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| Author R.J. Anderson writes about the publishing process. |
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For the past several years, Rebecca J. Anderson, an online friend of mine from LiveJournal.com, has been writing and perfecting her YA fantasy novel Knife in order to have it published. After a recent success in her journey, I thought the readers of the Fantasy Newsletter would like to hear firsthand what it's like to try to get a fantasy novel published.
Some of you involved in the fandom world may know her as R.J. Anderson, the author of the fabulous "Darkness and Light" trilogy set in the Harry Potter universe as well as a number of other fics set in the various worlds of Alias, Doctor Who, and House M.D.
Me: Hi, Rebecca. Thanks for agreeing to this. With three rambunctious boys, I know your time is limited!
Could you let us know when you started thinking about getting Knife published and what you did to start the process?
Rebecca: There was never really any question in my mind as far as getting published was concerned -- I'd been working on writing a saleable original SF/F manuscript since I was in my teens, and Knife was actually my second completed novel. I started Knife in 1993, and as soon as the ms. was done I sent it right out to my favorite adult fantasy publisher. That was April 1994, but with one thing and another it was late 1995 before the editor got back to me saying she enjoyed the partial and would be willing to look at the full. In the summer of 1996 she wrote me a nice personal letter to say she'd really liked the book but the "money people" didn't think it would be a big enough seller for them, so that was the end of that.
For the next few years I played around with the manuscript, polishing and editing and occasionally sending it out, but after a couple of form rejections I lost heart and moved on to other things. So it wasn't until 2003 that I got my next big break, when a casual online friend read my description of Knife and a couple of sample chapters off my LiveJournal and e-mailed me to say that she was an editor with a major YA publishing house, and would I like to submit it to her? Since then she's walked me through two revisions of the manuscript, the latest of which finally made it past her watchful editorial eye and onto the desk of her boss. I only hope he likes it as well as she did!
Me: All the writing books tell us that we need an agent, but they are usually pretty obscure on how to find this elusive creature, especially when one hasn't been published before. How did you search for an agent?
Rebecca: The first agent I ever queried was back in 1996, on the recommendation of one of her clients. The second agent I met at an SCBWI conference last October and really liked her personality, so I queried her when I got home. The third agent was a referral from the editor I've been working with. All three of those agents were willing to look at the full ms. -- whereas the agents I've queried "cold" after looking them up on Agent Query and so on have given me nothing but form rejections. So I think it definitely important to cultivate connections with people in the publishing industry (and especially in your genre), and to take advantage of referrals and opportunities to meet agents in person whenever you can.
Me: Did you attend any writing conferences? If so, did you find them helpful?
Rebecca: I've only actually been to one writing conference so far -- SCBWI-MI last fall -- but I absolutely loved it and felt it was tremendously worthwhile. Not just for the sake of making connections with agents and editors, but as a general learning experience, and a chance to get your writing critiqued by people who aren't biased in your favor. I'd definitely go again.
However, even if you don't get to many conferences, there are some wonderful opportunities to network with writers, agents and editors online. Early in my original writing career, I joined an online writing group and made some fantastic contacts who really helped me to learn and get ahead. And the editor I'm working with right now, I met through a book discussion group I was hosting -- she was still in college then. You never know how some of these contacts may turn out.
Me: Did you ever consider self-publishing? Why or why not?
Rebecca: Never. People have suggested it to me, but I just couldn't see the point of shelling out my own money to get a cheap-looking product that basically screams (to me, anyway), "I wasn't good enough to make it past a real editor!" And then the thought of how hard I'd have to market the book to get any return at all... no, it just wasn't for me. I realize that there are some projects where self-publishing can be a real, viable option -- but I really don't think it's a good bet for fantasy/SF fiction, or indeed most fiction.
Me: What are some of the roadblocks you've encountered on this journey?
Rebecca: My very first submission getting lost in the mail -- that was discouraging, especially since six months went by before I found out. Getting so close to publication the first time out, only to be foiled by bureaucracy (and this happens more than people realize!), and then getting nothing but form rejections for years afterward. Right now my biggest roadblock is negative thoughts and pessimism. Instead of being excited and encouraged that I've finally made it to the next stage, I'm gloomily afraid that the Chief Editor won't like it, and neither will the remaining agent who has the manuscript, and that it's all going to come to nothing in the end. No matter what stage of the process you're at, I don't think you ever feel really secure as a writer. I know published, agented authors who are just as neurotic about their work and their chances of success as unpublished and unagented ones.
Me: If you could go back in time and do anything different in your effort to get Knife published, what would it be?
Rebecca: Instead of sitting on the manuscript for a year or two years at a time when it came back rejected, I would have kept turning it around and sending it out to the next editor, the next agent. I allowed the long wait times and the form rejections to discourage me, and I shouldn't have. Yes, it's frustrating -- but you don't gain anything by letting the manuscript gather dust. Even if you're rejected again and again, there's still the chance of getting some useful critiques and suggestions along the way.
Me: Any last words of advice?
Rebecca: Read, read, read -- not just in your genre, but widely. Pay close attention to blogs, interviews, and forum threads where agents and editors participate. Always be open to criticism and accept it politely even when you disagree -- this is vital training for working with an editor. Be professional and considerate in all your dealings with publishing professionals. Cultivate contacts with people in the industry whenever you can.
****
You can read Rebecca's fanfic here:
http://rja.mirrordance.net/fanfic.html
Rebecca's LiveJournal can be found here:
http://synaesthete7.livejournal.com/
For information about the conference Rebecca attended:
http://www.scbwi.org/ |
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From: werden  
I enjoy your little essays on the heroes journey. However, when I look at my fantasy I don't see my heroes journey fitting all those elements. I see him shoved into the journey against his will and forced to undertake it pretty much against his will throughout the entire novel.
I know that all fantasy doesn't have to follow the hero journey pattern. I still find it fascinating however.
I think that when authors take the hero's journey and add their own twists and turns, that's what makes it interesting. 
From: dusktildawn
Erin: Great Newsletter, as usual. For me, the crossing of the threshold (the start of a quest) is the best part of a fantasy journey because this is when some of the characteristics/powers of our hero is usually revealed.
Thanks for a great read!
You're welcome, Dusk. Thanks for reading .
From: billwilcox
I loved this! A great lesson on how to begin a heroic fantasy...
Thanks Bill! |
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Fantasy: February 21, 2007 Issue [#1551]
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