Customer Reviews

Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents, 2002-2003: Who They Are! What They Want! And How to Win Them Over!

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First, folks, let me say I am a professional writer who prefers to remain anonymous, whose third novel will come out in hardcover from a major house this fall, and my agent is getting me six-figure advances, including foreign rights and audio sales. Second, like all you aspiring writers out there, four years ago I was a struggling "wannabee" too, with my own gigantic pile of "Dear Author" rejection letters. I quickly learned that wannabee writers fell into one of two groups, which I labeled the "willoughbies" (the people who WILL break in professionally sooner or later) and the "wontabees" (the people who will never succeed no matter how much you try to help them). If you really, truly want to go pro, you have to be honest with yourself that at any point in your early career you still have a heck of a lot to learn -- and the Herman Guide will make a big difference in getting you there. So, I agree with the other 5-star reviewers below, that the 1-star reviewers of the classic, indispensable Herman Guide sound like sour-grape whiners and complainers. Agents have no time or patience for obvious wontabees. And believe me, they can smell a wontabee within 3 seconds of when they open the submission envelope. Don't blame it on Anthrax.

So why is this Guide valuable to you? It is the most complete and accurate existing guide to agents -- who are the only people you should contact if you have a full-length book you want to get published, not editors. Whoever below said that editors are more approachable might have been talking about short stories for magazines, where it's true that you don't need an agent and no agent will want to even look at your stuff anyway. And the guy or gal who said below that Herman is out of date probably doesn't realize how long it takes from when the raw material of a book is ready, to when the actual book reaches the bookstores. It takes over a year, sometimes closer to two years!!! Editing, production steps, and advance marketing, all force this long lead time. So, OF COURSE you should double-check the info to make sure it's current and accurate. What Herman says about my own literary agent, for instance, is spot on!!!

I strongly recommend that you read every single agent's description of their "dream client" and their "client from hell" -- yes, every darned one of them in this Guide -- and then think hard about what they say, and learn from it before you send out another submission. It WILL make a difference. If you're too lazy to carefully read hundreds of different agent listings, or too self-referential to learn from this solid-gold resource of wisdom, then you're a wontabee for sure.

In summary, without this Guide I would not have learned how much there was to know about things that I didn't even know I needed to know, and I would certainly not have learned the "right answers" to all these unasked questions. Nor would I have happily left my previous career "day job" far behind me long ago, and be making a very nice living as a full-time professional writer. If this sounds opinionated to all you wontabees out there, well, what can you do, I'm opinionated.

PS: Also strongly recommend agent Donald Maass's THE CAREER NOVELIST. Hard hitting, no punches pulled, eye opening, cynical, whatever, you gotta read it. (No, Donald Maass is not my agent, though I did meet him once at a writers conference.)

PPS: I predict this review will get lots of "not useful" votes from bitter wontabees. Too bad.

You can get a copy of the association of authors' representatives (AAR) for free online... Next, take another reviewer's advice and look inside books most like yours. Often writers do thank their editor or agent. They don't have to, so there's a vote of approval right there for you to go by. Then research that agent or editor. Use the internet. Plug their name into a google or other search (google.com). The best success I have had with both agents and editors has been with this technique. By doing it you will also learn a lot (maybe much more than you want) about the publishing world. Write them a query and show them that you know your stuff: tell them why you would like to work with them, in particular. Mention the acknowledgment you saw in so and so's book. Go to your library and use Literary Marketplace (for free) and think about buying a copy of Writer's Market for info on publishers and agents. Also go on sites like Preditors and Editors (which although primarily a sci-fi, fantasy site, has great info on many publishers and has info on who to avoid.)
Sometimes writers trying to get published feel like they have an extremely expensive hobby. It gets tiresome buying the how-to books and still not see any income coming in. Don't fret and don't get down. But don't buy things out of desperation either.
Check out info at your library and then buy the reference books that you would like to be able to access daily at home.
Writer's Market is good for the money.
Also, think about finding online support for your writing endeavors. There are many sites where writers talk about their craft and support each other through the... business side of being a writer.

I purchased the latest edition of this which was titled, 2001-2002 edition. A more fitting title would be the "1999 Writer's Guide" I write to people who have been gone for two to three years....and their publishing houses are writing nasty letters back to me complaining about my outdated information.

