How Do I Get My Star Trek Novel Published?

Quick answer:  You can't.

Well,  at least not unless you're already a published author with an agent.    Pocket Books accepts only agented Star Trek manuscripts and most agents won't give you the time of day if you mail them a query that begins "I have this Star Trek novel...."    It's a bit of a Catch-22.   Furthermore,  media tie-ins are big business these days and Star Trek novels,  once looked down on as a step-child of SF,   have become sought-after contracts.   So not only do you have to worry about trying to get an agent as a first-time novelist (not easy itself) with a Star Trek novel (nearly impossible),  you also will be competing for a contract with multiply-published authors.

The plain truth is that beginning authors with a Star Trek novel in their hip pocket have a bad reputation in publishing,  assumed to constitute the dregs of the slushpile,  barely able to write their way out of a paper bag.   It doesn't matter whether or not this is true.   The perception exists.   There are also ninty-nine thousand of them, all with stars in their eyes,  hoping to make that sale.   Consequently,  Pocket Books doesn't have the money to pay the readers to wade through all the manuscripts if they opened up submissions--so they don't.   Same with agents.   Many of the big NY agencies get hundreds of queries a week,  eighty percent of which is completely unpublishable.   (True story:  friend of mine who used to read for Del Rey ran across a submission in the slushpile which was written on yellow legal pad (by hand) in yellow ink.   No joke.)   So agents see "Star Trek," assume "garbage,"  and shove that xoxed standard rejection letter into your SASE (assuming you remembered to include one),  and fire it right back at you,  do not pass Go,  do not collect two hundred dollars.   Again,  it doesn't matter if their perception is true or not.   It's their time you're competing for,  and they have a hundred more queries to look through.

But,  luckily for you,  Pocket Books has started what appears to be an annual contest for Star Trek short fiction,  open at least to Americans,  where you can submit and hope to sell an original piece (for a good per-word price,  too).   Thank John Ordover.   It's called Strange New Worlds,  and you can check out their guidelines.   If you're just dying to do Star Trek and get paid for it,  and you're a first-time novelist,  this is the route to go.   If you can tell an agent at the beginning of your query that you have sold a story to Strange New Worlds,  they're far more likely to finish reading about your Star Trek novel idea.

But if you're really seeking to make it in publishing,  then I advise that you write your own story,  set in your own universe.

That may sound funny coming from a guy who has a web page of Star Trek fanfiction,  but I don't write fanfiction under any illusions that I can sell it,  or that it will bring me fame or fortune.   I have other reasons for writing it,  do it in my (copious) spare time,  and put up the stories gratis so that folks who love Star Trek can enjoy them.   The work I do for sale has first priority,  is thoroughly my own,  and doesn't go up on the web.   (NEVER,  NEVER put a story publicly on the web if you hope to sell it.)   I was writing my own stuff long before I made any forays into fanfic,  and I knew very well what I was getting into.

So,  what do you do with that unsellable Star Trek novel?   Why not post it to alt.startrek.creative,  so others can enjoy your efforts?   Barring that,  put it on a shelf and let it gather dust until you're a multiply-published author yourself with some hope of actually placing it (probably after revising the hell out of it).   But if you want to write Star Trek fiction specifically,  then either write short stories in hopes of getting them into Strange New Worlds,  or be content with fanfiction.

If,  however,  you just want to write,  and write because you can't notdo so (writing's like a disease; one you either have or you don't)--and you do hope to sell something someday--then study the craft of writing.   Invent your own characters,  worlds and plots.   Practice,  practice,  practice...    Notice everything.   Experience life.   Watch people.   Listen to people.   Find published writers (at signings,  etc.) and talk to them.   Join a writing group.   Listen to others' war stories.   Learn about the publishing business.   Talk to yet more published writers.   Check out The Literary Marketplace (more on this below)...   Read Writer's Digest now and then.   Buy a dart board for your rejection letters.   Read a few books on writing and publishing (but don't take any of them as the Gospel Truth).   Talk to yet more published writers.   ...This is how you learn to do it....

Always remember:  Writing is an art,  but publishing is a business.   There are no free meal tickets.   If you get lucky and sell something out the door--good for you!   But don't expect to do so.   Have realistic expectations.   It's hard to sell a first novel and getting harder all the time.

