Things that made me VERY happy in 2012

FinePrint got new digs!

The move was a total pain in the asterisk, but what move isn't.
I love our new spot though, right in the Flower District and
outside the madness that is Macys during the holiday season.

 The best part of the new location though is a great open air plaza right next to us.

Of course, we had to have help warming up the office so I invited Holly Root
and La Slitherina Herself Barbara Poelle over to get the place properly toasted!

Things that made me VERY happy in 2012

The arrival of my youngest friend Charlotte.
She'll graduate from high school in 2030.
She'll graduate from college in 2035 (there's a gap year to backpack around Yurp.)

I'm already planning to teach her how to say "one more story" just to keep her parents on their toes!

Things that made me happy in 2012 (a growing list)

I have a thing about Waffle House.
I love it.
I love it a LOT.

I begged my fabulous client Karen Kennedy to go there when I zipped down to Atlanta for a conference a few years back. Being a well-bred southern lady (albeit with a very criminal mind!) she was reluctant to take me to a place that she considered...well...low-rent.

But I whined, pleaded, and she relented. (Boy was she sorry when upon learning I could not buy a souvenir coffee mug, I threatened to purloin one)



Sadly, there are no Waffle Houses near Brooklyn. 

But this past June I was pried out of NYC by the beguiling invitation of a road trip with Sorche Fairbank. I will go anywhere with Sorche. She's the absolute definition of boon traveling companion, and it doesn't hurt that she's one helluva good literary agent too, so I get the benefit of her insights under the guise of casual conversation.

I may have not mentioned my devotion to the Waffle House until we'd cleared the Holland Tunnel and it was too late to turn back.

We hit the first Waffle House in Harrisburg.
And the second one in West Virginia.
And the third one in Lexington, KY.

And then, there was that last one. I think Sorche was green by that point, but she is a true blue friend, and we hit the Waffle House for the fourth time in five days.

She gave me lentil bean soup for Christmas and mentioned something about a juice cleanse.

But my heart remains true to Waffle House!

It was a real highlight of 2012.

and I guess the Waffle House loves me too!!

Things that made me very happy in 2012 (2nd on a list)

Happy Holidays from Dancers Among Us! from Jordan Matter on Vimeo.



Dancers Among Us!

I love this book with a passion. I ordered a copy, then ordered another for my dancer sister, then I ordered a bunch more just to have on hand for people I loved. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!! It captures everything beautiful and joyful and energetic about life, and it will make you happy to read it. Don't think of it as a book. Think of it as the cure for winter blahs.

Things that made me VERY happy in 2012 (start of a list!)

Remember this post on Query Shark?

Well, I just got the ARC for PREMEDITATED by Josin McQuein and I am so happy I can't see straight. Front cover:

And here's the back!

Proof positive that a great query letter serves you long after you win QueryShark, secure an agent and get a book deal. That's the back jacket copy that's getting everyone excited to read this book.

How To find out if your agent is an idiot-part IV**

One of my editor friends forwarded an email this morning.

When I read it, I couldn't believe my eyes!

Dear Editor:

On October 15th I sent you a pitch inviting you to consider  (title), by (author). On November 14th I sent you a follow up to make sure that you had received the pitch because I had not heard back from you.

I have unfortunately not received a response from you after the second e-mail either, so you're either not receiving my e-mails or you're very busy. I will therefore regretfully have to redirect this invitation. If you find this message after the fact, please accept my apologies for having to withdraw this manuscript, but we usually receive a lot of interest in manuscripts I have been asked to keep to a timeline.

If you do receive this e-mail, and would like to see the manuscript, please let me know today, because of course I would prefer to work with you on this project!

Oh Agent baby, that ship has sailed.  Most editors I know don't like to start out being scolded by agents for being unresponsive.  Even if it's true (and it's NOT for this particular editor) it's not a particularly successful sales technique.

I thank you for your time, and hope that we can work together on another project in the near future.

I hope for lots of things too.

Aside from annoying the snot out of a perfectly nice editor, what does this mean?

For you, the author, it means your work got withdrawn before an editor ever read it.

This is YOUR work being pitched, and you can ask to see a submission sheet from your agent with dates on it.  Dates that a manuscript was pitched, dates that the agent followed up.

Obviously every agent works in their own way.  And while it's true that time does have a tendency to get away from us all, and Hurricane Sandy messed up lots of submissions this fall, you should have a sense your agent is actively working on your project while on initial submission.

And your agent should be willing to share those details with you. It's YOUR project, your career.

Keep each list and if it's clear that your "agent" is "withdrawing" your manuscript from one editor and pitching another at the same house, that's a red flag. It happens but not often.  And pulling a ms after two emails, absent some other set of circumstances, is just plain strange.

Lighting a candle, not cursing the darkness

I love New York.

(it's worth the stupid 15 second commercial wait)

A sawbuck well spent

Four Writers House agents are raffling off mss critiques for a good cause. Details here.

Violence

Violence changes you.
A violent death changes a family forever.

It changes how people see you, and talk to you. And about you.
It changes every aspect of your life.

Every Christmas, every birthday, every holiday, every occasion, someone is missing.

Suddenly you're not the middle child. You're the oldest or the youngest.

Suddenly the number of siblings you have, the number of children in the family is a loaded question.

Suddenly you never hear a name without thinking of someone else who had that name.

You're now someone else. You're The One Who Lost A.

Some people find a way out of that lost and terrible new place.
Some people live there forever.


I pray today's violence in Connecticut will change us in a better way.   No one, NOT ANYONE, wants little children to be martyrs to the Second Amendment.  The perpetrators of this crime were not responsible gun owners and but it's not responsible gun owners who are the problem.


We must solve this problem ourselves.  Politicians, in the frenzied grasp of money wielding lobbyists, are unable to see beyond their campaign coffers.
We must do this ourselves.

We must come up with a solution we can all live with.

Live with.

I pray we all want that. Especially those who live in or have glimpsed today the lost and terrible land of After.

