You’ve just spent the last umpteen months pouring your heart out, bringing life to a main character, giving them purpose, and perfecting the wording. Where do you go from here?
Personally, I want to write some more. I enjoy the process. Except for the frustrations that melt away upon completion of a piece, it is a satisfying endeavor. I’m on a roll. I’ve got more story left in me. I don’t want to stop and try to sell the thing. I want to write.
But sell you must if you want to see it published. Stage two of book writing is not nearly as enjoyable as the initial creation phase. The business end of it is a different animal. You’ve got to convince someone your work is publishable. You know it is. Can’t they just take your word for it?
Not that I speak from experience. Rather, it is where I now find myself. I’ve been here before. I finished one story and jumped right into the next. I made only a heartless effort to push that story because I write. Sales is not my thing.
The first step is to find an agent or editor that prints the kind of stuff you write. Gone are the days when writers sent out willy-nilly to any and every publisher. One should study what kind of stuff they prefer. If a house specializes in YA romance, don’t waste their time with an MG boy story. Research publishers until you find a list of houses that would likely be keen to your work. Find out if they even accept un-agented stories. If they don’t, repeat the vetting process with agents. Investigate the guidelines a particular house has for accepting work.
With a target in mind, create a query letter for that publisher or agent. A query is a business letter asking permission to send a manuscript. You’ve got only one chance to make a first impression and the query letter is it. Agents and editors receive hundreds of requests and have figure strategies for navigating through them all. They will look to see if its something they normally publish and check that you’ve followed their guidelines – where your research pays off. They’ll look at grammar and spelling and conciseness of writing. A mere ten seconds is all that is needed to reject months and months of hard work.
The first line of your story should entice the reader to read more and likewise, the query letter is should hook the agent/editor to read on. It should be written in the same tone as the manuscript itself. You’ve got a few sentences to reveal the plot and full disclosure is what they want. You’re not writing the jacket blurb to draw the reader in. The agent/editor wants to know precisely the story you want them to take on. Tell the genre, word count, and target audience of the reader and why you chose them. Finally, a query should reveal a little about yourself, especially of anything you’ve published. There is Internet and hard copy resources to better acquaint with how to write a query letter.
Pushing your work is an unfortunate necessity. After you’ve written those magical words, “the end,” you’re not really finished. But before you can quit your day job and stay home and write, you need to venture into sales.
You guessed it! Another WHY post. Sure there are some Buffys and Van Helsings out there with uncanny query writing abilities who make it look easy, but for some it's tougher than writing the book. So why is it that writing queries has to be so darn hard?
There are good reasons for this, my friends.
Answers:- There has to be a way for agents to sort through the multitude of manuscripts they receive on a daily basis. By doing the hard work, and writing a great query, you can set yourself above the rest and get a request for a full or partial.
- If you have trouble summarizing your book, it may be a sign that you need to look at the plot again before it's ready to send out.
- First impressions mean everything. It's cruel in a way, but true. When you go on a job interview, you strive to make a good impression. Well, your novel is making that impression, and if it wasn't hard to do, everyone would do it. Of course, it seems that everyone does do it, but the truth is that many people never even finish one draft of a book, let alone revise until their eyes bleed and research and agonize over the query letter.
So there you have it. Anything to add? Pat yourselves on the back if you've struggled with the query letter, and remember it's tough, but tough is good. And now you know why.
I have been using creativity to dive deeper into my stories, characters and novels for most of my life. I've learned that imagination and inventiveness can be used in all aspects of writing, regardless of what kind of a writer you are - whether you're currently writing or not. Using creativity as an aid to the writing process helps to “unblock” your mind and get to the heart of your projects... and it's fun!
This weekend I am hosting a workshop called, "A Creative Approach to Writing," at The Boulder Writers Workshop where I'll be sharing the various ways I've learned to infuse creativity into all facets of writing.
For all of my blogging buddies who aren't able to attend, I've included links in the list below to give you a taste of what I'll be sharing.
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In a recent blog post, author Allison Winn Scotch tackled one of the toughest questions facing aspiring writers: should you ever re-query after an agent?
Here’s an excerpt from her blog post: “if in your heart of hearts, you think that Agent X will fall in love with it and may have overlooked it in her slush pile, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to retry. (But I would do so with very few agents.) As for those you never heard back from? Well, I’d just query them as if it’s your first time. They may not have really read your query very closely, and I doubt that it will be remembered such that they’ll find you annoying or pushy.”