Keep in mind that,  right now,  marketing runs publishing.   It used to be that good work sold and bad work didn't,  and if you could write,  you'd get an agent...  way back when publishing houses were happy with their traditional 5% profit margin.   Now,  they want 12% (blame the MBAs),  and they prefer to go with what's safe,  not necessarily what's the best writing to come across their desk.   I know far too many published authors with a book or book proposal in a drawer because their editor said,  "Sorry,  that's not marketable."   How much more true is that then for first-time authors?   Good books don't necessarily get published,  and there are far too many bad ones which do.   Does that mean you should write to the market?   No.   Not unless you write incredibly fast,  because the market is continually changing.   It's another Catch-22.   The best advice I can give is to write what you want to write,  because that's where your heart will be,  then hope you can sell it.

But do keep a few things in mind.   The longer the book,  the harder it will be to sell as a first-time novel (barring a few categories like epic fantasy where long is appreciated).   Also,  don't pick the most obscure or bizarre thing to write about,  unless you can make it so quirky that it's interesting.   Keep in mind that you will be trying to sell the story eventually so don't go out of your way to make it hard on yourself,  but don't make the mistake of picking what's hot at the moment.   It probably won't be by the time you're done.   Second-guessing the market is very hard to do unless you're clairvoyant.

So,  let's assume you've finally written that original-fiction masterpiece--what next?

First,  you have to produce a professional manuscript.   For a first novel,  do not query agents until you have a completed manuscript to send them.

What to do:  Use plain white paper.   Use black print from a laser or good printer of another type (or an old-fashioned typewriter).   Use one to one-and-a-half inch margins.   Use a simple,  readable type font that renders approximately 250 words per page (because agents/editors can guestimate the final word count by the number of pages in a manuscript).   Double-space it   Single-side all copies.   Include headers with the book name,  your last name,  and the page number (chapter number/name optional).   On the title page,  put your name,  address,  and phone number (and fax or email address) at the bottom.   (Hint:  Look to The Chicago Manual of Style as your bible.)

What not to do:  Use colored paper.   Use colored ink.   Use a 9-pin dot matrix or other bad printer.   Use some fancy (and difficult to read) print.   Single space.   Copy double sided.   Try to use some gimmick to sell it.   All of these things practically scream "newbie,  newbie,  newbie!"   Remember,  agents/editors get hundreds of manuscripts.   Don't do anything to make yours harder for them to read,  or they just won't bother.   "Eye catching" tricks don't catch the eye:  they annoy.   Make it professional if you want to be treated as a professional.

Second,  you must decide "to have an agent,  or not to have one."    Frankly,  I say go with the agent unless you like reading legalese on publishing contracts...  and understand it all.   Most agents ask for 15% and in my opinion,  they earn it.   (Well,  the good ones do).   For one thing,  publishing has come,  more and more,  to regard agents as a kind of first hurdle to help weed out the truly unpublishable dreck.   Furthermore,   agents know better than you do which editors are looking for what.   It's their job.   Last,  an agent can give you a realistic idea of what to ask for in a contract,  and probably has a better chance of getting it for you.   Literary land-sharks...  that's a good agent.

But--there's always a "but" isn't there?--it's also getting harder just to get an agent,  these days.   Sometimes,  one can sell a book to a publisher faster,  then get an agent to hammer out the contract!   So trends are reversing a little,  and what was true just a few years back is true no longer.   Publishing is in fluctuation,  and I suspect the internet will only make that more true.   So it definitely pays to talk to published authors,  agents or editors to see what's up (and down) at the time when you're actually looking to sell.

Third,  you have to know where to look for a reputable agent,  and what to beware of.   Some simple directions:  Go to your local library.   Find the reference room/department.   Approach that lady/gent at the desk.    Ask to look at their copy of The Literary Marketplace.  [Diavolessa's note: The LMP is also available online.]   Turn to Section 9 (if memory serves).   There are your agents.   Copy section 9 and take it with you.   Highlight agents who specifically state they handle your genre (whatever it is) and cross out agents who specifically say they don't.   (It's obviously not very clever to send a romance novel to an agent who says she doesn't take romance!)    An agent who makes it to the LMP has to have sold work; that's a requirement.    The LMP is about as reliable a source as is out there.   Yes,  there are reputable agents who aren't listed in it.   But I wouldn't query an agent who wasn't unless I had heard through other writers that said-agent was on the up-and-up and selling work.

What about reading fees?   Well,  first,  what are reading fees...

When more and more authors began to turn to and utilize agents,  some realized that they were spending more time reading hundreds and hundreds of (often bad) submissions from first-time authors who really needed an editing service,  not an agent.   So a few of them began to charge small fees to read work from first-time authors.

Then a couple folks realized that they made more money reading novels than selling them.    With time,  it became a racket,  especially when agents started offering "editorial services," and jacking up prices accordingly.   A whole wave of "agents" appeared on the scene who had never sold a single book.   The fact is,  I hire an agent to sell my novel,  not read it,  not edit it.   If I want an editing service,  I'll hire an editing service.   There are plenty of agents,  including well-selling agents,  who don't charge reading fees.   In fact,  there are more who don't than who do.   So why pay an agent to read my novel,  just to see if he or she will take it,  until and unless I've exhausted all other options?

Are all agents who charge reading fees frauds?   No.   Such prestigious agencies as Scott Meredith (was) charge reading fees,  particularly of first time novelists.   But again,  my question above stands:  why pay someone to read the novel when there are plenty of good agents out there who don't charge?

So how do you tell the difference between a legit agent who charges and a swindler?   First,  no agency should charge you for reading a query package.   What's a query package?   We'll get to that.   If the agency has read your query package and sends back a letter asking for the whole manuscript but requiring a reading fee,  you have every right to call that agency or write to request a list of novels sold within the last year.   After all,  remember--they're not doing you a favor; you're considering hiring these people on commission as your employees.   If an agency gives you the run-around about "confidentiality" or what-have-you,  say "thanks but no thanks" and go elsewhere.   A reputable--and successful--agency is happy to tell you what they've sold.   (They may not tell you what/who they're representing but haven't sold yet--that's a different matter--but they should tell you what they've sold.)   A legitimate agency will respect you for asking.

What happens if the agency sends a list and there are some nice names on there?   Well,  then you have to decide if you want to pay the fee or keep trying other agents.   In my opinion,  a successful agency shouldn't need to charge a fee if they're selling books.   But some agents disagree and claim that they should be paid for their time.   If you run across a successful agency who does charge a fee,  that fee should be reasonable.   Check it against what others are asking,  as listed in the LMP.   Ask the agent to be frank:  how likely is it that s/he is going to take the book,  and how likely is it that the book will sell?   Don't ask for promises;   they can't give you promises.   They should be able to give you an educated guess:  it's likely,  it's possible,  or it's a long shot.   Then it's up to you and your pocketbook.

So,  you've found a list of agents from the LMP who handle your genre,  now what?   First,  you might want to prepare a list of "most likely" agents.   Check out (recently published) books in the bookstore which you think are similar to your own novel in style,  setting,  plot,  tone,  whatever.   Then look under the acknowledgments,  if available,  and see if the author has credited his or her agent by name.   Write down that agent's name.   Make a short list;  add any other agents who look particularly likely from the LMP listings.   Say,  six to eight.   This is what you begin with.   Then,  look in the LMP to see if these agents give any submission guidelines.   If they do,  follow those guidelines precisely.   If they don't specify but state only "query first" you can decide whether to send a query letter or query package.   (If they say query letter,  send only the letter.)

A query letter is a page,  at most two,  telling the agent about the novel.   Be succinct.   Be clear.   Give categories where and if applicable:  e.  g.   "TITLE is a 90,000-word urban fantasy novel set in New York City..." or "TITLE is a 50,000-word historical murder mystery..." or "TITLE is a 120,000-word SF space opera."   Categories help agents classify.   The more specific you can be,  the better.   Don't resist categorizing your work thinking that if you don't,  the agent will have to read the work to see what it is.   Sorry,  it doesn't work that way.   Remember that you're competing with hundred and hundreds of other wannabe writers for the agent's time.   The harder you make it for the agent,  the more likely she/he is not to bother   After your introduction,  give a plot/thematic summary in a paragraph or two.   Be sure to include information like the word-count.   Say if it's a stand-alone or the first part of a series/trilogy/duology.   Don't spring that on the agent later.   Tell the agent a little about yourself ONLY if the agent has asked for a bio or CV,  or if that information is pertinent to the novel.   For instance,  if querying for an SF novel,  I wouldn't bother to mention that I'm an historian.   If querying for an historical,  you bet I would.   If you have sold any work,  such as short stories or even non-fiction,  be sure to mention that.   (But don't tell the agent you were the editor for your high school literary magazine or won second place in Jackson County poetry contest when you were fourteen.)   ALWAYS include a #10 (business) SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).

