I love this series so much, Mary and Eleanor. This particular question is very pertinent to me right now, as I'm just finishing the translation of a brazilian crime novel into English and working with the author on options for its publication. He initially wanted to take it straight to Kindle and self-publish, but I've found some hybrid publishers (like Eleanor mentioned) and also other small presses that are interested in translated crime fiction. We'll see!
Linnhe, they are absolutely right in saying that you should persist. My good friend (and ex partner) Kevin is a very talented illustrator. When we were together, he got very despondent as he was getting rejected non-stop. He felt as if he'd wasted his time investing in his art, his portfolio. I asked him if he had approached absolutely all agents and all publishers. He said no. "Then keep going," I told him.
Well, he did and suddenly, out of nowhere, a very famous children's book press got in touch with him (he still doesn't know why as he hadn't got to them yet.) They commissioned him to illustrate the book of a known personality in the UK... and it was a huge success. It's been translated into many languages and won awards. Kevin now gets commissions all the time for children illustration and teaches. So keep going, Linnhe!
I am absolutely blown away by just how thorough and helpful all of this is. Thank you SO much. I recently read this advice about self publishing - if you do it properly ie pay for proofreader, do the hard work, then it is absolutely as viable as the more traditional routes. I’ve done so much extra work on my novella since it’s been published on here and I feel it’s ready. Ready to be held in my hand (and hopefully other peoples!). I will go through this post again later tonight, but in the meantime a huge thank you 🙏
It is perhaps not physically possible for agents to review manuscripts from the avalanche of unsolicited queries they receive each week. Why would they? There are a ton of "professional" writers waving manuscripts at them. These are MFA instructors, journalists, social media stars, podcasters, and industry insiders like editors, magazine writers, even agents themselves!
What a great response, Mary. And an excellent resource. The world of publishing is terrifying to those of us who haven’t yet published a book. It’s difficult enough to send out short pieces, but it’s an entirely different matter with a novel or memoir. You’ve given so much guidance and clarity. Thank you for this.
I love this series so much, Mary and Eleanor. This particular question is very pertinent to me right now, as I'm just finishing the translation of a brazilian crime novel into English and working with the author on options for its publication. He initially wanted to take it straight to Kindle and self-publish, but I've found some hybrid publishers (like Eleanor mentioned) and also other small presses that are interested in translated crime fiction. We'll see!
Linnhe, they are absolutely right in saying that you should persist. My good friend (and ex partner) Kevin is a very talented illustrator. When we were together, he got very despondent as he was getting rejected non-stop. He felt as if he'd wasted his time investing in his art, his portfolio. I asked him if he had approached absolutely all agents and all publishers. He said no. "Then keep going," I told him.
Well, he did and suddenly, out of nowhere, a very famous children's book press got in touch with him (he still doesn't know why as he hadn't got to them yet.) They commissioned him to illustrate the book of a known personality in the UK... and it was a huge success. It's been translated into many languages and won awards. Kevin now gets commissions all the time for children illustration and teaches. So keep going, Linnhe!
I am absolutely blown away by just how thorough and helpful all of this is. Thank you SO much. I recently read this advice about self publishing - if you do it properly ie pay for proofreader, do the hard work, then it is absolutely as viable as the more traditional routes. I’ve done so much extra work on my novella since it’s been published on here and I feel it’s ready. Ready to be held in my hand (and hopefully other peoples!). I will go through this post again later tonight, but in the meantime a huge thank you 🙏
It is perhaps not physically possible for agents to review manuscripts from the avalanche of unsolicited queries they receive each week. Why would they? There are a ton of "professional" writers waving manuscripts at them. These are MFA instructors, journalists, social media stars, podcasters, and industry insiders like editors, magazine writers, even agents themselves!
What a great response, Mary. And an excellent resource. The world of publishing is terrifying to those of us who haven’t yet published a book. It’s difficult enough to send out short pieces, but it’s an entirely different matter with a novel or memoir. You’ve given so much guidance and clarity. Thank you for this.