SCREAMS FROM THE VOID Cover Reveal

LAUNCHING MAY 18, 2021

For two years in deep space, the freighter Demeter and a small crew have collected botanical life from other planets. It's a lesson in patience and hell. Mechanics Ensign Reina is ready to jump ship, if only because her abusive ex is also aboard, as well as her overbearing boss. It's only after a foreign biological creature sneaks aboard and wreaks havoc on the ship and crew that Reina must find her grit - and maybe create a gadget or two - to survive...that is, if the crew members don't lose their sanity and turn on each other in the process.

[I'll post the pre-order links as they become available]

UK Pre-Order Link:

 https://www.waterstones.com/book/screams-from-the-void/anne-tibbets/9781787585737

US Pre-Order Link:
https://www.bookdepository.com/Screams-from-Void-Anne-Tibbets/9781787585713?ref=grid-view&qid=1594409325935&sr=1-2

Emery Hayes COLD TO THE BONE

It is with a deep, heartfelt pride I present to you my client
Emery Hayes's debut Adult Mystery, COLD TO THE BONE, cover reveal - releasing August 11, 2020. 

Pre-order Link HERE>> https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cold-to-the-bone-emery-hayes/1135967891?ean=9781643854984

The brutal murder of a teenager and a deadly medical drama plunge a small-town sheriff into a vortex of treachery and greed in the debut novel of Emery Hayes's A Nicole Cobain Mystery series.

First female sheriff of Toole County, Montana Nicole Cobain earned the position through mental and physical grit and when a young girl is found murdered on icy Lake Maria, every bit of it is tested. But what begins as a chase for the killer quickly unravels into a high stakes medial transaction with harrowing consequences.

Eight years ago, Nicole fled her fast-track position as a homicide detective with the Denver Police Department in an act of desperation to save both her son and herself. Answering a recruitment ad, she showed up in the foothills of Glacier National Park and was elected sheriff six years later. She has a measure of peace in her new surroundings, her son is thriving, and she has effectively distanced herself from her past. Until Benjamin Kris shows up again.

Benjamin is the father of Nicole's son and a big-time charmer who has quickly scaled the crime ladder. He has a large clientele and is looking forward to a big pay day that lands him in Toole. But when it becomes clear he could be a suspect among several others in town with opportunity and motive, it's up to Nicole to sift through the tangled threads to find the killer before they strike again.

Word Count Expectations in Traditional Publishing

Word Count Expectations

In Traditional Publishing

Prepared by Anne Tibbets

D4EO Literary Agency

Word counts in traditional publishing are very important. I wish they weren’t. But they are.

With self-publishing you can toss all these expectations out the door and do whatever you like. However, if you wish to publish with a traditional publisher, then you’d better aim your manuscript toward a specific word count window to better your chances of getting an agent and then hopefully, a publishing deal.

This information has been curated from conversations with editors, research, as well as Writer’s Digest.

These numbers are SUGGESTED word counts and not hard and fast rules.

Category:

·      Adult:

o   General/Commercial Fiction: between 70,000 – 100,000 words

o   Science Fiction and Fantasy: between 80,000 – 110,000 words FOR A DEBUT

§  For your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. you can go as high as 150k+, but for a debut it is highly recommended you do not exceed 110k. In fact, several editors told me 100k is the safest bet for a SFF debut.

o   Historical: between 85,000 – 125,000 words FOR A DEBUT

o   Thrillers: 75,000 – 100,000

o   Mysteries: 65,000 – 90,000-ish

o   Romance: 60,000 – 90,000-ish

o   Horror: 75,000 – 100,000

o   Literary: 65,000 – 100,000

·      Young Adult

o   Contemporary: between 60,000 – 90,000-ish

o   SFF: 75,000 – 100,000

o   Historical: 75,000 – 100,000

o   Thrillers: 70,000 – 90,000

o   Mysteries: 65,000 – 90,000

o   Romance: 60,000 – 90,000-ish

o   Horror: 70,000 – 90,000-ish

o   Literary: 50,000 – 100,000

These numbers are SUGGESTED word counts and not hard and fast rules.

But, you will greatly increase your chances of being signed by an agent and/or obtaining a publishing deal if you submit within these suggested word count guidelines.

