Friends,
From the Author's Chair, this is newsletter #43 describing my latest up's and down's as I struggle from the small press arena to become a best selling fiction/thriller author. The strategy: leverage the acclaim and excellent stories of my current award-winning thrillers (Gold Lust & Gold Raid) to influence a major film company or large press to purchase the rights to my Gold Lust series. The following description of events is not polished, but it shares true emotions of being an author. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends:
>>Highlights: New title, Editor moved, Milestone
Sept 5 (Neutral)
Daily, I devote time to writing the third thriller, pushing myself to complete it. Simultaneously, I’m considering if I should change the title. For years, I’ve felt the title GOLD FIRE was appropriate. Maybe Allah’s Avengers would be a wiser choice.
The perfect title meets three criteria:
#1: Intrigues the book reader looking to buy to pick up the book.
#2: Conveys the type of story the reader will experience.
#3: Prevents publishers from worrying it could turn off a portion of the buying market.
The words, GOLD FIRE do not describe that the story is about a terrorist attack on the U.S. But, when combined with the cover art, this problem might disappear.
Allah’s Avengers meets the first two criteria, but the publisher might think Allah’s Avengers is politically incorrect since the title might offend Muslims.
Neither title satisfies all three criteria. When I quiz friends which one do they prefer, some like one, some like the other. But it is difficult enough to sell to a large New York press without creating an additional obstacle. So, I’m sticking with GOLD FIRE as the title.
Sept 27 (Up)
I took two days vacation from writing to hunt for gold. An author friend who lives along the Consumes River south of Sacramento invited me to look for gold in her section of the river. The first day I floated the stream in my dive suit hunting for nuggets and where to sluice. Since the air temperature was hot and the water was not too cold I did not become a popscicle. Instead, I became one with the trout in the stream. As long as I moved slowly they gawked at me as much as I gawked at them. The second day I dug dirt and gravel from an island and sluiced the material. Came up with enough yellow to impress my friend.
I left the gold for her grandchildren. May have ruined the little ones for life, infecting them gold fever and the urge to hunt for treasure right outside their grandmother’s door.
Sept 29 (Up)
Another author friend, Sue Ann Jaffarian, writes the award-winning Odelia Grey Series with a lot of humor in her mysteries. She went under contract with a publisher earlier in the year. Today she told me that her book Too Big to Kill will be released in 2006. She said the publisher used a quote of mine in the front matter of her book. It’s nice to know a medium-sized publisher likes my quotes. Heck, how about buying my thriller GOLD FIRE?
For those interested, Sue Ann’s website is found at: http://www.sueannjaffarian.com/
Oct 6 (Up)
While attending the Ozark Creative Writers conference, I learned that editor Dan Slater (who asked me to submit GOLD FIRE along with the two earlier released thrillers) left Penguin for Amazon. That answers my concerns why he never responded to the submittal. In today’s publishing industry there is much editor-replacement and editor-movement. The big publishers keep their costs down by replacing older editors with younger staff. Since only twenty percent of the published fiction makes profit, it seems all a gamble and a guess on which books will do well. So I can understand the bean-counter mentality to replace more expensive guessers with cheaper ones.
26 Oct (Up)
The local Grange invited me back to participate as a ‘local author’ in one of their annual events. It’s always encouraging to sell and hear previous buyers order me to hurry up and finish the next book so they can buy it.
29 Oct (Down)
My agent calls. Seven months after submitting to Penguin, she received a letter from the editor who replaced Dan Slater. “Mr. Mitchell is a talented writer. However, it is a very difficult market to sell into and we will not be able to represent his work at this time.” Bite me! A courteous rejection but it still means I did not render the story well enough.
I won’t submit GOLD FIRE again until I have it fully edited. Better to wait rather than submit the manuscript to someone with even one error in the first two chapters.
03 Nov (Big Up)
Today is a milestone for me. I completed the last chapter of GOLD FIRE, my international thriller.
In August 1981, I began a journey to write three thrillers revealing the saga of a soldier from a blue-collar family living in modern-day California. Along the way the hero becomes a counter-terrorist. At that time, I considered writing the most commercial story first (the international thriller) where terrorists attack America by triggering sleeper cells inside our borders. I knew it would be the most commercial of the three stories and the better choice to land a contract with a large publishing house. But, (silly me) my heart wanted to tell the story from the beginning.
Fast forward to 11 September 2001: My first two thrillers are published and I am writing the third book (Black Camel) when the twin towers collapse. A week later, when the FBI begins warning Americans about the types of attacks I have posed in Black Camel I recognize that I have too accurately forecasted the future, too accurately analyzed how terrorists could successful kill my neighbors using munitions readily available in the U.S. Since I did not want to teach terrorists easy ways to harm Americans, I set aside that story and moved on to GOLD FIRE. Months of progress towards release of the third thriller are lost.