Salvation

I'm in the middle of the first bout of galloping crud this winter, and feeling a bit snarly because of it. I'm also really looking forward to Christmas vacation, so each day until we close up shop seems longer than the last.

In other words, I'm wallowing in self-pity.

Then, I read this. 





Yea, I'm laughing out loud at this one.
Then I remember that I represent Kari Dell, and I get to read her novels before anyone else.

So, long self pity! Hellooooo I Love My Job!

Swagnoscenti!

One of the ways authors try to get a little extra attention at an event like Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, or Crime Bake is to put something in the bag o'swag given to all attendees.

I spent some time stuffing those bags at two recent conferences (a good way to meet the people who make the conference happen by the way) and a lot of years getting them at conferences and cons.

Mostly I throw the stuff away.  Sorry. I know it pains your heart and wallet to hear.  I toss postcards, pens (I have a certain kind of pen I like) and gum. I toss the flyers after a quick once-over. And I mostly leave the books on the give-back table cause I don't want to pay to ship them, and I don't want to haul them.

In this I am probably an anomaly.

But.

There's one swag item I've actually used a lot since I got it and I think it's a terrific item for swag bag:

It's lip balm with the book cover for Hank Phillipi Ryan's THE OTHER WOMAN.   I'm more aware of this book than almost any other these days cause I'm looking at this cover a LOT.

Smart girl our Hank!

Author bios

So, about that bio section of your query.

Here's a bio I came across today after following a link on twitter:

I have this love/hate relationship with tiny-town Texas [the setting for the novel]. Obviously I love it -- I grew up there, my family is there, my heart is there. My daddy. Sisters. Nieces. My friends. I know that place like I know my own bed.

But.

I don't live there. I can't. I'm a pink-haired, tattooed, opinionated lesbian that refuses to apologize for being who I am. It's impossible to go home without making the people that live there incredibly uncomfortable and, unfortunately, that can lead to violence. I'll never be able to go home again. I know that.

It's brutally honest without being self-pitying.  It's GREAT writing.  It's utterly compelling.

This is a bio that even without the description of the book would make me want to read pages.

Of course, come to find out the book isn't finished, or sold, or published so I'm going to have to do one thing I don't do well at ALL: wait.

I'm pretty sure this will be worth it.

(Trust Kari Dell to find a great way to torment her agent!)

Saturday afternoon at the Farmer's Market Question booth

I don't know what genre to call my novel. The protagonist is a vampire (medical examiner), so urban fantasy seems the most appropriate. But, I don't write high fantasy. I don't even like to read high fantasy - and it seems that urban fantasy tends to focus on the fantasy part. Agents have told me my writing has a noir feel - and I do like to read noir and crime fiction in general.

Here's my question (finally) - is paranormal or supernatural crime fiction an 'acceptable' genre?

Intuitively it seems to matter if I call my work urban fantasy vs paranormal or supernatural crime fiction. I imagine the expectations for each category are different. Or am I worrying too darn much about this? Is it possible an agent would read my work, like it - but say 'hey, it's not really UF or the other, so you clearly don't know what you're doing."



When in doubt, don't mention a category.  It's really easy to get it wrong, and it's very hard to get it right. And none of us know for sure anyway. I've sold books that were urban fantasy much to my surprise.  Of course, I didn't refuse the deal cause I thought the book was a crackerjack crime novel, nosirreebub I did not.

When I'm thinking of which editors to approach for pitching a novel like this here are the questions I would ask myself:

Does the vampire solve crimes using vampire tricks of the trade? OR, does the vampire solve crimes the old fashioned way and his/her vampire self is just part of the character?

If the answer is yes, vampire tricks of the trade are key, I would probably approach editors who acquire urban fantasy or even SF.  SF/urban fantasy readers are more likely to buy in to vampire elements being "real" than crime readers are.

If the vampire solves crimes the old fashioned way, I'd approach crime editors. Crime readers are notorious for wanting the solutions to the crimes to be "real." The solution to the crime has to be logical.

Think of it like this:  if cats can solve crimes, that's pretty fantastical, but those books are always shelved in crime, not fantasy. Cats are real, vampire are not.

But it's a tricky question.  And I don't stop reading queries if someone fails to mention a category.  I do stop reading if they say "fantasy" cause I don't do fantasy at all.

Thursday morning special at the Question Emporium

Knowing how hard it is to craft an effective query, is it advisable to slant or bias a query based on the gender of an agent? Ultimately, it is the story that sells, but when I read in an agent's preference list, "Give me a strong female protagonist." I think my male oriented query might as well pound salt. It seems to me that some agent/gatekeepers have shut the door and encrypted the lock.

I asked my staff, all two of them and both women, what they look for in a book. They said, hot guy(s), plenty of steam and a choice by the female protagonist between two or more male, love interests. Of course, none of which fits my story. Keeping their advice in mind, I wrote a separate query using Meri, a character with a large POV footprint, and a love interest that can be construed as a triangle--without being dishonest. But it is disingenuous, because I don't see Meri as the protagonist. So, other than outright lying, is everything fair in love and querying to get an agent to read pages?



Your staff are describing books that would be shelved in the romance or womens' fiction category. Your novel isn't either of those (I know this cause I'm reading about it over at QueryShark.) They're the wrong focus group for you to consult.

There's nothing wrong with tailoring a query to an agent's interest. Tailoring it to the agent's gender is a recipe for disaster.  For starters, us girls have widely varying tastes.  For example, I've heard that LaSlitherina prefers her protagonists drink vodka. And Polish vodka at that. Or was it potato vodka?  I, on the other hand, prefer they drink the blood of ....well, never mind about that now. 

Then of course the troublesome case of Brooks Sherman.  My trusty cohort in crime has been addressed on more than one occasion as Ms. We think it's hysterical. He. Does. Not.  Unless you know the gender of the agent, some of those names can confuse you: Flip. Binky. Cameron.


