A series of events is not a story

Sometimes it's useful to analyze why a book doesn't work for you.  I recently read The Dressmaker of Khair Khana.  It's the story of a family in Kabul during the takeover by the Taliban.  They had to find a way to support themselves when women were no longer allowed to work outside the home, travel without a male family member, let alone negotiate with suppliers or customers who were men.

In other words, a pretty interesting story, right?  Yes indeed. I bought the book, and read it all the way through. There was nothing overtly wrong; it wasn't a bad book that made me cranky to read,  but at the end I felt emotionally unsatisfied.  Why?

First, and this makes sense, the author did not flesh out the Taliban as a true antagonist. She's writing about real people who still live in Afghanistan, and the political situation there is still unstable. Making the Taliban the villain in the piece could have repercussions none of us want.

While the villain doesn't have to be a criminal mastermind like Snidely Whiplash, there must be a sense of the force that is thwarting the protagonist's goals.  And the protagonist has to recognize the antagonist as the antagonist. That's one of the key elements missing here. 

Without an antagonist, there's nothing at stake.  Which is ironic in that this entire family's life was at stake for most of the book. Knowing it intellectually is not the same as feeling it during the story.

Second, the main character doesn't change. I think this is due to the fact that the writer came to the story long after the events happened. She didn't know the family in 1995; she's starting her interviews in 2005. Thus, she's meeting everyone after the events in the book, and maybe didn't know to ask what the family was like before these life-altering events occurred.

And finally because there's no villain, and the characters don't change, there's rise and fall, no tension to the book. It's just a series of events. Interesting events, but at no time was I on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next.  I didn't put the book down with a sigh that it was over.

I see a lot of queries for memoir that start out "I've had an interesting life." Well, it doesn't get much more interesting than fighting for your family's survival in Afghanistan under the Taliban, and that didn't work as a story.  An interesting life is just the start. What's your story? Who's the villain? What was at stake? How did you change, or how did you effect change in the world? 

essay collections

I have written a collection (55k words) of memoir essays...sort of a memoir of unconnected chapters. I've sold some that have been published in large and small magazines.

I have queried a zillion agents without success and have concluded that unless the author has some celebrity, agents (and the large publishers) are not interested in this sort of thing. Just too uncertain to make enough money to justify the time and effort. I'm okay with that.

I am thinking I might try the small publishers directly. I am not interested in self publishing at all.

May I ask for any advice you might offer.

Unconnected chapters means there's no narrative arc. That means this book is a series of unconnected essays: so, what's it about? If you can't tell me what the book is about in 25 words or less, it's really hard to pitch it. And I don't mean just to me, I mean it's hard for me to pitch it to an editor, an editor to her boss, or to the acquisitions meeting, for sales to pitch it to accounts, for film guys to pitch it to producers, for subrights agents to pitch it to audio publishers and translation agents.

Personal memoir is often described as "tricky" which is a kind way of saying "no, not everyone has led a life that's interesting to other people." And by interesting to other people, I mean willing to fork over $16.00 to read all about it.

Notice I didn't say important and I didn't say it was dull, but face facts: people are generally interested in themselves, and books that will have resonance for them. One of the most crushing facts you learn in publishing is that No One Else Cares.

Unless you've been involved in some hitherto unknown aspect of a historically significant event, chances are your memoir isn't going to garner trade publishing interest.

Sure there are exceptions. They tend to be written by people who are bitingly funny: David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs; or by people with some significant writing credentials: David Carr.

There are exceptions to this of course, but they're rare. If you don't think they're rare it's because you don't see all the projects that DON'T get published.

I shopped two terrific memoirs in 2015, both of which I thought had real potential and neither got a nibble of any kind.

Smaller publishers can make money selling fewer copies it's true, but it doesn't mean they are less selective than anyone else. On the contrary, they're often MORE selective cause they publish fewer books than the bigs.