Today, however, is a good day. Like climbing a high mountain, I’ve reached the summit, the halfway point in my journey. Looking back I’m amazed at my author experiences:
>>The first time I saw my debut thriller on the shelf of a bookstore
>>Participating in the California sesquicentennial (150 year celebration) holding a gold nugget worth $250,000 on the steps of the state capital
>>Creating writing exercises that fourth-graders enjoy doing
>>The many book tour events where I made people laugh
>>The wonderful people I’ve met
>>Hearing readers thank me for writing my stories
>>And the luck of winning some awards.
All it took was spending thousands of hours sitting alone like a hermit, writing, rewriting, swearing, rewriting, being rejected by publishers, more swearing – but persisting and forcing myself to improve my writing skills after the rejections.
To get down this mountain I only have to listen to several picky editors and polish GOLD FIRE over and over – just a few more months until the next submittal.
10 Nov (Up)
A seller on http://www.alibris.com/ is offering my national award-wining hardback, GOLD RUSH 2000 for $41.12. Now — there is a person with a good eye for quality. However, readers can still purchase autographed copies for the original sale price of $24.95 by contacting my publisher or myself or Amazon.com.
Dec 7 (Neutral)
As a founding charter member of the International Thriller Writers organization I want to invite you to attend the world premier of the International Festival of Thrillers. We call it ThrillerFest. Meet your favorite best selling thriller authors at the fabulous Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona from June 29 to July 2, 2006.
ThrillerFest is designed especially for readers and writers of thriller fiction. Here's a sample of the agenda:
>>Meet authors Douglas Preston, Brad Meltzer, R.L. Stine and John Lescroart
>>Listen to David Morrell discuss the making of his groundbreaking novel, First Blood, into the movie Rambo.
>>Attend a Readers Reception in which ITW's THRILLER anthology will be unveiled and sold for the first time; and then attend the ITW Awards Banquet where the first annual International Thriller Awards will be presented.
To register or learn more, go to www.ThrillerFest.com. Early Bird Registration is only $195 and the Biltmore is providing a special discounted block of rooms set aside for ThrillerFest attendees. Hurry, they're going fast!
And the adventure continues.
------------------------------------------
Please pass this newsletter to your friends and colleagues. Tell anyone wanting to receive this newsletter to just e-mail me at ed@BooksByMitchell.com. However, if this letter is a bother in your hectic day just reply to this e-mail with “unsubscribe” and I'll immediately drop you from my list.
------------------------------------------
P.S. If you wish to purchase an autographed copy of any of my books, click here:
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/books.htm
Ed Mitchell,
Charter Founding Member of the International Thriller Writers Organization and Author of:
GOLD LUST
>>Winner: National Publishers Award for BEST NEW
FICTION in the USA & Canada from a small press
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST MYSTERY THRILLER
GOLD RAID
>>Regional Winner: Sacramento Publisher & Authors Fiction Award for BEST ACTION BOOK.
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE-THRILLER
GOLD FIRE
>>International Thriller to be published in 2006
>>Read Ch-1 of past and soon to be released books
at http://www.booksbymitchell.com
& Sign up for the Author's humorous news letter
Consultant to Emerging Authors
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/consulting.htm
17595 Vierra Canyon Road, #407, Salinas CA 93907
E-mail ed@booksbymitchell.com
831-663-1021
Fax 831-663-5629
Gold Rush 2000 ISBN: 0-9668447-3-4
Gold Lust ISBN: 0-9668447-7-7
Gold Raid ISBN: 0-9668447-9-3
Copyright Dec 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Author Ed Mitchell's newsletter #42
------------------------
Friends,
From the Author's Chair, here is newsletter #42 describing my latest up's and down's as I struggle out of the small press arena to become a best selling fiction/thriller author. The strategy: leverage the acclaim and excellent stories of my currently award winning released books (Gold Lust, Gold Raid) to influence a major movie company or large press to purchase the rights to my Gold Lust series. The following event descriptions are not polished, just true. Feel free to forward this news letter to your friends:
>>Highlights: Thriller org, Vampire’s answer, Panel Moderator
10 Jan (Up)
Twenty years ago when I came up with the idea of a three book series with a terrorist attack on America in the third book there was no thriller organization, like Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, etc. Men and women writing thrillers had to do it all on our own. No support or sharing of techniques on how to write thrillers well.
So I’m proud to announce that in the last few weeks I became a charter member of the International Thriller Writers organization. We launched the organization this year. You can see my name on the website at http://www.thrillerwriters.org with some big name authors. It is a great resource for thriller writers.
Only problem is that the by laws have a clause that a member is not considered an author unless they are out of a “commercial” house. This means a large press out of New York or one of the mid-size presses. This turns out to be a bummer for all the authors out of smaller houses. I tried to get the group to take a “guild” approach where there are classes of authors: masters, journeymen, and apprentice. Nope! Won’t do it.
