I signed with an agent just before I finished my MFA program. She spent the next couple of years trying to sell my book to publishers, but had no success and no interest in selling the book to a small press. 

Fair enough, because agents only make money if the writer makes money and small presses don’t pay much. She and I parted ways amicably, and I attempted to find a new agent, only to realize that agents are reluctant to take on a project that has already been shopped around unless the project has had a significant revision, which mine hadn’t.

But I believed in my novel, and while I could have put it away while I worked on new projects, I wanted to see it in the world. And so, I started looking at small presses. 

Here’s what I learned about publishing with a small press along the way:

Research small presses the same way you’d research an agent

There are a lot of small presses out there and they won’t all be a good fit for your project. I was drawn to Apprentice House because it’s an entirely student-run press, and I figured that no one cares less about money than students. 

I was feeling a bit jaded by the focus on money my agent had—I wanted to write for the art, not just the money, and so a student-run press was a great fit for me. A student-run press might not be the right fit for you if you want consistency, though, because at Apprentice House, there’s someone new working on your book every semester. I liked having lots of input and ideas and feedback, and the students were as warm and as engaged as I imagined they would be, so, for me, the pre-publication experience was lovely.

Read your contract

I was really happy to have a contract for my book, and I did skim it, but I didn’t spend any time thinking about the implications of what I’d signed until well after my book came out.

Namely, when I started to work on my second book and realized my contract stated that Apprentice House had the right of first refusal for it. Which means they get first dibs, and while I can turn down their offer, I still have to give them a chance. 

This is pretty standard, and I’d pretty much made peace with the fact that AH would look at my novel and they would either:

• Like it and offer the same terms as the first novel, which I was prepared to turn down in the hopes of a more lucrative book deal, or 
• Not like it and then I would cry for a month. 

But then I had lunch with a writer friend who told me she asked to have the right of first refusal taken off her contract (with a different small press). She reasoned that her next project was nothing her current publisher would ever put out, so why waste their time and hers? I was impressed with her forward-thinking and I wish I’d taken the time to think about my own contract a little more.

Have someone else copyedit/proofread your work

Apprentice House, and most small publishers, will not copyedit or proofread for you. And even if you think you have a good handle on grammar, have someone else—preferably more than one person—read your uncorrected proof. 

Trust me, you’ve read your own work too many times to really know what’s on the page. By the time I got my uncorrected proofs, I’d say I’d read my manuscript, whole or in parts, at least fifty times. And yet, I still had a reference to the “Eater” Bunny in there. (Easter was what I was going for)

The good news about a small press is that if you happen to miss typos, the print runs are generally small, and you’ll be able to fix the mistake in the next run. The bad news is that too many typos just make the book seem unprofessional and after all your hard work, you don’t want that.

Develop a marketing plan

Even if your publisher works with you to create a marketing plan (which mine did not), you’ll want to come up with as many ideas as you can. Brainstorm like crazy, but make sure they’re things you’re willing and able to do. 

For me, people-ing is exhausting, and I needed rest days in between events. I know some writers who thrive on talking about their work, and that’s great and amazing. Play to your strengths, especially if you’re thinking about the long game—for me, I knew my current work-in-progress would suffer if I didn’t occasionally hit pause. 

When thinking about events, tap into your resources. My day job is as a library director, so I felt comfortable sending out promotional postcards to every library in my state and neighboring states, and I did not fail to mention that I am a library director. I booked most of my events this way. 

I also contacted people I’d gone to graduate school with and, even though that was a little harder for me, I asked them to do events with me. I don’t like being the center of attention, and so, for me, events with other writers make me much more comfortable (but it’s so hard to risk someone saying “no!”). Events with multiple authors draw a bigger crowd, so it’s a win-win in my eyes.

I also attended book fairs, taught workshops, wrote essays about writing my book, and even got the chance to be interviewed on stage in front of a live 100-person audience as part of a music/performing arts variety show. 

Not all of these things were part of my original marketing plan, but a lot of them came about because I had a marketing plan. The variety show, for example, was the direct result of me contacting a bookseller in a neighboring state. I didn’t hear from her for months and assumed she wasn’t interested in the book event I’d pitched, but then she contacted me and said she thought of me when this event came on her radar, so she suggested me to the variety-show producer.

Be flexible with your expectations

Not everything is going to go according to plan, but in the end, small presses are doing a lot of good work for not a lot of money. It’s important to ask for what you need, whether it’s clarification, or a report on sales, or support with an event, but it’s also important to remember to stay polite, professional, and as accommodating as you can be. It’s a team effort, after all. 

Jennifer Dupree is an assistant editor for The Masters Review, a librarian, and a former bookstore owner. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from USM’s Stonecoast program. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in December, Solstice, The Masters Review, On the Rusk and other notable places. She is the winner of the Writer’s Digest Fiction Contest for 2017, and a two-time winner of a Maine Literary Award (2022, 2006). Her novel, “The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach” was published in April of 2022.
You can learn more about Jen on her website or catch her on facebook.

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About Kaela Rivera

Kaela Rivera is the award-winning author of the Cece Rios series. She grew up reading the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents in the forests of Tennessee, but now she writes about them from the soaring mountains of Utah. When she’s not crafting stories, she’s working as a managing editor for a marketing company—or secretly doodling her characters in the margins of her notebook. One of her greatest hopes is to explore the beauty of cultural differences—and how they can bring us all closer. Visit her at kaelarivera.com.

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About the Cece Rios Series

Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous—especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits break free from their home in Devil’s Alley to threaten humankind. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas who roamed the desert, much to her family’s disapproval. After all, it’s common knowledge that only brujas—humans who capture and control criaturas—consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime.

When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, everyone in town believes she’s lost forever. But Cece is determined to bring Juana back. To get into Devil’s Alley, though, she’ll have to become a bruja herself—while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans, and agrees to help her on her journey. With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family—and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way. 

Book 2 Cece Rios and the King of Fears will come out on September 27, 2022!

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Interview with Kaela Rivera

Olivia Fisher: Kaela, what made you want to write for kids?

Kaela Rivera: I think I’ve always sort of been a kid, even as I got older and more mature, and I’ve always written for myself first. I revise to be understood by other people, but the writing process itself has always been to entertain, heal, and explore with my inner child. 

Of course, I adore children, so that’s made me all the more excited and motivated to share stories with them. I used to tell stories to my friends, little sister, and younger kids as I was growing up—I have more than four nephews, so you can probably see how that came into play. And I find myself still writing for that little-me, those little nephews (before they had the audacity to grow up), because in childhood I’ve found we have such a greater willingness to learn, to experience, to understand, and to hope. We start losing that as we get older, but children are ready for adventure. They’re ready to grow. And that’s what I want to explore most in my writing.

OF: How did you develop your writing craft? 

KR: I started by writing a lot, reading a lot, and doing both frequently. Where some kids watched TV, I always ended up sitting down to write because I wanted to be on the next leg of whatever adventure I was currently weaving. That gave me the pretty stable foundation I needed as a writer—instincts for pacing, dialogue, structure, character,  and even grammar. 

I reached a pretty solid intermediate writing level once I’d finished about three/four novels, and that’s when I felt I needed a better level. I was in college at this point, and I could write well by that point, but my voice wasn’t distinct. I’d practiced emulating authors I loved in order to get a feel for their skills. I’d read a lot. I studied books on writing, practiced over and over. But I knew it was time to develop the way I wanted to write. 

Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief and I Am the Messenger, ended up being key for me in that way. There was an interview he gave where he talked about wanting to write so much like himself that no one could ever doubt it was him. That’s when I went to work. And I should say, that led to some really rough experimenting. I pushed my language, my descriptions, my internal exploration pretty far. Not far from me—I was digging down into myself and pulling up all kinds of stuff from the mines of my mind. Sometimes, when I ran that writing by people, they were totally confused by my descriptions, the blocking, the idea. That was the next step: learning how to polish up the rocks I was digging up from inside myself, so other people could recognize, connect, and understand what I was saying.

Toward the end of my college years, I grew more and more confident in my writing. I submitted novels to agents and editors, and I learned from that that my worldbuilding and plots were still weak points. So, for the first time in my writing practice—I tried to revise. And I should point out that learning to revise is a huge, important part of the writing process that I had completely neglected in favor of moving on to the next project. I don’t recommend this route, but it did mean I avoided over-editing and not finishing projects, at least. Different writers encounter different difficulties, though, so mine became figuring out how to revise—how to get a sense for when something needed to change, when something could be better, what exactly needed to change, and how to make all those changes a cohesive part of your image for the story. And, well, how to change your image of the story to be truer to your actual intentions. 

Writing is exploratory, I believe. And revising is about cohesiveness and focus. You need both to create a good book, in my opinion—both exploration and focus. Magic and clarity.

I finally worked out my plot issues with my next project, which became Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls. That was about my tenth book I think, and that was the book that got me my agent. Working with her and my editor really helped me nail down my understanding of revision—but of course, like all writers, I’m still working on it!

OF: Tell us a little about your first book! What was the publishing process like for you?

KR: Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls is my first published book—and it turns out to be the first book in the Cece Rios series! The second book comes out September 27, 2022! So close!

Cece’s publishing journey was an interesting one. I actually had an R&R on a previous book out with my current agent, who was then not yet my agent, while I was finishing Cece. I submitted Cece’s first draft to PitchWars (R.I.P.), and when all the feedback came back as “I can’t help you make this better; it’s already complete besides adjusting this one scene”—a response I’d never gotten before—I had a feeling it would be the one to get published.

It turned out I was right! Just a month or so later, I submitted Cece (with that one scene adjusted) to the PitchAmerica contest (also R.I.P.). I was pretty good at contests, since I have a decent knack for pitching and marketing, so I thought I’d try it out. I got into the agent showcase, and my not-yet agent, Serene Hakim, saw Cece’s pitch and opening chapters. She already had my R&R as I mentioned, and she loved what she saw in Cece. She made an offer, along with two other agents, and I went with Serene because her editing resonated with me, and she felt both approachable and capable.

After Serene and I signed our contracts and officially started working together, we went through revisions and then went out on submission. After that, my editor at HarperChildren’s reached back out to us, and we were off on our publishing adventure!

OF: Did that process change after you published your first book?

KR: Publishing feels very different since Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls launched. For one, I’ve learned that what people say about publishing timelines is true: there are two speeds, 1) forever waiting and 2) go, go, go everything’s happening now! I’ve had to learn how to revise faster and better, how to clean up my process, and how to make my writing a bit more consistent—all while balancing online presence, in-person appearances, and behind-the-scenes writing and deals for future books.

So, publishing after my first book has been stressful, but it’s also been exciting and fun. I really enjoy the variety and constant set of new opportunities and new learnings that come with publishing, even if challenges come alongside them.  

OF: What’s the hardest thing about writing a book?

KR: Revision still feels like the hardest part of writing for me. It’s the beautiful, painful, wonderful, terrible process of slowly and precisely going through your book from high to low levels and bringing it together. It’s what turns a good book into a great book, and a nice experience into a fully moving, satisfying one. I should know, as I’m a managing editor in my day job. I have over eight years’ experience editing other peoples’ work (think copywriting, though—not the creative side). And yet, revision is also the part where I doubt myself, question everything, and balance the needs of what I want the story to be and how the story can be accessed by others. 

Revision is absolutely worth it and oh-so important. But it’s difficult for me. Of course, that’s just another example of how some of the hardest things in life are the most worthwhile.

OF: What’s the best thing about writing a book?

KR: I adore the free, dauntless exploration of the rough draft. If you asked my writers group, they’d tell you I write quickly, and I write a lot. Every book I write requires cutting at least twenty thousand words. But I think that’s because I need to spent time in the world. I need to sit in the quiet moments with my characters, the breath between plot points, and explore the full impact of my character’s internal experiences and thoughts. I need to explore all the many interesting things the plot could conduct, and I need to sit in the world and breathe in its smells and touch its leaves and watch its sunsets. Some people may consider that a lot of wasted words, but that travel experience gives me the backbone, the anchor, the foundation of the story, so I can always go back to those feelings as touchpoints when revision. That’s how I don’t lose the essence of the story (or at least, how I hope I don’t). 

In that rough draft period, I work out all of what I want in a book. I teach myself what the characters need, and I explore and ask questions, and I experience the things I need. That’s why that first write-through is so important to me. It’s freeing and exciting and confusing and interesting. Revision, as it comes later, turns all of that into something cohesive. It’s the distilled version of my experience, the one I want to share with others, so that hopefully, the good I got out of it, and what I learned, and the healing I received, might get passed on to anyone who knows or needs it. 

OF: What do you hope readers will take away from your books? Or what experience have you had interacting with your young readers?

KR: The biggest thing I want to leave with people is probably hope. Hope in the difficult times, light at the end of the tunnel, healing in and through and after pain and hardship. To me, hope is the only true realism. Pessimism and cynicism I find naïve, since both usually come from disappointed optimism, where, when you were looking for only joy in order to be happy, you found hardship, and decided that joy no longer was. But hope bespeaks light even when darkness surrounds. Hope knows exactly how hard life is and can be, and reaches for the joy and the contentment and recovery and healing that can still be as well. I want to offer that to readers, so they can go on adventures that heal and reaffirm their lives.

OF: What’s next on your author journey?

KR: The third book in the Cece Rios series is next up on the list! I’ll be starting revisions for it within the next month or so. I’m also working on a horror MG book duology—and a secret project I can’t talk about yet. So many exciting things to come!

Thank you for this wonderful interview Kaela! If you want to follow along with Kaela’s writing journey and read her books, visit her at kaelarivera.com.

Tell us in the comments: What were your big takeaways from my interview with Kaela Rivera?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: Interview with Kaela Rivera appeared first on DIY MFA.

Sincerely,

Aimlessly Acquiring An Agent

Dear Aimlessly,

Yours is a loaded question, with an even more loaded answer. Before I get to that, though, something I always encourage writers to do is define what success means and looks like to them. It’s important to revisit this question often, in all stages of the writing process, and brings me to the first part of my multi-layered answer to your question:

Paths to Publishing

Now, more than ever, there are so many different ways to publish. So, to answer your question with another question: why traditional publishing?

Traditionally, I consider traditional publishing to be publishing with one of the Big Five (Penguin/Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan). If you are looking to submit to any of these houses, chances are yes, you will need an agent. 

However, the imprints of these houses may open submissions for unrepresented authors periodically throughout the year (but don’t quote me on that). 

At the same time, there are also a number of independent and hybrid presses, along with self-publishing options, that don’t require you to have an agent in order to submit your manuscript for consideration.   

So, I’d ask you to consider why you believe traditional publishing is the right path for you, but more than that, if traditional publishing is truly where your book belongs.

Great Expectations

There’s a common misconception that once an author signs with an agent, their life becomes infinitely easier: their book gets purchased for a boatload of money, eventually topping the bestseller list before being optioned for a multi-film deal. The truth is, an agent isn’t a guarantee of publication. When it comes to books, there are no guarantees.

There are benefits of having an agent—someone to advocate on your behalf and to share the heavy lifting (and the misery of rejection) with. At the end of the day, though, an agent isn’t a one-way ticket to publication. 

It’s a Numbers Game

Getting rejected is part of the deal when it comes to writing. I’m not a believer in word or page counts, and I don’t subscribe to the idea of X number of rejections equalling a particular badge of honor. 

That being said, a hundred rejections almost tells you the same thing as fifty—something isn’t working or resonating.

Ask yourself if your query is clear, if your characters, and their motivations, are coming through. 

Another thing—and this is important—is to consider where you’re querying and WHY. When I was starting out, I submitted my work everywhere that was accepting submissions. It wasn’t until I got an email from an editor with a simple question, “Why do you think this piece is a good fit for us?” A quick scan of their website told me they already knew the answer: it wasn’t. 

Make sure you’re querying with purpose. 

Good luck, and keep writing!

What other questions do you have about getting an agent, writing a novel, or getting published? Drop them here and Lauren might answer them in a future column!

Lauren J. Sharkey is a writer, teacher, and transracial adoptee. Inconvenient Daughter is her debut novel, and loosely based on her experience as a Korean adoptee. You can follow her at ljsharks.com, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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About Heather Mateus Sappenfield

Heather Mateus Sappenfield loves adventures, especially in the Rocky Mountain landscape that’s been her lifelong home. As part of women’s teams, she’s won 24-hour mountain bike races and road bicycling’s Race Across America—San Diego, California to Atlantic City, New Jersey. She’s also competed in the Mountain Bike World Championships, ski instructed for Vail Resorts, and loves backcountry ski touring. Her toughest adventures, though, arise in the writing of stories. 

Heather is the author of two contemporary YA novels, The View from Who I Was and Life at the Speed of Us, a Colorado Book Awards Finalist. Her story collection, Lyrics for Rock Stars, released as the winner of the V Press LC Compilation Book Prize, was nominated for the MPIBA’s Reading the West Awards, was a silver medalist for the IBPA’s Ben Franklin Awards, and was featured on Colorado Public Radio. Her most recent book, The River Between Hearts, runner-up for the Kraken Prize, is a Middle Grade novel about friendship and healing. 

About The River Between Hearts

On an ordinary Monday, Rill Kruse left for third grade with a dad, but when she came home, he’d been stolen. By a river. One year and thirteen days later—on the first morning of summer vacation—Rill still insists he’s trudging home. Her mom has become a practical woman. Her older brother, Eddy, now calls her baby and dork. Gus, the second-in-command at Kruse Whitewater Adventures, Rill’s family’s rafting company, has gone from being her dad’s “risk bro” to her mom’s guardian angel. Joyce, company secretary, arm-wrestler, and mechanic, still calls Rill a fingerling, but, after learning what a cheater water is, Rill wishes she’d stop. When Rill’s cat, Clifford, leads her to the family tree fort on the mountainside behind home, she discovers a stowaway, Perla. To help Perla, Rill embarks on an adventure that tests her understanding of the world, of loss, and of what it means to be a friend. In the end, what Rill discovers will nudge her—and all those she loves—toward healing.

Interview with Heather Mateus Sappenfield

Olivia Fisher: What made you want to write for kids?

Heather Mateus Sappenfield: Oh, that’s a great question! If you look at my publishing history, I’ve written two YA novels, an adult literary story collection, and now a MG novel! I never plan to write a genre of book. Instead, I have these obsessions, stored in the back of my mind, and one day a narrator will arrive with a story that explores it. It’s my subconscious working, I’m sure, but those narrators have voices all their own and are pretty fully formed when they show up. I listen to and observe them for weeks, months, even years, and when I feel as though I know them and their story well enough, I begin writing.

One of my joys is writing for readers of all ages. That’s probably not the best choice for me commercially, but I strive to stay true to what the protagonist/characters need the story to be. Having written for adults, YA, and now MG, I must admit that writing for this youngest group of readers was the most difficult craft-wise. MG novels are just as rich and textured as books for older readers, but they must be shaped into simpler sentence structures that peel away artifice and muddled meanings. Instances of my adult perspective needed to be yanked like weeds. It took so much time to get this book right! 

OF: I love this. As a writer of MG myself, you really have to get in the head of your young protagonist and have them say and react as they would and not how you would, and that can be difficult for our adult brains! 

What was the publishing process like for you?

HMS: I had an agent for my first two novels, and she sold my books to Flux, which at the time was an imprint of Llewellyn. I unfairly assumed that she and Flux would take care of all my promotions. I was so naïve! Agents only sell and maintain a book’s rights, and marketing departments at publishing houses are overworked and underpaid. News flash: never ever leave your book’s marketing up to someone else! 

After my agent and I mutually parted ways, I was deflated by the business and quit writing for a while. The River Between Hearts drew me back. I decided to enter contests instead of seeking another agent, and I’ve published my last two books with indie publishers this way. I’ve also hired a publicist, and both have been fabulous experiences. 

Simply publishing a book is terrific—it’s exhilarating initially—but eight months down the road, with it not selling and few people reading it, the process can feel anticlimactic and hollow. 

With this fourth book, I’m finally starting to understand the selling side of the industry. It basically consists of two vendor routes: 1) big outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble 2) indie bookstores. 

As you can imagine, these two paths have distribution channels that in many ways do not mingle, and to get your book out there, you need to pursue both. The big outlets are pretty straightforward—get your book listed with them, get your advance reading copies (ARCs) on NetGalley, try to get reviews on Goodreads and seller sites, and hope for the best. 

For indies, you must recognize that indie bookstores are run by people, and this means establishing relationships. Attend their regional conferences, make acquaintances, and swim the uphill battle of getting your book into their store. 

Be sure to put your ARC on Edelweiss, and encourage folks to review it there. Edelweiss is one of the main ways booksellers and librarians learn about books! And again, hope for the best.

OF: Yes, I feel like this is something important for all writers to take away. Publishing is a difficult industry no matter if you are self-publishing, publishing through an indie publisher, or aiming for one of the big four publishers. It can take A LOT of work, and doing your research beforehand is so important! These are some great insights into how writers can prepare for this. Thanks, Heather!

What’s the hardest thing about writing a book?

HMS: When I was a little girl, I always knew I’d live in the mountains and be an author. I guess it’s what I’m meant to do. I love the entire process of writing a book, from drafting the initial pages with my ears ringing from how hard I’m listening, to tweaking the polished copy so that nuance, refrain, and thematic elements sing. 

The hardest part, though, is noticing, and then stepping back, when I’m getting in the way of the story. We all have things we avoid, places we don’t want to go, and it’s not always easy to catch those moments and then step aside so the characters can complete their journey.

OF: What’s the best thing about writing a book?

HMS: Ah, there’s two things. First, I love when I’m at the very end of the revision process, the writing is ultra-polished, and I’ve worked with the story so much that it’s as though I’m effortlessly juggling a hundred balls. I know where all the story elements reside, and how they all link. It’s an amazing sensation. 

Second; I love, love, love connecting with readers—hearing how they interacted with the book, and how the story resonated with them. That, truly, is why I write.

