What to Do Before You Debut (Part One)

by Randy Susan Meyers

Writers. We get so focused on the grinding road towards publication that by the time we’ve finished with query letters, flat-out-rejections, slightly-nicer-connections, actually finding an agent, revising for said agent, Googling all editors on agent’s submission list, waiting for ‘the call,’ hearing the offer, and then, hallelujah, accepting the publisher’s offer, we then collapse and snap on Glee.
 

Sorry. No can do. Because during the 2-24 months between signing your contract and watching for the UPS man to delivers your box of freshly pressed books, you got plenty of work.

On Friday, May 21^st, I’ll be participating in a panel with the great name of What to Do Before You Debut at New Jersey’s indie bookstore Watchtung Bookstore with Therese Walsh and Shelley Stout in New Jersey. Jenny Milchman, the organizer and an organized writer if there ever was one, emailed the panel with questions we might expect. Her questions gave me much food for thought, which, as I’m so very fond of my own opinions, turned into this post.

There is much to do and not very much in the way of ‘how to’ material. As a self-described book junkie, I know there are shelves of books on how to write, how to get an agent, how to get published, but not that much on what to do after you sign the contract (though there is a selection of useful how-to-promote books, which I’ll include with part 3 of this series.)

For the secrets of debuting, one turns to the underground. The surreptitious sisterhood and brotherhood of debut novelists finding each other in the dark as they grope around (sounds far sexier than it is) and share the secrets they’ve learned from already published brethren.

Some of which is great. 

Some of which isn’t.

As I waited for my book, I was told by the experienced “don’t expect to get on Oprah” (I wasn’t,) that waiting was “the quiet before the quiet,” (hey, thanks for depressing me!) that I “don’t need to spend money on an outside publicist” (very glad I ignored that one) and, my personal favorites, “don’t get too excited” and “don’t pay attention to reviews or Amazon numbers” (and just who do you recommend lobotomizes me?)
On the other hand, the very best handholding and advice I got was from my launch sisters and already-launched sisters.

Thus, I’ll begin my advice on what to do before you debut with this:

1) Make friends in the writer’s community and be generous when you get there. Live by the rule ‘treat others as you’d like them to treat you.’ Backspace for Writers is one place They engender generosity from writers on all levels of publishing experience and found some of my best advice. Writer’s conferences can help. Writer’s communities such as Grub Street for Writers are invaluable.

Surprisingly, I found one of my best and most generous launch-sisters on twitter (hello, Beth Hoffman, author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, which has had major and well-deserved success.) Twitter had a great group of writers helping each other. (More come.)

1) Get. Your. Domain Name. If you have not yet done this, immediately, yes right now—stop reading this—buy your domain name for your future website and/or blog. The link I’ve provided is a tutorial in the process. Why are you still reading this—go! Buy!

2) The moment you sign your contract, start a mailing list of people to tell about your book. My agent drummed this advice into me and I am eternally grateful for it. She warned me it would take far, far longer to make this list then I could imagine and she was dead-on right. List everyone you know. Find their addresses through the online white pages (you will be amazed how many people you can find.) Find their emails if you can. People you worked with, went to school with, cousins twelve-times removed, college friends, college enemies, and everyone you ever slept with (come on, they’ll be curious, right?) Camp connections. Boy scout troops you led. Congregations. Places you volunteered. People you once babysat for. Neighbors. Everyone.

Do a little each day. It will grow. It’s the perfect place to start your pre-pub work.

2) Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? Yes? Great, move to number 3. However, if you could use improvement after years living in sweatpants, and letting go of all standards other than bathing, consider this:

Visit a great hairdresser. Do this well before you will be taking your author photo. I went to the hair whisperer of Boston (and it would take an act of God for me to tell my husband how much he charged.) I told him to do anything he thought might improve my looks other than making my hair short. He promptly made my hair short. Luckily I loved it, but I loved it even more after the second cut, when I was able to better articulate my wishes.

Men, is it time to shave off your beard? Wear a shirt that wasn’t manufactured in 1985?

Women, lipstick is not a sin. Play with make-up. Visit make-up counters. Tell them you need photo make-up and let them play (it’s free and trust me, they will love it.) Go shopping for flattering clothes, but clothes you’ll feel comfortable with while giving readings. Google ‘how to look good.’ Take pictures of yourself. Be brutal.

This is not vanity. (Okay, maybe a little.) You are putting together the image you want to project. Plus, how often in life do you get to shop and do your hair and tell the world “it’s for work?”

Coming soon! Part Two: Websites and Social Media

*****

The dark drama of Randy Susan Meyers' debut novel is informed by her years of work with batterers, domestic violence victims, and at-risk youth impacted by family violence.

