people! Get A Life! And for those agents who would judge a writer by the first ten pages of a manuscript, my question is how would you like it if I judged you as a person based on your high school senior year book photo??!! Didn't think you would like that too much either.
2) Editors: Believe it or not, these are the folks in publishing with whom I get along best probably because I'm a former English teacher and I know what it's like to have to correct someone's 500 errors in a thesis paper. Editors appear to know how difficult getting a literary agent can be which makes me wonder how happy they are with the ones they know? Editors, to me, don't want to judge you personally, they want to sincerely help you make your manuscript the best read it can be. And here is a shout out to all the editors who have connected with me even though I am not represented by a literary agent- I admire them. They are not afraid to take a risk to find the next in demand writer or manuscript so KUDOS to them!
3) Traditionally Published Authors: I've reached out to a multitude of previously and currently published authors. I've only received responses or replies from three. And those three authors have been communicative, supportive and appreciate that I buy their books. These three authors tend to know the concept: Do Not Bite The Hand That Feeds You! The vast majority of published authors do not even bother to respond to their readership. And if you don't respond to me, I no longer buy your books and I definitely do not endorse them to my book club, students, friends, acquaintances, etc. And then there's the one major fiction writer who I wrote and she sent the ugliest reply back to me and even implied she didn't think my manuscript sounded like it actually happened! A very bad decision on her part as I then utilized all her books in my possession as kindling to build my next fire. Talk about not appreciating or even respecting your readership.... and then there are those authors who write in their books about the readers who write them and that's where they give their replies to these readers which in one case I discovered involved an author mocking the queries she had received via email. Yep, you guessed it. I shredded every paperback book I had that was authored by her.
4) Small & Medium Publishers: Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say that I gave two of these type of publishers every chance in the world. There appears to be a backlog of books they need to publish or they've published a book that is very similar to my manuscript; therefore, they must decline. And then there was one publisher whose chief editor consented to publish a book somewhat similar to mine and when I asked about publishing a book on the medical subject matter from an actual patient's point of view and not a journalist's or bystander's point of view, she had the audacity to tell me that my book didn't fit with their publishing objectives. What publishing objectives?? The ones for well-known journalists or the ones that don't appear to apply when an undiscovered writer hits on the same subject matter in a better way with first person experience?
5) Literary Scouts: Where in the heck fire have you been? You found John Grisham's work, were able to get it to a movie producer who wanted to produce it and your efforts assisted Grisham in getting a publishing deal so where have you been when it comes to my work and manuscripts? Holy Fire, don't even get me started.
So there my literary loves is why I have lost faith in traditional publishing. You can only slam the door shut in my face so many times. Maybe you've overlooked one too many an unpublished writer. It's okay, this southern gal knows how to drop kick down most doors that impede her efforts. This memoir writer comes from damn good stock.
Till my next update,
Grace
(Amy)
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