WEbook Blog

Hello, John Corey Whaley

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In October, John Corey Whaley submitted his book Good God Bird
to Agent Ken Wright through AgentInbox. The last three months have been an amazing ride. Over Thanksgiving, Corey incorporated some suggested edits from Ken, and in December the book went out to editors. Just a few days after the New Year, Corey got word from Ken that Good God Bird had received its first offer. Over the next few months, Corey is going to share his exciting path to publication, right here, on this blog.  

Like many writers out there, I had almost given up hope that my novel would ever see a bookshelf other than the one in my own apartment. However, over the span of just about two and a half months, I have seen that it’s possible to go from being a completely unknown writer to a published author.

My story is a common one among writers: I wrote a book, I sent out query letters, I got rejection after rejection, and I sent more out.  Then, I got discouraged. I stopped sending out letters. I told friends and family that “maybe this just isn’t the right book” and “I guess I’ll just let that dream go.” Then a funny thing happened. A little over three years after typing the last sentence of my novel, I, on a whim, submitted a query letter and some sample chapters to AgentInbox (which I’d learned about through the WEBook’s newsletter).  A few days later, Ken Wright, from Writers House, asked to read my entire manuscript. He spent Sunday evening reading my novel and was on the phone with me Monday afternoon. Now, I had an agent.

And so, after some minor revisions and interest from several publishers, Simon & Schuster’s children’s imprint, Atheneum Books, has purchased the rights to my debut novel, a coming-of-age story for young adults. I am awestruck at the enthusiasm with which my novel has been met. I have also been forced to very quickly begin learning all there is to know about publishing a first novel, or any novel for that matter. So, I’m going to take you all along on this journey with me. As the next few months pass, I will be writing about my experiences with the publishing world and, hopefully, help prepare all of you, future novelists and writers, for the journey ahead. I will also be answering any and all questions you may have, so I encourage you to leave comments or follow me on Twitter (@corey_whaley).

Happy writing,
John Corey Whaley

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Real Readers Decide Your Fate at PageToFame

We are excited to introduce PageToFame, where readers send writers to the top, one page at a time. The new, improved version of the WEbook Vote features multiple rounds of rating, ongoing submissions, and objective, non-competitive scoring.

Here's how it works:

• Start by submitting a short summary of your book idea and the first page of writing. We’ll show your sample to interested readers, and they’ll rate it from 1 to 5.

• If your page meets our threshold for reader appeal, you’ll move on to the next round. You’ll be invited to submit your first chapter, and a literary agent will review your work.

• Writers can start the submission process at any time, and readers can rate whenever they feel like it. If your submission makes it to the next round, you’ll be given a generous deadline to submit the next sample.

• Successful submissions will go through four rounds, ending with a completed book. Submissions move through this process individually -- not in bunches -- thus the competition is ongoing.

How PageToFame can help make your publishing dreams come true?

• Participating literary agents will give serious consideration to representing the most popular books.

• If you succeed in  final round by making the rating threshold, WEbook will work to get you a great commercial publishing deal, either directly or through a participating literary agent.

• A $10,000 prize goes to the first writer to make it to the final round and reach the rating threshold for their full manuscript.

• Submit before February 15th and you’ll be eligible to win one of three $1,000 prizes awarded to the top-rated first pages.

A few important details:

• There is a fee of $4.95 per submission. As long as readers continue to give your work high ratings, this one-time fee can take you all the way to the final round and into the hands of a prominent literary agent.

• Submissions that don’t get high enough ratings to move on to the next round will be removed from rating, so readers will find only the very best work in later rounds.

• Every time a submission makes it to the next round, a participating literary agent provides a professional rating.

• Rating is anonymous and objective. Readers are shown submissions based on their genre preferences. They don’t see authors’ names, and they can’t search for particular submissions to rate.

• Only reader ratings decide which submissions succeed—there is no competition with other submissions. Books that get enough high ratings will advance through the rounds—whether we end up with one book or 5,000 in the final round. Read the PageToFame Guide to learn more.

Click to submit now for the introductory price of $4.95 and get a chance to win a prize of $1,000 or even $10,000! Whether you’re ready to submit or not, be sure to check out other first pages and help choose other top writers. Help make PageToFame a success, and make sure writers like you get the attention you deserve.

--The WEbook Team

First Lines

The first sentence of your first serious novel can be a kind of torture. You know it’s important, but you also have a full story to tell. So to do? You tear through your bookcase, yanking out tomes to see again how they begin, hoping upon hope that inspiration will arrive.

In October we announced our content partnership with Poets & Writers (the organization, which publishes the magazine) and posted excerpts from Page One, a regular feature in Poets & Writers magazine which presents a smattering of first sentences from newly released books.

Here's part of the newest selection. Click through to Poets & Writers to read more.

"On certain autumn days in New York City, the light seems to come from every direction."
Little Boy Blues (Pantheon Books, January 2010) by Malcolm Jones. First book, memoir. Agent: Chris Calhoun. Editor: Dan Frank. Publicist: Katie Freeman.

"There were two kinds of truths, good truths and hurtful ones."
Wild Child and Other Stories (Viking, January 2010) by T. C. Boyle. Twenty-first book, ninth story collection. Agent: Georges Borchardt. Editor: Paul Slovak. Publicist: Holly Wats

"Outside his Cincinnati windows, a street game in full swing."
Approaching Ice (Persea Books, December 2009) by Elizabeth Bradfield. Second book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Gabriel Fried. Publicists: Tressa Canaday, Stephanie Kartalopoulos, and Latisha Linder.

Check out more at Poets & Writers, then add your favorite—from books new or old—in the comments area below to help inspire your fellow WEbookers.

Want even more from Poets & Writers? Check out this special magazine offer exclusively for WEbookers!