Taking Care of Business: Making Friends

Taking care of business and making friends may sound unrelated at best, but here's a secret: the dreaded term "networking" is basically just jargon for making friends.

Writing is a lonely business. You pull out your laptop, put on your headphones, and enter into a world that you created and no one else knows about (yet:  one day they'll be writing FanFiction in your world). If you're lucky enough to be writing full time (and don't all of us, somewhere, have that goal in the back of our mind?), that's pretty much all you do.

Write stuff: no human interaction required.

There are, of course, a few issues with that. For one thing, how do you write Deep Truth About The Human Condition if you aren't around other people? For another, writing is lonely. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's true. You write alone, you face writer's block alone, you revise alone, you read rejection emails alone.

Here's the thing: you don't have to. Making friends might be one of the key ways to keeping your sanity during the long and crazy process of writing and subsequently selling a novel. There are Twitter hashtags to follow (#amwriting is common; right now, #CampNaNoWriMo is a big one. And there's also #amrevising and #amquerying for other stages of the writing process); word sprints to join; and friends to be made.

If Twitter isn't your thing, writers love to blog. Search people out. Interact with writers on their blogs and through their Twitters, their newsletters, their Facebook groups... I do all these things, and I've made a lot of friends through the Query Tracker forum, too.

Besides keeping you sane and making friends from around the world (which should be all the motivation you need), making friends really is networking (which is a very scary word. Sorry about that.). Other writerly friends make great critique partners, ones who are willing to tell you, "You can do better than this. Don't take the easy way out." And you'll listen, and they'll read the revision, and they'll let you know they love it. You'll know they're sincere since they weren't afraid to tell you when they didn't love it.

When you get an agent, you'll want people to tell who understand what it means to actually have an agent. (I don't know about you, but this basically discounts my real-life family and friends.) When you go on submission, it's great to have friends who can send you pictures of cuddly animals to keep you sane and remind you that this, too, shall pass. And when you get the book deal you've always wanted? It's time to celebrate, and celebrations are always better with friends.

Twitter is full of now-published authors who have been friends since the days of querying. The most famous for their friendship is probably Susan Dennard and Sarah Maas, both now published successfully. And because they're writing BFFs, they get to blurb each other's books, and happily promote each other on Twitter, and collaborate on projects.

A quick reminder: Never treat someone like they're just a business deal waiting to happen, or befriend someone only because you think they'll help your career. It won't work. That's why I call it making friends, and not networking.

Befriend someone because you both have an undying passion for knee socks, obsess over Lizzie McGuire even though it's been off the air for 11years, and neither of you are sure what the big deal is about coffee. Oh, and you happen to both be writers. Maybe one of you rocks at dialogue and the other is excellent at filling plot holes. You'll make a great team, the two of you, with two books that both have killer dialogue, no plot holes, and obscure references to fancy knee socks.

Interview with Ash Krafton: Approaching Publishers Directly

Today we're talking with our own Ash Krafton about her journey with getting her debut novel, Bleeding Hearts! Read on to learn more about approaching publishers directly, being a great social networker, and researching Egyptian mythology!

Though your first novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde is being published this month by Pink Narcissus Press, you’ve also written a lot of short stories and poetry (and won a lot of awards for them)!  How did you start writing?

I began writing as a form of cheap therapy (*grin*). I have a high-pressure medical job that was becoming increasingly stressful…so I did the sane thing and retreated inwardly. I've always had a literary soul (my mom has a stack of my writing from when I was in school.) Going back to writing was a natural thing and it really helped me to focus and enjoy my time off.

I ended up writing passages and scenes from a fantasy that eventually became a novel-in-progress. But it wasn't serious. It was, like I said, cheap therapy. Then I got the idea for Bleeding Hearts—and the whole game changed. I was serious about this project and, with the support of my family, I worked on that project until it was a candidate for publication.

The "short stuff" as I call it, is the result of a mishmash of things—some of it I wrote to combat writer's block, other things I wrote to express ideas that didn't fit into my novel writing. I also began to explore traditional forms of poetry—sestinas, villanelles, ghazals—because the mixture of meter and cadence and line count and rhyme is a decidedly scientific thing. It helps keep my left brain happy.
That the short stuff has ever been worthy of recognition still blows my mind.

Did you have an agent or go directly to a publisher? If the latter –writers are often curious about books that were sold directly to a publisher, without the help of an agent go-between. How did you decide to submit directly, rather than using an agent? How did you find publishers to submit to? 