I’m not pleased with this resistance. It is apparent that the group is strongly focused on furthering the established authors’ business contacts with the large presses. From my perspective the group hasn’t yet demonstrated much concerned about encouraging emerging writers. So I’m a bit of an albatross for the group since I’m not from a commercial house. Oops, one of the outsiders slipped in. Anyway, I’m going to use the networking events to introduce my thrillers to editors.
28 Jan (Down, Up)
Still waiting for an answer from the agent I met with in late-October and sent my submittal to the first week in November. She was hot to trot then, even called me. Now the long silence which is the sign of a Vampire agent. No communications after several months typically means NO!. Being my persistent self and believing in business manners I chase her down via her cell phone. “Oh, there was suppose to be a letter sent to you.” Yeah, well it still hasn’t arrived as I post this e-mail to the web. And a simple e-mail could have been sent out once a month by the agent’s office to rejected authors instead of wasting time. But vampires don’t care. It is the way of the industry. Time to try another agent.
30 Jan (Up)
Went to sign up at the West Point alumni website for my 35th class reunion and there are two of my book covers. Yowza! Big Bites for my classmate Frank Monaco. Pulled me right out of my slump.
10 Feb (Up)
Rue Morgue bookstore in Colorado is attending LCC05 and e-mailed my publisher offering to sell GOLD LUST & GOLD FIRE at the conference. Nice to be asked instead of having to ask.
11-15 Feb (Neutral)
I’m judging again this year for another California author organization. I’m still not pleased with self-help books where the author mistakenly thought self-help meant help-themselves and not the reader. I score those books low on that factor.
16 Feb (Up)
My second attempt at getting an agent worked. I went back to a lady that teamed with me on my first book. She reviewed my submittal and the first 50 pages of my Gold Fire manuscript. An angle, my new agent, she wrote me today: “Hi Ed, the package will go out tomorrow to NAL Penguin Group. Excellent job packaging it, good job writing, and the other two books look wonderful. I'm proud of you.”
Support like this is what keeps me at it.
20 Feb (Up)
Learned my books are being carried by http://www.bokpris.com in Sweden. My international fame is growing by leaps and bounds. OK, creeps and crawls. Are there Swedish author groupies?
24-27 Feb (Up)
I’m at Left Coast Crime in El Paso Texas. I got approved, set up, and moderated the first ever thriller panel at LCC. It turns out to be the inaugural ITW panel. A little history being made by me even though I’m not from a “commercial” house. I structured the panel with three best selling authors and two emerging authors (including myself). Michael Newton sat with me. He has 186 novels published and most were best selling books. He is a really down to earth nice guy. He ghost wrote for several years then married his editor. She’s really nice to. I also had Barry Eisler who has the best selling John Rain thriller series. Plus best selling author David Dun agreed to be on the panel. Chester D. Campbell joined us. He has three books out but isn’t from a commercial house. And little old me. It went well and we entertained the crowd. Several attendees came up afterward and said I was an excellent moderator.
Mar 17-19 (Up)
Ironstone Vineyards Gold Jewelry store invited me to sell during their spring flower show. I agreed and drove up to Murphys (an old gold town) in the California gold country. I did excellent again even though a late-spring monsoon drenched the area cutting attendance.
The first night at a friend’s house The Great Creator decided I wasn’t alert enough at 5 a.m. to be writing on Gold Fire. So fifty feet from my bed he sent a lightning bolt. Yikes! Now I know what it looks like inside a nuclear blast. After I peel myself off the ceiling, I run outside and check if there is a fire. The lightning bolt only slashed down the side of a pine tree blasting bark off the tree and leaving a white scar. My hearing gradually returns.
June 3 (Down)
I finally received the rejection package from the vampire agent. It was mailed 31 May. What a slow, unprofessional, costly way of doing business. The agent could have had a staff member send out a monthly reject e-mail and avoided the cost/time for staff to package rejected manuscripts. And why go to the effort six months after receiving the submittal and five months after making the decision to reject?
August 5 (Down)
I’ve been frustrated for several months. I haven’t heard from Penguin and it’s almost six months since they’ve had the package. The long silence is starting to get to me. Plus the vampire agent earlier this year, and dealing with the ITW which is kind of a old-boys club has been grinding on me. So I’ve been slow in sending out my newsletter. But talking to all of you today has been good medicine. I’m out of my funk and will keep plugging away. Gold Fire is turning out to be a very good story. I’m proud of it. Have to finish a few chapters and edit. But it is better than most of the thrillers on the book shelves.
Thanks.
And the adventure continues.
