Dear O'Abby: What are my odds for getting published?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm a first-time author trying to get my novel published and it has been tough.  Lots of rejection from both agents and publishers which is disheartening.  So, I'm wondering, do you know what the stats are for first novels getting published?  And is there anything I can do to improve my chances?

Thanks so much,

Unpubbed

Dear Unpubbed,

Unfortunately, the news I have for you is not good.  Only about 2% of authors get commercial publishing contracts.  Stats say that about 95% of manuscripts are not up to the standard a commercial publisher would consider.  And even those that are up to the required standard might get passed on because the publisher already has something similar on their list, the subject matter doesn't align with their current priorities or they feel it may be too hard to sell.

It is a tough road...  In terms of upping your chances of being in that tiny percentage, the best thing you can do is to write an amazing book and make sure you've had several rounds of critique and editing before sending it out anywhere.  With so few books reaching a publishable standard, the best way to get a leg up to to ensure yours is among the 5% that are.

And of course, commercial publishing is not the only option for you.  Small presses often specialise in specific genres and styles that mainstream publishing companies may not be interested in, so if your book is in a more niche genre, you may be better off submitting to a small press. And of course, there is also the option of self-publishing which is a good option if you are someone who likes to be in control of things, or if you write quickly - commercial publishing generally works at glacial speed..

At the end of the day, while there are things you can control - like the quality of your book - a lot of it is luck.  If your book falls into the right hands at the right moment, it could be the thing that gets you published.  But for most of us, that doesn't happen and we need to look at other publishing options.  

I'm sure this isn't the news you were hoping for, but I always feel like it's better to be prepared and have all the facts before you go too far down any path.  

Best of luck with your publishing journey, whichever direction you choose to take.

X O'Abby

Historical Stats of the Query Contest Pass or Pages #PassOrPages

Agents who have taken part in the past:

Caitie Flum
Mark Gottlieb
Lisa Abellera ⭐⭐
Dr. Uwe Stender

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Peter Knapp
Carrie Pestritto

Moe Ferrara ⭐⭐
Emily S. Keyes ⭐⭐
Roseanne Wells

Andrea Somberg ⭐⭐
Melissa Jeglinski
Danielle Burby
Patricia Nelson

Kurestin Armada ⭐⭐
Sarah Negovetich
Renee Nyen

Clelia Gore
Rebecca Podos ⭐⭐

Lisa Abellera ⭐⭐
Hannah Fergesen
Kirsten Carleton

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Laura Crockett
Lorin Oberweger

Tricia Skinner
Rachel Brooks
Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Emily Keyes ⭐⭐
Ben Grange
Meg LaTorre-Snyder

Kurestin Armada ⭐⭐
Moe Ferrara ⭐⭐
Lindsay Mealing

Whitley Abell ⭐⭐⭐
Jess Dallow
Andrea Somberg ⭐⭐

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saritza Hernandez
Weronika Janczuk

Katelyn Uplinger
Ann Leslie Tuttle

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cortney Radocaj

Kelly Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Stephanie Winter
Amy Bishop
Samantha Fabien

Rebecca Podos ⭐⭐
Tia Rose Mele

Wow! That's 50.
🤔 Wait a second, some of these amazing agents have served more than once!
⭐⭐ Stars will indicate an agent liked the contest enough to come back for more.
Whitley Abell has taken part THREE TIMES. ⭐⭐⭐
Kelly Peterson has been a PoP agent FOUR TIMES! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
👏 Round of applause for all of these agents for donating their time.


Pass vs Pages:

Pass = 201
Pages = 34




Your chance to enter Pass or Pages is coming soon!
Please tell others in your writing community!

The Distribution of a Writer's Work

It would be nice if being a writer was just about writing, huh? Back when I was younger and still writing stories in my journals, that's what I thought. That authors just got to write all day long and spend their lives in their imaginations. And maybe sometimes they had to talk about their books. Maybe edit them a few times.

Lol, young me. You were so naive.

Today, here's what I've found to be the actual distribution of work.

