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Query Oops [Apr. 23rd, 2008|06:58 pm] I wanted to share a few funny things I saw in my queries lately: "Dear Mr. So and So:" Wow, I feel so special when an author takes the time to address the query specifically to ME. "I am not sure as to what your guidelines for submission are, but I have attached a chapter from my book to this e-mail. I have also enclosed a synapses of my novel below. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon." Um... Synapses? I'm not fond of authors apologizing for not knowing my submission guidelines when they're quite clear and easy to find. Go to foliolit.com and click on my profile. Easy as can be. "brutally murdered by a cereal killer" This one makes me laugh every time. The attack of Captain Crunch, murdering cereal... one bowl at a time. (And I'm pretty sure a non-brutal murder would be much more rare.) "I apologize in advance for the below history lesson. I do believe that it is relevant so bare with me, if you will." I know, I know. Typos happen. I just thought this one was funny because I'm not going to "bare" with anyone who queries me, thanks. (And you should keep your clothes on too when you pitch an agent.) "If published, this novel would be my literacy debut." Yes, it would definitely prove to the world you are literate if you published a novel. (Just thought that was a funny typo.) "Dear Ms. Vater: It pains me to address this letter in such an unprofessional, generic fashion, but I have no way of knowing which esteemed editor or agent will be reviewing my submission. Please know that whoever is assigned to read the attached submission information, I truly value your expertise. I am delighted to introduce you to my novel, and look forward to your comments and suggestions." This puzzles me. My name is not generic! And this writer should know exactly which agent will be looking at his submission. Me. It's addressed to me. It came into my e-mail inbox. And this is an agency, so an editor will not be reading it. And strangely there is an attachment when our submission guidelines say no attachments unless requested. "Dear (Mr./Ms.) (editor's [or agent's] last name)," I like to think this was an oversight, that the writer simply forgot to fill in the appropriate name. Still, it concerns me the author might be querying editors and agents at the same time, maybe even with a preference for editors. (Notice that [or agent's] is in brackets.) I'd rather a writer focus on agents, then let the agent pitch it to editors. (If an author meets an editor at a conference personally and follows up on interest the editor expressed, that's fine.) But I don't think it's as wise to directly contact editors cold with the project. What if I want to represent it, but it needs editing first? That means an editor might already have rejected the book or an earlier draft and not want to see it again. Or the author will have to pull it from submission. And that's a little sticky, especially if I want to later submit it to that editor. THINGS I DON'T NEED TO SEE IN YOUR QUERY: 1. How long it took you to write it. Honestly, please don't tell me how you've been slaving over it for years or laboring over it for 6 months. I also don't care if you've wanted to be a writer ever since you were little; how you pursued writing for a little while, then stopped when you got a job/got married/had kids and have recently picked it up again; why you love writing. (If we work together I'll ask you these questions, but until then, it doesn't matter.) I think writers who include this in their query are trying hard to show me how passionate they are about writing, but I assume everyone who's finished a novel and is querying agents seriously wants to be published pretty badly or they wouldn't be sending me a query letter. What will distinguish one query from the next is the book: the pitch, the synopsis, and the opening pages. That's what will impress me. And that's all you need. 2. What you hate about novels today and how yours is so much better because of all the right ingredients you've put into it, how much smarter your book is compared to everyone else's. Please don't put down other books, especially not in your query letter. Bragging about how your novel is "so much better than all the other dreck out there" makes you seem difficult to work with. (For some nonfiction proposals, it's necessary to compare your work to other books that are selling well and to say what distinguishes yours from those in a favorable way, but it's still not the time to bash the other books out there in your genre or the ones sharing shelf space with your book... after all, they might give you a blurb some day or you might find yourself speaking at the same conference they are.) 3. Who helped you edit it and the glowing things your (paid by you) editor said about your work. Yes, there are ghost writers out there available for hire. And copyeditors and editors and co-writers. But their endorsement doesn't mean anything. Because you've paid them. Plus, now I wonder how much of this book you wrote on your own and what part your editor/collaborator did, and if it's fiction... well, what about the next book? Will it be a scary mess? 4. Tell me how you are sure I am very busy but beg me to please read your manuscript because I won't be sorry. Seriously, I am not kidding about the 250 query letters a week. I wish I could request more than I can already. If you want me to pick your book out of all the other possibilities, give me a pitch I can't refuse. Dazzle me with a great concept, show me how well plotted it is with a smart synopsis, and pull me in with those first two pages so I can't HELP but request more. It's a tall order, but every client I've taken on from a query letter did just that. Take heart -- I've found about 75% of my clients from query letters. Sometimes I rejected their first query or their first book, but they kept querying. Keep working on your query, and keep sending it out there. Think of each query letter as your lottery ticket: You have to play to win. The more times you send it out, the more chances you have. The more novels you write, the more potential jackpots you can hit. The nice part is, there's skill involved. This isn't a game of sheer luck. If one batch of query letters doesn't get the results you want (requests for partials or fulls of your manuscript) work on your query some more and then send out another round. This is how a LOT of writers find their agent; you can get an agent this way too! link 33 comments|post comment

Folio Blog News! [Apr. 22nd, 2008|05:33 pm] Folio Literary Management has a new blog: http://foliolit.blogspot.com/ Jeff Kleinman kicks off the first week with query letter advice. Meanwhile, updates for my own blog are long overdue. It's been a very busy couple of months! Here's what's going on with some of my clients: First, huge congratulations to Ilona Andrews for hitting the New York Times bestseller list at #32 last week for MAGIC BURNS. This is a sequel to MAGIC BITES, a suspenseful urban fantasy series starring mercenary Kate Daniels. This is an example of urban fantasy that has it all: smart world building, a strong protagonist, tugging suspense, and tingling chemistry. You can read excerpts on her website: http://www.ilonaland.com/ (Note how quickly she establishes character and setting and begins in a place with plenty of action.) Also, a belated congratulations to Mark Del Franco. His second book UNQUIET DREAMS was a Baker & Taylor Paperclips Hot Pick for January. His series, beginning with UNSHAPELY THINGS, is about detective Connor Grey solving crimes in an alternative Boston. One of my favorite things about Mark's writing is his ability to create so many different characters and creatures, all with distinct personalities ranging from amusing to frightening. A follow-up congratulations for his new series with Ace set in the same world, but this time with female protagonist Laura Blackstone. She's an undercover agent with more disguises than Sidney from Alias. For more on Mark, visit his website: http://www.markdelfranco.com/ Since my last post, Caitlin Kittredge's debut novel NIGHT LIFE hit the shelves. Caitlin's been tirelessly promoting her first novel and she's got a gorgeous website: http://www.caitlinkittredge.com/ If you like mystery driven urban fantasy, detective Luna Wilder has your number. She's a werewolf with attitude... and an attraction to an alpha were who might know more about the crime she's investigating than he's willing to tell her. Melissa Marr's second YA novel INK EXCHANGE is included on the Book Sense 2008 Childrens Picks list. I can't even tell you how excited I am that this book is coming out next Tuesday! Her first novel, WICKED LOVELY, stayed on the NYT bestseller list for 2 months. Focusing on characters with smaller roles in her first novel, INK EXCHANGE blends the modern world with faeries... in all their wicked glory. Favorite characters from the first novel--Ash, Seth, Keenan and Donia--make appearances as well. http://www.melissa-marr.com/ Jeaniene Frost's second novel ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE comes out the same day, April 29th. Jeaniene's first novel HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE also hit the NYT list and just won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for best urban fantasy. If you like paranormal romance with vampires and a whole lot of sizzle with your suspense and mystery, this series is for you! http://www.jeanienefrost.com/ Marie Brennan's third novel MIDNIGHT NEVER COME got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly. Coming out in June 2008, this is a beautiful historical fantasy, meticulously researched, about a dangerous bargain between faerie Queen Invidiana and Queen Elizabeth. Faerie Lady Lune is caught in the middle when she's sent into the human world to manipulate Walsingham, but rather than be Invidiana's pawn, Lune forms a new agenda of her own. More soon on query letter tips and mistakes to avoid! link 6 comments|post comment

