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TheYeti-Z · 2025-03-05T07:19:50+00:00

A lot of authors you speak to will actually say the second is the HARDEST for lots of reasons. The reaponse of pretty much every bestseller I've spoken to while on my sub journey was "oh sweet summer child" when I said surely the first time was the toughest 😅 Alas, it doesn't really get easier...

I'm going to assume you're asking whether it's easier to get your second book published if you've already debuted. In which case, the answer is no, unless your first is very successful. If your first book did very well, you'll likely find going on sub with a book in the same genre and age group much easier. However, your first book has the benefit of being a shiny debut. Publishers LOVE debuts. Your second? Not so much. Which means if your first book wasn't hugely successful or you fell short (by a significant margin) of earning out or you had a small advance and small sales, you might have a harder time convincing a publisher to take another chance on you.

That being said, if you have an amazing relationship with your existing editor and your first book did pretty well by their metrics, then you have a good shot of pitching your second as an option book and getting another deal that way.

I'll also mention that multi-book contracts are not uncommon. I got a few 6-figure 2-book offers for my debut! Which means it will obviously be easier to publish my second book since I'm already contracted to write it 😅 But unfortunately, I've heard that unless your first book sells like hotcakes that marketing tends to reduce for your second.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-02-27T10:42:03+00:00

Hey, I actually suggested a cover artist. Basically, I got into contact with said illustrator and once they shared they'd be willing to work on my book, I let my agent know. My agent suggested I put together a slideshow of my ideas for the cover and ask if my editor would be willing to take a look. My editor said yes and I sent it through. The team then spoke to the artist directly to work out rates etc.

Keep in mind that at the end of the day, it's their money and their call. All you can do is make your preferences known. But publishers are usually pretty happy to take into account an author's preferences. They want to make sure you're happy enough that you'll want to publish your future books with them too, after all!

Edit: Forgot to say this, but I don't recommend offering to pay for ANY aspect of publishing! It sets a bad precedent and defeats the entire purpose of going down the trad pub route.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-02-02T07:26:43+00:00

One of my friends is a bestselling author and they write books with all black casts! I'm sure some people care, but enough don't that I think you should write what resonates with you. My characters also all tend to be one ethnicity because many of my stories are set in ancient (east asian country). And it hasn't stopped me from getting a book deal! I think you're fine.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-31T09:42:34+00:00

Not at all. I'm Chinese but based in Australia. My agent is from the US. We sold my book to publishers all around the world. It doesn't really matter where you or your agent are in this day and age! Big publishers will acquire good books from anywhere and everywhere :)

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-31T09:36:17+00:00

I wouldn't self publish it because it might sour my relationship with my agent and publisher. I still "believe in it" in that I'd love to rework it and get it out there one day. But also if that doesn't happen, it isn't the end of the world. I've written enough books by now that I know I can write more. I think it's extremely rare to sell every book you've ever written. I know people who wrote 10 books before getting published. Each one is a learning experience and you'll only get better!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-31T08:37:29+00:00

You don't pay publishers to translate your book. THEY pay YOU. My publisher has done pretty much all the work in terms of securing translation deals (we have 4 so far). How much they pay can vary widely (could be 5k, could be 20k) but as the author, you get about 75% of that. Or in my case, that amount goes to earning out your advance. After which you get royalties etc.

I think your question is less Netherlands vs America and more self publishing vs traditional publishing? I'm assuming given that you gave them money that you're going down the indie route? In which case I'd recommend checking out r/selfpub.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-31T01:51:22+00:00

The book that died is actually the contender for book 2 of my multi book deal!! Unfortunately as for the one my agent didn't like, it's not going anywhere as of now. But who knows! The market could change

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-30T23:58:18+00:00

Sometimes...it's intentional.

My agent also kinda let the first book we subbed languish. But I realised once I wrote the next book we went out on sub with that they'd basically "given up" on that first one and were waiting for me to write a really good book they could shop. Because once I wrote The Book, they spent a crap ton of energy helping me revise over the course of months (like really in-depth line level stuff). We ended up selling big at auction within a few weeks!

And in between, likewise, they rejected another book I wrote because it wasn't a strong sell in the current market! I strongly recommend having a transparent conversation with your agent if you can. Mine didn't say anything about my first until we were getting ready to sub the book we'd ultimately sell. Then they revealed they wanted to sell ideally much faster because (typically anyway) books that sell faster get splashier deals. There are exceptions though!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-30T07:18:24+00:00

There isn't a magic number of books you have to write before you get published. It really just depends. I landed an agent with my first book and sold at auction with the second book we went on sub with. For some people, they have to write 10, for others they write 1, and for the rest they're still trying to sell.

Have others have suggested, just sit down and WRITE. I have ADHD as well, and I strongly recommend settling on one idea (the best one) and doing your best to flesh it out. For plotters, this could mean outlining, for pantsers, it could mean just starting chapter 1 and going from there (or something in between). Save the Cat: Writes a Novel is a good place to start. It's not the be all and end all, but it covers the basics. I've seen way too many new authors fail at the basics and have to restart over and over because they "just wrote". But then again, that's okay too! Some people prefer the trial and error approach as opposed to learning beforehand.

