Thank you for your patience

(and what to do while you wait)

A common complaint during the book publishing process is how much time writers spend waiting. We wait for feedback from our workshop partners, responses from agents we’ve queried, and then, after we’ve signed, we wait for our agent’s feedback. Later, we wait while we are out on sub, and then for our contracts and our deal announcements, and later still, for our edit letters and our cover releases and our galleys and our pub days….

And while all this waiting can feel (excruciatingly) like you’re treading water (in a rough sea) (full of sharks), it is also part of the deal with traditional publishing. You simply cannot get around it. 

A rule of thumb for waiting is that you should be working on your next book. And this is true. But it also reminds me of the advice to sleep when the baby is sleeping. It’s not always so easy. Sometimes, your brain feels too caught up in one story to shift to the next. It can feel impossible to draft when you’re in editing mode. It’s a tough time. Days of stewing. Weeks on a hamster wheel, going nowhere. Running running running. Anticipation can turn to anxiety, and that is never good.

have a seat, someone will be with you shortly

With that in mind, I have some suggestions about how to be productive during this time. n.b.: Some of these things you might never need, but I doubt you will regret having them.

1. WRITE SEVERAL VERSIONS OF YOUR BIO: 

   1. You’re going to want a long one with publications (if any) and degrees (if any) and awards (if any)— that kind of thing. This version is like the one you queried with. It will go on sub with you.

      FWIW, here’s mine: Laura Leffler is a writer and art historian with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a master's in modern and contemporary art history. She worked in New York City art galleries for over a decade, including the now infamous Knoedler & Co., and has placed essays and art reviews in publications such as Art Journal, Art Papers, ArtWrit, and The CAA Review of Books, as well as in museum catalogues (Reina Sofia, Madrid and The Butler Institute for American Art). She was the visual arts editor and lead writer for an alternative weekly press for several years. Her short fiction and personal essays have appeared in Connotation Press, Crack the Spine, Manifest-Station, and Motherwell, among other publications. She lives in Colorado with her family. TELL THEM YOU LIED is her first novel.

   2. You also want to have on hand a very short bio, maybe a line or two, with your main credential(s) and where you live or something. Think PM announcement-style bio. This can go in your social media profiles and on the flap copy of your book. Your publisher will use this a lot.

      Laura Leffler is a writer and veteran of the New York City art world. She currently lives in Colorado with her family. 

   3. And a “fun” one. Not long, not short. This is for your website and any podcasts, etc, you might be on down the line.

      Laura Leffler is a writer and art historian who builds stories within the gorgeous, strange, and sometimes terrifying art world. After receiving a master’s degree in post-war and contemporary art, she spent more than a decade working in commercial galleries, doing everything from art fair sales to condition reporting and logistics. Along the way, she witnessed more of that glittering world’s dark underbelly than she thought possible. Laura currently lives in Colorado with her family. Tell Them You Lied is her first novel. 

2. GET A HEADSHOT:

   You can pay a professional to do this or get a friend to take it—or, get as lucky as I am to have a professional who is a friend. You can look at other writers’ headshots and decide what you want. Inside or out? Smiling or no? Close up or long-shot? It doesn’t matter as long as you like it—and please like it. You will be looking at it a lot.You will need to send this photo/these photos at a moment’s notice. Don’t wait for someone to ask. Know that they will, and be ready.

3. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR FUTURE ACQUISITIONS EDITOR:

   This is not a query letter. This is what your agent might send when she/he sends your manuscript out on sub. This is your chance to explain yourself. To tell acquiring editors why you wrote your book, how it connects with your personal life, what it means to you. Does it overlap with your other career or what you studied in school? Do you have a personal connection to any of the characters? Why this setting/this plot? Does it have any connection to current events? The point is to get them to connect with your story before they even start reading your pages.

4. UPDATE YOUR RESUME

   Do this even if you think it doesn’t matter. Even if your day job isn’t related to your book. Someone, somewhere along the line, might ask for it, and you want to be prepared if they do.

5. WRITE A LETTER TO BOOKSELLERS:

   I didn’t know this was a thing until my editor emailed me and asked me to send one within 2 days! But apparently there is something called an ABA WHITE BOX that goes out to 4oo+ independent bookstores 4 times a year. Publishers reserve space in that box for their galleys. Your galleys go out with a short and sweet letter, maybe about 400-500 words, written by you. This is like the letter to acquiring editors in that booksellers want to know about you and why you wrote the book you did. My advice for this particular letter? Know your audience. These are people who love stories. Give them a story.

6. MAKE A LIST OF YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA:

   All the places and people you’d like to have read or review your book. These are the big, impossible places (like the NYT Book Review and People Magazine and Reese’s Book Club) and also the smaller venues and influencers. Think niche! Think social media! Think podcasts! This should take a long time and should be on going. You should spend time researching and watching videos and reading reviews in a variety of places. 

7. DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?

   You need one!

8. KEEP A RUNNING LIST OF COMPS:

   I first queried Tell Them You Lied in December of 2020, and the comps I used then are now 4 years old (and older). You know how many thrillers have come out since then? A LOT. Your comps should always be shifting and updating. Never delete any of them, but keep updating. I keep a spreadsheet.

   Do you know how you do this? YOU READ. Specifically, you read in your genre. There are literally no excuses not to be reading in your genre— I will die on this hill.

I LOVE MY GALLEYS

Have a good weekend!