I queried Bleeding Hearts and eventually signed with an agent. However, our work together didn't result in a fairy tale ending. There were a lot of challenges and, after about nine months, we ended our contract.
I was in a bad place then—I had no idea what to do next. The agent had submitted the proposal to just about every big house so there wasn't anything left for another agent to do. Honestly, I felt like my chances were completely blown…

My QueryTracker friends were very supportive and helped me to find my way through the fog. (Hug, ladies, and my unending gratitude!) I decided to tread water for a while and went back to entering novel-writing contests. I couldn't let my project die just because of a failed agent episode.

Then I learned about the small press market.

My greatest resource became Duotrope (http://duotrope.com), which is a free resource for writers that primarily offers an extensive, searchable database of over 4000 current fiction and poetry markets. They also offer a submissions tracker for registered users that not only organizes my work and the markets to which I've submitted, but also uses the data to calculate stats (QueryTracker fans LOVE stats.)

Up until then, I only used Duotrope to find poetry and short fiction markets for my work. However, the site has a growing database of small presses looking for novel and novella-length work.

I went back to querying—and, by this time, I was a pro—and started knocking on the doors of the little houses.

My world completely opened up. The contests I entered started announcing results—and  in a short period of time I found out I'd made finals in several RWA contests. That is BIG TIME publicity for a writer. I was absolutely floating on air…then I got the first offer of publication.

Okay. Game time.

At the time I got the first offer, I had about a dozen queries out to other small presses. Some had already asked for a partial or a full, others I hadn't heard back from at all. I sent everyone an email with the subject "Offer on the Table for Bleeding Hearts" and explained I had an offer and wanted to know if they'd had a chance to read my submission or if they were interested in making an offer.

I got three non-responses, one "best wishes, we're backlogged and can't get to your sub and don't want to hold you up," and five more offers.

It really came down to two of them. (I can make my decision-making process a post in itself.) I couldn't have made a wrong choice…and I am head-over-five-inch-heels for my publisher. (If I could do cartwheels in these things I would.)

You do an amazing job of networking and building buzz for your work.  What were some of the things you did to make people aware of Bleeding Hearts? If you were going to give other writers one tip for building buzz, what would it be?

Don't be shy.

Self-promotion is a scary thing for writers but you have to approach this thing as a business. A network is essential. How many readers are there in the world that might like your book? Do you honestly think you can reach them all on your own? Social media is the Technology God's gift to authors. We can send our messages out to our peers, who may repeat the information to THEIR peers, and so on. Promotion is a pass-it-on deal. Be confident, reach out, and let the world know you have a message worth sharing.

As for me, I'm just a grown-up kid who loves playing with her computer. I got my first real PC  and Internet service in '93 when I was in college. I remember how angry my mom used to get because she'd try to call and get a busy signal because I was on-line. So, for a nerd like me, this isn't really work. Networking was tough in the beginning because I was shy and had no confidence and knew nothing about publishing. However, with time and a lot of reading and fooling around at Query Tracker's forum, I learned the ropes, made writer friends, and decided it was time to do what everyone else was already doing: building my social network.

My husband accuses me of fooling around on-line. When will he learn that I'm really *working*?

Anyone else interested in *working* with me? I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.  I also blog at http://ash-krafton.blogspot.com and call http://ashkrafton.com home.

In Bleeding Hearts, you focus on the Egyptian god Horus. What kinds of research did you do?

Studies of Egyptology have been my hobby as far back as I can remember. I love museums and my family indulges me by accompanying me to every exhibit we find. I got to see the huge King Tut exhibit that came through the Franklin Institute a few years ago (although my son drew the line at the Mummy exhibit. Chicken. Scooby Doo ruined my kid on mummies forever.).

I also own a lovely translation of the Book of the Dead. Although I didn't have it for the writing of this book (I used what I could find on-line) I have found some amazing stuff that is inspiring passages for the sequels, which are in-progress.

I'm not an expert. I'm just someone who loves the study of Ancient Egypt and that love somehow found its way into my story.

(No mummies in Bleeding Hearts, though…at least not yet.)

Tell us a little bit about Bleeding Hearts and how we can get it!

BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde

Saving the world one damned person at a time—shy advice columnist-turned-oracle must find a way to save her dangerous demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul.

(Note:this is a log-line that I wrote using tips from the Query Tracker Blog…and it even got a mention in an agent-run contest on another site!)

When advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both—he’s a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she’s an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing that stands between a DV and evolution. However, as Marek's dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, powerful Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek's Fall and they intend to use Sophie to do it....

Join the Demimonde!

