Category Archives: advice

June 07, 2011   Stephanie   advice, authors, characters, editing, Stephanie, writing  
2

Diving right in

In this age of the Internet, social networking, BBM, Twitter pictures (ahem), and ever-shortening attention spans in general, it isn’t surprising—unfortunate, but not surprising—that the same effect has somewhat permeated the book realm.  It was only yesterday, as we met with film agents, that an admission was made that film rights to a book had been purchased by a production company based only on the title. How is that even possible? The title, and nothing else?

Anyway, this means that aside from giving books heart-stopping titles, writers need to grab the interest of readers, agents, and publishers from the very first page—even the first sentence—of their story.

So how can a writer achieve this? I’ve said before how much I love lists. Some thoughts on making your novel compelling right from the start:

  1. In the simplest sense, get right to it. Introduce your protagonist in the first paragraph and start right away with dialogue and action as opposed to long descriptions or background information.
  2. Develop the main character quickly by putting him or her in the center of conflict as soon as possible.
  3. When developing the main character, do so through interaction and dialogue with other characters rather than through inner reflection.
  4. But don’t introduce too many characters in the very beginning.
  5. Lastly, don’t forget that when drafting, you can always start the story where you feel most comfortable. Revisions will then bring the opening action to the forefront, drawing the reader in from the very beginning.

Yes, the query letter may be everything when pitching a book. But it is just as important to make sure the story itself will draw the reader in right from the start.

May 26, 2011   Jessica   advice, BEA, Jessica, writing  
2

Staying in the Race

Heading home from BEA with an armload of catalogs representing an embarrassment of riches–each page bristling with promise and laudatory prose–I spotted this article in Publishing Perspectives from novelist Lisa Tucker on the arc of a novelist’s career.

While it’s true that many of the readers of this blog are looking to break into publishing, veteran authors like Tucker know that getting even a long sought-after deal is not, in most cases, the happily-ever-after ending that it can appear when trying to place a book or find an agent. BEA is a particularly poignant time to reflect on this, because it is a show built around great expectations, only some of which can be realized. In the author signing center, vast bullpens full of writers autograph galleys, making way every half an hour or so for or a new group of aspiring future bestsellers to come in. Articles and blog posts speculate on the fair’s “big books,” amplifying and in some cases creating the buzz on which they report. BEA exists, in part, to write a self-fulfilling prophecy. Namely: these books are exciting and worthy, these books will sell. (BEA may also exist as an experiment in seeing how much people will pay for a mediocre sandwich, but that’s fodder for another post.) But we all know that even those books with great expectations, those selected by their publishers to receive what Tucker calls “the Big Love” don’t always succeed, and if an author plans to have a second and third and fourth act—as most of you probably do—it’s worthwhile to think of publishing as an endurance run, and gird yourselves accordingly.

Tucker writes:

I’ve learned that keeping a career going as a writer requires flexibility and a willingness to keep trying whatever I can to get my book in the hands of readers. And so my advice to any new writer is simply this: get in the game. Make friends with your coworkers at the publishers’ office and out in the field. Go to your local bookstores and offer to come for a reading, or even offer to run a writing group. Buy a book or two from the stores you want to sell your books. Read as much as you write, if not more…

For those of you out there with one or more books to your credit, what are your strategies for staying in the race?

May 11, 2011   Stacey   advice, blog-to-book, contest, cookbooks and food writing, marketing/publicity, Stacey  
1

Blogging advice continued (and a prize!)

Last week I wrote about food blogs. I’m following it up this week with a fun timeline of food blogs published by Saveur. If you are interested in this category, this piece offers a great sort of who’s who, and a bit of information about the blogs and bloggers, along with some of their first posts. It’s amazing to see how fast this world has grown, and how some of the bigger names got their start. And I’m happy to see we have a couple of authors on this list.

For those of you looking for specific advice in the area of blogging, whatever your topic of choice, I found this blog post, shared with me by an editor friend, incredibly helpful. It’s really detailed, and my favorite part is that it offers the approximate time it will take you to successfully complete each of the suggested tasks. The advice is broken down in such a way that it avoids feeling overwhelming or too nebulous, and I think if you read it carefully and implement some or all of the suggestions (if you are already blogging, there will be things you can pass over, but I think there are good reminders here too), you will see results. Who’s ready to give it a try? If any of our readers take the time to follow the 21 steps listed here, let us know one month after completion if there is a noticeable increase in your blog traffic. When you send me the stats, I will send you a copy of one of my books. It’s a win-win — increased blog traffic and productivity for you, and a shiny new book to go with it!

