Tag: Mike Nappa (Page 9 of 23)

An Editorial Team reason for rejection

I’m looking at a query letter email right now that makes me laugh out loud. 

For starters, it’s addressed to “Dear Reader.” Then it goes on to pitch a four-part series of novels that the author claims will be “as eye-popping as Baywatch!” (Yes, the author included that silly exclamation point after “Baywatch.”) This series, the author promises will be replete with “violent characters, sexual escapades, drugs, dirty money, foul play, and foul language.” 

Oh joy.

If this author had done a little homework—say, visiting my agency website for example—that person would have figured out pretty quickly it was a waste of time to send me a “Dear Reader” query for this silly proposal. This is obviously not the kind of book Nappaland Literary represents, making it an easy rejection for me.

Still, even worse than authors who don’t do their homework about potential publishing partners are authors who don’t do their homework when it comes to content research. This drives me nuts in a manuscript. The author is steaming along, and then all of a sudden he or she reverts to generic references instead of specific ones, or appears to try and fake through a section by glossing over details that would normally be expected.

Look, there’s a difference in impact between saying, “She took sleeping pills” and “She took two Ambien, hoping her body hadn’t yet built up a tolerance to them.” There’s a difference between saying “He was a professional con man” and “With more than a decade of practice, he’d perfected The Pigeon Drop to the point where it was almost a work of art.”

The point is this: Do your homework, dummy. 

For instance, if you’re writing a book about police officers breaking down a crime scene, don’t just quote what you’ve seen on TV. Find out what it took to get a warrant, what kind of evidence collection kits are used for different crimes, what kind of health concerns are associated with the handling of a corpse, what kind of photography is necessary, what fibers and liquids are sought after and collected, and so on. 

You’ve got to make me believe two things: a) I’m the agent (or editor) you’re looking for, and b) you’re the writer I’m looking for. 

Do your homework before you submit your query, and maybe you’ll do just that.

What You Can Do About It

1. Never send a “cold call” query. 

We’ll dig more into this in Reason #14 (following), but for now just live by this rule: “If I don’t know you, I won’t query you.”

Obviously, I’m not suggesting that you try to form personal relationships with every editor or agent to whom you send a query. But I am insisting that you’d better know how to spell my name before you send me a book. And you definitely should know something about my history and the kinds of books I’m looking to publish. You should know a little bit about the history of my publishing house or my agency, and even what books I’ve done in the past that are similar to the one you want to publish. 

Don’t know that info? Then don’t send me your query. Take the time to do your homework about the market first. 

2. Never stop learning. 

It’s funny to me how many people love the idea of being an author and hate the idea of doing the work of an author. This kind of person thinks that being a writer means simply sitting in front of a computer and letting golden words of wisdom flow straight from the brain into the keyboard. Truth is, actual writing often takes less time than the research needed to put together a winning book. 

Listen to this, because it’s important: Your content and market research are just as important—and should probably take as much time—as the words you finally put down on paper. 

A good rule of thumb is a 1:1 ratio—that is, for every hour of writing time, you should probably spend another hour in content and organizational research. Early in the formation of your book, that ratio will probably look more like 3:1 in favor of research, but as you begin to get deeper into your manuscript it’ll start to even out. Then, before you ever send out your book, you’ll be wise if you spend an additional 20 to 40 hours simply on market research—finding out who publishes what and why, and how that fits into your own hopes for your book.

In short, never stop learning, because the near-constant accumulation of knowledge is what will set you apart from all those C- students in the nation’s writing class.

3. Don’t assume we won’t notice your shortcuts.

One time, one of my authors was writing a suspense novel when all of a sudden she stopped completely. I asked her about it, and she told me simply, “I’m learning how to clean a .22 short mini revolver.”

Turns out her book included an organized crime element, and there were a few scenes where guns came into play. Instead of shortcutting the reader with something like, “He pulled a gun and threatened everybody,” she insisted on knowing what kind of guns her characters might carry—and also knowing what her characters would know about those guns. 

