Guest Posting on Clemson Road: How to Stalk an Editor
When Kasie Whitener asked me to guest post at her blog Life
on Clemson Road, I was incredibly excited.
Then I realized she must not know I am an Ohio State grad. Or the
statute of limitations has run out on Woody Hayes v. Clemson.
To take advantage of her hospitality I wrote a post titled How to Stalk an Editor. So now we have one of those Ohio State hooligans
talking about stalking people on her site.
Sorry Kasie. To make it up to her
please go read the post and leave Kasie and I some nice comments.
I hope it goes without saying the post isn't literally about stalking which would be
illegal or worse - super creepy. It is
about taking the time to diligently research potential publishers (but that
sounds boring).
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| jcoelho via Flickr |
1. It is a good way to spend time when your manuscript is in
the freezer chilling before you edit it again. A significantly better way to spend your time
than on, say, housework.
2. I don't like the whole princess being given away to a prince
she has never met thing. I have the
opportunity to learn a little about these editors before I ask them to marry
me. So I should.
3. A nice side benefit of the stalking is learning how a
publisher will use social media to publicize your book in the future. Not all editors and publishers are visible in
the social media realm. So don't expect them to tweet your book, duh.
One other bit of
advice I failed to include:
Set reasonable limits for your research. You need to have some patience to learn about
publishers, but don't turn into Rip Van Winkle waiting to send a query. Don't let the fear of not getting the
research right stop you from moving forward.
Happy Stalking! Read the Post HERE!
Wow. I had no idea you were a Buckeye. No wonder you wanted to color my picture pink. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow I will be stalking my guest post to make sure it doesn't disappear! Plus, I didn't pink your picture...I Clemson oranged it.
DeleteLOL. I almost turned into Rip Van Winkle before I started querying. I think I spent so much time researching because I was worried about rejections. What I found out? There's no magic pill, no magical language you can include that will get you a "Yes." You just have to put it out there and be ready to weather the good with the bad (mostly bad). I've tried to begin thinking more long term --like "If it doesn't happen on this novel, it will on the next one..." If it doesn't happen on the next one, I guess I'll just keep using this motto till it does. *grins*
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a numbers game. You write well, do your research, query professionally, and you keep putting your query out there until it falls in the hands of the right person on the right day.
DeleteKeep writing!