tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post3922555579462035254..comments2023-09-25T02:24:22.087-07:00Comments on Anne R. Allen's Blog: I’ve Written a Book. Now What? 22 Steps to Getting Published.Anne R. Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-36399689021452770072015-06-01T08:14:31.343-07:002015-06-01T08:14:31.343-07:00Mathijis Beckers--Congrats on finishing your book!...Mathijis Beckers--Congrats on finishing your book! You'll find more specific, step by step information on how to publish in the book I wrote with bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde, calle HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE, It costs less than a cup of coffee and, it will help you avoid the pitfalls and traps set for new writers and stay safe.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-9828849242973318832015-06-01T05:06:32.201-07:002015-06-01T05:06:32.201-07:00Anne,
What a fantastic blog and article, I'v...Anne, <br /><br />What a fantastic blog and article, I've enjoyed reading it. About five months ago I started writing a non-fiction book and strangely enough I finished about a month ago. Now writing is something I do to get my head on straight, to focus my attention and to give my time meaning, I'm depressed and have ADHD so it isn't that obvious, but writing this first book was such a good experience that I simply want more of it...<br /><br />I was completely clueless about the publishing business and had no idea what would be ahead. Thanks to your blog I now have a small notion of what I need to do to get my book out in the world. I've still a long road ahead of me, but I will get there eventually.<br /><br />Thank you for your blog and I whish you well!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12423285073691606288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-17010713528846615582014-09-25T10:28:53.336-07:002014-09-25T10:28:53.336-07:00Ralph--Congratulations on finishing your book! I h...Ralph--Congratulations on finishing your book! I hope you're celebrating. Double congrats for jumping right in and starting a blog. Now what you need to do is network with other writers and visit their blogs. I sugges starting with Alex J. Cavanaugh's and getting to know his "Insecure Writers Support Group' . It's a great way to start getting a lot of readers right away. Now you need to read my posts on "How to Blog, a Guide for Authors (see the sidebar "pages" for the link.)<br /><br />I'd be honored if you post an excerpt from this and link back to the blog. Backlinks are golden for SEO!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-3386680391331116882014-09-25T09:08:06.383-07:002014-09-25T09:08:06.383-07:00Thanks for this list. The moment I finished my la...Thanks for this list. The moment I finished my last edit/readthrough of my novel, I literally Googled "I've written a novel. Now what," and this was one of the first (and most helpful) things that I read. I took much of your advice, and started a blog about what it is like to attempt to get a first novel published. (It's here if you are interested: dissentwithin.blogspot.com) Would you mind terribly if I posted on my own blog a link to this page? Ralph Pullinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10534005874102856715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-76516641463931376502014-09-22T19:07:22.844-07:002014-09-22T19:07:22.844-07:00AJ--Great idea. It's always hard when writers ...AJ--Great idea. It's always hard when writers get to that final page "the end" and then get all this dumped on them. It feels like somebody should be waiting there with a publishing contract after you've completed your Herculean task. But no. There's just more tasks. Sigh. <br /><br />Don't forget the celebration part. It's important!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-45758907580830173352014-09-22T18:07:31.630-07:002014-09-22T18:07:31.630-07:00Thank you, this was a great read. I'm in the m...Thank you, this was a great read. I'm in the middle of writing my first novel right now, but thought I'd know what was expected before I just started sending it off. This was immensely helpful. AJ Bartholomewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01291267225211269816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-52929447001297669452013-10-11T11:11:17.097-07:002013-10-11T11:11:17.097-07:00Trish--Welcome! Learning to write a query is a lea...Trish--Welcome! Learning to write a query is a learning curve unto itself. I recommend checking out the Query Shark blog and AgentQuery.com to start. Then always go to the agent's website for guidelines, because each agent wants something a little different. Some want a partial (maybe 10 pages)and a synopsis, and some absolutely do not want anything but a one page query. We go into some detail about how to write queries in our book HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE. Good luck! Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-10158700636145275762013-10-11T10:41:41.388-07:002013-10-11T10:41:41.388-07:00Hello and thank you for all the great information ...Hello and thank you for all the great information on this process and humor too. It is wonderful! I have a question about step # 7 - Send out your first five queries. <br /><br />What do you actually send (I'm guessing what you prepared in step 4). But it seems NO partial of your book, right? <br /><br />Taking a deep breath and ready to put my book out there. <br /><br />Thanks again for your time and talent!<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182466638678663593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-64945330864439236032012-07-16T09:27:22.700-07:002012-07-16T09:27:22.700-07:00Sam--A great example of a fantastic blog by a pre-...Sam--A great example of a fantastic blog by a pre-published author is Jami Gold's blog http://jamigold.com/<br /><br />Also, Nina Badzin's blog has taken off so much, she's given up the fiction writing so she can blog full time. <br /><br />You'll find my whole 5 part How to Blog series in my book HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE Free today, July 16th on Amazon.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-8292254848963559732012-07-16T09:01:52.246-07:002012-07-16T09:01:52.246-07:00Could you give us an example of some of these blog...Could you give us an example of some of these blogs you mentioned of unpublished authors? <br /><br />I just finished my first ms and I've been googling how to proceed and I really like the blogging idea.<br /><br />Thank you.Samuel Colungahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08168508197693787144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-43963430367390149852012-04-30T15:22:47.891-07:002012-04-30T15:22:47.891-07:00Meghan--I hope it helps new writers to realize rej...Meghan--I hope it helps new writers to realize rejection is all part of the process and doesn't mean anything about the quality of your work. Yeah, I sat around for three years after my first agent dropped me--sure I'd never write another book. If only I'd had book #2 ready to go after the first one failed the first round of submissions!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-74774042569541776532012-04-30T11:12:22.068-07:002012-04-30T11:12:22.068-07:00Love these steps! Send queries. Mourn. Send querie...Love these steps! Send queries. Mourn. Send queries. Mourn. Send queries. Get agent. Celebrate. Ha! I love that you included getting book two done instead of waiting around until book one was published. Advice I should have heeded myself.Meghan Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12773598501857799104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-43443975273536831662012-04-29T09:03:29.985-07:002012-04-29T09:03:29.985-07:00Julie--So glad you liked it. Thanks!
Leslie--Glad...Julie--So glad you liked it. Thanks!<br /><br />Leslie--Glad that Julie sent you over. It is a very emotional time, and yet most people expect you to have no emotions. <br /><br />BUT--I did not mean to imply it's OK to query two books at once. That's a no-no. When you finish book #2, start querying that one SEPARATELY. If they are two books in a series, you can mention book #2 at the end of your pitch, but only by title.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-91964348179862621562012-04-28T20:33:50.526-07:002012-04-28T20:33:50.526-07:00I'm Julie's friend and this was a perfect ...I'm Julie's friend and this was a perfect post for my mental state right now. Anne, this post is succinct, witty, and wise. It makes sense of a very emotional process. Whenever art and business collide there are bound to be some bruises. It was interesting to see that querying two titles at a time is ok. I'd always heard that was a no no. Thank you for this excellent road map.Leslie S. Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17122865337924270039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-3795236640785803782012-04-28T20:01:07.122-07:002012-04-28T20:01:07.122-07:00Holy cow, this is brilliant! I'm sending this ...Holy cow, this is brilliant! I'm sending this link to a friend. Thanks, Anne!Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-79345481201129425412012-04-27T12:16:52.792-07:002012-04-27T12:16:52.792-07:00Kaye--It took me years to realize those rejections...Kaye--It took me years to realize those rejections were just generic words that got sent to everybody and had nothing to do with my work. Glad to give you a laugh :-)Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-27989124591881911192012-04-27T08:08:11.359-07:002012-04-27T08:08:11.359-07:00Thanks for the information. I'm waaaay into t...Thanks for the information. I'm waaaay into the process already, but it was nice to hear point number 14. Its easy to take those comments personally, even when you suspect they are general. <br />Of course "screaming orgasms" made me laugh out loud :)Kaye Draperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09134006398950107252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-37042277925290405672012-04-26T11:11:40.715-07:002012-04-26T11:11:40.715-07:00Donna and Jen--I'm so glad to hear this info i...Donna and Jen--I'm so glad to hear this info is useful to you both. There's going to be lots more helpful stuff to help writers on their publishing journey in the new book I'm writing with Pay it Forward author, Catherine Ryan Hyde: HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE...and keep your e-sanity." I just sent off the ms. to our publisher. It should be available in June. Stop by for some free give-aways!