Ask Me Help Desk - Would I need a Literary Agent.

Hello:)

I really need to get myself moving and get my 'stuff' published.
Yet find myself stuck time and again, not knowing how to proceed.
I believe in my writings, and know they will sell.

Hope you can help point me in the right direction.

Would I need a Literary Agent if:

My poetry is not in book format.
It's in a "gift" item format..

Thanks
AngelWings

I would suggest to put your poems in book format and send it to several publishers. That way, you could get feedback from several professionals and you can improve/make better poems.

Poetry books are really, really hard to get published. They aren't big sellers, so no one wants to make them. Your best bet, to get your foot in the door, is to start sending to literary magazines and small publishers to get a reputation for yourself. Take a creative writing class in your area if you can find one. Check community colleges and community centers. It's a great place to submit your work and get feedback. Often times people think their work is flawless, but when an objective person reads it, improvements could be made. Could be something as big as the scope is wrong, the voice is wrong, or something as minor as changing a word for more effect. If by chance you are in the Northern Virginia area, I can recommend a fabulous course/instructor.

There's a book you can find at your local bookstore (and for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it) which lists all the publishers, their publish dates, submission requirements, payments, etc. Look in the writing section, you should come up with something.

I'm wondering what you mean by "gift format"... do you mean greeting card-style? If so you can try and sell your stuff to the major card companies; Hallmark and Carlton Cards to name just two.

EDIT: Don't be surprised if you send your stuff off and gets rejection letters - it happens to everyone. To actually get real feedback, other than being told to try your work "elsewhere" is pretty much a miracle. I spazzed when I got a rejection letter and it had a hand-written note on it. You just have to send, send, send. I've only known a few people who have had success in getting poetry published; it's TOUGH!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsycoticPyro

I would suggest to put your poems in book format and send it to several publishers. That way, you could get feedback from several professionals and you can improve/make better poems.

I'm not willing to put my poems in book format at this time.
I know they will sell as they are because I have sold them at craft shows.
I would prefer to go the 'gift' shops route...
... then I would not have to do the selling.

Thanks for your feedback.:)

Contact Hallmark or Blue Mountain (et al.)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillianleab

Poetry books are really, really hard to get published. They aren't big sellers, so no one wants to make them. Your best bet, to get your foot in the door, is to start sending to literary magazines and small publishers to get a reputation for yourself. Take a creative writing class in your area if you can find one. Check community colleges and community centers. It's a great place to submit your work and get feedback. Often times people think their work is flawless, but when an objective person reads it, improvements could be made. Could be something as big as the scope is wrong, the voice is wrong, or something as minor as changing a word for more effect. If by chance you are in the Northern Virginia area, I can recommend a fabulous course/instructor.

There's a book you can find at your local bookstore (and for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it) which lists all the publishers, their publish dates, submission requirements, payments, etc. Look in the writing section, you should come up with something.

I'm wondering what you mean by "gift format"... do you mean greeting card-style? If so you can try and sell your stuff to the major card companies; Hallmark and Carlton Cards to name just two.

EDIT: Don't be surprised if you send your stuff off and gets rejection letters - it happens to everyone. To actually get real feedback, other than being told to try your work "elsewhere" is pretty much a miracle. I spazzed when I got a rejection letter and it had a hand-written note on it. You just have to send, send, send. I've only known a few people who have had success in getting poetry published; it's TOUGH!

Thanks for all your feedback and 'heads-up' about rejection letters.

I'm quite sure at this time I won't be doing a book.
(That may later change)

Some of my work would be good in Card Format, but I'm unwilling to do that either.
I did check into the major companies you mentioned, and was not satisfied with the
Money paid, nor the fact that you don't receive 'credit' for your work.

I know my poems will sell as I've sold them myself.

I don't want to do the selling, and am hoping to get them in appropriate store.

I'm trying to find out what's the best way to go about it?
If having a literary agent will help?

(I didn't even know what a literary agent was until I found this board.)