That kind of research added extra hours of work for maybe four or five sentences in her book. But that stubborn refusal to take a shortcut in gun description also made for a more realistic, credible thriller novel—which got published.

Adopting that kind of “no shortcuts” attitude will set your story apart as well.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

An Editorial Team reason for rejection

Want to hear about the stupid, lazy things I did today? 

For starters, I’d planned to spend my morning pitching a couple of my clients’ books to publishers and then to dedicate my afternoon to writing more of this book you’re reading. A reasonable strategy. But I got behind on my morning schedule and started taking shortcuts to speed things up. 

First, I whipped off an email query to an editor Peachtree Publishing. It’s a query I’d carefully crafted and even used before, so I barely glanced at it before I sent it. The only problem was…I’d used it before. 

Apparently I was smart enough to change the salutation at the top of the email, but in the body of the letter I made this bold statement: “I feel confident that you and your team will see this one as a perfect fit in a future line of books from Workman Publishing.” 

I can hear the Peachtree editor grumbling already. “Mike, if this is a perfect fit for Workman, then why’d you send it to me?” Grr. 

Oh, and it doesn’t stop there. 

After sending out this inappropriately targeted query, I went back and took a look at my personal notes regarding this um, veteran editor. (I was hoping we’d connected in the past—and that she might’ve liked me enough to overlook my faux pas.) Here’s what I found: “Do NOT email queries—this editor will not review any submission received this way. All queries and manuscripts must be sent by US Mail.”

Double Grr. My book is now dead in the eyes of this editor. If I’m lucky, she’ll overlook my stupidity and send me a rejection letter. More likely, she’ll simply ignore me (something I call the dreaded “pocket rejection”) and move on to agents who aren’t quite as stupid or lazy as I was today.

As if that wasn’t enough, today I also was pitching a new fiction novel for kids to publishers. In my haste to get through my list, I sent a passionate query to an editor Hyperion. 

She rejected the book about four minutes later. 

Do you see why? (If not, you’re as bad as I am.) 

Look at it. I sent the query to Hyperion (the adult division) instead of Hyperion Books for Children (the kids’ book division). Yes, I’ve got these editors and imprints listed separately in my database. Yes, I should have known better. I was just too lazy to look twice and make sure I got the right info when I copied it out.

So, in the space of about half an hour today, I got two near-instant rejections—and I deserved them both. Why? Because I was lazy.

Lesson learned (again). And it’s one you’d better learn quickly if you want to avoid the same fate as mine was today.

What You Can Do About It

1. Measure twice, cut once.

We touched on this a little bit in Reason #13, and now you can see that sometimes it’s laziness in the simple things that sabotages our best efforts in the pursuit of publication. 

Look, we all know that things like sending out query letters and creating a detailed market analysis are boring and tedious jobs. But attention to detail in those areas can be the difference in whether or not your book gets read by an agent or an editor.

There’s an old proverb among construction workers that goes something like this: “Measure twice, cut once. Measure once, cut twice.” The idea here is that if you measure your piece of lumber twice—double-checking to make sure it’s accurate—then you avoid making a mistake that could cause you to have to start all over again from scratch.

That’s the kind of attitude you must take when sending out queries. Double-check names. Double-check addresses. Make sure you’re aiming at the right targets. Do all the mundane detail work that guarantees you get the best result—every time.

2. Treat every editor (or agent) as if he or she is the only one to whom you’re sending your book.

Obviously I failed in this area today—and it cost my authors two opportunities to publish. You know how rare a publishing opportunity is, so you can guess what an enormous cost my laziness had today. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

Yes, when creating a proposal pitch and/or a query letter, you will out of necessity put together a “one size fits all” approach. And you will clearly need to send it out to as many editors and/or agents as you can, because that simply increases your odds of publication. But when I receive your query or pitch, I should never be made aware that I am just one of many you are trying to woo. That’d be like asking a whole sorority out for a date. Sure it’s possible that one of the girls in the sorority might be willing to join your for a dance…but not if she thinks you might dump her at any instant if one of the other sisters shows up.

So, tailor your generic pitches with individual editors or agents in mind. Make each of us think we’re your #1 choice. Maybe we’ll be flattered enough to return the favor.