• Bleeding Hearts on www.PinkNarc.com: http://pinknarc.com/books
• Bleeding Hearts on Amazon
• Bleeding Hearts Goodreads page
• Bleeding Hearts on Barnes & Noble

Social Networking for Writers

By Ash Krafton | @AshKrafton


Note from Carolyn: Even now, before the publication of her first novel (see Ash's signature at the bottom of this post), Ash is such a successful networker that she maxed out the number of friends Facebook can handle, and had to create a fan page for her work.  Even more exciting? Her techniques are techniques everyone can manage. Read on for how she does it!

It's not going to do you any good to write an amazing book if you aren't going to do anything to promote it.

Writing is a solitary effort, right? But networking is a team sport all the way. When you emerge from your writing cave, shiny manuscript in hand, you should already have a plan on what you're going to do with it. Hopefully, it's not meant to sit in a drawer or in a computer file. You want that book out there, in the hands of hungry readers. That book was meant for the world.

And the world is not a solitary kind of place.

Odds are you aren't a famous authority on a huge platform of wisdom and fame. You may be more like me—a working mom who is trying to turn a hobby into a second job. Everyone starts small and so should we. First-time queriers agonize over the lack of an impressive bio in their query letter but few realize that often a solid online presence is enough to let an agent know you mean business.

Ever Google yourself? You should. If an agent is thinking about reading more of your work, she's definitely going to do it. Your online presence may be one of the first impressions you make.

Of course, one way to build your online presence is to get published, but that starts the whole chicken or egg type of quandary. There's a simpler way to start…and you are probably doing it already without realizing it.

It's called social networking.

Networking is key to the success and survival of your book. But it's a scary prospect for an emerging writer. You've written your first book, have no other publishing credits, don't have an agent or an inside track with a best-selling author, and have absolutely no courage to attend a conference…you're as good as anonymous. Who's going to listen to another faceless writer?

Thanks to the internet, you don't have to remain faceless. You don't have to remain friendless, either.

Twitter: Can't deny that I have been pulled into the Twitterverse, kicking and screaming. Unlike regular space, Twitterspace is not a vacuum. It's a human soup of news and interaction and connection. Thanks to dedicated readers like @Porter_Anderson, our blog gets tweeted with links and quotes to readers who may not be aware of our site.

Recently, I tweeted (from @ashkrafton) a shoutout with the question: What's your #networking magic bullet? I sent it out using Lazy Shout Out, a tool that helps me get a message out to all tweeps in a certain list. (Sounds like cheating but it's just good social media management.)

Here are some of the answers:

@eslarke Just being active on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. I interact with others and take part in discussions. 

@Bri_Clark I know my platform and it's natural for me to utilize it. I'm the belle of boise. 

@nancynaigle Friends like you are my #networking magic bullet :) I love meeting new people and gaining new perspectives! 

@jim_devitt there is no magic bullet, you've got to be hitting on all cylinders, that and have a good book! 

@wickedcoolflght …one of my best networking tools is @Paperbackdolls. 

@heidirubymiller reciprocation and interaction

Guess what? They are all right. Read that last tweet again: reciprocation and interaction. You can't network without putting some effort into it.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to follow each of the tweeps mentioned above. Once you do that, you can congratulate yourself for networking. Shoutouts aren't the only aspect of Twitter. You can retweet interesting tweets, too. I often pass on links to articles or inspirational quotes, anything I think my followers might find interesting. Sharing information is networking.

Facebook is another great way to network. Visit your friends' pages and add friends from their lists. Worst thing they can do is not accept your request, right? Visit the sites of writers who write like you do and add from their friend list as well. Also, when responding to friend requests, click the link that allows you to see “all requests.” Often it opens up the friend requests to reveal a few of *their* friends. Add them, too. You're building bridges to other people—and bridges form the structure of a network.

If you have an account, you already know it can be used to interact with friends, acquaintances, and peers, but don't forget the other kinds of pages. You can start an author page (mine is http://facebook.com/AshKraftonAuthor) and invite friends to “like” your page. (The invite page is on the right side.) There's an opportunity to buy an ad but I feel the potential bill would be too costly for an emerging writer like myself. You can also participate in groups and perhaps start one for your own writing. Make the group reader friendly and participate regularly. You'll be networking in no time at all.

Blogging is a quick and easy way for us to express ourselves outside our formal writing. Originally designed to be journals, blogs (short for web log) quickly evolved into an effective means of sharing information to a variety of audiences. Blogging platforms have evolved, as well, enabling us to connect with readers using friending and following functions. Blogger.com, Wordpress, and Livejournal are three of the biggest blogging platforms and can get you up and blogging in no time. I love how the blogs, in turn, offer RSS feed capabilities as well as Facebook's “Like” and Twitter's “Tweet This” buttons for easy sharing.