I'll keep an eye out for the book you mentioned...
... if you come up with the name please post it.

Thanks again:)

Thanks, Wondergirl, it's Writer's Market I was thinking of! I can't believe I forgot the name! If I remember correctly, there is a specific Writer's Market for poetry, or at the very least a section in the book for poetry. It's published every year with updated information and is a great resource.

Angel, I'm still unsure about what your intention is... you don't want to do gift cards, I get that. But it doesn't sound like you just want to be published either (in a book); it sounds like you want to sell your poetry as gifts, as in, on a mug, or a plaque or something. Is this correct? If that's the case, having a literary agent or sending letters to publishers won't help at all, you would need to contact the companies which manufacture such items and see if they are willing to purchase your work. I'm not sure that is the way those businesses get their work, however; they might have a staff of writers. If they do accept other submitted work, my guess is it wouldn't pay much. Of course, you could go into business for yourself and sell your completed product to stores, or as you mentioned, at craft shows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jillianleab

Thanks, Wondergirl, it's Writer's Market I was thinking of! I can't believe I forgot the name! If I remember correctly, there is a specific Writer's Market for poetry, or at the very least a section in the book for poetry. It's published every year with updated information and is a great resource.

Angel, I'm still unsure about what your intention is... you don't want to do gift cards, I get that. But it doesn't sound like you just want to be published either (in a book); it sounds like you want to sell your poetry as gifts, as in, on a mug, or a plaque or something. Is this correct? If that's the case, having a literary agent or sending letters to publishers won't help at all, you would need to contact the companies which manufacture such items and see if they are willing to purchase your work. I'm not sure that is the way those businesses get their work, however; they might have a staff of writers. If they do accept other submitted work, my guess is it wouldn't pay much. Of course, you could go into business for yourself and sell your completed product to stores, or as you mentioned, at craft shows.

I'll try to be a little more clear:
My poetry is matted (and sometimes framed) in 5x7 and/or 8x10 mats/frames depending on the poem.
They are unique, the poems are good.

You said to: "contact the companies which manufacture such items and see if they are willing to purchase your work." How does one find out what companies those would be?

I'm not interested in a 'local' store only, but hope to reach a wider audience, hopefully nationwide.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.
I now feel as though I'm doing something... instead of nothing.

Ok, I think I've got it now!

From what you describe, a literary agent probably isn't the way you want to go. Literary agents help people publish work in books, magazines, etc. What you want to do is start a business of selling gifts. You are the manufacturer and distributor, you just need to find a sales location. There are a few ways of doing this; you can open your own store (expensive and given your limited product probably not the way you want to go), you can open an online store (create a website, allow purchases from there, custom frames, etc and market at craft shows, expos, place ads in magazines, etc) or you can find a store which will carry your product.

It sounds like you want to store to sell your product. To do this, you need to find stores which you would expect to find that sort of thing - gift shops, essentially. Hallmark, Elm Tree, those sorts of places. Locally you might find other stores that are independently owned. You start by talking to the owner of the shop, showing them your product and saying, "This product will sell retail for $XX; I will sell you 20 of them for $XXX for you to sell in your store." If a business likes the product and gives you a shot, they will buy a small amount see how they sell, and then order more if they do well. I understand you don't want to do local only, but that's really the best place to start, as it will create a demand and give you more ammo so to speak to take your product to a larger audience. If you place your product in several local stores and keep track of your sales figures, in time you can go to a larger retailer such as Target or Walmart (where ever you choose) and try to get them to sell your product as well. It would be tough to START at those locations, because right now, there's no demand for your product, so Walmart execs have no reason to order mass quantities. Starting on a local level also allows you to refine your product, figure out the best and cheapest way to manufacture it, distribute it, etc.

You are going to want to do a lot of reading on how to start your own business, because that's what you are going to have to do to achieve your goals. You need a business plan, financing, goals, strategies and vendors. Check your local area to see what resources are available to small business owners; check the SBA, a local community college, etc. Business courses will help you a lot with deciding what to do and creating a plan.