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Notes from the incoming query holding pen

This morning I checked my voracious spam filter (Priscilla Queen of the Just Desserts) and found an incoming query. (Priscilla is fierce but slightly stupid, bless her heart.)

I had to look at the email to make sure it wasn't spam and from the first glowing sentence, I knew I was in the presence of someone who could really REALLY write.

Her query did the ONE thing it needed to: it enticed me to read the book. It enticed me to read something that might not be finished, on a topic I normally hide under my desk to avoid.

And earlier this week I got a query that was a total disaster in paragraph one, and got better in paragraph two but not until the final sentence did it hook my interest. And it did.  One sentence. At the end.  And it did what a query letter needed to do: enticed me to read the project.

I mention this because many of you are getting the idea that your query letter has to be "perfect" to elicit a YES, SEND from an agent.   There are a number of sites (my QueryShark included) that show you how to polish and hone queries.  Workshops and conferences abound with presentations on How To Write The Perfect Query.  You can buy six books on the subject without leaving your desk chair if you click on any writing reference section of an online bookstore.

But the  unvarnished truth is this: good writing and enticing concepts trump form. Almost every time.

It doesn't hurt to polish your query. It's better that you do.  But it's not a checklist.  You can make mistakes; you can break rules and still get YES, SEND from me.

I'm always looking for that one project that makes me forget it's raining and I have to go to work on a crowded subway in five minutes.  I'm always looking for the one project that makes me want to stay home and read it NOW.

I can and do overlook all sorts of "mistakes" when the writing is brilliant or the concept is hot. 

Every agent I know feels the same way.

Have a Stephen King fan on your gift list?

I found this at Fear.net in a post by Brian James Freeman:

The Stephen King Library Desk Calendar 2012 is now shipping from the Book-of-the-Month Club and they've really hit a home run again this year. The theme is The Dark Tower and the cover is a cool 3-D hologram, but the flat scan in this post doesn't really do the effect any justice.

Here's the rest of the post Notice that our own Jeff Somers is one of the contributors!

Mama said there'd be daze like this

Lit Agent Victoria Marini tweeted the link to a Gawker post about a clearly insane person claiming to be a lit agent (here) which made me reach for the bourbon, just as an incoming email  from Amazing Editor persuaded me to make it a double.  Here's what AE sent:


 So, the same person who sent me (and four other editors here simultaneously) the query on the [redacted] novel, sent me a query today for…something.  But what got my attention was the book’s “genre” as: Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Historical, Romance, Suspense



It's SuperBook! It appeals to everyone! Except of course, anyone who actually knows what they're doing.

Happy Thanksgiving

The most Electrifying* unSuitable* Qontest* EVER! opens 11/19

Last Sunday I attended a reading by Jeff Somers, Evan Mandery, and Sean Ferrell. It was organized by the devilishly handsome Brooks Sherman

These guys are so awesome and talented and funny that all I do is howl with laughter (and pick up the bar tab) when I'm with them.


It dawned on me that the series of photos from this event would be deliciously diabolical prompts for a writing contest!

Usual rules: write a story using 100 words or less. Reference the photos in any order you choose. You MUST reference ALL the photos. Bonus points if you manage to include a reference to Brooks. Reference means that each photo must illustrate a particular moment in the story. (the words Photo x do NOT count for the word count)

Here's an example:


Dan said "You guys should pretend to be each other."
Sean thought that was a good idea until he realized he would have to be Jeff. (photo 1)



Post the story in the comments column of this blog post. Contest opens Saturday 11/19 at 9am. Closes Sunday 11/20 at 9pm. 36 hours of terrifying torment.

Oh, and the prize? Books from all three of the authors. If you already own any of them, and you win, we can come up with a substitute.

Ready?
Set?
DRAFT!
(comments closed until 11/19 at 9am)
GO!
Contest now closed! Winner announced as soon as I quit howling with laughter.


Got questions? Tweet to me @janet_reid and I'll answer

Photo 1: Left to right Dan Krokos, Sean Ferrell, Jeff Somers

Jeff Somers, Sean Ferrell

Photo 3: Evan Mandery

Photo 4: Sean Ferrell

Photo 5: Jeff Somers

Photo 6: the captive audience

*The Electric Church by Jeff Somers

*The Man in the Empty Suit by Sean Ferrell

*Q by Evan Mandery

Can you find all ten mistakes?

This letter was sent to an editor in NYC who works at a publisher that does not accept unagented projects. (Read this, and you'll understand why!)

Can you spot all ten errors?



Hi (editor's name redacted)

I would like to speak with you and your team about an instant book project entitled (redacted)

We anticipate this book will be a blockbuster for this Christmas, as it profoundly captures the (redacted) and [is] a prophetic revelation concerning the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, who will win and why the Lord has chosen him.

You can learn more about us at (redacted)

Please give me a call at the number below so we can discuss this further. The book is complete and ready for market. I will send you all a PDF of the entire manuscript upon request.


1.  Don't  EVER plan to speak with an editor to pitch a  project. You've got to entice them fully at the written query stage.

2. Most editors, even if they work in a large publishing company, do not have teams.  This is not a Japanese car assembly plant or the NY Yankees.

3. Instant book project.  These are "crashed" books, and they're normally for breaking news or current events with red hot interest. They are not initiated by query letters from unknown writers.

4. Blockbuster is a term from the movies.

5. Christmas release is not a term you'll find in publishing.  Christmas books are released in October and November. In other words, you're too late.

6. The outcome of the 2012 Presidential election will be old news the day after the election. Which is just about when this book would be published.

7. Don't expect an agent or editor to go to your website for information that should be in a query.

8. Don't expect an agent or editor to call you. Most initial contact is by email.

9. "Ready for market" implies that all the publisher has to do is slap a cover on it and ship it to bookstores.  This demonstrates a complete and utter lack of understanding about the value a publisher adds to a book, and the publishing process.  More than that, it tells me the writer will be someone who does not appreciate those things and thus will be VERY difficult to deal with.

10. Editors and agents generally prefer text documents for manuscripts. They're easier to reformat and transmit.

and the obvious one of course is that this query went to an editor who doesn't take unagented submissions and whose area of expertise isn't even close to what this book is about.

When "the world's toughest book critics" pick you...

it's a pretty good day!

yowza!

We're in pretty good company here! RT announces the nominees for Best First Mystery of 2011, and there's Steve Ulfelder on the list. Yow!!!

Let the casting fun begin!

I am, sir, your devoted admirer

It's not too often (i.e. never in living memory) a press release  might actually be a great piece of flash fiction.

And yet, here it is.



My hat's off to: John Shiffert, Director of University Relations at Clayton State University (Home of the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Champions)

DePoy Kills Off Fever Devilin… King and Eco Claim Unfair Advantage in Literary Struggle

Morrow, Ga., Nov. 8, 2011 – On the same day that Stephen King and Umberto Eco both have new novels hitting the book shelves, Clayton State University’s Phillip DePoy dropped a bombshell in the sixth installment of his Fever Devilin mystery novel series, also released today. As DePoy explained to a rapt audience at a reading this noon in the Clayton State Loch Shop, he killed off Fever Devilin, the first-person narrator of the series, in the very first page of “A Corpse’s Nightmare.”

As can probably be guessed, Devilin is the corpse in question, leaving DePoy with something of a challenge after, in effect, writing the protagonist out of the script at the start of the book. Possibly more shocking is the thought that DePoy had in some sense committed a virtual literary hari-kari, since the Fever Devilin character, a Georgia folklorist by trade, sometimes bears a striking resemblance to author/folklorist DePoy. (And an alliterative connection as well… Phillip DePoy… Fever Devilin.)

However, not to worry, as DePoy made clear later in the reading. “A Corpse’s Nightmare” isn’t a one-page book, and the Clayton State Theatre will not need a new director for Thursday’s opening of “Moonshine and Magnolias.” As DePoy pointed out to his audience, while he liked the literary device of disposing of the first-person narrator at the start of the book, the challenge to the book came after page one – what to do for the rest of the story. It was a challenge that DePoy relished. In fact, he noted that most people will, consciously or unconsciously, look for challenges in their lives, a truism that should also attract readers to “A Corpse’s Nightmare.”

Without spoiling the suspense in the rest of the novel (Minotaur Books; $25.99; hardcover) suffice it to say that DePoy brings Devilin back to life, borrowing from a real-life medical miracle he witnessed decades ago as an X-ray technician at Piedmont Hospital. In fact, Devilin is so lively that DePoy fans will be pleased to know that the seventh Fever Devilin mystery is due at the publisher by year’s end.

"A Corpse's Nightmare" will be The Loch Shop Book of the Week from Nov. 8 through Nov. 11, selling at a 30 percent discount, so the $25.99 cover price will be reduced to just $18.19. The Loch Shop is located on the first floor of the Clayton State Student Center.


“Moonshine and Magnolias,” the fall production of the Clayton State Theatre, is a script written by Clayton State graduate Kalani Fraser (Fayetteville), under commission from Stately Oaks Plantation. A portrayal of  the City of Jonesboro that will initially performed by the students of the Clayton State Theater, under the direction of DePoy, the show dates are Nov. 10, Nov. 11, Nov. 12, Nov. 17, and Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. All performances will be held in the Clayton State Theatre, room 132 of the University’s Arts & Sciences Building. General admission is $5, although LakerCard holders are admitted free.