What you're doing is the new wrinkle on the old art of Kremlinology: trying to intuit reasons for things based on what you can observe.  You must remember that much of what goes on here in the Query Corral is not visible. (Nor should it be--see cliche about making sausage)

I look for good stories that I want to read. There are many good stories I don't want to read. And sometimes, I want to read things that I thought were good and turn out to be ...well.. not.

Keep writing. Keep revising. Quit fulminating about gatekeepers. We're not. We're your first step on the road to success, and we're looking for you every single day.

Well done, good and faithful friend

The Wiggly One

When the Fabulous Stephanie Evans became my client, there was the delicate problem of what to call her.  She had a perfectly lovely name of course, but it was also the name of the head of our company here at FPLM. 

We thought it would be hilarious to call her "Miss Texas" since she lived in Sugar Land and wrote great books set there too.

Well, no. Stephanie scotched that at once. "I do NOT have big hair," she said (only much more nicely because she is, after all, from Texas)

So we tried a couple more iterations.  By then we'd gotten several photos from her featuring her two adorbable pugs. 

So "Pugnacious" it was and is, in honor of her tenacity and her beloved canine companions Mr. Wiggles and TommyLee Jones.

Mr. Wiggles was old in the way that that oak trees are old: solid and falling apart all at once. Bad vision, bad hearing, bad hips, but never ever bad tempered.

Today, Mr. Wiggles' work here is finished and he goes on to greater things.   I'm glad he will live on in the next book SAFE FROM HARM. I'm glad I knew him.

He is and always will be Quite The Dog.

TommyLee (l) and Mr. Wiggles (r)

Hey, how's that second book coming?

Me to Fabulous client: How's that next book coming along? The one that's due (mumble mumble)?

FC to Sharkly Agent: I have all the things I need.  Just one more step.

Publisher looking for mystery fiction

Adventure Publications, an award-winning publisher of outdoor guides (www.adventurepublications.net), is accepting fiction manuscripts for its new series of outdoor/wilderness mysteries. 

We are looking for mystery fiction (68,000 through 100,000 words) that will appeal to both the mystery reader and the outdoor enthusiast. The books will be produced in both print and e-book format. Example of authors we love are: Nevada Barr, Victoria Houston, C.J. Box, William Kent Krueger and Beth Groundwater. 

Currently, we are seeking novels set in the Midwest, Southwest, Northwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountains. 

Please email the first chapter and a synopsis along with a cover letter. Your entire submission must appear in the body of the email and not as an attachment. 

The subject line should be “QUERY” along with the title of your manuscript. Also, in your email, please include the number of words in your completed manuscript, as well as a bio, and pertinent writing and/or outdoor wilderness experience. 

Email your submission to: fiction@adventurepublications.net. 

Email queries sent to any other address will not be read.  We do not open email attachments, unless we request them. 

If you prefer, you may snail-mail your query, along with your first chapter and bio to:
Fiction
Adventure Publications
820 Cleveland St S
Cambridge, MN 55008

I may have said no but...

Prowling around the interwebz this morning I came across this tidbit from that Amazing Agent The Suzenator:

On top of my wishlist:
More adult manuscripts. I could go for a good contemporary romance (and I'll even look at new adult contemporary romances). Or women's fiction! Or magical realism. Anything really. I'd love to find another great adult project.

Suzie hangs her hat at New Leaf Literary Saloon. Give her a holler if you've got something AMAZING.

New Rule for Writers: Be Knowledgeable

Imagine for a moment you are applying to be an extra in "The Hobbit"
The casting director asks "what makes you special?"
Your answer "I'm the only person available for the job."


The casting director looks out the window to see this:

People lined up to apply for the job.

The casting director says "NEXT!" and you're out the door wondering what the hell happened.


I mention this because all too often I'm seeing queries from writers saying there aren't any/enough books on their subject.

Since one of the things I look for are holes in the market,  I turn to Amazon and search for books on that subject.

Too many times the search turns up more than 100 books.  Obviously not all are good matches.  But you don't need to find 100 to know that "I'm the only one" isn't on the right side of the truthiness scale.

What does this mean for you?

It means Know Your Field.  If you want to write a picture book that reinforces a certain concept, you better have read every picture book in your library, and all the ones your librarian tells you are a good match for that idea.

That way, your answer to "what makes you special" is not "I'm the only one" but "I do this better than Title X" or "my book is more current than Y."

If you want to write a novel about world war two spies, you'd better know who Alan Furst is. And David Downing. And Ken Follet.

If you tell me there aren't any good books about being a cop, I'm going to bop you on the noggin with a copy of Edward Conlon's BLUE BLOOD.

Every single time you write "there aren't any books about this" I double check. EVERY TIME.  If you get this wrong, it's game over.

How do you get knowledgeable about your area or topic? You read. A lot. If you haven't read at least 100 books in your area, you're not ready to start writing.  This obviously is an on-going effort and keeping a reading journal or list is a good idea.  I maintain a list of the published, non-client books I've read on Library Thing.

Read the books that are reviewed in PW, or the magazines that serve your genre.  I subscribe to Crimespree, Mystery Scene and several others just to keep track of what's out there.

Almost all publishers have their catalogs online now. Go to their websites and download them, and see what they're publishing that you've never heard of.  Read those. Keep notes.

And if you think this is a waste of time, let me remind you of this: one of the keenest readers of genre fiction is a guy named Lee Child.  Heard of him? Before he was a writer, he was a reader. When he sat down to write his first book, he knew a LOT about what was out there, what worked, what didn't and most important, what he wanted to write about.

I saw this firsthand at Bouchercon three years ago when I walked through the book dealers's room with him.  He knew dozens and dozens of authors and books. He'd read them and had opinions on them.

I vowed then and there to make sure I kept up on my reading. It's part of the job.

Any questions?

Friday Night at the Question Emporium

Just read a piece on your blog about writers wasting time fretting. I have a question about "rules". Like never start a novel with a character waking up. Never use any backstory in first chapter. An agent will never read it. They are trying to be helpful but many novels follow all the rules but are boring. Do I have to start at the scene of an explosion with dead all over ? I can do what I have to.

