tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46766843895635273542024-02-07T17:45:12.087-08:00T A Chan BlogsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-24066837121020631642017-08-07T14:34:00.002-07:002017-08-07T14:37:20.284-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">End of March 2017 - October 2018</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>Deadlines. They’re a double-edged blade, yeah? </b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They’re good
motivation to get </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">hauling </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">but they
can also put you in panic mode. Soo…today’s topic is all about Deadlines and
Milestones!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ll be quite honest: I currently have an August 30<sup>th</sup>
deadline looming ahead. (I know, I <i>know </i>I
should be working in edits/revisions! But sometimes the brain just needs a
quick break from the story.) I’ve known about this deadline since March, when it
was sent over with my contract. And yet, somehow I still find myself glancing
at the calendar and going: “Oh crap! It’s already <i>August?!</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>What I Wish I Knew: Plan out your writing schedule ahead of
time. Take notes of important dates. Highlight them. Write them in a glittery
pen. Slap a sticker on the date. Do whatever it takes to make you not forget
about them!</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Before I get too far ahead of myself, I guess I should explain
a bit more about what I mean by “deadlines sent over with the contract.” They’re
essentially a list of important milestones to be checked off by a certain date—this
ranges from “implementation of first round edits” to “proofreading” to “completion
of cover art worksheet.” Are these dates set in stone? Well, I wouldn’t say <i>necessarily</i>, but it is <i>so very important</i> for both publisher
(yes! The publisher has their own deadlines to meet as well!) and author to
adhere to the timeline to the best of each’s ability. It’s a simple matter of
both partners being able to trust and rely on each other to get The Job done.
(The Job = getting the book in front of readers)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">To give you a brief snapshot of what a timeline might look
like, here’s what mine looks like. I’ve marked my deadlines with (m) and the
publisher’s deadlines with (p).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>April 12, 2017:</b> Author provided with request of developmental edits (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>June 5, 2017:</b> Implementation of first round edits (m)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>June 15, 2017:</b> completion of cover art worksheet (m)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>June 30, 2017: </b>Author provided with any further developmental edit requests (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>August 30, 2017:</b> Implementation of second round edits (m)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>October 30, 2017:</b> Publisher arrange for copyediting (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>October 31, 2017:</b> Finalization of book cover (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>November 30, 2017:</b> (Yay! My birthday!) Implementation of copy editing (m)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>January 31, 2018:</b> Publisher arranges for proofreading (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>February 28, 2018:</b> Implementation of proofreading edits (m)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>March 10, 2018:</b> Completion of interior manuscript design (p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>March 27, 2018: </b>Cover reveal (m + p)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>July 27, 2018: </b>Author provides 2-3 sentence teasers to publisher (m)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b>October 16, 2018:</b> Release date (m + p)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And that’s not even <i>all </i>of
the milestones! I only listed the more relevant ones. Does the list seem a
little daunting at first glance? For sure, but truth be told, <b>having such a clear-cut
timeline helps streamline the entire process.</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew: Don’t procrastinate when you </span></b></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">can start
working on something ahead of time!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This might not be a huge problem if you’re a fairly fast
writer, but when it comes to edits, I’m slower than a sloth slogging through
mud after a Thanksgiving-dinner-worthy-food-coma. I made the mistake of putting
off first round edits for almost a month after receiving feedback from my
editor, figuring “editing shouldn’t take too much time compared to writing.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Ha. Ha. Ha. </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I soon realized the edits were more extensive than I bargained for (though I openly admit this is partially my fault since I decided to add some new chapters and enhance plot threads.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><b><i>Of Silver and Stars </i>First Round Edit Stats</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Original novel length: 80k<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">How much I cut from the original manuscript: 10k<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Amount of new writing I added: 35k (!!!)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Final word count post first round revisions: 105k<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I soon realized the edits were more extensive than I bargained
for (though I openly admit this is partially my fault since I decided to add
some new chapters and enhance plot threads.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m currently in the midst of my second round edits, and this
time around, I’m more prepared. I’ve designated a target number of chapters I
need to complete by the end of each week in order to meet the deadline with a
couple days to spare.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew: Plan out your time accordingly!</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">That being said, life gets busy. <b>Sometimes goals aren’t met.