Maybe Fever Devilin will be there, too.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.

You'll recall that I am a devoted admirer of the writer as well.

hubba hubba!

Warren Richey blurbed this book so of course I was interested in taking a look. Then I saw the cover.

Yowza!

I'd buy this for the cover alone, but if you really want to know what the book is about:


Fearless is the story of a remarkable individual who accepts no personal limits—including fear. Freya Hoffmeister, a forty-six-year-old former sky diver, gymnast, marksman, and Miss Germany contestant, left her twelve-year-old son behind to paddle alone and unsupported around Australia—a year-long adventure that virtually every expert guaranteed would get her killed. She planned not only to survive the 9,420-mile trip through huge, shark-infested seas, but to do it faster than the only other paddler
who did it.




Pub date is January 12, 2012. You can bet I have a copy pre-ordered.

A Day in the Life of an Amazing Editor

“Do de doh…wonder what the mail will bring today?”

“Why hello, Mail Dude. Here is the submission that agent was so excited about!”

“Wow, this is really terrible! She thought she’d get six figures for this?”

“Agents who overpitch drive me nuts. Wait’ll I tell the gang about this one.”

"We donned snorkel gear because we hear this is a real stinker.”

“Hee! Ha! Hoo-boy!”

“What a day. Let’s go to the bar.”

and to think, I knew him way back when!

Dan Krokos' debut novel gets scooped up by Hollywood.
I think I might be so excited I'm swimming in circles.

If you are a writer

Read this post by Sara Zarr
Now.

yes

Exactly what I think.

Major Pettigrew!

It was a lovely evening here in NYC so a merry band of FPLM agents trekked down to the WIX.com office on 18th Street to hear "The Making of a Bestseller" sponsored by the good folks of the Women's National Book Association-NYC chapter.

We were glad we got there early; the place filled up fast!

The author Helen Simonson (left); her delightful agent Julie Barer (middle); and amazing editor Susan Kamil (right) were the first speakers.

These are just a few of the notes I made:

Q to Helen: How did come to write Major Pettigrew's Last Stand?

HS: I finally wrote something just for me. I had no idea if it was any good. I took it to my critique group and when they read it, they just started talking about the Major. That had never happened before--they didn't critique it, they just talked about it.

Q to Julie: How did you connect with Helen?

I agreed to judge the first chapters submitted in a contest run by a Bronx writing group. How much reading could it be, just first chapters? (howls of laughter from all the agents in the audience--and most of the editors too!)

As soon as I read Helen's chapter, I got in touch with her. "I'd love to read the rest," I said, only to learn the first chapter was all there was.

So I stayed in touch and finally it was done, and Helen emailed "you may not remember me" (here Julie gives the universal sign for 'she's GOT to be kidding, of course I remember her!') and I read it right away. And I loved it. I just loved it. I felt so happy at the end of the book. I couldn't wait to tell everyone about it.



Q to Susan Kamil: And what caught your eye?

SK: When Julie called and said she had something she knew I would like, I paid attention. (Then Susan reads the first paragraph from the book) And once I read that paragraph, I closed my door and read for the next four hours. And I loved it.

And my job is to bring the very best books to Random House, and I knew if I loved this, other people would too.

I put together my offer, and because I knew I needed to move fast, I put on my coat, walked across the street to where Gina Centrello was having lunch (thank goodness she wasn't in Istanbul like she is today!) and said "we have to buy this book right now" and Gina said yes, and we did.


Once the book was acquired, marketing, publicity and the paperback team get involved. For this book it was (l) Avideh Bashirrad,VP, Director of Marketing; (middle) Karen Fink Associate Director of Publicity; and (r) Jane von Mehren, Senior VP, Publisher, Director of trade paperbacks.

Question to Avideh Bashirrad: How did you market this?

AB: We ran a traditional grass roots campaign. We got out a lot (2000!) Advanced Reader Editions. Sent to both the trade accounts (stores) and consumers (bookclubs) And they LOVED it. They loved the Major. We even ended up sending "I love the Major" stickers in kits to bookstores and bookclubs. People wrote to us telling us how much they loved the book.


Question to Karen Fink: What was the goal for publicity for the book?

We wanted an interview on NPR. We thought the book was a good fit for the NPR audience so I was hounding the producer of the Diane Rhem show (general laughter here from everyone in the audience who was a publicist or had been a publicist!)

