How I Jumped the Line & Got a Book Deal
Think outside of the box to get your book traditionally published
The waiting game
Traditional publishing deals can be hard to come by. The usual two ways to go about it are:
- Get an agent to rep you. This takes writing a winning query letter and sending it out to dozens, if not hundreds, of agents. Getting excited at each request for your full or partial manuscript — and, inevitably, getting the “Sorry, it’s not for me” letter from several. After you get an agent, they then pitch your book to publishers to see if there are any bites. This process — from sending out your first query letter to acceptance by a publisher— often takes a minimum of 3–5 years.
- Same process, only sending your query letter directly to indie or small press publishers, who often accept submissions from unagented authors. Again, it’s a slow process — perhaps a bit shorter, say 2–4 years.
I tried this for years. And got rejected for years. It was quite a demoralizing process to be constantly turned down and not know why, since most agents and publishers don’t give personal feedback.
Changing the rules of the game
However, what if there were a third option? Well, I found one, and my new book is about to come out in October this year from the amazing Woodhall Press. When faced with the challenge on how to be traditionally published, I looked for a third option that would take much less time — about a quarter/half of a year from initial submission to acceptance.
I asked myself the question: how could I increase my odds in order to get published? Depending on what genre you write, there are certain credits and accolades that help catch the eye of a publisher or agent, such as having an MFA, winning an award, or going to a prestigious writing workshop (such as Clarion if you write science fiction or fantasy).
But getting an MFA is not an overnight process (and not something I had time to do with 3 young kids), and even if I got into a national writing workshop like Clarion, it was no guarantee that I would get a publishing deal afterward. It helped but wasn’t 100% effective. And awards for unpublished manuscripts are few and far between, expensive to enter over and over again, and take a long time to get results. So I searched some more and found my third option.
When Words Count
When Words Count is a writing retreat set in the mountains of Vermont, and I originally went to the retreat to get some work done on my manuscript. I found out while staying there that they run a national competition three times a year called Pitch Week, with the top winners (the top 1–4 writers) receiving the offer of a traditional publishing deal.
Each year, they receive hundreds of manuscripts from all around North America. Their staff narrow it down to the top 4–6 per competition cycle, and those finalists compete for a chance to win the gold award and get a publishing deal, a marketing campaign, and personal help from a top agent in the field.
It sounded too good to be true, but I was willing to give it a try. I sent them my submission, which was free to enter (unlike many of these writing workshops and competitions, which require a reading fee of anywhere from $20-$100 just to enter, let alone the fees of $5000+ to actually attend). I wasn’t sure what would happen next, but it was the only affordable option for me to do a 2-week intensive writing workshop that would not only help me hone my book, but on top of that, might garner me a publishing deal.
And I was accepted to compete! During those two weeks of the workshop, I got to directly interact with one of the head partners for the publisher, a top publicist in the field, a Hollywood agent, and multiple published authors. I was able to ask them all the questions I never got answered when receiving form rejections for my book queries. They all read my manuscript and gave me great advice to help make it better.
On top of that, I learned what it was like to be a professional author — how to do a reading, how to be interviewed on the radio, how to present my book to sell to a publisher — all the nitty-gritty details of what happens behind the scenes for authors when working with publishers and agents in order to be a success in the field. By the time I came out of the workshop, I had many of the tools necessary to navigate the field of being a bestselling author.
And, what surprised me the most during this competition— I won the gold! My book was chosen to be the Next Big Deal. I… had… won.
So not only did I have a traditional publishing deal, but I had an award-winning book on top of that. I even got a medal to take home with me (see below). After all that faceless rejection, it was like a dream come true.
Finding your game changer
So take it from someone who found a way around the two-option method of getting a book deal — if you’ve been frustrated because you’ve written something amazing and traditional publishing has either been unattainable or you’ve received rejections without knowing why, I’d 100% suggest looking for a third option. There aren’t just two ways to get published anymore — there are dozens, if not hundreds, of options available to authors who just need to be given a chance to shine.
For me, my book’s journey started with Pitch Week. I would highly recommend entering a competition like it, since there’s nothing to lose by sending your work in and getting personal feedback on it, whether you’re accepted or rejected from competing. (I have now returned to this particular competition on the other side of the desk as one of the former winners. Because I was in the hot seat myself, I help coach other writers who are going through the competition and let them know how to put their best foot forward in front of a group of experts in the field.)
For other authors, it’s an online competition like Pitch Wars. Sadly, it’s come to an end this year, but there are many others like it — author Emma Lombard has a great list on her website HERE that has links to annual pitch contests for authors. Many of these competitions are free to enter, and you get personalized feedback from agents, published authors, and other experts in publishing who remember what it was like starting out and want to help more authors achieve their dreams of getting to the next level.
Don’t stop trying to get your manuscript published, but perhaps try something new and think outside the box. Find that innovative way to jump the line and get your manuscript noticed right away!