Samples of a Query Pitch Paragraph

Sample of a Pitch Paragraph for Query Letters

Prepared by Anne Tibbets

D4EO Literary Agency

The Wizard of Oz

Young Adult Fantasy

“Young Dorothy [14] is bored with Kansas and her life with her elderly Aunt and Uncle, but when a tornado rips her farm house from its foundation and drops it and her into the magical world of Oz, Dorothy’s life is now anything but dull. The house has accidentally killed a witch and now, the witch’s sister is out for revenge. With the help from some new friends Dorothy meets along the yellow brick road, she must escape the witch and travel across Oz to meet the Wizard, who she’s been told can help her get home. But the Wizard is not who he seems, and Dorothy must take heart and use her wits, her courage, and the magic within herself to get back home.”

Die Hard

Adult Thriller

“Off duty cop John McClane travels from New York to Los Angeles with the hopes of crashing his separated wife’s office party, and patching things up. Unfortunately, his timing is horrendous as terrorists have taken over the building and are holding everyone, including John’s wife, hostage. Using his cop skills and creative do-it-yourself know-how, John outsmarts and takes down several terrorists before they even know he’s there. But now the cat is out of the bag, and the hunt is on. Like a lone cowboy, John must take out the terrorists, save the hostages, and convince the police and the FBI not to play directly into the terrorist’s hands. Yippee kai-yay, motherfucker.”

Fellowship of the Ring

Adult Fantasy

“Middle Earth is a land of elves, wizards, dragons, and most importantly, hobbits. Frodo, one of these unassuming hobbits, has stumbled upon his Uncle’s magic ring, but this is not just any magic ring. It is THE magic Ring, which rules all others, and it is greatly desired by the evil ruler of the land of Modor, Sauron. Sauron dispatches his Ring Wraiths to collect the Ring and the hobbit, while simultaneously releasing an army across all of Middle Earth, slaughtering every man, woman, and child in his path. The lands of elves, humans, and dwarves collect their bravest and best warriors to form a fellowship with hopes of protecting Frodo and his trusted hobbit companions as they travel across Middle Earth to destroy the Ring. But the Ring has other plans, and it’s destructive powers may be more than some in this fellowship can resist.”

What's in a Query Letter?

WHAT’S IN A QUERY LETTER

Prepared by Anne Tibbets

D4EO Literary Agency

Date

Agent’s Name

Agency Name

Agent’s Email

Dear [Address Agent by Name],

Paragraphs to be included within query, listed in no particular order:

·      Personalization: list why you have queried this agent specifically.

o   Ex. “I noticed on your agency website that you are acquiring Science Fiction, and that you have an interest in Steam Punk, therefore I’m querying you with my manuscript, Steaming Punk.”

·      Author name and biography: Please include your name in your bio. The biography need not tell your life story. 2 – 3 sentences demonstrating that you’re a functioning adult will suffice. Always be sure to include if you have other publishing credits. Self published counts.

o   Ex. “My name is Gertrude Pennyweather and I’m an accountant in Anycity, AnyCountry. I write mostly Fantasy Romance, but enjoy dabbling in political Thrillers. I’ve self-published two novels, “Elf Lovin” and “Backstabbers in Congress.” I have two short stories published in [Name of Magaine]. In my free time I play board games and knit sweaters for my chinchillas.”

·      Manuscript Specs:

o   Word Count – NOT page count [see Word Count Expectations worksheet for more on this]

o   Category and genre

§  Categories: Adult (18+), Young Adult (14 – 17 years old), Middle Grade (8 – 13 years old), Chapter (6 – 8 years old), Picture Book (0 – 5 years old)

§  Genres: Non-fiction, General/Commercial Fiction, Literary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Historical, Romance, etc.

§  Sub-genre: [if applicable] Steam Punk, Dystopia, High Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic, Historical Romance, Women’s Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Magical Realism, Lite SciFi, etc.

·      For more on sub-genres, visit www.Google.com

·      Pitch Paragraph: A 3 – 4 sentence long paragraph that introduces the main character and establishes the basic plot and major conflict.

o   Ex. Fellowship of the Ring, Adult Fantasy: “Middle Earth is a land of elves, wizards, dragons, and most importantly, hobbits. Frodo, one of these unassuming hobbits, has stumbled upon his uncle’s magic ring, but this is not just any magic ring. It is THE Ring, which rules all others, and it is greatly desired by the evil ruler of the land of Modor, Sauron. Sauron dispatches his Ring Wraiths to collect the Ring and the hobbit who carries it, while simultaneously releasing an orc army across all of Middle Earth, slaughtering every man, woman, and child in their path. The lands of elves, humans, and dwarves collect their bravest and best warriors to form a fellowship with hopes of protecting Frodo and his trusted hobbit companions as they travel across Middle Earth to destroy the Ring. But the Ring has other plans, and it’s destructive powers may be more than some in this fellowship can resist.”

