Things Successful Authors Do
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- In the publishing industry, it can be easy to only look at bestsellers as successful; in reality, some of the most successful authors are those that have longevity in their careers regardless of their bestselling status. In this video, literary agents Jessica Faust and James McGowan discuss some of the things successful authors with longevity do.
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Jessica Faust’s love for books is what first brought her to open BookEnds Literary Agency. It is her desire to be an advocate for all authors that pushed her to create her blog, the BookEnds TH-cam channel and to maintain a vibrant presence on Twitter.
Jessica is proud to have grown BookEnds to an agency that represents authors of all genres for children and adults, allowing her to reach more readers and help more authors and illustrators achieve their dreams.
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James McGowan is a Literary Agent at BookEnds and writer for children. He began working with the agency as an intern in the summer of 2015, and basically never left. He represents a talented group of authors and illustrators working in everything from board books to middle grade graphic novels. He also works in adult nonfiction, and adult mystery and suspense projects. James is the author of GOOD NIGHT OPPY, which is available now.
Connect with BookEnds!
Twitter: bookendslit
Instagram: bookends_literary
Website: www.bookendsliterary.com
Connect with Jessica: bookendsjessica
Connect with James: jmcgowanbks
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1. Read current books across genres, generally well read
2. Collaborate frequently with your agent r.e. next writing project, cover, marketing ideas, title etc.
3. Trust the submission process, only need one yes, trust your agent & let it go
4. Accept rejection & move forward
5. Delegate/Trust the other professionals in their creative process - cover, publicity, marketing, editorial
6. Connect with other authors, readers, booksellers, actively collaborate with entire publishing team
7. Look forward to the next project
8. Treat everyone with kindness & respect
9. Keep learning about craft, business & market, it's always shifting
10. Stay within your limits, don't overcommit
11. Know your lane & brand (not genre specific)
12. Have some online presence - invest in website at minimum
13. Keep your team in the loop
14. Add editor to the publishing team to figure out next steps
One thing that probably seems obvious - you must be able to actually FINISH projects. Figure out a process that works for you. Figure out where you typically get stuck, and find solutions. Don't be afraid to ask for, and accept, help.
Meeting deadlines and publishing 20+ books implies this, but it's something I've seen a lot of authors struggle with. Learning how to finish, and turn in projects, is a crucial skill.
Did you get through that and what do you recommend?
Please, authors, update your website! As a reader I'm always sad to see "pre-order (book title) now! Coming out (date a year ago)."
A refreshing insight into how you think, and completely opposite to how most writers think. I belong to a few large writing groups, and they tend to think of literary agents as an elite hurdle, preferring instead to self publish and skip submitting - they view it as an impossible dream. I think these video's are a major step in breaking down those misconceptions. Thank you. I'll be recommending these. xx
Thank you!
I love the energy and the way that the two of you bounce off of each other. I hope that when I get an agent they have the same type of personality.
Love, love, love your point about kindness and respect, and the subtlety of when Jessica mentioned acknowledging others' work as part of that.
You guys are NEVER boring.
Y'all are not boring. Y'all keep it interesting.
These were wonderful tips, and great advice. I appreciate your channel so very much when it comes to learning about aspects of the publishing / writing journey. Thank you so much for these videos, and please do keep them coming! All the very best, and sending you love
This is such great advice and I have a feeling I will be revisiting this video again. Thank you.
Thank you for starting with the "well read" one. It's so true.
Thanks for listing out this cheat sheet to success !
Thanks to y'all, I definitely feel I'm on the right course of being a successful author and will exercise my place in this process along the way; moreover, this time, y'all helped me by giving me more insight into my brand! It's what I've already been accomplishing but hadn't thought about it from your perspective! Thank you!
I read several books weekly. I have a huge collection of books too. The past year I have donated books to the Goodwill as I purchase new ones.
Insightful. And true on all counts :) Thanks
So sweet to hear the little Bookends bird chirping in the background.
Really glad I got round to watching this! Happy new year guys!
Happy new year to you as well!
Thank you so much for your videos. Just hearing you guys talk about the process, hurdles, and reality of publishing is super encouraging.
Thank you for watching!
So good, thank you.
I so agree with that first point and have heard the same thing from other writers, etc. I've had writers say they don't read in their genre because they don't want to "contaminate" their own stories. Geesh.
Relatively new subbie - I’ve been watching your videos back to back, and this is my favourite 🤩 such good information and tips- I’ve never heard anyone talk about connecting with booksellers before but of course, it makes total sense! Thanks so much for all this knowledge!
so glad you've been finding our videos helpful 😄 thank you!
Haha! I just submitted to Jessica Graham at Bookends, yesterday
How did it go?
@@terryproffer denied. I hate that a lot of agents don't take self-published works. I don't know if that's the reason, but I've been told that's a big turn off for agents. But, I don't understand why. I feel like the whole point of a publisher is to turn small creators big. It seems a bit elitist that you have to pause all other options to wait for judgement.
Again, no idea if that's the actual reason. I queried a bunch of agents and all said no. But, I know the writing is good. Many have said so, and I trust my skill. And, since agents rarely give feedback with rejections, I have no idea what turned them off. So, I have to assume that it being self-published is part of it.
Great tips! Thanks!
Thank you so much for these videos. I enjoy them and have learned so much over the past couple of years. QUESTION: Could you talk--maybe issue some magic words (or scared-straight stories)--about how to avoid reading reviews?
