Book Cover Design: Getting it RIGHT

I have a unique perspective on book cover design because I have seen both sides of the coin. I have designed many covers, and have also worked with a designer for my own cover when Fire of the Sea was published (I wanted to focus on writing and editing, rather than designing my own over). I've been a graphic designer and illustrator now for over 15 years, and have been seriously writing for just over five year. And one thing is certain: book cover design makes ALL the difference in a book's success! 

I've put together a bit of a quick-start guide to help authors navigate the world of cover design, and decide which option is the best for their personal publishing journey.

It's no secret that book covers make a huge impact. Your book cover's MAIN PURPOSE is to generate excitement and interest for your book. Your genre needs to be represented in your cover, and it should easily convey tone and theme at a glance. Whether you will be designing the cover yourself,  hiring a freelance artist, or working with a publisher, it's best to have an idea of what needs to be conveyed in your cover.

First, boil it down to motivation, incentive and emotion. What is your book all about? What is the MOST important theme or concept that you would like your cover to express? This will help you come up with lots of ideas and choices for imagery, color palette, typography, and layout. 

Before you begin, know what kills a cover. Bad typography, terrible stock photography, dated or overdone color combos all destroy a book’s visual credibility. You have all seen them. You can pick them out of a crowd in a heartbeat. And they often scream "self published." And in an era where a self published author can gain immense success, it is even more important to pair a dynamite cover design with that manuscript! It gives an author instant credibility. Let's face it. We are ALL judging a book by its cover.

You will also need to consider the cost of stock photography. Do NOT steal artwork. It's not only bad form, but it's illegal. I have posted resources for great stock photography at the bottom of this post (with some free options, as well). If you find an image on the web, and it's high resolution, you might need to gain permission from the original artist or photographer. There is a 25% rule that allows a photo or design to be altered 25% in order to be legally used without payment or permission. But I would proceed with caution in this arena. I once had Gap, Inc. call the scrapbook company I worked for demanding a cease and desist because the lime pattern I had created was mistakenly too similar to Piperlime's logo. I had to alter the shade of green, and add a few more spokes to the starburst in the center of the lime. It was an easy fix, but a lot of hassle! So be mindful.

Getting Started
I want to talk a little about the three levels of book cover design: D.I.Y. (design it yourself), hiring a freelance designer/illustrator/artist, and working with a publisher. Going into any of these situations, be prepared. Scour the internet for covers. Go to libraries or bookstores to see what stands out in your genre. Search for some initial cover or stock photo examples. Consider the type of cover that might best represent your story. Is it character-driven? Theme-driven? Typography-driven? Having a flexible idea will help the process!

D.I.Y Design

Proceed at your own risk! :) You will absolutely need to have some level of proficiency in design software. Tools to consider are Adobe's Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop). Photoshop Elements can be a decent program for intermediate designers who don't want to purchase the full version of Photoshop. I DO NOT recommend designing a cover yourself if you are a beginner in these programs. Also keep in mind that if you are self-publishing, and self-designing, you will need to feel comfortable enough to work with the software to design the book's interior, as well. And services like Amazon's Create Space will also require formatting and uploading. A few quick Dos and Don'ts:
DO make your title big and bold (or at least quite prominent). The best book covers, particularly those that are going to be seen as thumbnails on a computer screen, as well as in a bookshop in hard copy, should have a prominent, easy-to-read title and author name on them. This makes it much easier for the reader to identify the book.
DON’T try to illustrate every theme/character.
DO focus on the main theme within your genre when envisioning design concepts.
DON'T go font crazy Instead, choose simple, easy to read fonts that are classic and enhance/compliment the design/theme.
DO make a mood board! Find out what resonates with you, and what conveys the essence of your story. You will move ahead with the design process in a more prepared and mindful state.
DON'T wing it. Look for online tutorials if your design skills are lacking.
DO consider hiring a great cover artist or designer if you feel a little out of your depth. 

Working with a freelance designer

Choose carefully! Make sure they have designed covers in your genre. Do you like many of their designs? Email them. How is your communication? Make sure you are prepared to offer design samples/inspiration of covers that have designs you like, and also designs that would represent your book's theme well. There will be a lot of back and forth. Make sure there isn’t a low cap on the number of revisions, because you might be caught shelling out overtime fees. Get recommendations from other authors or friends. Consider the designer's workload. Do they have a huge portfolio with hundreds of covers? If so, ask what their turnaround time looks like. You don't want to get stuck with a designer who is potentially overcommitted. And don't always choose the designer with the lowest price! Pay for quality, and that's is what you will get 90% of the time. You might also consider a PRE-MADE cover if you are on a budget, and are flexible on your cover design. I have listed resources for all of these below. To view my own personal cover designs and prices, click here.