Is a good MO for me to just get 100k words and then worry about these questions later w appropriate input?

I know you are not a writing coach and I promise I won't be a pain in the ass but I have to ask someone who knows.

Merry Christmas.

(May the family violence unit not visit your building over the Holidays!)



Ah! You've missed a key element of the writing process: REVISION.


That's the step between "just get 100K words" and "later with appropriate input."


In the immortal and valuable words of Bill Cameron, no slouch at this writing biz himself, "give yourself permission to suck."


so, yes, get the words on the paper. Then and only then do you go back and take out the stuff that doesn't belong.

Generally that will be anything that doesn't move the plot forward or develop character (Kurt Vonnegut's rule)

This is where the "rules" will become clear. Does someone waking up move the plot forward or develop character? If it does in your book, break the rule.  If it doesn't you follow the rule.  But you follow the rule cause it works here, not cause it's a rule.

Rules are generally to help people look for places that are obvious problems to a more experienced writer.  Once you've written a couple novels, you've learned some stuff about how to do it.

There's one thing your opening pages have to do: entice me to read on.  If you can do that with backstory, weather, driving, or waking up, no problem. If you can't, you're in darn good company and you'll chop that part out before I ever see it.

Friday Night at the Question Emporium

I'm currently chomping my way through the QueryShark archives, and finding them extremely instructive, as well as inspiring; thinking in terms of the query has helped me sort out some plot issues in one of my manuscripts. 

I'm not yet ready to query any of my own stuff, as it's all still at various stages in the process (write, incubate, revise, beta read, revise, existential crisis, revise, heavy drinking, revise, and so on), but I'm curious about something.

November is National Novel Writing Month. As an agent, would seeing in the query that a novel originated with NaNoWriMo be interesting, or is it a turn-off?


I don't want to know much of anything about how you dreamed up or wrote your novel. This is one of the things that the phrase "TMI" was coined for. Like making sausages, or writing cover copy: the less I see of the process, the better.


That said, if your novel did start as a NoNoWriMo endeavor, it will be of interest to readers and thus you'll consult with your agent about how to mention this in the pitch letter s/he sends to editors.

The very real problem with NaNoWriMo novels is not that you query them, but that you query too soon.

You may have finished writing your novel on 11/30/12 but that does not mean you're done. Not at all.

Call for Entries to the 4th Annual

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL DISCOVERY CONTEST

Get in Front of Top YA Editors with only the First 250 Words of Your YA Novel!

NO QUERY? NO PITCH? NO PROBLEM!

Have a young adult novel—or a YA novel idea—tucked away for a rainy day? Are you putting off pitching your idea simply because you’re not sure how to pitch an agent? No problem! All you have to do is submit the first 250 words of your novel and you can win exposure to editors and a review of your manuscript from one of New York’s top young adult literary agents, Regina Brooks.

The contest is presented by Serendipity Literary Agency in collaboration with Gotham Writers Workshop and Sourcebooks.

GREAT PRIZES

The Grand Prize Winner will have the opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to YA literary agent Regina Brooks AND receive a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers' Workshop, plus a collection of gourmet teas from Possibiliteas.co!




The Top Five Entrants (including the Grand Prize winner) will receive a 15-minute, one-on-one pitch session with Regina Brooks, one of New York’s premier literary agents for young adult books. They will also receive commentary on their submissions with editors from Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, Random House, Harelquin Teen, Kensington, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Sourcebooks, Feiwel and Friends, and Kimani Tru.

In addition, they will receive a year’s subscription to The Writer magazine!

First 50 Entrants will receive a copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

The rules of the contest are simple and entering is easy. Submit entries of ONLY the first 250 words of your manuscript and the title via the contest website at WritingClasses.com/YAPitch


One entry per person; anyone age 14+ can apply. Open to the U.S. & Canada (void where prohibited).

Entries for the YA Novel Discovery Contest will be accepted from 12:01am (ET) November 1st, 2012 until 11:59pm November 30th, 2012 (ET). Entry fee is $15 (USD).




YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team, will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. These submissions will then be read by nine editors representing nine publishers:




Simon and Schuster - Navah Wolfe
Scholastic – Rachel Griffiths
Viking Penguin – Kendra Levin

Random House,- Krista Viola
Candlewick - Nicole Raymond Rachel Griffiths
Bloomsbury – Laura Whitaker

Sourcebooks – Aubrey Poole
Kensington, - Mercedes Fernandez
Harlequin teen, - Nataysha Wilson

Harlequin Kimani - Tracey Sherrod
Feiwel and Friends – Anna Roberts




These judges will whittle the top 20 down to five, and each of the five winners will be provided commentary on their submissions.




PREVIOUS WINNERS

Previous winners are being published by major houses and many have received representation.




“ I ended up signing with an agent she sold the book to Candlewick's Nicole Raymond, who served as one of the judges of the 2010 YA Novel Discovery Contest. Breakfast Served Anytime is slated for publication in  Spring 2014.” Sarah V. Combs




For more information, contact Regina Brooks:  info@serendipitylit.com

Black Friday at the Question Emporioum

Dear Janet --

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. On to the question.

I know the general advice is to not "bother" agents with a phone call. But...

In early July, I sent a query (which included one sample chapter) to an agent. Their website explicitly says, if you don't hear back in two months please DO write back. So, after not hearing anything for two months I re-sent the email. She got back to me later that day, apologized, and said she would look at the sample chapter that night. A few days later she wrote back and asked for the first 50 pages. (Woo- hoo!) I sent it that afternoon.

Two months passed, with no word. So I wrote once again to ask whether the 50 pages had arrived. She wrote back a few days later to say it had not. Naturally, I re-sent it.

Part of me wanted to call as soon as I hit "send" to let her know it had been sent. But I did not. So my question is, should I have called? I fully get that under normal circumstances it would be annoying to call right away to say, "You should have it." But given the problems I'd been having it seems reasonable.