OF: What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

HMS: One reviewer stated (paraphrasing here) that my books are deceptively simple yet layered with meaning. I hope that each of my readers—no matter their age—takes from my books exactly what they need in their life right then. That it sustains them, helps them heal, or makes them laugh.

OF: How did you develop your writing craft?

HMS: I’ve always been a voracious reader. I especially loved science fiction and fantasy for the escape they provided. Though I have mild dyslexia, writing has always been something I excelled at. I was an English major in college. I taught high school language arts. Along the way, I wrote a bit, but not seriously. 

Then, when my daughter was a year old, she started talking with the Australian accent of her daycare provider. I love Australian accents, but…paradigm shift! I resigned from teaching. While she napped, I began to seriously pursue writing. 

I had some bad habits, though, mostly from being on the teaching end of literature. After a few near misses with getting stories published in magazines, I decided to pursue my MFA in Writing at Pacific University’s low residency program. Boy! Did they ever strip away those habits and hone my craft! I was able to study one-on-one with some incredible writers! 

In my third semester, one of my stories was runner-up in a contest. Then another story won a contest, and another was accepted for publication. 

Here I’d like to say, however, that not everybody needs an MFA. They’re costly and don’t fit with every life or learning style. What it really boiled down to for me, I believe, was the intense, focused, open-minded intentioned time dedicated to the craft.

Post-graduation, my craft has continued to evolve in a steady unfolding and unfolding and constant learning about how to write stories in ways that most directly connect with readers. Every day, I learn something new.

OF: I love this. Writing and honing a craft can be a varied journey, and one approach doesn’t fit every writer as you said. You mentioned that what it really came down to for you was the intensely focused time, and really, that’s what I feel like is both the biggest obstacle and the pivotal point of success for writers: making the time to write. But not just write, write with dedication and focus. It’s something I’ve certainly struggled with as a young mom, but that time isn’t impossible to make. It just takes work and intentionality.

OF: What’s next on your author-journey?

HMS: I hope to soon announce some good news about a finished humorous literary/women’s fiction novel! I’m in the final one-hundred pages of drafting another humorous novel. After that, I’ll start a new MG novel, I think. At least, right now, the narrator indicates it will be MG.

OF: I love it! It’s so fun that you are juggling multiple genres and relishing each one! I’m excited to hear more about your next book.

Heather, thank you for taking the time to interview with me and sharing your insight into the world of being a kid lit author with us! Congratulations on your latest book The River Between Hearts. You can find Heather’s book and follow along with her author journey on her website.

Tell us in the comments: What were your big takeaways from this interview with Heather Mateus Sappenfield?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

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In publishing, it’s an absolute. 

Over the course of querying three novels and going out on submission three separate times, I have faced over five hundred rejections. And that’s not an exaggeration. Some were very difficult to handle, like the full requests that turned to no’s or the near offers that fell apart during acquisitions. 

Learning how to deal with rejection as an author is more important than ever because I believe the people that find success in writing are those that keep going, despite being told “no” many, many times. 

I could have stopped after my first one hundred or the second or the third, but I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had. Thanks to a lot of practice, I have found five effective ways to deal with rejection.

1. Change your Mindset toward Rejection

I told myself early on that “no” was just another two-letter word that really meant “Not right now” or “Noble attempt” or “Not today.” 

Treating each rejection as though it’s temporary (because it is) makes it easier to deal with them and continue forward. After all, a “yes” could be just around the corner. 

And it is true what they say, you only need one “yes.” 

My debut novel, The Perfect Marriage, was rejected by every major and mid-size publishing house. I decided to submit it directly to small publishers because I believed in it, and I knew with my ten years of social media and digital marketing experience, I could find my readership. It was published in July 2020 with a small UK publisher and has gone on to sell over 180,000 copies across formats. It hit the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list, Amazon Charts bestseller list, and Apple Books bestseller list. The film/tv rights were optioned to Picture Perfect Federation, and it’s been translated into nearly a dozen languages. 

Even after all of that, I was still getting “Not today” when I began querying another project. Over 100 agents said, “no” to my next thriller One of Us is Dead. Only one (my agent, Sandy Lu) said “yes.” The book got multiple offers on submission and sold in a very nice deal to Blackstone Publishing (out April 26^th). 

Were all those publishing houses or the 100+ agents wrong for saying no to me? Absolutely not. It wasn’t right for them. But the point is don’t let all the no’s stop you from finding your yes.

2. Treat Yourself

This might sound counterintuitive to treat yourself when you didn’t get the outcome you were looking for. 

However, getting a rejection is an accomplishment in itself because you put yourself out there because you took a risk because you’re actively pursuing your passion. And that should be celebrated. 

So, if you have a particularly hard knock-back, or perhaps it’s your very first, treat yourself. Get a manicure, buy some new stationery, eat a comfort meal, have a glass of wine; do whatever you need to take care of yourself. 

3. Wallow in Self-Pity (temporarily)

I myself have done my fair share of wallowing in self-pity, and I will say it does help if it’s temporary. 

It’s completely okay to be upset or frustrated with rejections, and those feelings shouldn’t be suppressed. They’re valid. 

Allow yourself to feel them and take a day to be upset, but then get back to work. 

Heck, you can even use those negative feelings to propel you forward, because there’s nothing more motivating than wanting to prove your ‘naysayers’ wrong.

4. Refocus

You can’t control if an agent says yes or no to represent you. You can’t control if an editor says yes or no to acquire your book. So, it’s time to refocus, or better yet focus on what you can control; and that’s your work. 

If you’re out on submission, start writing the next book. If you’re querying a project, start writing the next book. Putting your energy into another book while you’re querying or on submission can help dull the sting of any rejections you might face. 

Also, having something else in the works is a great reminder that it isn’t over until you stop trying. 

5. Accept the Rejection

As I said earlier “rejection is an absolute in publishing.” You will get rejected. You will get declined more than once. If you’re like me, you’ll get rejected hundreds of times. 

Rejection is just a part of this journey and the sooner you realize and accept that, the easier it is to deal with it. So, the next time someone tells you “No” —remember you are not alone. 

We have all been there because rejection is a stepping stone in publishing. Some of us just have a lot more steppingstones to cross over, which is fine, because every path to publication is different. 

You just have to stay on your path and keep pressing forward until you reach your destination.

Tell us in the comments: How have you dealt with rejection?

Jeneva Rose is the bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage, which has been published in nearly a dozen languages and optioned for film. Originally from Wisconsin, she currently lives in Chicago with her husband and stubborn English bulldog. One of Us Is Dead is her third novel. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or her Facebook page.

The post #5onFri: The Five Stages of Dealing with Rejection appeared first on DIY MFA.

Anna has been writing children’s books for 10 years now; her first book came out in 2011, and her most recent book, Double Clique: A Wish Novel, came out in December of 2021. She was born in Poland and moved to the US when she was five. Stories have always been a part of her life and have given her a voice. Anna has published picture books, chapter books, and middle grade books, a few of which I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

I had the opportunity to interview her and talk all about her books and her journey as a children’s book writer! I wish I had the space to share all of our fantastic interview, but Anna has some beautiful insights for you into the world of being a children’s book writer.  

Interview with Anna Staniszewski

What made you want to write for kids?

Anna Staniszewski: I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be a writer. Eventually, I started writing plays, and I went to college for playwriting, actually. After I graduated, I loved theater, but I didn’t love it enough to do it in such a tough industry, not that writing books is that much easier. 

