It means you're alive

My father tells a story about his childhood dentist in Brooklyn, a crusty old man from the Old World who'd come across the Atlantic with a sack of dentistry tools and the bedside manner of a tractor.

"Does it hurt?" the man would growl.

My dad would cringe away from him, whimpering. "Yes."

"Good." The dentist would just keep working, following him as he scrinched up the exam chair. "It means you are alive."

My own dentist is more responsive, even if he does use a blow-torch, but this isn't DentistryTracker, so let's talk queries.

Back when I was trying to land my agent, I occasionally still sent a snail-mail query. You know those things, printed on paper with an SASE tucked inside so they could return you a single sheet of paper, if you were lucky, telling you that life is pain and yeah, but no.

(If anyone can confirm the rumor that each agency has one intern brought on board specifically to steam the stamps off the SASEs and throw away the envelopes, let me know, otherwise I'll have to believe most SASEs just end up in the trash.)

(And here's another parenthetical, if you do send printed queries with an SASE tucked inside, the trick is to buy a package of size 9 envelopes instead of just the regular business-size envelopes. Size 9s are large enough to hold a sheet of 8.5x11 paper, but they're small enough to fit inside a regular business-size envelope without folding. This is sheer brilliance, and I have shamelessly stolen this idea from Miss Snark on her long-ago weblog.)

(I also bought some 24# paper to print those queries because the paper was just a tad bit heavier without being consciously noticeable. The idea was to trigger the reader's subconscious to think my query was weightier than the others. Aren't I brilliant?)

At any rate, one day my pilgrimage to the mailbox yielded one of my own envelopes -- one of my own unfolded envelopes -- with an agency's return address in the corner. Note: always put their return address because sometimes you'll get a rejection with no identifying information whatsoever. No agency name. No book title.

As I opened it and saw the expected "kiss off" letter, I thought, "Good, it means I'm alive."

For years I'd never submitted anything, and during that time I never got rejected. But I'd never gotten published, either. And that left me kind of dead inside.

Does rejection hurt? Good. It means you're alive. It means you're submitting.

Is this a whole lot of mental nonsense? Maybe it's a crutch to keep ourselves moving through a difficult process without feeling dehumanized, as if we're giving ourselves an edge. Did my 24-pound paper make a difference? Did those pristine unfolded size-9 envelopes?

I have no idea if it made a difference to the agency interns who sort the mail, but it made a difference to me because I felt I was doing my best, and it kept me going to know I was working every angle I could.

Even if it's a crutch, well, crutches are what you need when you're hurt and want to keep moving.

You're alive. You're writing. Keep querying.

---

 

Jane Lebak is the author of An Arrow In Flight . She has four kids, four books in print, two cats, and one husband. She lives in the Swamp and tries to do one scary thing every day. You can like her on Facebook, but if you want to make her rich and famous, please contact Roseanne Wells of the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. 

Publishing Pulse: April 4, 2014

This Week at Query Tracker
The profiles of several agents were updated this week. Please make sure you double-check every agent's website or Publisher's Marketplace page before querying.
 

Ready to write your own success story?
Remember--you'll reach success when you find the agent who is perfect for your work. Be sure to read each agent's profile carefully and visit other links such as company websites and blogs. Follow them on social media sites and get a feeling for what they really want. The better you know the agent, the better you will know if they are the right representative for your work. Blindly querying agents without regard for their guidelines or repped genres only delay the process--not only for you but for other writers.

Using QueryTracker.net will help you become a well-informed querying writer. Use the resources to your advantage and seek the fastest, straightest path to finding your ideal agent today.

This Week in Publishing
We’ve been seeing more about the “hybrid author” phenomenon. Elizabeth S. Craig looks at both sides of the equation while Jane Friedman continues the discussion here.

 ”The stories we love best do live in us forever...” – JK Rowling

A fun (if geeky) read about just how deeply readers identify with their favorite fictional characters.