Scotch (pictured, via) also suggested that authors don’t attempt to re-query an agent if the first was sent less than six months before–because revisions require a lot of time and effort. What do the agents in the audience think?
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
This post originally ran October 2009
I've entered in and applied for roughly a dozen writing contests and grants over the years. In one contest I finished first. With another I got an honorable mention. I didn't place in the others at all. Still, every contest was worth experiencing for a number of reasons:
1. Working with a deadline: By signing up for a contest, you have committed to finishing and submitting your writing by a certain time -- great practice for future deadlines once your work is sold.
2. Reviewing your writing: Whether applying for a grant or entering a contest, you'll need to carefully study your work, looking for ways to strengthen it and examining why your writing deserves to win. Filling out an application and following the contest's guidelines will bolster your ability to write a strong, concise query.
3. Getting read: Some contests/grants offer feedback for those who place. Authors, editors, and agents often judge these contests, putting your work front and center.
4. Publishing opportunities: Winning contests/grants means a portion of your work is often published, allowing for other readers, agents, and editors to learn of your writing. In winning first place for a novel excerpt at the Jambalaya Writers' Conference in 2009, my work was included in an anthology put out by Nicholls University. At the same conference, I ha
I attended a work meeting today where the topic was strategy. Our speaker noted that 9 out of 10 times, we write down and design a perfectly great strategy. But here's the kicker, 80% of those strategies will fail.
Why? Why? Why?
You spent all that time writing down your strategy on pretty paper then hanging it on the refrigerator or you've created some nifty spreadsheet in Excel to manage what you want to accomplish. How could it possibly not work?
So why do most of our strategies fail? Because we fail to execute what we planned.
This got me thinking. As writers, should we have a strategy for managing our writing career? These strategies could even be broken down into mini strategies such as Strategy for Writing Book 1, Strategy for Revising, Strategy for Querying, Strategy for Marketing your book,etc.
From personal experience, I know I had a 'plan' of sorts in my head. Did I execute that plan? Hell, no. Not even close. Why? Because I let my emotions and the heat of the moment get in my way. This is why it would have helped to have a well developed, thought out, and written plan in place before I took the next step in my writing.
I would have created the strategy when I wasn't so emotionally invested in the outcome so logic and reason would have a stronger voice.
Most of us plan our careers, have an idea on how we want to parent, have a strategy to buy our first home, get our of debt, etc.
It seems reasonable that since we should be treating our writing career as a business, we should have a written business plan or strategy.
Here's an example of one that I just made up off the top of my head to get the juices flowing.
Querying:
*Research literary agents and create a list of agents that respresent what I write and that would be a good fit for me
*Create a spreadsheet so I can track my submissions (Yes, I love Excel)
*Decide on the 6 agents I want to query first.
*Find out more about those 6 agents, read their blog, interviews, tweets, etc.
*Submit to 6 of those agents and wait for feedback/response.
*Promise not to check e-mail every 5 minutes looking for a response
*If I get no requests for a partial or full, revise query. Get some query critiques.
*When I get the first rejection, I will treat myself to something pretty then use the rejection letter as kindling.
*When I get my first request for a full, I will jump, sing, and tell all my writer buddies
*If fulls and/or partials are requested and I get the same consistent feedback such as Plot doesn't work, characters don't keep me interested, take another look at the novel and possibly revise
*Lather, rinse, repeat
So back to the example, if you had create a strategy before you start querying, you'll have an idea on how you want to handle the query process and how to best leverage the responses or non responses. It provides a back-up plan to help you handle the feedback/rejections and move on to the next step. It can help keep you focused and on track toward your end goal.
We all know rejections are hard and painful. They can send your day into a tail spin and plants the seeds of doubt. By having a written strategy, you've given yourself a way to move forward and tackle the next challenge without acting like a crazed serial querier.
So what are you waiting for? Get our pen, your Excel spreadsheet, your iPad and start creating strategies that will lead you toward your writing goal.
Imagine you are a literary agent. You’ve just battled the insane New York traffic, got through the ridiculously long security check in line in the lobby, fought for a space in the packed elevator, and made it to your office. You take a sip of your now lukewarm mocha and open your email only to [...]
