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Thursday, December 3, 2009
My adventure in QUERY LAND and SUBMISSION WORLD
5:04 AM | 
Posted by
Geewiz387
As you have probably noticed I don't talk much about myself but I feel it is time to properly introduce myself. My name is Jovanna Francesco. I live in a small town in Southwest Virginia. We have a population of around 4,000 people.
This blog is here to let you know about my wonderful adventure in QUERY LAND and SUBMISSION WORLD.
To start out my great adventure I wrote a book. I created the creatures in the book. I created a cover for that book myself. I then created a website and blog to promote the book. You can find the link to my website on this page.
Everyone kept telling me, "You need an agent and publisher or your book will never sell."
So, when the book was completed I started sending out queries and submissions to agents and publishers.
Needless to say I had never written a query or submission. I have had one book published but I retired it for personal reasons. Anyway, like any good writer and author I did my howework and research on how to write a query and/or submission letter; did not help. Every single agency and publisher that I sent queries and submissions to wanted something completely different. I sent out 20+ and was still sending them out three months later. I kept getting rejection after rejection so I figured there had to be something wrong with my book. I did get several offers to publish my book BUT they want me to pay them to publish it; not happening!!! I will never pay another publisher.
Then I realized it could not have been my book. REASON: The only thing agents and publishers see of your book is the query and/or submission unless they ask for the manuscript; SO MAKE IT GOOD!!! I have a major problem with this. Many wonderful authors are overlooked by agents and publishers because the query did not catch thier eye. I think it is very tragic.
Only one publisher asked for my manuscript and that publisher turned out to be a fraud. A good publisher will not ask you for money. They are supposed to pay you royalties. If you are not sure then check out the Preditors & Editors website. The rest of them just wanted a one or two paragraph blurb about a 62,000+ word novel. Like I said I had never written a query or submission before and everyone wanted something different so I was completely lost.
Needless to say I now understand why so many wonderful authors are going with self-publishing.
On my journey I researched the net and blogs from published authors. Many of them have the blurb on their blog that sold their book to the agent or publisher (which is usually the blurb you see on the back cover). Some of the agencies and publishers have a blog spot where you can look at the blurb that sold them. Many of them I myself would not have even considered.
So after researching, blogging, querying, submitting, website creation, researching some more, editing, etc…I still had not been able to get an agent or publisher to look at my manuscript.
I finally gave up on agents and publishers and decided to self-publish. Within one week my book was online for sale at CreateSpace. 15 days later it became available on Amazon.com. Both of these sites make your book available Nationally and Internationally. You can also place your book on TextNovel.com so others can vote on it. My favorite is you can place it in the Preview Showcase on CreateSpace where others can preview and rate it.
I was charged $39 for one year for the pro plan (this is optional). I can purchase my books for a little over $4. The sale price on the book is $12.99 and I make approximately 75% from CreateSpace and 45% from Amazon. I can purchase as many as I want and sell them at book signings or give them away (my choice).
Just remember to pay your taxes on any profits every three or four months so you are not surprised at the end of the year.
Of course I would still like to have an agent or publisher but in the meantime I will just keep writing. My second book will be available on CreateSpace the second week in March and I have already started the third.
TIP: Many say that authors cannot edit their own work because they are too biased and some are too hard on themselves. I have changed several chapters several times already. I feel the key here is after you finish the book put it down for a couple of days then read through it as if you were reading someone elses book. I know that is hard to do but just try or even better have someone else read it for you. Someone that would not be biased and would give you their honest opinion. If all else fails you will have to pay an editor to edit your book.
Jovanna Francesco
This blog is here to let you know about my wonderful adventure in QUERY LAND and SUBMISSION WORLD.
To start out my great adventure I wrote a book. I created the creatures in the book. I created a cover for that book myself. I then created a website and blog to promote the book. You can find the link to my website on this page.
Everyone kept telling me, "You need an agent and publisher or your book will never sell."
So, when the book was completed I started sending out queries and submissions to agents and publishers.
Needless to say I had never written a query or submission. I have had one book published but I retired it for personal reasons. Anyway, like any good writer and author I did my howework and research on how to write a query and/or submission letter; did not help. Every single agency and publisher that I sent queries and submissions to wanted something completely different. I sent out 20+ and was still sending them out three months later. I kept getting rejection after rejection so I figured there had to be something wrong with my book. I did get several offers to publish my book BUT they want me to pay them to publish it; not happening!!! I will never pay another publisher.
Then I realized it could not have been my book. REASON: The only thing agents and publishers see of your book is the query and/or submission unless they ask for the manuscript; SO MAKE IT GOOD!!! I have a major problem with this. Many wonderful authors are overlooked by agents and publishers because the query did not catch thier eye. I think it is very tragic.
Only one publisher asked for my manuscript and that publisher turned out to be a fraud. A good publisher will not ask you for money. They are supposed to pay you royalties. If you are not sure then check out the Preditors & Editors website. The rest of them just wanted a one or two paragraph blurb about a 62,000+ word novel. Like I said I had never written a query or submission before and everyone wanted something different so I was completely lost.
Needless to say I now understand why so many wonderful authors are going with self-publishing.
On my journey I researched the net and blogs from published authors. Many of them have the blurb on their blog that sold their book to the agent or publisher (which is usually the blurb you see on the back cover). Some of the agencies and publishers have a blog spot where you can look at the blurb that sold them. Many of them I myself would not have even considered.
So after researching, blogging, querying, submitting, website creation, researching some more, editing, etc…I still had not been able to get an agent or publisher to look at my manuscript.
I finally gave up on agents and publishers and decided to self-publish. Within one week my book was online for sale at CreateSpace. 15 days later it became available on Amazon.com. Both of these sites make your book available Nationally and Internationally. You can also place your book on TextNovel.com so others can vote on it. My favorite is you can place it in the Preview Showcase on CreateSpace where others can preview and rate it.
I was charged $39 for one year for the pro plan (this is optional). I can purchase my books for a little over $4. The sale price on the book is $12.99 and I make approximately 75% from CreateSpace and 45% from Amazon. I can purchase as many as I want and sell them at book signings or give them away (my choice).
Just remember to pay your taxes on any profits every three or four months so you are not surprised at the end of the year.
Of course I would still like to have an agent or publisher but in the meantime I will just keep writing. My second book will be available on CreateSpace the second week in March and I have already started the third.
TIP: Many say that authors cannot edit their own work because they are too biased and some are too hard on themselves. I have changed several chapters several times already. I feel the key here is after you finish the book put it down for a couple of days then read through it as if you were reading someone elses book. I know that is hard to do but just try or even better have someone else read it for you. Someone that would not be biased and would give you their honest opinion. If all else fails you will have to pay an editor to edit your book.
Jovanna Francesco
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Gloppora
CONDOR 5
You can now click on the image above to purchase your very own copy.
LGBFTM
You can now click on the image above to purchase your very own copy.
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