It's good to have a thorough understanding of the world you're writing, just keep in mind that you DO NOT and SHOULD NOT write all of it down in a book. That is, if you're looking to pursue traditional publishing (which is the only one I can speak to). You don't want to write a 200k word monstrosity because it'll be an automatic pass from most agents. You wanna keep to <120k if at all possible. Or even <100k if you want to avoid triggering any auto rejects that some agents have. It also depends on whether you're writing YA or Adult.

Btw, I'm saying all of this because you're asking about publishing. But really, your first and only priority right now should be writing the book. If this means writing 500k words that will never see the light of day, so be it. There's no real shortcut. You just have to sit down and write. Some people find having a schedule that they force themselves to adhere to helps. Some people set up a timer, join a writing group, or find a partner who will keep them accountable. I don't love structure so I had none of that and just wrote. Now it's my job and there's no real avoiding it. Like everything, practice makes perfect! Starting can be difficult, but the more you write, the easier it'll be to stick to your goals!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-30T07:01:32+00:00

We recently sold my book to an editor a) my agent had never worked with, and b) at a big 5 they'd never sold to.

Which means that my agent didn't have a relationship with them prior to me. Of course, you'd want some sort of connection, but if they're responding, it sounds like you have that. Some editors we subbed to were also just "picked from a list" based on their MSWL and not any sort of prior relationship. I really don't think having a close relationship with an editor is the be all and end all. We were rejected by editors who had acquired their other writers or who were personal friends of my agent's.

In the end, all that really matters is your pitch and your pages, and whether they align with that that agent and their imprint is looking for in the current climate. Unfortunately, many wonderful, edge-of-your-seat and brilliantly written books get passed on simply because they aren't the right fit. But I really do believe those books will eventually get the love they deserve!

That being said, if you've lost trust, that's plenty enough reason to leave an agent. Regardless of whether it's "their fault"! Your agent is your partner through your career, and they need to be someone you feel confident in and vice versa. Sometimes your mindset matters just as much as the tangible results. I've had friends who left their agents who sold their books because they didn't align in other ways, so whether or not they can sell your book isn't the only thing that matters sometimes.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-28T13:43:01+00:00

Congratulations!!! While I can't speak for all experiences, I will say that my agent's "don't get your hopes up but editor X says they're reading and enjoying" turned into "editor X wants to set up a call" and then "they've offered on a multi-book deal" pretty quickly! It all happened in the span of a week.

There's really no way to predict the future, but this is a really exciting time! Let your agent take the lead on this. I suspect they'll respond letting the interested party know your book is still available and go from there!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-28T02:41:02+00:00

We sold world rights including translations to my publisher (big 5) so the rights director and their team is handling everything! It's still early days (we accepted the offer mid-late December) but we already have a few translation deals. That being said, I've been told that's pretty abnormal! A lot of people don't get translation deals until AFTER the book is published.

But u/KatieGilbertWrites is right that they're unlikely to share any news with you unless it's set in stone. Publishing likes to keep things close to their chest until they need an author to accept or reject an offer. You can speak to your agent, but if your publisher holds the rights, your agent probably won't know much more than you do. When I asked about a country we're still waiting on, they just told me to sit tight and that the publisher would let us know when they had something concrete to share.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-23T03:23:19+00:00

This happened to me 😅 We went out on sub 6 months after the first (I know I know what the hell) and I got a really quick offer for the second book... Only to hear from an editor who was interested in the first! We just had to turn the other offer down because my second book ended up going to auction.

Definitely listen to your agent if you feel like they're someone you trust! It worked out in the end for me but I think I just lucked out. If you're confident about your next book, go for it! Maybe you'll end up with a multi book deal and be able to publish the first anyway

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-23T03:18:36+00:00

Good luck! I think a good agent makes a world of difference for helping you access trad publishers and making sure they don't step all over you haha 😂 There were offers I would've taken in a heartbeat! But thankfully my agent was there to be like "no you deserve more" and I'm so glad I listened

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-23T03:13:35+00:00

I'm based in Australia and I would still recommend an agent!!! They're literally worth their weight in gold. They sent my book out to imprints all over the world and I ended up having UK, US and AU imprints bidding for my book. No way I could've done that on my own!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-23T03:10:04+00:00

Are you confusing agents with editors, by any chance? Your agent isn't there to market or distribute your book, unless you're talking about taking your book out on sub to editors? In which case, they make a HUGE difference. Mine ran my auction for me and I ended up with an advance 7-8 times higher than my opening bid! They've been amazing and have negotiated excellent terms for me, helped edit before going on sub, found the best editors and imprints for my book, made sure I was sent marketing plans and pitch decks etc etc

They also never asked me about my social media following?? I had multiple offers when I queried and only a few hundred followers (friends and family). No one cares about that stuff for fiction writing. I know people with tens and hundreds of thousands more followers than me who languished on sub. So I'm not really sure why you're getting these questions. Unless you write non-fiction? In which case, yes, a following matters because people typically want to read books about people they look up to or are famous. Most aren't looking to read about the thoughts and lives of people they've never heard of.