------------------------------------------
Please pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues. Tell anyone wanting to receive this newsletter to just e-mail me at ed@BooksByMitchell.com However, if this letter is a bother in your hectic lives just reply back that you want to be deleted (or unsubscribe) and I'll immediately drop you from my list.
------------------------------------------
P.S. If you want to purchase an autographed copy of any of my books, click here:
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/books.htm
Ed Mitchell, Author of:
GOLD LUST
>>Winner: National Publishers Award for BEST NEW
FICTION in the USA & Canada from a small press
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST MYSTERY THRILLER
GOLD RAID
>>Regional Winner: Sacramento Publisher & Authors Fiction Award for BEST ACTION BOOK.
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE-THRILLER
>>Read Ch-1 of past and soon to be released books
at http://www.booksbymitchell.com
& Sign up for the Author's humorous news letter
Consultant to Emerging Authors
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/consulting.htm
17595 Vierra Canyon Road, #407, Salinas CA 93907
E-mail ed@booksbymitchell.com
831-663-1021
Fax 831-663-5629
Gold Rush 2000 ISBN: 0-9668447-3-4
Gold Lust ISBN 0-9668447-7-7
Gold Raid ISBN 0-9668447-9-3
Copyright Aug 2005
Friends,
From the Author's Chair, here is newsletter #42 describing my latest up's and down's as I struggle out of the small press arena to become a best selling fiction/thriller author. The strategy: leverage the acclaim and excellent stories of my currently award winning released books (Gold Lust, Gold Raid) to influence a major movie company or large press to purchase the rights to my Gold Lust series. The following event descriptions are not polished, just true. Feel free to forward this news letter to your friends:
>>Highlights: Thriller org, Vampire’s answer, Panel Moderator
10 Jan (Up)
Twenty years ago when I came up with the idea of a three book series with a terrorist attack on America in the third book there was no thriller organization, like Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, etc. Men and women writing thrillers had to do it all on our own. No support or sharing of techniques on how to write thrillers well.
So I’m proud to announce that in the last few weeks I became a charter member of the International Thriller Writers organization. We launched the organization this year. You can see my name on the website at http://www.thrillerwriters.org with some big name authors. It is a great resource for thriller writers.
Only problem is that the by laws have a clause that a member is not considered an author unless they are out of a “commercial” house. This means a large press out of New York or one of the mid-size presses. This turns out to be a bummer for all the authors out of smaller houses. I tried to get the group to take a “guild” approach where there are classes of authors: masters, journeymen, and apprentice. Nope! Won’t do it.
I’m not pleased with this resistance. It is apparent that the group is strongly focused on furthering the established authors’ business contacts with the large presses. From my perspective the group hasn’t yet demonstrated much concerned about encouraging emerging writers. So I’m a bit of an albatross for the group since I’m not from a commercial house. Oops, one of the outsiders slipped in. Anyway, I’m going to use the networking events to introduce my thrillers to editors.
28 Jan (Down, Up)
Still waiting for an answer from the agent I met with in late-October and sent my submittal to the first week in November. She was hot to trot then, even called me. Now the long silence which is the sign of a Vampire agent. No communications after several months typically means NO!. Being my persistent self and believing in business manners I chase her down via her cell phone. “Oh, there was suppose to be a letter sent to you.” Yeah, well it still hasn’t arrived as I post this e-mail to the web. And a simple e-mail could have been sent out once a month by the agent’s office to rejected authors instead of wasting time. But vampires don’t care. It is the way of the industry. Time to try another agent.
30 Jan (Up)
Went to sign up at the West Point alumni website for my 35th class reunion and there are two of my book covers. Yowza! Big Bites for my classmate Frank Monaco. Pulled me right out of my slump.
10 Feb (Up)
Rue Morgue bookstore in Colorado is attending LCC05 and e-mailed my publisher offering to sell GOLD LUST & GOLD FIRE at the conference. Nice to be asked instead of having to ask.
11-15 Feb (Neutral)
I’m judging again this year for another California author organization. I’m still not pleased with self-help books where the author mistakenly thought self-help meant help-themselves and not the reader. I score those books low on that factor.
16 Feb (Up)
My second attempt at getting an agent worked. I went back to a lady that teamed with me on my first book. She reviewed my submittal and the first 50 pages of my Gold Fire manuscript. An angle, my new agent, she wrote me today: “Hi Ed, the package will go out tomorrow to NAL Penguin Group. Excellent job packaging it, good job writing, and the other two books look wonderful. I'm proud of you.”
Support like this is what keeps me at it.
20 Feb (Up)
Learned my books are being carried by http://www.bokpris.com in Sweden. My international fame is growing by leaps and bounds. OK, creeps and crawls. Are there Swedish author groupies?
