Hallie Reads: Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers

ABOUT THE BOOK

Remember when Dorothy finally reached the Emerald City only to be halted by the Gatekeeper, blocking her hopes of seeing the Great and Powerful Wizard?

The path to publication is like that. Agents, and Editors, and Publishers, oh, my! Each one is a barrier between you and a publishing contract.

But what if you understood what agents, editors, publishers, and readers really want?

If you’re struggling to get past the publishing gatekeepers, this book will give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how to win the heart of each type of publishing professional. In fact, Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers won’t just give you a peek—it will give you a guided tour. In this book, four publishing professionals—an agent, a publisher, an editor, and an influencer—share what it takes to unlock each “gate” within the publishing industry.

Getting Past the Publishing Gatekeepers is a must-have resource for all aspiring authors, and it offers insights to help multi-published authors as well.

Publisher: Scrivenings Press LLC

Release Date: October 11, 2022

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EXCERPT

You’ve decided to play a game of tennis with a doubles partner. Never mind that you’ve never stepped onto a court before, you want to give the game a try. And you’ve seen it on TV plenty of times. How hard can it be?

Although the scoring makes no sense, you and your partner appear to be failing. You realize, several minutes into a set, why. Instead of getting all the volleys at the net, your partner has chosen to swat her racquet at a swarm of bees.

“What’s the matter with you?” You ask through gritted teeth when another ball claps against her feet. One more point for the other team. “You have to get all the net shots. That’s how doubles works.”

At least, you think so, based on what you’ve seen.

She tightens her grip on her racquet and shoots you a frustrated glance. “You didn’t even bring a racquet.” She gestures at your arms. “How are you supposed to play tennis with that thing?”

You glance down at the baseball bat you’ve brought to the match. That would explain the lack of groundstrokes you’ve been able to get to during the games.

No wonder you and your partner are losing. You’re not working together for success.

An agenting-author relationship works a lot like a tennis doubles match.

You must compete against two very good players—publishers and readers. And sometimes it seems as though the odds are stacked against you.

For those of you who never had the misfortune of spending three hours a day playing tennis outside in the heat of summer—trying to make the high school Varsity team (definitely not speaking from personal experience) doubles in tennis relies on collaboration.

Even if you have all the skills in the world, a bad partner can sink a match faster than water in a garbage disposal.

How do we, then, create the perfect partnership, so we have any fighting chance of winning the “match”?

Expectations exist for both the author and the agent. We’ll discuss what you can expect your agent to do, and what they expect from you. Neither of you can win the match without the dedicated effort of both players.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press and the author of 21 books. She's contributed to 10 other books, in addition, including Getting Past the Gatekeepers. She loves to model, do theater, and get lost in the woods.

Connect with Hope by visiting hopebolinger.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

USMC veteran Linda Fulkerson began her writing career as a copyeditor and typesetter at a small-town weekly newspaper. She has since been published in several magazines and newspapers, including a two-year stint as a sportswriter and later the online editor of a midsize daily. Linda also served as the director of digital services for the largest media outlet in central Texas. She is the author of two novels, two novellas, and several nonfiction books. In 2020, she founded Scrivenings Press LLC, a traditional publisher of clean and Christian books.

Linda and her husband, Don, live on a ten-acre plot in central Arkansas. They are part of an RV ministry group and travel the country volunteering at various entities. Linda and Don have four adult children and eight grandchildren. In addition to kicking back in her recliner with a good book, Linda enjoys photography, travel, and spoiling her two dachshunds.

Connect with Linda by visiting scriveningspress.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Rowena Kuo is the CEO and Executive Editor for Brimstone Fiction, Brimstone Books and Media, and Brimstone Fire. With over 15 years of ministering to children, youth groups, young adults, women, and family groups, Rowena advocates for writers to build God-centered support systems consisting of people, perseverance, practice, and most of all, prayer. She has written for Christian Devotions, Written World Communications, Splickety, and the 168 Write of Passage. When not working on words or films, she is a full-time mom with secret aspirations for spaceflight.

Connect with Rowena by visiting www.brimstonefiction.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Carrie started the popular blog ReadingIsMySuperPower.org in 2015 and since then has had the honor of co-founding the Christian Fiction Readers' Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours. In addition to these endeavors, she is a regular contributor to Seekerville and has written for magazines such as RT Book Reviews and Christian Market. Carrie now lives in Georgia with her husband, though her roots range from East Tennessee to Central Kentucky and northern Illinois.Connect with Carrie by visiting readingismysuperpower.org to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $40 Amazon gift card.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 5, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 12, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

TOUR SCHEDULE

JustRead Publicity Tours