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Post by Kristoffer Hansen on Apr 7, 2014 5:00:05 GMT
A few months back, there was this guy on Reddit who had published two novels for a five hundred thousand dollar advance, and the books totally tanked. He did an "ask me anything," on the site, and it was insightful and honest and just generally very good. It's the sort of AMA I'd like to see more often (Fred Durst's was also surprisingly good).
Anyway, someone asked him how he went about getting his agent, and he said he found them on Agent Query dot com. I've trawled the site a couple of times looking for possible leads for my MS when it's done, and I was wondering if anyone has used the service, would suggest using it, would suggest against using it. It's seemed alright, but I don't really know what I'm getting into on there.
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Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 7, 2014 18:46:48 GMT
I absolutely suggest using AgentQuery.com. I'm going to be seeking a lit agent for a contemporary book I'm going to write in the future, but when I was doing research for possible agents, I found AgentQuery.com to be a very useful resource.
Also, I'm interested about this guy. Why did his books tank in spite of the publisher having so much faith in these books? High advances imply the publisher is confident the book will do well.
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Post by Kristoffer Hansen on Apr 7, 2014 19:45:42 GMT
According to his AMA, he believes his agent heavily oversold his books. The first book had a really interesting premise (a serial copycat killer; he copies someone else's crimes and fixes the mistakes that got them caught), and it sounded to the publishers like a sure-fire hit. The quality of the writing just wasn't there, it got panned in reviews, and it sold like crap. I'm going to assume that some part of it was probably marketing's fault as well. I remember Elizabeth Kostova got something like $1.5million for The Historian, which was a pretty okay book, but nothing mind-blowing. Marketing made sure she sold tens of thousands of copies, though. Maybe this guy just didn't get the support he needed and didn't have the platform his books needed to succeed. You can find the whole AMA (which is quite charming and very insightful) here.
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Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 7, 2014 21:54:32 GMT
That's so depressing. And platform is crucial for writers nowadays, but it's weird to think he didn't get the support he needed, considering what publishers spent on him. Thanks for posting the article, too. I'll check it out.
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Post by Kristoffer Hansen on Apr 7, 2014 22:03:57 GMT
And at the same time, five hundred thousand dollars. If I get that for my first advance and then never publish another book, I'll look back on being published quite fondly I think. ^_^ Though I shudder to think what the taxes on that would look like.
I actually just shudder to think about taxes and publication, actually. As a Canadian, looking to publish in the US, things get weeeeeeeeird.
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Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 7, 2014 22:37:21 GMT
I want to make great money, but I also want my book to sell well, along with some good reviews. I'm with a small press, though, so it's going to take some time, and you can't compare the sales of a small press to a much larger press.
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Post by Mariah E. on Apr 8, 2014 1:48:59 GMT
And at the same time, five hundred thousand dollars. If I get that for my first advance and then never publish another book, I'll look back on being published quite fondly I think. ^_^ Though I shudder to think what the taxes on that would look like. I actually just shudder to think about taxes and publication, actually. As a Canadian, looking to publish in the US, things get weeeeeeeeird. I happen to know a publisher who is based in Canada. I'm sure I could get her to answer a few questions for you if you would like. I also have a Canadian author friend who is completely self published and seems to be knowledgeable about the whole Canada/US thing.
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Post by Kristoffer Hansen on Apr 8, 2014 2:19:32 GMT
Well, the big issue for me is I don't want the Canadiana label hanging over what I'm writing. This first book absolutely IS Canadiana, but if I publish with a Canadian publishing house, I feel like that would be damaging to my penetration and reach. Like, I'm aiming at the Big Five (who isn't?), but I feel like the American audience is bigger and my book's subject matter is inflammatory enough for Americans that it might gain some notoriety before people start talking about how Canadian I am. ^_^
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Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 13, 2014 22:51:58 GMT
Well, I say go to the Big 5 if you are worried about reach. Even if your book isn't published in Canada, it'll be on the Amazon UK website. But that's my take on the matter. I'm not sure how it works with the whole US/Canada thing, either.
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