24-27 Feb (Up)
I’m at Left Coast Crime in El Paso Texas. I got approved, set up, and moderated the first ever thriller panel at LCC. It turns out to be the inaugural ITW panel. A little history being made by me even though I’m not from a “commercial” house. I structured the panel with three best selling authors and two emerging authors (including myself). Michael Newton sat with me. He has 186 novels published and most were best selling books. He is a really down to earth nice guy. He ghost wrote for several years then married his editor. She’s really nice to. I also had Barry Eisler who has the best selling John Rain thriller series. Plus best selling author David Dun agreed to be on the panel. Chester D. Campbell joined us. He has three books out but isn’t from a commercial house. And little old me. It went well and we entertained the crowd. Several attendees came up afterward and said I was an excellent moderator.
Mar 17-19 (Up)
Ironstone Vineyards Gold Jewelry store invited me to sell during their spring flower show. I agreed and drove up to Murphys (an old gold town) in the California gold country. I did excellent again even though a late-spring monsoon drenched the area cutting attendance.
The first night at a friend’s house The Great Creator decided I wasn’t alert enough at 5 a.m. to be writing on Gold Fire. So fifty feet from my bed he sent a lightning bolt. Yikes! Now I know what it looks like inside a nuclear blast. After I peel myself off the ceiling, I run outside and check if there is a fire. The lightning bolt only slashed down the side of a pine tree blasting bark off the tree and leaving a white scar. My hearing gradually returns.
June 3 (Down)
I finally received the rejection package from the vampire agent. It was mailed 31 May. What a slow, unprofessional, costly way of doing business. The agent could have had a staff member send out a monthly reject e-mail and avoided the cost/time for staff to package rejected manuscripts. And why go to the effort six months after receiving the submittal and five months after making the decision to reject?
August 5 (Down)
I’ve been frustrated for several months. I haven’t heard from Penguin and it’s almost six months since they’ve had the package. The long silence is starting to get to me. Plus the vampire agent earlier this year, and dealing with the ITW which is kind of a old-boys club has been grinding on me. So I’ve been slow in sending out my newsletter. But talking to all of you today has been good medicine. I’m out of my funk and will keep plugging away. Gold Fire is turning out to be a very good story. I’m proud of it. Have to finish a few chapters and edit. But it is better than most of the thrillers on the book shelves.
Thanks.
And the adventure continues.
------------------------------------------
Please pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues. Tell anyone wanting to receive this newsletter to just e-mail me at ed@BooksByMitchell.com However, if this letter is a bother in your hectic lives just reply back that you want to be deleted (or unsubscribe) and I'll immediately drop you from my list.
------------------------------------------
P.S. If you want to purchase an autographed copy of any of my books, click here:
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/books.htm
Ed Mitchell, Author of:
GOLD LUST
>>Winner: National Publishers Award for BEST NEW
FICTION in the USA & Canada from a small press
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST MYSTERY THRILLER
GOLD RAID
>>Regional Winner: Sacramento Publisher & Authors Fiction Award for BEST ACTION BOOK.
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE-THRILLER
>>Read Ch-1 of past and soon to be released books
at http://www.booksbymitchell.com
& Sign up for the Author's humorous news letter
Consultant to Emerging Authors
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/consulting.htm
17595 Vierra Canyon Road, #407, Salinas CA 93907
E-mail ed@booksbymitchell.com
831-663-1021
Fax 831-663-5629
Gold Rush 2000 ISBN: 0-9668447-3-4
Gold Lust ISBN 0-9668447-7-7
Gold Raid ISBN 0-9668447-9-3
Copyright Aug 2005
Monday, January 03, 2005
Author Ed Mitchell's newsletter #41
Friends,
From the Author's Chair, here is newsletter #41 describing my latest up's and down's as I struggle out of the small press arena to become a best selling fiction/thriller author. The strategy: leverage the acclaim and excellent stories of my currently award winning released books (Gold Lust, Gold Raid) to influence a major movie company or large press to purchase the rights to my Gold Lust series. The following event descriptions are not polished, just true. Feel free to forward this news letter to your friends:
>>Highlights: State Fair, Pitching an Editor, Vampires
Mea culpa to Kim, who has been encouraging my career year after year, and who attended my award ceremony in Sacramento, and who I failed to thank in my last newsletter. Kim, thanks for all the support.
1-4 Sep (Up)
At the California State Fair, held in Sacramento, I was one of sixteen northern California award winning authors that manned the “Uniquely California” building. We presented our books to the public along side displays of movies, computers and other inventions that have been developed in this state. I was proud to be part of the exhibit. Californians have contributed a great deal to the U.S. and to the world. Nice to be considered good enough to represent the state’s authors. I sold well, too.
Always keeping my ego in check I noticed we were in competition for the public’s attention with the cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and ducks who qualified to attend by winning awards at the county fairs held earlier in the year. We pooped less, but the animals got petted much more.