CONTEXT: My debut comes out in Aug. ARC reviews are starting to come in and I KNOW I'm not supposed to read them--and DEFINITELY not supposed to respond, EVER, because they're not for me--but this feels like an addiction that not only messes with my peace of mind but also interferes with my progress on my next manuscript.
I mean, OBviously I need therapy for my need-for-external-validation issues, but can you suggest anything to help me break this terrible habit?
Thanks in advance.
Congrats on your debut coming out soon! Thanks for this video idea, it's a good one. We'll put it on our list! :)
Should’ve asked this question ages ago lol
First of all, I love your channel. You're both so knowledgeable, and the friendly chemistry you have is a joy to watch!
In this video, you hit on something I'm stressing a bit about: the importance of an online presence. I frequently write about politics on both Facebook and Twitter. In fact, my Twitter followers know me almost exclusively as someone who comments on politics. But offline, I mainly write literary fiction that is not focused on politics, and I'm worried that my online writings might be detrimental to my getting published and to building my brand as an author of fiction. Is this concern valid?
I do have one idea for a political satire that has been intermittently tugging at my mind, asking if I could please give it some attention. Should I pivot to posting online more about the ideas and feelings that my fiction concerns itself with and get on with finishing my novel that's further along, or should I switch to the piece that is only in the germinal stage and play to my pre-existing audience?
Thanks for all of the helpful information! I'm learning a lot from your videos.
Just fyi, I'm not the writer from the U.K. also named David Farr.
you do you. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
@@BookEndsLiterary Thanks!
Can you do a version of this for self-published authors?
3:45 "Bookstore bill" suggests you have an ongoing order from a bookstore and pay them at regular intervals. Like a tab, I suppose. I don't need to dream about more way to acquire books 😩😩
OR "Bookstore Bill," a YA western romance with contemporary tendencies. 😁
Hello, thanks for the video! Are there any ways you’d suggest to finding a critique group? I’ve been following your videos for awhile (May have missed one where you covered this) but I’m just curious if you have any suggestions.
Hi! A lot of people find their groups online among writer friends they meet on social media, but there are also a lot of local writing groups you may be able to find. Sometimes if you reach out to your local library, they might have an idea of if there are any groups that meet in your town. You could attend writing conferences (free or otherwise) and meet people there, as well!
@@BookEndsLiterary Thank you for taking the time to reply and for making these helpful videos! I appreciate it :)
You mentioned writers that say they don't really read and I'm dumbfounded by the idea of someone that writes literature and doesn't enjoy it
I know this video was a while ago, but I have a question. Do aspiring authors need a website before they’ve even got an agent, or at what point should I have that established and ready to go? Am I okay to wait until I’ve signed with a publisher (but before the book comes out)?
Hi! We encourage authors to have a website when they start querying, even if it's just a landing page. Agents will often look at at authors' websites and social media briefly while assessing a query they're interested in, and it's good to have a website that is totally in your control (since social media is so algorithm-driven). Hope this helps!
Regarding the website and social media: I am in the finishing stages of my first novel. At what point do I need to start these accounts? Should I go ahead and set them up before I have a publisher? If so, should I fill it with past work, such as articles I have written that are not in any way related? Or wait until I have actual news about the book?
Hi! For fiction writers, a website and social media are not requirements, but we do encourage at least a website! It's good to have a website-even one created using a free host-during the querying stages in case agents go looking for more info about you on the internet, but it's typically not a dealbreaker. But it is important, once you have a book deal, to have a website ready so that readers can find the most recent info about you in a way that you can control. (So, even if your book isn't on Goodreads yet, you can still have it on your website, etc.)
What you put on your website is up to you! You can check out some of your favorite author's websites and see what they include :)
Weird question, but do you guys read indie at all? You say keep reading and I just wonder if you include that. As a reader, I usually don't know unless the author tells me or I look for the information (or if they skimped on editing, but that results in a dnf from me 😅).
I'm not sure whether Jessica and James specifically read indie but I'd imagine plenty of agents do! I think we all believe that reading is reading!
@BookEnds Literary Agency I guess I meant more specifically: how much do trends cross over. If you're reading in part to keep up with what's current, then does an aspiring author need to be aware of whether they're reading indie or trad?
I've been writing for 30 years but never approached an agent. How do I know I'm ready?
When you feel your manuscript is as good as you can make it on your own and with the help of critique partners/betas, and your query letter is a good cover letter for your book (we have several videos on writing effective query letters) then you can start submitting to agents!
Does a writer need to be able to write in more than one genre? I queried an agent that asked querying writers if they could.
I think it probably depends on the agent! Plenty of our authors are happy writing in only romance, or only cozy mystery, etc. and our agents are happy to represent them!
@@BookEndsLiterary Thank you.
can you help me i'm a new author and im having trouble selling my book
Such a tepid remark for me - but I have trouble hearing you - something about the microphones? Perhaps you can each do clip on? Forgive...........
Web sight to I don't see money in writing
Have you done a video on red flags and when it's time to fire an agent? As Stephen King says: " a bad agent is worst than no agent."
We have a video called "How to Know an Agent's Not Right For You" that might help! But I can add red flags to our list of video ideas
Boring? Nope!
Lol.
I'm still waiting for a video from where the most important advice they give for authors seeking representation from them is 'be female' :)