As a related question, it was one week ago that I re-sent the 50 pages. The next business day to call would be Monday, more than 10 days after the fact. Would it be pointless to call at this time?



For starters, you've got some revealing punctuation in your question: "bother"

This is what it should be: bother

Do not call an agent or agency unless asked to do so.

There are no exceptions to this rule.

Not even yours.

In this case it's entirely appropriate to send an email with the re-sent pages asking her to let you know they've been received. When this kind of snafu happens here at the Reef (and it does) I'm glad to set a writer's mind at ease.

And you can email her on Monday to do that too: Dear Agent, I just want to make sure my breathtaking 50 pages arrived last week. Normally of course I would not inquire, but the first salvo missed the mark.


Do not telephone. Not with an offer. Not with a question. Not with news that whisky is flowing in the streets of Manhattan.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday morning Question Buffet

I've been reading and enjoying your blog for a long time, and was hoping you'd have time to give me your input on something. This weekend I pitched my novel at (what turned out to be) a practice pitch session. 

The editor I was talking to was very nice, and gave me some great tips about how better to pitch my novel next time. At the end of the session, she said I was "welcome to submit to her" when I was ready to start marketing my novel. 

The question is: Under these circumstances, would it be appropriate to label my query "Requested Material" when I submit? The editor was lovely, and I'd love to work with her, but I didn't know if it was forward to consider that wording a "request."






First, you're not marketing your novel unless you're planning on self-publishing it, and marketing it to readers. You're pitching, submitting, or sending queries for it. I always cringe when people ask me to help them "market" their novels when they want me to consider it for representation. That is NOT marketing.

Second, the editor did not ask you to send materials to her. She said to send her a query. And you're NOT going to do this unless you're planning to not have an agent.

The reason you're not going to do this is because your AGENT will determine who's a good fit for the novel and who's the best editor for you. I'm sure this editor was a perfectly lovely person, but that might not mean she's the right fit for your book. Or you.

An agent, a GOOD agent, doesn't just send books out to a random list of agentseditors! (argh!!!)  We spend a lot of time on submission lists and I'd guess it's probably one of the top ten ongoing topics of conversation in our office (Nos 1, 2 and 3 are food, liquor and pictures of rats.)



Right now you're at the stage where an editor in hand feels a lot more secure than an agent out in the wild, but do NOT send material until you've secured an agent.

I still remember the utter humiliation of pitching a publisher on a project I KNEW was perfect for them, only to find out my client had sent it to them before I came on board.  The editor laughed (sort of) and I laughed (only to mask the screaming) and the client is still hiding under her couch in case I call again.

And if you're absolutely going to ignore this advice and send it anyway, put the name of the conference on the envelope or in the email subject line, and start your email or cover letter with "you helped me with my pitch and said I was welcome to submit when  ready."  If you use the exact words she said, you're covered.

But don't do it. Really.

This is NYC

 

Even our coffee machines have Attitude!

In case the subways flood again

Photo credit: blog reader Alina! (thank you!)

A quick quiz

After watching this video trailer, did I buy the book?


1. No (I remembered my vow to quit buying books for awhile)



2. Yes (ok, just this ONCE!)


3. HELL YES (this trailer is AWESOME!)

Friday Night at the Question Emporium

I'm confused and have some concerns about the copyright laws regarding the publication of novels. I am not sure how I should go about copywriting my work. I am hoping you will be able to clarify this process for me.

Is my work already copyrighted once I create it? If you were to accept my manuscript, do you help me copyright my work? Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.







Your work is protected by copyright law as soon as you write it.

Once your work is sold to a publisher, there's a clause in your publishing contract that says the publisher will register the work with the US Copyright office.

You should not register something with the copyright office at the query stage. And you also don't need to put the (c) notice on your manuscript.

Flash!

As regular blog readers know, I'm a boisterous fan of flash fiction. I love the contests here and the work readers submit to those contests!

Here's a more serious look at flash fiction, with some interesting information on the origins and practitioners!

When I am Queen of the Known Universe

I have a list of things that will change by royal fiat the day I become Queen of the Known Universe.

One of them is literary zines, and short story anthology contracts will be standardized and actually make sense.

I review every contract my authors sign even if it's for work I haven't sold. For some authors that's a dozen a year or more.  And these guys, prolific as they are, sell to some very VERY weird places.

I know this cause the publication contracts are weird as hell.

It's come down to me making sure that the author isn't surrendering a kid or a kidney (or film rights!) (or copyright!) to a small publisher who simply doesn't know what the terms in the contract mean (license) and invent a few to cover situations that don't exist (award rights anyone?)


As more and more people get in to the publication biz, it would be great if there was a central data base of template contracts, and strict instructions not to fuck around with them without asking someone who might know a thing or two about it.

Failing that happy achievement, if you're signing a contract for any kind of publication, you might want to double check these points:

1. There's a time limit on the period of the license

2. The publisher doesn't get all rights. The scope of the license should be spelled out. That means format and geography (electronic rights in English throughout the world; print rights in French in North America; electronic and print rights in English and in translation throughout the world) and duration: exclusive use for a year, non-exclusive for three years etc.

3. The publisher doesn't  own copyright.

4. The publisher doesn't get film rights. This is CRUCIAL if you're selling a short story with a series character. Film companies option characters not just books.

5. If The publisher doesn't publish the story in a certain specified time, the rights (all rights!) return to you.

6. The publisher has to pay you. Even if it's comp copies of the anthology, you get something. And it should be money.

Any other questions?

Remember all that waiting in line at BEA?

you thought this was to get one of the books for the Dark Days tour didn't you?


Well, it was actually practice for this:


 This morning, I walked into the school I’m supposed to vote in, made a U-turn, and went right back outside. The line was snaking up and down the hallways of the school! It looked like a mess! I’ll go again after work where I can sit on the floor and read my book for as long as it takes! 





Happy Election Day everyone!

my brush with election intimidation!

