The Daily Progress catches up with local author and American Title III winner Jenny Gardiner:
“I really didn’t expect much when I sent it in back in September,” she says. “I just wanted to get it in front of an editor’s eyes. Most unpublished authors will do almost anything to get a manuscript in front of an editor’s eyes, including slipping it underneath a bathroom stall in a public restroom. That’s frowned upon, however, and this seemed like a better way to do it.”
Filed under: authors, awards, books, charlottesville, contests, virginia
Ummm….did you read any of the “novels” posted on that website? I’d probably not be so keen on publicizing this contest if I had such a reputable and highly-esteemed blog as Cville Words.
I was urged by several mutual acquaintances to vote for this author, so I dutifully looked at the site before deciding whether to help out. I decided against it once I saw the quality of the prose involved…
It’s romance, which is not my thing. But as they say, for those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.
I think Gardiner makes a good point about author self-promotion in the DP article. A lot of published novels don’t get PR money, so an author who is able and willing to do her own promotion even before publication is going to look good to a publisher. That’s one more budget item they can cross off, and more profit in their pocket.
That’s great, for people who like that sort of thing (etc.). But for every author who gets jazzed by the idea of emailing 10,000 people about her book, I’d guess there are 50 authors who would rather curl up and die. Being a good writer and being a good self-promoter don’t necessarily go together.
What would you be willing to do to promote a book? I could see myself doing readings and signings. I’d be willing to send out review copies. I’d do anything *book-related* that promised significant results for a reasonable effort. Some experts suggest holding contests or blitzing everyone you know with email or basically becoming a one-man PR machine — I couldn’t do that.
Reputable and highly esteemed — how I long to be disreputable!
to R-U-Minator…okay, so you have a point about some of the subs in that contest. But…I would have hoped you had checked out my website and seen that my writing is good and make a determination from there. Fact is, it’s a TOUGH market out there, and if you hope to get published, you’d better be willing to consider all sorts of avenues to publication. This contest ended up being a phenomenal experience, I learned a TON about the business of writing, and anyone who hopes to get pubbed better learn about the business of writing, because the writing itself is a small portion of what needs to be done to be published. FYI, panelists at the Va Book festival all agreed that the internet is the best way to gain publicity nowadays, and this contest taught me how to tap into that in a variety of ways (and not just emailing friends). I had 100,000 hits on my website from this contest–that’s 100,000 people who had NO IDEA who I was before this. And if nothing else, it established a curiosity about the book.
You can feel free to turn your nose at me, but that tends to perpetuate the myth 0f the elitism of certain writers. I’m a good writer, and frankly I don’t doubt I’m as a good a writer as you. I found an unconventional route to publication, but I’m extremely proud of what I did and how I did it.
And p.s. my book is actually not at all romance. The co-sponsor of the contest was a romance magazine (not that there’s anything wrong with that), hence the misconception about my book.
Hope you can overcome your attitude to take a look at it when it’s out in late January.
Thanks for the comment, Jenny. Sending more hits your way — for those who want to knw more, there’s an excerpt of Sleeping with Ward Cleaver available at http://www.jennygardiner.net/SleepingWithWardCleaver.html. Verrry sassy stuff!
Romance isn’t my thing personally. But I’ll give props to anyone who can get published. How they got published (provided it isn’t vanity publishing) isn’t as important as what they can build from that start.
Thanks for including me, Elizabeth! And Kempis, thanks for the props
. Don’t forget, I’m not a romance writer 
One tip though. Keep an eye on where the film rights are going (if they are going somewhere). If they are going somewhere- make sure you have a reversion to author clause so it can’t be kept in limbo forever. If there is interest it should be a separate deal, because generally it can mean more money than the book deal.
I would also advise to try and make any vanity credits contractual. “From a Novel By” before the directors credit but after the title. If there is an adaptation, secure the right to do at least the first 2 drafts of the screenplay (with compensation at WGA rates), and a contractual Screenplay by (your name) with whichever other writer winds up handing in the final polish (usually the Director’s or Producers pet).
There’s never any harm in thinking big and being prepared for it. Good luck
Kempis–thanks for the advice on film rights–a whole different arena. I did retain film rights in my contract so hope once it’s all signed and settled we can look into it…
I spend an inordinate amount of time choosing the soundtracks for the film of my unfinished novel.
[...] below that item was one about American Title III winner Jenny Gardiner, also the mother of a child in my son’s class. Glad to know my son’s in good [...]
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