6-10 Oct (Up)
Earlier in the year, an author friend who is an event committee person on the Ozark Writers Conference encouraged me to attend the conference. I agreed before I realized how far I would have to go to get there. Being cheap I used my frequent flyer miles to get to Dallas, but then had to drive many hours to Eureka Springs, AK. Past where they filmed the movie Deliverance. I actually passed a kid playing the banjo.
I was very impressed by the quality of authors who attended and were panel members. The Missouri, Arkansas, and North Texas areas have excellent writers. I asked the Arkansas Poet Laureate to critique a lullaby I’m including in my next thriller. One more time, instead of doing easy writing, I’m stretching. Since I chose not to have children, writing a lullaby is a real challenge. The poet gave me some good ideas.
Best of all I cornered the thriller editor for Penguin Publishing who had flown in from New York. I gave him a five minute description of the book concept for GOLD FIRE. Five minutes to try and change your destiny.
I structured the pitch into six sections:
1 What is the book concept?
2 Can the author write?
3 Does the author have the expertise to write this counter-terrorism thriller?
4 Can the author sell/market this book?
5 What Rights are Available?
6 What Risks has the author already reduced for the Publisher?
I rehearsed the pitch for an hour before the meeting, get an introduction and delivered the material.
All the years of learning how to do this business came together. For once, I didn’t flub the delivery. And the editor said all the things you want to hear from an editor:
“Very commercial”
“Timely. Sounds like it came out of last night’s presidential debate”
“Fit’s our line of books”
“Send me the first fifty pages and I’ll take a look.”
“Include your first two books. I may want reprint rights.”
Only one small, tiny, itsy-bitsy problem. I can’t submit to Penguin without an agent. I didn’t tell the editor I was currently without one. Not to worry, I’ve got a package in front of an agent, and when I get back home I’ll learn if she’ll sign me.
14 Oct (Down)
Another agent rejection. I’ve concluded that all agents are vampires. They tantalize unsuspecting authors to approach them by offering the lure of getting published, gaining fame and amassing riches. Then they pounce on the poor authors and suck the blood of life out of their souls. Joy killers!!! And they always time their joy-sucking to happen immediately after the author gets incredibly high on hope based on some crumb of accomplishment tossed their way.
Next time I send out a query package I’ll slip a little silver dust into the envelope. Hee, hee, hee!!!
Of course, maybe my writing could be better. Back to editing before I send the next query package out.
15 Oct (Up)
Earlier in the year, the publisher at Cypress House Press recommended I submit to agent Nancy Ellis Bell. Checking the Internet I learn that she is hosting a Fiction Writing retreat in two weeks in Mendocino, several hundred miles north of my home. So I call to sign up and the agent picks up the phone when I explain who recommended me. We talk and I quickly tell her I’ve landed a request from the Penguin editor for a package and want to polish it and send it to her thirty days after the retreat. She’s interested.
Humm...vampire or angel?
29-30 Oct (Up)
At the Fiction retreat Nancy Ellis Bell has read my manuscript and knows the name of my characters. She likes several and she likes the concept of GOLD FIRE: the son of Osama bin Laden steals mobile nuclear ICBMs out of southern Russia with the goal of vaporizing Ft. Knox and all the gold bullion in the U.S.
A good sign! Plus, she accepts my offer to polish the first fifty pages and return the package for consideration. An editor from Carroll & Graf Publishing, in New York, also likes the concept and encourages me to consider sending the package to them.
Hurrah! So I’ve finally came up with a great book concept. Now all I have to do is write a flawless fifty pages.
1-28 Nov (Neutral)
I start my editor review process. I send the first chapter to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. She wants me to tone down the religious talk by the bad guy. But she likes the Chinese spy and several sections of dialogue. Another editor in Missouri very quickly goes through the fifty pages and points out several viewpoint jumps and some areas that are not clear to the reader. My excellent copy editor points out punctuation and grammar improvements. I take all the input and start rewriting, rewriting, rewriting. By the time I get sick of it I let the wife-editor, read the latest version. Quickly I’m back to rewriting. Yuk! But by the time I finish I really like the four chapters I’m sending to the agent.
29-30 Nov (Neutral)
I work two days putting together the proposal package. I don’t just stuff the fifty pages into an envelope and mail. I consider what the agent’s needs are and try to provide a first cut of all the information she might need to sell the book to the editor, including my marketing budget and my post-release plans for marketing the thriller. I’m hoping that by conveying that I am committed to selling the book will shore up any weaknesses in the writing. Not that there are any. It’s perfect. Each word a gem.
The package was a half-inch thick and includes:
#1 Book Proposal information that hooked the Penguin Editor
#2 Mitchell’s PR & Marketing Plan & Budget
#3 Title Page
#4 Sample Chapters (50 pages)
#5 Book Synopsis
#6 Book Table of Contents
#7 Chapter Outline
#8 Sketches of Continuing Characters
#9 Author Biography
#10 Author Photo
3 Dec (Up-Down)
The agent called to verify she had received the package.