Randy Susan Meyers’ short stories have been published in the Fog City Review, Perigee: Publication for the Arts, and the Grub Street Free Press.

In Brooklyn, where Randy was born and raised, her local library was close enough to visit daily and she walked there from the time she figured out the route. In many ways, she was raised by books, each adding to her sense of who she could be in this world. Some marked her for horror. Reading In Cold Blood at too tender an age assured that she’d never stay alone in a country house. Others, like Heidi by Johanna Spyri, made her worship her grandfather even more. Some taught her faith in the future.
                                                                   
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith was the only bible Randy ever owned, her personal talisman of hopefulness. Each time she read it, she was struck anew by how this author knew so much and dared to write it.

Randy now lives in Boston with her husband and is the mother of two grown daughters. She teaches writing seminars at the Grub Street Writers’ Center in Boston.

Raising the Dead

by Judith Lindbergh

The joy and burden of my literary life is research.  There is nothing more exciting to me than the 22-inch high stack of academic texts, museum exhibition catalogues, and translated ancient manuscripts sitting on the corner of my desk like an untouched burial mound waiting to be exposed.

I approach my decidedly obscure topics with an archaeologist’s passion for minute detail.  For my first novel, The Thrall’s Tale, about women in Viking Age Greenland, I literally studied monographs on the number of lice found in household waste-pits, not because I have a particularly penchant for lice, but because if there were lice, there were itchy, uncomfortable beds made of moss and straw; there was filthy, stinking clothing; and there were animals sleeping inside the houses with the humans in winter.  I latched onto each detail not just for simple description, but to grasp a visceral awareness of what my characters endured.

With my latest novel, Pasture of Heaven, about a nomad woman warrior on the Central Asian steppes, I’m finally past the point of scrounging for details.  My characters have risen from unearthed bones, bits of tarnished arrowheads, rusty daggers, and delicate, hand-crafted beads.  There comes a moment when the facts fall into place and I sense my protagonist sitting beside me, quietly tapping a finger on my desk as if to say, “OK, that’s enough.  Let’s go!”  It’s not that I know everything, because everything is impossible to know.  But the moment comes when I feel that I am “full” – I understand my characters’ basic natures, the challenges of their lives and the beliefs that sustained them, the landscape and atmosphere that framed their lives.

It’s easy to ignore that moment, because in the end (for me, at least), research is easier than writing.  It’s seductive, and undeniably useful, to return to that deep, sweet well to sip.  The truth is that research never really stops.  Even today, if anything comes my way about Norse Greenland, I catch myself salivating like Pavlov’s dog.  The trick is in sensing that moment when I’m about to overflow.  Then I set my hands on my keyboard and begin to write.  If I’m lucky, the spirits of the long dead are whispering in my ears.

*****

Judith Lindbergh’s debut novel, The Thrall’s Tale, was a Booksense Pick and a Borders Original Voices selection.  She is the director of The Writers Circle Creative Writing Workshops and works with professional authors, aspiring adults and children to share the joy and struggle of writing.  Read more at her blog, The Writers Circle: Process, practice, hope, and the business of writing.

Remind Me to Never Write a Book

by Lori Verni-Fogarsi

When I say that you should remind me to never write a book, I'm kidding. Well, mostly kidding. I do love writing, and I do love books. So it only makes sense that writing books would be something I love to do. Right?

Write. I mean right. Sorry, I can't think straight anymore. Because the reality of writing a book goes way further than simply writing the book in and of itself. "Oh my! You've written a novel?" people say. "Don't you already have that dog training book?"

Yes, I do. And I am proud of my books--truly I am--both my nonfiction house training book, and my new novel. Nonetheless, I have to remind myself not to roll my eyes when people make such exclamations. Why? Because of the editing. And the revising. And the revisions of the edited, revised, and further edited versions.

If you're not a writer, it's hard to imagine that you could spend half an hour deciding whether or not you always have to say "whether or not," or whether you can sometimes just say "whether." It's mind-boggling. And with over 110,000 words in a book, (um, that's about 10,000 too many... they need to be edited out), the quandaries abound at every turn.

Or not even every turn. It's every line! Or, more accurately, every word! I was recently reading my Writer's Digest magazine and came across some invaluable advice: For each word, sentence, and paragraph, ask yourself this question: "What is the purpose of having this in here?"

Sigh. Here I was, thinking I was thisclose to being absolutely "done."

Then again, I am done. For now. Although a big part of me realizes that all advice is good to consider, and this particular advice makes an extremely legitimate point, I'll have try it on the next round of revisions. Which, knowing me, will start tomorrow.

Hopefully, I'll remember all of these words of wisdom as well as the multitude of decisions I've made on the minutae of text. I should probably keep a list. But I can barely keep up with all of the writing I already do: editing and revising my book, writing my blog, all of the e-mails, contests, outlines for seminars I'm teaching... well, you get the point.

I'll just have to hope I remember it all for the next book. If I'm ever brave enough to write one again.

Which I'm sure I will be. I always am.

*****

Lori Verni-Fogarsi is an author, seminar speaker and small business consultant. She has one nonfiction book, Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs, and is currently seeking representation for her novel, "Momnesia."

Get a taste of her book with her upcoming series, "The Momnesia Chronicles," on Lori's blog.

Jeff Kleinman's Guidelines to Good Conference Attendeeness

With the 6th Annual Backspace Writers Conference & Agent Author Seminar just a few days away, we bring you Jeff Kleinman's Guidelines to Good Conference Attendeeness.

Step #1. TALK to fellow participants.

A couple of months ago I whined about how tough it was to get a project that was really ready to go – a project with a great voice, great writing, great concept. Do you realize what a huge boon you have at these conferences, literally tripping over published authors and – possibly even more intriguing – other wannabe writers who could be an enormous asset to you – reading drafts of your manuscript, offering a different perspective on your work? I always feel that authors are so focused on the editor-agent thing that they forget about the people sitting right next to them, the other writers who could actually be of huge assistance to them. I honestly think that it’s not at all a bad idea to ignore the editors and agents prancing around and just sit down in the hotel lobby with a couple of other writers, trying to create a community, a sounding-board – trying to make a connection to someone whose insights could really prove valuable. If you go to a writer’s conference, just try this (no matter how painful and terrible it is – and believe me I’d hate to do it myself, so I feel for you). Turn to the person sitting one seat down from you (because you always sit with empty seats on either side if you can help it) and say, “Hello, my name is [fill in your name – not mine] and I’m working on a book about [one-sentence description of your book]. What are you working on?” See if you have some kind of common ground. You might not, of course – the person sitting one seat down from you could be an absolute dragon with terrible breath and appalling clothes – but then again, you might make a worthwhile connection. If for no other reason, writer’s conferences are great places to (hem) meet other writers, so meet them, for goodness sake.

Step #2. Take Conferences With More Than One Grain of Salt. 

 

It’s true that, as billed, conferences are one of those rare occasions when you have a chance to meet people on the other side of the mailbox – editors, agents, PR and marketing professionals, and so forth. We’re generally called in to do a bunch of different tasks at these events – lectures, workshops, manuscript evaluations, one-on-one meetings, etc. Often we choose sexy and compelling titles for our talks – stuff like “Write A Bestselling Novel in 5 Minutes A Day and Lose 30 Pounds in the Process,” or “Become Independently Wealthy and Emotionally Fulfilled Through Freelance Writing.” Point being: we have a lot of information that we can impart, and certainly knowing the business side of things can be really helpful, but don’t get too sucked into these kinds of talks. Your business is writing, so make a connection with the writers. Use whatever information you find useful from these editors and agents, and throw out the rest. Whatever you do, don’t panic, hearing the kind of stuff we talk about. Sometimes people get all upset, going to a talk about, say, “Trends in Nonfiction” – someone on the panel will say that memoirs are dead, and all the memoirists in the audience will gasp and turn blue; and the reality is that no trend is dead – it just hasn’t had the next breakout book to hit yet. Let’s face it, Marley & Me is just a memoir about a guy and a dog, and there are millions of those stories out there – so who will want to buy another book like that? Millions of people, apparently. So don’t take what we have too say too seriously.

Step #3. Use Proper Etiquette When Talking To Publishing Folk. 

 

OK, if I haven’t lost you yet, then you’ve hung on for the real reason I was writing all this today. Conferences are opportunities to meet and speak with (either in a structured one-on-one setting, or informally over lunch or a beer) editors and agents – who, for the purpose of this discussion, shall henceforth be termed PF, for “Publishing Folk”. There’s a possibility to talk to these folk about your project, get their feedback – who could resist such an opportunity? Before you go and talk to them, though, here are a few handy-dandy rules to print out (with the proper copyright notice, please: © Jeff Kleinman 2006) and carry with you everywhere. They’re listed in order of importance, of course (but from most to least important, or least to most, I’ll let you decide).

1. Never hand your manuscript to PF without being asked to do so.

 

That means don’t push it under the bathroom stall, shove it under the hotel room door, leave it for them at the front desk, staple it to their windshield wipers, etc. That’s considered “unsolicited,” and you don’t want to do that. If PF ask you for your material, that’s a whole different thing, of course.

2. Be prepared.

 

Have a proposal (if NF) or the first 50 pages (if F) available, in case PF ask to see it after all. It should be nicely formatted and all that kind of nonsense.