Questions about copyright? Here’s what to look for in your contract.

Janet Reid fields a question on sending batch queries.

Agents and publishers will ask you: What makes your book different? Read this article if you can’t put your finger on what makes your book stand out: Nina Amir offers insight into performing comparative analysis.

Have a great weekend!



Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who, despite having a Time Turner under her couch and three different sonic screwdrivers in her purse, still encounters difficulty with time management. Visit Ash at www.ashkrafton.com for news on her urban fantasy series The Books of the Demimonde (Pink Narcissus Press) or stop by the Demimonde Blog at www.ash-krafton.blogspot.com . WOLF’S BANE (Demimonde #3) is forthcoming mid-2014.

Publishing Pulse for March 2, 2012

 

New At QueryTracker:

Congratulations to our newest success story, Angela Cook, who signed with Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency!

We have one new agent this week in the QT database, Jen Linnan of Linnan Literary Management. Nine agent profiles were updated, including one who left agenting. You'll get better results if you don't query agents who have left the business, so please make sure you double-check every agent's website or Publisher's Marketplace page before querying. 

If you're a QueryTracker member (membership is free) then you can be notified whenever an agent or publisher is added or updates their profile.

Cool contest:

Not ours, but it's still a cool contest regardless (and the it's also reason the ineffable Janet Reid is currently closed to queries.) Check out the Liz Norris Pay It Forward Writing Contest, where you could win registration for Backspace, travel funds, and lunch with Liz Norris's agent. Check it out!

Publishing News:

It's been an interesting week for Amazon.com, with the SFWA dropping all links to the online retailer and many authors leaving after Amazon cut ties with the Independent Publishers Group. 

Digital Book World reports that publishers who are seeing print sales soften should be prepared for a steep drop, and lots of open shelf space. 

Jan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears, has died at age 88. May perpetual light shine upon her

JK Rowling, whom you might have heard of, announced an upcoming novel geared toward adults. It is scheduled for release later this year. 

Around the Blogosphere:

If you've ever thought of nudging an agent with a fake offer of representation, don't do it. As Kristin Nelson says, they can tell.

Jessica Faust gives some tips about getting a job in the publishing industry.

Literary Quote of the Week:

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." E.L. Doctorow

---

Jane Lebak is the author of The Guardian (Thomas Nelson, 1994), Seven Archangels: Annihilation (Double-Edged Publishing, 2008) and The Boys Upstairs (MuseItUp, 2010). At Seven Angels, Four Kids, One Family, she blogs about what happens when a distracted daydreamer and a gamer geek attempt to raise four children. She is represented by the riveting Roseanne Wells of the Marianne Strong Literary Agency.

Publishing Pulse for January 20, 2012

Success Story

Congratulations to Melodie Wright, who has recently signed with agent Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Read Melodie's success story on Query Tracker.

Publishing News

It's been a landmark week in the history of the Internet. On Wednesday, many websites went "dark" to show their opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives or the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate. Wikipedia shut down completely, as did many others.

If you haven't heard much about this legislation (beyond the blackout reactions) it's a good time to read up on the subject. Many are concerned that, in an effort to control "internet pirating", the laws will impose censorship on everyone--pirates and ordinary citizens alike.

Chuck Wendig speaks out against the proposed laws and Tim O'Reilly discusses the White House's response. Because of the pressure created by those blackouts, the legislation lost a lot of support. You can see if your Representative opposes this legislation. If you are interested in doing so, you can also sign Google's petition.

The legislation goes up for vote on January 24th.

Conference Calls

In more positive news, many writers, agents, and editors are looking forward to the upcoming conference season.

Attention, romance writers! Registration is now open for RWA2012, which will be held July 25-28 in Anaheim, CA.

Also, my group (Pennwriters) will be hosting our 25th Annual Pennwriters Conference May 18-20 in Lancaster, PA.