o   For more examples: See pitch paragraph samples in this packet

·      Inclusions: Notify the agent you’ve followed submission guidelines.

o   Ex. “As you requested on your agency website, I’ve included the first ten pages of my manuscript within the body of this email. I hope to hear from you soon.”

o   Some agents will request sample pages, some won’t. Some will want the pages attached in a separate document. Some will want the pages pasted within the body of the email. Some agents will want queries via email, while others will want you to go through Query Manager. The point is that every agent has different requests in regards to their submission guidelines. I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO FOLLOW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. Agents receive hundreds of queries a month, by following their specific submission guidelines your chances of having additional pages requested increase enormously if you’ve demonstrated you can follow instructions.

Sincerely,

Name

Email address

Phone Number

How to Acquire a Literary Agent For Traditional Publishing

Step 1:

·      Finish writing, editing, and polishing your manuscript.

o   Do not query a manuscript until it’s finished.

Step 2:

·      Determine what is the category and genre of your manuscript:

o   Categories: Adult (18+), Young Adult (14 – 17 years old), Middle Grade (8 – 13 years old), Chapter (6 – 8 years old), Picture Book (0 – 5 years old)

o   Genres: Non-fiction, General/Commercial Fiction, Literary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Historical, Romance, etc.

Step 3:

·      Research what agents represent your manuscript’s category and genre.

o   Resources: Querytracker.net, Duotrope, MSWL, Writer’s Digest, Twitter, individual Agency Websites and agent blogs. Google is your friend.

Step 4:

·      Write a “Query Letter” template.

o   What usually in a query letter? [in no particular order]

§  Name of writer with short biography (be sure to list previous publishing credits, if any)

§  A personalized reason why you have queried this agent, ie. “I saw on MSWL you’re looking for vampire roller derby manuscripts and that matches my manuscript perfectly!”

§  Name of manuscript

§  Manuscript’s category and genre

§  Manuscript’s word count (not page count, word count) [more on word counts later]

§  A 1 – 2 paragraph “pitch” which describes the basic plot and conflict in the manuscript

o   Each agent will have individual guidelines for what they request to be included with a query. Some agents will want a writing sample, some won’t. Some will want a synopsis of the whole book, some won’t. It is imperative that you follow submission guidelines and give the agents exactly what they request – nothing more, nothing less.

o   Do not email a bunch of agents on the same email. Send them one at a time, personalized to each specific agent. I recommend you keep a chart to help you keep track of whom you have queried, and when you sent it.

o   Agents have different response times in regards to queries.

§  Some agents will respond, some won’t.

§  Keep track in your chart what their response policy is. You can usually find that information on their agency website.

§  Queries can take anywhere from 1 hour to 1 year to receive a response, if at all.

§  It is acceptable to email the agent and “nudge” them if they have exceeded the wait time listed on their website. Occasionally, queries do get lost. However, if you have queried, nudged, and received no response, that’s a ‘no,’ or otherwise considered “closed due to no response.”

ANNE's QUERY SPECS

Anne Tibbets began her career as a screenwriter, author, and literary agency intern at D4EO, becoming a full-time agent in 2018. Anne joined D4EO Literary Agency in 2019. She is best found on Twitter @AnneTibbets

Anne represents:

Adult and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

Adult and Young Adult Thrillers and Mysteries

Adult and Young Adult Horror

Adult and Young Adult Historical Fiction (including Westerns)

Adult Romance

No Middle Grade, Chapter, or Picture Books

No Non-Fiction

No scripts/screenplays

No self-published works or the sequels to self-published works

No poetry

Query Instructions:

Anne is currently closed to queries except by professional or personal referral. References ONLY: QueryManager.com/AnneTibbets/Referral
Any queries sent via the referral link and are not such will be deleted without response.

Please Include in your Referral Query:

• Category and genre
• Word count, 
• 1 – 3 paragraph “pitch” 
• Short author bio, and previously published titles (self-published counts)
• 10-page writing sample within the body of the form. 

Unrequested attachments will be deleted.
Please allow Anne up to 6 weeks to respond to referred queries before nudging.
Please allow 12 – 16 weeks to respond to partial and full submissions requests.

Why Don't You Represent Self-Published Books, Anne?