Working with a publisher

There are pros and cons when working with a publisher. For starters, they have read your manuscripts multiple times, and know the ins-and-outs of your book or series. This can be a wonderful advantage over a designer who has merely read a blurb, and is going of your suggestions. Your publisher will be your advocate with the designer, and can offer a fresh and seasoned perspective. But they will also have a vision for this cover. Come prepared to share specific cover inspiration examples (and possibly color and font choices) that resonate with you and best represent your book. But also understand that a publisher has the ultimate final say. Depending on the size of the publishing house, you will have varying levels of involvement and feedback on your cover design. Remember that a calm, open, flexible author will always get farther than one who holds on to a headstrong vision. Be prepared to let go a bit. Compromise can often produce a cover that is even better (and ultimately more effective at selling your book) than you could have envisioned on your own. Remember that your publisher will know your current market better than anyone else. They know what is selling, and what has been over used. So trust them! They are your ally.

During the revision process

You will be excited to share your new designs, but resist the urge to show all initial versions of your cover design with everyone you know. Test your cover against other covers first. Print out a copy, take it to the library or bookshelf in your genre. Does it fit in? Does it stand out in a good way? Make or request changes accordingly. When you are in the final rounds, test your cover with your TARGET AUDIENCE. Don't test a racy romance cover with your sweet grandma...unless she loves racy romances! ;) 

If things are going downhill
Maybe your publisher isn't all that you had hoped for. Maybe your designer is taking an eternity. Maybe you just hate all the designs, and you are getting that pit in your author stomach... Take a breath, and don't overreact. I understand. This is your baby. You have a vision. You wan't the best cover possible. Shed a tear if you must, and then move forward. The best course of action is GOOD COMMUNICATION. A well-worded, sincere/candid email or phone call will almost always turn things in the right direction. Be firm but not forceful. Know your contract if you are truly unhappy. Ask your designer what their satisfaction policy is ahead of time. Make sure you have an alternative route within the parameters of your contract or agreement, and in the worst case scenario, make sure you have an escape hatch. This is a rare occurrence, however. Most cover conflict can find a happy resolution. By simply being prepared, flexible, and willing to communicate, you should be just fine.

Once you have a final cover
SHARE with pride! Have a big cover reveal! Drum up excitement and anticipation! If you had to bend a bit in a collaboration, don't apologize for your cover if it isn't exactly what you envisioned. If your publisher and target audience are responding strongly, so will your supporters. So share it loud and proud, and then go forth with your promotional efforts (that's a post for another day).

I hope this has been helpful! Feel free to leave comments below with any questions you might have, or email me at lyndsayjohnson@gmail.com to inquire about my book cover design and map illustration services! Keep reading for a list of more resources.

Self Publishing and Design
http://completelynovel.com/self-publishing/writers-toolbox-cover-design
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiana-miller/selfpublishing-on-a-shoes_2_b_4325962.html

Online Design Classes

www.lynda.com

www.nicolesclasses.com

Free stock photos
www.unsplash.com

www.freeimages.com

Royalty free photos (paid subscriptions or single use)
http://www.istockphoto.com/
www.depositphotos.com
www.bigstockphoto.com

www.dreamstime.com

Book Cover Design Services

www.bookdesigners.com

www.bookstylings.com

www.etsy.com/shop/AcePremadeBookCovers

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/bookcoverdesign/

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Query Letter

Oh, the dreaded query letter. Maybe not as dreaded as the synopsis, but still a daunting task. I've been helping authors hone their query letters lately, and I find that some of the same things crop up. So I thought I'd share a few Dos and Don'ts to hopefully help you out when the time comes to tackle yours.

DO:

• Address the agent by name:
Find out who the agent is, and make it personal. It is also a good idea to briefly explain why you have chosen that agent if they are a particularly good fit (but save this info for the end of your query).

• Start off with a great hook:
A hook is a one-sentence tagline for your book. It's meant to grab the reader's attention and ask for more. The best way to write a hook, is to look at loglines or taglines of other books. Here is mine for Fire of the Sea:
Where legends and lies cast an intricate net, a daughter of the sea will challenge fate to protect her own sacred relic and the man she loves from the enemy that binds them.

• Study other query letters:
Do a search for query letters that sold. You can even look for query letters from your favorite authors, and see what ultimately sold. I have included my query letter for Fire of the Sea, as well as my query-in-progress for my upcoming novel (still in the works), called Into the Fade.

• Sell your story:
This is your chance to shine. Write the bulk of your query in the style of the blurb on the back of a book jacket. My query translated almost 100% to the back of my book, in fact!

• Craft an interesting bio:
Make sure you include a few interesting tidbits about yourself above and beyond your desk job or current writing skills. Sell yourself as an author. An agent wants to know that you have some unique qualities, as well as a life outside of writing. Don't make it seem that you are putting all your eggs into one basket (even if you are).

• Mention your platform:
Have you been working on building your blog and Facebook audience? List it! Have you been speaking at conferences, or become the vice president of your local author group? Mention that, as well. If not, now is the time to get started!

• List your experience when applicable:
Don't worry if you have little to no previous writing experience. Just make sure to include any experience that you DO have. If you have previous published books, work included in anthologies, or a pertinent recurring column for a website/magazine/newspaper.  If you can tie in your current job or skill set to writing credibility, do it! If not, don't worry too much about it. Many agents sign—and even seek out—new, debut, and unknown authors .

DON'T

• List your age:
Just don't. Are you a mother of three? Great. Mention that. But don't tell anyone you just hit the big 3-0. They don't care.

• Mention that this is your first rodeo:
An agent doesn't have time to read about how you slaved away on your first novel for years. If you don't list any other writing experience, an agent will deduce that this is your debut novel, which is welcomed by most agents. But there's no need to give them any more reason to pass. ;) Let the work sell itself!

• Inflate your ability or your manuscript:
Never go on and on about how this is going to be a bestseller! Bragging is bad form. You may think this goes without saying, but it happens! Again, let your writing do the talking. It is often a good idea to liken your story to other books out there—but MAKE SURE you don't upgrade your novel to star status (unless you are seeking an agent for a previously self-published work that garnered lots of attention and has stellar sales). Seek out work in your genre that shares your target audience (hopefully you have even read some of these titles when doing your research/homework). For example, maybe you have a great wizard book for middle graders. You don't want to compare it to Harry Potter. Try mentioning the Adventurers Wanted series by M. L. Forman. Here is an example of how this could be written into your query:

"The recent success of series such as M. L. Forman’s Adventurers Wanted and Aiden Snow's Shadow Lantern shows there is still a strong market for wizardry tales for middle graders."

• Give a lengthy synopsis:
The bulk of your query letter should include a few well-structured paragraphs, and should never include the full plot line, too many characters, or the ending (that will come later in the process). Leave them wanting more!

• Don't send your query off without spell checking and having someone else check for errors:
(See below)

• Never query your top agent choices first:
When I sent out my first ten queries, I thought it was perfect. But I had read that query so many times that I was missing simple mistakes. I was REALLY excited to start the query process, and sent it out to my top ten choices because I just knew it would be loved by all right out of the gate (rolling eyes in retrospect). When I had ten instant rejections, I looked at my query again to find not just one error but a FEW (gasp). I was mortified, and I had just shot myself in the foot. Lesson learned. Now my queries get passed on to an editor (husband, friend, hired help) before going out to agents. By starting with some "test" agents, you can try out your query and see what kind of feedback you are getting. I went through three versions of my query early on before agents started to bite. So save your favorite agents for the final and best version of your query.

Thanks for joining me today! To read the query letter that landed me a book deal, as well as for my current work-in-progress, see below. Best of luck and happy writing!

Fire of the Sea 

Note that my hook isn't in this version. I sent out two final versions, 

and both got bites. My publisher just happened to receive this query.

Sharp, sleek, and golden. Like the dagger she has worn since childhood, eighteen-year-old Aeva is all three of these things. But there is something else that this mermaid and her prized weapon share. They are both hunted.

Hidden within the caves off Iceland’s jagged coast, Aeva waits to take her place as the next ruler of the Meriads. But new rumors of an old enemy begin to taint the merfolk’s guarded waters. Delphine, the covetous shapeshifter from Aeva’s past, has emerged from hiding. She comes for the blade said to grant immortality, and is drawing Aeva closer to a forbidden shore.

When Aeva uses her potent and alluring song to save a drowning human, the balance begins to shift dangerously. Realizing she has unexpectedly bound herself to Gunnar, Aeva is torn between a promise to protect the Meriads, and leaving the sea for love on land. Surrendering to fate, she painfully severs one life to begin another.

On the unfamiliar banks of Iceland, Aeva soon finds herself not only rejected by the sea, but also stalked by dark forces. As the worlds of myth and man intertwine, Aeva looks to Gunnar’s family to help protect both her sacred relic, and the man she loves. But legends and lies cast an intricate net. With time and safety quickly unraveling for Aeva and Gunnar, there is only one clear course: Find and defeat Delphine before she can shift again.

FIRE OF THE SEA is Young Adult fantasy fiction, complete at 121,000 words. I would be pleased to send you the full manuscript at your request. 