Well, that is a very positive sign. Maybe she’s an angel?
She told me it would take thirty days to review the package and that “the outlook was positive and my writing was decent”.
DECENT? Aaaahhh...it needs more work. Will she trust I can make the changes quickly or will she turn into a vampire? Aaaahhh...now we wait.
And the adventure continues.
------------------------------------------
Please pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues. Tell anyone wanting to receive this newsletter to just e-mail me at ed@BooksByMitchell.com However, if this letter is a bother in your hectic lives just reply back that you want to be deleted (or unsubscribe) and I'll immediately drop you from my list.
------------------------------------------
P.S. If you want to purchase an autographed copy of any of my books, click here:
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/books.htm
Ed Mitchell, Author of:
GOLD LUST
>>Winner: National Publishers Award for BEST NEW
FICTION in the USA & Canada from a small press
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST MYSTERY THRILLER
GOLD RAID
>>Regional Winner: Sacramento Publisher & Authors Fiction Award for BEST ACTION BOOK.
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE-THRILLER
>>Read Ch-1 of past and soon to be released books
at http://www.booksbymitchell.com
& Sign up for the Author's humorous news letter
Consultant to Emerging Authors
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/consulting.htm
17595 Vierra Canyon Road, #407, Salinas CA 93907
E-mail ed@booksbymitchell.com
831-663-1021
Fax 831-663-5629
Gold Rush 2000 ISBN: 0-9668447-3-4
Gold Lust ISBN 0-9668447-7-7
Gold Raid ISBN 0-9668447-9-3
Copyright Jan 2005
From the Author's Chair, here is newsletter #41 describing my latest up's and down's as I struggle out of the small press arena to become a best selling fiction/thriller author. The strategy: leverage the acclaim and excellent stories of my currently award winning released books (Gold Lust, Gold Raid) to influence a major movie company or large press to purchase the rights to my Gold Lust series. The following event descriptions are not polished, just true. Feel free to forward this news letter to your friends:
>>Highlights: State Fair, Pitching an Editor, Vampires
Mea culpa to Kim, who has been encouraging my career year after year, and who attended my award ceremony in Sacramento, and who I failed to thank in my last newsletter. Kim, thanks for all the support.
1-4 Sep (Up)
At the California State Fair, held in Sacramento, I was one of sixteen northern California award winning authors that manned the “Uniquely California” building. We presented our books to the public along side displays of movies, computers and other inventions that have been developed in this state. I was proud to be part of the exhibit. Californians have contributed a great deal to the U.S. and to the world. Nice to be considered good enough to represent the state’s authors. I sold well, too.
Always keeping my ego in check I noticed we were in competition for the public’s attention with the cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and ducks who qualified to attend by winning awards at the county fairs held earlier in the year. We pooped less, but the animals got petted much more.
6-10 Oct (Up)
Earlier in the year, an author friend who is an event committee person on the Ozark Writers Conference encouraged me to attend the conference. I agreed before I realized how far I would have to go to get there. Being cheap I used my frequent flyer miles to get to Dallas, but then had to drive many hours to Eureka Springs, AK. Past where they filmed the movie Deliverance. I actually passed a kid playing the banjo.
I was very impressed by the quality of authors who attended and were panel members. The Missouri, Arkansas, and North Texas areas have excellent writers. I asked the Arkansas Poet Laureate to critique a lullaby I’m including in my next thriller. One more time, instead of doing easy writing, I’m stretching. Since I chose not to have children, writing a lullaby is a real challenge. The poet gave me some good ideas.
Best of all I cornered the thriller editor for Penguin Publishing who had flown in from New York. I gave him a five minute description of the book concept for GOLD FIRE. Five minutes to try and change your destiny.
I structured the pitch into six sections:
1 What is the book concept?
2 Can the author write?
3 Does the author have the expertise to write this counter-terrorism thriller?
4 Can the author sell/market this book?
5 What Rights are Available?
6 What Risks has the author already reduced for the Publisher?
I rehearsed the pitch for an hour before the meeting, get an introduction and delivered the material.
All the years of learning how to do this business came together. For once, I didn’t flub the delivery. And the editor said all the things you want to hear from an editor:
“Very commercial”
“Timely. Sounds like it came out of last night’s presidential debate”
“Fit’s our line of books”
“Send me the first fifty pages and I’ll take a look.”
“Include your first two books. I may want reprint rights.”
Only one small, tiny, itsy-bitsy problem. I can’t submit to Penguin without an agent. I didn’t tell the editor I was currently without one. Not to worry, I’ve got a package in front of an agent, and when I get back home I’ll learn if she’ll sign me.