So I started working on short stories instead, and I thought I was writing for adults. But I got some feedback from a critique partner who said, “You know, all your characters sound 13.” And I thought, “Hmm. That’s interesting.” Then I kind of thought back to all the books that had really meant something to me in my life and so many of them were books I had read when I was young. 

Right around that time, I wound up getting a job at the Eric Carle Museum in Western Massachusetts. I started working there, and I was surrounded by people who loved children’s books. I thought, “Maybe this is a sign. This is what I am supposed to be doing.” So I went back to grad school to learn how to write children’s books.

Olivia Fisher: That’s amazing! And that must have been such an experience working at the Eric Carle Museum!

What was the first book you published?

AS: So this was actually the fourth book that I wrote and the first one that got published. It was my book My Very UnFairy Tale Life, and it came out from Sourcebooks. This book basically took all the things that I loved when I was a kid and put them into one book. It’s like a funny fantasy that’s rooted in fairy tales, especially the darker ones. 

I had been trying to get published with like a couple darker stories. It had taken me like a year to find an agent, and I was querying multiple projects. Then it took us [my agent and I] a year to sell something. This was right around when dystopian was really big. 

So I had like some darker manuscripts that almost got picked up but didn’t, and while I was kind of struggling through all that I was really writing this book just to make myself giggled. It’s so often true for writers that we start down one path thinking, “Yeah, I’m going to do this thing.” And then all of a sudden, we find ourselves doing what we love and being able to publish.

OF: Did those other books ever end up getting picked up, or are they still on the shelves?

AS: They’re on the shelf, but I feel like I learned so much. I feel like you learn so much from every book that you write, and I always feel like you take little tidbits from books you put aside, and some element of those projects might work itself into another book. It was never a waste of time to write those books. It was the time I needed to really get better at my craft.

What was the publishing process like for your first book?

AS: I had queried a couple other books and got some really nice rejections, but they didn’t go anywhere. I was working on something new and that actually wound up winning the Pen New England Discovery Award. So while I was at the reception for that award, this agent came up to me and was like, “I’m a new agent. I’m looking for new clients. If you’re looking for an agent…” and I was like, “Oh!’ I’d been querying for like a year,” and so I wound up connecting with Amy Jill Packett who is still my agent now, and she signed me for a different project. That one came really close to selling, but it didn’t. Luckily, I was working on this other book, and that’s the one that sold. We sold it as a stand alone with series potential.

How has the publishing process changed for you? Did that process change after you published your first book?

AS: The publishing process has changed so much for me because my first book, My Very UnFairy Tale Life, I was writing for fun, so I had no plan. There was no outline. I would just work on it when I felt like it. And then to go from selling that book to suddenly having to write two sequels with a deadline, I had to learn so much about plotting and getting unstuck. 

That first book from the time I started it to the time that it was on shelves was probably about four years. And since then, I’ve gotten to be much more organized about my writing process. I’m still not an outliner necessarily, but I’ve gotten really into writing a synopsis of the whole story. 

I’ve also found that I work best when I have deadlines and have multiple projects going at the same time. If I’m working on one thing and I get stuck, then I need something else to work on while this other thing’s sitting for a while. I can’t afford to get stuck. I can’t afford to give up on something, especially if I have a deadline. So I feel like I’ve found different ways to stay motivated and focused.

Where did you get your inspiration for your latest book?

AS: So with the Clique series, Clique Here and Double Clique, they’re both kind of inspired by my middle school woes. I was not exactly popular in middle school, and I remember wishing there was some kind of magic, like a popularity formula, that I could use. 

Then, about three or four years ago, I was thinking about that again and trying to come up with a new idea for a story. I went back to that idea, but I want to try writing it as a realistic novel rather than something that was magical because that would have been too similar to the project I had just finished. 

I thought what if it wasn’t magic that this character was using to try to become popular? What if it was science? So basically, she uses science in the first book to try and hack popularity because she was being bullied at her old school, and now she’s starting over at a new school. She thinks if she could just be in the popular crowd then she’ll be safe from bullies. So she uses science to try to get in with the popular crowd, and of course, hijinks ensue. 

In the second book, Double Clique, she tries to use science to help her patch things up with her friend. So they were very fun to write.

OF: That’s fantastic! I know those are definitely issues that lots of kids can relate to in their middle school experience.

What’s next on your author journey?

AS: I always like trying new things. That’s how I went from writing middle grade to writing picture books to writing chapter books. I love writing all sorts of things in different genres and different formats for different audiences. 

Right now, I’ve been working on a work for hire series, which I’ve never done before, and it’s actually under a pen name. It’s the Simon Seahorse Series and they’re written under my pen name, Cora Reef, which is adorable.

OF: That’s so cute!

AS: The first three books of this series actually just came out last month, and I have a few of those in the works, which has been really fun to do. And then, speaking of trying new things, I’ve been working on graphic novels, middle grade ones. And I am actually using a lot of my playwriting skills that I’ve sort of dusted off because writing a graphic novel script is very similar to playwriting in a lot of ways. And then I’m just always playing around with new ideas on the side. I want to always keep learning and trying new things by challenging myself to write for a new genre, or format, or audience.

OF: Oh man, that is so cool, and the world of kids graphic novels has become so vibrant recently.

Anna, thank you for taking the time to share all of your incredible author journey with us, and congratulations on your latest book Double Clique! To read Anna’s books or follow along with her writing journey, feel free to visit her website.

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever read anything by Anna Staniszewski?

Olivia Fisher is a children’s lit writer and freelance editor with an English degree from BYU-Idaho. When she isn’t dreaming about living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, watching Star Wars, writing her next adventure, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow her adventures on Twitter or Instagram, or hire her for your next editing escapade on Fiverr.

The post Kid Lit Craft: Interview with Anna Staniszewski appeared first on DIY MFA.

On that note, if there’s anything I’ve learned in my three years at Reedsy and two years of writing for DIY MFA, it’s that we creators thrive when we share resources and support one another. In that same spirit, here are my top tips for self-publishing authors! While they’ll be most helpful for the first-timers, I hope even experienced authors learn a little something new about the self-publishing process.

1. Write the book you believe in

Before you can self-publish a book, you have to actually write it. And though “write to market” is increasingly common (and valid!) advice these days, I still think most authors should start with ideas they really love. Not only will the passion shine through in your prose, but it’ll also motivate you to write all the way to the end—something that marketing potential alone may not do.

A little anecdotal evidence: nearly all the most interesting, fresh-voiced books I’ve come across through Reedsy have been passion projects. Plenty of these titles end up with solid audiences too! But with the exception of nonfiction books serving specific groups (how-to, self-help, etc.), the best books are inspired by the story, not by the people who will buy it. 

In short: write the book you truly believe in, and the audience will follow.

2. Invest in your cover design

As I emphasized in my post on cover design mistakes, your cover is a crucial window into your book. Readers use it to judge genre, tone, and ultimately whether or not they should commit to your work; even the tiniest design mistakes can have a devastating impact on this decision.

This is why you must invest in cover design over everything else, whether that means spending sufficient time on your self-design or hiring a professional to make it look flawless. I’d certainly recommend the latter route to most authors: while you can always self-edit your book in a pinch, graphic design skills are simply not in most writers’ wheelhouses. And on top of being artistically gifted, a professional cover designer will be savvy enough to know exactly which design elements readers in your genre want to see.

True, hiring an artist will cost more than doing it yourself. But the time and stress you’ll save in the long run—not to mention the gorgeous cover you’ll get out of the deal!—will be worth it.