I am a graduate of the University of North Texas, where I studied creative writing and graphic design, before going on to pursue my Master's Degree in graphic arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York. As a stay-at-home mom, I spend my days infusing creativity into the details. I have two widely read blogs on living a creative life, motherhood, and the art of blogging. I currently live in the mountains of Utah with my filmmaker husband who fancies himself a Viking, and our two spirited young children.

Your time and consideration are much appreciated!

Into the Fade 

This story and query are both a work-in-progress, 

and the cover is only a mock-up that I threw together.

For seventeen-year-old Bryony illusion is survival. In a city where a girl’s face is her most dangerous asset, daughters are taught to shield themselves from the wilderness beyond—a wild, unknown landscape, home to beasts that hunt young women for their beauty. Daughter to the Gatekeeper on the outskirts of town, Bryony watches men go into the forest to kill these feral thieves, and sees even fewer return.

On the night of the Hunter’s Moon Fete, Bryony and her friend, Laurel, attend the one celebration a year when girls don’t have to fear their own beauty. Within the safety of the palace, girls of all ages come, hoping to be chosen to live under the protective wings of royal life. Bryony is not surprised when Laurel is selected to be among a group of the most elegant elite. And while she is pleased for her friend’s good fortune, Bryony is secretly relieved to return to the simple life she leads outside the city wall at the edge of her world.

But when Laurel goes missing from Drosera, Bryony is determined to find her friend before the beasts can. Slipping past the sentries that guard the wall, she enters the woods against the cries of her better judgment. What Bryony finds in the forest will shatter all of her notions of beauty and power, shedding light on a danger no one from within the wall could have ever imagined.

Turning rejection into writing success

We've all heard the stories about big, best-selling novels that were initially rejected—often repeatedly. But when you're facing your own rejection letters, it's a whole new story (pardon the pun). I faced probably 100 rejections over the course of a year when I was seeking an agent/publisher (I didn't actually go back and count—I'm not a masochist). It was sobering, to say the least. But I had to quickly learn to grow a thick skin and find a way to turn what seemed like endless rejection into something positive. Rejection actually teaches you how to stop being rejected! Here's how I handled it and eventually found the perfect fit for my novel, Fire of the Sea:

1. RETHINK YOUR APPROACH
After I got over the initial shock that anyone could turn down this obviously perfect 5-star piece of literature, I realized something a bit sobering. I'd been querying my top choices for agents right out of the gate. BIG MISTAKE. No one had requested my manuscript yet—not even a partial—which meant my query needed work. When I took a second look at my query, I realized it could be much stronger. Here I had been emailing my top agent choices with a lukewarm query letter! What I should have been doing was testing the waters a bit more before swimming with the sharks. I wanted them to take my bait, not eat me alive!

2. TURN REJECTION NOTES INTO EDIT NOTES
Once I had polished my query, I started to get requests for my partial—and eventually full—manuscript. I started to take notes of patterns in my rejection. Then I decided which concerns were significant enough for me to address. I had two main complaints. The first was my point of view, which is a subjective complaint, so I knew I didn't need to go rewriting my whole story. The second was that my story was starting too slow. At this point I had been submitting for about three months with varying response. I knew right away I needed to restructure the first third of my novel. So I put everyting on hold, and revised my manuscript.

3. RESPOND POLITELY WHEN APPROPRIATE
It's not always proper form to respond to an agent or publisher when they have rejected your work. If you send a query, and they pass, DO NOT reply! But what if they've been reading your full or partial manuscript for the last three weeks? If the agent or publisher offers notes with their rejection, respond with a positive and appreciative email. I actually had agents request that I resubmit my full manuscript (with edits per their request) when I replied to thank them for their suggestions, and showed intent to incorporate their notes.

4. DISCOVER WHO YOU REALLY WANT TO WORK WITH
In almost every scenario, a rejection shouldn't be taken personally. In fact, it helps you learn who you really want to be working with! There were agents I thought were my dream agents. WRONG. I realized quickly that we didn't share the same vision for my novel. I wanted someone who would love my book, and love to promote it. Ultimately, rejection lead me to do research into smaller publishers, which landed me with the wonderful Juanita Samborski of 48fourteen Publishing.

5. LET REJECTION MAKE YOU A STRONGER PERSON
Have you had a rejection letter? Even just one little sad email? Welcome to the club! You are now one of the elite group of writers who took the plunge and risked rejection to get their work out there. Now take it one step further and don't give up! Keep persisting. Revise and resubmit. The more you submit your work, the more you'll experience rejection, and the more you will learn what to do right the next time you send out that query letter! And guess what... Once you do publish your book, you'll have to face all those comments on Amazon (hopefully all five stars, of course). ;)

Today is the day!

Fire of the Sea is available in print and ebook online:

(click logo below)

       

       

Fire of the Sea has a RELEASE DATE!! I will be hosting a launch day party on Wednesday, April 2, in celebration! Head over to my publisher's facebook page for a chance to win an advance copy!

Down to business: Beginnings of a Book Trailer

I am still waiting for my manuscript to come back from the editor, which is totally fine by me, because it gives me a few more days to get some things in order. Today I'm thinking about the book trailer. I have a cinematographer husband (Wes) and a producer brother (Greg). So between the two of them, they have convinced me that we are going to create a book trailer that could easily verge more on the side of movie trailer, and outshine the book itself by leaps and bounds if I allow them to fully unleash all of their creative prowess. I have been trying to rein my husband in all morning with requests like, "just a wish list of shots, not anything fully scripted," and "I can totally add iStock filler videos," and "I don't really need voiceover," and "you know this is just for my book, right??" (Most book trailers are still images and text, afterall...)

The thing is that Wes and Greg have serendipitously scheduled a film shoot for a client IN ICELAND...IN TWO WEEKS. Could it be any more perfect?? After a blissful freakout when my husband said he was staying extra days to shoot footage for me, I started to get a little worried. I didn't want him to go to all of this extra work, especially when I am trying to line everything up with a book release that isn't even slated yet. I have no idea what to tell them on time frame. It's all kind of up in the air at the moment.

But in the mean time I sat down and had a planning pow wow this morning with Wes about trailer possibilities, his vision, booking talent in Iceland (oh gosh, that means paying people), and generally pulling this off. I had to leave to pick my daughter up from Pre-K. When I returned I found Wes with both of our laptops, pulling my personal reference images (which I call "inspirationages") from my computer over to his, and emailing people in Iceland about this "shoot." I blanched.

"Oh...you're sending them all of my images for reference?"

(I chew my nails.)

"Yep."

(I'm feeling like he's just let them into my private world, but maybe in a good way. So I decide to just go with it. But then another thought comes to mind.)

"Wait. Are you telling them what this is all about?"

"Yep."

"That it's about mermaids?"

(I mumble something about how this suddenly feels slightly embarrassing...but I am getting used to publicly owning the fact that I like to write stories about mermaids.)

Then he puts everything into perfect perspective:

"I'm sending this to Icelanders who believe in trolls. So I think we're good."

Alright. I'm in good hands. ;) Proceed!

My road to publication: Part 3: A Happy Home

I was about eight weeks pregnant when I got the email. I stumbled into the kitchen at 8am with my iPhone and handed it over to my husband.

"I'm too sick to be excited about this. Could you read this email and tell me if this is worth getting excited about?" I had horrific morning (all day) sickness, and had barely been out of bed in weeks. I was a pregnant zombie on anti-nausea medicine. And I hadn't thought about my manuscript in months.

"Looks real to me..." Wes said. "But don't get too excited yet." (Wes is a filmmaker, and his motto is pretty much "it's not happening until it's happening.") So I went back to bed.

This is not the way I envisioned that day going. I had these grandiose day dreams about getting a call from an agent, where I would run through my list of questions for them with great natural poise, maybe tossing in a casual joke here and there. "So what did you enjoy about the manuscript? Oh really? That was my favorite part to write." Blah, blah, blah... (sickening, really).

I had some close calls—to getting that call, I mean. Once my manuscript had seen the eyes of a few beta readers, two more rounds of edits, more query tweaking, and a bit more self confidence in my emails, I did have a regular stream of requests for fulls and partials. I knew I was on the right track when enthusiastic agents would request the full manuscript immediately. That gets your heart pumping, let me tell you!

But the replies were still the same. I'd get great feedback, even some praise, but they all inevitably passed. The two big reasons were personal preference either on my POV or my "voice." But they all encouraged me to submit to more agents.

This was a typical response:

Thank you for sending in your manuscript for my review. You're a very talented writer--your descriptions in particular are very well formed and vivid--but I'm afraid that I just didn't resonate with your voice. Preference in narrative voice is very much a matter of opinion, as I'm sure you know, and while there is nothing wrong with your voice, it just isn't what I'm looking for right now. For this reason, I am going to pass on the project.

Please don't be discouraged by this. As I said, you are a very talented writer. Just because I felt one way about your voice doesn't mean that other agents or editors will share my opinions. Keep writing, revising, and querying. Good luck!

OR

Thank you so much for your query. I'm grateful for the opportunity to consider your work, but after careful consideration, I'm afraid I don't feel I'm the right agent for this project.  Your writing is masterful and evocative, and I feel that you are truly putting a fresh twist on the mermaid legend, but I'm afraid I'm really not taking on much in this category right now. I am truly sorry not to be able to offer you representation at this time, Lyndsay, and I wish you the very best of publishing luck as you move forward. I have no doubt you'll find a terrific home for your work. 

On days when I felt like a total sham—like I should just go back to graphic design where I was safely trained and talented, and not force this writing thing—I would subsist on those comments alone. I was encouraged in knowing that agents weren't just passing, but apologetic, specific, and encouraging.

Still, I thought I might be nearing the end of the road with my manuscript. Then I realized I hadn't looked into the untapped resource that is independent publishing. (I should mention that "independent publishing" is NOT self-publishing. An indie publishing house means you publish through the company, with a contract, and you get a percentage of sales. They are a publishing house that is not affiliated with any of the larger conglomerates.)

A quick search pulled up dozens of independent publishers. After a VERY careful detailed scouring of their sites, I decided on two. They both looked established and successful, no cost to author (fees are a huge red flag, of course), well-designed websites, decent cover art, happy authors who had lots of digital and online success (Kindle and Amazon, for example), and a solid track record. They both published in e-book format first, followed by print. I could do that. That could be a good start for me... So I sent my query to the two different acquisition editors. Both publishing companies requested partials rather quickly. Off went the first three chapters to their respective corners, while I played the usual waiting game for months.

Now back to the email I mentioned at the beginning of this post. It came about two months after that initial submission, and just one week after they had eventually requested the full manuscript! The email was from 48fourteen publishing. And it went like this:

Hi Lyndsay, 

After reviewing your complete manuscript, I believe that Fire of the Sea

would be a great addition to 48fourteen. We would like to extend an offer

for this novel. 

Fire of the Sea was captivating; an unexpected surprise.  Aeva's character

was admirable - she knew her path and stayed the course. With strength and

determination she overcame her obstacles. Mythological creatures seamlessly

merged with the real world - as we know it. Every character was

well-developed, unique, and had their own voice. The love between Aeva and

Gunner felt pure and real. Settings were described impeccably, lending to

the realistic feel of the novel. Readers will be on the edge of their seat

as they attempt to decipher the prophecy, uncover the secrets, and search

for the truth alongside Aeva and Gunner.

I would like to prepare a contract and send it to you for your review.

Please let me know if you are interested. If you have any questions, please

let me know so that we may discuss before sending you the initial offer. 

Thanks again for submitting your manuscript!

I think I was partially in shock. Well, and trying not to throw up, remember? My brain felt fuzzy and a little high. When I had given it time to sink in, I emailed them back and allowed my self to get excited. Just a little bit. ;)

The only problem was that I still had that other publisher reading the manuscript. Oh, and one big-time, well-known, NYC-based, fantasy agent who'd had a partial for well over six months. Oh that. I nervously asked if I could please have two weeks to let the other agent and publisher know about the offer, out of professional courtesy, but that I was very interested in working with 48fourteen. They were very kind about it, and gave me the two weeks.

I actually didn't hear back from the other indie publisher (who had gone on a LONG vacation), until after I had accepted the offer with 48fourteen. And I just had a feeling that wasn't going to pan out, anyway. But the NYC agent? As soon as I told him I was considering an offer, he jumped. "Give me 2 days and I'll have the whole manuscript finished. I'll have an answer for you then. I'm very excited about this. I'm kicking myself for not reading this sooner...strong chapters...yadda yadda." I had a funny inkling about him, though. He was flaky with my query, partial, and full. He would take ages to get back to me. He has a lot of authors on his docket... Something in me felt nervous when I thought about being another author on his client list. And something felt really good about 48fourteen.

While I waited for the NYC agent to get back to me, I emailed 48fourteen authors to find out a little more. Every one of them raved about their experience with the company. "They put everything they have into their authors." I didn't think I'd be able to boast the same kind of personal attention with Mr. NYC. I had my answer.

I finally had to email the big wig agent. Two days had passed, with no email or call. Then nearly two weeks. If I emailed him, he'd want one more day. I would warn him that I had pretty much made up my mind. He'd tell me to wait because he wanted to call in the morning. No call. After more days of this nonsense, I emailed 48fourteen and HAPPILY accepted their offer. Then I emailed Mr. NYC to inform him that I had happily accepted that other offer. He immediately wrote back, wanting to know who I had signed with, what their offer was, etc. DELETE.

After a few awesome emails back and forth with 48fourteen answering questions and getting the contract ready, I did this:

That's me. Signing a contract. And allowing myself to be really excited.

I am now so pleased to be one of the newest 48fourteen authors! I know my book is in great hands. Sure, I could have still pressed for a literary agent. And it could have taken literally years before that agent acquired a publisher and got the book on shelves. Or I could have let it all die out in the trying. But fortunately a little voice told me to look towards independent publishers. And even more fortunately, that lead me to find 48fourteen. 

It's very nerve wracking to send something like this out into the world. I have no idea what the response will be like. I have no idea what it will all lead to. But I can't wait to find out!

Funny side note: As I was typing this I received a form rejection email from a random agent I must have queried over a year ago, telling me they were no longer accepting clients. It's funny to see what surfaces when you are putting things out into the ether...

My road to publication: Part 2, Queries and Quandries

The first query I sent out had a grammatical error. Anyone could have done it. I changed a word to improve the flow, which then disrupted the sentence in a way I failed to catch. It was a last minute change, and I had read that darned thing so many times I could recite it back to you. So obviously I had five immediate rejections based on that query. 

The first request for a partial is like a lighting blot through your entire body. And the first request for a full? Immediate cloud nine. Followed by complete terror. My brother lives in New York City and has many friends, with many connections, from many walks of life. "You don't happen to know any agents who rep young adult lit, do you?" I asked in my parents kitchen, overflowing with people and food preparations. It was Christmas of 2011. I had just spent the last year writing and editing my heart out. "Actually, I do!" he said. My heart leapt into my throat. One of Greg's friends had recently published a book, and was repped by a literary manager, and Greg just happened to have her contact info. 

I remember turning to my Aunt Shannon in the kitchen and asking her to take a look at my query letter. That very first query letter—the one that probably still had an error. She helped me shape in into something decent. That initial query letter eventually lead to a better query letter, and one even better than that, that I continued to tweak. This is my current query (the one that finally landed me an offer). But the original query I sent to the manager (with my breath held tight) looked something like this:

Sharp, sleek, and golden. Like the dagger she has worn since childhood, eighteen-year-old Aeva is all three of these things. But there is something else that this mermaid and her prized weapon share. They are both hunted.

Hidden within the caves off Iceland’s jagged coast, Aeva waits to take her place as the next ruler of the Meriads. But new rumors of an old enemy begin to taint the merfolk’s guarded waters. Undine, the covetous shapeshifter from Aeva’s past, has emerged from hiding. She comes for the blade said to grant immortality, and is drawing Aeva closer to a forbidden shore.

When Aeva uses her potent and alluring song to save a drowning human, the balance begins to shift dangerously. Realizing she has unexpectedly bound herself to Gunnar—the raven-haired stranger with eyes to match an arctic sky—Aeva is torn between a promise to protect the Meriads, and leaving the sea for love on land. Surrendering to fate, she painfully severs one life to begin another.

On the unfamiliar banks of Iceland, Aeva soon finds herself not only rejected by the sea, but also stalked by dark forces. As the worlds of myth and man intertwine, Aeva looks to Gunnar’s family to help protect both her sacred relic, and the man she loves. But legends and lies cast an intricate net. With time and safety quickly unraveling for Aeva and Gunnar, there is only one clear course: Find and defeat Undine before she can shift again.

(on a side note, Undine's name is undergoing a change for various reasons, and I am currently scouring the interwebs and recesses of my imagination to come up with a new name for my antagonist...)

It was January when I heard back. She liked had liked what she'd read in that email, and wanted to read THE WHOLE MANUSCRIPT. Trying not to freak out, I sent it over immediately (in all its new and barely edited glory). For a month I bit my nails and played out scenes in my mind that included radio interviews and book signings (trust me, your mind does weird things when you've newly finished writing a book and someone shows interest). 

I remember where I was when she called me. We had taken a trip to the very snowy mountains of Utah in February to look at a little place called Heber City. "Just wait until we're on the other side of the mountain," Wes had said. "You're going to love it here." (Of course he was right, and we moved there a short 6 months later). We had gone inside a small restaurant to feed our pink-cheeked, snow-covered kids around lunchtime. When I came back out, I had a funny feeling to check my phone (which I had left in the car). Sure enough, this manager had called and left a chipper message saying that she had read my manuscript, loved it, and wanted to talk to me! I don't remember what else happened that whole trip because of my blissful stupor.

The next few days were spent playing phone tag, which made me really nervous. But when we had made it home to California, we finally connected. She also lived in L.A., and we chatted over the shared sound of a search helicopter circling the area. She really wanted to manage me as an author, but couldn't negotiate book rights because she was a manager, not an agent. First disappointment. But she did have lots of agent connections. "I'll send it over to [insert big name agent in NYC]." She'll read it over the weekend.

I didn't sleep all weekend. I rehearsed the Monday morning phone call in my mind a hundred times. She'll love it. She'll hate it. I'm going to be an author. I'm going to die. I was a little dramatic.