Without specifics about your book, remember I'm speaking in generalities here. You'd be wise to invest some time in a memoir writing workshop to get some advice from someone who's actually seen your work. Grub Street in Boston has a good one. There are others as well.

Query Question: I've drawn from my own experiences; should I say so?

Can I write in a query that some of my book is based on personal experience?

My main character is a single mother with severe social anxiety, who moves to a new city with her autistic daughter who doesn't talk and their live-in nanny. The daughter is a younger version of my daughter, who is autistic and communicates through baby signs, memorized phrases/song lyrics, and sometimes remembers she has picture cards.

The mother and her struggles with social anxiety is based on me and what I've been through (although when my baby-sitter said she was going to grad school in a different state, I resigned myself to never leaving the house again rather than moving ... I'm only half-kidding. I still have to leave the house to mow the backyard).

I don't want to say semiautobiographical, in part because I'm not 100% sure what that entails exactly, but also because the plot is fiction. There are a few scenes in the book that mirror things that have happened to me and my daughter, but the over-arching plot, the subplots, all the other characters, and the rest of those two characters' personalities - for better or worse, those are all from my head.

Is it a good idea mention in my query that those two characters are based on real people? I thought that would lend an authenticity to my novel, but I'm also concerned I'd be taking up valuable real estate in a query with information that'd be better suited to an "about me" blurb. And also maybe scaring away agents by telling them I have social anxiety.

I always hate to read "this is based on a true story" or "on real people" or worst of all "this is based on my life" in a query.  

I hate it because most people do not live lives that make good stories. Not even really well-known people. Story has a narrative arc, it has antagonists, it has a plot. My life has people who annoy the snot outta me, a to-do list that really needs to get over itself, and a lot of blog readers who make me laugh.  It's a great life, but it's sure not a novel.

And most writers (particularly at the early stage of their career) are not brutal enough to create villains out of the very real people in their lives.  "Based on real people" isn't the selling point you think it is.

Your book can certainly be informed by the experiences you've had. But your book must be able to bring that world alive without a reader knowing anything about you.

If you really want to mention this in a query here's how you do it:

Paragraph One is the same set up we always have: Who the main character is, and what does she want. What's keeping her from getting it? What's at stake if she doesn't? What will she have to give up or lose
to achieve her goal (ie what's her skin in the game?)

Paragraph Two is any writing credits you may have.

Paragraph Three is your bio. You'll say "this story is informed by my experiences with social anxiety and raising a daughter who is on the autism spectrum.

"Thank you for your time and consideration,
"Felix Buttonweezer"


And I'm not sure what semi-autobiographical is either. It sort of feels like hedging. Either it's a novel and you make it all up or it's an autobiography/memoir, and you don't make up any of it.  Very different kettles of fish.





 

Query question: my novel is based on someone's life

 I am trying to determine whether I need a contract with the woman whose coming-of-age story I'm turning into a middle-grade novel. I wish to compensate her for her time and cooperation. But am I also obligated to contract with her for her story?

The woman says she would like me to use her real name in the book, which takes place in a now-defunct culture. However, in crafting the story I've had to fictionalize dialogue and various details surrounding key events (all the while fact-checking). Since I'm not calling this non-fiction, should I also fictionalize her name?

You're missing the one thing you're really going to need from her: permission.

Here's what the National Writers Union says about the warranties and indemnities clause of a publication contract:

 
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VI. WARRANTIES & INDEMNIFICATION

1. General provisions

It is not unreasonable for the publisher to ask that you promise that the work you are submitting is original, that it has not been previously published (unless it is a reprint), that it does not infringe on someone else's copyright, and that you are free to grant the specified publishing rights.

Most standard contracts will also ask the author to promise that the work is not obscene or libelous, that it does not invade anyone's privacy, and that it does not contain recipes, formulas, or instructions that may be"injurious to the user."

All of this is known as the author's warranty, and it is usually presented together with what is known as an indemnification clause, which makes the author responsible for any legal expenses and damages resulting from lawsuits that involve violations of the above promises. 

If you are writing a book, using her name and story, you need her to sign a contract that says she gave you permission to do so, that she won't sue you for payment if the book hits the jackpot financially and that this permission applies to every other use or license deriving from the book (ie film)

In other words, you need an intellectual property lawyer here, and this is something you really do not want to mess around with.

It's not the outcome of a lawsuit that will kill your bank balance, it's the cost of defending one. And for something covered in the warranties and indemniities clause you are ON YOUR OWN for litigtaion insurance coverage. The publisher is not obliged to help you at all.

Get legal advice here. Do NOT rely on an agent or editor's advice.  This can come back to bite you in the asterisk many years later, particularly if your subject dies and her heirs take exception to you cashing checks and not cutting them in.

The lawyer will advise you on other things you'll need in the contract as well.

Please don't mess around with this or think "oh it won't matter" cause this is not a problem you want to find yourself dealing with. 

Think you're the first and only?

A recent query in my inbox laid claim to being "the first" of a certain kind of memoir. As it happened, I knew that was not the case.  I wrote back drawing her attention to the earlier book.  As you might imagine, the querier did not fall on this information with effusive thanks, return emails of kitten pictures or even silence.  Oh no, unasked for advice, particularly of the unwelcome sort generally get replies steeped in sulfur and singed at the edges.

Oh well.

The problem here of course is that if I know about the earlier book,  it's a good chance that most other agents will too.  And a quick search of the Amazon data base turns it up as well.

When you claim to be first or only, and I'm interested in your book, I dig around before I reply "yes, please send me your manuscript."

It's not so much it's a problem that you're NOT first, as that you are clearly sloppy in your thinking and research. Frankly, that's death for me in non-fiction. Non-fiction requires meticulous research and documentation.

I remember hearing the utterly amazing Robert Caro speak several years back and he just casually mentioned he'd checked with the Historian of the Senate six different times on a single fact, as he got more information about an event.  I would have stood up and screamed "that's how it's done" as if he'd hit a home run at Yankee Stadium, but we were in a library and librarians always have me on my best behavior.

So, what does this mean for you in your queries and writing?

Obviously it means do your research.  If you can't find books in your category, are you using the right category? And are you skimming rather than digging deep? And have you gone to your local library and found the reference librarian and asked for help?

If you're not sure you're the first or only, don't say you are.  Find another aspect of your story that distinguishes you from the pack. 

The relationship between Mallomars and NF book proposals

In a recent conversation with a writer, I tried to explain why a non-fiction book proposal needed more than just new information: he had to explain the significance of the new information.

We floundered around for a while trying to pinpoint what I meant.

Here's what I came up with:

Imagine that two thousand years in the future, archaeologists are reconstructing my life. I am a very very famous historical figure because I am both a human being and a shark. Everyone "knows" this because my shark image survived, as did some of my apartment and some of my writing.  (Why I am famous is left to your imagination.)

As with all reconstructed lives there are some questions. One thing though that people KNOW is I am a Zoroastrian.  They are certain of this because my writing frequently references "platform."   Historians have surmised I am a Zoroastrian because Zoroastrians place their dead on platforms (no, really!) to be eaten by vultures and thus returned to the cycle of life. What else could platform mean?



One day the archaeologists discover a cache of odd objects. Paper, bound in leather, indexed***.  It looks like a series of lists, arranged by date. Lists of things believed to be food items: pasta, coffee, creamer, Mallomars, cheddar cheese.

There are hundreds of these lists, a real find.

Historians set to work analyzing the new information.  They organize the list to see which items appear most often, and the least often. They puzzle over "lettuce" (A cache of the writings of Travis Erwin comes to light years later and that mystery is solved)

One clever undergraduate notices that periodically the lists do NOT include coffee or Mallomars. She creates an excel spread sheet to match items with dates.

