There’ve been some questions popping up on various discussion boards that we want to answer here.
If Creative Byline is in beta, can I trust it? Yes! Beta means different things to different people. To us, it means that the site is fully functional but you might occasionally find a broken link or think of a question that hasn’t occurred to us yet. Creative Byline is a complex and powerful system. “Beta” is just our way of acknowledging you might find a minor kink. If so, let us know! We’ll fix it, pronto. If you think of a way to improve the system, tell us. We’re all about process improvement.
Why will an editor read things submitted through Creative Byline when she already receives so much slush via snail mail? Two big reasons: 1) The only manuscripts she’ll get through Creative Byline are ones that meet the criteria she has selected (e.g., “fantasy,” “young adult”), and 2) Creative Byline’s first readers pre-qualify manuscripts so the editor knows she’ll be viewing fewer manuscripts. Furthermore, the ones she does view will, as a group, be higher quality than the ones she receives via mail. You can find out more here.
How can someone outside the industry change the submissions process? Of course we can’t be objective, but we think that being outside the industry uniquely suited our CEO Brad MacLean for the job and enabled him to come up with a new submissions model that benefits writers, editors, and publishers. You can find out more here. (Also, his wife is a well published author, so he didn’t come to the industry stone cold.)
Finally, it seems that some people think Creative Byline is just another posting board for editors to search through. It’s not. Creative Byline actually sorts manuscripts and matches them up to editors who have told the system what they are looking for. The system presents a list of editors who are looking for the kind of manuscript the writer has written. The writer then decides which editor to submit to. The writer retains control over where the manuscript is submitted.
For a limited time, you can sign up for free and see what editors are looking for right now, even if you decide to submit via snail mail. What do you have to lose?
6 Comments
Question: Are there any good reasons a published author, with an agent she’s reasonably happy with, would want to use Creative Byline’s services?
(PS–great concept–lots of luck)
Nan, thanks for your question. The answer is, it depends. If your agent is providing value beyond finding a publisher for your manuscript then probably not. You may, however, decide to use Creative Byline as a complement, e.g., if you’re looking for help in making your manuscript stronger before it goes to an agent or if you just want to see for yourself trends in the types of books editors want. Also, an agent doesn’t necessarily want to represent every project a writer completes. In those cases, Creative Byline may be a good alternative.
I’m curious as to the relative merits of submitting to a particular editor rather than placing it on the general pile. How often are editors actually fetching non-targeted submissions? Any statistics? When editors sign up to accept submissions, are they committed to reading the entire submission package, or only parts?
Also, I notice that many of the newer St. Martins editors are flagged as ‘Not Accepting Submissions’. Why is that? Are they interested in something other than submissions, or are they just lurking?
Thanks. Once again, the site is a great idea. The face of publishing continues to change rapidly. Creative Byline seems to be a change for the better.
We believe that the best approach is for writers to do research (on our site, or visit a bookstore and check out other books they’ve edited) on the best editor fit for their manuscript, and then submit directly to them. Editors are reviewing manuscripts that are in the manuscript library, but as a writer you can’t beat the fact that over 90% of the time, editors at our subscribing publishers are looking at manuscripts sent to them within three weeks. Obviously, we can’t require editors to read every part of a manuscript. They read as little or as much as they need to in order to determine if it’s a good fit. The synopsis appears on the first screen that they see (along with the cover letter), so it’s critical that it be compelling.
Editors at our client publishers use Creative Byline in different ways. Some use just the search function to look for a specific type of manuscript (which could be the reason for the “Not Accepting Submissions” flag), while others are actively looking for writers to submit manuscripts, and a few don’t use it at all.
What’s the difference between your service and a literary agency?
Thanks for your question. Let’s start with the similarities. Both Creative Byline and a literary agency look to connect writers with editors. Both will give you feedback on whether your project is submission-ready; Creative Byline does that through our first readers.
The differences are the process, the timeline, the services offered, and the accompanying fees. Creative Byline uses technology to let editors specify their interests; writers have direct access to that information. Because of that direct connection, we guarantee that the process will move quickly—weeks instead of months.
An agent develops his/her own network of editors and publishers; we have subscribing publishers whose editors are committed to using the online submission process through Creative Byline. We anticipate that Creative Byline will have greater reach than any individual agent.
Finally, most agents negotiate the contract once on offer has been made; Creative Byline doesn’t. (Lawyers specializing in publishing can review your contract for a reasonable fee; you can contact one directly or through membership in the Authors Guild.) Creative Byline doesn’t offer that service, but we charge only for the submission process, not a percentage of what you earn over the lifetime of your book. Reputable agents charge 15% of whatever you earn over your book’s lifetime. So if you receive a $10,000 advance for your first book and later that book gets optioned for a movie for $5,000, an agent will keep $2,250 ($1,500 for the advance plus $750 for the movie option). Creative Byline charges a flat fee for each manuscript submission, $9 for children’s picture books and $19 for other genres.