HOW TO LAND A BOOK DEAL IN 2013!

{Image of Victor's Mother courtesy of the lovely Leonora Roy}

 

YES!

HOW TO LAND A BOOK DEAL IN 2013!!

Maybe. Hopefully.  Hey, you're getting this for free, you know.

How do you land a book deal in this crazy upside-down world of publishing?

I. LEARN FROM THE MOST POPULAR GIRL IN HIGH SCHOOL

     A. You give it away.

     B. Case in point -

          1.) THE STRANGE CASE OF The Oxford Student

               Abbie Gibbs

                    a.) In 2009, when she was 15 years old, Ms. Gibbs started writing
                         her own vampire novels, set in her native England, and posting chapters
                         on WATTPAD.
                    b.) She wrote about a teenage girl who goes out drinking in London
                         and witnesses a mass murder committed by vampires.
                     c.) Three years later, the book has been read 17 million times.
                           Ms. Gibbs, now 18, scored a six-figure,
                           two-book deal with HarperCollins this summer.

          2.) WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU'RE JUST A PUBLISHER!

                Marta Acosta

                    a.) She had an idea for a supernatural homage to Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre."
                         Her literary agent tried and failed to sell it,
                         saying the vampire trend was over.
                         Eight publishers turned it down.
                     b.) so what did she do?  You guessed it.  SHE GAVE IT AWAY!
                     c.) She tried SCRIBD,
                          a social reading and document sharing site with more than 100 million users.
                          In 2010, she posted the entire 368-page novel.
                     d.) The novel was read 24,000 times.
                     e.) A few months later, Ms. Acosta sold the book
                          to the young adult imprint Tor Teen.

          3.) LIFE'S A WITCH

               Brittany Geragotelis

                    a.) After collecting rejections from publishers for nearly a decade,
                          an editor at American Cheerleader magazine was about to give up on writing.
                    b.) in the fall of 2010 she went on Wattpad and studied the most popular stories.
                    c.) Most were paranormal romances aimed at young adults.
                    d.) She came up with a novel that reimagined the Salem witch trials,
                         setting it in a contemporary high school,
                         and began uploading a chapter a week in January 2011.
                    e.) By the time she finished posting the book, "Life's a Witch,"
                         it had been read sixmillion times.
                    f.) Publishers took notice, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
                         gave Ms. Geragotelis a six-figure, three-book deal.
                    g.) To promote the first book, "What the Spell?" in January,
                          Simon & Schuster posted the first two chapters free on Wattpad.

II. GUESS WHICH TWO SITES ARE BEING FLOODED WITH COPY-CATS?
  
     A.) You have to be among the first for publishers to take notice.

     B.) If thousands are flooding the sites of WATTPAD and SCRIBD, will you be noticed?

     C.) TRY THE SIDE WINDOW:

          1.) Pin the cover image to your book on SCRIBD on PINTEREST
          2.) I have put my efforts where my words are.
          3.) http://pinterest.com/pin/413205334531022038/
          4.) http://www.scribd.com/doc/117787007/Slaybelles-in-the-Night-chapter-One

     D.) Try it yourself and see if you get any results.  If so, let me know. I am pulling for you.