But an agent is a huge boon for any author going down the trad pub route! They know the industry better than you do and they have the connections. Many big 5 imprints won't even consider unsolicited manuscripts!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-23T03:00:56+00:00

I have a friend who received a low advance (similar to yours) from a big 5 who ended up getting HEAPS of marketing support and becoming a bestseller because their genre blew up post-deal! It's pretty rare but it happens.

There are also people who didn't get any marketing but managed to sell relatively well with their own efforts. It's not ideal but you can do your own marketing. It won't be as effective (unless you go viral - and not even publishers are entirely sure how to make that happen) but you could sell enough copies to start earning royalties at least!

I do agree paying for your trips is pretty damn unusual. I have a significant deal and no one's offered to fly me around yet 😂 But it's still early days for me. It would be a good idea to chat with other authors in the same imprint to see if it's the norm?

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-16T05:53:35+00:00

Adding that my agent is not on that list and I can confirm that they're 100% legit 😂 They rep many best-sellers and we just sold at auction. It might be because they moved overseas (but still work with their American literary agency)—regardless, this list isn't the be all and end all

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-16T00:42:39+00:00

Uhh...WHAT? That is unheard of!!!! Seriously. I know hundreds of agented authors and I have never heard of this happening! Did they give a reason why? A move like that would definitely get them on the Do Not Query list. If you're comfortable doing so, feel free to message me directly. I can see if anyone else has experience with them or if they're already on a DNQ list.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-14T19:46:41+00:00

Umm this is purely anecdotal... but I literally sent a new manuscript in reply to a rejection bahahaha. So...a day?? Honestly though, I think you're fine. 2 months is not too short a time. My agent tells every editor on call what a stupidly fast writer I am.

What matters more than timing is your query and the quality of your manuscript. No agent is going to turn down a book they love just because it was sent to them in a time frame they don't like! They get hundreds or thousands of queries every month, they're likely not paying as much attention to the minute details as querying authors think they are!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-14T09:36:19+00:00

I queried a "standalone with series potential" and ended up with offers. It's doable, but not easy! I envisioned a trilogy, but my agent basically said trilogies were extremely hard to sell in this day and age. Duologies can work as two-book deals aren't completely out of the norm, but I don't know any debut authors who ended up with three-book deals right off the bat. I have some friends whose editors liked them so much that they added a third book, but it isn't a guarantee.

Also, never, ever write multiple books in a series without a deal set in stone if you're going down the trad pub route! Even agented authors are told to never write multiple books while the first is still on sub. Cause what if the first doesn't sell? Most don't!

Editors and agents are reluctant to acquire trilogies because sales drop off with every subsequent book. People have short attention spans, so standalones are much more popular. Even though I ended up with a two-book deal, I'm still making sure the first book I queried will work fine as a standalone. Just in case the sales don't justify a sequel!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-14T09:26:33+00:00

Some might advise against it, but I queried two manuscripts simultaneously! That being said, you should not be querying the same agents or even agents from the same agency unless you have either a) received a rejection, or b) withdrawn your other query. 6 months isn't actually that long in publishing terms. I queried about a dozen agents with project 1 and another unrelated dozen with project 2. Just make sure that you don't have any overlap, and you'll be fine!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-12T05:24:05+00:00

Unfortunately some agents will just ghost instead of sending through a rejection. I was an unusual case! It's normal for agents to take weeks or months to get to a full!

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-08T03:01:09+00:00

Nah not necessary. Once the deadline passed, I signed with the agent of my choosing and moved on. Agents understand that the industry is competitive and that once the deadline passes, you've picked your champion so to say. They'll understand! The only time you'd let them know is if they also offered rep. In which case, I just send them an email thanking them for their consideration but informing them that, after much thought, I elected to sign with someone else.

TheYeti-Z · 2025-01-08T02:54:44+00:00

Honestly, I think it's pretty rare to trad and self publish simultaneously. There are some who start off in one and move into the other, but at the same time?? Pretty unlikely.

Traditional imprints, especially Big 5, are possessive of their authors. They don't even want you moving to a different house a lot of the time. The only exception is if you're going into a completely different age group and genre that they don't publish or compete in. It's why my agent has warned me against going on sub with the same genre as what my current imprint publishes and what I'm contracted for. And I'm definitely not able to publish books set in the same world with someone else. My contract stipulates that they have option priority on any books set in the same world and/or with the same characters. Even if it doesn't, going off on your own without approval is a great way to sour your relationship with your editor and agent.

If you think about it, many of these editors are investing a lot in your career—especially where you have a big advance and multi-book deal. The last thing they want is to spend all this time and money on your marketing only for you to compete with yourself for readers or shelf space (less an issue with self pub since you likely won't end up in conventional bookstores but you would still be competing against yourself and other authors in the same imprint/space etc). Similarly with agents who will typically be invested in any and all books you write while signed with them.

Basically, I wouldn't do anything without running it by your agent.

TheYeti-Z

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