It soon becomes clear that coffee and Mallomars disappear from the list for about six weeks every spring.  The dates are not consistent but the six week time period is.

The undergraduate, keen on finishing her thesis, graduating and running off to Antarctica for a beach holiday (hello, global warming) digs around diligently. She consults tide tables, weather patterns, election results, bail bonds records, astrology charts, and casting calls from Pixar Studios.

Soon she realizes the six week period is always linked to the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

Wait a second. Isn't that the period a small sect of Christians known only as "cat-licks" called Lent, and observed by giving up things. Things like coffee and chocolate?

But we know she's  Zoroastrian, everyone knows that.

Except maybe not.

This casts a whole new light on things. It's a very SIGNIFICANT discovery because it challenges a long held belief.

And if platform doesn't mean Zoroastrian platforms, then what does it mean?  Well, that's a topic for a graduate thesis, hello Antarctica here I come.



And that in a nutshell (or a grocery bag) is what a non-fiction book proposal must explain: why this book is significant. Why it matters.

You can have the cache of grocery lists, but you have to tell me why it's significant.  You can have a great story but you have to be able to explain why it's important.  "It's my life" is not the correct answer.

This is where most personal memoir fails the "is this publishable" test: most lives are not significant. They may be interesting (or at least I hope they are to the people who lived them) but it's rare to find a memoir that includes something that is significant to a large group of people.




***no, I do not really print, index and bind my grocery lists, all reports to the contrary.

Here's a piece of a recent post by Kari Dell, one of the Fabulosity:

Since joining the board of directors at our local historical museum, my views on memoirs, family histories and even diaries have changed tremendously. I'd always thought of these things in one of two ways: either you had to live a big, important life to be worth writing about (aka, selling) or it only mattered to your family. Now I've seen how these personal accounts of a normal life can be a treasure trove for historians.

Rather than blathering on, I'm going to refer you to one of the masters, William Zinsser, whose book On Writing Well is considered a touchstone for non-fiction writers. This article from The American Scholar is a wonderful read:  How to Write a Memoir

From that article I condensed this nugget, a bit of advice any writer in any genre should heed:

"When you write...don't try to be a writer....Be yourself and your readers will follow you anywhere. Try to commit an act of writing and your readers will jump overboard to get away."

So write your story, large or small. You never know what value they will hold for those to come.

could not have said it better myself (which is of course why Kari is the writer, and I am the ...not)

Conference focused on narrative non-fiction

There aren't a lot of conferences that focus on non-fiction so I was pleased to see this one:

The 2nd Annual River Teeth Nonfiction Conference 

May 17-19, 2013 

Join us in Ashland, Ohio for two full days of manuscript consultations, seminars, readings and community, all focused on the craft of nonfiction. The conference will focus on essay, memoir, and literary journalism.

There's not an agent or editor among the panelists (which is GOOD!)==this is a conference to focus on craft first.

 More details at the website.

Querying memoir

A unforeseen but lovely benefit of the New Wrinkle Experiment is that I can hear back from writers about things that were confusing in the directions, on my website, or other places where I've yammered about queries.

One such confusion is about how to query memoir.

Memoir is sold like novels (they have to be finished before you query) even though it is non-fiction.  Several people read that sentence and interpreted it to mean they should write the query letter in the third person.  This makes sense when you think of how many times you've heard not to write your query in the first person of your character (and since your memoir's main character is you) so, ok third person it is.

Except no. No no and really no.  Even Her Maj The Q refers to herself with the Royal We, not the Royal Third Person.

Query your memoir in first person. This is YOUR story.  You can use "I" and be ok. 


And when you query for a memoir, remember you're going to need a plot, just like all those novelists out there.  You need to convey concisely and elegantly what choice you faced, what the stakes were, and how the world is different because of that.

If your memoir is something other than that, you're probably writing what I'm starting to call non-commercial memoir.  There's real value in that too, and I'll be talking about that more in the coming days.  Watch for the blog posts, ok?