That’s okay. </b>Don’t stress, just do your best to catch up. And if you find
yourself ahead of schedule, go ahead and start tackling next week’s goals!
There’s no harm in getting a head start! Of course, balance is key, and making
sure you take breaks as needed is equally as important. Health/taking care of
yourself goes hand-in-hand with being productive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew: Plan. Plan. Plan. It’ll take so </span></b></span><b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">much
stress off your mind. But if things go astray from the original plan, that’s
100% okay too! Important thing is to not get derailed and to get back on track
ASAP.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, I have my 30-chapters-left-to-edit queued up on my word
doc right now, so I’m off to tackle them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In case you missed Part 3 of <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post.html">Welcome to the Publishing Jungle</a></b>,
here it is: <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/welcome-to-the-publishing-jungle-part-three.html">Research, Contracts, and Lawyers Oh My! </a></b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And be sure to keep an eye out for <b>Part 5: Connecting with the
Community </b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>PS: Questions and comments? I would love to hear your thoughts below!</b></span></div>
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Find me on Social Media</h3>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander" style="color: #54c05f;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tachan101/" style="color: #54c05f;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/t.a.chan/" style="color: #54c05f;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006080197941" style="color: #54c05f;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></h3>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-42748009360484528802017-06-26T11:29:00.002-07:002017-06-26T12:04:43.295-07:00Pitch Week . . . it's like Shark Week (but better)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRspylJPwVabtAN_iD2XwOdBZg6H1rmraz8fR2ziWTMnBPO-K8zHothdkzT1Jkut2w-6abH0N802dfjwj8tCgtUEO9MTcTtacoqM0yg9fu_btrOAsUfB8va4UshWXHz21-J6pUlMR4KEs/s1600/Pitch+Week.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRspylJPwVabtAN_iD2XwOdBZg6H1rmraz8fR2ziWTMnBPO-K8zHothdkzT1Jkut2w-6abH0N802dfjwj8tCgtUEO9MTcTtacoqM0yg9fu_btrOAsUfB8va4UshWXHz21-J6pUlMR4KEs/s320/Pitch+Week.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">So this past week has been a crazy week for the Twitter
pitching community.</span></b> In case you missed it, there were three pitching events
going on: <b>#NLAPitch</b>, <b>#PitchCB</b>, and <b>#SFFpit.</b> Basically, it’s a chance for
authors to pitch their MS to agents and publishers in under 140 words. 1 fave =
a “bite” from said agents/publishers, meaning they’re inviting you to submit
your query + first X pages/chapters to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course I had to join the party! And also, being the math
nerd I am, I decided to see if I can figure out some stats from my
tweets/pitches afterwards. (And also because I’m really just procrastinating since
I do <i>not </i>want to start my plot outline.
Seriously. Outlines are basically the devil-y spawns of plot synops.) In total,
I pitched ten times over the course of the 3 events. And, well, here are the
breakdowns . . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>***Note: There are <i>many
many </i>unaccounted variables—such as tweet variations, online interaction,
time of day when I pitched—and everything below is by no means “hard data” from
a controlled observation/experiment. The point of these pitch events is to <i>have fun, </i>make new friends, and
hopefully find an agent or publisher for your darling MS. The conclusions I
attempted to draw are extrapolated (am I using that word correctly?) from the
stats gathered afterwards***</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>***Another note: the week prior to Pitch Week, I did a quick survey of 3 different pitches to see which one people preferred. The results were pretty evenly split among the 3. All pitches I ultimately tweeted are either one of the three I polled, or some variation of them***</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some basic terms:</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Likes </b>= self explanatory; I also divided them by “agent/publisher
likes” and “non agent/publisher likes”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>RTs</b> = retweets, aka, a direct retweet that will not show up
in the hashtag thread again<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>QTs</b> = quoted retweets, aka, an indirect retweet that <i>will </i>show up in the hashtag thread again
<i>if </i>the hashtag is mentioned in the tweeted
comment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Hashtag thread </b>= the tweets that pop up when you search up
#PitchEventName <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Early Pitch Gets
the Likes</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By “early” I mean pitches that are tweeted out within 3
hours of the event start time. For some reason, it seems as if early pitches
seem to get more interaction both in terms of faves, RTs, and QTs. I think it
might be because the pitch feeds can get very, very gnarly later on in the day,
and many people will choose to duck out after a couple hours and only check
back in sporadically throughout the rest of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spread the Love</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the pitches that did exceptionally well,<b> not only did I
send them out early, I was also very active on Twitter shortly after tweeting
them.</b> By this, I mean that I browsed through the hashtag thread and commented,
RTed, QTed, or any combination thereof, of the pitches that I really liked or
caught my attention (aka books I would want to read based on the pitch alone).