As you might guess if you read this blog, I love to vote.

This morning I looked up what time the polls open in NYC and skedaddled across the street bright and early to cast my ballot.

There's construction at the school where I've voted for years so it was a new entrance. But, they had signs up and I found my way through the twists and turns to the gym. There was a table staffed by a serious looking lady with a voting roster.

I told her my name.

"ID please," she said.

Well, no. You do NOT need ID to vote in the great State of New York.  You never have and you don't today.

I mentioned this.  I was rebuffed. And rebuffed again by the uniformed member of New York's finest sitting next to her.

I have ID of course. And I did show it. But I asked if they had the statute there in writing cause I knew I wasn't going to be the last to question this. No they did not.

I had a lovely conversation with the NYPD officer.  He's one of the things I love about this city: he's from somewhere other than the US, came here, became a citizen and he votes.

I mentioned that this was election intimidation and he was probably going to hear more about it in the day to come.  And bless his heart, he checked with the election supervisor and sure enough, I was right.

I'm not sure why the first woman at the door thought she should ask for ID. Maybe it's cause we're so used to doing it these days.

But, you do NOT need ID to vote unless your name is not in the poll book or someone challenges you there at the poll site.  If that happens, you have the election supervisor come to you and you vote in a different way. BUT you get to vote.

Don't let anyone make you think you can't vote today if you want to.  And I hope you do want to.

Election Day!

I love to vote.
I love the idea that this motley crew of hurricane addled and impatient Brooklyners  will all come together today to cast their ballots for the the man who lead our country.

Sure there's a lot wrong these days. The pervasive and cynical influence of political ads is certainly one of them. The lack of any kind of reasonable discussion of issues is another.


There are days to be sure when a return to the monarchy sounds damn good, particularly since I'd like to be Queen of the Known Universe.

There are days when a benevolent dictator sounds just fine..as long as it's ME.

But mostly this muddled thing we call democracy is just fine with me.

I hope you'll go exercise your right to vote.

Vote because your kid should see you do it.

Vote because noble men and women took up arms to make and keep this country free.

Vote because you love America.

Here's to that guy, you know the one

The one who got out of bed and somehow managed to get to the rallying point, snag a snazzy fluorescent vest and a light baton, and got to work directing traffic at the intersections with no working lights. That guy.   Biking and walking across the blocks affected by the power outage was a whole lot scarier than I'd ever imagined it would be.  It only takes that one car who doesn't see you!

Thanks guys in traffic posts!


The one who got out of bed and somehow managed to get to work, tied on her uniform apron and started in on the breakfast and lunch shift

Being able to get hot food, and hot coffee was a re-appreciated little luxury.

Thanks guys in the bodegas and eateries!


And the train information guys at 34th Street Herald Square who directed a gazillion people to the correct side of the tracks, answered the same question two gazillion times, and did it standing on hard subway platforms  most of the time.  I have no idea how these guys got to work, but it was great to have them there.

Thanks MTA front line customer service guys!



We often think of infrastructure as roads and pipes and transportation but this hurricane showed me that our true infrastructure, what really keeps us going are the working folks of New York.

Thanks guys! In the words of the great Graham Nash "everything is easier cause of you."

Friday Night at the Question Emporium

I'm a writer from New Zealand currently in the process of sending out queries to agents in the U.S. I am a realist, so I know I can expect to see a lot of rejections before I (hopefully) receive a yes from someone. The only thing that concerns me is the fact that my story is set in New Zealand, and I am concerned this could be a deterrent for a lot of agents. Is place setting an important thing for agents, or do they generally tend to overlook where a story is set in favour (or favor) of a well-written novel?




So, if I tell you it's a deterrent what are you going to do? Set it on Mars? New York?

Well, no, you're not.

Because, it is to be devoutly hoped, a novel set in New Zealand is there for a reason and to move it would change the novel to something else. Setting should not be interchangeable anymore than characters should be.

Can you imagine the movie In Bruges remade to In Paris? No you cannot, because Bruges is an integral component to the theme of that movie.

I'm looking for good stories. If they're set in Kiwi country, no problem. If they're set in the Reef, no problem.

Just write something so blisteringly wonderful that if I don't know where it's set, I believe it's real and start looking for it on the map.

My next door neighbor is this lady

This blog post touched my heart. It could have been written about the lady who lives across the hall from me. I've never said more than hello; we don't have much language in common. I think she's got five or six kids in an apartment the size of mine. One that I think is small for two adults. Who are both minimalists. I don't know how she does it.

Sandy!

This morning was gray and windy but there wasn't much rain. All the bodegas on our block are open, and it's actually pretty nice. The subway isn't running so pretty much everyone is at home. It's much quieter than normal --the everpresent subterranean rumble is missing, as is the noise of traffic and busy pedestrians.  This is normally a pretty quiet section of Brooklyn, and today it's even quieter.

But Sandy's coming! It's hard to tell from the still photo above.

Here's where you can really see it:

Street level entertainment

It's amazing what you see on the streets of New York!

Even after watching intently for a couple minutes I couldn't figure out what was in the boxes, but I know it wasn't books!


If you're wondering, these were taken on the corner of 29th Street and Sixth Avenue, our new Reef location.

Let's say

Let's say you're a writer...read this.

Launch your kid into a life of crime....

crime solving, of course!

Here's a fun game for kids about forensic evidence.

Friday Night at the Question Emporium

If you were a newbie writer getting ready for a one-on-one 10 minute critique session with an agent at a conference, would you come in with a list of questions, or just with an open mind and a pencil to take notes? I'm going to my first conference next week, and I would like to make the most out of it.

You're asking whether you should come prepared or just wing it?

Let's take a vote about which answer gets a resounding YES!




(pause for counting fins)



Yes, come prepared.
Type out the list of questions.
Make TWO copies.
Give one to the agent, and keep one.


That way the agent can see ALL your questions, and can answer the ones s/he feels are most urgent first.



One of the questions should NOT be: can I send you my book.

