Cyberstalking 101. (Advice for aspiring writers: Part 4)

Today, we wrap up my series on advice for writers by talking about stalking agents and the querying process. But before I get to that, I promised you I’d give away one first chapter and query critique a week from now until my two year agent signing anniversary on September 23^rd. This prize is fully transferable and never expires, so even if you’re not quite ready for a critique, go ahead and enter. I give good critique. Just ask my crit partner, Andrea Cremer :p To enter, fill out the form at the end of this post by noon (PST) on Friday, September 2nd. You can earn one extra entry for Facebooking or Tweeting a link to this contest and more extra entries for following this blog and following me on Twitter (@LisaDez). One winner will be chosen and posted here after noon on September 2nd. And remember, if you don't win there will be more chances to enter in the coming weeks! =)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast...

This is the end of my four-part series on writing and querying for aspiring writers. If you missed any of the previous posts, just click on the link or the blog header above and scroll down to Thursday's post on how to know if you should even be writing.

So, you've written a kickass novel that's polished to a high shine (see Monday's post) and a killer query letter (see yesterday's post). Now you're ready to query. It’s not as easy as downloading a list of agents and sending a bulk email. There’s a lot more to the process. I had a fairly high request rate (12 manuscript requests of 21 queries sent) because I was very careful who I sent my query to. Here’s how to optimize your chances of getting read:

Do your research.

1)      This is one time in your life where internet stalking (to a point) is acceptable. You want to find out everything you can about an agent. (Well…almost everything.) You want to be SURE that they are interesting in representing the genre you’ve written in. DO NOT query an agent with your middle grade project who only reps women’s romance. You are wasting everyone’s time and effort and it demonstrates a basic lack of motivation and professionalism on your part. After all, if you can’t be bothered to spend a reasonable amount of time searching out the right agent for your novel, how much effort did you really put into the novel to start with.

2)      There are several places to find information on agents.

a.      Agency websites will usually have basic information on all their agents, including what genres they rep and what they’ve sold. Also, there are often pictures of the agents, which is helpful if they have a gender neutral first name, such as Pat. You want to make sure your salutation is correct. Ms. for women is always safe. NEVER send a query to "Dear Agent," or "To Whom it May Concern." Ever. You’re totally getting off on the wrong foot.

b.      Sites like querytracker.net, agentquery.com, writersdigest.com, and publishersmarketplace.com can be helpful in compiling a list of agents, but remember that these sites are not updated frequently and can sometimes contain erroneous information, so don’t rely on them exclusively.

c.      Once you have your list (at least 20), stalk each agent. A google search is always a good place to start. Things you might not find on the agency website sometimes come up, such as blog interviews they’ve done describing what they’re looking for.

d.      Some agents have blogs. Read them if you’re thinking of querying. This is where you’ll find the most updated submission guidelines, as well as get hints at what they're currently looking for.

e.      Many agents also Twitter or Facebook.

3)      Generally, agents don’t want to take on a project too close to something they already rep, so if you’ve written a YA novel about a girl named Stella, who moves to a remote town in, say, the Pacific northwest, and meets a sparkly vampire named Edmund, then maybe you shouldn’t query Jodi Reamer. #justsayin’.

4)      Once you have your list of 20 or so agents, and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt they're looking for exactly what you wrote, you’re ready to query.

Do NOT sent out your queries in one big mass emailing.

1)      You’ve done your due diligence and stalked these agents. Now show them you’re a Class A stalker by personalizing your query. A few cautions here:

a.      If you found out on your stalkerish quest that they love chocolate covered espresso beans, restrain yourself. DO NOT sent ANYTHING with your query. That crosses the line from stalker to sociopath.

b.      Do not mention that you think your book is similar to something they sold and gush all over the book unless you actually READ IT. This WILL come back to bite you on the butt. Start off your potential agent/client relationship with honesty and integrity, not just trying to get into their pants…I mean inbox. If you don't have anything meaningful to say on a personal level, just keep it basic. The query I posted yesterday was my standard query. It went out this way to all but three agents, who I'd either met in person, or had spent extensive time on their blogs, which I mentioned.

