As an agent and author, I spend a lot of time at conferences meeting writers looking to break into traditional publishing. And so many of these writers are THIS close to getting published. Meaning that they’ve been working hard on their craft, putting in the ten thousand hours or a million words it takes to master the art of fiction.
In terms of craft, they may be there. But in terms of the marketplace, they often are not. Like most agents, I’m looking for clients who are truly READY to be published. Which means I’m not only looking for great stories, I’m looking for great stories that I can sell. This does bear repeating: I’m not only looking for great stories, I’m looking for great stories that I can sell.
YOU’RE THIS CLOSE
So, let’s talk about you: You’re a great writer. Your characters are well-drawn, your scenes are fully dramatized, your stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your level of craft is high and you know how to tell a story.
Despite all that, I may not know how to sell this particular story of yours. Why not? Because it’s simply not high-concept enough to become a break-out book. I’m focused on selling high-concept stories that would work for the Big Five, one of the Amazon imprints, one of the larger independents or one of the publishers that have turned to print after enjoying success in another format. These are the publishers whose bread and butter are break-out books.
Now, you may not care about writing a break-out book. You may not care about being traditionally published. In which case, you might sell your work yourself to a smaller/indie/digital publisher. Or you can self-publish, if you are so inclined.
What matters is that you consider what it is you really want, where you really want your career to go. Before you go any of these routes, ask yourself: What are your goals for your writing career?
SET YOUR GOALS
If your goal is to be a bestselling author with a traditional publisher, then going with a small publisher, whether print or digital or both, may impact your ability to attract a bigger/traditional publisher later on. The grander your ambitions, the more this could matter: If your ultimate goal is to be published traditionally by a big-five publisher, choosing to publish first with a very small publisher with limited distribution could sabotage that goal. As could self-publishing, unless you are willing to put considerable effort and expense toward growing your readership/sales.
This can be especially true of if you go with a small digital publisher, because their digital sales may not compute to print publishers with a different financial model. For example, say an e-book from a digital publisher sells 10,000 copies at $3.99; that may be great, but from the perspective of a print publisher, whose e-books often sell for $14.99 or more, that doesn’t compute. Print publishers might be better swayed by good print and audiobook sales, which better suit their model.
Remember, regardless of how it’s published, once a book has an ISBN, it has a sales track record that publishing people can look up. And the more modest that sales track record, the harder it may be to overcome when approaching bigger publishers. Just so you know.
WHY NOT DREAM BIG?
That’s why it’s important that you know what your goals are—don’t be afraid to dream big!—and how you can maximize your odds of meeting those goals. If your ultimate goal is to be a New York Times bestselling author, then own it—and write a high-concept story that can stand out in what is admittedly a tough marketplace.
High-concept is what everyone is looking for, because it’s what grabs agents and editors and readers and doesn’t let go. And even if you’re already published and have a lukewarm sales record, writing a high-concept story can help you overcome what might otherwise prove an impediment.
So if you’re THIS close to getting published, and you’ve got the chops, go for broke—and the bestseller lists!—and write a break-out book.
The career you make—or save—could be your own.
This post originally appeared on Career Authors