The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success

268 Pages·1996·11.46 MB·English

by  Donald Maass

OVEUST
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"Packed full of fine analysis, solid advice,
and thoughtful reflection on the state of contemporary
publishing. It's further distinguished by more common sense
than any book of its type that I have ever read. A treasure."
—DEAN KOONTZ, author of Intensity
DONALD MAASS

The
CAREER
NOVELIST

The
CAREER
NOVELIST
A Literary Agent
Offers Strategies
for Success
Donald Maass
HEINEMANN
PORTSMOUTH, NH
Heinemann
A division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
361 Hanover Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912
Offices and agents throughout the world
Copyright © 1996 by Donald Maass.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or
by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
The author and publisher thank those who have given permission to
reprint borrowed material.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maass, Donald.
The career novelist : a literary agent offers strategies for success /
Donald Maass.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-435-08693-6
1. Fiction-Authorship. I. Title
PN3365. M24 1996
808.3-dc20
96-17148
CIP
Editor: Lisa A. Barnett
Production: Melissa L. Inglis
Text design: Joni Doherty
Cover design: Jenny lensen Greenleaf
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
03 04 DA 6 7 8 9
for Beth

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
INTRODUCTION XI
CHAPTER ONE
The Dream 1
CHAPTER TWO
The Reality 15
CHAPTER THREE
Pitching Errors 27
CHAPTER FOUR
Choosing an Agent 39
CHAPTER FIVE
More on Choosing an Agent 51
CHAPTER SIX
The Marketing Game-. How I Sell Novels 63
CHAPTER SEVEN
Strategy Session I. Breaking \n 75
CHAPTER EIGHT
A Tour of the Genres 89
CHAPTER NINE
Crossover Novels 111
CHAPTER TEN
Numbers, Numbers, Numbers 119
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Self-Promotion or Self-Delusion? 129
CHAPTER TWELVE
Strategy Session II: Midcareer Damage Control 139
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Bottom Line: Storytelling 153
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Collaborations 167
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Packagers and Work-for-Hire 175
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Contracts and Income 187
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Electronic Rights-. Power Source or Static? 203
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Strategy Session III: Managing Success 217
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Staying Alive in the Land of the Giants 229
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Economy and Publishing 237
AFTERWORD
Wfto Will Get Rich Writing Fiction in the Nineties? 243