Jessica Faust of Bookends Literary has vowed to make help make the publishing industry more inclusive. She states that she is starting with her own house! What she is offering will be a commission based full time agent position for a professional of color. Someone with publishing experience as an assistant, intern or associate agent or editor should apply. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, go here for details on how to apply.
Writing workshops are great to get professional advise on writing, marketing, and how to land an agent. The Philadelphia Writing Workshop will be held on November 14, 2020 and is now ONLINE. This year’s faculty so far includes:
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest entries ends on September 30, 2019. So, hurry and get your submissions in.
Writers
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500, with an annual grand prize: $5,000 additional! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.
Illustrators
L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All judging by professional artists only. $1,500 in prizes each quarter. Quarterly winners compete for $5,000 additional annual prize! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest entries ends on September 30, 2018. So, hurry and get your submissions in.
Writers
L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new and amateur writers of new short stories or novelettes of science fiction or fantasy. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All awards are adjudicated by professional writers only. Prizes every three months: $1,000, $750, $500, with an annual grand prize: $5,000 additional! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.
Illustrators
L. Ron Hubbard’s Illustrators of the Future Contest is an opportunity for new science fiction and fantasy artists worldwide. No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. All judging by professional artists only. $1,500 in prizes each quarter. Quarterly winners compete for $5,000 additional annual prize! If you have not read the contest rules, please click here before submitting. To enter, go here.
If you’ve ever wanted to sit down with an agent or editor? Well now you can! Manuscript Academy has put together a day for authors to chat with the professional’s of the publishing world called 10 Minutes with an Expert. The time can be used to:
Pitch your project
Get instant feedback on your query or first page
Ask about your unique publishing situation
Ask any publishing question!
You can book:
A ten-minute meeting, with one page (your query or first page) read during the meeting, $49
A fifteen-minute meeting, with ten pages and your query read ahead of time, $99
An in-depth written critique (line and overall notes), query, synopsis, proposal, first 10-100 pages, $69+
To make the most of your time, have your questions ready. For this months available agents and editors, go here. And have fun learning!
Wanting feedback on your first page from a professional? The Manuscript Academy might be the answer! The Academy has a podcast where an agent or editor picks a submitted first page and talks for ten minutes about the selected page on air. And most importantly, it’s free!
So how do you submit your first page for a chance for the free feedback? Send it to Academy@ManuscriptWishList.comas a Word document with “First pages podcast” in the subject line. The expert of the week will choose his or her favorite to discuss.
Please note, these are solely my thoughts and nothing more. But, I had to share, regardless of how shallow my readers might think me to be. Recently I got asked to select a free book from a publisher to read. It was my choice, so I could’ve selected anything. I was slightly familiar with the publisher, since I know someone that edits for them. Thus, I was thrilled to take my freebie! (Besides…booooooks people!)
Now, we’ve all heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”. And sure, this holds true for many things, especially humans. But in marketing, what’s in front of a consumer must be visually stimulating. And I confess, I am a consumer that needs roused to pick up a book before I’ve ever read the blurb. But from a marketing standpoint, this is just smart business!
So, imagine my dismay as I perused unpleasant cover art from various titles to select my awarded freebie. Most looked cheaply done or simply didn’t mesh with the title. And forgive me for this, but I judge the lack of detail given to a book’s cover as indication of the lack of editing probably given to the story. My eyes will roam over the cover and move along to the next. And with technology today, there simply isn’t a good reason to have bad cover art!
As authors, we don’t always have control over the cover art, but I’d stress to stand ground when something seems extremely off or comes across cheap in appearance. Should a writer want a lovely embracing couple on their horror book? No, this would lead readers to think it’s a love story and could result in bad reviews from romance readers. And authors wouldn’t want a picture of an ocean if their entire story is set within a magical forest. Why would authors expect anything less than perfect for their book baby? This is even more important for authors self publishing. Take the same amount of time on the cover art as you spend on editing. If you hire out the art, be sure to check previous work before settling on the artist or company. This is about proper marketing. Give the reader a reason to pick up the book BEFORE they’ve read the blurb!
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