More on Websites [Feb. 26th, 2008|07:50 pm] Thank you for all your suggestions and questions about websites. I’ll answer some questions and comments about author websites, but first, I want to mention that I did not intend to advocate exploiting your friends who are designers. If you DO have friends who designed their own site and you like it, certainly talk to them first. They may have some helpful tips and might offer you a discount, but please don’t ask someone to do it for free and don’t press for special favors just because they’re your sister or your friend. I once had a friend volunteer to do a website for me at a discounted rate (it was back when I wanted to display some of my art, somewhere around a decade ago) and I was so happy to take him up on it, because I was just out of college and not very wealthy. But I told a lot of people about it, and since he was newer to designing, I hope I was helpful in word of mouth publicity for him as well. Plus, I'm all for exchanging favors-if someone does offer you a discount, keep it in mind so you can pay back the karma with a kind gesture of your own. I have some long term friends in my life who I trade professional advice/services/favors with (including sisters who design professionally), and we probably all come out around even. But I do want to acknowledge the comment that you shouldn’t ASK a friend to design your site for free any more than you’d ask a doctor friend to perform a free surgery for you. But if you’re interested in designing your own site and you know another author who did their own, for sure ask for tips and ask them which program they like using best, which web host they recommend, etc. Ask around, gather information, and if you hire someone else, you'll know the going rate. Okay… on to questions. Q: Can I ask you a question about links that I want to put on my blog? They include literary agent and author blogs, research sites, and writing links that I love. Should I ask their permission to add their site/links on my blog? A: You can ask permission as a courtesy if you like, but I have personally never been offended by anyone linking to my blog. If someone complains about your link, do take it down, but I can’t imagine why an author or agent or editor wouldn’t be flattered to have you put up a link. We all love to have increased traffic for our sites, and why would anyone say no to the free publicity? Q: If I've had no work published, but am submitting stories currently and have almost finished polishing a novel for submission, should I start thinking about a website now? Or is that something to put off until I've sold some short fiction? And if I do, what do I put on it, with no publishing credits to speak of? A: I would recommend keeping a blog with at least a few entries about yourself and your writing if you aren’t ready to get a website. If it’s a little too expensive for now, or if you haven’t begun submitting, I can’t think of why you would need to have one yet. (That being said, it’s never too early to start thinking about what kind of a website you’d like and gathering information about designers you like and author websites you admire.) Q: Do you have suggestions? Like, if I should make a site for myself now, regardless? Or should I wait until we have an agent? A: Like I said, I give bonus points to authors who already have them, but I don’t hold it against anyone who doesn’t. If you’d like to wait until you have an agent or until you have a book deal, you can certainly do that. But a website might be cheaper than you think, and it doesn’t hurt to compare some prices so you’re ready to get one when the time comes. Q: Should you ever link to fanfiction from your writer page, or is that something best left to your fan page or livejournal etc? I was surprised when Colleen Lindsay wrote on her blog that she thought mentioned fanfic in a query letter was good because it showed that the writer wrote regularly and was used to getting criticism, but I wonder if actually putting it anywhere near a "professional" website would be a whole other can of worms? A: You can link to fanfiction if you want to, BUT you’d better make sure those pieces are absolutely polished. I’ve read fanfic, and I’m telling you, mostly I have seen terrible typos and very sloppy grammar there. I know it’s more relaxed at fanfiction sites, but if you’re going to put up a link where a professional agent or editor can find it, you’d better treat your fanfic as if it were your polished submission. Because if it’s there, and I’m thinking about offering representation, I will read it. Q: If I have a blog but cannot yet afford a website, should I put the web address for my blog in my query? Right now my real name isn't on my blog, so I don't think it would show up in a Google search. Are you interested in seeing blogs of possible clients, or only websites? A: If I see a link and I’m interested, I’ll go look at it. It doesn’t hurt to include it as long as you treat your blog like a professional writing tool and present yourself as a professional, sane, pleasant, focused writer on it. (I do look for a blog for a writer I’m interested in with a google search if it’s not offered. I don’t hire a private investigator to do a background search or anything, but I do want to see what sort of personality I might be dealing with. A couple blogs scared me a little—one sounded hostile and the other one sounded so flaky I doubted we’d be a good fit.) But sure, if your blog stays professional and focuses on writing, add the link. If the agent is interested, she’ll click on it. If your blog is all about everything in your life, it’s probably not going to serve you to include it. Q: I wasn't quite sure what to add to the bio section. I haven't published any novels yet but I have had a couple poems published. Should I list those even though they're not similar to my UF novel? I didn't even think about listing critique groups and writers organizations so thank you. A: You can put whatever you want in your bio section. I don’t think I’d be wowed so much by poetry publications, but it doesn’t make me think less of a writer. Okay, don’t mention it if you’ve been published with poetry.com because that’s not really a publication credit, but you know… put any writing experience in there that you want to. If you have no publication credits, you can still say a little bit about yourself: John Smith lives with his wife and 3 dogs in Louisville, Kentucky. He loves going on wilderness hikes and knows how to shoot a variety of guns, which came in handy for writing his first adventure novel, GUN HIKE. An amateur photographer, he takes pictures of spirits and UFOs and enjoys making up stories to go with them to freak out his nieces and nephews. (And before anyone mentions it, I should add the disclaimer that I’m not advocating scaring your nieces and nephews.) Thanks again for all your great comments and suggestions for websites and designers. link 23 comments|post comment

