I Don't Have 10 Rules - November 2011 - BS-S

I Don’t Have 10 Rules

by Jaym Gates

About two years ago, Erika Holt and I sold an anthology of zombie erotica, Rigor Amortis. I've also sold a couple of horror stories to the anthology Aether Age. Somewhere along that path, people apparently decided I knew what I was doing. I remain unconvinced, because I don't really have a “Ten Guaranteed Steps to Help You Sell Your Novel!” I do, however, have something more along the lines of “Sixty-Thousand Tips That Helped Me."

Most of my experience with the horror industry comes from my work with a group called Single Cell Productions, where I've been a manager for almost two years.

We identify as a fetish entertainment group, offering everything from music nights to shows that can make slasher films look restrained. One of the stories that gets bandied around is the night we used boltcutters to amputate a prosthetic penis. From the audience's standpoint, it looked damn real, and the thing flew out into the crowd. Of all the people there, it hit an eighteen year old girl, just dipping her toe in our world, in the face.

That was the best publicity we ever had. People couldn't stop talking about it. Having to promote and sell an idea that hits most people's “squick” buttons, over and over again, has taught me a lot about what works, and what doesn't. I've found it oddly applicable to the publishing industry, too.

Tip One: Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's follow-up and execution that make the difference between your idea and the three hundred others just like yours.

We do crazy-risky things on stage all the time. We're the only people in the entire Southeast to actually do those things in a public way, and it pays off: our last show had over 1000 people.

Follow-up takes immense courage. It's the difference between saying you'll jump in the cold lake, and actually doing it. People notice when someone has great ideas; they notice even more if someone has great ideas and makes them happen.

Tip Two: Always leave room to exceed their expectations, but set near-impossible goals for yourself.

Yeah, that one gets harder every time you unlock a new level. When we sold Rigor Amortis, we had absolutely no expectations, either of ourselves, or on our shoulders. We were newbies, with new authors, and it was a really fucking weird concept. The carrot on the stick was that, if we sold enough copies, we'd go from POD to a full-fledged print run.

Our authors worked so hard they didn't just catch that carrot, they turned it into cake. Erika and I put hundreds of hours into this project, but we wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it hadn't been for our authors. Their excitement carried us through times when we just wanted to curl up and die of exhaustion.

And that's Tip Three: Build a community for yourself.

With the internet, and the wonders of Twitter and Google+, conventions and workshops, we have the potential to build tribes. Sometimes those people are totally unexpected. These aren't necessarily people directly involved with your project, but sometimes surprising things come from surprising places.

Case in point: I knew someone who knew a fantastic artist. Galen Dara ended up not only being a huge part of that project's success, but drawing the cover for the next anthology. Another friend happened to know someone who wanted to get into editing. Erika not only proved to be the world's best co-editor, but got us our publisher.

You never know.

Tip Four: If the door is open, go through it. If it isn't open, open it, if it's locked...learn lock-picking skills.

I mean, what? But seriously, take what opportunities are presented to you, even if they are scary. Rigor Amortis was a joke that a lot of people took seriously. But it wouldn't have gone anywhere if I hadn't said “Hey, what would you guys think...?”

In hindsight, it's about the same level of sanity as yelling “Hey, watch this!”

And Tip Five, which is nice and simple, but suspiciously complex: Be honest. If you mess up, 'fess up. If you get overwhelmed, ask for help. We've all been at the beginning.

I was really fortunate that my co-editor knows someone who has been through nearly every hoop in the business. We were able to run our first contracts by him to make sure they were good, because we didn't know what to watch for. Everything was fine, but having another pair of eyes made us rest a lot more comfortably.

Tip 5a: Make sure you can't find your information on Google, the SFWA site, Duotrope, Writer Beware, or any of the 5000 writer's blogs out there. Nearly everyone will be happy to help, but getting asked “how do I get into publishing” over and over has gotten a bit tiring, and I'm just a newbie. Markets, manuscript formats, writing groups, all of that has been endlessly blogged about and discussed online. Which leads to Tip 6:

So, Tip Six: Do your homework. Educate yourself. Treat this like a business. Use your head to figure out if something is good advice or bad.

I could go on and on, but from there, it really comes down to experience and common sense. Just be sure to check in with yourself about these, every now and again, because they are applicable from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Jaym Gates is a publicist, editor and mad woman. She works for SFWA, the Nebula Awards, Raw Dog Screaming Press, Jeff VanderMeer and other awesome clients. Her anthologies are zombie erotica (what? Someone had to Go There) and 1920's-themed speculative-fiction. Her biggest squee was answering an email from DARPA. She can be found at jaymgates.com, or on Twitter: @JaymGates