3. Start marketing relatively early

I stand by the notion that “writing to market” is not mandatory for success. Once your book is finished, however, you can (and should!) turn your attention to marketing—ideally as you’re editing your book, commissioning your cover design, etc. This will give you a few solid months to attract readers before your book hits the shelves.

Why market so early, you ask? The main reason is reviews: you’ll want to launch with reviews already in place, so your first “real” readers can purchase your book with confidence. In order to get these reviews, you’ll need to send out ARCs to bloggers and reviewers at least a few weeks in advance of your launch. So once your book is in its near-final form (i.e. only awaiting minor copy edits or a proofread), get on those ARCs ASAP.

You may also want to set up a website, start posting more on social media, and create ads if necessary. Needless to say, this work can pile up quickly—so the earlier you start, the better.

4. Make the most of the community

Somewhat paradoxically given the term, one of the best things about self-publishing is the self-publishing community—the authors, readers, and professionals dedicated to the cause and its ever-evolving points of interest. They convene on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, etc. Wherever you normally spend time online, you should be able to track down the right community for you.

These communities are not only treasure troves of advice and commentary but also of genuine compassion and understanding. Join to connect with authors and readers in your genre, stay for the people that care about authors like you. Yes, it’s always handy to be able to post a reader poll or pick the brain of an experienced editor—but when you’re despairing over writer’s block or Amazon algorithm woes, that’s when your own little self-publishing community bubble feels truly invaluable.

5. Be wary of publishing scams

Not to pull a terrifying one-eighty with this next point, but for all the amazing people you’ll meet online, scammers still sadly abound… and their sociopathic inventiveness and persuasion can hoodwink even the most experienced authors.

The most common scam is when someone (often impersonating a real editor) contacts you, the author, with some fantastic offer—a full publishing package, a contract with a Big 5 imprint, or a deal to turn your book into a screenplay—in exchange for upfront payment. They’ll often call this an “agent fee,” a “signing fee,” etc. to try and make it sound more legitimate.

No matter what they say, though, contacting you out of the blue + requiring payment before providing any services = going to take your money and run. 

The good news is that once you’ve heard about the Big Scam, it’s easy to spot: anyone who randomly pops up in your inbox, proffering fame in exchange for money, is bad news.

For future reference, this post and Writer Beware are excellent resources to help you steer clear of publishing scams. When in doubt, you can always Google—where there’s smoke, there’s fire in the world of online scams.

6. Build out your backlist

On a more uplifting note, one of the best things you can do for your self-pub career is the very reason you started it in the first place: to write more books! Building out your backlist is a huge part of long-term marketing, allowing you to usher readers toward more books they’ll be interested in—especially if you’re writing a series about characters they love.

If you’re completely finished with the world of your first book, you can still write something similar. For authors of genre fiction, this shouldn’t be too hard; just start on another sci-fi book, or lit fic novel, or historical romance, as you were probably planning to anyway. For nonfiction authors, it might be tougher. Consider asking your readers what they’d like to learn about next.

Once you have a few books in your backlist, plug them like nobody’s business. Your most recent release should remain your primary focus, but you can still have things like a website banner displaying all your books; social media posts about previous books, especially harking back to fan-favorite bits; updated ebooks with intriguing previews at the end of each; and so on.

7. Remember that success takes time

Coming full-circle, I’ll end on another point that sounds obvious, but is worth reiterating for authors everywhere: quantifiable success takes time. Of course, publishing even a single book is a massive achievement by most people’s standards—but if you’re looking for strong sales, abundant readers, or even consistent critical acclaim, it’s likely going to take a few years.

Whether this statement feels inspiring or discouraging really depends on you as an author. If it currently skews more “discouraging,” try to get some clarity. For example, if you’re after a very specific type of success, ask yourself why. Are you working toward a sustainable career as an author, or is it a matter of ego? Which matters most to you: money, readers, or glowing reviews?

None of these are mutually exclusive, nor is any answer invalid—the idea is to guide you on how to proceed. You might even decide that self-publishing isn’t for you and end up pursuing a traditional publisher instead! 

But if you do stick with the self-pub route, take comfort in the fact that you won’t be the only one on the indie grind.

This also seems an apt note on which to end my indie grind, so to speak. As I close out my final column for DIY MFA, my wholehearted wish is that every author reading this—whether green or gold in terms of experience, indie or trad pub in their eventual path—pursues their dreams uninhibited, and gets everything they want out of craft and career alike. Best of luck to you all, and have a wonderful 2022!

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever considered self-publishing your novel? Why or why not?

Savannah Cordova is a writer and content creator at Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with the best editors, designers, and marketers in the business. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and low fantasy, as well as writing the occasional short story. She’s here to pull back the curtain on publishing so that every author can have the greatest possible chance at success.

The post My Top Tips for Self-Publishing Authors in 2022 appeared first on DIY MFA.

In Episode 3 of this column, I wrote about how I completed the manuscript of my first novel in the early days of the pandemic and despite the death of my son.

From the end of Episode 3: Ultimately, I decided to go the traditional publishing route. Being traditionally published is how I’d always imagined my life as an author. Plus, I had no interest in rewriting the script to fit whatever actual year was on the calendar. So, I drafted a query letter. I thought I was finally on my way! Then absolutely nothing went like I’d imagined it.

Premature Querying

When my oldest son was twelve, he passed all of his promotion exams and was granted the rank of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. It was a towering achievement, a culmination of seven years of hard work. It was the top of the mountain, the cherry on the sundae, the end of the road. Right?

Nope. 

According to his teacher, Sahbumnim Ralph, it was just the beginning. “Now, the real work begins,” he told my son with a wink.

“Nah, I’m done,” my son said. And he meant it. He never took another class. Now he’s 28 and says he doesn’t know an ap chagi from a yeop chagi. 

Similarly, when I finished the manuscript I had written in 74 days and the revision I finished in another 60, I was sure I was done! All that was left was writing a generic query letter as a start and then finding the perfect agents for my book.

I spent hours researching agents who best matched with the genre and age range of my manuscript: a contemporary YA novel. I made a list of my favorites, put them into a spreadsheet, and highlighted all the agents who were interested in representing own voices or BIPOC authors, especially since I’m a mixed-race author who writes bilingual characters. My debut novel is written in 90% English, 10% Spanish.

Within a couple of days, I queried all seventeen agents on my spreadsheet. The evening that I sent the last email, I poured myself a glass of wine and fantasized about all the requests for a full manuscript that would surely be coming my way in the next few weeks.

From Pixels to Platform

As if I couldn’t have planned it any better, I was in the midst of DIY MFA’s Pixels to Platform course when I finished revising and querying. After sending off my queries into the ethernets, I was able to buckle down and finally start building my platform. 

I mean, with all those book deals surely coming my way, I needed to have some eager readers ready to celebrate with me, right?

I purchased my domain name and corresponding email address, downloaded WordPress, and paid for hosting. I was so grateful that I had completed all of the worksheets in the first few modules of Pixels to Platform because I used all of that information to create my own website.

It took a few days and a lot of trial and error learning how to use WordPress without breaking my site, but I finally achieved a balance between a basic form and rudimentary function.

The next step in my platform was building an email list. I signed up with ConvertKit and spent a day or so designing a landing page, creating a lead magnet and a welcome sequence for subscribers. I installed the ConvertKit widget on my website so my newsletter opt-in form would appear automatically for site visitors who hadn’t yet subscribed. I wrote a short article as my first blog post and made this the last email in my welcome sequence.