This book is shoddy work that is not helping my efforts as a writer. Listing people who have been gone for two-three years and titling the book as current is both unprofessional and unconscionable. It is pretty clear to me that the cover of this book was changed while everything inside stayed the same...a real scam and a disservice to writers.

My warning to writers is to check every listing before sending out your query letters or proposals....getting the wrong name on your query letter is a quick way to the trash file.

Well gang- I've been working in this biz for 25 years and I've never seen so many negative reviews. I know 50 authors who have loved this book and tell me it helped them get published. I use the book all the time- There is great information here! I applaud Jeff- this is a useful book. Get it. Rick Frishman Pres. Planned TV Arts (NYC) Co-author GUERRILLA PUBLICITY & GUERRILLA MARKETING FOR WRITERS

I've been buying Jeff Herman's Writer's Guide every few years since the first one came out years ago. It is an excellent tool. Like any tool, though, it is only as good as the person wielding it.

Let's assume you're a competent, talented writer. This book will not necessarily get you published. There's a legion of hurdles and barriers ahead of you, and if you're not tough and persistent enough to get around and over them, you're likely to spend your life as a sad and bitter wannabe. Writing your book is the easy part; Herman's book at least gives you some clues and maps toward getting through the hard part--the dismal swamps and ego-bruising minefields between you and an interested publisher. The good and bad news is that at least 95% of all talented writers will get discouraged, give up prematurely, and never get published.

When you're serious about sending out a blizzard of queries and proposals, invest in this book. It has worked for me, anyway. Although a writer of modest talent, I've used his book to scout out editors and their interests and have managed to successfully sell my book ideas and make a modest living doing so. (For more info, search on my name in Amazon.)

Getting published can be difficult or relatively easy depending on what you write about and how well you do it. When seeking a publisher or agent, it is important to know who is interested in the kind of material you are writing and the best way to present your idea to them. This book is the best source of information about the personal preferences and tastes of individual editors and agents. It may not provide as many listings as Writer's Market but the quality is much higher. It also provides information about how to prepare queries and proposals although I recommend that a writer who is new to the process get one of the books that deal specifically with preparing book proposals. The real value of this book is the information it provides regarding who to contact in the publishing industry.

I see many bitter reviews here from writers who have clearly been rejected by the publishing world's high standards -- but it is precisely these people who need people like Jeff Herman. Reading this and Herman's other insider publishing guides will not get you published -- no, you have to be a GOOD WRITER to do that. Assuming you have that well in hand, Herman gives you every tool necessary to make it in publishing. You can have a potential bestseller and have it never be published because you constantly spell the editors' names wrong -- in this age of Anthrax especially, your proposal will be tossed aside. It is important to know what these editors do in their spare time -- your requisite brown-nosing (and subsequent publication) depend on it. So if you want to stand a chance at publishing your book, read this like it is your bible. Herman is an agent, he knows what he is doing, and he selflessly shares it with YOU. Is he making a buck in the meantime? Absolutely. No such thing as a free lunch, even if you think you are God's gift to writing.

I got this book from a friend last Xmas. He didn't know whether to get this one or the old standard, the Writer's Market. He chose the wrong one.

The book is not worthless, but nor is it very good. The author, Jeff Herman, spends a lot of the book congratulating himself on his successful "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. (Frankly, I'm not that impressed with such a tiresome and saccharine series, but it's made him wealthy.)

He's an agent himself, and likes to pretend that he's doing potential writers a favor by giving more in-depth info on a limited number of agents. Who cares what an agent does in his spare time? We don't, and the agents probably don't care if writers know that either. Skip it.

Is the bible of the writers. Is a tool for professional writers. It's great for the writers that have collided with the established high standards of the world of publishing, even being them good writers. Read this book and push your talent and you will be published. Many times, depend of what kind of material you wirte. So you need to know what the publisher or the agent are looking for or need. And Jeff Herman (a great agent) guide you for the publishing labyrinth. He tell you how to catch the free time of the editors...and who to contact in that industry. Get the book!

The Writer's Guide to Book Editor's, Publishers, and Literary Agents, 2002-2003 is the best REFERENCE BOOK available for new and experienced writers. This book is overflowing with information - it includes everything you will need to connect yourself with the top editors and agents in the industry. Purchasing this book is a must for anyone serious about his or her writing career.

Sheri' L. McConnell, MAOM
Founder of the National Association of Women Writers