I'll be talking Romance and Women's fiction today. As of this moment, unless someone calls in early on in the show to take the discussion another way, I'll be looking at common mistakes writers make with submissions.
The show begins at 9:30 am PST today.
And, if you are planning on calling, call sooner into the show. We only have 30 minutes and there is a tendency for people to call with only a couple of minutes left.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/greyhaus/2010/09/07/talking-romance-and-womens-fiction
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Is There a Disconnect In Your Story?
I often wonder some days, when I read a submission, if the writer really has two different stories that we're talking about. In other words, when I read the initial query, or I hear a pitch, and then I read the story, it seems as if there are two completely different projects here. As Bob on Sesame Street sings, "One of these things is not like the other."
In reality, this doesn't just happen with unpublished authors and their submissions - it happens with the published authors too. The back cover blurb (or even the title) suggests one thing and then the story takes off in a completely different direction.
Whatever the case, this is an example of writers not thinking about what they are writing. It is an example of someone not really knowing what his or her story really is about. In the end, that will be the downfall for the writer and, if you are unpublished, a pretty good chance that you will end up seeing that ugly rejection letter. If you are published, I am likely not going to get another book of yours again.
I do believe, the easiest way to remedy this situation is to try and sum your story up in a 2-3 sentence summary. If you had a single theme that resonates through the entire book, what is it? Is this story about a character or about an event? In other words, keep it short. Too often, it seems that writers are spending far too much time trying to be creative in their pitches and their blurbs. In the end, the creativity starts moving the story away from the reality of what they really wrote.
So, your project today - think about your story and sum it up. Figure out what it is really about.
Scott
In reality, this doesn't just happen with unpublished authors and their submissions - it happens with the published authors too. The back cover blurb (or even the title) suggests one thing and then the story takes off in a completely different direction.
Whatever the case, this is an example of writers not thinking about what they are writing. It is an example of someone not really knowing what his or her story really is about. In the end, that will be the downfall for the writer and, if you are unpublished, a pretty good chance that you will end up seeing that ugly rejection letter. If you are published, I am likely not going to get another book of yours again.
I do believe, the easiest way to remedy this situation is to try and sum your story up in a 2-3 sentence summary. If you had a single theme that resonates through the entire book, what is it? Is this story about a character or about an event? In other words, keep it short. Too often, it seems that writers are spending far too much time trying to be creative in their pitches and their blurbs. In the end, the creativity starts moving the story away from the reality of what they really wrote.
So, your project today - think about your story and sum it up. Figure out what it is really about.
Scott
Monday, September 6, 2010
The First Three Chapters - What should be there?
What are your thoughts on things that should be covered within the first 3 chapters? Should everything be "set up" and in the main plot/characters by then?
The first three chapters are crucial for any book. With that said, there really isn't one right or wrong way to approach these early pages, but there are certainly things to consider.
First of all, character development is one of the biggest! Now, depending on your genre of your story (Single Title Romance, Category Romance, Women's Fiction, General Fiction) the number of characters we get to know will vary. Obviously, in category romance, we will certainly need to see the hero and heroine very early on. In many cases, we might see them as early as chapter 1, although even in these cases, you might only have mention of the other person. Certainly by chapter 2 we are getting to know both of the characters. Please remember this IS NOT a rule for writing these in these genres. As I have mentioned in the past, writing genre fiction of ANY type is the same as studying music, architecture and other styles that have clear characteristics. We look for certain things that need to be present.
With these characters, we need to really get a sense of what drives these characters. What their motivations are and certainly their personalities. This is mostly important for the protagonist. We have to like this person. We have to want to read more about this person. There has to be something to suck us in.
World building is one of the next elements. We have to have a sense of place to have our new found friends (characters) live. This world has to be real! If you want a great article, check out the laterst edition of Romantic Times (Sept, 2010). There is an article on world building for Science Fiction, although everything in it applies to all genres.
Finally, we need to see some sort of a problem that we want resolved. We don't want to see three pages of character development with no idea as to why we want to follow the characters. The conflict doesn't have to be fully detailed, but we need enough to want to turn the pages. Also, remember that conflict doesn't have to be over the top. It can be as simple as wanting to see how the characters overcome their personal feelings.
The key is set up. Not a set up of the plot but a set up of the story.
Hope that gets you thinking.
Scott
The first three chapters are crucial for any book. With that said, there really isn't one right or wrong way to approach these early pages, but there are certainly things to consider.