3. Do what’s required to give your book the best opportunity.

Several years ago my wife, an executive editor at a mid-sized publishing house, spoke at a writer’s conference. She met an aspiring author with a great idea for a book. Amy wanted to publish the book, but it needed just a little bit of extra work to make it something that would pass the publishing committee. So Amy told this writer exactly what to do to get her book published. “Then send it to me directly,” she said, “and I’ll take it from there.”

Months passed. Nothing.

The next year at the same writer’s conference, Amy saw the author again. “I know I have to get that revised proposal to you,” the author said with embarrassment. “I’ll do it soon.”

Long story short, three years later that author still hasn’t done the work Amy asked for. Yet the author keeps coming back to the writer’s conference every summer, trying in vain to find an editor who wants to publish her books.

“I could have published that book,” Amy told me after the last conference. “In fact, I would have published it. But this author was too lazy to follow up.”

If you want to publish, you’ve got to be willing to do the work it takes to optimize every opportunity. If you don’t want to do the work, all the writer’s conferences and workshops in the world won’t do you any good. Remember, there’s no such thing as a lazy writer…there’s only those who get published and those who don’t.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

An Editorial Team reason for rejection

“My grandfather, the knife fighter, killed two Germans before he was eighteen.” 

When I read this first line from David Benioff’s book, City of Thieves, I was hooked. I was actually standing in the grocery store, just passing a few minutes while I waited for my wife. But after that first line, I couldn’t bear to part with the book. I ended up buying it along with a gallon of milk and some frozen pizza.

That’s the power of a good first line—it demands the reader’s attention. It captures the imagination in such a way that the reader can’t help but keep going. Consider these classic first lines from literary history: 

• “It was a pleasure to burn.”—Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451 

• “Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin.”—A.A. Milne in Winnie-the-Pooh

• “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”—J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye

• “I met Jack Kennedy in November, 1946.”—Norman Mailer in An American Dream

What all of these first lines have in common is that they cannot be ignored. Every single one makes you, the reader, ask the question, “Well, what happens next?” And that means it passes the “First Line Test” that so many editors and agents use (myself included). 

And you, dear reader? If you can master the art of the first line, well, I’m going to have a hard time rejecting your work. I’ll be too busy reading on to find out what happens next.

What You Can Do About It

1. Understand what a first line must accomplish. 

The first line of any book—fiction or nonfiction—makes a promise to the reader about the rest of your book. Thus, your first line must accomplish these things: 

• Create curiosity. It must make the reader ask, “What happens next?”

• Demonstrate credibility. It must make the reader believe, “This author can be trusted with my reading time.”

• Evoke emotion. It must make the reader feel something—anticipation, fear, joy, surprise, whatever your book needs the reader to feel.

If you can create a first line (and first paragraph) that does these three things, you are already well ahead of your competition—and past the first line of defense from editors and agents who want to reject your work.

2. Read a row of first lines. 

This is a simple writing exercise that’s also fun and effective. If you feel the need to get better at first lines, then inundate yourself with them.

Go to your local bookstore or library and find the section that represents your chosen category of writing. For instance, if you’re a business writer, go to the Business section, or if you’re a crime novelist then go to Crime Novels section.

Pick a shelf of books in that section, then begin at one end and pull a book off the rack. Open to the introduction or first chapter, and read only the first line (or maybe the first paragraph) and then rate that book on a scale of 1 to 10 for its first-line effectiveness. Go all the way down the shelf, rating the first lines of the books you see. Afterward, go back to the books you rated 8 or higher and re-read those lines, asking yourself: What is it about this first line that earns a high rating? And what can I learn from that to apply to my own writing?

When you’re done, you’ll know more about writing than most authors—and you’ll be well on your way to crafting a first line that leads to publication.

3. Always ask yourself: Will they read on?

I spoke at a writer’s conference once and sat on a panel called, “Will They Read On?” Conference attendees had submitted a first page to any of their works—fiction or nonfiction. One by one, each “first page” was read aloud. Then the panel of agents and editors answered one simple question: “If you had received this proposal, would you read on?”