After pivoting my existing profiles on Twitter and Instagram from personal to professional, I posted a link to my website. A day or so later, I posted a link to my landing page (in case followers missed the link to my website), and a day or so after that, I posted a link to my blog. I also created an author page on Facebook and did the same there. 

The Sound of Silence

In the meantime, I hadn’t heard anything from the agents I had queried, but I reminded myself it had only been a few weeks. As I continued waiting, I focused on writing blog posts about lessons I had learned from challenging experiences in my life. 

As a high school teacher, one of my whys for writing a YA novel is to inspire young people to use their innate creativity and turn their trauma into art. I see the difference in young people who see themselves as artistic or creative, as compared to their peers who only see what they cannot do or who they cannot be. 

While my own creativity kept me hopeful for several weeks, the sound of silence grew louder. I had heard that many agents simply don’t have time to respond, so if there is no reply after 6 or 8 weeks, to take that as a rejection.

Soon, however, the replies trickled in. 

The Sound of Rejection

It’s not the sound of two hands clapping, that’s for sure!

One by one, I drew a pink digital highlighter through the line in the spreadsheet where I had typed that agent’s information. I wrote the date of the rejection next to each.

Many of the rejections were clearly a form letter, but surprisingly, a few agents gave me solid reasons why they weren’t able to go any further with my manuscript. One, a young Latinx agent, told me she really, really wanted to like my book but she couldn’t connect with my protagonist. Another agent gave me some very detailed feedback on the pages I had sent, which I was grateful for. 

With the consensus being that my book was not quite ready, I knew that I had rushed through the revision process and queried prematurely. Therefore, the next step should have been taking the suggestions of the agents who generously took the time to give me thoughtful feedback.

But that’s not what I did. Instead of getting back to work, I did nothing. 

Truth be told, I was over it. In my mind, I had already baked that cake and set it out at the church bazaar. The last thing I wanted was to take it back and fire up the oven again!

No. Maybe the truth, the real truth, was that I just couldn’t hack it. 

Maybe I just didn’t have what it takes to be a writer.

Stay tuned for Episode 5: Confessions of a Failed Pantser

Anita Ramirez is a writer and teacher who transforms dispassionate teens into lovers of books — one reader at a time. When she’s not teaching Hispanic/Latinx literature and composition to her high school students or linguistics at the college level, she’s revising her first novel, a YA contemporary featuring bilingual characters. She loves the poetry of Pablo Neruda, teen movies from the 1980s and café con leche. You can check out her website, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The post Life of a Writer—Episode 4: Premature Querying and the Sound of Silence appeared first on DIY MFA.

Although it’s a Kindle product, it actually has nothing to do with the e-readers and, in fact, can’t even be read on them at this time. Rather, Kindle Vella is simply a platform for readers to access bite-size installments of fresh stories, primarily on their phones. This article will explain what exactly the Kindle Vella platform is and how to get started both reading and submitting on it.

*Note: Until the end of 2021, Kindle Vella will be running its beta version, which means it is only accepting stories from U.S. authors in English.

Kindle Vella: The Specifics 

To begin, readers access the Vella platform through either Amazon’s desktop site or the Kindle mobile app (iOS users click “Discover”; Android users should point their browsers to the desktop site). Once there, readers can choose from a variety of genres, including non-fiction, fantasy, children’s fiction, teen/YA, LGBTQ+ fiction, humor, paranormal, erotica, and mystery, among others. However, one should note that despite the variety of genres and micro-genres, literary fiction is not included as a specific category.

On the Kindle Vella platform, one large story consists of multiple episodes. To see if a story catches their interest, readers receive the first three episodes for free. Each episode itself is a 600-5,000 word installment. Should the reader want to continue on their journey, they must purchase each additional episode via tokens. The number of episodes per story is highly variable, from as low as 5 to greater than 40. The most popular stories currently have about 20-40 episodes. New users are given 200 free tokens, which buys about eight episodes.

Readers are encouraged to give episodes a thumbs up if they like an episode and once a week, crown a favorite. The Kindle Vella homepage consistently displays a leaderboard of crowned favorites, which can also be broken down by genre and/or month.

How to Submit

Now that you have hopefully hopped on over and examined the Kindle Vella experience for yourself, let’s talk about how authors submit their work.

First of all, the big thing with Kindle Vella is that they want exclusive content. If your content is available in the public domain or freely available on the web (i.e., your blog or Medium account), it is ineligible. Additionally, you cannot break down a previously published book into episodes and submit it as a Kindle Vella work, even if that work is currently unavailable or available in a different language.

However, you can compile 10 or more Kindle Vella episodes into one book or long-form work. Please refer to the fine print here for more information. 

If you do not already have one, create an account with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). You may link your primary Amazon account to KDP or choose to create a new one, should you wish to keep business and pleasure separate.

Once signed in to KDP, access the Kindle Vella Library. Currently, this is on the first page that comes up once you sign in. If that changes, look for Kindle Vella as a subcategory of KDP Bookshelf.

The next part is pretty much following KDP’s step-by-step rules on the Kindle Vella Page. You are asked for a title, 500 character description, and may use up to 7 tags (a.k.a. keywords) to associate with your work. 

A very important part of this process is choosing the accompanying image. Unlike a book cover, the image chosen should not have any words; rather, the image should be an eye-catching representation that gives the reader a feel for your story.

From there on out, you essentially click “publish” and your story is out in the wild. It is up to you how frequently you would like to publish episodes. Of course, regularity will be a key to success on this platform. Weekly installments are suggested and readers have the option of being notified when a new installment comes out.

Getting Paid: The Token System

As previously mentioned, readers buy episodes with tokens. Again, to try out the program, Amazon gives readers 200 free tokens. Thereafter, tokens are bought in bulk. $1.99 will get you 200 tokens, which averages out to about 8 episodes. This is the smallest order of tokens, with the largest being 1,700 for $14.99, giving the reader a purchasing power estimate of 34+ episodes.

Generally, episodes sell for 1 token per 100 words. An episode consisting of 721 words would cost 7 tokens.

Royalties are calculated using this formula: 

(Number of Tokens to unlock episode) x (Tokens bundle price/# Tokens in bundle – taxes and fees) x (50% revenue share) = Earnings per episode

Examples and launch bonus opportunities are given on the Kindle Vella Royalties, Reports and Payments page

As such, you will earn (negligibly) more if a reader keeps buying 200 tokens at a time to unlock your episodes rather than a larger package.

Moreover, one should also note that you will not earn royalties if your episodes are unlocked using the free 200 tokens given to new readers.

In Conclusion

Serial publishing via digital devices is on the rise and a great way for new authors to get their stories in front of the people who matter: readers. If you are a writer who dreams of keeping readers in suspense about what your characters will do next, serial publishing is for you. Kindle Vella is specifically focused on a smartphone-based experience and represents a wide variety of genres, which notably includes non-fiction. 

Finally, both the reading experience and publishing experience are simple, quick start processes on Kindle Vella, so whether you are a reader or a writer, I encourage you to go check out Amazon’s latest attempt to cultivate wild minds.

Tell us in the comments below: Have you ever used Kindle Vella as a reader or writer?

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among other books. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat or download a free coloring page at www.catulathebook.com.

The post Kindle Vella: Serial Publishing & How to Get Started appeared first on DIY MFA.

