Researching Current Writing Trends

Every now and then, I take the time to pick up current books out there to do some research. No, this is not to see the type of plots people are choosing. I take the time to see if the style has changed in a particular publishing house. To be a successful writer, it is crucial that you do this every now and then to insure that your writing isn't stuck in a time period that has been left in the dust.

Sometimes I get submissions from writers that were successful in the 80's and early 90's. For some reason, they stepped away from the business and now are trying to jump back in. Although their writing is great, it is like picking up outdated books. The voice is just not that of the present day. Why? The writer didn't go back and see HOW the writing was working today.

One publisher I work with loves stories that move fast. Now, when I say this to an author, they hype it up with action for the characters. When I revisit the "style" of that house, I see what the publishers are describing. In one case, I read the first two chapters and all we gained, in terms of information, was the hero finding out he acquired a piece of property and a ward. That was it! So how did we get 20 plus pages of material? It was all dialogue. There was no backstory, no scene building, nothing. I went back and examined the material even further and found that the paragraphs were descriptions of the action the character was doing. This was a change from the last time I read this author's work.

Now, this might just be a coincidence, but it may be a trend. When you stumble across things like this, it is crucial to pick up a couple of other books by A) the same author; and B) by other writers with the same editor. See if there is a pattern.

I have to stress, that I am not saying to "copy" other writers, but to learn from these writers. I am also not saying that what the authors are doing is either good or bad. It just happens to be the way it is.

Research is important. Read a book, not for pleasure but for dissection purposes. See what you can discover.

Oh, and one other thing. Pick some of those newer authors. The established authors often have enough of a following to allow them to violate some of the rules.

Scott

Make you story accessible to all

I don't know how many times I have heard the comment from a writer, "but my critique group loves my writing." Well of course they do. These are your friends and, in many cases, they think just like you. But here is the challenge. Can you give it to people outside of your reading group and have them like it as well? The key to marketing is to insure the book is accessible to all. Expand where the story can go to.

When I first entered teaching I chose a path that many questioned. My other teacher friends, new to the profession, moved immediately on to earning that Masters degree. "This will move me up the pay scale," they would say. I took a different route. I started taking classes to increase the number of teaching endorsements that I had. At the end of that year, I was sitting with 4 endorsements and they had just their one and a Masters degree. Now here is where the marketing comes into play. With my 4 endorsements (English, Language Arts, Earth Science and History) I had the ability to pretty much teach anything within the school. I later went on to earn a Reading Endorsement which also increased my flexibility. The end result. I became extremely employable due to this depth. One administrator commented that I was "their utility player, able to fill any hole in the schedule and do it well."

I bring this up because too often, writers, in an attempt to target an audience, do so in such an extreme that their writing only fits with that audience. Sci fi writers only write for that select group of people and so forth. The key is to find an ability to target the publishers you are interested in, but make the writing strong enough to bridge those gaps into other genres. Diana Gabaldon did that with Outlander (Sept. 22nd, woo hoo). History buffs like it. Romance readers dig Claire and Jaime, and the paranormal readers loved figuring out the time travel logistics of Claire's travels. This makes it marketable, or at least one of the elements.

Now, I know this is hard to do, but it is well worth it.

Scott

On Accelerated Reader Program

Found this one on another colleagues website and had to also post it here.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/books/review/Straight-t.html?_r=2

This is from the NY Times and I strongly encourage anyone who is in education to read this one!

Scott (the teacher side of him coming out)

Morning of Technical Difficulties

You know Murphy’s Law. If it can go wrong, then it will!

 

Today is one of those days, so I’m keeping this one really short.

 

I have been fighting with internet hook up for the last 24 hours. Of course, being a business that relies on the internet, this really puts a hamper on things. The problem was finally fixed this morning but remember, it does slow down that creative process with your writing. So, with that said, here are some reminders:

 

Back things up.

Have a great Internet security system.

Never assume.

Have a back up plan.

Save your files in multiple places.

 

Now, go write while I try to make up for lost time.

 

 

Scott C. Eagan

 

 

1 Query Does Not Fit All

I have said before that sending out submission packages is just like applying for any job out there. I bring this up because many authors out there believe that they can submit the exact same material to every editor and agent out there. I should also note, that many authors believe they use the same pitch when meeting an editor or agent face to face. This is probably the worst mistake they could ever make.

I am not a big fan of the movie but the connection here should make sense. In LEGALLY BLONDE she submits her resume and cover paper on lightly scented pink paper. Her attempt is to make her submission package stand out in the piles of other resumes. Keeping this in mind, you need to think of your submission material to an editor or agent in the same way. Daily, editors and agents are receiving a lot of submissions and when you combine that material with the other work they are doing, it becomes easy to lose track of the material. So how do you do it?

The key is personalizing the material. IF you have done your research. IF you know the style of writing the editor or agent looks for. IF you have been following their blogs. And IF your story truly does fit with that editor or agent, you adjust your query (or your pitch) to fit the needs of the moment. Maybe you can make a reference to a recent post the editor or agent made on their blog. Maybe you reference a comment he or she made at the panel discussion the night before. Keep it personal.

I actually had someone pitch their "memorized" pitch at a conference once and it failed horribly. Why? This writer had been so used to working with female editors she forgot to adjust the pitch. It went sort of like, "You know what it is like to be a woman in a man's business and if you know that, you understand the struggles my heroine had to make when she went into the..." get the idea?

Does this mean you should start from scratch every time? No. The basics are still going to be in the query or pitch. Title, Genre, Word Count, High Concept and Brief Summary. But the word choice you use, the things you highlight, the structure and the content might change depending on the person.

Remember, although I am initially looking at the writing, I am looking to sign an author.

Scott