Writing conferences are fantastic ways to network with agents and editors, to meet up with writer friends new and old, and to take in workshops that help us hone our crafts. Most of all, they are an opportunity for us to leave the confines of our solitary writing efforts and simply enjoy being one of a fabulous group of peers.

Have a conference you'd like to mention? Want to encourage a new writer to attend their first one? Leave a comment and spread the word.

To the Blogs!

Rachelle Gardner writes about timing and trends and the "maybes" that sit on agents' and editors' desks for months—perhaps "no response" doesn't mean "assume rejection", after all.

Janet Reid prefers simple uncluttered queries—read about tips to keep your queries free of unnecessary information.

Vickie Motter goes a step further and clarifies what your query is not supposed to be.

In this older post, author Roni Loren describes her experiences at a writers conference and shares what she learned during an agent version of the Gong Show. Check out the list of things that may get your query "gonged" by an agent.

And Don't Forget...

...about the upcoming contest.

Agent Natalie Fischer Lakosil from the Bradford Literary Agency will be judging our next contest, which opens January 30, 2012. She'll look at the first hundred words and a one-sentence logline for children's lit, romance, and upmarket women's fiction manuscripts. Find details about specific genres as well as the guidelines here and start working on your pitch perfection.

Unsure how to write that killer logline? We can help.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Books of the Demimonde blog for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, forthcoming in March 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

Writing: It's a Numbers Game

As a past (and future) querier, I've spent a lot of time on the Query Tracker website.

Query Tracker is a database of the most trustworthy literary agents, packed with the tools I needed to track each of my submissions to them. Query Tracker became a valuable part of my novel's road to publication and, at the height of my querying, I spent several hours a week using the website.

Assembling an agent list was the easy part. The search functions narrowed down the group of more than 1200 agents to those who were appropriate for my material. The spreadsheet showed my progress and tracked responses as they came in. The individual agent files contained contact information and links to their online dwellings.

But, after a while, those amazing features began to pale in comparison to the tab so innocently labeled "Reports and Statistics." Like many anxious writers who used Query Tracker, I quickly got sucked in to the stats of the querying game.

Numbers. Everywhere. The Query Tracker database had information on every statistic a writer could imagine. Which agent had the highest request rates. How many days until my own request should come in(ever the optimistic one.) How many lucky writers signed. How many unhappy writers marked their own queries as a "no response". Hard figures and agonizing percentages. Nail biting numbers. Knuckle crunching numbers.

Nasty thing, numbers.

Despite the pretty clear delineation between the left and right hemispheres of our brains, numbers will always want to mingle with the words crowd (much to my math-hating daughter's chagrin.) Word counts. Page counts. Royalty rates. Fun stuff. Essential stuff.

Here's some more "essential stuff" to get your mind off the agony of staring down the query stats.

We'll start at the beginning with the 10 Most Important Things every writer needs to know: while simply stated, there is a lot of down-to-earth advice here. For example, did you know that "your friends and family are not your audience"? Nope, they're not--and knowing it might help you define who your audience actually is. A list like this helps to reset ourselves, gets us to pull away from the keyboard for a moment and try to remember the reason we sat down to write in the first place.

Got blog? Then you got numbers. Here's 3 things your blog needs and 5 things it doesn't. (The comments are noteworthy.) And every blogger wants a bigger audience, right? Average bloggers will appreciate these 8 tips to grab those coveted readers while the over-achievers may prefer a heftier 19. Go big or go home, I always say.

Heck, as long as we're going big, let's go Hollywood. Here's 10 things that may decide whether your book is good enough for the big screen.

Once we're done daydreaming about cinematic fortune and fame, the blog 365 Stories In A Year will give us this more realistic list of 10 things we probably do but would never admit. On the flip side, we still have our integrity as writers—and so we'd be better off sticking to these 10 basics, which includes Wil Wheaton's Law. (If you are unsure of just how tremendously powerful a chaotic neutral overlord Wil Wheaton has become, then you seriously need to catch up. He's going to rule the world one day.)

