Submitting a Novel Part III

If, like us, you choose not to self-publish, you have two routes available. You can hire and agent or you can solicit a publishing company.

We would like to hire an agent for this book. The primary reason is because we are not willing to sign away our movie rights. This is not because we want to make more money, but rather because we want control of the movie. Although directly soliciting a publisher does not mean we have to sign away our movie rights, it makes it more difficult to retain them without the professional help of an agent.

Many times movie rights are sold at the signing of a book contract. Frequently, this can cause a great book to have a horrible movie. If I (Jennifer) did not have the movie/theater background that I do, I may feel that leaving the movie to the professionals would be best. However, I feel confident in my degree and the ability I have to create good theatrical work.

That being said, I may have the ability to write a screenplay and the software to do it, but I would leave it to someone else. I just want a hand in picking who that someone is.

Submitting a Novel Part II

Although self-publishing is always an option for us, we would prefer a traditionally published book.

So far, we have submitted this book to two agents. We were not really expecting the first one to accept it. You see, it is rather difficult to find a Christian agent who takes on Sci-fi/ Fantasy books. This particular agent had one specializing in young adult books, so we gave it a try. They did not take it.

The agent who has the book now would be my (Jennifer's) first choice. The agency has a long history in the sci-fi/fantasy realm, and unlike the Christian agents who tend to turn away from this genre, Sci-fi/fantasy agents seem to be open to Christian themes. After all Tolkein was writing a Christian allegory.

However, the hardest part about finding an agent is the wait. You send in a proposal with a synopsis and then you need to wait up to three months before you will get a response. If you are turned down, you must then rewrite your proposal - not every agent wants to see the same thing.

Submitting a Novel Part I

With the ease of internet publishing, it can be difficult to get your work published through traditional means. Even ten years ago, finding a publisher or agent was difficult. Now, most want an internet presence before you will even be looked at.

Many people choose to self-publish. Although this is an easy way to get your book out there, it can also kill the market for it. I cannot count how many people who have self-published and then want to know why it is not selling, or how they can increase their market. The biggest problem comes in editing.

Don't get me wrong, even books published through traditional means have seen a decline in editing. The news media is becoming a joke with its poorly edited stories. But I have had people hire me to edit a book that they had already self-published. Frequently, these books contained two or more errors per sentence. And these were works that were not edited for content - only spelling and grammar. Yes, getting your book edited can cost up to $6 per page (more for content editing), but you will end up making a better return in the end.