Author Cynthia Hand believes that publishing is like the Hunger Games. While the odds might not always be in your favor, perseverance and confidence will help achieve the goal of publishing a novel.
On Feb. 22, Hand, author of four books including The Last Time We Say Goodbye, Victoria Aveyard, author of Red Queen, and Jasmine Warga, author of My Heart and Other Black Holes, spoke at the DGN library about their experiences publishing a young adult fiction novel.
When it comes time to publish, the author places the final edits on the manuscript and must find an agent who will send the novel to publishing houses. Instead of submitting the entire book to the agent, the author writes a query letter describing themselves and their novel, in hopes that the agent will ask to read a few chapters. If the agent likes the book, he or she will agree to represent the author and pass the manuscript on to publishing houses.
“An agent is like the author’s fairy godmother that makes all your dreams come true,” Aveyard said.
Although this is not always the case, some authors, like Warga, develop a close relationship with their agents. “I view my agent as my artistic advocate and I really trust her opinion with my work,” Warga said.
Rejection is also a part of the publishing process. “Agents often have a big pile of query letters from authors called the slush pile. It means that you will often face rejection, but you learn to develop a thick skin,” Hand said.
According to Hand, the odds of publishing a novel may seem daunting to the writers. “After you are finished writing the book and submit it [to a publisher] the odds of it being published are 100 to one,” Hand said.
Despite the odds, Hand feels that hard work makes all the difference when an author is submitting his or her book to be published. “A lot of people try writing a book and quit because it doesn’t work out right away. I like to think that the odds of publishing [a book] can be better if you persevere and push through,” Hand said.
Nicole Williams | Editor-in-Chief
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