The numbers get even more serious over at Twenty Palaces, where you can find 10 things that might be the proverbial slap you need to stay focused. However, these 10 magic ideas will inspire you with a much lighter touch. (Read it if you *heart* Voldemort as much as I do.)

Want advice from an agent instead? No problems. Rachelle Gardner has loads of great tips and she gets a perfect 10 for her 10 things theme on her blog. She's got several helpful lists on a variety of topics--have fun with them!

And Rachelle isn't the only one who's got her numbers lined up. Janet Reid lists 10 steps to diagnose your query for a particular agent. Some of us will read this and say, really? You need to spell all that out? Give us some credit! while an equal number of us will say, Now, that's what I call *clear* guidelines. Finally. Why don't all agents do it? (Don't get any ideas.)

Lastly, I'll point out a lengthy 10 secrets you might not have known about agents. There is a very poignant message in this one--if you don't have time to read the entire article right now, take the time to scroll down to the bottom of page 22 and read the last paragraph or so. It may help put querying madness into perspective.


Look at all those crazy digits floating around up there. Can writers learn anything from playing the numbers game? (Besides the apparent fact that writers seem to love the number 10.)

Maybe if we extracted all these numbers we'd realize there is no single magic formula to good writing. Sure, we can obsess over numbers and drown in the QT data explorer. We can calculate and extrapolate and postulate but, in the end, it's the actual words on the paper that matter. Word counts and page counts won't matter in the end if the heart isn't in the story. The words and the numbers must work together to produce a splendid story and it's our job to bring it all together.

Perhaps treat yourself and listen to "Hemispheres" by Rush, with an emphasis on the song The Sphere. Just as the heart and mind must unite, so must our right and left brains. Write the words but don't forget to enjoy the numbers…

And look forward to getting that single, most beautiful number: 1.

One "yes" is all it takes to win the writing game.

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region, where she keeps the book jacket for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in a frame over her desk. Visit the Spec Fic Website at www.ashkrafton.com for updates on the release of her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts, forthcoming in early 2012 through Pink Narcissus Press.

Publishing Pulse 8-20-10

Around the Publishing Blogosphere:

Agent Rachelle Gardner offers info on the legendary Revision Letter.

Jessica Faust at BookEnds discusses how great (or little) impression is generally made by blog comments.

Working on your query? Nathan Bransford and Writers Beware are dishing out advice on that popular topic.

Guest blogger Chris Abouzeid at Pimp my Novel discusses how to avoid disaster with your WIP.

Publishing News:

Durham University will be offering a course on Harry Potter.

Searching for just the right word? Well, there's a few new ones to consider in the latest Oxford Dictionary.

It's never too late for a book deal. Betty White now has one of the two-book variety. ;)

Contests and Opportunities:

Agent Janet Reid is running a fun little contest on her blog. But hurry... deadline is tonight!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Publishing Pulse 1-21-10

Around the Publishing Blogosphere:

Agent Rachelle Gardner discusses the importance of Word of Mouth in book marketing.

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management is running a title contest on their blog.

Agents Janet Reid and Rachelle Gardner both offered some tips on how to email (or how NOT to email) an agent most effectively.

Guest blogger Suzannah Windsor Freeman asked if Nathan Bransford's Blog readers were Word Nerds or Grammar Rebels

In Publishing News:

Rosetta Stone is running a fun little writing contest.

Kindle users pushed back against the delayed ebook releases.

Xerox gets into the Espresso world of novels printed to order, while you wait.

And finally, Author Kiersten White describes the less glamorous side of submissions.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Publishing Pulse 8/7/09

Another week down. Another week to get better, write better, learn more. Are you ready? I said, Are you ready? *grins* I know you are.

Literary Agent News

Emily Keyes is a new agent at L. Perkins Agency, representing middle grade and young adult. Read what she's specifically looking for here.