3. Know Your Log Line.

 

A typical conversation with PF goes as follows:

You: I wrote a book.
PF: You did? Huh. What’s it about?
You: Many many longwinded sentences about your book.
PF: Huh.

Be able to boil your book down to a single sentence – and make it a single sentence that generates the following response from the PF: “Oh, wow, that sounds terrific – can I read it?” That “wow” is a very difficult thing to achieve, so it’s worth really thinking about what makes your book, and/or you, special/interesting/different/remarkable. If you can’t do it yet, that’s OK – then probably the project isn’t ready for PF after all. Use the single sentence as a test for yourself: if you can’t sum up the book succinctly and in a way that engenders immediate interest, keep rewriting the book until you can.

4. Research The PFs Ahead of Time. 

 

All PFs are not created equal. Some PFs, like yours truly, do not represent romance novels. Other PFs, like yours truly’s partner Paige Wheeler, do. It would be a mistake to ask yours truly about your paranormal romance, because I wouldn’t know a paranormal romance from a three-toed black sloth – in fact I’d certainly know a three-toed black sloth much better. You can find out about PFs from a variety of websites (including Natalie’s fabulous one). Just because you research the PF ahead of time, though, doesn’t mean that you should necessarily contact the PF and try to set up a meeting – that can be confusing and difficult to manage, since the PF is often at the mercy of the conference’s schedule.

5. Don’t Ask Overly Specific Questions at the Q&A. 

 

Q&As are times for general questions, not opportunities for you to discuss your project with a room full of strangers.

6. Relax. 

 

On several occasions at conferences, someone sits down across from me, we introduce ourselves, and then the writer on the other side of the table bursts into tears. It’s a truly weird and horrible feeling to be sitting there watching a grown woman, carefully made up, sobbing into a wad of typescript. Remember: these PFs are generally nice people. They’re generally interested in what you have to say. They’re not mean, or cruel, or vicious – and if they are, you certainly don’t have to take it; just get up and walk away. But I’d say pretty much everybody who does these conferences is a pretty nice person, most of the time – so just talk. Know what your book is about, be able to discuss it concisely and passionately. And then be ready to listen, to hear the questions the PF asks, be ready to respond concisely and passionately.

7. Know that It’s All in the Writing. 

 

Let’s repeat that: It’s All In The Writing. Conferences can be fine things, and being able to talk about your project concisely and passionately is a fine thing, too; but in the end it boils down to the words that are laserprinted on that page. PF may ask to see your material; PF may jump for joy after hearing your description; but bottom line is that PF must read your material. So although it’s always good to have the bells and whistles in place, it’s even better to have a gorgeously written manuscript. The writing is everything.

And there you have it. If you go to a conference, have a great time (and buy me a beer, if I’m there).

*****

Excerpted from Folio Literary Management's website:

I am one of the founders of Folio Literary Management, LLC. I wanted to establish an agency that is forward-thinking and able to offer services that "traditional" literary agents don't provide, so in 2006 I joined with my partners to establish Folio.

Over the course of my career I've represented many successful books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks, Mockingbird by Charles Shields, and The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. I have also had the privilege of representing the critically acclaimed Finn by Jon Clinch, Sacco & Vanzetti by Bruce Watson, and Enslaved by Ducks by Bob Tarte. My list is comprised of projects with unusual premises; books that offer up some new perspective on something I thought I already knew or never dreamed existed; and wonderful, character-driven novels. That's what I'm looking for.

Good Days And Bad Days

by Timothy Hallinan

“If boot-makers waited for inspiration, we would all go barefoot.”

-- Anthony Trollope
(Paraphrased)

So you're doing it. You're writing regularly, setting minimums and meeting them, and the pages and word count are piling up.

And then comes a string of days when inspiration has apparently gone skiing or something, and nothing comes to you, no matter how hard you chew your pencil or your nails. After a couple of hours of writing what feels like uninspired junk, it becomes obvious to you: this book is dead.

Well, cheer up. It happens to everyone.

I have writing days when it seems like the God of Librarians is sitting on my shoulder, dictating to me – days when the words come so quickly I can’t keep up with them, when my characters sing and dance and talk (often endlessly) without my having to lift a finger. These are the days all writers enjoy most.

Then there are days when every word seems to weigh fifty pounds. All the coffee in the world won’t help. Pick up a word, slam it into place, move it somewhere else, find another word, and repeat the process. On those days it usually seems to me like I’ve lost touch with my idea, or the idea stunk in the first place, or whatever talent I may have had has packed up and moved to a nicer ZIP code. Maybe someplace where good writers live.

Those are the days when learning to use a jackhammer seems like a good idea.

But here’s an extremely important secret I learned the hard way. When I read the work six weeks later, I can’t tell the good days from the bad ones. In other words, I usually have no idea whether I’m writing well or badly.

I once wrote almost an entire novel like that. After the first couple of chapters (which are always easy), every day was like breaking rocks. There were virtually no “good days.” I almost quit fifty times. Ironing shirts seemed like a better way to earn a living.

I finished it anyway and sent it off, and it turned out to be one of the best things I ever wrote. That’s not just my opinion – it got the kind of reviews writers dream about when they first think up their title, before they’ve done any real work at all.

Like most writers, I know a lot of writers. (Who else would put up with us?) They all tell me the same thing: if you define a “good day” as a day when you actually write well, they usually have no idea whether they’re having a good day or a terrible one.

What’s the lesson? Keep writing. You don't always recognize inspiration. Sometimes inspiration comes slowly and feels like drudgery. That day’s work may look wonderful a couple of weeks later. And if it doesn’t, what’s the worst that can happen? You’ve just learned one way not to write the scene. You've got something to revise and improve.

On the other hand, if you quit, what have you got? An empty page.  And there's no way to improve an empty page.

So write through the bad days, even if it feels as though you're just rolling rocks uphill. They may turn out to be the best days of all.

*****

Timothy Hallinan is the author of ten well-received novels, the most recent of which is a series of thrillers set in Bangkok, where he has lived half of each year since 1981. The Bangkok books thus far are A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART, THE FOURTH WATCHER, BREATHING WATER, and -- coming in August 2010 -- THE QUEEN OF PATPONG. His website, www.timothyhallinan.com, contains an extensive site on Finishing the Novel and a blog that's usually devoted to writing and other creative enterprises.

The Queen of Patpong: A Poke Rafferty Thriller

How Not to be the Spoonrest - Book Proposals

by Stacey Graham

Good morning, Internet!

I'm on page 72 of my book proposal for THE ZOMBIE DATING GUIDE - and boy are my arms tired. This is the third time I've tweaked this proposal into shape and I expect at least one more go around after my agent looks at it after I turn it in this week. Her job is to whip the proposal (and me) into shape before taking the proposal before editors.

One of my co-agent buddies, YA novelist Megan Curd, asked me what goes into a proposal as she's used to a synopsis so I thought I'd elucidate in case anyone else was curious. I am by no means an expert on proposals so I'm dragging y'all along on this as my learning curve morphs into a workable proposal. Each agent has her preference as to how they are formatted but it's good to have the basics down before diving into the query process unprepared to send a proposal after they respond with a request.

Think of the proposal as a business plan. It consists of manageable chunks of information that break down for the agent and the future editor what the book is about and how you as the author plan to help with marketing and promotion.

- Introduction - where you present the premise of the book and how it will better the lives of millllllions.

- Author Bio - by far the worst part of writing this thing. The thesaurus ran out of words for "awesome."

- Marketing - Who are these fabulous people that will buy your book? What market are you targeting so they get a glimmer that you're out there rubbing elbows with the big boys? Don't forget your tiny markets, in my case, zombie enthusiasts are a prime target for the book but so are humor/dating/college-age/alternative markets. It also makes a dandy anti-Valentine gift for the person who has just given up on finding a mate with a pulse.

- Completion date/estimated word count - What reasonable amount of time you expect the book to be finished after signing the book contract. Don't go crazy and say two or more years. You'll get the eye-roll and they'll go back to digging out the grounds floating on top of their coffee with their spoon. Guess whose project gets to be the spoonrest?

- Competitive titles - Similar titles and themes (zombies) so editors know if your subject has legs. If you find no one has been published on your subject, is it viable for editors to take a chance on? Okay, granted horny zombies aren't thick on the ground (thank god) but the wealth of zombie titles out there give this little pop culture goodie a chance.

- Promotion - Often a scary word to writers because who wants to leave the comfort of their pajamas to sit at a table and smile for hours. Okay, I have no problem with that but I suspect others may -- and I'll be too hopped up on sugar and gin to care. How else can you promote the book? Lectures, Skype interviews for book clubs, in my case - zombie walks and wars, conferences for your target audience, tv/radio/podcast interviews, book trailers, blog tours. Get creative and zombies will beat a path to your door. Wait. Scratch that.

- Chapter summaries/table of contents - Now to the guts of the project. Nonfiction writers spell out how the book will be broken down for the reader. I chose to write mine in voice of THE ZOMBIE DATING GUIDE'S host, Undead Fred, since it's a humor book and it presents the kind of feel I am going for. Don't try this at home if you're writing a book on infectious diseases. Nothing but the Clap is regarded as funny in that realm.

- Sample chapters - Most books recommend to send two. I'm sending five. Wha? I'm a prolific little bugger.


Do your homework, research your prospective agents for their preferences and don't be afraid of making a few mistakes. It happens, they understand and only giggle a little.