14 Oct (Down)
Another agent rejection. I’ve concluded that all agents are vampires. They tantalize unsuspecting authors to approach them by offering the lure of getting published, gaining fame and amassing riches. Then they pounce on the poor authors and suck the blood of life out of their souls. Joy killers!!! And they always time their joy-sucking to happen immediately after the author gets incredibly high on hope based on some crumb of accomplishment tossed their way.
Next time I send out a query package I’ll slip a little silver dust into the envelope. Hee, hee, hee!!!
Of course, maybe my writing could be better. Back to editing before I send the next query package out.
15 Oct (Up)
Earlier in the year, the publisher at Cypress House Press recommended I submit to agent Nancy Ellis Bell. Checking the Internet I learn that she is hosting a Fiction Writing retreat in two weeks in Mendocino, several hundred miles north of my home. So I call to sign up and the agent picks up the phone when I explain who recommended me. We talk and I quickly tell her I’ve landed a request from the Penguin editor for a package and want to polish it and send it to her thirty days after the retreat. She’s interested.
Humm...vampire or angel?
29-30 Oct (Up)
At the Fiction retreat Nancy Ellis Bell has read my manuscript and knows the name of my characters. She likes several and she likes the concept of GOLD FIRE: the son of Osama bin Laden steals mobile nuclear ICBMs out of southern Russia with the goal of vaporizing Ft. Knox and all the gold bullion in the U.S.
A good sign! Plus, she accepts my offer to polish the first fifty pages and return the package for consideration. An editor from Carroll & Graf Publishing, in New York, also likes the concept and encourages me to consider sending the package to them.
Hurrah! So I’ve finally came up with a great book concept. Now all I have to do is write a flawless fifty pages.
1-28 Nov (Neutral)
I start my editor review process. I send the first chapter to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. She wants me to tone down the religious talk by the bad guy. But she likes the Chinese spy and several sections of dialogue. Another editor in Missouri very quickly goes through the fifty pages and points out several viewpoint jumps and some areas that are not clear to the reader. My excellent copy editor points out punctuation and grammar improvements. I take all the input and start rewriting, rewriting, rewriting. By the time I get sick of it I let the wife-editor, read the latest version. Quickly I’m back to rewriting. Yuk! But by the time I finish I really like the four chapters I’m sending to the agent.
29-30 Nov (Neutral)
I work two days putting together the proposal package. I don’t just stuff the fifty pages into an envelope and mail. I consider what the agent’s needs are and try to provide a first cut of all the information she might need to sell the book to the editor, including my marketing budget and my post-release plans for marketing the thriller. I’m hoping that by conveying that I am committed to selling the book will shore up any weaknesses in the writing. Not that there are any. It’s perfect. Each word a gem.
The package was a half-inch thick and includes:
#1 Book Proposal information that hooked the Penguin Editor
#2 Mitchell’s PR & Marketing Plan & Budget
#3 Title Page
#4 Sample Chapters (50 pages)
#5 Book Synopsis
#6 Book Table of Contents
#7 Chapter Outline
#8 Sketches of Continuing Characters
#9 Author Biography
#10 Author Photo
3 Dec (Up-Down)
The agent called to verify she had received the package.
Well, that is a very positive sign. Maybe she’s an angel?
She told me it would take thirty days to review the package and that “the outlook was positive and my writing was decent”.
DECENT? Aaaahhh...it needs more work. Will she trust I can make the changes quickly or will she turn into a vampire? Aaaahhh...now we wait.
And the adventure continues.
------------------------------------------
Please pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues. Tell anyone wanting to receive this newsletter to just e-mail me at ed@BooksByMitchell.com However, if this letter is a bother in your hectic lives just reply back that you want to be deleted (or unsubscribe) and I'll immediately drop you from my list.
------------------------------------------
P.S. If you want to purchase an autographed copy of any of my books, click here:
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/books.htm
Ed Mitchell, Author of:
GOLD LUST
>>Winner: National Publishers Award for BEST NEW
FICTION in the USA & Canada from a small press
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST MYSTERY THRILLER
GOLD RAID
>>Regional Winner: Sacramento Publisher & Authors Fiction Award for BEST ACTION BOOK.
>>Regional Winner: San Francisco Bay Area Independent
Publishers award for BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE-THRILLER
>>Read Ch-1 of past and soon to be released books
at http://www.booksbymitchell.com
& Sign up for the Author's humorous news letter
Consultant to Emerging Authors
http://www.booksbymitchell.com/consulting.htm
17595 Vierra Canyon Road, #407, Salinas CA 93907
E-mail ed@booksbymitchell.com
831-663-1021
Fax 831-663-5629
Gold Rush 2000 ISBN: 0-9668447-3-4
Gold Lust ISBN 0-9668447-7-7
Gold Raid ISBN 0-9668447-9-3
Copyright Jan 2005
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