Marie Campbell at Transatlantic Literary Agency. Marie specializes in children's writers with a particular interest in middle grade fiction.

Gretchen Stelter at Baker's Mark Literary Agency, LLC. Ms. Stelter is accepting a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres, so check out her profile (just click on her name).

Chris Richman, Michael Sterns and Danielle Chiotti left Firebrand Literary and started Upstart Crow Literary. Their website will be up and running soon, so check out their profiles for genres and interests.

Literary agent Colleen Lindsay is open for submission--but read carefully! ONLY for a limited time (from now until the end of August. That's only 24 more days) and ONLY limited genres (adult urban fantasy/paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy/paranormal romance, realistic YA). Read her blog post for all the deets.

Excellent stuff you have to read, like, now:

Donald Maass expounds on character building. Strengths, flaws, it's all there. And he's got a new book to boot! Check it out.

If you haven't found the Pimp My Novel blog, you need to find it today. (Yeah, just click over there. Follow. Subscribe.) This post is especially useful for authors on what they can do.

Literary agent Kristin Nelson talks about treating writing as a business. Twice, in fact. Even if you're not published yet, you can file these posts away in your "This is Awesome Advice" folder for future reference--like when you are a NY Times bestselling author.

Literary agent Janet Reid shares her thoughts on exclusives. For anyone in the querying mindset, read this. You'll be glad you did.

Note to Authors: Make Your Deadlines. This article goes great with Ms. Nelson's advice to treat your writing as a business. Something to think about, at the very least.


If you're on twitter and like to follow agencies and/or agents, here's a short list of people to add.
@Bakersmark
@MarleneStringer
@JillCorcoran
@BostonBookGirl (Lauren MacLeod)
@RachelleGardner
@barrygoldblatt
@DaphneUn (Kate Testerman)
@BookEndsJessica (Jessica Faust)
@LucienneDiver
@Ginger_Clark


Have a great weekend! I'm sending lotsa good writing vibes your way!

Social Networking: Showmanship

In previous posts, I discussed Blog Readers and Social Networking Basics. For this post, I want to share one of my own personal tips for those of you hoping to cultivate an online relationship with publishing professionals.

In the current social networking climate, many agents and editors are more available to aspiring authors than ever. You can interact with these publishing peeps through their blogs or websites, on Facebook and Twitter, through online chats with live Q & A.

That means you have an unbelievable opportunity to make connections and create a positive foundation for a professional relationship. But it also means you need to be careful that your online actions are working FOR you rather than against you.

Let's consider an agent blog scenario as an example. Commenting on an agent blog gives you a chance to get yourself onto her radar. Many agents say that they peek at the blogs of folks who follow or comment. So you'll want to make sure your blog, website, or whatever is entertaining and professional.

Certainly that's a good start, but I'd like to take things a step further and recommend a little showmanship.

If you read through the comments on most agent blogs, you'll find they generally fall into five categories:

1. Simple comments, such as "Great info! Thanks!" or "Thanks for posting this." These sorts of comments will certainly not harm you, but they won't go too far towards making you stick out as someone the agent wants to know more about.

2. Kiss-up comments. The long, ingratiating (and often self-deprecating) paragraphs extolling the virtues of not only the post, but also the agent, the agent's friends and relations, the remarkable job her kindergarten teacher must have done, etc. These comments are dangerous, in my opinion. Flattery doesn't really get you everywhere and can seriously backfire, either by annoying the agent in question or by making your "I'm not worthy!" point so clearly that the agent agrees with you.

3. Practically Spam comments. You know the ones... not really intended to contribute to the conversation, but to post a link to drive traffic to the commentator's blog or website. This sort of comment seems like shameless self-promotion and is likely to work against you, unless the link you're including is meaningfully related to the agent's post, and you explain how in your comment (e.g. Interesting take on social networking. I think Twitter has some drawbacks, though, as I was discussing on my blog last week.")

