I’m sharing some of the most frequently asked questions on the blog in case you guys were wondering the same thing. This e-mail is from Tiffany, who wrote her first chick lit novel. She asks:
“How did you manage to get an agent and your first publishing deal? And do you know of any courses, workshops, books etc that might help me?”
I had already made several publishing deals on my own before I signed on with my agent. I knew which agent I wanted, tracked her publishing deals she made for other authors, read her authors, attended a conference where I knew I could meet her, and basically presented myself as a client she couldn’t pass up. After all that prep work, getting my dream agent was a snap and I’ve been with her for over five years now.
Having an agent is extraordinarily helpful when it comes to negotiating contracts, following up on the money, and dealing with any crisis. You can be a published author without an agent, but I am deeply appreciative of what my agent does. I’d rather have her on my side than go at it alone.
For courses and workshops that might help you, I found that joining Romance Writers of America was the most helpful when it came to learning about writing and publishing. Although the focus is on romance and not chick lit, there are quite a few chick lit writers in the organization, so you might want to look into it.
There are a few other resources I can recommend. You can find it all in the Business of Writing section of my blog.