Books to check out that I found helpful:

• How to write a book proposal by Michael Larson
• Get known before the book deal by Christina Katz
• How to sell, then write your nonfiction book by Blythe Camenson
  

Websites:

• Rants & Ramblings by literary agent, Rachel Gardner
• Nathan Bransford's take on how to format a proposal

Have any tips you'd like to pass along?

One from my agent, Dawn Frederick: Always double-space and paginate your proposals. She says, "Trust me, many folks forget those 2 minor details. But if the idea is good, any agent knows it can be fixed later :)"

*****

Stacey Graham is a multi-tasking freelance writer and mother of five, living outside of Washington, D.C. Her short story, Eye of the Beholder, is featured in the first zombie romance anthology, Hungry For Your Love. Since the Undead are now a good luck charm, she's continuing the trend by writing on The Zombie Dating Guide. Please visit her blog to see what the lovelorn zombies have stumbled onto today.

No Consensus on “Perfect Project” at Backspace Writer’s Conference (But That’s a Good Thing)

by Sanna Levine

One hundred eight writers attended the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar in New York on Nov. 5-6, expecting to go home with a query letter and two pages of their novels that no agent could resist. No one did, although one writer went home with a signed contract (ed note: as of this posting four writers who attended the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar received representation).

That’s at least in part because the 30 agents who participated in the conference have 30 different ideas of the perfect book project – good news for writers because it opens the field to an enormous range of genres, topics, and voices.

The Perfect Project

For example, Rebecca Strauss, an agent at McIntosh & Otis with a background as a book scout at Sony Pictures, described her ideal book as “a book club dream project with dark humor that makes me cry.” Adam Schear of DeFiore and Company wants “something new, something touching” in both the fiction and non-fiction books he represents, although the precise specs of his perfect project defy definition. “I know it when I see it,” he said.

Alexandra Machinist, JD, an agent with The Linda Chester Literary Agency who looks for everything from swift-moving narrative non-fiction to Jane Austen to cyberpunk, likes working with screenwriters. “They know how to deliver product on deadline – a high sign of a professional,” she said. When demonstrating “platform” – the writers’ point of departure for promoting their work, such as expertise in a technical field for non-fiction writers or a widely read blog – she prefers that writer’s don’t give personal issues supremacy, such as stating biographical details in the first sentence of a query letter.

Laney Katz Becker, an agent with Folio Literary Management, LLC, disagrees. “If you’re writing about schizophrenia, I want to know if you’re schizophrenic. Publicists can use that information to sell and promote your book.”

All of the other agents at the opening panel (What Literary Agents Want) agreed that any book they represent will have a great voice, excellent writing, and a sense of humor – but those are a matter of each agent’s personal preference. “Voice” is subjective, said Ms. Katz Becker. “Some agents will hate your voice, and one will love it. That’s why you have to keep trying.”

Miriam Kriss, an agent with Irene Goodman Literary Agency who focuses on commercial fiction, looks for an “effortless” writer’s voice. When she finds the voice that makes her forget she’s reading, she calls the author immediately, “shaking and worrying that another agent will get there first.”

Consensus on What Not to Do

Beyond the prerequisites of superior voice, writing, and humor, agents agreed on what they didn’t want: vampires, zombies, and memoirs that could interest only the writers and their mothers. The exceptions, said Jennifer DeChiara, president of Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency, are memoirs with “memorable voice and unique stories, but the sad truth is that most lives aren’t that interesting.”

Like the panelists, the agents at one query letter workshop agreed on what they didn’t like. Paige Wheeler of Folio Literary Management and Stephany Evans of FinePrint Literary Management slashed bio paragraphs from a half-dozen over-long letters. “Unless you won a writing contest, don’t mention it,” said Ms. Evans.

Other query letter faux pas? Don’t mention where you grew up unless it’s important to the story. Don’t tell every plot twist – just the broad strokes. Don’t make grandiose comparisons to literary greats. Nobody will believe you just wrote the next Harry Potter series. In fact, don’t mention a multi-book series at all: A publisher doesn’t want to be stuck with a three-book series if the first book bombs. And don’t ever, ever demean yourself with ingratiating sign-offs such as “I know you’re a very busy person, so thank you for taking the time to read my letter.”

Even when agents agree on a well-written letter for an interesting project, personal preference often tips the balance between a final thumbs-up-or-down decision. For example, Ms. Wheeler and Ms. Evans of FinePrint Literary Management told Helen DePrimo “don’t change a word” of her four-paragraph query letter for a southern gothic novel.

Accordingly, Helen, who traveled from New Hampshire to attend the conference, was one of the few writers to enjoy a leisurely lunch on Thursday; most others spent the 90-minute break frantically revising and printing their letters for the afternoon workshop. In the afternoon, Lois Winston of Ashley Grayson Literary Agency and Janet Reid of FinePrint were less enthusiastic about Helen’s query, asking for less bio and more content about the story and characters.

“They said to lead the letter with the plot summary and to forget about comparables,” Helen said. “They liked the voice but not the clichés.”

Responding to both sets of advice, Helen made several versions of the letter, sending the original to the morning leaders and the revised version to the afternoon’s leaders. A week after the conference, she had a request for first refusal and several requests for the full manuscript.

Value of Face Time

Experienced, polished writers like Helen can use the face time with agents to their advantage, but not all writers are ready for publication. “I get hundreds of queries in my inbox every week,” said Gina Panettieri, President and Executive Editor of Talcott Notch Literary Agency. Only a very small percentage of queries provoke her interest.

Jennifer DeChiara reports that her days are “insanely busy. Days are for answering mail, making calls, drafting contracts,” she said. “Evenings and weekends are for reading.” Like Ms. Panettieri, she considers relatively few submissions ready for publication.

In spite of the discouraging numbers, it’s a myth that there’s no place for debut manuscripts, said Colleen Lindsay, an agent at FinePrint Literary Management (she also ran the contest whose four winners won scholarships to the Backspace conference). “A lot of agents and publishers are looking for fresh new voices,” without which the publishing industry would soon founder and fade.

The constant need for new talent is one reason why agents, with their time deficits and swollen inboxes, attend conferences like Backspace, where they’re sure to be inundated with even more queries.

Lois Winston, an agent with Ashley Grayson Literary Agency as well as a published writer herself, attends because the conference queries are better qualified. “The writers who come are more publishable. They’re serious about their craft and they’re educated about the business,” she said. “They’ve invested time and tuition, and they’re responsive to advice and instruction.”

That responsiveness is an important attribute of the signed author, Paige Wheeler said during Thursday morning’s panel discussion. “We ask writers to be patient, share information, and not to take critiques as put-downs.”

She also attends because the conference gives respite from the agent’s busy but solitary workday. “It’s just me and my computer and my phone most of the time,” she said.

Janet Reid, an agent with FinePrint, agrees. “It’s a social thing,” said. “We’re a community.”

About Self-Publishing

Regardless of how books are published and distributed, there will always be a place for good storytelling, Colleen Lindsay said at the closing panel discussion, "Breaking In: The Secret to Becoming a Published Author." Since e-books currently account for less than one percent of books, rumors of the traditional publishing model’s demise are greatly overstated.

However, there is a place for self-publishing, especially for topics with a captive audience outside regular retail avenues, such as a notable book about equine massage therapy. “Self publishing can be done right, but more often it’s done wrong,” said Ms. Lindsay. “Poor sales will be modeled, and writers can have trouble selling future books.”

Broad distribution and publicity channels – drugstores, Costco, Sam’s Club, Barnes & Noble -- are undeniable advantages of big-house publishing. Even then, publishers don’t always have the resources to throw at their mid-list books.

Another myth that needs debunking, said Jason Allan Ashlock, a principal at Movable Type Literary Group, is that because so many bad books see the light of day, editors must be lazy and indifferent. “Editors are usually smart, hardworking, and energetic in advocating their books,” he said. “Writers need to be self-critical.”

*****

Sanna Levine is a debut novelist with 25 years experience writing for trade publications. She attended a Backspace conference for the first time in November 2009 and went home with two requests for full manuscripts and a kick-ass query letter in case those requests don't pan out.

May 28 & 29 Backspace writers conference news

The May 27 Agent-Author Seminar is sold out, but there's still plenty of room at the conference! And with 18 agents, 17 authors (including New York Times bestsellers!), senior editors Neil Nyren (Putnam), Keith Kahla (St. Martin's), and Mark Tavani (Ballantine), and other publishing professionals (including a publicist, the sales rep Publisher's Weekly named "rep of the year" and a national Barnes & Noble buyer), the 2010 Backspace Writers Conference promises to be our BEST event ever!

The conference program offers a mix of agent workshops, agent, editor, and author panels, Master Classes taught by some of the top publishing pros in the business, and "Two Minutes, Two Pages" workshops with just 12 authors and 2 literary agents in each session (one session per person assigned by genre on a first come, first served basis).

New! Literary agent Donald Maass will teach a shortened version of his popular and helpful "Writing the Breakout Novel" class on Saturday afternoon.

Bonus for conference registrants only! Be sure to enter the drawing at the author booksigning Friday evening for a chance to win a Kindle on Saturday! (Must be present Saturday afternoon to win.)

New in 2010 is a group booksigning by all faculty authors on Friday evening prior to the cocktail reception. One reception ticket is included in the registration fee. Extra tickets may be purchased for a spouse or those traveling with you.

