Be Unique Not Different

We have talked in the past about following the rules in publishing. Of course, in our next breath, or the next day's blog, we talk about the fact that there are no real rules in publishing, just guidelines. This got me thinking about the submissions agents and editors receive daily and the struggles writers have when composing queries and proposals.

I see writers using templates to develop queries and submissions. They use templates to develop their opening paragraphs and the blurbs. The problem though is they have become just another number. The story is not something we remember, but something that looks like the 50 other submissions we received the same day.

I am reminded of a line from THE INCREDIBLES. Syndrome makes a comment to Mr. Incredible and describes his ultimate plan. "I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics they've ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so everyone can be superheroes! Everyone can be super! And when everyone's super, [laughs maniacally] no one will be." This is the same with templates. If your forumula looks like everyone elses, then you aren't special.

Now, does this mean you are to do something so outside of the box we remember you? Absolutely not. Now you end up simply looking weird and you are rejected for being too far out there.

The key to being special lies in the story and how you pitch that story to us. We want to see the story is unique. We want to see the characters and the approach you took with the story is unique. Not the presentation of it.

I often describe successful writers as having one foot on the old and one foot on the new. People like to know what is coming and we like to know we can count on things; however, we don't like to be bored. We don't want to think, "Oh, here is another..."

Your job this weekend is to determine what makes your story unique and find a way to pitch it to someone that makes it unique. Maintain the required elements and format, but make it personal.

Scott

Reinventing Yourself

In the last month, I have seen several writers in the middle of trying to "reinvent themselves" or to "re-launch a career" after taking a brief hiatus. Unfortunately, this is not something that is as easy as many would think. The end result is a lot of hurt feelings and frustration, especially on the part of the writer.

There are several factors here that we have to consider in situations such as this. Let's deal with the reinventing aspect first.

I honestly think a lot of writers want to just jump into a different genre because they are bored with what they have been doing. Now in some cases, I do think writers can be successful with this, assuming they have three things in place. The first is a publisher that is big enough to really market that new approach. Those smaller houses just might not have the resources necessary to accomplish this.

The second thing that has to be in place is a very large and very dedicated readership. Now when I say large, I am not talking about that mailing list the writer created over the course of years, I am really talking a huge fan base. These are the people that would literally follow the writer to the end of the world. I honestly have to say the number of writers who have this following is really limited out there. This population is crucial though because they would be the foundation for that new fan base for the writer.

Finally, and this is a combination of the prior two points, the writer needs to have the numbers out there to warrant a shift such as this. Those numbers deal with the print runs, the reprints, the sales and the like. Writers can have great sales on a book, but if that book just disappears after that print run, it becomes difficult for a publisher to want to support a shift such as this.

I have to stess that it also doesn't matter if that writer has an agent because in the end, it doesn't matter how much persuasion that agent does on his or her end, it is still coming back to the numbers and the followers.

Now let's talk about trying to re-establish a career.

For whatever reason, some writers just leave writing and then want to come back again. It might be due to family matters at home, or it might be that the prior publisher didn't come back with another offer for the writer with a book. It doesn't matter what the reason is, the writer diappeared and is now back. Now what?

First of all, it is important to make sure the writing style is "up-to-date." While the writing might have been great in the past, it has to compete with the current books out there. This is not simply the genre but the voice has really changed over the years.

I think the next element to consider is more of an attitude change. The writer may have been very successful in the past, but that reputation can't simply be re-lit immediately. In other words, you can't just pick up where you left off. While this is disappointing, it is a cold hard fact.

Now I want to stress that I am in no way saying writers can't be successful with either reinventing or reviving a career. What I am saying is that, in many ways, that writer is at the same place he or she was at when they were new to the business. And guess what, it will take time.

Scott

Paperwork Day

Sorry for the delay in getting things posted, but this was a paperwork day. Like writers, sometimes the work you do for your craft is not the creative type, but the constructive type. Still, like any good writer, there were things that I was able to deal with today for the writers.

• Registration is all ready for RWA Nationals
• Contacted PR reps for my clients
• Contacted reps regarding movie and film proposal for one client.

Get the idea.

Still, I thought I would throw out a question for you all to deal with today. This deals with social media.

For myself, I use Twitter to keep track of what publishers are doing out there. I use the blog to get information out to writers and other professionals. That's it. Not going to dive onto Facebook or Myspace, to social for me.

What are the sites you use?

How do you use it?

How does this promote your writing and for the professional writers out there, have you honestly seen sales improve from some of these sites?

Just wondering.

Scott

Take Your Story For A Test Spin

I started thinking about this one a while ago, as I read a submission from someone that said they had been working on their manuscript for 6 years. Now first of all, don't get me started on the 6 year thing. That is a story and a blog post for another day. I want to take this to a completely different angle. As I read this writer's story, I really questioned why they would waste his or her (see how I keep this a neutral) time on this project that never, in this lifetime or the next would ever get published. No, this wasn't one of those long shots that might get published. It was downright awful. I wanted to scream. Didn't someone tell you this was bad from the beginning? Obviously not.