I was astounded at how many times the answer to that question was “no.” That’s not because I thought the panel was being too tough; rather, it was shocking to hear out loud the number of aspiring writers who had absolutely no idea how to start a book. The two or three that had mastered the craft of the beginning easily stood out.

So use that knowledge to your advantage. Every time you write a first line, or a first paragraph, or a first page, imagine yourself at this writer’s conference with people reading aloud your work. And ask yourself, “Will these editors and agents want to read on?” Keep revising until your answer is irresistibly, unequivocally, yes.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

An Editorial Team reason for rejection

If you have to get rejected (and you do), then at least this is a good reason for it. Here’s the way it works: 

Although there are obvious exceptions, most editors plan their seasonal lists between 12 to 18 months in advance. For instance, this book you’re holding in your hands was actually contracted about 14 months before its initial release. I’ve had books released as early as nine months after contract, and others released a far off as 26 months. But typically anywhere from 12 to 18 months is normal.

Additionally, due to resource constraints (including human resources as well as cash flow) and market timing issues, a publishing house can only release a certain number of books in each season. This can be as few as one or two (for small publishers) or as many as a few hundred (for the major New York houses). Regardless, there are still a finite number of slots available in a publishing list each season. Each time a book is approved and contracted, it fills one of those slots.

Now, if I’m planning my spring/summer list for next year and I’ve only got 20 slots to fill, what am I going to do with that 21^st book that’s contracted? Well, I’ll go ahead and drop it into one of the slots for the fall/winter list. But what happens if there are cutbacks at my publishing house and my fall/winter list get trimmed down to only 12 slots? Or what if a series I acquired two years ago is scheduled to release a new book in fall? Or what if last month I got three outstanding proposals that I also contracted and dropped into my fall/winter list?

Well, now it’s possible that I’m getting too far ahead in my acquisitions schedule. Instead of being 18 months out, I may be forced into planning 24 or 30 months into the future. That’s just too long to be able to predict with any real accuracy the success of a book. Our world moves too fast, and public opinions change too quickly. If I’m smart (and most editors are), I’m going to resist packing a book line beyond the next 18 months.

Ah, now you see the problem, right? What if your proposal lands on my desk right at the time when my publishing list for the next 18 months is already packed? Well, even if I want to publish your book, I’m going to look at my calendar, shake my head, and send it back to you with a rejection letter. And the scapegoat I’ll use is that silly old calendar that only allows 12 months in each year.

What You Can Do About It

1. Stay current on the economic news about the publishing industry. 

This may not actually get you a contract, but it will help you to know when publishers are expanding or cutting titles. An e-newsletter like PW Daily (from Publisher’s Weekly) is an invaluable source of this kind of information. In fact, if you don’t already have a free subscription to this e-newsletter, then put down this book right now and go sign up for it. Go to PublishersWeekly.com and click on the “E-Newsletters” tab at the top of the page.

Once you’re getting a steady stream of publishing industry news, pay attention to layoff announcements. A cutback in personnel is almost always accompanied by a cutback in titles to be published, simply because there aren’t enough people left to maintain the previous load. Also look at quarterly profit statement announcements. A company that’s crowing about exceeding profit expectations also has money to spend on new books. And go ahead and check the job boards at a few companies. If one particular company is hiring several positions, that means cash flow is good and they are already planning to expand for the future.

2. Try pitching new books early in the year. 

For many publishers, the new fiscal year starts January 1. Because of the spirit of a “New Year,” that’s also when many editors take a little time to get organized, catch up on dormant proposals, and begin laying out the pieces of their upcoming publishing plan. 

You see the opportunities that arise from this kind of timing, right? If your editor’s departmental budget is suddenly flush with money again, and if the change from December to January already has her thinking brightly of the future, this could be a good time to pitch her a new idea. 

One warning though: you won’t be the only one to try and take advantage of this situation. You’ll probably have increased competition for the editor’s attention in January and February, so make sure your book stands out!