Hello! You've self-published a book! Congratulations! It's a major accomplishment and I commend you on your achievement - but no, I'm not going to take your self-published book and try to sell it to a traditional publisher and here's why:
1) Publishing houses want to edit your book to their tastes and standards.
 - If there's already an unedited version self-published, that bell has already been rung - so to speak - and they can't ring that bell again. Plus, then there will be two versions of the book out there (likely with different covers too), and that'll create buyer confusion - which could cut sales - and they don't want that.

2) But, what about books like 50 Shades and The Martian that were self-published first and then sold traditionally?
- Email me a query when your self-published book sells over 100k copies (like the above mentioned titles) and then - MAYBE - I might be able to sell your novel to a trad publisher. Anything less than that? I'm sorry, they don't want it.

3) Your art work/cover is probably not to their taste either, plus there's copyright issues with the artist they didn't choose, that'll add to their headache. Again, more trouble than it's worth UNLESS (see highlighted number above).

No, an unpublished sequel to your self-published book won't work either.

I sympathize - I really do, as I once self published a book and then couldn't get an agent to rep it - so I've been there! I get it. You're frustrated with good reason.

So, what do you do if you want to get a book into book stores?

My advice:
1) Write a whole new book that's completely unrelated to anything you've self published, that's unsold anywhere, unpublished anyplace (even online), and fits into the traditional publishing categories, sub-genres, and word count requirements, and query agents with that novel.

I wish you luck.
Best Regards,
Anne Tibbets

Acknowledgements for DISPERSAL

I would like to take a few moments and thank a few people for helping me land, finish, and publish DISPERSAL.

There was a nurse by the name of Sarah Clark who was a friend of a friend, who under no obligation at all, chatted with me for ages via Facebook regarding medical research for the book. I named a character after her as a means of thanks and appreciation. After the draft had been finished, I asked the same questions of Dr. Anatoly Belilovsky from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America who confirmed Sarah's findings, but since the book had already been turned into my editor there wasn't a way to thank him in print. Thanks to you both! You made me look smart.

Steve Jacobsen, a microbiologist at UCLA, mentioned to me how I should look up how scientists are using digestional microbiomes to cure the super bug (antibiotic resistant infections) and it was that bit of information which led me to twist it a bit and use it in DISPERSAL. Thank you!

I would also like to thank Bree Ogden for bringing this project to me, and Jennie Goloboy at the Red Sofa Literary Agency who represented me during the DISPERSAL deal. I couldn't have done it without you two believing in me. Thank you!

A ton of thanks and praise to David Thomas Moore, my editor on both EXTINCTION BIOME books. He understands my writerly intentions exactly - it was so utterly amazing to work with him. Notes like, "You did this, and initially I couldn't figure out why, but then you did THIS and I was like, YES! Ok. Good set up. Leaving it." It means everything to me that he understood exactly what I was going for, finding the layers hidden among all the action. I just can't say enough how it sustained me on days when I wondered if I had the chops to write a book of this caliber. Also he once said I write like I have a gun in my other hand which I have seriously considered tattooing somewhere on my physical person. I hope we get to work together again, Dave. Thank you!

Buckets and buckets of love to my writers support group: Robin, Meredith, and Lisa, who listened to me moan, complain, and crow and haven't kicked me out of the group yet. Thank you, ladies!

To Adam Christopher, Jen Foehner Wells, Chris Bucholz, and Carrie Patel for their blurbs! I owe you each a solid.

And all the love in my heart to Daniel and my girls who put up with frozen pizza dinners and my nonexistent patience when I'm on deadline. Sorry! And also, thank you for not kicking me out either.

A special thanks to Tom and Bella for not assassinating me yet - although, one of these days, I think Tom might succeed. He wants it more. I don't really blame him.

[And to every single person who told me I should probably "just write romance" (as if that's any easier - psst, it's not), and how I shouldn't write adult sci-fi because it's too hard to break in to, and to every person who looks shocked when I tell them what I write... This middle finger is for you.]

xoxo,
-Anne






  

DISPERSAL E-BOOK AVAILABLE NOW

Hello all!
Good news!

If you're an e-reader DISPERSAL is available NOW!
Here's the link: >> https://www.amazon.com/Dispersal-Extinction-Biome-Book-2-ebook/dp/B075QQFLQS

If you prefer to wait for the paperback on 10/31/17 here is the link so you can pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Biome-Dispersal-Addison-Gunn/dp/1781085013

XOXO,
-Anne