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-92000119316302414562012-04-26T09:05:37.703-07:002012-04-26T09:05:37.703-07:00This is definitely one of the best blog posts on t...This is definitely one of the best blog posts on the process with resources that I've read. Definitely bookmarking this one!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04445204665668244016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-58425726021188549282012-04-25T05:39:50.328-07:002012-04-25T05:39:50.328-07:00Thanks for such a thorough and thoughtful post. Lo...Thanks for such a thorough and thoughtful post. Lots of great advice that I plan to use.<br />DonnaDonna Volkenannthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04540727800410234483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-62712433856631477112012-04-24T14:32:34.055-07:002012-04-24T14:32:34.055-07:00Cathryn--Agents say they only want you to query th...Cathryn--Agents say they only want you to query the first book--and it should stand alone. Mention that you have two others completed in the series in the query, but don't pitch more than the first one. <br /><br />Pretty soon you won't have to slog through the archives for a lot of this info, because it's going to be available in a book in June--along with some incredible wisdom and insight from Catherine Ryan Hyde. We're calling it: HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-32145428127870557392012-04-24T10:33:51.071-07:002012-04-24T10:33:51.071-07:00Celebration is fun - At my day jobe one of our cor...Celebration is fun - At my day jobe one of our core values is "We will celebrate when we get it done."<br /><br />Now I'm not quite to that first celebration yet, but I'm curious... My first 'book' happens to be a trilogy, though I'm going to try to make each book as stand alone as possble. Would it be best to query them as a package or query for the first, but indicate there are two more, if there is interest?<br /><br />(And Anne, I really shouldjust bookmark you're whole blog! So much awesome information here that even when I'm days behind I make sure I read your posts.)<br /><br />:} CathrynCathryn Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-25821115657429770522012-04-24T08:43:56.073-07:002012-04-24T08:43:56.073-07:00Laura--You're so right about the feedback from...Laura--You're so right about the feedback from agents. Sometimes they still do give detailed reasons for rejection--and those can be pure gold. It's a free analysis from a professional with insider knowledge of the business. Even if you don't follow the advice, it will help you understand why it's not fitting into current publishing trends. I also agree 100% that self-publishing has to be a business decision, not something done out of fear or frustration.<br /><br />Sherry--Thanks so much!<br /><br />Leanne--I'm so glad you found it helpful. I think celebrating the victories is essential. And if you can think of it as a free school in the publishing business instead of a crushing blow to your ego, you'll be able to establish a real career instead of just approaching it as a hobby (Not that there's anything wrong with being a hobbyist, but we need to be clear in our goals.)Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-45059039027734561972012-04-24T07:33:08.716-07:002012-04-24T07:33:08.716-07:00This is a wonderful list! I love that you weave in...This is a wonderful list! I love that you weave in celebration through out because writing is hard work. I always tell my clients to have a party! Celebrating the successes, no matter how big or small, keeps the motivation to continue moving forward; e.g. sending more queries, starting the second book, opening the mailbox to rejection, etc. <br /><br />I also like the advice of going through the process in order to learn the process. I think it is a great way to become knowledgeable about the industry as whole and learn a lot more about yourself as a writer. Thanks so much for the awesome advice. I'll be passing this along to my clients!Leanne Sypehttp://pentopapercommunications.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-85824792940802517792012-04-24T05:02:44.966-07:002012-04-24T05:02:44.966-07:00I'm with Holly Michael, this is a keeper! So ...I'm with Holly Michael, this is a keeper! So much helpful info! You rock, Anne. <br />xo Sherry HeberAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com