The results? I ended up with new Twitter friends, and my pitch also got some
more love in the forms of RTs, QTs, and faves! Win-win-win for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of the ten pitches I made, 4 of them I tweeted pretty early,
and the remaining 6 during the latter half of the event. The results? <b>Well,
even though I have <i>less </i>early pitches,
I ended up with <i>more </i>RTs, QTs, and
faves from those 4 pitches than the other 6 combined</b>. Granted, this might also
be because I was much more active on Twitter in the morning than the late
afternoon/evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Early pitching +
Online interaction = The Prime Combo (for me anyway)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Without further
delay, here are some graphs of Early vs Late pitches<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnkQk450T-DqtYxVDmVNGu8U57sefskI93fOHQVuunz_bVVTPU59jVI7fIbLYCrRHKODG4ezcb61fv3NextBZem0EArsSptpqqx0HXuM0vrwvuiDmF8kVsQLYo4lhQhpJCA6-rfcYY4U/s1600/4pitch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1200" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnkQk450T-DqtYxVDmVNGu8U57sefskI93fOHQVuunz_bVVTPU59jVI7fIbLYCrRHKODG4ezcb61fv3NextBZem0EArsSptpqqx0HXuM0vrwvuiDmF8kVsQLYo4lhQhpJCA6-rfcYY4U/s640/4pitch.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RHhknGcdsCV7Z_7Jy02h06i98IcyX64KeHpdT54LjXcH8MW-9cQvLOusw8AsVyArp-Xh0hVkvYYEjPycBr1YAkUwUbsywys8a2JGcKJE3O9AL_PvoTJ-4ydjxrhOfl8Ub3HSNjRUnZU/s1600/6pitch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1200" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RHhknGcdsCV7Z_7Jy02h06i98IcyX64KeHpdT54LjXcH8MW-9cQvLOusw8AsVyArp-Xh0hVkvYYEjPycBr1YAkUwUbsywys8a2JGcKJE3O9AL_PvoTJ-4ydjxrhOfl8Ub3HSNjRUnZU/s640/6pitch.png" width="640" /></a></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’ve also ranked my
pitches from “most successful” to “least successful” based on the number of
agent/publisher likes below. Like I mentioned before, the most successful ones
were tweeted pretty early on. (Ignore the tweet timestamps--they aren't accurate for whatever reason. I probably have it set to Greenwich time or something. Also, yes, there are only 9 pitches below because I accidentally closed the tab of my 10th pitch and I really don't remember which one it was and don't want to scroll through my old tweets again to find it. Sawry.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
A sabotaged time warp. A killchip to outwit. An alt reality to escape.<br />
MINORITY REPORT x INCEPTION . . . in space<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFpit?src=hash">#SFFpit</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877884921754165249">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Scrappy time-traveler must solve murder w/ aid of (not yet) dead man's daughter <br />
BROKEN STARS x MINORITY REPORT...in space<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFPit?src=hash">#SFFPit</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877902297224941569">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
A sabotaged time warp. A killchip to outwit. An alt reality to escape. MINORITY REPORT x INCEPTION . . . in space <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLAPitch?src=hash">#NLAPitch</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877551770209275908">June 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Scrappy time-traveler must solve the murder, outwit his killchip & escape alt reality before the Past merges with the Present<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFpit?src=hash">#SFFpit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877983646350757889">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
A sabotaged time warp. A killchip to outwit. An alternate reality to escape.<br />
INCEPTION x MINORITY REPORT . . . in space<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFpit?src=hash">#SFFpit</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877937200830308356">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Solve the murder. Outwit the killchip. Don't fall for the Ghost girl.<br />
BROKEN STARS x MINORITY REPORT (but in space)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLAPitch?src=hash">#NLAPitch</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877587396358885376">June 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Solve the murder (which you might've committed). Outwit the killchip (in your head). Don't fall for the Ghost girl (really). <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFPit?src=hash">#SFFPit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877921154345779202">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Scrappy time-traveler must solve murder w/ aid of (not yet) dead man's daughter<br />
