Rule Number 1 - Learn To Write!

This last weekend, I was at a writer's conference and once again, got to listen to the fantastic Jane Porter speak. She spent time talking to the authors about the top ten things to be successful author. Her number one point, which I almost jumped up and down and screamed AMEN like I was at a Baptist church service was what I say all of the time.

LEARN THE CRAFT!

As she noted, while writing is a personal craft, in the end, you are writing for the reader. Your reader is spending money to buy something of quality and they expect you to produce that quality. This is where you need to take that time to learn your craft!

She spent a lot of time talking about this. She spoke of learning to pace your writing. She talked about creating characters that we can relate to. She talked about creating plots that truly tell a story. But in every case, she kept returning to the author learning how to do this effectively and how it is not just something everyone can just do. Some people can, but for many, it takes time to figure it out. 

I think what I loved the most was her constant reminder of thinking about your story as a product and putting the reader first. In fact, we had a chance before her talk to sit down for a quiet quiet chat (which is often rare) to just talk. One of the things that came up was the number of times each of us heard authors speak of writing "the stories of their heart." The authors would emphasis that this was the story "they" wanted to tell. We both agreed that while this was important, these authors often forgot that this was also a business, and in the end, if we are to sell a product, we still had to think about the consumer, and that was the reader. 

I know that I have spent so much time talking about the marketability of the product, but this weekend, we both found ourselves spending a lot of time talking about the quality of the product we are putting out. Your story can be personal, but if it is poorly written, it really doesn't matter. 

So, as you go about your writing this week, spend some time looking at what you are doing and think about the areas you could likely improve on. Now, make some plans on how you can improve on that area. 

And, as I always say. Don't rush the process. There will be time!

Not Knowing Genres Is A Sure Way To Rejection

Let's get back to query letters again.

One of the elements of a query letter is to showcase what type of story you are presenting and how it fits into the current market. This, of course means knowing your genre as well as knowing what each of the publishers are doing. I really want to focus heavily on the genre piece today because this is where so many authors are walking themselves into an automatic rejection letter.

Why? Because it shows your lack of knowledge in the business. It shows the editors and agents that you may not be ready to make the big jump into the world of publishing. 

We have actually three groups of people out there who don't know their genres (or variations). Let's go through each.

TAKING A GUESS This is the biggest group. They grab what they think their genre is from what they have seen in the book store. The odds are, they have no idea that there are sub-genres, and if there are sub-genres, they will often just blend these together in some fashion thinking that this is how it is done.

This group has probably also over heard conversations from other writers and pieced together what they said. For example, I have seen a stack of authors submitting what they believe are "dark romances" simply because they think these are stories with "hot sex scenes". Not quite. 

GOING OFF OF WHAT SOMEONE ELSE TOLD THEM - Now with this group, they are pitching stories but not fully understanding why their story might be what that other person said their story was. What is more often the case is that this other person only had the "blurb" to work with and told them what they thought the story was. Unfortunately, not seeing the whole story, they might be misguiding this person.

TRYING TO FIT ALL GENRES This writer is just trying to show that their story is so amazing it is going to be marketable to everyone. They will claim this is a "cross genre" novel. The reality is that part of the novel is one type and part of the novel is another type.

Here is the issue with all three of these. When you pitch your query letter to us and we start seeing signs that you are not really sure what you have written, you are giving us a really bad first impression. We DO want to work with you, but if it starts to show you are going to be more work than it is worth, then here comes that letter you do not want.

Take the time. Learn your genres.

Oh wait, there was that phrase again. TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!

Why Quick Pitch Sessions ALWAYS Fail

We've always seen these show up. Here is your chance to do a one line pitch or a one paragraph pitch to an editor or agent online. Maybe it is a blurb at a conference. The coordinators of this wonderful session have proclaimed this as a chance to get your work in front of someone and maybe get your work published. This sounds like the most wonderful thing out there, doesn't it? You don't have to write that horrible query letter. You don't have to write that synopsis. You just have to write one paragraph, submit it and someone else will post it online and they will do ALL OF THE WORK FOR YOU! Wow! What more can you ask for???

Well, let me put it this way....

You just wasted your time.

Sure, we see an idea that "might" sound interesting, but in the end, we can make anything sound interesting. We can probably make those 1950's Jello molds stuffed with God knows what sound like the best thing ever and should be served in a 5 Star Michelin Restaurant. 

I am only saying this because, once again, I had a post for another writing chapter posting an opportunity to be seen. The problem was, out of the people looking at the pitches, there was only one, yes one, agent. The other two were independent writers who, BTW, have careers, that are not that stellar (I took the time to dig and see what their numbers were...).

Again, let me stress what I say over and over again. There are no short cuts. Yes, you have to write query letter. You will have to write a synopsis. You will have to do the hard work. 

This is a tough business. 

Always Keep Checking Your Genre When Writing

Write what you know. This is something we have heard a lot as writers, but sometimes, I do think we forget about it. I do think a lot of published writers forget this a lot. Once they sign that contract, see their name on the cover of a book, they seem to believe they are good to go. Unfortunately, we can never stop learning. We always have to keep our eyes out and pay attention to anything that may be changing. 

You have likely seen an earlier post or two where I have talked about musicians who have stood the test of time. Madonna, Aerosmith, and The Rolling Stones are great examples. All of which have found ways to adapt to the times. None of these groups just said, "this is what I do so stick it in your ear." They found ways to keep their own voice, but still work with the time. 

Recently, I was talking with an author and she was noting that while she was working on her latest book, she decided to stop during the early phases of her writing and just make sure she was still working with the latest flow of things but still with her own voice. She picked up a few books at her local book store (support those bookstores and authors) bought a few online and read.

She was good to go. 

What she was looking for was pacing, voice, and structure. No, she wasn't looking for character type or tropes. It was just the way the stories were structured.

Now I know what a lot of authors have told me. They don't want to read in their own genres because they believe they will steal other author's words. Honestly, if you have that much lack of self control, you might have some other problems. Seriously, it is a good thing. It is well worth it.