Traditional Publishing Without an Agent and Contract Terms to Watch for: Guest Post by Author Angie Dickinson and Truth Cursed Giveaway and the IWSG Post

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I’m excited to have author Angie Dickinson here to share a guest post to celebrate the release of her YA Truth Cursed. I love the idea of a curse, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Here’s a blurb from Goodreads:

Cressida Hoth is alone in the world. Orphaned and unwanted, she is inflicted with a peculiar curse by her mischievous aunts and banished to a finishing school in the secluded kingdom of Dernmont. Students train in every accomplishment suitable for young ladies: music, dancing, etiquette…and strangely, poison-making, fencing, and lock-picking.

The school is a front for a rebel spy ring, and when her training is complete, Cressida is selected to join a mission to infiltrate the kingdom’s royal court. She has been thrown unceremoniously into a world of ball gowns and espionage, but she is still under a curse, and it threatens to expose them all.

Defending her teammates and her secret, Cressida discovers that the kingdom’s buried history and the truth behind her curse run far deeper than she imagined.

 

 

Before we get to Angie’s guest post, I have my IWSG Post.

Posting: The first Wednesday is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The awesome co-hosts this month are: Joylene Nowell Butler, Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!

Optional Question: If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

I don’t really want to be anyone else because I don’t think we can know who a person really is and their heartaches and personal challenges. However, I always wish I could be more like people who have done great things to help their communities and the world we live in. A few people I really admire are Michelle Obama, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy (the father), and Mother Theresa. I could add many more to my list. They all had/have compassion for those less fortunate, fight for underdogs in our world, promote peace, and try to make the world a better place.

In these dark times, I try to do my best to do good. I’m focused on helping writers through this blog, helping friends and family, and recently, making small stuffed animals to donate for kids going through hard times, like being in foster care, experiencing homelessness and poverty, and coming here as immigrants.

Traditional Publishing Without an Agent and Contract Terms to Watch For
By Angie Dickinson

The Query Trenches:

If you’re like me, you are well-acquainted with the slippery, shifting sands of the query trenches. Or perhaps you are early in your writing-to-publish journey, venturing into the search for literary representation and wondering what you’re in for. Everyone’s path is going to look different. In my personal experience, I began to feel like I could spend years in the trenches, sifting through names, wish lists, agencies, and submission guidelines, checking names off a list that grew longer every time I sat down to research.

There was never a point when I felt that I was done with this route and ready to climb out of the trenches completely. I had heard for years that there was only one right way to get a traditional publishing contract. But now, as an author who has just published her first novel with a well-respected traditional publisher, I can now say confidently that publishing alongside a literary agent is certainly not the only path.  

A couple of years ago, due to life simply growing busy and my weakening ability to slough off the rejection emails or no-responses with ease, I began to take a break from querying my novels. I had cast my net widely on and off for years, then narrowed my focus, and yet I was never completely confident when I hit send that the agent I was querying was truly the right fit for my book. Wish-lists were so specific, and trends were so fast-moving, that snagging the attention of an agent that could be a good fit felt like trying to catch a raindrop.

The Shift:

And so, I shifted my focus altogether. I began to concentrate on craft and community. As I spent my time

reading books in my genre, writing and revising my work, and engaging with other readers and writers, I began to notice how many happy, working writers were published by smaller publishing houses, often with no literary representation required. I did some research. The tricky part is finding the publishers who do not require representation and sorting the good from the bad. Ultimately, it was word-of-mouth that led me to my publisher. I first heard of Enclave Publishing when I saw their name printed on the copyright page of one of their young adult titles that I happened to pick up at my library. I looked up the author and found a warm and thriving community surrounding her. With very little effort, I slipped into this community, finding much in common with the readers and writers within. Then, another writer I’d interacted with on social media announced a contract signing with Enclave. After years of digging through lists of literary agents, I began to look in another direction.

The Proposal:

Submitting directly to a publisher rather than an agent is not necessarily done the same way. I was used to agency submission guidelines that usually required query letters and polished first chapters, first ten pages, or first five pages submitted in the body of an email. The publisher I chose to submit to directly had very specific and thorough guidelines, and they required a proposal. If you are required to submit a proposal rather than a query letter, it is essential that you do some research and learn what is expected. Find samples and ask questions. A thorough, accurately executed submission could easily be the difference between your work remaining in the slush pile, and being given a closer look. In a sea of submissions, it is much easier for the publisher to focus on what you are offering if the information they require is right in front of them as requested.

Contract Terms:

In spite of my excitement when I was first offered a contract by my publisher, I knew that as an unrepresented author I had to do my due diligence. I wanted to make sure I understood it to the best of my ability. So, the first thing I did was ask a lawyer in my family to take a look at it with me and make sure I understood the legalese. We researched anything that she was unfamiliar with and made sure it all made sense. I took my time with the contract and paid particular attention to rights granted, royalty rates, and termination clauses. I made a list of my questions, many concerning what the publisher pledged to do and what was expected of me. Then I had a phone conversation with my publisher, who was very transparent and informative. When I was satisfied that the lack of a literary agent wasn’t going to result in me being taken advantage of, I signed. This marked a turning point in my life, and a full year later, I am incredibly grateful for this diligent, small-but-mighty press and their willingness to consider authors without representation.

Conclusion

Whether you are a query-trench dweller like I was, or brand-new to the scene, I hope you will understand earlier than I did that there is more than one road to publication. We each need to find the one carved out just for us.

Website: https://angiedickinsonbooks.com/
Truth Cursed on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Sq5KEs
Publisher: https://www.enclavepublishing.com/books/truth-cursed/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angiedickinsonbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556496787590&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Giveaway Details

Angie is generously offering a signed hardback of Truth Cursed for a giveaway. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower of my blog (via the follower gadget, email, or bloglovin’ on the right sidebar) and leave a comment by March 15th. If your email is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter the contest. Please be sure I have your email address.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media sites and/or follow me on Twitter or follow Elly on her social media sites, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry for each. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This book giveaway is U.S.

Upcoming Interviews, Guest Posts, and Blog Hops

Monday, March 10th I have an interview with author Angie Millington and a giveaway of her MG Once for Yes
Sunday, March 16th I’m participating in the Chasing Rainbows Giveaway Hop

Monday, March 17th I have an interview with debut author Carol Baldwin and a giveaway of her upper MG/YA Half Truths

Wednesday, March 19th I have an agent spotlight interview with Shari Maurer and a query critique giveaway

Monday, March 26th I have an agent spotlight interview with Amy Thrall Flynn and a query critique giveaway

Wednesday, March 28th I have an agent spotlight interview with Sally Kim and a query critique giveaway

I hope to see you on Monday!