May 10, 2011   Stephanie   advice, authors, optimism, Stephanie, suggestions, writing  
3

Try, try again

There’s a reason for the saying “practice makes perfect.” Nobody ever said “just try it once, it’ll probably work out.” So it’s no surprise that the same goes for publishing. Because for the most part, almost no writer gets their first book published. In fact, with very few exceptions, first-time authors have quite a few books written, sitting on a shelf or hard drive perhaps, by the time they sign that contract.

There are several reasons why this is a good thing. And today I wanted to link to this blog post by Rachelle Gardner from one of my favorite agent blogs, Rants & Ramblings, to help explain why. I think what Rachelle says makes perfect sense—the writing process undoubtedly teaches a considerable amount about what works and what doesn’t. And beyond the business aspect of her argument, up-and-coming writers can only benefit from spending as much time as possible exposing themselves to the craft.  One of the best things for aspiring authors to remember is to not only write every day, but also read every book they can get their hands on. Improved skills can only improve those chances.

How about you? Do you fall into this category of having multiple manuscripts floating around, whether in your head or on paper?

May 09, 2011   Jane   advice, editing, Jane, opinion, optimism  
5

About that edit memo

The other day, one of my clients said he thought the process of editing was negative.  That comment really surprised me as I have always felt that an editor’s intention is to make the material he or she is editing better.

Indeed, I have many clients who are really troubled when their editors don’t touch their manuscripts (and frankly, I think they should be).  These authors welcome their editors’ comments and work with them to improve their material.

In the end though, I advise writers to remember that their work is their work and that if they feel strongly about the edits they are receiving, they can always respectfully disagree. The process of getting a manuscript into publishable shape, however, should be collaborative and thinking that editing is negative is not the right attitude, in my opinion.

Check out these humorous and fun thoughts about editing.

I would love to hear how you feel about the editorial process, whether you think it is positive or negative and why.

May 05, 2011   Jessica   advice, Jessica, lists, queries  
6

An old familiar theme

Whenever I meet with writers, I inevitably field a few questions about query letter missteps—a subject that this blog has covered before. But inspired by a letter from a writer who requested my help to introduce her book to “the masses,” I thought I’d offer up a fresh crop of ten faux pas that are easy enough to avoid.

1)      Beware grandiosity. Calling your novel a “surefire hit” or a “modern classic” is probably better left to your eventual reviewers (or exuberant jacket copywriters). Also probably a good idea not to identify your readership as “the masses.”

2)      Conversely, avoid sounding overly humble, untalented, or self-abnegating.  Too much modesty can be convincing. This from a recent query: “I have no real background or training in writing. I have never taken a writing class, and I’m not even sure that I’m any good.” Here discretion would have been the better part of valor.

3)      If the book you are pitching is nonfiction, avoid discussing how publication of the proposed project will help build your platform as tinker, tailor, soldier, spy. The platform and the book is not a chicken-and-egg argument. As far as houses are concerned, platform comes first, book second.

4)      Avoid making the book seem like a little something you sat down to do one afternoon because you figured you could write something at least as good as “what’s out there.” This may be the gospel truth, but it’s just not polite to say so.

5)      Don’t insult an agent’s taste, impugn her professional ethics, imply she is a “tool,” or otherwise dare her to read your mind-blowing novel/memoir/political expose.

6)      Do point out if English is not your first language. Fair enough.

7)      Don’t use fancy “stationery” backgrounds for your query letter. They usually muddle formatting.

8)      Don’t ask for advice on how to get published.  The expectation is that you have done your due diligence.

9)      Don’t send an attachment without a query in the body of an e-mail; most agents won’t open it for fear of picking up something nasty.

10)   And of course, all the familiar old saws. Be cordial, professional, show a sense of humor and avoid calling your book a “fiction novel,” (this last is a nitpicky, small-minded pet peeve of mine; novels are, by definition, works of fiction.) It might, however, be worth noting if your memoir is nonfiction. Once this too would have been considered redundant, but in the post James Frey, Greg Mortenson world, perhaps it’s a handy distinction.

May 02, 2011   Jane   advice, inspiration, Jane, opinion, writing  
4

Writing for love

I have always felt that if you love what you do, no matter what your profession, the money will follow.  Perhaps this is idealistic, but I have seen it happen numerous times.  I truly love helping writers develop their work and their careers and think this has resulted in some exciting business successes.  I have also seen this phenomenon time and again with my own clients in their writing.

When she began as a novelist, Mary Doria Russell took ten years to create her now-classic work The Sparrow with little expectation that she would become a bestselling author. I know the same is true of Jacqueline Carey who has produced an amazing nine-book fantasy series. David Morrell, a former college professor wrote out of pure love for his craft, and has developed incredibly memorable stories and characters, most notably Rambo.  Indeed, David told me recently that when he speaks to groups of writers, he is always talking about writing for love as opposed to money. He agrees with me that this very often results in real successes.

Then there is one of our newest clients, John Locke who self-publishes electronically.  John does not consider that he is a professional writer and yet he truly loves creating the tales he does.  And his is an incredible success story with close to 800,000 copies of his books sold just this year.

Indeed, as I was thinking about all of this and looking for other examples, I found this one which says it all.  Bloggers begin by writing because they love writing and not to sell books necessarily, but look what happened here.

What are your writing for love stories?

April 29, 2011   Jessica   advice, editing, Jessica  
5

Good advice

Laura Miller at Salon always has something interesting brewing, and this week it’s an interview with legendary editor, publisher and author Robert Gottlieb. Illustrious as his career has been (he has edited a who’s who of literary luminaries, including Toni Morrison, John Cheever, Salman Rushdie, Doris Lessing, Margaret Drabble, Joseph Heller, etc. etc.) his perspective on his role is refreshingly down to earth: “I love what I do, which is a service job.” It’s true that Gottlieb can afford to be modest, given the hyperarticulate bunch of important cultural figures who comprise his fanclub, but it’s hard to find fault with an editor who believes his job “is to be in sympathy with what the writer is doing and to try to help her or him make it better of what it is, not to make it into something else. Because that way there will be tears.” Or, with respect to the editorial process, “You can take it out, but you can’t put it in.”

I might just embroider that on a throw pillow. Or have it tattooed to my forearm.

Gottlieb was (and still is) a veritable font of solid advice. He told Toni Morrison to quit her day job. He’s advised “generations of writers who have writer’s block, ‘Don’t think about writing. Think about typing.’” Assuming that Gottlieb has not cornered the market on good counsel, and taking a page from Katie Couric (who has cleverly put together a book based not on her own thoughts or experiences but things other people have told her called The Best Advice I Ever Got) what is the best writing related advice you’ve received?

April 26, 2011   Stephanie   advice, agents, authors, fiction, Stephanie, writing  
2

I really love lists

Evaluating a manuscript is always an interesting thing.  The fact is, when an agent or an editor considers a novel, every detail really does matter. This is an important thing for any hopeful writer to consider, because in the end it could affect that final answer: yes or no. Some thoughts:

  1. In keeping with what John spoke about earlier today, make the premise of the story clear from the beginning, and throw conflict in early on. If it takes too long for the reader to become invested in what’s happening, or even know what the story is about, they likely won’t continue reading.
  2. Give your characters desire and agency. Understandably, characters that are not driven—either positively or negatively—become boring fairly quickly.
  3. On the topic of characters, avoid introducing everyone all at once.
  4. Be mindful of your point of view. Often, a story is stronger when the action is experienced through the perspective of the main character. This is certainly not imperative, but something to consider.
  5. Most importantly, try to avoid over-writing.  Making your writing stand out is important, but can also be tricky. Don’t let your writing get in its own way.

Can you think of any other important tips to keep in mind?

April 26, 2011   John   advice, editor/agent lunches, John, opinion, suggestions, thrillers, writing, YA  
4

Background Fails

Today I want to talk about my current editorial fixation: Background. I had lunch yesterday with one of the top thriller/mystery editors in the biz, and at one point we compared notes on what works in his market and what I found worked in YA. In both genres, the answer was pretty simple: Plot rules, background fails.

Over dessert (I know, we were naughty), we both lamented the submission we see and reject over and over: the one that opens with a big, slam-bang action scene followed by about 50 pages of background before anything equally exciting happens again. Generally, that background takes three overlapping forms: backstory about the characters, description of the setting, and sharing of research. And usually, you can tell from the tone that the writer feels this background is very, very important to your understanding of the opening scene.

But really, 50 pages? There’s a reason why it’s called a thriller—it’s supposed to thrill you with an exciting plot. Why do we need to know a character’s personal history if that character isn’t really doing anything? Why paint a beautiful atmospheric picture of the Florida everglades if nothing actually happens there? Why describe in detail how a jet fighter works if it doesn’t get off the ground? Where’s the thrill in that?

Some say you start with a bang then slow the tempo so you have room to build—I say, why not keep up the tempo and build higher? After that big opening murder, I’d much rather watch the killer run and the detective chase than learn about the killer’s sad childhood and how the detective’s wife left him. In other words, let me know the characters by being shown (hint, hint) what they do than being told (get it yet?) who they are.

Here’s a little exercise I learned at a writer’s conference: take a look at your first 50 pages and cut any and all background material you find there. Then, either connect what’s left to the rest of the plot, or fill out the story with action scenes. I have a sneaking suspicion that not only will your manuscript be more gripping and fast-paced—thrilling, even—but that when you go back to fill in the background, you’ll find you it barely even miss it.

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