The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Volume 8

OL said:

I need to call upon the Purgie brain trust, and I feel like I should apologize in advance....

Speaking of blurbs. I'm trying to come up with a wish list, just to get some ideas, and I am drawing blanks. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. They don't need to be ones I could realistically get, I'm just having a hard time thinking of any kind of comps that make sense

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Here are a couple of suggestions that walk the line between genre and literary fiction like you do -- E!m0r3 L30n@rd, C@r! H!@ss3n, G!ll!@n F!ynn, D3nn!s L3h@n3.

I'm going to be looking for some blurbs in a couple of months as well. But I'm mainly going to be asking folks who I know (including a couple of you lovely folks in purgatory who hopefully will be kind enough to consider it). In the small press literary world I'm wading into, I've been told that blurbs are more about showing off your network than expecting to boost sales. So I'm approaching it the same way I asked classmates to sign my high school yearbook. (Hey, remember me - we had algebra together sophomore year - here's a pen - please don't write anything mean or stupid.)

Great formula, Rick! Maybe you're the guy who develops a site for agent metrics. I don't think many agents would sign up without some kind of strong incentive. It's really hard to find out how even many clients an agent has. That's a really basic number, but many agents keep it secret.

Hugs to all. And thanks, Amarie.

mikeland said:

In the small press literary world I'm wading into, I've been told that blurbs are more about showing off your network than expecting to boost sales.

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And this is why I would be terrible in that world. Just the thought of it makes me shudder.

kellion92 said:

. I don't think many agents would sign up without some kind of strong incentive. It's really hard to find out how even many clients an agent has. That's a really basic number, but many agents keep it secret.

.

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I think the good, professioinal agents who are looking for clients would sign up because they realize they are now not just competing with other agents but with self-publishing as well. a lot of them should be proud of the work they have done. Then, once it got established, if some aren't there, that's just as telling.

Rick said:

Exactly! My take is:

Popular Writer = writing doesn't completely suck + large dose of Marketing and/or Luck

Hey, I'm a hard science guy, so I'm good with formulas.

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Sounds about right to me! You must be a scientific genius.

kellion92 said:

Number of clients
% of clients with books they've sold
% of client with books sold within two years of signing
% of debut clients
% of clients who are retained as clients for three years

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This is also genius. Would be SO incredibly helpful.

There's a Purgy group hug going on? Count me in. I too am in TGIF mode.

I love Kellion's metrics suggestions. There's some information about people's bad experiences here on AW (in the "Bewares..." section) and on QueryTracker (in fact there's enough that the specific-agent-comments discussed earlier in this thread aren't new to me - a few people have made similar comments) but there's obviously a huge disincentive for authors to post that sort of thing...and different people see their experiences differently, of course. As with Amazon and Goodreads reviews, best to take with a large grain of salt. The metrics would be super-useful!

Hugs, Maryn. It could be worse. I was stopped last year for expired inspection, and they impounded my car -- Philadelphia rules. Fun times -- I was stuck on a street corner in West Philly while my daughter was stuck at school. Getting the car out cost hundreds of dollars and to settle things, I had to go to Philly traffic court three times.

Dragonfly45 said:

1. Do big, hyped cover reveals matter/do much? Is there a way to milk a big reveal to make the reveal effective in selling books, particularly with a sequel to a book already on sale? (Tr@de is Ch@in's sequel)
2. Is having hype surrounding a cover reveal useful because it can drive traffic to your website, for instance, if you make it a more "exclusive" reveal at first, or is it better to just put it out anywhere and everywhere the second you have it?
3. I'm wondering if you guys have any ideas of a cool way to reveal the cover? I'm currently running around on a blog tour, so that's one thing, I also have a members only page on my website, so that's another possibility.

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So, part of this has to do with genre. The online YA community is, dare I say, rabid about cover reveals. And you can definitely use that excitement to generate buzz for your book. I think one of the reasons I had such buzz in the community around T3N pre-launch was my cover reveal. You pair an exclusive prize-heavy giveaway with a blogger who has a huge following and suddenly everyone is talking about your book.

Caveat. "Everyone" means the same, say, 500 people in the YA blogger community. I'm not entirely sure the reach permeates much deeper. Of course, if they read your book and like your book and talk about your book, word of mouth can really help your sales.

Outside the YA online community, I'm not sure the cover reveal phenomenon has the same interest or impact.

Blondchen said:

Outside the YA online community, I'm not sure the cover reveal phenomenon has the same interest or impact.