BROKEN STARS x MINORITY REPORT ... in space<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ya?src=hash">#ya</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sf?src=hash">#sf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFFPit?src=hash">#SFFPit</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877967924123885568">June 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Scrappy 18 y.o. time-traveler must solve murder w/ aid of (not yet) dead man's daughter.<br />
MINORITY REPORT x ZENITH<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NLAPitch?src=hash">#NLAPitch</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YA?src=hash">#YA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SF?src=hash">#SF</a></div>
— T A Chan (@The_Book_Lander) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander/status/877624829079420929">June 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And finally, here’s a
picture of my cat. She’s a sweetie. And a buttface (nickname gained due to the
fact she will sit on your face in the morning until you feed her breakfast).<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFFrrF0AlI6DrZJobMtccozGtv1mqvhx0mBQjJhPclyit3nd95z2-kPUYsnx_gSnH13buwtIA8Wl-jI1lh3BZ6DZSR63YM4h15ZBmh7n-PrddnxOJEE5_l-RMCoQhgiyd-u0XJE9ko30/s1600/malibu.JPEG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1211" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFFrrF0AlI6DrZJobMtccozGtv1mqvhx0mBQjJhPclyit3nd95z2-kPUYsnx_gSnH13buwtIA8Wl-jI1lh3BZ6DZSR63YM4h15ZBmh7n-PrddnxOJEE5_l-RMCoQhgiyd-u0XJE9ko30/s320/malibu.JPEG" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Have you participated in Twitter pitching before? How was your experience?</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Be sure to check out my other posts on pitching and querying <a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post_13.html">HERE</a>!</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tachan101/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/t.a.chan/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006080197941" target="_blank">Facebook</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-92180928733154438882017-06-19T16:27:00.000-07:002017-08-07T14:36:06.277-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkvmFpk4ykTBTFcNBQWq_hdBoT-LD9HNOYEFkNj3pVgkbhyphenhyphenf81xDHtbK85fXaMNrRY7bgXSm5myJUs57-lkneJ5NxtVF17ncj6eCm8GR8p-i-LN7ou4DSwlMOkMTuuGm64sPw2eeCQAA/s1600/JunglePartThree.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkvmFpk4ykTBTFcNBQWq_hdBoT-LD9HNOYEFkNj3pVgkbhyphenhyphenf81xDHtbK85fXaMNrRY7bgXSm5myJUs57-lkneJ5NxtVF17ncj6eCm8GR8p-i-LN7ou4DSwlMOkMTuuGm64sPw2eeCQAA/s320/JunglePartThree.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">End of March 2017</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Alrighty. I’ve decided to make Blaze the home of my MS. </b></span>But
beforehand, I also wanted to make sure Blaze and I were a good match.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Research time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There’s your standard research—a quick skim through Google,
browsing the company website, heck, I even jumped onto the Scribophile forum
and asked around if anyone had heard of/worked with <a href="https://www.blazepub.com/" target="_blank">Blaze </a>before. (For those of
you who don’t know me, Scribophile = my second home on the Internet.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In addition to all that, I also reached out to other authors
represented by the publisher either via email or FB messaging (sorry if I came
off stalkerish). To begin with, I asked questions such as:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is working with the Blaze team like? (ie. do they have a quick response time, do they work on schedule, are the flexible, willing to compromise if there are disagreements, etc)</span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How much control do you retain over your novel after signing the contract?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In terms of marketing and publicity, how has Blaze helped get the word out about your book?</span></b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The two bolded questions were <i>very important </i>to me. <b>If I to invest my time and effort with a
company, I wanted to make sure they were easy to work with and are also willing
to help with the “after publication” aspect</b>, since I’ve heard of so many horror
stories of publishers releasing a book and doing absolutely nothing to help
promote it afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Additionally, I’m also a very hands-on person, and want to
be as involved with the publishing process as much as possible. So knowing that Blaze
was flexible and willing to work closely with the author is a definite “win”
for me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fortunately, all the authors I contacted had a positive experience
with Blaze, and were all happy to share their experience.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I wish I knew: Don’t
