i've been amazon'd

[varmint]

last exit to brooklyn. saw the movie.


laughed so hard i think i tore something. yes, 90 minutes of blinding grinding despair. but when the joke does come....

[dd74]

As far as getting published, it's a crap shoot to even get someone to listen to your idea.

I've sent out queries to no avail, and on other occasions been hired over something as random as a cup of coffee.

It's all in the timing, which invariably sucks.

[Burnin' oil]

Way to go. Please give me credit for writing a review on Amazon but having the last-minute maturity to not post it. . . Man , is it tempting. . . .

[craigster59]

Okay, "persons who bought this book also bought..." Playmobil Swat Helicopter w/ Jetskier. Just who is your core audience?

[varmint]

i was "associate editor" at a national magazine for a while. a meaningless title that only sounded good.


the features editor, who was in charge of reviewing cartoon submissions had a six month old stack of un opened submissions by his desk. i'd go in during lunch and read through them. 99% were crap. but there were a handful of really good ones. but since they didn't go to college with the ass, they were going nowhere.


have been told that self publishing destroys the "first run" aspect of a book. and that mainstream publishers won't be interested. sort of like only wanting to marry a virgin.
but i'm coming to think that it's probably better than waiting for them to miraculously change their minds and accept the manuscript.

[CJFusco]

The last couple posts underline exactly why one must submit ONE-PAGE QUERY LETTERS instead of full manuscripts. How long does it take to read a query and decide whether or not it is a profitable book? A minute-and-a-half?

It's also important to flood the market with letters. Find out all the publishers who put out books like yours and make sure they each get a letter. I sent out DOZENS of queries, and have only had 3 or 4 takers... but that hardly matters once your book hits the shelves. After all, J.K. Rowling was rejected by something like 80 publishers before finding a buyer for the first HARRY POTTER book.

[varmint]

when i first started, i'd try a shotgun approach. send stuff to every name on the masthead. i'd send stuff to the interns and receptionists if i could. eventually got picked up by a couple. since then it's just been networking from one place to the next. editors would move from job to job and carry my name ith them.

but even with a fairly good name and history, moving from magazines and newspapers to books is proving a tremendous pain in the ass.