Further info on Non Commercial Memoir

Dear Janet Reid,


I've been helping ordinary people tell their life story now for 22 years, and discovered some time ago that I was not alone. Think of the Association of Personal Historians when you get some of these noncelebrity memoir queries -- in a sense, personal historians are ghostwriters or collaborators for hire, but unlike collaborators hired to write memoirs published by traditional publishers, personal historians do the whole package, from interviewing (or teaching a life writing course, or editing a manuscript) to production of a book, or an oral history (and transcript--for those who suspect a digital recording might not be easily accessible 50 years from now), or a video.  For an example of the latter, look at Jim Walsh's tribute to his father:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SIr7ODvYRc&feature=share

I've provided a link to some resources for people who want to tell their story here:
http://www.patmcnees.com/telling_your_story_29161.htm

Here are more videos:
http://www.patmcnees.com/telling_your_story_29161.htm#bookmark7

You can also find resources here:
Association of Personal Historians
http://www.personalhistorians.org
(and there is a conference in mid-October in St.. Louis, this year -- it's a moveable feast)
(I am a past president of the organization, by the way.)

With clients who can afford the Full Monty, I've overseen production of some books that are far nicer (in production quality) than any I've seen from traditional publishers.  But it's the stories and the words themselves, and the photos, and the capturing of moving images and sound, however raw or polished, that count with these personal histories.  And the process alone is invaluable.  Here's a story I wrote  for the Journal of Geriatric Care Management:
The Beneficial Effects of Life Story and Legacy Activities
http://www.comfortdying.com/the_beneficial_effects_of_life_story_and_legacy_activities_106152.htm

I was at the first two conferences of Biographers International (in Boston and DC) but skipped the one in Los Angeles. In my mind, doing personal histories for private clients is one way authors who are living on lower-than-ever advances can supplement their income.  That's why I started doing it, and once I started I did not turn back (although I also do organizational histories).

I also teach life writing workshops at the Writer's Center in Bethesda.  Similar workshops are taught all around the country (and are sometimes sponsored by churches and other community centers).  This is no way to make a living but it is one of the most satisfying things I do, and the people who take the courses really get a lot more done, because they have a ready-made audience and a weekly deadline.  They bond, they become friends, and they start writing about things they have not thought about (or talked with their own family about) for years.  At the moment I am putting some of the products from these workshops to bed as books. This kind of thing is happening all around the country.  It is hot!

Non-commercial memoir

You'll hear me talking about non-commercial memoir in the coming weeks and months. I wrote a blog post for BiblioBuffet about how I got started thinking about it.

Writing memoir? Here's a tip

Ann Beattie wrote a terrific line in one of my favorite short stories of all time, “Snow.”

This is what she said: “Any life will seem dramatic if you leave out mention of most of it.”

Holy Ghosts is a memoir and like most memoirs it leaves out a lot of the day-to-day experiences that a person has—standing on a line at the grocery store, cleaning the house, cooking food, doing laundry, the mundane but necessary things we do at work. To include all those things in a memoir would make for a cumbersome story and probably just bore people to tears.

So, this book really does focus primarily on the extraordinary circumstances that happened over a twelve month period in my family’s life (as well as a number of flashbacks from when I was a young boy). 

the complete interview with Gary Jansen is here.

No, no, no.

"This is a fictional memoir."

noooo no no.

For starters, publishers are a trifle leery these days of "fiction" and "memoir" appearing in the same sentence. Frey-tened you might say.

Second, if it's fiction, and thinly disguised, you can STILL get sued, and LOSE. Anybody can sue about anything, but until last year, we all comforted ourselves that the disclaimer "this is a novel, I made it all up" would protect us.

After the court case in Hall County, Georgia, that changed.

So, no "fictional memoirs" and no "thinly disguised roman a clefs" As a novelist you always got to make stuff up; now you really have to.