I am querying my first novel at the moment, so far without success. I have never once thought that my basic white maleness was a reason for my being rejected. The fact it is my first novel is probably more to do with it. By encouraging more people to query you are increasing the pool and therefore decreasing the odds for any single author, but that applies across the board. The odds my book will get picked are small because: there are a lot of other authors out there, it is my first novel and may not be as good as I think it is or, it may be a great novel but in a style/genre that is not selling right now. I can only keep trying and say to anyone who does get picked up by an agent, well done and I hope your book goes on to be a best seller. They have earned it through being a good writer, not from being born into a demographic. I have heard some of the other myths mentioned in the past, especially the lack of editorial control. Not commented in a while but a really good clear video as always Mr A. Thank you.
@StephenAryan44
6 ай бұрын
Thank you, I appreciate the comment. And good luck with your novel, it is a tough old slog.
@kellyosullivan990
6 ай бұрын
Good luck with in the query trenches.
@williamaitken7533
6 ай бұрын
Hey so I have a couple of things. First off, this was a great video for the topic! Thank you for sharing this. My mom has been writing for about a decade now and I'm kind of concerned that she's basically getting scammed as you mentioned. A lot of the editors, agents, and publishers that she's been working with have asked for money upfront and I have not seen any actual product come out of it. I'll admit that I am not the target audience for her writing, but I'm starting to suspect that you are correct about it being a scam. Either there should be more developmental work or something should have materialized by now. Also, I wrote a novella for fun over the summer. I enjoyed writing it but I didn't really know where to put it. I don't see novellas published often unless it's from already established authors. Would you have any recommendations for that? I'm also not opposed to putting it out online just for people to read for free as it was a hobby project. But I don't know where good places to do so would be.
@StephenAryan44
6 ай бұрын
Ok so if the agent asked for money, it's a scam. Is she working with a publisher? If it's a freelance editor, then that's different, that's paying for a service. But even with small publishers they won't ask for money but the advance is likely to be smaller, so it doesn't sound good if she's paying out and not getting anything in return. With novellas, there are a few places that take them, but it depends on the genre.
@williamaitken7533
6 ай бұрын
@@StephenAryan44 I'm definitely going to have to talk with her. I know for a fact that she's been working with a freelance editor and has been paying money to submit her books/pitches. I think at this point I'll probably try to encourage her to do some self-publishing since she's completed several books that haven't been taken on by a publisher. That's really frustrating to learn that she's potentially been taken in by scams. But at least now I know! I thought it was just the industry being late-stage capitalist.
@StephenAryan44
6 ай бұрын
So, she should not have to pay anyone to submit her book or pitch. That does not sound right, but I obviously don't have all the info. From what I know of smaller publishers, none of them would ask for money when you want to submit to them, so something is definitely fishy and needs investigating. Self publishing is definitely an option, but she will need some help, and pay some professionals to do that - editing, getting the files right for Kindle etc. I would definitely investigate this thoroughly.
@williamaitken7533
6 ай бұрын
@@StephenAryan44 Greatly appreciate your help and insight here!
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