First of all, character development is one of the biggest! Now, depending on your genre of your story (Single Title Romance, Category Romance, Women's Fiction, General Fiction) the number of characters we get to know will vary. Obviously, in category romance, we will certainly need to see the hero and heroine very early on. In many cases, we might see them as early as chapter 1, although even in these cases, you might only have mention of the other person. Certainly by chapter 2 we are getting to know both of the characters. Please remember this IS NOT a rule for writing these in these genres. As I have mentioned in the past, writing genre fiction of ANY type is the same as studying music, architecture and other styles that have clear characteristics. We look for certain things that need to be present.
With these characters, we need to really get a sense of what drives these characters. What their motivations are and certainly their personalities. This is mostly important for the protagonist. We have to like this person. We have to want to read more about this person. There has to be something to suck us in.
World building is one of the next elements. We have to have a sense of place to have our new found friends (characters) live. This world has to be real! If you want a great article, check out the laterst edition of Romantic Times (Sept, 2010). There is an article on world building for Science Fiction, although everything in it applies to all genres.
Finally, we need to see some sort of a problem that we want resolved. We don't want to see three pages of character development with no idea as to why we want to follow the characters. The conflict doesn't have to be fully detailed, but we need enough to want to turn the pages. Also, remember that conflict doesn't have to be over the top. It can be as simple as wanting to see how the characters overcome their personal feelings.
The key is set up. Not a set up of the plot but a set up of the story.
Hope that gets you thinking.
Scott
Sunday, September 5, 2010
What's Going On Over On FACEBOOK
I have established a Greyhaus Literary Agency Facebook page to get readers to do discuss various things with writing romance and women's fiction.
Make sure to check it out. Share your thoughts.
Scott
Make sure to check it out. Share your thoughts.
Scott
Friday, September 3, 2010
Queries and Submissions - TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
I was recently reading a post about queries that made some great points. The idea behind the post stated that a person should not give away everything in the query. As this writer described it, there should be enough to entice the editor or agent to want to read more. This is true. However, I do believe that many writers seem to miss something here, so I wanted to take the time to clear a few things up.
A query is different than a submission, although a query will go with your submission.
The word query implies a question. It is an offer to send an editor or an agent something more to read, and hopefully the story they are really interested in. I have always said, the query letter is the same thing as the cover letter for your resume. You have a single page to entice your future employer into taking the time (and not the normal 20-30 seconds) to actully look at your resume and your other material you sent. The same goes for a query letter.
The submission involves this same query (or slightly revised if you have already sent it alone) with the additional material that the editor or agent is asking for. This will likely include the synopsis and the partial or full manuscript. In this case, the comment that the prior writer has to be really thought out. Again, the query can have that great high concept blurb in it, but the rest of the material, especially the synopsis, MUST have the complete story in it. We need the ending and we need the plot. Sure you can leave out the minor things happening in the story and focus exclusively on the central storyline, but the whole thing needs to be there.
I only bring this up because I do receive a lot of submissions that still have me guessing. You don't want to do that!
Scott
A query is different than a submission, although a query will go with your submission.
The word query implies a question. It is an offer to send an editor or an agent something more to read, and hopefully the story they are really interested in. I have always said, the query letter is the same thing as the cover letter for your resume. You have a single page to entice your future employer into taking the time (and not the normal 20-30 seconds) to actully look at your resume and your other material you sent. The same goes for a query letter.
The submission involves this same query (or slightly revised if you have already sent it alone) with the additional material that the editor or agent is asking for. This will likely include the synopsis and the partial or full manuscript. In this case, the comment that the prior writer has to be really thought out. Again, the query can have that great high concept blurb in it, but the rest of the material, especially the synopsis, MUST have the complete story in it. We need the ending and we need the plot. Sure you can leave out the minor things happening in the story and focus exclusively on the central storyline, but the whole thing needs to be there.
I only bring this up because I do receive a lot of submissions that still have me guessing. You don't want to do that!
Scott
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Question from a Writer - Recrafting Stories
I'm really curious--how do you suggest the writer re-craft the story to make it fit some other lines? Do you add subplots, word count, more or different conflict--all of which would change the voice. Can you give an example? What would you say?
Do you think ALL stories lend themselves to re-crafting to fit other lines?
Great question...
There is really a lot that goes into re-crafting a story. Essentially, it is like "gutting a house and remodeling." The idea is to keep the central foundation of the story and reconstruct, adding or deleting where necessary.
For many authors, they seem to think it is simply a matter of just adding or taking out words. While this works for some stories, it really involves looking at the story in a big picture. A writer might add more layers or secondary characters. A writer might also add more depth to the characters. For some changes, especially going from one publisher to the next, this recrafting might involve the way the sentences and paragraphs are structured.