Register now! Space is limited, and workshop assignments are on a first come, first served basis, so don't delay!

May 28 & 29 - Radisson Martinique - New York City

The Seven Most Useful Books on How to Write Fiction

By Larry O'Bryan

These are the books on writing that excited me most when I read them. The ones I felt were going to be most useful to me. The Oxford dictionary defines useful as, “which can be used to advantage; helpful & beneficial."

Here is the list:

1. Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein. First published in 2005 this is the essential guidebook on how to write for our times. Broken up into sections and covering both fiction and non fiction it contains a mother lode of practical advice on issues from the writer’s job, to the Keys to Swift Characterisation, to adding Resonance.

What grabbed me about this book though was the focus on practical advice. Almost every page of my copy has a section underlined and a corner turned. This is the book I turn to again and again. If you can only afford one book on writing make it this one.

2. Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, by Donald Maass. First published in 2004 this is the workshop book for Mr Maass’ famous Writing the Breakout Novel book and training modules. Its three sections cover a wide range of topics under the section headings Character Development, Plot Development and General Story Techniques.

I went for the workbook version because I like to fool myself that I’m focused on the practical. The exercises at the end of each chapter made real sense to me too. They made me think about how to apply the excellent writing observations Donald describes so well. My copy of this book is heavily underlined and there are notes sticking out of it. I also return to Donald’s book at critical points in the development of a manuscript. This workbook should definitely be in your library, especially if commercial success is something you aspire to. If you want to write and then starve, you definitely won’t need it.

3. Conflict, Action & Suspense, by William Noble. First published in 1994 this book provides step by step guidance on setting the stage, creating and building suspense and bringing it all to a gripping conclusion.

My copy is poodle eared. For me suspense is one of the most important aspects of any novel. It’s why I keep reading. It’s what keeps me turning those pages. It’s what Michael Connelly does to make me want to buy every book he writes. What Harlan Coben does to make every book he writes go to the top of the bestseller lists. If you want to write suspense well, this is the book for you.

4. A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman. First published in 1991 Diane’s book is a grand tour of the realm of the senses. In it she describes the evolution of the kiss, the sadistic cuisine of eighteenth century England, the chemistry of pain and a lot more.

Structured into chapters for each sense, including synthesia (yes, it’s the combining of constituent elements into a single or unified entity), this unusual and thought provoking book is a treasure filled garden for those who are interested in helping readers see what they see and feel what a character feels.

5. The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman. Subtitled, A writer’s guide to staying out of the rejection pile, Noah’s book covers a lot more than just five pages.

Sensible advice about creating an opening hook, the use of phony adjectives and absolutely incredible adverbs is mixed with sage advice on how not to use metaphors, like stale confetti, and how not to turn melodramatic. The life and death of a writer are contained in these pages. For anyone who wants to avoid having their work head straight for the great landfill in the sky this is an excellent book.

6. Bullies, Bastards & Bitches, by Jessica Page Morrell. First published in 2008 Jessica’s book is dedicated to those who want to get to know a character’s sinister side.

For me, there is something endlessly fascinating about the dark side. You could ask my psychiatrist what that means, if I had a psychiatrist. But actually it’s simple. Great stories need great conflict. And great conflict often comes from situations where some of the characters insist on being bullies or bastards or bitches. If you want to understand the differences between unlikable protagonists, anti-heroes, dark heroes and bad boys read Jessica’s wonderful book. It may open up a whole new dimension for you.

7. The 3rd Act, by Drew Yanno. Drew’s book helped me understand how to build a good ending. It’s mainly aimed at script writers and it features lots of references to many of the best movies of all time. But I don’t think that makes it any less relevant to fiction writers.

There are so few books about how to construct a good ending this one deserves a place on your shelf not only for that reason, but also because it makes planning the build up, the final battle and the denoument so much more pleasurable when you understand how the masters do it. The check list at the end of the book is worth the price of admission alone.

I don’t suggest slavishly following the rules in any of these books, but to know the rules is useful, particularly if you’d like to bend them, and then break them, with your fist in the air and your hair flying out behind you. I hope you enjoyed the list.

*****

Larry was born in Ireland into a family weighed down with three generations of writers. He finished his education in England and spent ten years working with major International banks and other organisations in the City of London, at the creaking hub of world finance.

He lost his job for telling his boss, ”What part of NO do you not understand.”

Now he works from home in the sunniest part of Ireland and has two kids to keep him busy.

In 2007 he won the Outstanding Novel award at the Southern California writers conference. He has attended writing courses in Ireland, England and the U.S.. He is a member of the Irish Writing Centre, two “live” writing groups in Dublin and online writing communities in England and the States (Backspace). His new novel is almost ready for submission. After that he will be ready to submit.