WordWise Media Services
Helping you find your way
Literary Agency
than ever before. Whatever the venue (online or in a brick-and-mortar store), or
whatever the mode (paper or e-reader), our appetite for books is definitely on the
rise. Yet even as reading becomes more popular and unit sales are up, the
publishing business continues to struggle. Prices are down on many products, and
the balance of power has largely shifted to the online retailers. Consumers demand
steep discounts, forcing many stores to seek out other revenue streams such as
food, toys, and music.
So what advantage do the publishers have left? It's a buyer's market! They get to
choose the writers they will work with. And make no mistake, they have plenty of
choices: According to one source, about 81 percent of all Americans (that's 243
million) say that want to write a book. Further, there are about six million
manuscripts, proposals, and queries circulating among American publishers and
agents at any one time. If you want to get noticed in this competitive marketplace
you might as well sit around waiting to get struck by lightning, or win the Powerball
Lottery, or get drafted into the NFL.
come in: We help you work the system, by keeping up with rules and standards that are constantly changing.
An agent can do so much more than help you get your book into print. For if that's all you want, it's much easier and
quicker to simply drop a few dollars and do it yourself. We can work with you to conceive and execute innovative
ideas, to stretch and grow with each new project. We take the long view, looking beyond your current project, to
help you advance in your career. After all, what's good for you, is good for us.
We will help you evaluate the market for your book, and continually revise and polish your manuscript or proposal to
give it its best chance for a sale. Strategy is important: which editors are looking for this type of material? Do you
have an overworked theme, or is it truly original? If you receive a contract
offer, is it fair to your interests, or slanted in favor of the publisher?
Inexperienced writers probably won’t have these insights. In general, authors
with agents can sell more books and get better contract terms than authors
who do not have them.
To see what kinds of books we're looking for, or to tell us about your book
project, go here.
First, the good news: According to the A. C. Nielsen Company, American consumers purchased
751,729,000 books in 2010. That's very close to an all-time high (up from just 650 million in
2005), and it bodes quite well for the future of our business. I'm reminded of a song from Roald
Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about the glory days before the advent of television:
- How would they keep themselves contented, before this monster was invented?
They used to read, and read and read. And read some more.
Great Scott! Gadzooks! One half of their lives was reading books!
than ever before. Whatever the venue (online or in a brick-and-mortar store), or
whatever the mode (paper or e-reader), our appetite for books is definitely on the
rise. Yet even as reading becomes more popular and unit sales are up, the
publishing business continues to struggle. Prices are down on many products, and
the balance of power has largely shifted to the online retailers. Consumers demand
steep discounts, forcing many stores to seek out other revenue streams such as
food, toys, and music.
So what advantage do the publishers have left? It's a buyer's market! They get to
choose the writers they will work with. And make no mistake, they have plenty of
choices: According to one source, about 81 percent of all Americans (that's 243
million) say that want to write a book. Further, there are about six million
manuscripts, proposals, and queries circulating among American publishers and
agents at any one time. If you want to get noticed in this competitive marketplace
you might as well sit around waiting to get struck by lightning, or win the Powerball
Lottery, or get drafted into the NFL.
- So where does that leave you, as a writer? How can you stand out from that crowd?
- At WordWise Media Services we're committed to providing top quality service to authors. We
have personal relationships with scores of publishers, and we know what type of material they're
looking for. You just might have the world's best book on Hungarian history, but you'll be wasting
your time by calling an editor who only handles books on stamp collecting. (Yes, some are that
specialized. And many writers are indeed that clueless!)
Fewer and fewer publishers will accept a manuscript or proposal directly from an unknown writer
these days; instead, they rely on literary agents to separate wheat from chaff and send them only
come in: We help you work the system, by keeping up with rules and standards that are constantly changing.
An agent can do so much more than help you get your book into print. For if that's all you want, it's much easier and
quicker to simply drop a few dollars and do it yourself. We can work with you to conceive and execute innovative
ideas, to stretch and grow with each new project. We take the long view, looking beyond your current project, to
help you advance in your career. After all, what's good for you, is good for us.
We will help you evaluate the market for your book, and continually revise and polish your manuscript or proposal to
give it its best chance for a sale. Strategy is important: which editors are looking for this type of material? Do you
have an overworked theme, or is it truly original? If you receive a contract
offer, is it fair to your interests, or slanted in favor of the publisher?
Inexperienced writers probably won’t have these insights. In general, authors
with agents can sell more books and get better contract terms than authors
who do not have them.
To see what kinds of books we're looking for, or to tell us about your book
project, go here.
Literary Representation
Writers' Conference
Manuscript Editing
Writers' Conference
Manuscript Editing
| Copyright © 2011, WordWise Media Services. All rights reserved. • LEGAL STUFF |
You cannot slander
human nature; it is worse
than words can paint it.
- Charles Spurgeon
human nature; it is worse
than words can paint it.
- Charles Spurgeon
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
To date we’ve signed deals with these fine publishers: ASTD Press Astraea Press Berrett-Koehler Group Publishing Little Pickle Press OakTara Publishers Potomac Books Thomas Nelson Publishers ...and more to come! |