4. Frustrated writer rant comments. Getting published isn't easy, and writers as a whole are extraordinarily sensitive souls who are very personally attached to their work. It can be an incredibly frustrating process, and you may feel the need to vent. Never, ever, no... NEVER EVER do that in public, especially not on an industry professional's blog or website. 'nuff said.

5. Thoughtful, entertaining comments that add to the discussion. Ah! The sweet spot.

Number 5 is where you want to be. Which brings us to "Showmanship."

I personally am very active online. I comment on agent and editor blogs, I tweet with them. But I don't do it constantly. I employ a technique I call the "George Costanza."

If you're a Seinfeld fan, you're probably familiar with the episode where Jerry tells George about showmanship.

George had made a great suggestion at a work meeting, but then followed it up with a bad joke and ended up feeling foolish.

GEORGE: I had 'em, Jerry. They loved me.

JERRY: And then?

GEORGE: I lost them. I can usually come up with one good comment during a meeting but by the end it's buried under a pile of gaffs and bad puns.

JERRY: Showmanship, George. When you hit that high note, you say goodnight and walk off.

So, here are my personal recommendations:

1. Take your time.

2. Comment sparingly, only when you have something important/thoughtful/entertaining to say.

3. Proofread your comment or tweet before posting it.


Hit that high note, and leave them wanting more. ;)

Curing The Query

All right people. I’m going to expound a profound truth about publishing.

It’s slow.

I know many of us want to rush things. We want to “hurry up and get the book done.” Then we have to “hurry up and have people critique the book.” Then we have to “hurry up and write the query letter.”

Believe me, I’m a hurry-ier. But I’m here to tell you to stop. Or at least slow down. I think it’s pretty common knowledge that after you finish a novel, it needs to go through a “curing” stage where you don’t open it, read it or think about it. It just sits quietly on your hard drive while you do something else.

I’ve heard and read different amounts of time for this "curing", but I like to leave mine for about a month. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on a myriad of factors. But it cures. Then you can open it up, and really edit the heck out of it, because it’s fresh as you’re reading it.

The same goes for a query letter. I’ve seen so many examples of talented, lovely people who post their query letters for critique. They get said critiques and come back in, literally, hours with a revamp.

To me, that’s a #queryfail.

You need to let the query cure, just like you let the manuscript cure. I learned this with my very first query-critiquing experience. Janet Reid was doing a query-critiquing activity called Query Roulette, way last year. Mine was chosen. She thrashed it. But part of the deal was that we could do revisions and send them back to her. So I did. And she gave me some of the most valuable advice I’ve ever received.

“MUCH better! Another polish or two, just the kind of thing you'd do after you let it sit a week and go back to it with a fresh eye, and you've got a good letter. Good job!”

Here are the words that stuck out to me: “…after you let it sit for a week and go back to it with a fresh eye…”

Ah…so the query needs time to cure too. In fact, now I usually write my queries in stages, in completely separate documents. I lump the hook and the setup together and work on them first. Then I lump the conflict and the consequence together and work on them last. (Don't know what I'm talking about with the parts of a query letter? Click over on the right where it says "Writing Query Letters".)

And I always, always, always let at least 3 days go by before opening any part of the query and working on it again. After I put the whole thing together, I've mandated that a week go by before I look at it again. THEN I post it for critique. And after gathering those valuable crits, I wait again, really digesting their comments and questions and impressions, before diving back in to edit.

Because, just like your 90,000 word manuscript, your query letter needs time to cure.

By the way, if you want to see my query and Ms. Reid's full comments, you can click here. I posted it in the QueryTracker forum when it was all going down.

What do you think of this "curing" process? Dare I say that it should be applied to synopses as well? Do you think you have a keener eye on something you haven't read for a while?

Will you try it on your query letter and see if it helps? It might at least make the query writing process go smoother. Well, we can hope, right?