Writing- 15%

Editing- 30%

Marketing and social media- 20%

Reading and Researching- 10%

Avoiding Writing- 15%

Getting Distracted by New Ideas- 5%

Crying and Watching Disney Movies- 5%

Maybe that last section is just me.

Whatever the case, so little of being an author involves writing the rough drafts of books. Editing takes an eternity. You have to constantly build your online presence. You clean the house to cure writer's block. You want to write anything but what you're supposed to. Sometimes you might get time to read a book. It can be tough.

But we still love it. As writers, we still put ourselves through this because, deep down, we really enjoy ourselves through the pain. Writer's block and editing are killer but the result is worth it as we push through. And that's the amazing thing about writers, isn't it?

Also...

NEWS ABOUT MARCH MYSTERY AGENT CONTEST

It is still happening but the rafflecopter might be going up a little bit late. I'll post it as soon as I can. If the schedule is a little pushed back, never fear! It will be happening! Just be on the look out if you're game for a contest soon!

Count Submissions, Not Rejections

Many writers have a number they track. For most of us, it's the number of rejections we've received. Somewhere around rejection 100, I began to take a perverse pride in the growing tally. Rejection is the author's badge of honor, right?

Then picture book writer Carol Gordon Ekster posted this on Twitter the other day:

My 1000th submission just entered the folder on desktop. Writing 12 yrs now. Not bad.If u don't submit, u don't get published!
— Carol Gordon Ekster (@cekster) May 23, 2014

It occurred to me that I've been counting all wrong. The number I should be tracking is not my rejections, but my submissions. As Carol wrote, you can't get published if you don't submit. And you can't control your rejections -- only your submissions.

Order Deadwood, coming from Spencer Hill, June 24, 2014

I'm not advocating for leafleting the publishing world with books that aren't ready, to editors who aren't right. But if you're counting submissions, there's no number that's too high. You don't reach a wall -- you keep building.

So what's my number? Somewhere over 300. That's 300 times I reached out, 300 times I had faith in my work, 300 times when I was willing to risk my ego, 300 times I allowed myself to hope.

And yes, I'm proud of that. I admit that my number of rejections and my number of submissions are very, very closely correlated. So I don't need to tell you my rejection number.

I have one book coming out in three weeks. If that percentage doesn't sound impressive, that's OK. That one wouldn't have happened without the 300.

What's your number?  

About Kell Andrews:  Kell Andrews writes picture books and middle grade novels. Deadwood, her middle-grade contemporary fantasy about a cursed tree, comes out from Spencer Hill Middle Grade June 24, 2014.

Lies and Statistics

Most of us start writing because we love words. But at some point, some of us become obsessed with numbers.

• How many words did I write? If I need to delete a scene, that will set me back! Is it better to have more bad words than fewer good ones?
• How many twitter followers do I have? I'm following more than that -- do I look like a loser?
• How many queries did I send? What's my request percentage? What is the acceptance rate of the agent I'm querying? How many fulls do I have to send before my odds of an offer are good? How long have I been waiting and how what are the odds that that is a good sign or bad one? 
• What's my lifetime number of rejections? Is a high one a badge of honor or shame?
• How many people visited my blog post? How many commented? Is it worth doing if no one is listening? 
• Google Analytics says someone from NYC visited my blog! Is it an agent? Is it an editor? Are any query responses due (must cross reference with QueryTracker)?
• What's my Klout score? Why does it say I'm influential in zombies and couponing?
• How many "likes" do I have on Facebook?  Oh no, no one "likes" me!
  
• How many adds do I have on GoodReads? How many reviews? How many friends?
• What's my Amazon ranking? So how many books have I sold?
• What's my star rating? Oh no, a one-star review! That will ruin my average!
• When will my royalty statement arrive? What does it mean????

Some of those numbers give us an illusion of control, but only an illusion. Just because you can measure something does mean you control it. Sometimes numbers don't even help you understand something better -- it's easy to get lost in statistics. Lately I've been watching my Google Analytics for signs of life,  trying to read the numbers like tea leaves. It doesn't do any good -- I just have to wait for responses, for my book release, for something to happen. 

And if I can,  while I wait, maybe put some words down. I'll try not to focus to much on how many.