be afraid to reach out. Ask questions. Do your research!</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Next: figuring out the contract.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you have an agent, he/she will usually negotiate this
aspect of the whole publishing endeavor. However, for those of us not repped by
one, there are literary lawyers (yes, you heard that right—lawyers who
specialize in book/film contracts) that can do the job. <b>Basically every article
I read strongly recommended authors to get at least some type of lawyer/person
who is familiar with legal lingo to make sure everything is as should be on the
contract.</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I wish I knew:
Literary lawyers are hard to find. And pricey.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In fact, there aren’t <i>any
</i>literary lawyers listed in my state’s bar directory. (I hail from the
wonderful, nobody-knows-about-us state of NH.) The closest thing I could find
was a building contract lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So . . . I did something I’m sure I probably sure isn’t
exactly “recommended”: I decided to be my own “lawyer” and did research on what
should be included, not included, specified, etc in your standard book
contract. The chief editor (the person who I was mainly in messaging, in
addition to the operations manager, at this time) was also very friendly, and
willing to answer and clarify any parts of the contract I had questions with.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here are the questions in the contract I asked (paraphrasing
here):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Does MS sequels (which Blaze would have the right of first pitch to) include spin-offs/companion short stories/novellas?</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Answer: yes)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Does the right to first pitch of my next </span><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">unrelated </i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(aka non-sequel) work mean that during the 30-day time period in which I pitch to Blaze, I’m not allowed to query other agents/publishers?</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Answer: No, it only means that the publisher has the right
to pitch an offer first to me; I can still do simultaneous submissions)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If I grant Blaze the exclusive right to publish my MS, do the characters, setting, etc still belong to me? Do I retain ownership of said list?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Answer: yes. Although Blaze has exclusive right to my
characters and stories associated with <i>Of
Silver and Stars</i>, they cannot hire other authors to write stories involving
the same characters)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I like to joke that my characters are my brain children, and
I’m sure most writers feel the same way. <b>PROTECT YOUR DARLINGS </b>(except when you
need to kill them. What’s the phrase again? “Gotta kill ‘em darlings” or something
similar?)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Also, a good piece of advice I saw floating around the
internet is to make sure <b>there is a
renewal section in the contract. </b>What this means is that after a certain
set period of time (for me, it was 24 months), the contract must be renewed or
else everything is nulled. Think of this as a safety feature, because—God forbid—you
end up with an agent/publisher that simply isn’t working out for you, then at
least you’ll have the chance to re-pitch your MS once the contract expires.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I wish I knew:
Make sure there is a renewal section in the contract</span><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After about 1.5 week of back and forth emails, I finally
felt ready and officially signed on. And now, I needed to send out another
round of emails to other agents/publishers who responded earlier and were still
considering my MS—<i>please, please do this</i>—it’s a simple courtesy. <b>Don’t waste
their time if the MS is no longer on the dealing table.</b> I figured a short and
sweet email like this ought to do the trick:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Dear ___,<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I would like to formally withdraw <i>Silver and Ice</i> from submission as the novel has found a forever home.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sweet—<b>contract is signed</b>—and now the fun begins in <b>Part
Four: Deadlines and Milestones.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>***Note: I feel it’s important for me to stress that this
post is in <i>no way </i>meant to serve as
legal advice. Everything written merely reflects my personal experience.