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Conner was nothing but smiles during the football game at Wildcat Hill!
Catie's favorite cheer: Our team is D-Y-N-A-M-I-T-E!
Carlie loved watching her big sister cheer for the Wildcats!
Carlie, Courtney, Catie, and friends from school giving each other manicures and pedicures!
After spending the majority of Saturday afternoon watching Catie cheer at Britton Field and then back home to a house full of rambunctious youngsters, I had every intention of mopping floors today and catching up on some much needed laundry. Unfortunately, due to a vicious stomach virus that crept into our safehaven, little Carlie is home from school with a terrible tummy ache.
When Carlie's symptoms began yesterday afternoon, I felt certain her loss of appetite and sudden fatigue was a result of intense play with her big sister and friends from school. But when I heard her feet scurry across the upstairs bathroom in our home, I knew it was something more. Throughout most of the night, Trae and I rotated shifts of being nurse-made to little Carlie, changing her sheets after an accident occurred and refilling her water cup in order to prevent dehydration. WHEW! This definitely brought back memories from years ago when the twins were infants. To this day, I'm still not sure how we survived those first months of sleepless nights and around the clock feedings.
With less than a few hours of sleep, we rolled out of the bed this morning feeling as if a freight train had struck us during the middle of the night, while Carlie awoke in the best of spirits. She is definitely showing signs of improvement, cracking jokes with Courtney and keeping a birds-eye-view on her little sister as she put together a Dora puzzle on the floor nearby.
So as I look back on the past twenty-four hours with Carlie, I realize that even though my laundry pile has tripled in size, I'm so thankful for being able to care for my little munchkin.
Hopefully, if your Monday has kicked off to a crappy start, this post helps you see that it's best to find the good in times of distress than to dwell on the misfortune in our day! Happy Monday, everyone! Tory
Oh, one last thing before I go! Still no rejection emails from Dear Super Agents:) YEAH
After an adventurous (and a bit stressful) week of shuttling the older children to and from school, helping w/ homework, entertaining Courtney at home, cooking, cleaning, yadda, yadda, yadda, I have some pretty exciting news to share with all of you.
Over the past few days, I've been extremely busy preparing email submissions for my first young adult novel because TWO remarkable agents have taken interest in the concept and have requested the full of my manuscript! *squeals loudly and does a happy dance in the kitchen* This now brings the total of requests to 5 partials, 4 fulls, and plenty of rejections and no responses in between. But as the old saying goes, "It only takes one YES to become a published author."
Take the story of Theodore Geisel for example (used from Adventures in Agentland). Theodore had written a picture book manuscript called THE HOUSE ON MULBURRY STREET. He shopped it around. He sent it to twenty-two editors and, after that twenty-second rejection, Theodore decided he would go home, shred his manuscript, and give up his dream.
On the way home, he ran into an old friend of his, who had become an editor. His editor friend convinced him to let him see his manuscript. The editor changed the name of the book to THE CAT IN THE HAT, and Dr. Seuss was born.
Once again, thanks for all your support! In more ways than one, your kind words and encouragement have kept me chasing the dream of becoming a published author. I promise to update as soon as I hear from either agent. Have a great weekend, everyone! Tory
After my rather humbling experience recently, I realized I want more info on the elusive query letter.
Writing a query should be easy, right? You just scribble out a short cover letter introducing yourself and your work, cuz you know your work is marvellous and should sell itself.
Wrong.
Even if your work is bestseller material, a fumbling query letter is going to get you into the ‘rejection pile’ and no where near the bestseller list. This is your opportunity to sell yourself -- to make the agent sit up and take notice.
So, how do we write the most amazing query letter possible?
Let’s break it down.
First – research, research, research. Even though there’s a basic format to query letters, don’t write one generic query and send it to a bunch of different agents hoping to strike it lucky. That’s like playing Russian Roulette with your career. Read up on your choice of agents. Follow their guidelines to the letter. And don’t forget to browse their blogs – this is where the real nuggets of information are gleaned. Maybe they might even give you an example or two of what they consider a great query. (Yay!)
Next – write a query that’s tailored to the agent you are submitting to. What does that mean? Give ‘em exactly what they ask for; nothing more – nothing less. This can include attachments versus inserting manuscript material into the body of an email. Or, even a paragraph synopsis versus a full-page synopsis. Deviating from their provided instructions just tells them that you can’t follow directions. That’s fast-tracking yourself right out the door.