2)      So, you have this killer manuscript and an awesome list of agents and a totally kickass query letter. It’s soooo tempting to just click that send button over and over and over. Because, lets face it, they’re all going to want to represent you. You ROCK! But the thing is, so do a lot of other people, and these agents get more than 200 queries a week. That’s a lot of queries. So, here’s what I suggest. Pick five. And, honestly, you may not want it to be your top five. Send the query off to them and see what sort of response you get. If you get five manuscript requests, HAZZAH! You truly do have a kickass query. But if you don’t, you may want to consider revising your query (and your first however many pages you sent) before sending it to five more. In other words, if you shoot your wad all at once, you have nowhere to send your new kickasser query when you realize it’s not as kickass as it could have been.

3)      Only send the number of manuscript pages they specify. NEVER send unsolicited manuscripts. Most agents ask for either five or ten manuscript pages to be pasted into your query. They will not open emails with attachments, so don’t attach ANYTHING. And, if they ask for five pages, it’s because that’s how long you have to hook a reader. If you don’t think your first five pages are strong enough to make them HAVE TO OR OH MY GOD I’LL DIE read the rest of your manuscript, you may need to rewrite those first five. (See Monday’s post for my writing advice.) If they don't ask for any pages in their guidelines, I doubt you'll make any enemies by pasting in the first two or so, which is what I did. More than two felt pushy, and honestly, you should really hook your reader in the first page of your mss, so two pages should be plenty.

Wait.

This is the hardest part. It’s also when you need to STOP stalking. Once you hit the send button on your first batch of queries, it’s out of your hands. But I can tell you a surefire way to get your query deleted, unread: Pester the agent. Please for the love of God, resist the urge to follow up your query with a query as to whether they received it. Some agents/agencies have the “no response is a no” policy, which truly sucks for the aspiring writer, but they’re super busy with their existing clients and they just don’t have time to respond to each of those 200+ queries they get every week. I haven’t queried in a few years, but I found at that time, most agents were still responding. When I sent my first bundle of five queries, I heard back from every one of them (four requests and a rejection—but I love you anyway, Nathan ;p) within four days. If after six weeks, you haven’t heard anything, revise your query letter and move on to the next group on your agent list. While you’re waiting, write something else, revise more tension into your first five pages, or research more agents. Stay busy.

And that’s it. Obviously, there are no guarantees. But, if you’ve written the best novel and query letter you can, and you query responsibly, you’ll know you’ve done everything in your power to make it happen.

So…who wants a first chapter (up to 20 double-spaced pages) and query critique from yours truly? If you or someone you know would like to have your work critiqued, fill out the form below. One winner will be drawn by randomizer.org at noon on Friday and posted here. Good luck!!! And, next week there will be another contest! To celebrate my two year signing anniversary I'm giving one critique away each week between now and September 23rd! :p

Don't forget to spread the word for bonus entries!

How to hook an agent. (Advice for aspiring writers: Part 3)

So, after yesterday's post, you know what it takes to make your novel totally kickass. Today, I'll give you my tips on the dreaded query letter. And, don't forget! Tomorrow, a query and first chapter critique will go up for grabs here on the blog. So, to get you ready, here are my pearls of wisdom.

There’s all the stuff on query letters you can find on awesome blogs such as Nathan Bransford's, agent turned author, which I couldn't say any better. Without Nathan, I never would have had the first clue about where to start, so I owe him everything. You can have my first born, Nathan. No, really. Take her. *clears throat* But I digress. Nathan has the basic anatomy of a good query in his sidebar with links to examples. Read as many examples of successful queries as you can find. The only bit of my personal wisdom I can impart here is that, if you’re finding it difficult to find “the hook” for your query letter, maybe your novel doesn't have a strong enough one.

Just like your novel has to hook readers in the first few pages, your query letter has to hook agents in the first few sentences. You want to pick the most intriguing part or parts of your novel to focus on, and write a one to two paragraph catchy description. A good hook needs to allude to the conflict and tension in your novel, BUT…remember the purpose of the query is to get them to read the sample pages, so you don’t need to give everything away. You want to tantalize with the letter. Give them a taste and make them want to read to find out what happens. You definitely need to hint at the outcome, but you don’t need to spell it out. Think of it as a slightly spoilery jacket copy. You pick up a book, turn it over, and read the jacket copy. Based on that, do you want to read the rest of the book? If your answer is yes, there was a hook—something that drew you in. Something you absolutely need to do is avoid getting bogged down in the minutia. This is NOT a synopsis of your novel.

I hemmed and hawed over whether to share my Personal Demons query with you and finally decided I would. I’ve removed one sentence that is major spoilery, but the rest is what I sent to agents. For those of you who have read Personal Demons, you will see that there are major plot points missing, as well as major characters. (Think: Gabe) Again, the query letter is not a synopsis. Only include the most intriguing parts/characters from your novel. So, here goes:

Dear Ms. (Name of Agent),

I hope I can interest you in my young adult novel, Personal Demons.

Lucifer Cain works in Acquisitions—for Hell. Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a wicked streak and a unique skill set that has the king of Hell tingling with anticipation. Luc shouldn't have any trouble tempting her down the fiery path, except she makes him feel things. Things demons aren’t supposed to be able to feel. But, despite how much he wants her, what he feels most is an overwhelming need to protect her—from him.

With the whole of Heaven and Hell doing battle for her soul, the last thing Frannie needs is to be lusting on some demon. But she is. So the big question is: does the mere fact she’s fallen for a demon condemn her to Hell? If it does, is that a bad thing if Luc’s there? But he might not be, because he’s changing. He’s also falling down on the job and the higher-ups are noticing—which generally means dismemberment and the Fiery Pit—unless she can figure out how to save him. But, before she can save him, she needs to save herself.

Personal Demons is a sinfully edgy 80,000 word young adult novel told in alternating first person points of view. It’s got something for everyone: angels, demons, action, love, humor, danger, a sound track and a little hanky-panky. If you’re tempted by Personal Demons, I’d love to forward sample chapters or the full manuscript at your request.

I want to sincerely thank you for your time and consideration. As requested, I have pasted the first (# of pages the agent asks for in submission guidelines) of my manuscript below. My contact information is also listed below.

Warm Regards,

Me

(Side note: Personal Demons was 80K words when I queried agents, and I'm told that's a pretty reasonable YA word count. It grew to 84K after revisions for my agent before we submitted, and to 91K in revisions for my editor. This isn't unusual.)

(Side note #2: It's generally okay to paste a few manuscript pages into your query even if the agent doesn't ask for any in their submission guidelines. I generally pasted in the first two pages in this case. That gave them a flavor, but sending more than that felt pushy to me.)

So, there you have it. My request rate with that letter was over 50%. Once you catch the agents attention enough to ask for the manuscript, the manuscript has to sell itself, so be sure not to query before you've done everything in yesterday's post and you know your manuscript is as killer as it can possibly be.

There are resources online, such as the lovely…I mean sharkly Janet Reid at Queryshark who will rip your query to shreds. Or, you can enter to win a query critique here tomorrow. I’ll also critique your first chapter (up to 20 pages). So, check back tomorrow for my advice on querying and to enter to win the first of four critiques.

How do you know if your novel sucks? (Advice for aspiring writers: Part 2)

I promised to divulge all of my writing/querying secrets, and I am starting today. This advice post got SUPER long, so I’ve broken it down into writing advice, query letter writing advice, and querying advice. Today is the writing post. Tomorrow will be the querying letter post, Wednesday will be the querying post and, if you want to enter to win one of four first chapter and query critiques, the contest entry will be at the bottom of Wednesday’s post. :p

But…writing. Thursday I gave you my basic advice on how to know if you should even be writing at all. Today, I’ll fill you in on some of the things that helped me.

Coming up with the killer idea.

I stand in awe of writers who can outline. I can’t. I’ve tried and it’s a totally wasted effort, because once I start writing, my characters take the story where it needs to go, whether I like it or not. And it’s NEVER where I thought it was going. So, I won’t talk about outlining. But I will talk about the idea, because that’s important.

You have an idea. It might have come from the lyrics of a song, or from watching someone at the grocery store, or from a sign on the front of a building. Wherever it came from, it’s a totally AMAZING idea. What you need to ask yourself is, did the idea evolve organically, or was it something you came up with because you think it’s something agents/publishers want to see? Two things here.

1)      If you’re writing to a current trend, you need to remember the books you see selling like hotcakes were acquired by their editors two years ago. Meaning, the book you’re writing now is, in a perfect world, two to three years from shelves. The trend will have passed and, very likely, editors aren’t going to be acquiring that type of book anymore. The caveat to that (always) is that if you can give that old trope a new twist, and it’s extremely well written, there’ll always be a market for it. Which segues into my next point.

2)      It is easy to spot the story that’s authentic. If the story is coming from your heart and your soul, it will show in the writing. If it’s the story you were meant to tell, it will flow. If you’re forcing it, it won’t. Write for yourself, not for agents or editors. Don’t worry about what’s out there and what’s selling. Set the next trend.

So, you’re writing the book you were meant to write; setting the next trend. Now you need someone (or someones) to read your awesomeness.
It’s tempting to tell no one you’re writing if you’re a newbie (which is what I did) but the truth is, you need readers. If you don’t want your family/friend to know you’re writing, that’s actually okay, because they’d be about the worst readers you could find anyway. They’re not objective. What you need is:

1)      Someone who enjoys reading in the genre you’ve written, but who has no emotional attachment to you and will therefore be brutally honest (in a supportive way) about your writing.

2)      Someone who can see the overall issues and not just pick at the minutia. (ie: rewriting sentences) You want a critique, not a line edit.

There are numerous online groups and resources available these days. If you don’t have any other avenue to cultivate writing friends, use them. The one that comes to mind is verlakay.com where there are chat boards for writers. The thing about critiquing is that we as writers know what it is we’re trying to get across on the page. It makes perfect sense to us as we’re writing it. But the actual words that we’ve written may or may not be getting it across the way we think they are. You need someone objective to tell you the big things, like where your plot falls apart, or that your eighteen year old comes off as thirty, as well as the little things, like everyone in your book is blond/blue, or your dog barks too much.

If it’s your first novel, write it, then rewrite it.

We’ve all heard the stories of authors selling their very first novel for big bucks and going on to fame and fortune. They are the vast minority. Most authors will tell you they have one or ten practice or “trunk” novels. That’s not to say that your first novel doesn’t have a kickass plot and complex characters, but the chances that you totally nailed the writing the first time out are not good. So, if you love your characters and your plot:

1)      Write the novel then close the file. Sit on it for a week or three while you read a whole bunch of other people’s novels, then start over without opening the original file. Or…better yet.

2)      Write something totally different (not a sequel) then come back and write novel one again.

The more you practice, the better you get. #trufax

Revise the crap out of it.

1)      Enlist your critique partner/group to help you see where things need to be fleshed out, where the characters need to be developed, where the transitions need to be smoothed out. Make their changes (if they ring true to you) and send it back for another round or two.

2)      Read it out loud to yourself. This is a great way to catch all the wording/phrasing issues that you automatically smooth over in your head.

3)      If it helps to see a hard copy, print it out and mark the spots you needed to read twice, or anywhere that didn’t flow the way you hoped it would.

I told you this post was getting long, and that’s just writing! Tune in tomorrow for query writing advice. I’m still deciding if I’ll post my actual query letter. I had a fairly high request rate (12 of 20) so I want to, but it’s full of Personal Demons spoilers, so…

Advice for aspiring writers: Part 1

Rejection is a big part of publishing. The honest truth is that there are some really amazing books out there that never sell. I've read some of them. Being the innately lazy person that I am, the prospect of putting months of my life into a project that will probably never go anywhere is depressing at best. But I have two of them. I wrote them before I wrote Personal Demons and they taught me to write. The cold hard truth is, there's no way to know if a novel is good enough until it's completed, revised, revised again, and polished to a high shine. There are no guarantees.

So, does that mean you should give up? Yep! Because that's what every writer of every book you see on the shelves at your local bookstore did. (NOT!!)

The real answer: If you love to write, you should write. If you used to love to write, but don't anymore, then maybe you should stop. We've probably all read books by our favorite New York Times bestselling authors that we thought weren't quite up to par. When a writer isn't loving what they're doing anymore, it shows. It doesn't matter if they're published or not.

The inspiration for this post was a conversation I had with an aspiring writer who said she was so sick of rejection that she thought she might stop writing. The automatic response that sprung to my lips was, "Don't give up!" But when I thought about it, I realized that's not what I'd want to hear if I'd just said that to another author. So, what I told her was, "If you love to write, do it. If you don't, stop." It's the most honest thing I could think to say.

Tomorrow, I'll post my specific tips for aspiring writers, which includes everything from the writing process to querying agents. And, speaking of agents, I've had one for two years next month, so to celebrate, starting tomorrow, I'll be giving away one first chapter and query critique a week between now and September 23rd (my 2 year signing anniversary). So if you do love writing, and you're going to keep doing it, check back tomorrow for my pearls of wisdom and to enter for your chance at a critique by yours truly =)