Furthermore, if you can, I strongly urge you <i>not </i>to follow my example and to hire a lawyer/agent (yes, some agents
will offer their services to negotiate a contract for a fee) to look over the
contract for you.***</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Make sure not to miss the other posts in the <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post.html">Welcome to the (Publishing) Jungle Series</a></b>! Click here to read Part 4: <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/08/deadlines-and-milestones.html">Deadlines and Milestones</a></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #2e0000; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 13.524px;">
<h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>PS: Questions and comments? I would love to hear your thoughts below!</b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-27607252823040230742017-06-13T17:45:00.001-07:002017-06-25T17:49:57.214-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXJdUqAcAv9ylGYOq3E-_3Oz6XNzQC-Ap-GiMT0q8aBBD29bXFUXSATtf5PmfnthOQmwM822SLr4J6Hoa0cXnD1ViiNgqf4ec_PF04tLIpvX4pgu7tJmH4W8X8wRm2vhHNIabMLshyik/s1600/JunglePartTwo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXJdUqAcAv9ylGYOq3E-_3Oz6XNzQC-Ap-GiMT0q8aBBD29bXFUXSATtf5PmfnthOQmwM822SLr4J6Hoa0cXnD1ViiNgqf4ec_PF04tLIpvX4pgu7tJmH4W8X8wRm2vhHNIabMLshyik/s320/JunglePartTwo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">March 2017</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Time to send out queries.</span></b> (In case you missed it, here’s the
<b>Evolution of the Query</b>.) My hands are shaking as I scan through the list of
agents and publishers that invited me to submit my MS to them. And here, my
friends, is where I made my not-first mistake: querying both publishers and
agents at the same time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew:
Do NOT query both publishers and agent simultaneously. Decide, beforehand,
whether you want an agent to represent your work, or if you plan on submitting
to publishers directly.</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the deal: the big 5 publishers (maybe it’s 4 now?
Since Penguin merged with Random House . . .) only allow agents to submit
novels, but many independent/small press publishers don’t require an agent. <b>I
didn’t plan—didn’t think through what I wanted to do—so I sent queries to
everyone who responded to my pitches.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And thus, my problems began. I’ve heard rumors floating
around on the web that publishers will respond to queries quicker than agents.
I don’t know if it’s actually true or not, but for me personally, I was
definitely hearing back from publishers faster than agents—as quickly as within
a couple hours of me shooting off my query. (Also, this has probably been
rehashed countless times already, but please for the sake of all things good
and puppies, <i>please </i>address your
query using the name of the agent/editor/whoever you’re submitting to. And if
you can’t find a name . . . well, I guess there’s always this story*).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But for the most part, turnaround time was a couple weeks,
which I dubbed The Waiting Period in which I fretted and stalked Twitter and
distracted myself by beginning a new WIP.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I was generally hearing back from publishers before
agents (2-3 weeks was the average response time for me), there was an awkward
time gap where I didn’t know how to respond to offers because <i>I didn’t know all of the options available. </i>I
scrambled and panicked and sent a bunch of follow up emails to those who I
haven’t heard back from yet. (And prayed that I didn’t annoy them afterwards.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To make things more complicated, because I decided to
participate in three different pitch events spread over a month, there was <b>a
lot of overlap in response times </b>= ONE HUGE MESS. <b>I would be sending out
partials/MS requests for my first wave of queries as I was <i>only </i>just beginning to send out the query itself for my third
batch.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, although this is super obvious in hindsight, I really should’ve
only queries agents/publishers who I would <i>want
</i>to work with. Just because you got the “like” doesn’t mean you have to submit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew: Only
query agents/publishers who you genuinely want to work with.</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then one day, I finally got The Call. Three things the
project manager said to me:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1. We would like to make an offer</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2. </span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;">But</b><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i>do not withdraw your submission
from others yet. </i>Not until that contract offer is sitting in your inbox</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Love the story, but there are some changes/edits
that would have to be made. Are you open to them?**</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I said yes! And now, I had to rush off to deal with
Mess II. Since I queried Blaze in my first “wave”, there were, quite literally,
queries I had submitted less than three days ago—and I was already sending out
follow ups. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe I’m being silly? Who knows. But I felt <i>really bad </i>and just plain awkward doing
that. Like, “Hey, remember me from three days ago? I know on your website you
said to allow 6-8 weeks for a response but I NEED TO HEAR BACK FROM YOU SOONER!!!!!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I sent a quick email that went something like this:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fff8c6; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dear ___,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I just wanted to let you know that <i>Silver and Ice</i> currently has an offer from ____, and I would very much appreciate it if you could inform me of your decision regarding my submission within the next 1-2 weeks.</span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well. That certainly started getting responses faster. Both