I'm querying you because...

From the incoming queries this morning a query writer says h/she chose me:

"because of your agency's undeniable success with various authors."


No.

If you elect to include the reason you queried an agent it has to be specific:

"I chose to query you because you you represent Stephanie Jaye Evans and I loved her book FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH"

"I chose to query you because La Slitherina herself Barbara Poelle can't stop laughing when your name is mentioned in her presence...that's a good thing, right?"

"I chose to query you because my first choice Jenny Bent said no"---even THAT is better than some weak-sister empty gush.

But honest to Betsy, you're querying me because I'm an agent looking for good work. That goes without saying.  Save the real estate in your query for the only thing I care about: what is your book about?

Dancing in the Street!

 Dancers Among Us goes around the USA in Ninety Seconds from Jordan Matter on Vimeo.



I wondered what this guy was doing when I saw him on the train. Now (at marker :51) I know! There are so many shots to love, but I'm partial to the girl on the swing, and the medical dancer with the paddles.

You?


 I bought two: one for me, one for my dancing sister!

some hard numbers

My query in-box has a new category these days: authors who've self published with the goal of a larger publisher noticing.  There have been some amazing stories in the news about authors who've done just that.

We watch those stories very carefully of course.  We're in this biz for money, not love, and if there's a place to find projects we can sell, you bet we're there.

If you're thinking of doing this, here's what to consider:

1. To get noticed, you have to sell a lot of books. By a lot I mean more than 20,000.

If this number doesn't daunt you, ask yourself this question: have you ever sold 20,000 units of anything?

If the answer is yes, ask this next question:

Have you sold something to 20,000 people, one by one?

If you self publish you are no longer just the author, you're the salesperson for your book. Do you have any experience selling?  Did you love selling Girl Scout cookies? Do you like calling people and asking for money (as in fund raising?)  Do you gladly spearhead the fundraising drive at your school, synagogue, church?

No?


Be realistic. 20,000 units is a huge number of books. It's a hard number to reach even if you're published by a big publisher, with an accomplished sales force and established avenues to the retail market.

"But but but!" I can hear you sputtering--X did it, and Y too. And let's all pause for a moment and consider 50 Shades of Lovely Lolly.

Yes. All that is true.   And yes, some people win the lottery twice.  Your odds are worse.

This post is not to dissuade you from self-publishing. Have at it with all your might. BUT be realistic about what self-publishing is, and what it can accomplish. And more important what it can NOT accomplish.

First among the list for what it can't is launch a mystery series.  Publishers are not keen on picking up Book #2 if Book #1 sold fewer than a 100 copies. And yes, they look. They look at Bookscan, which is NOT your friend if you self-publish.  But mostly they don't look. Publishers love debut authors,  cause they're easier to pitch to retail accounts. It's easier to launch a career than revitalize one.


2. There is no number two.

Writing tips from R.L.Stine

I particularly like the first half of Tip #5!


I subscribe to the newsletter published by The Strand magazine (you should too!) and I got this there.

An idea I hope catches on!

The story behind this is here at Biblio Buffet.

Honestly I think this is the one and only thing I don't love about living in NYC: there's no way to have one of these in my "front yard"

My front yard looks like this:

You thought I was kidding about the shark pjs didn't you!

Nos Wener yn y Emporium Cwestiwn

I've a confession to make: I'm a foreigner. Should I mention it in my query letter, or is it something signed only under duress? I don't want to jump the shark by admitting English is my third language. Can an international writer (aspiring one) submit a query to an american literary agent?



Well, you can of course.
And it's really REALLY a good idea to mention you are not a native English speaker if only to let the agent know that mistakes are generally not cause you aren't paying attention. (There are three in this brief missive alone.)

It's going to be incumbent upon you to beguile a native-speaker into reading your work for these little errors and YOU have to agree that you'll listen to what they say.

This goes for UK writers looking to pub in the American market as well.  Some UK-isms are fun but if you tell me you're standing in the garden I think it means something quite different than you do.

And let's not even get into the different defintions of "fanny" which one of my friends discovered the mortifying way in a British pub.

I swore I would buy fewer books this year BUT...

I clicked on the link from Twitter about this blog post because it mentioned my treasured colleague Joanna Volpe.

Then I got to this line: When you’re that young, you don’t realize how beautiful (and fleeting) it is to love things unapologetically.

Then I realized this author is amazing, and I ordered the book.

Yes I could have probably snagged a copy from his publisher, or his agent but yanno, I really REALLY want to show (not just tell!) this author that he is AMAZING!

A recent Lyons Press press release about an NBA non-fiction nominee had some lovely tidbits for writers:


Domingo Martinez Chosen As 2012 National Book Award Finalist For Literary Debut: The Boy Kings Of Texas: A Memoir


First-time author Martinez—whose manuscript was plucked from obscurity from a pile of unsolicited manuscripts—is included alongside four renowned journalists in the nonfiction category. All four of Martinez’s fellow finalists are Pulitzer Prize winners:

Anthony Shadid, House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East (Houghton Mifflin);

Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 4 (Knopf) (also a past National Book Award winner)

Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (Random House);

Anne Applebaum, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956 (Doubleday).




Says author Martinez: “My phone started glowing around 6 a.m. My first thought was, ‘Wow; those bill collectors are starting much earlier nowadays,’ and I ignored it because I didn’t recognize the number, until it went off again about five minutes later and it was my agent, Alice [Martell].

Alice doesn’t mess around: When she calls, it’s important, so I answered. I depend on her to translate most of what happens in this business because I’m so new at it. I mean, I know the National Book Award, but it just wasn’t computing that I was A FINALIST for THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD. What’s really funny is, when you read through that list, it’s almost like there should be question marks behind my name, like ‘Who the hell is this guy??’ ”




Partly a reflection on the culture of machismo and partly an exploration of the author's boyhood spent in his sister’s hand-me-downs, THE BOY KINGS OF TEXAS delves into the enduring and complex bond between Martinez and his deeply flawed but fiercely protective older brother, Daniel, and features a cast of memorable characters—including his gun-hoarding former farmhand Gramma and “the Mimis,” two of his older sisters who for a short, glorious time, manage to transform themselves from poor Latina adolescents into upper-class white girls. In telling his story, Martinez provides a real glimpse into a society where children are traded like commerce, physical altercations routinely solve problems, drugs are rampant, sex is often crude, and people depend on the family witch doctor for advice. The book was published in July 2012.




