About Me

MY CREDENTIALS. . .

(or POSSIBLY INTERESTING COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ABOUT ME AND THIS SITE)

Apologia to Miss Snark

First let me say right up front, I kifed this idea from Miss Snark, the literary agent (who has since retired, but has left her wonderful site up). Her blog is informational and funny. It also contains the occasional swear word and/or idea which offends my delicate sensibilities. For those reasons, I am uncomfortable whole-heartedly recommending her to LDS authors. However, there is a wealth of good information on that blog that applies to publishing in general and I think most readers should be able to glean the good and overlook the rough parts. (I realize that mentioning her here is a backhanded recommendation. If you choose to read her blog, don’t say you weren’t warned in advance about the language.)

Like Miss Snark’s blog structure, many of my postings will be in the form of answers to e-mailed questions from you. Some will be in response to incorrect submissions and other author mistakes which I encounter in my day job (see reference to foot shooting below). Others will be a response to issues raised on the dozens of writers blogs, websites, and forums where I silently lurk in the cybershadows. And there will also be opportunities for semi-regular guest posts.

LDS vs MAINSTREAM

You may have noticed that I’ve stressed LDS authors and publishing. You may be wondering if there is really a difference between publishing in the LDS market and in the mainstream market. The answer is yes and no.

Basically, it’s the same, but there are things unique to the LDS market. Authors submit straight to the publisher and don’t usually go through an agent. There are regional issues and unique requirements for getting product to the consumer.

Another difference is the comparably large number of self-published books that do reasonably well in the LDS market. It is nearly unheard of for self-publishers to make it in the big leagues, but it is not as uncommon for an LDS author to self-publish and, if they find a good distributor, sell an impressive number of books. Since this is the case, and since several LDS publishers (including me) also distribute for small publishing houses and/or self-publishers, I will also address issues unique to the self-publisher.

CREDENTIALS

I work for an LDS publisher. (Update: entered semi-retirement in Feb 2009)

Over the past 30 years, I have experienced nearly every aspect of the publishing industry: published author, book doctor, ghost-writer, editor, graphic designer, typesetter, printer, author relations, marketing, advertising, manuscript acquisition, bookkeeper, slush pile reader, and janitor.

JAMES FREY CLAUSE

Every post on this site is based on my real-life experience (unless otherwise stated). The principles and events described are absolutely true. The people mentioned are real. However, I have changed the particulars to protect the privacy of those I use as examples of what not to do.