rejections and requests. (I’ve included my rejection vs partial vs full
request stats below.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew:
It’s common courtesy to allow agents/publishers a 2 week heads up that you have
a pending offer. <i>Use it. </i>Don’t rush. See
what all your options are, then pick the one that fits you and your MS best.</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throughout that same week, I also spent time doing research <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/welcome-to-the-publishing-jungle-part-three.html">(Part Three: Research, Contracts, and Lawyers, Oh My!)</a></b> and ultimately chose Blaze Pub
7 days later. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Be sure not to miss <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post_13.html">Part One: Ready to Query</a></b> of the <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post.html">Welcome to the (Publishing) Jungle</a> </b>series if you haven't read it already!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Submission Stats</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1x 50 pg partial request that ended in rejection<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3x full MS request that I ended up withdrawing from
submission early<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2x rejection upon initial query<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1x full MS request w/ offer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3x N/A because I ended up withdrawing my submission right
away<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>*</b>Alright. So sort
of a funny/random story with a happy ending. I’ve done enough googling to know
that one should always use name instead of “agent” or “editor” when sending a
query. However, I, could not, for the life of me, find <i>any </i>names to address my query to for a particular publisher. The publisher
website had a submission guideline, the site itself looked legit, the books it
published all appeared professional—in other words, I was 99.999% sure this
wasn’t a scam. So I ended up hunting down the publisher owner’s name and used
it in my query. Less then 3 hours later, I got a response from the owner: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Dear Tina,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My submission team forwarded this email to my account.
Please send over your complete MS.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
So I did. Who knows—sometimes (good) weird stuff happens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
**Oh boy. That should’ve been my first warning. But it all
worked out in the end—for the better :P<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>PS: Questions and comments? I would love to hear your thoughts below!</b></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
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</div>
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<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #2e0000; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-87255791855139686062017-06-13T07:16:00.001-07:002017-06-19T16:28:04.711-07:00<div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">February—March, 2017</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Query? Check. Manuscript? Check.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I scroll through my Twitter feed and notice something . . . <b>#PitchMad, #PitchMadness, #SonOfAPitch, #PitchWars . . .<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Turns out Twitter pitching is one way to catch the attention of and agent or publisher. And it actually sounds . . . kind of fun! I suppose it can’t hurt to participate in some of these events, and if I don’t get lucky, then I could always move onto traditional querying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For the next couple days, I stalked <a href="https://twitter.com/writevent" target="_blank">@WriteEvents</a> and made note of all the upcoming pitch events that I wanted to participate in. I ultimately participated in three. Two of the events (#PitchMadness and #SonOfAPitch) involved me actually submitting a query into the contests; two of them required a twitter pitch/1-2 sentence pitch (#PitchMad and #PitchMadness).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As it turns out, trying to sell my novel in less than 144 characters is <i>hard. </i>My original Twitter pitch floated around in cyberspace, got some engagements, but I knew I could do better. Here's my first pitch (which I used a couple times):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“A hunter discovers his target is a mentally unstable army captain—and the key to ending a decades-long war.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I browsed around and looked up the most popular pitches and noticed something: many of them have comps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What I wish I knew: Comps are invaluable—they can convey a full idea in a few words about the “feel” of your novel<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On a whim, I decided to make up a new pitch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“A hunter with a magicked amulet. A girl with a hypnotic voice. A queen who controls winter. Who is the real enemy? RED QUEEN x YOUNG ELITES”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I do not know why comps are put in all caps. It just appeared to be a trend—perhaps to catch an agent/publisher’s attention? Not sure. But I decided to go with the flow, and it worked. I started receiving requests to submit my query.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What I wish I knew: Loglines are not necessarily the same as Twitter pitches. Sometimes, it’s about the <i>punch</i></b> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">a pitch can deliver, and loglines aren’t exactly “punchy”.