You might notice that the publisher you want to target really does a lot with introspection. It is through this mode that you get to really understand the characters. If your story is lacking that, you would then go back to where the characters told each other how they felt, an change this to personal thoughts... or visa versa.
I will say this is not an easy project, but it does work. I worked with one author that was able to take a story destined for Avon and converted it to an Avalon story. Big changes but in the end, the story was better suited for the latter.
Again, you will notice that to accomplish this recrafting really takes a strong dissection of the publishers and really understanding what they are looking for.
Hope that helps.
Scott
Do you think ALL stories lend themselves to re-crafting to fit other lines?
Great question...
There is really a lot that goes into re-crafting a story. Essentially, it is like "gutting a house and remodeling." The idea is to keep the central foundation of the story and reconstruct, adding or deleting where necessary.
For many authors, they seem to think it is simply a matter of just adding or taking out words. While this works for some stories, it really involves looking at the story in a big picture. A writer might add more layers or secondary characters. A writer might also add more depth to the characters. For some changes, especially going from one publisher to the next, this recrafting might involve the way the sentences and paragraphs are structured.
You might notice that the publisher you want to target really does a lot with introspection. It is through this mode that you get to really understand the characters. If your story is lacking that, you would then go back to where the characters told each other how they felt, an change this to personal thoughts... or visa versa.
I will say this is not an easy project, but it does work. I worked with one author that was able to take a story destined for Avon and converted it to an Avalon story. Big changes but in the end, the story was better suited for the latter.
Again, you will notice that to accomplish this recrafting really takes a strong dissection of the publishers and really understanding what they are looking for.
Hope that helps.
Scott
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Question from a Writer - Follow up to blog post
So, when agents market the book and they are rejected by the publishers that are "supposed to be the one," what is your alternative plan?
This is a good question.
Unfortunately, there are many cases when we find a project, know it is right for a publisher and then get a rejection. Did this mean that we missed the mark and sent it to someone that wasn't right? Not necessarily. There are many reasons why an editor might pass on a project.
Sometimes, the publisher already has a line up of that particular genre. In one case, I sent a project to an editor and she loved the concept but had to pass on it. Her comment, "if I had that 2-3 weeks ago, I could have signed it, but we have filled all of the slots." Ugh!
Also remember that this is a subjective business and there will be times when we read a project and just don't like it. It might be due to the time of day we read it, it might be due to the weather, it might be due to the fact that we just read several awful stories of the same genre. We do our best to avoid that happening and I know that many other editors and agents will often reserve sending out that rejection immediately if there was something in the story that might be there and it was jsut a bad time. I always mark those as "RE-READ" and do. In a lot of those cases, with a new eye, I do see something else. Sometimes not.
I think the thing to remember is that, if you look carefully, the publishers are different in tone and voice. Even authors writing with different publishers have a different voice. Authors (and agents) want to really be able to identify that voice and target the best they can.
Now, as for the alternative, when I have a story that isn't quite working, then I go back to the drawing board with the writer and we re-craft the story to make it fit some other lines. Sometimes it works and sometimes we just have to move on to a new story.
Scott
This is a good question.
Unfortunately, there are many cases when we find a project, know it is right for a publisher and then get a rejection. Did this mean that we missed the mark and sent it to someone that wasn't right? Not necessarily. There are many reasons why an editor might pass on a project.
Sometimes, the publisher already has a line up of that particular genre. In one case, I sent a project to an editor and she loved the concept but had to pass on it. Her comment, "if I had that 2-3 weeks ago, I could have signed it, but we have filled all of the slots." Ugh!
Also remember that this is a subjective business and there will be times when we read a project and just don't like it. It might be due to the time of day we read it, it might be due to the weather, it might be due to the fact that we just read several awful stories of the same genre. We do our best to avoid that happening and I know that many other editors and agents will often reserve sending out that rejection immediately if there was something in the story that might be there and it was jsut a bad time. I always mark those as "RE-READ" and do. In a lot of those cases, with a new eye, I do see something else. Sometimes not.
I think the thing to remember is that, if you look carefully, the publishers are different in tone and voice. Even authors writing with different publishers have a different voice. Authors (and agents) want to really be able to identify that voice and target the best they can.
Now, as for the alternative, when I have a story that isn't quite working, then I go back to the drawing board with the writer and we re-craft the story to make it fit some other lines. Sometimes it works and sometimes we just have to move on to a new story.
Scott
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