3. Wait it out.

If you get a rejection because an editor’s publishing list is already full for several seasons ahead, you can also try to wait it out and re-submit. Be sure to ask permission, and if it’s granted, wait six months or a year and send a new query (reminding that you were invited to re-submit). This is kind of a longshot, and yes, it postpones your publishing opportunities, but in cases where the editor likes you already it can work.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

An Editorial Team reason for rejection

I know. This seems irrelevant at best, and unwarranted at worst. But it still happens, so you’d better get used to it.

This reason for rejection actually covers all the emotional and physical stresses associated with being human, and in those situations timing is everything. My reaction to your proposal is influenced if I’ve read it after I’ve just had a fight with my wife, or after I’ve just had to ground my son for missing his curfew, or while I’m in the middle of a long argument with my next door neighbor, of when I’m suffering from the effects of allergy season, or in the morning after a night of insomnia or…well, you get the idea.

I remember one time I was compiling a book of short plays for teenagers. I’d put together several different authors, and had cherry-picked one writer in particular—let’s call her Cocoa— because I knew she was one of the most creative, articulate writers I knew. Then, as I edited, I began passing them one-by-one to our Chief Creative Officer for her approval.

Imagine my surprise when Cocoa’s excellent manuscript was sent back to me with the note, “I didn’t really enjoy this one. Let’s cut it and find another.”

I re-read Cocoa’s script, laughed in all the right places, and for the life of me couldn’t see why it hadn’t sailed through to publication. So I took a risk and went back to my CCO to ask about it.

“Oh, you know,” she said sheepishly, “we were watching our friend’s pet bird while they were on vacation—and the bird died! I read this play right during the stress of trying to figure out how to tell our friends that heartbreaking news.” Then she generously said, “Let me read it again this weekend, and I’ll let you know what I think.”

Next time I saw the play, it had a bright smiley face on it. “Love it!” my CCO said. And that was that.

Still, the fact is, Cocoa’s script almost didn’t see the light of day because my CCO read it during a time of great stress. And that’s what might happen to you if an editor reads your proposal after just having a fight with her husband, or just hearing his daughter has wrecked the car, or whatever. Consider yourself warned.

What You Can Do About It

1. If you’re religious, go ahead and pray. (If not, skip to #2 below.) 

I’m not one who’s opposed to the idea of God being involved in a publishing career, but if you are then feel free to ignore this suggestion.

If you’re like me, however, then I’d suggest that you go ahead and pray before you send out any query letter or proposal. Ask God to direct the path your proposal takes at a publishing house, and to bring it to the attention of people who might feel favorably toward it. Hey, what can you lose? 

2. Pay attention to Facebook and Twitter. 

Most editors are vain creatures, and it’s likely they weren’t among the “popular kids” back in their high school days. More likely, they were the mousy loners who wrote stories during study hour and hung out in some nerd’s basement playing Dungeons and Dragons or watching classic movies at night. They probably weren’t total outcasts, but they definitely weren’t invited to all the cool parties either.

Fast-forward to today and these former societal outcasts have achieved a place of minor importance in the real world. And believe it or not, they often like the fictional popularity that comes with having a number of “Friends” or “Followers” on Facebook and Twitter. As a result, they’ll probably accept your Friend Request on Facebook, even though they don’t have a clue who you are. Same goes for Twitter followers.

What does that mean for you? Well, if you’re smart, you’ll pay attention when those editor types update their status on Twitter and Facebook. When they’re updating about some personal success (“We finally finished the bathroom remodel – it looks great!”), you’ll try to tag along with that good feeling by submitting a proposal via email. If the editor’s personal status updates are all about how the pipes burst in her home or how his whole family is worn out from cold and flu season … well, common sense would dictate that’s probably not the best time to submit a book idea. After all, timing really can be everything.

3. Move on.

Hey, sometimes unfair things happen in life. You can’t control the emotional state of the editor or agent who reads your work, or even when that person reads it. So if an editor rejects your outstanding book because he or she is feeling grumpy and stressed, don’t waste time aggravating the situation. Move on to greener pastures—and make that editor feel even worse when you hit the bestseller list with another publisher.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon