| Author | Message | ||
     Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.241.102.179 |
Did you (or your agent) approach the publisher, or did the publisher approach you? Or did some other, third possibility occur the likes of which I cannot conceive? This is just a question out of curiosity. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.161.160 |
It can happen either way, Jamie. Commonly you'd pitch something to a publisher, however, particularly in the small press. In the mass market, it's less informal, and commonly involves submission periods or agent-only enquiries. Alternatively - the strategy I prefer - you can kidnap the spouse of whoever you want to publish your book, and not return him or her until the job is done. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.156.210.82 |
I've had both happen. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.66.23.11 |
I tried Mr Fry's third method. Sending them their spouse's toes in a box works well. You do however need to make sure that it's their spouse and not their mother in law. That's why I've still not had a collection published. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.129 |
>>I've had both happen.<< And did Gary return your good lady unharmed?  | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.129 |
Oh dear, me and Weber both posting a purportedly funny comment at the same time! Do we have the same strange sense of humour I wonder, Weber? In fact, should I start to worry if I have the same kind of humour as you do? | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 92.232.199.129 |
.. or even the same kind of sense of humour ... | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.166.73 |
Jamie- my first collection happened because my publisher had accepted a number of short stories for a magazine they also edited, and had accepted a novella for publication- originally as a stand-alone volume, but then they thought it might work better to combine the stories and novella into a single collection. And very nice it was too. The second collection... well, I went up to a certain publisher and asked if he was open to knew submissions, and he replied that he'd be interested in seeing a new collection from me. So I guess we sort of approached each other. Sorry. That's probably about as much help as a pork pie at a bar mitzvah. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.26.161.160 |
I was that second publisher, and I assure you that the pitch was a good deal more violent than that. Simon basically threatened to break my arm with a car tool until I accepted there and then. That was the last convention I attended. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.166.73 |
Not true at all... It was it was your kneecaps, with a sawn-off pool cue. (Which sounds like a line from the Salford version of Cluedo.)  | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Jamie, writers often have to make sacrifices for the sake of their literary careers. Goats are normally adequate for the purpose. | ||
| Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.241.102.179 |
And here I've been trying to sacrifice my fellow writers... Er -- look over there! | ||
| Skip (Wolfnoma) Username: Wolfnoma Registered: 07-2010 Posted From: 216.54.20.98 |
I've had one story published in a collection and I have another tale in a collection to be released in 2012, the first one was accepted after submital and the second one I was asked to be a part of. So, it works both ways apparently. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Skip - I think you might mean an anthology. A collection is generally the term used for a collection of stories by a single author; an anthology has stories by various different authors. But, yes, it does work both ways. But to be invited by a publisher to do a collection of your stories you generally need to build up a track record. |