A query package includes a letter like the above (shorter,  if possible),  as well as the first 1-3 chapters (first 50 pages) and a synopsis.   A short synopsis:  2-4 pages.   Some agencies ask for a chapter-by-chapter outline.   This can (obviously) be longer.   By the way,  always send the first chapters;  don't send chapters from somewhere in the middle.   What an agent wants to know is can you grab the audience...   Always include a flat package SASE with sufficient postage to return your whole query,  or include a #10 SASE with a note that the manuscript copy can be discarded.   But hey--save some trees.   Ask for it back.

What are the merits of letter versus package and why send one over the other?   There's a lot of differing advice about this.   I sent packages,   although it costs more ($3 for the priority mailer and $3 return postage).   I did this because I'm not especially good at writing "selling" cover letters (in my opinion).   I prefered short cover letters with some basic information,  then to let the agent look at the sample chapters for him or herself.   If the agent is the least bit interested in the novel,  he or she will flip the page and read the first paragraph.   If that grabs,  the agent'll keep going.   This eliminates the extra step of having the person write back only to say,  "Yeah,  send the first few chapters and we'll see."   Some agents don't bother to do that unless they really like the idea in the cover letter--but if chapters are provided,  they'll give the first few paragraphs a try to see if they like the writing even if the cover letter wasn't a great sell.   So I send packages.

Others prefer to send query letters because it's cheaper,  particularly if they're good at writing cover letters that can excite the agent enough to want to read the book.   I've heard some agents say that they know within a paragraph of the cover letter whether they're going to take the book or not (providing the author can actually write),  so sending a query package is wasted postage unless it's requested.   But other agents prefer having some sample chapters to look at right then,  not have to wait on them.   It depends on which agent you ask; everyone has his or her own method.

The only rule is not to send an agent what he or she doesn't want.   If agents say "query letters only,"  they mean it.   If they say,  "send a synopsis and the first three chapters," do so.   If they say "no unsolicited manuscripts" don't send them one.   If they say no unsolicited queries,  don't query them.   (That means they have plenty of authors and are only accepting new ones by recommendation.)   Otherwise,  package or letter--it's up to you.  

What about those agents who accept whole manuscripts unsolicited?   I never recommend this for a couple of reasons.   First,  the cost is prohibitive.    Unless you've got a thin little book you can wedge into one of those priority mailers,  it's not worth it to you,  since you're far more likely to get a rejection than an acceptance.   Also,  if you mail the entire manuscript,  it's not kosher to do multiple submissions.   If you're sending letters or packages,  you can do multiple submissions (but I don't recommend doing more than about 10,  for reasons of cost as well as simple manners).

Once you've decided on your potential agents,  whether to send query package or letter,  and you've mailed out your first batch,  how long do you wait?    About three months.   Most agents will get back to you within two,  but some do take three.   If three months have passed,  it's not being too forward to write a letter to inquire into the status of your query.   Sometimes the mail loses packages.   I've lost upwards of 12 to the US postal service (half of those within one six-month period).   Send a SAS-postcard in your inquiring letter to make the agent's reply easier.   You will usually get an answer to this.   If you don't,  assume the worst,  warn others not to query that agent,  and give up.   Fire off a new query package.

After that,  it's just a waiting game.   Try,  try,  and try again.   Keep those letters/packages turned around and headed out as soon as a rejection comes in.   Don't let the rejections get you down.   Read and seriously consider any advice you might get back.   Sometimes,  if you've sent a package,  agents will actually write a few sentences on their replies,  explaining why they didn't take the novel.   If you get the same comments and/or advice over and over,  it might pay to take it to heart.

What about direct submissions to publishers?   Sure,  if you think you want to go that route,  or if you haven't had any luck with agents,  you can try direct submissions.   These take longer.   It's not polite to do multiple queries,  and expect the reply to take anywhere from six months to a year.   To a publisher,  I would recommend sending at least a query package,  not just a letter.

That about covers it.   Please keep in mind that the above represents my opinions,  gained from my own experience and the experience of other authors.   YMMV (your mileage may vary).

--Macedon,  c1998

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