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My cover reveal is going to be huge. My parents are really looking forward to it.

rick, i think there are some bestsellers
where the writing DOES completely suck.
ha!

it's impossible to try and reconcile or
justify. i've stopped. i love readers that
love my writing and treasure the few emails
i get telling me so. or the nice good industry
review.

but at this point in the business, i run
completely on EGO alone. maybe it's
terrible. but it is what keeps me going.
we do what we have to to keep running
in that hamster wheel. =)

blondie, that is so interesting because
cover reveals were NO BIG THING back
in 2008/2009 in the YA community.
maybe i wasn't tapped in--but really--
it has EXPLODED since you've published.

my imprint didn't expect me to do anything
special. but then, i was debuting when they
weren't even giving books away on goodreads,
or buying ads.

lisa, wish i could help but
i'm not well read at all in your genre?
good luck!

also, mornin' puglets!

Cover reveals are also big in Contemporary Fantasy and its sub-genres like Urban Fantasy, Paranormal and Paranormal Romance.

I've been trying to decide what to do with mine, but my publisher puts it on their FB page, usually in batches of "Here are the new releases coming out". Kinda cool. So I figure I'll ask my fellow writers at my pub for those who will do a reveal. I've done one so far for someone else, but would happily put them up. Pretty pictures on my website are always a good thing.

OL, I don't know the genre well enough either. Hell, I don't even know my own genre well enough.

kellion92 said:

I don't think you'd need a lot of qualitative rating information if you knew how many clients were sold within two years and retained for three. That would show you how effective the agent really was, how loyal they were to unsold clients, and how they were able to satisfy writers through effective and respectful client service. The retention metric would be the one I'd most like.

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I think it's really important to talk to other clients. Of course, not every writer has the same experience with an agent, but at least then you can ask questions about communication, timeliness, subs, etc. and hopefully get a realistic answer.

firedrake said:

Slowly recovering after yesterday's online drama. Woke up at 3.30 and decided that I'd pretty much had enough of writing that I was never going to make that list of 'must-have' authors and wondered if it was worth even trying. Luckily a good friend talked me off the ledge but, by God, talk about jealousy.
I has it.
Because I've finally got it through my thick skull that being a good writer doesn't necessarily mean being a popular one.
That sucks.

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I think if 50 Sh@des has taught us anything about publishing, it's that there's no rhyme or reason.

Fire, you write because you love to write. I know that about you. The rest of the shit you can't control, only the writing.

driving to Oklahoma tonight.... I'm not sure yet which direction I'm going to take. Normally I would take I-35 through kansas down to OKC but because Wichita and surrounding areas were so hammered yesterday I don't know if that is a good idea. May take 71 to I-435 in tulsa. 71 goes through Missouri along the Missouri/Kansas state line. It's about 30 minutes longer taking that route... Call on the national road map gods before I venture out.

Speaking of words that I don't like how they are spelled. Lavender. I feel it should be lavendar. Just looks nicer to me.

oh yes. i always think cancelled should
be two Ls.

also i mentioned this before in copyedits
when they wanted tranquillity with two
Ls. i STETED my tranquility. one L.

Blondchen said:

Fire, you write because you love to write. I know that about you. The rest of the shit you can't control, only the writing.

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Yes. This. Good reminder for all of us.

*stumbles in*

Oh look, it's Friday!

Cover reveals are probably big in any community where there's a solid and wide blogging presence. This is my gut instinct based on absolutely no facts.

Now, if only I could collapse at my desk and put up a do not disturb sign. Alas, my door is made of glass.

Maryn both Kansas and Missouri's transportation authorities have road and highway maps that are updated every few hours. So I'll check both... Rather boring drive but both two long stretches of highway that you don't want to wreck on.

TGIF, y'all!

THE ICE STAYED AWAY! Woohoo! Mr. LW will be headed home shortly, and kiddo will get to have the father/daughter dance tonight, and I am much, much cheerier today.

Words I think are spelled wrong: occasion gets me EVERY TIME. It should have 2 "s"s, shouldn't it?

(((snappy)))

*opens wine early just because*

(((Maryn))) I've had lots of tickets.

(((Fire))) Blondie is wise. But more hugs, anyway.

OMG, y'all! I'm having a bonafide conversation on FB with a random reader who messaged me to tell me she loved FPF! How cool is that?! What a lovely way to begin the weekend!

congrats LW!
that is the best!!