Another next – the query itself. I like the way writing-world.com sets it out. Though the author is referring to article pitching, I did find this site helpful. It talks about the five basic components of a query:
• The hook
• The pitch
• The body
• The credentials
• The close
Each component is crucial. The author at the above site breaks it down well and is a good read. She even includes links to related articles – check out the sample query letter.
Another site fictionwriters.com has some good do’s and don’ts.
This website charlottedillon.com has a bunch of examples that landed the authors agents. Note that they are all quite different.
What I find interesting is that the above samples prove that queries need to be agent-specific. Note that one letter may start out with a hook, while another starts with an introduction. It would seem that while there are rules, these rules can in some cases be bent a little.
This too can be said for the do’s and don’ts as well. During my research I came across an agent who actually liked a little butt-kissing. (Say what??) Yup, I kid you not. In this instance -- to submit or not to submit -- is the question. Remember, you need to comfortably work with this person. Do you wanna work with someone you have to brown-nose?
Nah. Gimme a professional any day.
THE QUERY LETTER IS DONE!
What's a query letter you say? It's a letter that is meant to convince an editor that your story is the greatest story ever told and that they absolutely have to have it even more than chocolate. A query letter is your proposal of sorts, your calling card, you’re desperate plea to "PICK ME! PICK ME!" without sounding the least bit whiny or desperate.
I have been flying on Sparkin the dragon's noble back over Arizona for three years now and yet found the query letter about as much work. Wait a minute, hold the phone, and your horses or whatever it is you hold. I actually found the book an absolute delight to write. I love the characters, even the sinister ones and many times had to be called back to this planet to fix dinner, and attend to the worldly needs of my wonderful family. The query letter was more of a tear out your hair exercise that lasted through several months of research and 42 --not a typo --different versions, one to please each query letter expert. I studied the blurbs on the back of a gazillion books, and finally had an epiphany. Why not complete the exercise outlined by one of my most favorite agents that I was blessed to attend her presentation last April at the LDStorymakers Writers Conference?
So after the "why did it take you so long to figure it out?" moment, I finally hit upon what the heart of this book is about and what makes it unique. I realized it is a story of youth learning that they can do hard things, and learning that it is okay to be yourself even if you are different than others.
As Sparkin of the amazerful Stoneloch Dragon Clan would say, "It is ever so sweet" to have it complete.
First of all . . . we must have our priorities. Critter is in the Virgin Islands. He's traveling for the sake of St. Jude, so please follow him during his travels and let others know about Critter's cause. He'll be auctioned for St. Jude when his adventures are complete. Did you know that St. Jude operates mostly on donations alone. And that their DAILY operating costs are 1.5 million dollars per day!!!!! Yowza Yikesers!!!! So . . . spread the word about Critter and his cause so that we may be more likely to reach those who have the heart plus the resources to help the children of St. Jude.
In other writerly news . . . this is an awesome blog re: what to include in a query if you lack credentials. http://askaliteraryagent.blogspot.com/
Recently, after visiting different writers' blogs, I noticed several authors had posted their story summary in hopes that followers would provide feedback. For the majority, the responses were great. There were even a few that received comments from bestselling authors.
But I have mixed feelings on this (Yes, I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to posting details about my story).
1.) Is it safe to put your synopsis online (before landing an agent), exposing it for the world to read?
2.) What if someone steals your plot? *gasp and cry for hours/days...*
3.) But what if an agent stumbles across your blog and falls in love w/ your synopsis? *happy dance* Isn't this worth it?
I'd love to know your thoughts! Have a great Friday, eveyone! Tory
As of 8:03 P.M. last night, I officially landed a spot at Querytracker's agent-judged query contest in which the super talented literary agent, Kathleen Ortiz, volunteered to critique the first 100 entries received.
Phew...I'm still stoked about this one!
You see, from countless hours of stalking Ms. Ortiz' blog (www.kortizzle.blogspot.com) and other social networks, I knew this contest would fill within minutes. So, with help from my ever-so-patient husband, I was able to sneak to my mom's house and complete the online form with nothing more than seconds to spare before the contest filled. Seriously, I barely had time to verify if I'd cut and paste the first chapter of my YA novel successfully to the contest form.