So the question I had was simple - When do you take your story for a test spin? When is it that you get some feedback on the project to see if it has what it takes to "make the cut?"

In my humble opinion, the answer is the moment you get the concept in your head. Not after you start writing it. Not half way through it. Not when it is finished. Before you start. Of course, this does link into my continual argument for plotting not flying by the seats of your pants, but you already know my approach on that one. It is crucial that you get some feedback early on, before you waste a lot of time on a project that will fail.

I know that some of you that follow this blog say that there is no wasted writing, and for the most part, I do agree. Sometimes you have to flush that garbage out of your system before you get to the good stuff. Still, unless you have unlimited time to write, your time is precious and you need to use it wisely.

Published authors already get to experience this when they begin drafting proposals for new projects. They contact their agent, they talk to their editor and discuss different ideas they have for projects. The idea is to find the write story for the market right now. Unpublished authors can do the same thing and unfortunately, fail to do so.

That advance talking that you do with other writers or friends is a chance for you to not only see what they would like to see in a book, but also a chance for you to start fleshing out the idea before you dive into the project. During these discussions, you may find a better direction to take your story, the readers may provide you some answers to points you have been struggling with. Simply put, there are a lot of great things you can get from this.

The next point I would recommend getting the feedback is after you have the first three or so chapters. This is where those contests come into play. I have to stress, there are a lot of times that contests don't provide you the right type of feedback due to who is reading your project in the preliminary rounds; but, with that said, sometime you do get some interesting comments. Send it out and see what people outside of your critique circle have to say. Send it to a couple of contests and look for patterns. If you see the same comments from a couple of people, that should tell you something.

I think what I want you to get out of this is get feedback and get it early on. If you wait until the project is too far along, it will take forever to fix the problems. Overhauling a partial is easy, the full manuscripts are tough. (Got it Leslie).

Have a great day and write well.

Scott

Why Do We Write?

So the Olympics are over people so no more excuses, it is time to get back to writing. Still there is something that hopefully you can learn from these last couple of weeks. Sure, we all know that luge is dang fast. We know that Norway's curling team really does have a great fashion sense. We know that despite all the planning and prep, we can't control the weather. But there is a bigger picture that I think we are all missing from the Olympic athletes.

I really thought about this with the opening ceremonies. One of the commentators made a comment that really hit home for me. Many of these athletes have absolutely no chance of ever seeing a medal, let alone a medal round. Many will be eliminated on their very first run of whatever event they are doing. This was really the case with some of the smaller countries that sent only one person. So why did they go?

For too many of us, we only do something if we can "win." In other words, if we don't see that tangible reward at the end, then there is simply no point in doing this. Students say this all of the time. "So if I read this book, how many points to I get?" "Is there extra credit in this?" "If I do a Powerpoint with the presentation, will this give me an A?" Many people simply are missing that unqiue outlook on life that these Olympic athletes have - The Passion.

I am reminded of a couple of key events from the Olympics that stand out.

There was a pair of Ice Dancers that knew they really didn't have the points necessary to get them to the final round. This was to be their last competition ever. They had made that decision going into the Olympics. She had just had a baby in October (that alone was amazing seeing her skate) and she wanted to have a life with her family. When they hit the ice, the passion for what they do, the love of the skating came though so strong, the audience couldn't help but feel it. There was no announcement prior to the skate giving the audience this back story, but the crowd sensed something special. They saw it.

Shawn White of the US Ski Boarding team also showed that passion. In the final rounds, he had earned so many points, he essentially didn't have to skate (O.K. I know he did but he didn't have to perform). He asked his coach what he should do and the coach had the perfect comment, "This is for you, do this run and enjoy it!" He did. The passion for the sport came though loud and clear.

Jessica Hardy of USA Swimming said it just today in a Tweet, "Had a blast watching Pac 10s the past couple of days! Feeling inspired after watching my two fav college teams swim fast!" There isn't a day that goes by when her excitement for the sport doesn't come through in her comments.

So where am I going to with all of this? Simply put, writers need to have that same passion when it comes to their writing. That feeling they had the first time they wrote THE END needs to be there the whole time. There can be no excuses. Sure we all have bad days, but hey, that's life. If you don't have that passion for the craft, it isn't worth it.

That passion you have for your writing will come through in the material you compose. I see that in the submissions that come across my desk. On the other hand, I also see the lack of passion in a writer screaming to me loud and clear.

I think this is also important for those writers that are published now and making this a career, whether it is full or part time. If you are writing these books simply to make a deadline, or make a contract, then you need to walk away. I hate to break it to you, that passion is coming through in your writing.

My daughter's swim coach talked to her about her swimming. Lately she has been sloppy. His comment was to ask yourself, after you get out of the pool if this was your best swim ever. He stated this isn't an idle comment, but one that requires some real soul searching. If you can say yes, we should have seen it in the pool. After that talk, he tells her, before entering the water, to make it her best swim. He asks her after she got out that same question. Her answer has been yes and her swimming has been on fire this week.

So, before you even sit down at the keyboard this week, ask yourself if you have that passion.

Scott