But I've come to understand something. The Fate of A Marlwoe Girl (the first--a FREE book-- in The Marlowe Girls series was written for an anthology). The Other Marlowe Girl has paid for a lot of writing ventures. This weekend I realized there are two reasons why. 1)It's the second in a series where the first book did marginally well. Decree of Hope which in my opinion is one of the best books I've ever written and because it was written later--with more experience and further education--is probably the strongest of my published works. But it doesn't earn the way TOMG does. And now I know why. First of all, there is no free book in that series. An imprint owns the first book, so I can't make it free. But secondly the first in the other series was written for a submissions call.
What does that mean? It tells me what I already knew. I'm not great at marketing, or even predicting the market. Publishers are. That's how they've managed to stay in business over the past five or six years with talent going indie. They know what the market is looking for. What's the writing tip here? Look at calls for submissions in your genre. Is someone looking for something specific? Chances are it's because they think it will sell. A submission call is usually just a general idea. A concept. Use it as jumping off place, a springboard. Make it your own, and do with it what you will. Once I finish my thesis, I'm going to be looking at submission calls for several subgenres of romance I think I might be interested in and I'll start planning a trilogy around what appeals to me most.
Have you ever written to a submission call? What has your experience been?
I've never tried to write to a submissions call, but then, I write so widely that in theory someone will want something I've written.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, I don't care much, though.
I think the benefit of checking out a submission call is that the company has already done a market analysis to determine what they think will sale. The book I wrote for a submission call is self published but outsells the traditionally published book.
DeleteI definitely think you're on to something. I'm not sure I could write to a submission call though. I'm one of those writers who has to write the stories in my head—even if they don't make me money. I might consider seeing if any submissions calls match my ideas though.
ReplyDeleteKelly, when I was scouring through calls for submissions, I had writer's block and was trying to get an idea. I only looked at clean romance publishers and when I came across the call, I ignored it thinking it was something I would write. But 3 days later I had an idea that fit perfectly. This was also the first story, I received and R&R for, so that told me I didn't have to be a muse writer, and I didn't have to WAIT on an idea. (I know you already know this story, but I wanted to post it here in case it might help someone).
DeleteInteresting article, Beth. I've never written for a submission call. It's a thought though. The books I have out aren't selling that well. The subject matter may be the problem. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDelete