Author Jody Hedlund asked recently Is the Query System Dying? in a post that majorly bummed me out. (It was inspired by her agent Rachelle Gardner's 2010 statistics - ZERO clients signed through cold querying.)
One method that Jody recommended was getting to know agents through social media.
Many blogs discuss building a web presence prior to publication and the lovely Mary Campbell and I have exchanged emails about it before. Certainly I've noticed that bloggers who use their real name and talk about their process get a ton more followers than those of us who have to go psuedonymously.
Until recently I've had to stay private because of the personal nature of my blog, and I didn't want my students or employers finding me. But now that I'm about to quit my job and start querying, I've been considering using my real name.
I'm not sure that I'll use 52 Faces though, because the archives contain so many personal posts about my relationships, spirituality/religion, politics, and previous workplaces. I might have to start a whole new blog and do it all over again - hopefully some of you will follow me there if so.
Here are my options:
1) Use this blog but come out of the closet
PROS: Already have a presence and following
CONS: Too much private/embarrassing information in the archives ::watching former employers gear up to sue her::
2) Start a brand new blog using my full, real, birth name.
PROS: Build a network with the publishing community and possibly have agents remember me
CONS: I'm also planning on returning to the entertainment industry and I fiercely protect my privacy; I'm a little uncomfortable with the Hollywood people being able to find my blog since I'll still post some "life" stuff and pictures. Also, my former workplaces/students and current tutoring students will be able to find me and hear about my writing neuroses.
3) Start a new blog using a penname (that I'll make sure to include when querying).
PROS: All the cache of a real full name, but I can keep my work sphere separate still
CONS: When I query with my real name, agents will go, "who the heck are you?"
4) Stick with the original plan - start the public blog after I get an agent/my book sells
PROS: By that time I'll be rich and famous! Just kidding.
I can worry less about having to keep my spheres separate.
CONS: Possibly missing out on supposed (mythical?) magic connections through the blogosphere that will get me published.
What do you think, readers, especially fellow writers/publishing-folk? Do I need to get my real name or pen name out there right now?
Am I doomed if I try to cold query?
Do I need to become twitter buddies with all the agents I lust after just to get them to read my first page?
6 comments:
I got my agent from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency from cold querying. My agent hadn't even looked up my website to check me out first. Just so you know all the possibilities before, you know, you come out of the closet! Good luck!
I struggled with this myself. I was Fiction Groupie only for a long while because I wanted my privacy. Then I ventured out with my first name, then eventually my full name. Then I had to switch to a pen name when I go my book contract.
Here's my advice for what it's worth:
--A moniker doesn't get you anywhere. All it gets you is privacy. You miss out on promotion, name recognition, people feeling like they're connecting to a real person instead of a persona.
--You real name can work great IF that is what you plan to publish under. If you plan to publish under a pen, then GO WITH THE PEN out of the gate. Don't make the mistake I did and have to transition over to a new name at the last minute.
I got my agent through a referral from someone I met blogging. Had she not known me by name, I doubt she would've contacted me to offer me the referral. So I may have missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
For more info, I'd suggest reading Kristen Lamb's blog. Her whole focus is on social media for authors and she's adamantly for using a real name or pen and developing your brand early. (http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/).
And as for agents looking for your online presence, I can tell you that my agent says having no website is a dealbreaker. She researches a writer's online presences as soon as she finishes a partial she likes. Every agent is different, but I know many do want you to already be out there. Waiting until you get the agent/book deal puts you behind the eight ball. By the time my book comes out, I should have at least 1500 blog followers and probably double that on Twitter. If I had waited, I would only be get started now.
Okay, long comment but I hope that helps! I'm a bit passionate on this topic, lol.
Just left a really long comment and now it's not showing up. Hope you got it on your end! :)
If I were you, I'd keep this blog and transition to using my pen name with it. Then I'd update my Twitter, etc. accounts to use my pen name as well.
I've heard that if you have a platform under your pen name, you should query with it, but I don't know if that's true.
I do know (and Roni as well as one of my CPs will back this up) that it's easier to establish a pen name early in the game than it is to switch things over later.
Good luck!
I'm all about using a real name, but with my last name being Says, I'm a bit biased.
I think the IMDB reason and the Harvard reason is enough to use your real name. If I had graduated from Harvard, I would have billboards up with my real name on them!
Absolutely use the name you want on your book someday. That's the name you need to start using ASAP as you begin to build a web presence. You can query with that name, put that name on your book, and make a name for yourself with that name. I'd say just pick that name and get started using it everywhere. Your chosen name will be your brand. If you want social media to pay off later in helping in the promotion of your book, you really should use your "author" name now. That's my 2 cents, anyway! :-)
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