James Patterson Masterclass Lesson 17 Getting Published
James Patterson starts this lesson saying,
“I’ve been through the -pain of trying to get an agent. Trying to get a publisher. Trying to get a good editor. So I know what you’re going through. And the best thing I can tell you, it’s one word- it’s persistence. Just be prepared and don’t take it personally. My first book turned down my 31 publishers. You’re going to get a lot of rejection here, and a lot of it may have nothing to do with your book.”
Okay, Okay! Hold the presses! Here James said, ’31 publishers’ I found a YouTube video where he said, ‘37’. Is this a big deal? No…not really, I just thought I would mention it. 🙂
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgeuc6AZObw[/embedyt]
James Patterson tells us, you need to get your book noticed by an agent or publisher first. And that starts with the query letter. Here are a few sites to check out on how to write a query letter. I found these through a Google search.
Agentquery.com has a very simple easy to read an explanation of a query letter.
PoeWar.com check out the very end of their article, a nice, neat list of what not to put in a query letter.
WritersDigest.com has an example of a qouery letter showing eight steps in its creation.
Back to James Patterson at Masterclass.com 🙂
James Patterson’s first novel was the ‘Thomas Berryman Novel’. James tells us how he kept sending out query letters, and for the most part, no one responded. He didn’t even get an obligatory letter saying, ‘Thank You, No Thank You’. Now you know, it isn’t just you.
Well, maybe it is, but not here.
Finally, James tells us that the publisher asked for editing changes. So he had to get an editor. James Patterson talks about finding an agent. A publisher. He tells us to network. Talk to other writers, and hope they will toss you a bone or a publisher that-may-just-might-want-to read your book.
The peak of this lesson, For Me! Was when Mr. Patterson said to “Enjoy the victories.” Even the small ones where your spouse tells you your writing is fantastic. The point is, take those compliments and eat them up. Writing is hard work!
I love this quote. I want it on a coffee mug 🙂
“Take the cup of joy! Enjoy it!”~ James Patterson