“When I acquired this book, I knew I had something truly extraordinary in my hands,” said Lyons Press editor Lara Asher. “Domingo is a gifted writer and a phenomenal storyteller and someone that I deeply admire. I am delighted to see him receive the recognition for his talent that he so deserves.”




The judges for this year’s National Book Award for nonfiction are acclaimed writers Brad Gooch, Linda Gordon, Woody Holton, Susan Orlean, and Judith Shulevitz.

Former winners of this award for nonfiction include Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Tom Wolfe, Henry Kissinger, and David McCullough.  The 2012 National Book Award winners will be announced November 14 at a ceremony in New York.

Dijkstra Agency Asserts Representation of Nobel Winner Mo Yan's Backlist

by MICHAEL CADER on OCTOBER 12, 2012 in AGENCY NEWS, INTERNATIONAL NEWS

New winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature Mo Yan is listed on The Wylie Agency's website as a current client and, as we reported yesterday, when contacted for comment Andrew Wylie said by e-mail that the agency was "in discussions with publishers in all territories" about Yan's work. (This was confirmed by some publishers reporting from Frankfurt.)

But Sandra Dijkstra at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency reports that "we were Mo Yan's American and international agents from the beginning. Starting with his classic novel RED SORGHUM, we sold his first 6 books worldwide." She notes that "we are very proud to have been there for him from day one, and that his ship has finally come in."

Viking confirms to us that they have the Dijkstra Agency listed as the agency of record for RED SORGHUM. A colleague of Dijkstra's says that they "are aware of Wylie's claims" but "SDLA is, and always has been, the agent for Mo Yan's backlist titles up until 2010."


 (I'm sure neither the Dijkstra Agency nor The Wylie Agency finds it all that funny, but this just cracks me up completely.  It was reported here at Publishers Marketplace.)

toasted I tell ya!

One of the great things about spending time with clients at events like Bouchercon or conferences in their hometown is that you find out all sorts of interesting "real people" details.

For example, the Fabulous Stephanie Evans likes her BLTs on "darkly toasted bread."  (Me too!)


Fortunately we now have pictorial assistance if needed when we place our order:

Of course, this is from one of my favorite websites THINGS ORGANIZED NEATLY and I stole it shamelessly. 

How I will be travelling home from Texas today

thanks to my pal @muchadoabout77 for this!

Welcome to Texas

I'm in Sugar Land Texas to torment a lovely group of writers today and tomorrow. The Ever Fabulous Stephanie Evans picked me up at the Houston airport yesterday and whisked me off in her very spiffy Mini Cooper!



This is across the street from where we stopped for lunch at Good Company BBQ

If you'd told me I'd love a place where the seating is picnic tables off the parking lot, two days ago I would have laughed! Today, I'm a devout believer. This place is GREAT!

And then we drove by Stephanie's sister's house. I guess they knew I was coming!

Separated at birth?

I swore I was never moving the office again

I may need to rethink that.

holy zamboni!

It’s a rare year in which a superabundance of fine horror novels — novels that reward rereading — appears. That said, most years bring at least a handful of novels whose titles can stand to be mentioned alongside Matheson’s I Am Legend, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and King’s The Shining. To this year’s list, add Laird Barron’s The Croning.

--LA Times

An interesting brush with corporate "customer service"

I flew back from Cleveland today on American Airlines. The flight was on time, the plane was clean, the staff was lovely.

I landed at JFK around 2.  I then hiked about a mile to baggage claim. No problem, JFK is a big airport, not all gates can be right near baggage.

Then I waited. And waited. The baggage carousels didn't show my flight from Cleveland on their reader boards of which planes' luggage would be arriving. The arrival list didn't show it either.

I waited 45 minutes, then happened to see my bag swirling forlornly on carousel #9. The one that said Austin and Washington and didn't say Cleveland.

No problem though. I grabbed the bag, and pulled the handle. Nothing.
Pulled. Nothing.

Repeat...and failure.

Crap. The rolly bag now rolls but you can only pull it if your arm extends to the height of the bag.

I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame pulling this thing to Baggage Services.
Where I met a very nice young man who promptly told me American Airlines really doesn't give a hoot if I fly with them again.

No they won't replace my damaged bag.
No they won't refund the $25 I paid to have it checked.
No, they won't do anything.

Ok. No problem.

I can see where I'm not wanted. And truthfully, my never flying American Airlines again won't affect them in the slightest. I'm one person of thousands, or tens of thousands who flew American Airlines in 2012.

Except, I have almost total control over where I fly and which airline I use.  I can decline to fly to places that are only served by American. I can pay more if paying more puts me on a different carrier.

I never have to fly American again. And I won't.
It's not the delay.
Or the broken bag.
Or the fact that the delay and the broken bag meant I waited in a long line for a cab ($48.50 with tip) instead of taking the Airtrain and the subway ($7.00 no tip needed)

It's that they just didn't care. Their front line customer service people are taught to say no no no. No we won't help you. No we won't do this. No.

Even the hot mess that is Amtrak has better customer service. When they mess up, they give you a travel voucher. And their customer service people actually say "I'm sorry you were inconvenienced. How can I help you?"

The man I interacted with wasn't rude. He wasn't even out of line. He was doing his job. The problem is the company taught him his job was to say no.

Ok, I'm saying no too. No more American Airlines.


As it turns out, I was lucky I wasn't sitting in the pilot's lap, or still in Cleveland!

Interesting book promotion

in case you're wondering; that's one of the nut carts on the sidewalks of New York.