The Importance of Publicity [Feb. 20th, 2008|08:04 pm] So... the author website. I promised to talk about websites for authors and why/how they're beneficial. 1. They create a google-able page where agents and editors can look you up, read about you and your work, and see you as a professional who has a web presence. It shows you're serious. 2. Once you're published and if someone wants to invite you to a conference or a publicity event, they can look you up and see all your relevant information--who your agent is, what awards you've won, all the books you've written, and who you are from your bio. 3. Other writers and readers can find you--great for networking, getting blurbs, finding a critique group that matches your writing style and personality and needs. A good marketing tool whether you're published or not. You can post samples of your work, your bio, short stories, etc. When to get a website: If my clients don't have one when I sign them up, once they have a publishing contract I encourage them to set money aside to get one. I admit I google every writer before I offer representation. I don't hold it against anyone for not already having a website... but authors with really good ones get extra bonus points. Why? It shows me they're invested in their career. Authors with awful websites can sabotage themselves though, so be careful. (I'll talk about what NOT to do on a website in a little bit.) How to get a good designer: If you don't have a friend or sibling who designs pages who can give you a break on costs, visit other authors' websites and look for the credit line to the designer. Chances are, if they designed that one, they're happy to talk to you about designing yours. Be prepared to set money aside from your advance or put some of your own money up upfront to get a pretty website. DO take time to look at other websites you like so you can send links to your designer to show what you have in mind. Some authors have super fancy websites with flash and other special features. Do you need those? I firmly believe you can have a professional website with all relevant information without spending a fortune. DO expect to pay anywhere from $1000 to $5000 for a great site that does everything you want it to. What to include: For sure include your bio. Also include links to any online stories you've written or links to your books so browsers can purchase them in one click. If you have a favorable photo, absolutely include that. (This is especially useful after you've sold and conferences want to invite you and put your photo in their brochure--they can pull it right off your website.) If you're published, you can also include reviews, awards, foreign sales, and upcoming appearances. If you're an aspiring author, you can include critique groups you belong to, writers organizations you belong to, and any publishing credits you have. How to get some traffic to your site: Start making writer friends! Go to conferences, comment on agent and editor and writer blogs. Join RWA or SCBWI or SFWA or any other networking group you can find. Lurk at Fangs, Fur & Fey if you write SF or fantasy. Correspond with other writers at your level. Offer to read and critique. Discuss books online. Get a blog and tell everyone you know about it. Speaking of blogs.... These are free. This livejournal account costs me nothing to keep, and it's been a great way to reach aspiring writers, talk about publishing, and keep in touch with readers. If you don't already have a blog where you talk about writing, etc., play around on one and see how much fun it is. What NOT to do with your website: A bad design that looks amateurish or sloppy won't get you any bonus points. For blogs, never ever say anything that you wouldn't want your grandmother or random strangers to read. That means watch your profanity, keep your freak out moments in check, and remember at all times that this is how you're presenting yourself. (You can have a separate, secret, non-writer blog under a secret name at myspace or elsewhere if you want an online diary. Your writer blog is not the place for that.) Watch it when it comes to reviewing other authors or talking about genres you don't like. Seriously, writers can get offended if you bash their genre--understand that there's a market for books you don't like and that they all have their place in the market. Don't think of them as competition to your book, because they aren't, but respect all of your fellow writers. Don't gripe online about your agent, editor or readers. (None of my clients do this of course, but I have seen writers go down this road and it is treacherous. Avoid it.) Also, sure, you may meet an author at a conference who is mean to you. Writers are all human. Some just had a bad day. Some might truly be grouchy, but DON'T bash them on your blog. I mean it. If a writer is abrupt with you or grumpy, they may not have slept well, might have just received bad news.... whatever you need to tell yourself to give them a pass, do it. Do not blog about it. Same thing goes with snarky reviews. You might get some. That's okay. Not every writer can be everything to everyone. Your job is not to please 5-year-olds to 100-year-olds, women and men, romance lovers and horror lovers, conservatives and liberals, dog owners and cat owners. Your book is for people who love the books you love. Other writers books are for readers who love books the writer loves. Do not criticize other genres. There's room in this market for everyone. Finally, keep in mind with every post that a lot of people could read it. You are absolutely allowed to have a sense of humor, to give advice, to ask advice, to brag a little about your success, to cheer others on you've been rooting for, to recommend books you love... but always remember to play nice. This may sound easy, but you WILL have tough days. Something will make you feel angry or bitter or frustrated or cynical, but focus on all the positive things in your blog. Show your determination. Show your enthusiasm. Show your commitment. We all have hard days. You can certainly blog about submitting and rejections and all of the frustrations... but just make sure you don't add any sour grapes. Keep focusing on positives. I love the websites that talk about how the author came up with the idea, how they found their agent/publisher, how they succeeded. It gives hope to everyone who reads their story. Networking sites I love: Verla Kay is great. If you write children's literature, GO THERE. Backspace is another great spot with bulletin boards and chatting for any writer of any genre. Of course I recommend Fangs, Fur & Fey for you SF and fantasy authors. Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books has a special place in my heart. I love reading agent Janet Reid's blog and agent Kristin Nelson's Pub Rants. If you have a spot you especially love, recommend it here. I'm sure other authors would love to hear about new places to read about writing and publishing! But also... start asking your friends now about author websites they especially love. If you can't afford a website now, don't worry. I have NEVER held it against a prospective client that they didn't have a website yet. But start keeping a file of the author websites you like most and the designers you especially love. Not only is this a positive affirmation that you'll get published some day, but when the time comes, you'll be all ready to contact the designers you admire most and you'll have samples to show them of what you want for your site. Anyone want to recommend designers or publishing websites they like a lot? Do you have any published friends? How did you meet them? Any published authors who have friends they met online who ended up being very valuable? Share your online story! And as always, keep on writing, keep on believing. This year I've taken on 3 new clients. All of them sent me an e-mail in the beginning to tell me about their book(s) and I requested it, read it, and loved it. You only need one. Stay focused, stay determined. link 57 comments|post comment

Amazing Clients [Jan. 30th, 2008|11:51 am] I'm very pleased to say that two of my clients have books coming out and I have some great deals to announce: Mark Del Franco's second novel UNQUIET DREAMS is available now from Ace, featuring detective Connor Grey, who was once a powerful wizard, but must depend more now on his instincts and personal connections to solve cases. Mark's first novel UNSHAPELY THINGS blew me away and I loved this follow-up book. He has a beautiful website too: http://www.markdelfranco.com/ In my opinion, there are too few urban fantasy novels out there written by men with a male protagonist, but Mark's series is one of the best overall urban fantasies I've ever read. The alternate world Boston is fantastic and I love his characters. A great mystery drives the story forward, and it has all the complexity and the best elements I've seen in fantasy writing. For an example of very fine plotting, check out his books. He handles every detail perfectly. And the book I've been waiting for a very long time, Eileen Cook's debut novel UNPREDICTABLE from Berkley comes out February 5th. This book is one of the all time funniest I've ever read. Ever. New Line Cinema grabbed up the film option and foreign rights sold in many other countries. The story is so visual and funny it would make the perfect romantic comedy--and the novel comes out just in time for Valentine's Day. This book had me laughing so hard when I first read it on a plane that passengers around me kept giving m curious glances, and I didn't care one bit. It's a story about a woman who fakes psychic powers to get her boyfriend back, but the trick works a little too well... It spirals out of control in wonderful ways. It's so rare to find a writer who can handle humor and situational comedy so well, and I'm very very excited about this book! Even Eileen's blog is funny: http://www.eileencook.com/ In other great news, HarperCollins signed up another three YA books for Melissa Marr in a major 7-figure deal! Her first novel WICKED LOVELY hit the NY Times bestseller list and LA Times list, and her second novel, INK EXCHANGE comes out this spring. http://www.melissa-marr.com/ Take a few minutes to browse their author sites and notice how the style of each reflects their novels and plays up their best writing strengths. I'll talk soon about the importance of authors having a great website and how to maximize your own to use as a marketing tool. I'm delighted that two of my authors: NYT bestsellers Jeaniene Frost and Melissa Marr will be in an urban fantasy anthology, together with 3 other well known HarperCollins authors: Kim Harrison, Vicki Pettersen and Jocelyn Drake. We're looking at summer 2009 for that one, and I can hardly wait to read all the stories! I'm a big fan of Kim Harrison's and love Vicki's writing, and I hear great things about upcoming author Jocelyn, so I'll be itching to get my hands on a copy as soon as it comes out. Finally, another recent sale for a debut novelist: Scott William Carter's THE LAST GREAT GETAWAY OF THE WATER BALLOON BOYS sold to David Gale at Simon & Schuster Children's and will come out in hard cover spring 2010. This is an author I signed up as fast as I could. His book kept me up all night when I only meant to read the first chapter or two. I loved it too much to stop reading, so I'm very excited and happy to be his agent! It's an exciting New Year, and I promise I'm making headway on the queries. I have a great intern working with me now (Leslie) who is amazing at reading and critiquing submissions and sorting queries. So now it's your turn: Share a New Year's writing resolution. Whether it's finishing your novel or submitting to a specific number of agents or writing one new short story a month or joining a critique group or going to a conference. Share a success story of a past writing goal you made and met. Encourage your fellow writers they can do it, that 2008 is THEIR year to succeed! Give some advice about what helped you meet your goals (lots of coffee!) or a new writing technique you learned by reading another author or by getting advice from a critique partner or heard about at a conference. Support your fellow writer, and have a wonderful 2008! link 38 comments|post comment

Where I am with queries.... [Dec. 9th, 2007|12:52 am] If you sent me a query at Folio in the past 7 months and haven't received a reply yet: After a week of late-night query reading, I now have under 50 postal queries in my stack. (Most from the past few months that I've held to look at again and perhaps request more if/when I get more reading time and if the manuscript is still available then.) I now have 475 e-mail queries in my query inbox. (Some of these do go all the way back to June, but most are more recent.) Okay, that SOUNDS like a lot, but considering I get about 200 queries per week, it's not too bad. My plan is to have zero queries in my inbox by the end of December, either by requesting and reading the ones that held my interest, or by declining (with apologies to the very late ones.) I'm VERY MUCH looking forward to the slow down in publishing so I can catch up on everything. I've also been steadily catching up on my manuscript reading, so I should have all my requested manuscripts read by the end of the month. (I'd better--because I get a LOT of New Year's resolution queries flooding into my inbox in January.) (FYI: If you queried me at my old agency within the last 7 months, someone there will reply to postal queries but no one is reading e-mail queries sent to my old e-mail address.) I'm already starting to get some admitted NaNoWriMo novels (those 50,000 word wonders that were pounded out in the space of one month--November), and I just want to say... take the time to polish your novel first. PLEASE. Have a few friends read it and proof it for you and give you feedback. Make sure the length is appropriate for the age and genre. Edit. Polish. Tighten. THEN send out the query letter. link 39 comments|post comment

Query stuff again... [Nov. 24th, 2007|01:06 am] Yep, here are some more.... "I am currently an unpublished author who has just finished his first of many books. This one is a collection of short stories aptly titled, "[Deleted title]". I feel that as a new author, it is better to offer people a look at my various writing styles, and give them many characters to enjoy. Instead of having them invest money and all their time into a 300+ page novel with characters they aren't familiar with by an author they've never heard of. I feel that by giving readers this option, it gives them an opportunity to see all that I can offer them, and to see if they will like it. Which they will. I know that as someone who reads at least one or two books a week, I wish that other authors would try this approach as well. I'd appreciate any response I get. Even an opportunity to have my work critiqued by someone in the field. If you give me the opportunity to show you my completed work, you will be impressed. Below is one of many short stories in my collection." You can tell me all you want why short story collections are better than novels, but I don't handle short story collections because they are incredibly hard to sell. Now, if you've published in the New Yorker and have some amazing writing credits, we'll talk.... "Unlike other fantasies, the enemies are not obvious (it’s not as simple as good vs. evil) and the characters are more complex and darker. In fact, at various times, the reader might have a tough time deciding who to route for." I hate when I don't know who to "route" for. “Beyond Desperation” (in one of my e-mails, this was the e-mail address name of the writer. Please don't tell me how desperate... or beyond desperate... you are. Because it just looks... desperate.) "...an ending that the reader is not likely to see coming." Well, that's good. Ranks up there with the ending that will blow me away, shock me completely, and come out of nowhere. "They killed her and stole away her beloved child, which they took back to their layer to raise as a member of their brigand band." I've had it. I'm going back to my layer... cake. "It was very difficult to choose which two pages I was going to send along with this query letter. I finally decided to blindly pick a spot. This is about where the dart landed. These pages appear in the 29th Chapter:" No! The FIRST two! The FIRST TWO!!! How many times do I have to say it??? "Hello, Man! I have something very special here. It is more than riveting. It is Earth shattering, but in the very best way, of course. It could help set the world hundred of years ahead of where it is now. It is an innovation in books, and one would have to lay his or her eyes on it in order to believe the bold statements I just wrote. I cannot stress this enough. You have to lay your eyes on this thing! … A very serious book, yes, but do you know what? It's very funny. In fact, you may have never seen humor act like this in a book before. And it's all very entertaining." I really don't know what to say about this. "That being said, allow me to get to the part that seems to make literary agents cringe; I'm a fantasy author. I try desperately to stay away from the cliche' aspects of fantasy. I don't believe inputting a wizard, a warrior, a hobbit, and a gnome together to fight some dark and massive evil that will overtake the world if they fail. I think that mechanism, and its overuse, is what keeps fantasy away from mainstream readers. I do have dragons and I do have elves, but they exist quite differently than in other fantasy. I try my best to make my work read like a war novel as it's always been the fight scenes in fantasy that have drawn me to the genre." I'm not sure which part was supposed to make me cringe... and yet his prediction that I would cringe came true. Perhaps he's a prophetic writer? "Nothing against Anne Rice, but I have not been influenced by her, in fact I have never read anything by her. The vampire influence though, can be attributed to her since it came to me while watching 'Interview with a Vampire' and thinking about how there never is any type of explanation for the 'vampire' lore in addition to the amount of lore there is and makes no sense." Clearly hasn't read a lot of vampire books, because a lot of them explain it. What makes no sense is that last sentence. I read it about 3 times and still couldn't quite figure it out. link 37 comments|post comment

Congratulations Jeaniene! [Nov. 11th, 2007|12:28 am] I just had to share the good news! My very talented client Jeaniene Frost hit the New York Times bestseller list on her first week with her debut novel HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE (Avon) at #23! Please take a moment to visit her journal and congratulate her: frost-light.livejournal.com/ and check out her website at: www.jeanienefrost.com I love this sexy vampire novel, and Jeaniene's witty voice caught my attention in her query letter and grabbed it even tighter from the first page. She got me laughing and dying to find out what would happen on the next page, and I'm a tough audience. And now, here she is on the NYT bestseller list! This proud achievement couldn't happen to a nicer person or a more dedicated writer: After more rounds of revisions than I had a right to put anyone through, she had a book that felt tighter, smarter and way more fun to me than the slew of published urban fantasy novels I'd read. I couldn't wait to submit it! Erika Tsang at Avon loved it as much as I did and offered us a pre-empt we couldn't refuse. She gave some insightful notes too, and the good people at Avon got her a cover to die for. You know those covers you look at and you just know the book's going to get people to pick it up? That's the kind of cover it is. If bookstore browsers also read the first page, they'll buy it for sure. I'm so grateful to everyone who helped make this book a success. And contratulations, Jeaniene! You deserve every bit of this success! I am so proud to be your agent, I want to shout it from my rooftop. Congratulations!!! To everyone who wondered where I've been, I've been catching up on a slew of things and settling in nicely at Folio. We're working on website renovations over there and a Folio blog, so my internet attention has been diverted for a little while. But my post below is new too--Query Bloopers--that I thought might amuse. I'm also planning on getting a new laptop in the next couple of weeks, so I should be much more efficient with my time and get to post more things shortly. Happy weekend, all! link 36 comments|post comment

Query Bloopers [Nov. 11th, 2007|12:16 am] I know, I haven't blogged in a long time, and all I can say is... It's been busy. But I've been catching up on query letters this weekend, so here are some gems: 1. “I have thus far submitted my work to three agencies; neither of them was interested.” (I just thought it was funny.) 2. In response to my form letter declining to read more: "I have no delusions of grandeur, and it just might be that my book is not up to par. Nevertheless, I would wager a hefty some that 99% of the agents in NYC are "liberals" whose skin crawls at any mention of 9-11 because it reminds the "commoners" why we fight. Well, even one person that is not boxed in by politically correct mandates has more creativity in his little pinkie toe than a thousand so-called "artists" in the entertainment business today that keep churning out the same tired anti-male and anti-christian garbage. In my opinion, none of them are original and they all look, walk, talk, think and act the same. Give the people what they actually want for a change and you'd see a huge shift in the market. Thanks for the form letter, it was so encouraging." (Bad idea to waste energy blasting an agent who sends a rejection letter. It's part of the business, and as a writer, it's much better to take rejection gracefully, because you really DON'T KNOW why an agent declines. They may have just taken on something similar, they might be swamped, they might just not like your writing style, or they might just not be into the topic. Whatever, it's just better to move to the next agent on the list.) 3. I’m getting a few that just don’t include a synopsis and first couple pages as my query guidelines request, but stranger still—the query doesn’t tell me what the book is about. 4. Arg. Blank e-mail. Document attached called “query.” I am not opening that since I didn’t request it. Do I send a reply with my query guidelines and invite them to re-query or just delete it? Depends on how much time I have to read my queries that day. 5. "Now get ready to put on a straightjacket because when you read this it'll drive you nuts. My book is handwritten not typed up on a computer or typewriter. I'm a very slow typist and I stink at it. Like all of my work its long and needs work. I have the talent, but not always the drive. I presume not what a agent or a publisher wants to hear. I'm looking for a agent who's willing to take a chance on me, and be patient and work with me. Keep this in mind, not every one who has talent is polished as a writer or as a person. Oh yeah, my punctuation and grammar stink, and the book isn't broken up in to paragraphs. I know my writing is tough to read because it isn't perfect English, but I prefer it that way as it makes the characters sound more realistic and natural sounding. As for me, I'm a little bit behind everyone else in life as I'll either end up a great writer of drama and humor or I'll be a homeless bum. If you think this letter is long and babbling, just read my story. If you have any interst in reading it I'd appreciate it. If you have no interst I understand. Thanks" (This one... what can I say? If a writer doesn't take him/herself seriously as a professional, neither will an agent.) link 40 comments|post comment

All About Transition... [Jul. 13th, 2007|12:23 am] Wow, transitioning to a new workplace is not for the faint of heart, particularly if you're a literary agent with a growing client list. For those of you to whom I owe responses, please forgive me while I catch up... I'm almost there now. New beginnings are always exciting, and as I get to know everyone at Folio Literary Management, I'm more and more impressed. First, they really are kind people, and that makes for a wonderful work environment. Next, I love working with colleagues who are accessible and so excited to give each other tips and share information about editors or projects. It's very supportive. Another cool thing is just how smart and good at agenting they all are, not just in terms of selling rights for lots of money, but in assessing projects and editing and finding just the right editors for submissions. Finally, Folio's doing something I've never heard of other agencies doing: Marketing and publicity. This used to fall completely on the shoulders of publishers or... where the publisher's resources were stretched thin... just on the author's shoulders. The Folio founders had a vision of being that extra support for authors, and they're making that vision a reality. I think that's pretty exciting and groundbreaking. So it's taken a little time to set up, plug in and settle into my new office (still in NYC) but the pains of transition are so outweighed by the benefits of working with these people I admire so much. It really is a dream job. Transitions have me thinking about writers, and how so many books are about transitions. Self help books are all about trying something new or changing an aspect in life that can be improved. Fiction is often a story of upheaval and the results: A stranger comes to town, a stranger leaves town. A family crisis that changes how each member of that family views each other and themselves and the world around them. Transitions show us all what we're made of. They put a ton of things on our plate and make us focus on our priorities, what matters the most. Transitions show us who we are. And aren't we fascinated by other people's huge transitions? Look at the newspapers and gossip papers: A star falls from grace--we want to know how she handled that, what made her fall, if she can handle it gracefully, if she'll be able to pick herself up again. A man loses his legs in an accident and wins a race anyway: We want to see how he learned to walk again or adapt to a wheelchair and how he overcame the pain and the obstacle life put in his way. A fire destroys a home: Is the family okay and where will they live? What is that like? We are always curious about what transitions will illuminate about the humans involved. Yes, we're curious that way. We want to try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and wonder if we could do that, marvel at the successes, sympathize with the tough luck or the tragedy or the people who can't overcome it. In the end, could we handle that? Could we forgive? Could we rebuild? Could we kick an addiction like that? Could we face the hurdles? Would we become a better person for it? And fiction writers, they dream up scenarios that challenge us this way, illuminate far more of the psyche than a newspaper article could and explore and sympathize with points of view we'd never thought we could have otherwise. Ponder the transitions in your life. Notice the transitions happening around you all the time. Look at it with compassion from every angle. Practise putting yourself in other people's shoes and you'll have a greater understanding not just of your own characters in your book, but of life and humanity and the world. Sometimes I think the minor characters of a story might have the most interesting point of view: I want to know what becomes of the serial killer's wife, what upheaval did she go through when she found out the truth and how did the town treat her afterwards? I want to know the bully's story, what transition he went through when he first started hurting out people in order to block out his own pain. And now, just because I've been away from the blog for a while, I'd like to hear from you: Share a transition that showed you a part of yourself you never would have seen otherwise, or perhaps a friend who really inspired you by gracefully handling a transition. Or a friend who you felt made poor choices that nevertheless taught you something about yourself. If you have one that applies to writing, transitioning from a full time job to a full time writer, or getting your first contract (transitioning from unpublished to published) or from unknown to very well known... please share. Remember, all commenters: Be kind, respectful and supportive with each other. This blog is for inspiring and sharing and instructing. link 94 comments|post comment

Welcome to Folio! [Jun. 13th, 2007|09:30 pm] I'm so excited and pleased to announce my new position with Folio Literary Management. I'm delighted to be working with Scott Hoffman (who has let me borrow his agent brain countless times already), Jeff Kleinman (hands down one of the very best agents in the business), Paige Wheeler (a brilliant agent I've met at conferences and publishing events plenty of times--and a lot of editors have already said to me, "I love Paige! I do lots of business with her!" when I told them where I was moving) as well as three other savvy agents who I'm just getting to know but really like and admire already. Can I also just gush for a moment about Folio's smart support team? I mean... people who know publicity and marketing, an office manager who knows the answer to everything, and lots of interns. Wow. I'm... ecstatic! (Not to mention deeply honored they wanted me on their team.) This is my dream agency and I feel like I just won the lottery, got crowned Miss America, and received a proposal from Prince Charming all at the same time. Ahem. Anyway... please check out the Folio website if you haven't already -- I'll still be representing all my great clients and will keep building my client list in my same areas of interest: www.foliolit.com I still love fantasy of all colors, great MG and YA, and... well... just great writing. In other exciting news, Melissa Marr's debut novel WICKED LOVELY is available now. I'm predicting it's headed for the bestseller list, not just because the first page grabbed me right away and the story kept me breathless all the way through to the amazing ending, and not just because I love every single character--even the antagonists--but because Melissa has been a tireless promoter before her book even hit the shelves, and everyone at HarperCollins, in large part due to her super editor Anne Hoppe, have been behind her full steam right from the start. It's been on sale for less than 48 hours and is already ranked at bn.com at 177 when I checked it just now: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780061214653&itm=1 It's one of those books that I hope everyone reads and loves as much as I do. I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is to find something this beautiful in a query letter with just a few sample pages and see it all the way through to publication. I still think being a literary agent has to be the most rewarding job on the planet. Of course, my authors may disagree and say that writing is more fun, but that's just a matter of opinion. : ) You can visit Melissa's blog at melissa-marr.com and I hope you'll take a moment to congratulate her on the successful launch of her very first (and very amazing) novel. Thanks for celebrating all my happy news with me! For those of you who sent me queries at Lowenstein-Yost, I'll be replying within the next few weeks. If you DON'T hear from me within 3 weeks, please re-query me at my new agency. I'll be back on the blog soon for regular programming... more writer advice and publishing insights to come soon. link 57 comments|post comment

If at first you don't succeed... [May. 23rd, 2007|12:30 am] Try. Try again. After that, join a critique group. If you still don't succeed, stop stressing and go read a book and remember why you love great storytelling. Then write a new book. Try some creative new opening pages for your book. Come up with 10 different possible starting points. Test 'em all. (Make your critique partners vote on it.) If you still don't succeed, start collecting characters and settings and newspaper clippings. If you love a line from a book, jot it down and save it. Earmark your books, notice which pages you keep coming back to and re-reading because you loved them so much and figure out why you love it. Then do something like that in your book. Collect moments. Feelings of triumph, hilarity, crushing disappointment, betrayal. Find a scene to evoke that empathy in readers for your characters. Raise your stakes. Could you make your main character need to reach her goals even more than she already does? Can you give her higher hurdles? Can you make him another enemy to fight? Can you build in more complexities? What if your character needs the goal... but there's a dire drawback if she succeeds? Play with dialog. Go over your scenes. Can you make it funnier/wittier? Can you add banter? Can you cut anything? (Sometimes less is more.) Are you over-using voice tags when body language would work more effectively? Examine ALL your characters (not just your protagonist) and ask yourself if the character is believable and honestly portrayed. If you don't identify with that character in some way, your reader won't either. And you want them to. Even your antagonist. If you still don't succeed... How about a writers conference? You can get one-on-one advice at those. Meet more writers who you can share reads with. Attend great workshops to jump start new ideas, renew your enthusiasm, and teach you some great new writing/publishing tips. If you still don't succeed... Think to yourself, Hmm. Nobody got my first one or my second one, but my third novel is going to knock their socks off! And then make a story that's so great in concept, so well written, so heartbreakingly awesome that no one can resist it. Tell yourself as you write it: This is the one. Make the hook so great an agent can't resist taking a look at it. When you query again, don't talk about the storylines of your first two, talk about this one, because it's the best thing you've ever written. Every time you get a rejection letter, think, "That poor agent must be swamped right now. She doesn't know what she's missing." And send out some more. Turn your rejection letters into a small pinata and then smash it. Re-read some older stuff you wrote and congratulate yourself on how much better you are at writing now. Finally, picture the day when an agent opens your query, reads your first five pages, and gets totally excited. Goosebumps. Adores it. Requests it all. Loves it. Offers representation, and you gracefully accept. She sells it, and you get edit notes, which you're happy to use. Then you see your cover proof. Then you get to hold your book in your hands and other people get to read it. Hold on to that image. It's not a far-fetched scenario, and it isn't random like winning the lottery. It happens for dedicated writers all the time. Be one of them. link 51 comments|post comment

Darling Miss Snark retires her blog [May. 21st, 2007|01:07 pm] I will be suffering withdrawal pangs this week (and long after) as one of my favorite blogs of all times gets retired: Miss Snark is hanging up her blogging hat. I adore the woman behind the blog, and she's a brilliant savvy agent who still has a long career ahead of her, but I can understand the time demands of a career in publishing as well as the next agent, so I have to say... I'm grateful for everything she posted but understand that sometimes it's time to bow out gracefully and leave on a high note. Graceful to the end, that's our dearest Miss Snark. Miss Snark, we'll miss your sage advice, the clue gun, Killer Yapp and the latest sighs over photos of George Clooney. Lots of gratitude and adoration to you from all of your faithful readers. There's still a wealth of information in the Snarkives, and I encourage every writer to read through them for smart advice given out in an entertaining format. http://misssnark.blogspot.com/ For those of you needing therapy, here are a couple other agent blogs to check out if you haven't already: Kristin Nelson (lit agent) http://pubrants.blogspot.com/ The Rejector (anonymous lit agent assistant) http://rejecter.blogspot.com/ link 17 comments|post comment

A first deal for an author... [May. 21st, 2007|10:51 am] There's a strange belief that an unpublished writer can't get an agent or sell a first book without having an editor, but you can't find an editor without first having an agent, and I'm happy once more to challenge that myth: I'm pleased to announce the sale of debut author Barrie Summy's I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES, a humorous middle grade novel about a girl named Sherry (short for Sherlock) whose mother's ghost recruits her to help solve a rhino heist at the zoo, and Barrie's next book in the series, in a pre-empt to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte Press in a very nice deal. Barrie's voice charmed me from the start--it's so funny and so very teen hip and witty, and what an original concept!--but this is another success story due to the author's dedication and hard work. She was flexible each time I gave her editorial notes, and her book went from very good to great. She not only agreed to add in suspects (and came up with a few new hysterically funny scenes herself) she agreed to lower the age of the protagonist and cut out a LOT of words to transform it from a YA novel to a MG. (Which also meant creative solutions for her characters to get from one place to the other once her protagonist wasn't old enough to drive!) Her smart plotting and witty voice hooked me from the start, but her dedication and hard work truly impressed me. She's always been polite, professional, patient and grateful throughout the process--which made her a DREAM to work with. I feel very lucky to be her agent. So please congratulate Barrie on her sale. This will be the first book in a planned series, so wish her a long and prosperous writing career! Here's her new blog: http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/ link 22 comments|post comment

Why does an agent pass? [May. 18th, 2007|04:31 pm] Every now and then I drop by writer message boards to see what's on writers' minds. A few seem very befuddled that they aren't getting any requests for their book and feel somehow... slighted... by agents. They feel frustrated and even a little indignant. Who are we to reject their masterpiece?? Well... who are we to request everything? Here's another way to look at it: You have one trip to make to the bookstore. You get to spend a whole day there reading. You can choose a few books to read. Go ahead, pick your very favorites. What?? You didn't pick a novel by Ann Patchett? Why not?? Hey! You dare to snub Don DeLillo? Why on earth? Don't you think he's a good writer? How could you turn down books by those writers?? The answer is--you had limited time and limited amounts of books you were able to select. You've got nothing against most of those other published authors who have books on the shelves, you just can't read them all. Not all at once. Maybe later a book by those authors will catch your eye, maybe not. I get hundreds of query letters a week. (Stop here and picture hundreds of books sitting in front of you and you are allowed to pick just a few.) So I read through the queries to see which ones sound like my favorites out of all the rest. No, it's not a contest. I'm not saying those that I choose are definitively better than the others, they're just subject matter that most appeals to me right then that week. Maybe I'm looking for something really funny, maybe I'm looking for something dark and moody. Maybe I'm looking to build my YA list right then or maybe I want more urban fantasy. Sometimes it depends on which editors tell me what they're especially looking for right now. So is it all just a crap shoot? one writer asked. No, because I still sort my queries down to a very small pile to choose from. That means I turn down a lot simply because they're not ready for representation even if I like the idea, or even if I think the writing is pretty good but the idea's weak. Then I weed out those that just aren't my thing. Out of that much smaller pile I have to select just a handful. And let me tell you, sometimes it's HARD. But if you are sending out multiple queries and your writing IS ready... you're going to make the short list for a lot of different agents. You might get form rejections from a few. (Don't try to ponder why, just cross their names off the list.) You might get a few little personal notes, but rejections all the same. But you just might get a few requests too. Don't spend too much time pondering why some agents passed. Imagine your query letter in a stack of many others and someone browsing through them the same way you browse through a bookstore. Realize for every rejection you receive it just wasn't a click that day for that agent. But as you send out your queries, imagine if even just one of them really connects and an agent suddenly sits up straighter and thinks, "Oh! I've GOTTA request this one!" Some readers will never read your favorite author either. But many will. It's the same for an agent as we submit to editors. How do I deal with rejection? Well, I can guarantee that if I send a book out widely, not every single one of the editors is going to fall in love with it. But I can increase my chances by only representing great books and by spending extra time with the author to polish it. Then I can narrow the submission list down to the most likely editors. After that... well, here's a likely scenario: Some editors will be so busy they won't read it right away--for some reason they're swamped with edits or other work and just can't get to it as fast as they/I'd like. A few will read it right away, and a couple of them will love it. One or two might reject it after reading one chapter. Another might reject it after reading the whole thing and just not falling in love. And that's okay. I don't need all of them to love it -- at the end of the day, only one editor's offer can be accepted anyway. Same with you as you search for an agent. You only need one yes. So don't let any rejection daunt you. Query widely and keep writing and polishing. link 26 comments|post comment

