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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> The Imamother Writing Club
Have you published through a non-frum house?



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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 3:14 am
I’m writing a novel.

It would never be published in the frum world and besides making money (and not to mention losing) won’t hurt.

Which publishing house did you use?

Have you self-published? What is the process?

Did you have to promote your book?

Did you make any money?

What else should I know?
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Oct 19 2021, 4:46 pm
Bump.
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amother
Celeste


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 7:18 am
I've been able to publish through a non-frum house (book is not out yet but will be soon!) but it wasn't easy! I wrote a book about a frum character and a frum world, though I did write it for a non-Jewish audience, using phrases and concepts that they'd be more comfortable with. But I found that while many agents and editors insist that they want that perspective, many rejected the story after enthusiasm because they 'couldn't connect to it'. (This is a common rejection phrase, but I found that it was much more prevalent when it came to this frum book than with other books I'd shopped around!)

The good news is that there are a number of people in the publishing world who are familiar with the frum world to some degree. My agent is Modox and very well-acquainted, and my editor is Conservative and actually went to great pains to re-frum-ify those terms that I had originally been reluctant to use. I did get a decent advance and there is some promotion expected, of course.

If you're hoping to sell a book and make money for it + distribute it widely, the first thing to do is to find an agent. Without an agent, you might find a publisher, but it's doubtful that you'll get an advance or have much promotion or distribution. I found that querytracker was the best way to find agents and keep track of my queries, but do be aware that it can be a long and difficult process! Agents get hundreds of queries a day, and often won't respond at all to the ones they reject. But if you've got something you think is good and worth it, then hold out and keep trying and you may find that agent and audience eventually.
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amother
Coral


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 9:59 am
How long did it take you to find an agent?
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amother
Blue


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 10:11 am
I've published on Amazon
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/

I published short stories, didn't advertise or make much money

some people bought and read my books and reviewed them

it was a simple process.

but it's probably hard to get known and get a lot of sales unless you have a marketing strategy
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amother
Celeste


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 10:54 am
amother [ Coral ] wrote:
How long did it take you to find an agent?


It took about 2-3 months to get interest from the agent I wanted, and then another couple of months after that (and a requested revision) before she made the offer. Selling the book to an editor was a much longer process, probably about a year, though I know it’s sometimes the other way around for writers.
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shaqued_almond




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 11:22 am
amother [ Celeste ] wrote:
I've been able to publish through a non-frum house (book is not out yet but will be soon!) but it wasn't easy! I wrote a book about a frum character and a frum world, though I did write it for a non-Jewish audience, using phrases and concepts that they'd be more comfortable with. But I found that while many agents and editors insist that they want that perspective, many rejected the story after enthusiasm because they 'couldn't connect to it'. (This is a common rejection phrase, but I found that it was much more prevalent when it came to this frum book than with other books I'd shopped around!)

The good news is that there are a number of people in the publishing world who are familiar with the frum world to some degree. My agent is Modox and very well-acquainted, and my editor is Conservative and actually went to great pains to re-frum-ify those terms that I had originally been reluctant to use. I did get a decent advance and there is some promotion expected, of course.

If you're hoping to sell a book and make money for it + distribute it widely, the first thing to do is to find an agent. Without an agent, you might find a publisher, but it's doubtful that you'll get an advance or have much promotion or distribution. I found that querytracker was the best way to find agents and keep track of my queries, but do be aware that it can be a long and difficult process! Agents get hundreds of queries a day, and often won't respond at all to the ones they reject. But if you've got something you think is good and worth it, then hold out and keep trying and you may find that agent and audience eventually.


I'm in process of editing my frum romance. Could you dm me your agent's query info?
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amother
Celeste


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 12:20 pm
shaqued_almond wrote:
I'm in process of editing my frum romance. Could you dm me your agent's query info?


I’d prefer not to, but you can easily find agents interested in Jewish fiction! Try using manuscript wishlist and search for ‘Jewish’ or ‘Judaism’, and I did the same in the #mswl tag on Twitter. There are also Twitter events like #divpit or #pitmad where people can post their pitches in the tag and agents will favorite them as a request for a query. If you do a little research, there are a number of ways you can find an agent well suited to you.
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Nov 09 2021, 2:44 pm
amother [ Celeste ] wrote:
I've been able to publish through a non-frum house (book is not out yet but will be soon!) but it wasn't easy! I wrote a book about a frum character and a frum world, though I did write it for a non-Jewish audience, using phrases and concepts that they'd be more comfortable with. But I found that while many agents and editors insist that they want that perspective, many rejected the story after enthusiasm because they 'couldn't connect to it'. (This is a common rejection phrase, but I found that it was much more prevalent when it came to this frum book than with other books I'd shopped around!)

The good news is that there are a number of people in the publishing world who are familiar with the frum world to some degree. My agent is Modox and very well-acquainted, and my editor is Conservative and actually went to great pains to re-frum-ify those terms that I had originally been reluctant to use. I did get a decent advance and there is some promotion expected, of course.

If you're hoping to sell a book and make money for it + distribute it widely, the first thing to do is to find an agent. Without an agent, you might find a publisher, but it's doubtful that you'll get an advance or have much promotion or distribution. I found that querytracker was the best way to find agents and keep track of my queries, but do be aware that it can be a long and difficult process! Agents get hundreds of queries a day, and often won't respond at all to the ones they reject. But if you've got something you think is good and worth it, then hold out and keep trying and you may find that agent and audience eventually.


Thanks for your response. My book is Fantasty historical fiction with Jewish characters.

Mazel Tov to you I can’t wait to read your bookI
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