When I heard Lisa was doing a new series for Sourcebooks I was excited. I knew she could tell a good story and write characters I could fall in love with—strong men and women. Even better, set those characters in a believable world and take me on a dangerous journey to happily ever after. I love romance with a strong element of adventure and danger. The longer format would allow her to develop those stories more fully. Contented sigh.
Lisa was gracious enough to allow me to highlight Michael, of her new Zodius series for Sourcebooks. I didn’t even have to beg very hard. Okay, I didn’t have to beg. Since I don’t have room here on the blog to print the excerpt, you will find it on the right side bar under excerpts. Click on it and be taken away to a new and dangerous world out of Area 51.
Lisa’s topic is also one writers need to be able to negotiate safely through some potential minefields—finding an agent willing to invest in strategies to build their clients career.
Hi Everyone and Happy New Year! And thank you Sia for inviting me to her blog today. This is an exciting year for me so it’s fun to talk about it! I have my new Sourcebooks Zodius paranormal series starting in May which is about a group of hot Super Soldiers created through an Area 51 experiment. And I have releases in January, March, 2 in May, June, July, August, and November! Busy, busy, fun year!
So today we are talking about the laughter and tears, the glitches and triumphs, authors face in the pursuit of their ambition to write. Oh where to start. Often when I blog, I tend to talk about the funny side of trying to make it in this tough writing biz, but often that downplays the reality of the battle to succeed. People need to know, if they keep fighting, keep dreaming, keep working, they CAN make it! For that reason, today I’m going to talk more about the struggles and tough times. So many times authors talk about the good stuff, but we tend to leave the bad times behind, because well, bad times stink. Who doesn’t want to forget them? Often though, this makes it seem that the big, successful authors were overnight success stories and never had any struggles. There are all kinds of things I wish I’d know when I started out, and occasionally have to remind myself now. I’ll narrow the picture and talk about one big topic – agents.
Though some authors are lucky and find the great, perfect agent, right out of the gate, a huge percentage of published authors change agents at least once. The first agent we choose is often picked just because the agent said ‘yes’ to us. This isn’t a good reason to say ‘yes’ back. An agent is so critical to your career WAY beyond just making a sale. The first sale is not a career made. Ask any author who has been published for years and seemingly successful and behind closed doors, still balancing their checkbook and struggling to make their bills. How your career is managed, the strategies taken to build your career, matters in a huge way.
Also—being afraid of your agent doesn’t help your career. You are your best asset. Ultimately you are the one responsible for where your career goes. The title ‘agent’ doesn’t make the agent any more right than the weatherman. Your career decisions become an educated based on experience so make sure the agent has experience and is selling books to reputable publishing houses and that the agent knows your genre well. You want someone who really has that experience, but also has the right frame of mind to make your career. You should agree on where you are going and how to get there. Agents need to be invested in you, and motivated to make you successful. Throwing your work out there to editors, just to see what happens, is not good work by your agent, nor does it show real support of your career. Your career should not be a dice roll in Vegas. The agent has to use their tools to make the best forecast, but since it’s not a precise science, don’t you want to play a role? This is your life, your future, and your name you could end up changing if you sales tank. Right--sales. You sell your book, you publish your book with publisher, and you get great reviews. And you don’t sell enough books. This could be career ending if not handled right, or at least, name changing. This is a critical topic an agent and author should be concerned about.
So see? You need to get educated and be a partner with your agent in your career. Yes, I know, it’s intimidating and hard, and admittedly, often easier said than done. However, I think new authors need to know that agents are not Gods. They are simply people. The matchup between you and your agent is very much a marriage. Find the right match and what works for you, but know that what might not work for the other person. I could go on and on about so many subjects related to agents but I’ll leave it with this.
Believe in yourself but be humble and professional. This is a small business!
Educated yourself
And NEVER, EVER give up no matter how great the agent who turns you down is – however do stay open to feedback and guidance. Rarely do we look back to our early work and not believe it needed work, even after we are published.
I will be around to answer questions and if you pop in an comment I’ll draw one commenter’s name for a copy of High Octane my not yet release March Blaze!
THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL Blurb:
The world will never be the same after a top secret government projects creates super soldiers with alien DNA injections and those soldiers divide between good and evil.
The Hero: Michael
He is sin and satisfaction, lust and damnation, a lethal weapon created from the greed of man. A human soldier injected with alien DNA, he is one of many, yet none are like him, a legend within this new race, split between good and evil. Untamable, he has walked on the dark side, returned to the light, but it matters not, for he is feared, misunderstood—lethal in all ways possible.
Women desire him, lust for the mysterious warrior, hungry for the raw passion that touches his every breath. Men envy his stature, his power; they lust to control him. But there is no controlling a creature such as he, no taming the primal fires within him. He is the past, he is the future.
He is Michael.
EXCERPT on blog right sidebar
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Award winning author Lisa Renee Jones has published more than fifteen novels in several different languages, spanning multiple genres of romance: contemporary, romantic suspense, dark paranormal, and erotic fiction. Her awards include first place in theRomantic Times Aspiring Writers Contest. She currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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You can find Lisa on Twitter, Facebook, and her blog for regular updates. For information on available books: Blaze, Nocturne, etc, visit Lisa's Website
