This is the second post in the “How To Break Into Publishing” Series. If you’re coming in late, Part One: What Even is Publishing? (Different types of publishing) is available here!
You want to get published? Maybe you have a great idea. Maybe you have a book that you’ve spent the last ten years of your life writing, re-writing, editing, and writing again, and you think you’re ready to go. Before you pull that trigger, there’s one more thing you’ve gotta do.
Caveat: My goal for this blog series is to educate, not discourage. Getting a book published seems so very simple at first glance. It’s really, really not! But when you (like me) would rather be writing than pretty much doing any other thing, it’s worth it. As always, this is based on my limited experience and limited understanding. Your mileage may vary!
Read
Yes, you’re a voracious reader. The average American reads 12 books a year. You’re the nerd out there destroying the curve for the rest of the class by reading ten times that many. GO YOU! Only, lately you’ve been writing a lot. And catching up on Netflix. And when times get tough, you reach for your go-to favorite, that book that’s been read so many times that the cover is falling off.
Before you move to the next step – whether it’s penning your first novel or selling a gazillion copies of your breakout debut – the time to sit down and read is NOW. And not just any book. Now is not the time to read about chapter beats and craft tools (although I do highly recommend doing that too!) Now is the time to read what’s new and popular in your genre. (Don’t know about genres? Check out Genres and the Readers Who Love Them) Google “genre + this year” for a list of books out now or coming out soon. Check out the best seller lists. Stalk the reading lists of your favorite authors, editors, and agents in your genre. Ask a bookseller or librarian what they recommend. Get a stack and start reading.
Look, we’re all unique. We want to be the first at something. We have a brilliant idea, or a special new style, or a fantastic twist that no one has ever thought of before. I get it. Reading other people’s books is a waste of your time because you’re you and they’re them. You don’t want to accidentally absorb their voice or their ideas by reading too much.
You’re gonna have to get over that.
Catching Up With Genre Trends
For better or worse, editors at publishing houses buy what is selling, and it’s selling because that’s what people are reading. Ironically, if you have a completed book in your hands right this very instant, if you go the traditional publishing route (Don’t know the difference between traditional publishing and a hole in the ground? Go back and check out the previous blog in this series: Part One – What Even is Publishing?), it’s going to be at least two years before you go to market. What’s hot now will be cold by then. But what editors are buying is what is hot now. I’m not telling you to drop what you’re writing and try to chase the biggest trend because trust me, you’ll never catch it. But you have to know to know what’s selling to figure out where you fit in this business.
And publishing is a business.
Publishing can be a grueling journey. You pour your heart and soul into a book. You celebrate when a publisher buys it. You commission a book cover cake for your release day. But no matter how much you say it won’t, that first one-star review (and it happens to everyone!) will rip your heart out a little bit. Because it’s personal to you. You HAVE to start thinking of it as a business. You can – and should! – keep writing personal stories but at some point, you are going to have to take a step back and let your book baby fly on its own. If you can’t or won’t do that, traditional publishing is not for you. There are other options, but if you can’t take your emotions out of the picture when it’s necessary, this business is going to eat you from the inside out like a burst battery in your colon.
This is also where I should remind you to hydrate. And also, do not eat batteries.
Where were we? Oh yeah. Read. In any genre, start by reading widely and see what you do and don’t like. What works for you? What makes you happy? This can help you focus in on subgenres and tropes that you want to write. Now you can narrow your reading to books in your subgenre, until you find books that you are most like. I’m NOT talking about imitation here, but eventually, you’re going to need comps (comparable titles – if you want to learn more, check out Comps and Circumstance) if you’re looking for an agent, so write down titles and authors you like because trust me when you’re writing that first query your mind will go BLANK when you’re asked for your name.
(Oops, I feel a tangent coming on) And while we’re on the topic of names, you don’t have to pick out your professional name yet. You can work with your agent or editor later if you want a pen name, or they might advise you to pick out a pen name because your name is too similar to another author. No matter what, be flexible because forces outside your control might cause you to pivot at the last second.
True story: I’ve been writing (recreationally) under a pen name for ages. Had a website with that name. All my socials were in that name. Signed an agent and sold my first book with that name. The week that the book was supposed to be “feeding out” (IE the metadata uploaded to bookstores, review sites, etc), it came to my editor’s attention that a new porn star was using that name, and had uploaded approximately 1,248,983 adult videos with that name in the past month. I had to pick a new pen name or risk every search for me or my books coming up with some very not-on-brand results. Yes, I picked a new name. No, I won’t tell you what the old one was.
Back on the subject of reading – pay attention to the covers. What covers are you drawn to? What covers scream PICK ME UP? What covers quietly whimper in the corner? Take notes. Take pictures and screenshots. One day (hopefully soon) your editor will ask you if you have any thoughts on covers. You can either meekly mumble “What do you think?” or you can whip out your file folder and ask “How much time you got?”
Again, no one is suggesting plagiarizing a cover any more than I’m suggesting that you plagiarize a book. This is research. See what sells. See what annoys you. Read the reviews of the books you love and see what other people are thinking (Note: take these opinions with a grain of salt but salt, in moderation, can improve the flavor).
Is this starting to make sense? Find time to read. It’s part of your job now. If you can’t afford all the new best sellers in your genre (and really, who can???), go to the library. Focus on books that have been released in the last year or two at most, and read like your career depends on it.
Because, it just might.
Thank you for continuing to read this series! The next blog, Part Three: Wait, I Have to Actually Write This? (Spoiler: You do) will be released next week.
How To Break Into Publishing:
- Part One: What Even is Publishing? (Different types of publishing)
- Part Two: You Are What You Read (Catching up with genre trends)
- Part Three: Wait, I Have to Actually Write This? (Spoiler: You do)
- Part Four: Let’s Get Critical (Critique Partners, Beta Readers, Ghost Readers, and Editors)
- Part Five: Misery Loves Company (So find yourself some!)
- Part Six: Get Down To Business (Getting an agent and a publishing contract)
- Part Seven: Party Hard, You’ve Made It! (The cold hard checkbook)