Self published books..... [May. 4th, 2007|11:14 pm] Q: Self-published books. More specifically, let's say you had a book that you self-published at one stage, or self-published via a pod publisher. Some years down the track you take this manuscript and give it a thorough work over and slight rehash, fluff it up a bit like an old pillow that got a touch flat, and decide that you really want to find representation for it. What and when do you tell a potential agent about its prior forays into the realm of the book? If and agent is interested in your pitch, will they google your name/manuscript title themselves and find out on their own? Will the fact that you at one stage self-published hurt your chances, or is it possible that any positive reader response you got at the time could actually help you? Just something I've been curious about - thanks!  A: In this specific scenario, I'm less concerned that it's been self-published than I am you've lingered so long over one manuscript instead of writing something new. You can edit and polish but you aren't creating new work, and that means you aren't constantly sharpening your writing and storytelling skills. If you're taking a potential writing career seriously, I want to see that you're not putting all your eggs into one (well worn) basket. I want to see a few baskets, and each one a little better than the one before. I want you to say your first basket was practise, a little embarrassed about places that are sticking out funny or rough edges you didn't know how to properly tie in. Your second I want to see looking really good, perfectly functional and pleasing to look at. Your third should be a beautiful work of art where you've mastered the basics and now have something truly truly special.  A lot of writers don't get over their first basket. They keep tying new bows on it or painting it a new color and sending it out again (hoping maybe the agent will like it better now that it's pink instead of blue?), but it's still just a first effort... and it's VERY rare for a first manuscript to sell. I would say... of all the clients who I've sold debut novels for... only a couple of those maybe were first manuscripts... and those were the ones I worked with intensively through the editing stage. Their next books were definitely stronger from the start than their first books I sold. The other clients had written at least one prior novel and learned a lot by writing it... but it wasn't their first finished manuscript that landed an agent and sold.   But I haven't answered your question. I'm not crazy about previously self-published work. That's because it's rarely good. I'm also not crazy working with a writer who jumped the gun by self-publishing. It requires a huge amount of patience to be a professional author. If you land an agent, there's likely to be a round or more of revisions. Then waiting while the agent submits, then once an editor makes an offer, waiting on their revision notes. Then making those notes. I feel that writers who are in such a hurry to get their work out there that they've skipped crucial steps along the way by self-publishing may not have the patience and confidence in their work to publish the traditional way. (I've still requested books from writers who originally self-published. I've still requested later manuscripts from writers who self-published an earlier work. Nothing so far has been strong enough to represent.) A couple more potential snags because someone was chomping a little too hard at the bit and self-published:  1. Do you still have all your rights for the book? Some "self-publishers" have contracts that take them away from you.  2. Did you already sell or give that book away already to everyone you know? (Because after you publish it for real, a lot of them will be like, "Congrats! I'll buy a copy!" but they've already read it so they secretly won't... so that means you've diminished your audience from the start for your book when it's hot off the presses... because friends & family and friends of friends & family do make up a decent portion of how a book sells coming out of the gate.)  But my advice? Don't mention it at the query stage. If you're lucky enough to get an agent interested enough in your revamped book to talk to you on the phone, that's when to say... "Let me tell you about this book's history...." But you'd better have some future book ideas in mind, and you'd better have started a new project meanwhile, because if you get a publishing contract, they're going to expect you to write another book without pulling another off the shelf, dusting it off, and... fluffing it up. And they aren't going to want to hear excuses about why you've let your storytelling and writing skills grow so cold meanwhile.  Now go write an outline for a new book and get to work on the first chapter. (And no excuses for why you let your writing skills get rusty. If you were an ice skater who admitted you hadn't set blade to ice for 3 years but still wanted to try out  your last 3-year-old routine with the other Olympic hopefuls, you'd be laughed out of the rink. Same with a pianist. Same with an artist. Same with an actor. Same with writing.) Take your writing career seriously as the art that it is.  I'm not saying this to diminish what you've accomplished already... just want to challenge you to continue working on your skills, moving forward instead of looking back. link 25 comments|post comment

Your Query section that's NOT the Pitch.... [May. 2nd, 2007|10:50 am] Well, we've discussed pitches and what makes a strong hook to catch an agent's / editor's eye. But what about that final paragraph? To answer some questions about comparing your work to other writers: You should know where your book fits into the marketplace. I'll believe you if you name two or three books that truly would be on the same shelf as yours. I won't believe you if you compare your book to CATCHER IN THE RYE, 1984, and HARRY POTTER. Comparing your work to bestsellers or classics that don't have much in common with yours won't serve you. But if you list three recently published authors/books and I know them all or I can quickly look them up, then I get a better sense of where your book fits and I know you're savvy enough to see your book as a product on a shelf sitting next to similar products. Imagine you're selling an invention, and you say it's the best thing since sliced bread, and anyone who has an air conditioner and a tooth brush will like it. This gives me no sense of who the buyer really will be or even what your product is. But if you're selling an invention and say it's a special revolutionary battery operated toothbrush that's portable, durable, and has a dental floss attachment and stores toothpaste inside, so it will appeal to travelers who buy small grooming gadgets like portable electric razors or travel curling irons, then I get it. You know the drill on the rest, right? If you have writing credentials, list them. If you don't, leave them off. (A good number of my clients did not have previous writing credits, so don't sweat this terribly, especially if you're writing fiction.) Don't apologize for not having any. If your writing is great, it's not important. If you have special knowledge or expertise for writing this book, mention it. For instance, if you're writing a medical suspense/thriller, and you're a doctor. Or if it involves a safari and you've been on one, mention that. If you have a special reason for querying that particular agent, let the agent know: "I read one of your client's books and loved it [include name of book and client], and since I write in a similar genre..." Or: "I notice you handle a lot of urban fantasy" Or: "I read your blog and like what you have to say" Or: "My friend ___, who knows you because ___, recommended I query you about my book." This isn't mandatory, it just personalizes it a little more. If you have an e-mail, put it on your letterhead (which can of course be homemade) or under your signature. If you have a website, list that too. (But please don't make me go to your website to read about your book and see a writing sample. I'm only checking out your website if I'm already interested in the query/writing sample you sent me.) Also include your phone numbers and address. Make yourself easy to contact, easy to find. link 20 comments|post comment