We found out the New York Times was going to run a review in the daily paper. That of course induced major panic: what would it say? Well, it turned out Janet Maslin LOVED the book. She wrote a major love letter to Major Pettigrew. We were thrilled. And my phone rang, and it was producer of the Diane Rhem show who said "I know you've been after me to read this book, and Diane read Janet's review and we want to do it."

And all of this happened right around the publication of the book, so we decided to send Helen out on an 8 city tour. In two weeks! (The aforementioned publicity contingent in the audience all faint dead away.)

And everyone who had Helen at the store wrote to us and wanted her back again. She was enormously popular.


Q to Jane von Mehren: The paperback came out relatively quickly (not the usual year) after the hardcover. What motivated that?

JvM: We wanted to capitalize on the success of the hardcover and get the paperback in the stores for Christmas. And it worked. As of today there are 382,000 copies of Major Pettigrew out there.

This was an amazing event with people who are passionate about books, and clearly love their jobs. Let no one tell you publishing is dead. It's alive and well here tonight!

Sic transit gloria art

FPLM field trip to McNally Jackson last night!

I was waylaid by an unexpected vision; the windows of Desigual are illuminated by changing colored lights. The effect is a wonderful piece of art there on 35th Street and Sixth Avenue. Sadly, my camera does not do it justice.

There are going to be a LOT of people gathering at that public plaza to see the Macy's windows come this holiday season. I wonder how many of them will turn around to see this amazing art right behind them?

Our field trip to McNally Jackson was for [sic] by Joshua Cody. Yes that's the title of the book. The Guardian UK describes it thus: Joshua Cody was 34 when he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour. In  [Sic], he tells how he confronted the cancer with chemotherapy and cocaine, martinis and one-night stands

We were early thank goodness because there was a crowd and by 7:15 it was standing room only.

Joshua Cody is an amazing writer, but even more to the point for a reading, he's an amazing reader.

[sic] is mordantly hilarious, but probably not the right thing if you've just lost a person to a terrible disease (my companion in crime mentioned that to me afterwards).

If you're a writer, this book is interesting from a technical standpoint because the sentences are much longer than what I'd think of as usual.  Yet, they work.  Part of that may be due to Joshua Cody's background in music. I wish I'd thought to ask him last night.  Perhaps one of you can track him down at a reading and ask for me!

Now that I've snuggled with Jack Reacher, what's next?

As everyone living reading this blog knows I'm a devoted fan of Lee Child and the Jack Reacher novels.  Despite his devotion to pleasing his fans,  Lee Child can write but one, maybe two, books per year. Sadly, I read faster than that.

Enter the book bag of enticements at Bouchercon 2011.  The new John Sandford SHOCK WAVE was enclosed.  I'd heard of John Sandford, seen him on panels, thought he was a nice guy.  I might have read one or two of the very first books way back when.

But I wasn't a fan. Certainly not in the way I'm a Jack Reacher fan: drooling, demanding, deranged all come to mind.

But, I had a four hour trip to Boston on the train. Starting at 8:30 am. I knew there was no way I was going to go for anything serious at that hour of the morning. And SHOCK WAVE had the added beauty of being an ARC: paperback, and when I was done, I could leave it behind.

So I took it for the train ride.

And oh boy am I glad I did.

Amtrak was having a fit of the vapors on Wednesday and I did NOT care!  I was glad of the extra time in fact.

SHOCK WAVE is a terrific book. The main guy, Virgil Flowers, isn't taking Jack Reacher's place in my heart any time soon, but I'd let him buy me a drink and wax enthusiastic about his odd musical tastes.

John Sandford is a New York Times bestselling author. He doesn't need my help to promote his books but he's gonna get it anyway.  If you need a good thriller for a Christmas gift, SHOCK WAVE should be on your list.

And it's the fifth in the Virgil Flowers series...so there's enough back list to satisfy those of us who don't like to wait around to read the next one.

Marathon Day!

The streets start out pretty empty. The police are the first sign of the coming runners

These guys had the best seats in the house!

Pace car for the elite women! This is mile 11-she's here in under an hour.

Here she comes!

and she's all alone. I've never seen a leader this far in front before.

the next elite women are almost 2 full minutes back at Mile 11

The third wave of elite women-notice the guy filming for TV

And there they go. They move past me in two seconds--literally.

8

Time car for the elite men-notice it's less than the womens, even though later.

Here they come!

The orange shoes!

Soon the streets get full-these are the early runners.

These kids were having such a good time cheering!

the streets are full now, and will be for an hour

I was actually afraid to lean into the street to retrieve Steph's hat!

And these are the marathoners who define grit and determination.