This debate has been flourishing since Amazon introduced Kindle Direct Publishing in the late-aughts, and if you’re not too familiar with KDP, you might be surprised by the nuance involved. Many indie authors have praised Amazon for its easy-to-use platform, promotional opportunities, and more. Yet at the same time, the inner workings of Amazon remain murky, its book market is highly competitive, and—needless to say—going Amazon-exclusive means missing out on what other retailers have to offer.

To help first-time authors make this crucial choice, this post will candidly unpack the pros and cons of Amazon exclusivity and how it functions. We’ll start with the pros before moving onto the cons. And whatever your experience or opinions of Amazon, I’d encourage every author to read all the way through before committing to either path.

Pros of Amazon exclusivity

1. Kindle Unlimited enrollment

We can’t discuss Amazon exclusivity without first mentioning KDP Select, the program that requires it in the first place. To clarify, anyone can publish a book with KDP (the platform) and still have the freedom to sell on other retailers. However, those enrolled in KDP Select must sell their ebook only on Amazon—at least for each 90-day KDP Select period (which automatically re-ups unless you opt out). As a result, much of the exclusivity decision boils down to the benefits of KDP Select.

First and foremost is the inclusion of your ebook in Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s reading subscription service. When enrolled in KDP Select, your book becomes available to over three million KU subscribers, and you earn royalties based on pages read. This means if your ebook blows up on Kindle Unlimited, you could earn a lot more than you would otherwise—especially if you’ve written a romance, which is by far the most popular genre on KU.

Basically imagine if you got paid every time someone read your blurb, or previewed your book’s first few pages on Amazon. It’d be pretty sweet, right? Because KU royalties aren’t dependent on readers committing to your book, as regular sales royalties are, you’ll likely receive more of them over time—so long as your book remains part of KDP Select. And don’t worry, it will still be kept up for sale; Kindle Unlimited is just another channel for people to access it.

2. The ability to run price promotions

The other key feature of KDP Select is the ability to run price promotions on your book. These promotions come in two flavors: Kindle Countdown Deals and Kindle Free Promotions. The former allows you to discount your book to under $2.99 for one week each 90-day period and still receive 70% royalties on the sales. The latter is what it says on the tin, allowing readers to download your ebook for free, though just for five days rather than seven.

You’re only permitted a single price promotion per enrollment period—i.e. you couldn’t make your book free for the first five days, then $1.99 the next week, without cutting yourself down to 35% royalties—but price promotions can be very useful, especially for authors launching their first books. Running a limited-time promotion on your ebook not only makes it more enticing to readers, but also gives you a shot at the Kindle Daily Deals page and the Kindle Store Best Sellers page (which, as you’ll see, has a whole section just for free books!).

The only downside of price promotions is how infrequently you can run them. However, for those in the know, these promo days can absolutely be optimized for exposure. If you do go Amazon-exclusive and take advantage of price promotions, make sure you’re simultaneously plugging them on social media, to your mailing list, and wherever else you can think of.

3. It’s less effort than going wide

As Rob Eager touches on in this episode of DIY MFA Radio, one of the few silver linings of Amazon’s near-monopoly is that authors who wish to reach the majority of readers (at least in the US and UK) don’t need to expend their energy elsewhere. Amazon is so dominant, especially when it comes to ebooks—controlling an estimated 75% of the US ebook market—that for many indie authors, the additional effort required to “go wide” may not be worth it.

There are exceptions, of course. If you’re willing to pay for an aggregator like Draft2Digital, you can sit back and relax as the aggregator uploads your info and centralizes your data for all the different retailers (though it’ll cost you either a flat fee or a ~10% royalty cut). And if your target audience is outside the US or UK, or if you want to expand your reach in other countries, going wide can be very fruitful indeed.

But if you’re looking for a single US-based platform on which to go “all in,” Amazon is the one—as daunting (or disillusioning, if you’re not an Amazon fan) as that might sound. 

Still, it’s not without its drawbacks, which is exactly what we’ll talk about next. Having covered the major pros of Amazon exclusivity for first-time authors, here are the potential cons.

Cons of Amazon exclusivity

1. You can’t make your book permafree

Somewhat ironically given the price promotions touted by KDP Select, you cannot make your ebook permanently free, or “permafree,” on Amazon without also publishing it elsewhere. This is because Amazon doesn’t allow you to set your book’s price to free for more than five days at a time—unless, that is, you’re leveraging its price-matching feature.

As spelled out on Amazon’s Digital Pricing Page, the retailer has the authority to price-match your book to its lowest price online, presumably to give Amazon a competitive advantage. The trick, if you want your book to be permafree— as many authors do, when they care less about royalties and more about exposure—is to set your book’s price to free on another retailer, then notify KDP Support (select “Pricing” → “Price matching” in the sidebar).

Making a book permafree, especially if it’s the first in a series, is a popular and often successful tactic for indie authors; however, it’s simply not an option if you want to stay Amazon-exclusive. If you’ve run your allotted Free Promotion and are impatiently waiting out the remaining 90 days of this KDP Select period so you can do another one, consider just going wide instead.

2. The algorithms can do a lot of damage

Again, Amazon’s inner workings are less-than-transparent, but we do know a few things about its algorithms—the complex formulas that control everything from the Best Sellers lists to the top search results for buyers. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to game these as an author: calibrating your keywords to hit as many relevant terms as possible, writing a compelling book description, and so on.

The not-so-good news is that there’s still a great deal you can’t control—elements that, if compromised even slightly, can tank your book. For example, you might think you should go all-out for your book launch… but what you might not realize is that a big sales spike on your first day, then low sales in the days to follow, indicates to Amazon that your book should not be promoted consistently. The algorithms will take the spike as an anomaly and advertise your book less than if you had steady sales for several days.

Another notorious example of the algorithms’ fickleness is what can happen with your book’s “also boughts.” If you make the mistake of doing an external group promo (like on BookFunnel) with other books that aren’t very similar to yours, Amazon will map connections between your book and those books. The algorithms will then continue recommending your book to disparate readers who won’t buy it outside that promo, because it won’t seem like it’s for them. The result? Amazon clocks your book as a dud and stops recommending it at all.

This is how, for some authors, the supposedly foolproof algorithms become a nightmare to wrangle. Yes, if you do your research and play it safe, you’ll likely be okay. But if you’d rather avoid the possibility altogether—or if you want to support retailers that still have some good old-fashioned human curation, like Barnes & Noble—you should go wide.

3. You’ll lose out on Amazon-boycotting readers

Speaking of human curation, let’s address the elephant in the room: the fact that, despite Amazon’s ubiquity, more and more readers have begun striving to avoid it. Though poor worker conditions and the decimation of independent bookstores can hardly be blamed on Amazon’s self-publishing division, the company’s shortcomings may be enough for you, too, to steer clear—especially if you run in close circles of anti-Amazon consumers.

These are the main pros and cons for any first-time self-publisher, though you’ll probably want to look into other ebook distribution channels before making the final call. And if you decide to enroll in KDP Select and commit to Amazon exclusivity for 90 days or more, make sure to check out Helen J. Darling’s post on the long-term effects of Amazon exclusivity—with additional factors to consider like how many books you have and the diversity of your products.

With all this information at hand, you should end up on the right path! But even if you don’t, remember you can always switch from Amazon-exclusive to wide, or vice-versa; as your life changes, your publishing goals might too, and it’s never too late to re-route.

Savannah Cordova is a writer and content creator at Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with the best editors, designers, and marketers in the business. In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction and low fantasy, as well as writing the occasional short story. She’s here to pull back the curtain on publishing so that every author can have the greatest possible chance at success.

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