On Being a Dedicated Writer.... [May. 1st, 2007|12:42 pm] As soon as you start submitting your manuscript, the book is no longer just writing--you're marketing it as a product. To that end, you have to present yourself as a professional business person and your work as an attractive project. Ways you can do that, pre-publication: 1. An attractive website with your information is now becoming more and more important. They don't have to be expensive anymore, and they show you're already marketing yourself. If you have a blog, you have it anonymously or you make sure there's nothing on there you don't want an agent/editors/readers/perfect strangers/your grandmother to see. 2. Of course you want your presentation of your product itself--your manuscript--to look its best. A professional query letter, correct formatting, and ability to e-mail your work electronically has become crucial. 3. Knowing where your book fits into the marketplace is very important. Good writers are readers. For fiction, you should read as much as you can in your own genre. Melissa Marr compared her work in her query letter to Charles De Lint and two other authors who write dark/urban fantasy that strongly appeals to an older YA readership. She was right on about that--De Lint just wrote her book a favorable review for the July 2007 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. For nonfiction, you need to know your competition and the other books out there with similar subject matter to yours and how yours is better/different. 4. For nonfiction, you need to already have a platform in place--this means you've got the credentials to write this book, the audience already built or building (because you're on the speaking circuit/writing a regular column for a major newspaper or magazine/doing a TV show/famous already.) 5. Your writing skills are strong because you got an MFA in writing/have participated in workshops or critique group/have studied how the best writers created their masterpieces by analyzing your favorite books/practice writing constantly/have edited, polished, and edited your work again to catch all spelling mistakes, make sure your writing flows smoothly, dialogue sounds natural... and then you had two friends read it to make sure you still didn't miss anything. While you're represented, pre-publication: 1. You listen to everything the agent has to say and you discuss the edits he/she has in mind. You work quickly and efficiently on revisions. You don't get defensive or angry, even though sometimes you might be tempted to, because you know the agent wants the best for your book too and wants to find solutions to plot difficulties or add clarifications in places he/she got confused and to make your book the best it can be. 2. Are always honest, professional, respectful and pleasant in all correspondence and phone calls with your agent. 3. Ask questions when you need answers and don't feel so intimidated by your agent you don't get what you need from the relationship. This is your representation. An agent can't always read your mind, so if you have specific questions about the agency / how the agent works / how the publishing or submission process works, ask. After your book is sold: 1. Get your contract, look it over and ask any questions, sign it and get it back quickly. The faster it's back, the quicker you (and your agent) get paid. 2. Stay on top of taxes--freelancers may have to pay quarterly, depending on when they receive money. If you need an accountant, get one. If you need a lawyer to help you start your own freelance business, hire one. (Ask your agent about this, particularly if your book sells for a lot of money and you're thinking of quitting your day job. Discuss this with your agent.) 3. Don't quit your day job until you talk to your agent. Seriously. This is so important that it gets its own point. Going into a panic about money will only cause writer's block and stress you out about your finances. You need to remember to calculate your agent's commission and your taxes, plus consider health insurance, etc. to see if you can live within your means at the lifestyle you're accustomed to. There are other considerations as well, and this is why it's crucial to discuss this with your agent. 4. Be just as pleasant with your editor on revisions as you were with your agent. Turn your next book in on time. Same goes for revisions on that book. 5. Work the publicity. A publisher can help you with publicity, and you should always find out who your publicity contact at the publisher is and tell them whenever you arrange a book signing or attend a conference. If your publisher arranges a promotional event or book signing for you, do everything you can to fit it into your schedule and attend that event. Dress professionally. You're going to meet important people--book sellers and book buyers. 6. Take advantage of cross promoting. If you get a chance to blurb a fellow writer, do it. If you get a short story opportunity for an anthology with other authors in your genre, take it. 7. Promote yourself. Go to all your local bookstores and ask if you can sign. Talk to a manager, bring a copy of your book (or ARC) and tell them you're a local author and you'd love to do a reading and signing if they'd host you. You can even do this if you're planning a trip in another state. Call ahead of time to see if you can arrange a signing with the bookstore. Independent booksellers will love you for this. The larger bookstores might be tougher, but it doesn't hurt to try. 8. Look into speaking at conferences. Prepare a workshop you can present to writers to help them improve their own writing, then pitch the workshop coordinator. Arrange to have copies of your books available there. (Remember that workshops start preparing almost a year in advance, so contact early.) 9. Keep your eyes on long-term success. Keep producing a top-quality product. Keep looking for new opportunities. Keep reading and keep improving your writing. Don't turn in sloppy work. 10. If you run into any snags, take care of them right away and keep your agent / editor apprised. Above all though, never give up. Keep writing, keep working on improving your writing. Sometimes that means getting your family to respect your work time / space. Treat it seriously, like a career. Because it is. link 16 comments|post comment

Starred Review in PW [Apr. 30th, 2007|04:41 pm] Can I tell you how pleasing it is for an agent when one of her clients (whose book she loves dearly!) gets a starred review in Publishers Weekly? It is one of the most gratifying, satisfying, thrilling moments in the world, and I'm delighted to share it with you: *Wicked Lovely written by Melissa Marr editor: Anne Hoppe Wicked Lovely Melissa Marr. HarperCollins, $16.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-121465-3 First-time novelist Marr gives the oft-tried modern faerie story a fresh infusion of glamour, thanks to a likable pair of protagonists, a page-turning plot and an ample dose of sexual tension. Seventeen-year-old Aislinn has a secret; she sees fairies everywhere-working their mischief and doggedly following her for reasons she does not understand. "Even when she looked away, she heard them: laughing and squealing, gnashing teeth and beating wings.... They were out in droves now, freer somehow as evening fell, invading her space, ending any chance of the peace she'd sought." One of them, the handsome Keenan, takes a particular interest in her. He is the Summer King, on a centuries-long quest for his queen, the one person who will be able to help him unseat his vicious mother, Beira, the Winter Queen. Keenan has chosen incorrectly over the years; the latest to accept his offer is Donia, who now lives in Beira's icy thrall. Beira offers Donia a deal: prevent Keenan from finding his proper queen, and Beira will release her spell over her soul. Aislinn confides her secret to her friend Seth, whose steel-walled home (an abandoned train) protects her from the fey. As Keenan pursues Aislinn, convinced she is his true mate, secrets emerge about Aislinn's family history and she wrestles with the decision to become the Summer Queen. Aislinn and Seth are a smart and compelling couple who must make tough choices throughout. Marr offers readers a fully imagined faery world that runs alongside an everyday world, which even non-fantasy (or faerie) lovers will want to delve into. Ages 12-up. (June) I love this book so much I got chills from the first page. I needed to represent this book. Needed to. Passionately. Her editor at HarperCollins felt the same way. It's a gorgeous debut novel that we feel is destined for the bestseller list. Marr's publisher has been amazing at giving this book a gorgeous cover, setting up publicity events and touring Melissa and bringing her up to NYC for BEA in June to sign her book. Melissa's worked hard too -- she got herself a beautiful author website, has been enthusiastic about taking the meetings HC set up for her, and she's tirelessly worked on her second book. Meanwhile, she's agreed to do a short story for an anthology and write 3 manga outlines for TokyoPop's graphic novels. A good agent works hard, but a great editor and publisher are priceless. A dedicated author is a rare and wonderful find indeed. link 18 comments|post comment

Admitting Rejection [Apr. 27th, 2007|08:33 pm] Q: Thank you so much for making the time and taking the effort to educate! A well-educated clientele has got to be good for the industry as a whole. To point 3, my questions are about whether you need to disclose unagented submissions to publishing houses in a query. If the submissions were to only a couple (but large houses), should rejections be noted? How about if an editor at a large house has a requested full somewhere on their desk? Should that be disclosed and, if so, does that advance you to the top of the agent slush pile? How about if that editor seems to request fulls from an inordinately large number of people? Does your answer change? I certainly understand full disclosure during the initial agent phone call, but what's appropriate for the query? A: The more information I have, the better. But at the query stage, you want to put your best foot forward. If it's under editorial consideration somewhere, say so. Unagented work rarely gets picked up, but it's something. It doesn't go to the top of my stack, because any editor who does conferences is probably going to say okay I'll look to a lot of stuff, and she's only got about 10 minutes w/ that writer one-on-one to even know if she's interested... and for most of the time she'll be chatting with the writer... or the writer will be pitching and chatting to her. But if I like the project, I like it. If I don't like it, even if an editor has it sitting on her shelf, that's not going to change my mind. If you've been rejected a couple places, you'll have to tell the agent that before she signs you and starts planning a submission list. But if she edits you a lot, she may be able to re-submit your work if she checks with the editor and explains it's been totally revised. I've done that before. At the query stage? Don't mention it. (There may be agents grumbling when they read this, but I'm giving advice as if I were a writer, not an agent... because once an agent likes your work, she's more inclined not to care if you've been rejected a couple of places.) I should say that some markets are smaller than others. Adult romance and SF and fantasy have smaller markets. I've taken on a writer who was rejected by two fantasy editors, and that narrowed the submission list a lot, but I liked it well enough not to let that daunt me. link 8 comments|post comment

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