The phone call never came. I waited maybe three weeks and carefully emailed the L.A. manager. The big wig agent had "liked it, but didn't love it." Second disappointment. But the manager sent it out to the other agents she knew. We were hopeful. 

But one agent after another came back with the same replies. A lot of "likes" but no "loves." Mermaids are a hard sell in this market. They really enjoyed it, but had to pass because they just signed another mermaid book. My protagonist is too old (18). My protagonist isn't edgy enough. Ramp up the romance. The storyline isn't dark enough. The beginning is too slow. The themes are too much like The Little Mermaid. There's too much mythology. It's too long. It needs to be rewritten in third person. Month after month, these were the responses. Disappointment, disappointment, disappointment.

I was 19 all over again—hitting the dating pool only to be let down by that great-seeming guy I knew I was destined to spend my life with. I was feeling pretty rejected. My happy dreams of potential publication were being crushed in round after round of speed dating.

The magic was pretty much gone at this point. I had decided that I must be a really crappy writer who'd been fooling myself all along. So what if one manager liked it? No one else did! After one final and really nasty reply from one of Amazon's imprints, telling me "good luck placing this one," in a really rude tone, I decided to take a break. Maybe shelve this project altogether.

But this little voice kept saying "revise, edit, resubmit." I would restructure things, get some beta readers and start fresh. The manager, who had continued to champion my work totally understood. She said she'd be happy to read the updated manuscript, but she was afraid she'd done as much as she could for me, and wasn't getting the response she'd hoped for. Then she wished me well and signed off.

I was on my own.

Stay tuned for Part 3, where I set out into the wilds of agents and publishers, find reassurance, have many near successes, and ultimately decide to go with an smaller, independent publishing house.

My road to publication: Part 1, Blissful Beginnings

My story started with a dream. No, really. As in I woke up one morning after having this intensely realistic dream, and I couldn't shake it. Anyone who knows me really well has—at one time or another—endured my long and detailed dream descriptions. Often it is like waking up from a movie, and I can hardly get the details down on paper fast enough. Some dreams are more vivid than others. But when I have one of my "storyline" dreams, I usually wake up and then spend the day still in that unexpected place that my subconscious expertly crafted just for me.

One night, while living in Southern California, I had a particularly gripping dream that I was a mermaid saving a drowning pilot. I woke up and just stared at the ceiling for probably an hour, reliving the visceral colors and feelings of water and sand. It kept gnawing at me, that dream. Something told me to write the scene out in first person. So I did. It felt a little electric. I wanted to write more...

But there was one thing. Mermaids? Come on, Lyndsay. Honestly I didn't think I could tell anyone that I was thinking about writing a story about mermaids without some uncomfortable laughter (from either myself or the other person). So I talked to Wes about it. Wes is my very creative, yet grounded husband who is also a story teller (only his expertise is film and photography). I told him my idea and held my breath. He didn't laugh. Instead he very reasonably suggested I choose an edgier location than my initial thoughts of putting my mermaid in Greek waters. I knew exactly what my Scandinavian-loving, would-be-viking husband was getting at. She had to be an Icelandic mermaid. A real marine mammal (no iridescent scales or seashell bras). And there had to be mythology involved. Norse mythology. And maybe a Viking descendant. I think I could tell people about that without self-conscious laughter. I could tell people about that with wonder. I like to think of my mermaid like this (I put together a photo composite in Photoshop with elements I could find online):

The next two years were laced with great research finds, numerous coincidences-turned-storyline-gems, the music of Sigur Rós, and underwater caves. Lots and lots of deep and shimmering caves. Some basalt. Some ice. I spent a large amount of my time floating through the North Atlantic, or standing on a fjord, trying to spy a raven. All in my mind, of course, but still a really awesome place to be! And when I needed oceanic inspiration, we'd pack up the kids and head to the California coast. "I can see one! A tail!" my son would squeal. My whole family was on board. I really wanted this story to work out.

When all was said and done with my first draft, I edited my whopper of a manuscript probably four times by myself, whittling it down to about 125,000 words. I crafted a query letter and log line with some input from family. And in what I now know were its infant stages, I sent my manuscript to a manager who had been suggested to me by my brother. She actually loved the book! It seemed a little too easy. And it was. There was a catch. Of course. As a manager, she couldn't negotiate publishing terms, and said she would need to send the manuscript out to literary agents. From there she hoped to find my little idea a big home with an agent, and then hopefully a publishing house. And that's when things started to get real. No more magical love story to languish in. Oh no. There would be no escaping to my safe fictional world off the coast of Iceland. It was time to grow up and face rejection. Lots of rejection, in fact.

Stay tuned for part 2, where I talk about how finding a literary agent is like cramming a lifetime worth of dating into 5 months of hell.