</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One thing I believe might’ve helped my pitch get more exposure to potential agents and publishers is <i>engagement. </i>I cannot stress how important <b>online engagement with other participants</b> of these pitch events have helped me, especially since we’re limited to a certain number (usually three) pitches per day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However . . . anyone can retweet the pitches . . . and that’s as good as tweeting the original pitch itself. I searched up the event hashtag and retweeted pitches I found interesting in addition to replying to pitches that left a strong impression on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Two things happened:</b> 1) I met lots of other awesome writers (seriously! I have found critique partners from Twitter) and 2) others will often times return the favor and retweet my pitch as well = more exposure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In events where hundreds (thousands?) of pitches are being tweeted within a single day, it’s easy for my pitch to be lost and buried and never be seen by a potential agent/publisher (aka “die”). The retweets help keep the pitch “updated” in the hashtag feed (aka “alive”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What I Wish I Knew: Engagement on Twitter is a win-win situation. You’re helping out others, meeting new people, and return, others are helping you out as well.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Alright, so I have my invites to submit . . . now onto the actual submission itself in <b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/time-to-send-out-queries.html">Part Two: The Waiting Game </a></b>of the<a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post.html"> </a><b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post.html">Welcome to the (Publishing) Jungle</a> </b>series.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>PS: Questions and comments? I would love to hear your thoughts below!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tachan101/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/t.a.chan/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006080197941" target="_blank">Facebook</a></h3>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4676684389563527354.post-11930832037734806222017-06-13T06:52:00.001-07:002017-08-07T14:35:34.841-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYYo6YHfOXFu57E0Wu3yEj8bjvTfy3sEpO7l3FFF6tUv2XzM3XVA3BQ7kjmFMKUTGzLlMpdzjTAt3ichFpC0KHjrCZIK9ToxHMeFuP4Q-EQVSqBCcJfWI_SvYlQYm7Z6eOi7g3f9tXWg/s1600/Welcome+to+the%2528Publishing%2529+Jungle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYYo6YHfOXFu57E0Wu3yEj8bjvTfy3sEpO7l3FFF6tUv2XzM3XVA3BQ7kjmFMKUTGzLlMpdzjTAt3ichFpC0KHjrCZIK9ToxHMeFuP4Q-EQVSqBCcJfWI_SvYlQYm7Z6eOi7g3f9tXWg/s320/Welcome+to+the%2528Publishing%2529+Jungle.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hello and welcome!</b> </span>I’ve decided to start documenting the journey of getting my novel from querying to publication in hopes of sharing with others what I’ve learned throughout the process. After searching around on The Google, I’ve discovered that while there are tons of articles and blogs about <i>how </i>to get a draft to its final, polished state, or advice for crafting the perfect query, or even questions to ask agents/publishers once you’ve received an offer, there isn’t much in terms on what happens “behind the scenes”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So. Here I am. I’m currently in the midst of prepping <b><i><a href="https://www.blazepub.com/books/silver-ice/" target="_blank">Of Silver and Stars</a></i></b><i> </i>for publication in Oct 16, 2018, through <a href="https://www.blazepub.com/" target="_blank">Blaze Pub</a>. . . and have learned (and still am learning!) tons of tidbits that I would love to share so that <b>you can avoid the same mistakes I made</b>. (Such as: querying agents and publishers simultaneously—hint: don’t do that; choosing a novel title that gives good SEO search returns—something I didn’t do; believing that once you’ve signed on your novel will be released soon—oh trust me, you’ve only <i>just </i>gotten started . . . did I mention all those deadlines you have to meet by the way?!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Before I dive into my first post <a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post_13.html">(Ready to Query)</a><span id="goog_1732096836"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1732096837"></span>, a little about me:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>I am not an expert.</b> This is my first time navigating through the jungle of publishing a book. I have stumbled and fallen into sand pits, mud pits, and arm pits. I am more often than not blindly hacking a path (though I am very lucky and thankful to have a wonderful editor to guide me). The intention of this series is not to be a “how-to” guide . . . it’s more of a “I wish someone had told me this before I went and did that” sort of deal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ready? Let’s go. Grab a machete. And some bug spray too.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post_13.html"><br /></a></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/blog-post_13.html">Part One: Ready to Query</a></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/time-to-send-out-queries.html">Part Two: The Waiting Game</a></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/06/welcome-to-the-publishing-jungle-part-three.html">Part Three: Research, Contracts, and Lawyers, Oh my!</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://tachanblogs.blogspot.com/2017/08/deadlines-and-milestones.html">Part Four: Deadlines and Milestones</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Part Five: Connecting with the Community</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">PS: Questions and comments? I would love to hear your thoughts below!</span></b><br />
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Find me on Social Media</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/The_Book_Lander" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/tachan101/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/t.a.chan/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006080197941" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12448296211050240685noreply@blogger.com0