But I did!!! *Cue confetti falling from the ceiling*
Now, to some of my friends reading this post, you may not understand what all the hoopla is about. Let me explain!
Anytime an aspiring writer *imagine ME waving a huge, red flag* receives feedback from a top-notch agent, the effort is worth this and so much more! As brutal as Ms. Ortiz' critique may be (she seems super sweet and very professional), I'm still hopeful she connects with the first chapter of my YA novel and asks for more. At this point in my writing career, any feedback is good feedback.
Okay, given that I hear little footsteps running around upstairs I'm going to quickly switch gears and list my book recommendation for this week's version of Humpday Reads.
I suggest: The Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr All her life, Aislinn has been able to see faeries, and they are everywhere, invisible to mortals except for her. And these are not your average cute Disney pixies -- they are the same size as humans, and can be very nasty, especially to those mortals who can see them. To survive, Aislinn has had to learn to pretend not to see them, and to live behind steel walls, which keep them out.
All Aislinn wants is to explore her growing relationship with Seth, finish high school, go to college, and lead a relatively normal life. But now she's being stalked by the faeries, especially one, Keenan, who is the Summer King and wants her for his Queen. Keenan is able to endure steel, and will have Aislinn whether she agrees or not -- if she doesn't, the power of his mother, the Winter Queen, will be unchecked, and winter will descend on the earth forever. (www.commonsensemedia.org)
I hope you enjoy! Tory
11 Comments on Amazing Contest & Humpday Reads!, last added: 6/5/2010
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Hello everyone out there in World Wide Webville. My name is Kristopher, and I want to be a blogger. Well, actually, I want to write kid's mystery books, sixties crime pulps and run a motel in Oregon. But for now, blogging! That's right, it's been so long since I've written a post that I feel obligated to reintroduce myself.
In Monday's post we covered Steps 1-5 of Final Stages of Editing; today we'll finish up and focus on the remaining points. Final Stages of Self-Editing Steps 6-10:6. Check formattingNow it’s time to check the formatting of the manuscript.
Are your paragraphs all indented with proper punctuation?
Did you use the Show/Hide function in your word processor to check the inner workings. For instance, years ago the proper spacing between sentences was two spaces. Now, the protocol is one space between sentences. The Show/Hide function displays a dot for each space.
Is your manuscript double spaced?
Did you use the correct formatting for dialogue?
7. Get your manuscript editedWhen you think it’s perfect, have it edited before you start submitting it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, you think this step is overkill, and it will cost money. You’re right on the second part, it will cost money, but it will be money well spent.
No matter how many times you self-edit, and how many times your critique group goes over your manuscript, there will be errors. Ask around for a reputable editor.
8. Create a log lineA log line or pitch line is a one sentence description or your manuscript. This may take a bit of trial and error.
9. Create a synopsis A synopsis is a short description of your story. Your writing should be tight and focused--leave out the fluff. The content should be self-edited and proofread before sending it off to an agent or publisher. You are trying to grab the reader's attention and let the reader know that you are grammar literate.
Basically, the synopsis should briefly let the editor know what the book is about: the beginning of your story, your main character/s needs or wants, how he strives to reach his goals, the obstacles/conflicts in his way, and how he overcomes the conflicts moving forward to the final outcome.
I read an interesting article recommending that your synopsis should be created using your detailed outline.
10. Create a query letter or proposal A query is a sales pitch. It should be three paragraphs and only one page long. The first paragraph quickly and interestingly describes the story; it’s the hook. The second paragraph tells a bit about you, your qualifications for writing the book. And, it’s a good idea to include a bit on how you intend to help market the book. The third paragraph is the conclusion; keep it short.
11. Final Step: SubmissionsOkay, your manuscript is polished and shiny, now it’s time to submit. But, hold on . . . check each publisher’s guidelines before you submit.
In fact, don’t just check the guidelines, you need to study them, and follow them implicitly. If a publisher asks for submission by mail only, don’t email your submission. If the word count on an article or story is up to 1000 words, don’t submit a story with 1150 words.
There is just so much involved with self-editing, and as I keep learning new tricks I'll pass them along.
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Good advice. If you want a good idea of what to write in your query letter, go to the bookstore and read the back cover of several books.