You shouldn't stop at writing a blog; you need to read them—and comment, too. When you comment, you have the opportunity to provide a direct link to your website or blog that other readers can follow. More readers, more friends, more connections.

Blog hops are a fun way to find new blogs that focus on your interests. I'll be participating in the Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour (October 24-31, 2011) along with a bunch of great horror writers. Readers can view a huge clickable list of different blogs and hop (okay, it's a Halloween hop, so I guess readers will lurch or stagger) from blog to blog. The blogs are offering prizes for commenters as well as showing off their writing chops.

What do writers get out of all of this? Exposure, of course. And exposure brings new readers and new connections to the other bloggers and all of it is (say it with me) networking.

According to an article from Author Marketing Experts, blog commenting doesn't need to turn into a time suck. Set a goal to leave a certain number a week. You may be surprised to hear that certain number doesn't need to astronomical, either—you can gain significant exposure by commenting on as few as three to five blogs per week. And set a time limit, too. I use a kitchen timer to limit how long I fool around network via blog comments.

Goodreads, anyone? You can link your blog to your Goodreads page and Tweet your reviews. My favorite part of Goodreads is the giveaway program. Recently I held my first giveaway; I offered an anthology from my publisher, Pink Narcissus Press, in August and every day I logged in just to see how many people entered. My giveaway ended up having several hundred entrants, which really had me chuffed. Even if only a small percent of them went back to check out the book, that's still more traffic than the book had before the giveaway. Several of the entrants made friend connections to my profile, as well. And that, friends, is networking.

Of course, these websites are the basic, most popular ones, but there is no reason you can't use them to your advantage. The “basics” are used by millions of people around the world—and that's a pretty big potential audience.

You don't have to be a Wizard of SEO or a nationally-known keynote speaker. Successful networking begins at your fingertips with a click of the mouse or a Tweet of an idea. Give your book the biggest chance to succeed by reaching out to new readers, one step at a time.

Networking really is that easy.


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.

Speed Networking At Its Best!

QueryTracker.net - Not just for queries any more.

We all know that online networking is essential for writers to succeed in this modern age. So what do writers do? We haunt Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. I found myself wishing for a central listing site of WRITERS, a simple way to connect with all their sites from one single page. I wanted something that looked like this:

And then I went to the guy who could make my wish come true.


Patrick McDonald owns QueryTracker.net which, as you know, is full of writers. And so I asked: "Hey Pat, want to make my networking dreams come true?" And bless him, he consented! (The photo above shows the results!)


Now here's what you need to do join the fun:

1. Make sure you have a membership on QueryTracker.net. It's free and easy.


2. Update your profile (under the My Stuff tab, click Edit Profile, then click Contact Info) to include links to your Facebook*, Twitter, blog and website. (Make sure you choose to make the links visible to everyone!)


3. Next, while still in your profile, select Genres I Write and Genres I Read, as this will help you connect with writers/readers with similar tastes. (Hint: The more genres you choose, the more people you will connect with!)

Now for the networking:

1. Hover over the Members tab.


2. Click on Search by Similar Likes and you are on your way!!!

Now, spread the word! More people knowing = more connections for you!

Of special note:

There is a way to keep track of who you have already connected with. When you view a QT member's links, click on Send A Penpal Request. It will change to indicate that you have connected with them.

For tips on speed networking check out Elana's post on speed blogging.

*Having a hard time learning your Facebook address? It's simple to find. While signed into Facebook, click on the PROFILE tab. Use the address that appears in your browser's window.

This is a brand new feature, so let me know if you have any questions or problems, or can think of a way to improve it. (Let's make all our networking dreams come true!) So leave a comment in this post or drop me a line: suzettesaxton@querytracker.net.


Happy networking!

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. ;)

Query a Tune Winner!

Okay, QT's- I have reviewed the wonderful entries to the Query a Tune Contest. I have forced friends and family members to obsess over them as well.

It was VERY difficult to choose a winner. In case you have not yet read all the entries, I submit the following facts in evidence:

The honorable mentions:

JPM didn't query a specific project, but gave us a lovely parody about the query process in general

To the tune of “Copa Cabana” by Barry Manilow:

Her name was Lola, she was an agent
With yellow cushions on her chair and many manuscripts over there
She would make sales and writers moola
And while she was looking for a star, she got my query from afar
Across five states or more, she wanted chapters 1 through 4
His writing was so fun, but could she take on yet another?
And yet she asked for more!

It was the query, query I sent her
A great idea put in the letter
It was the query, query I sent her
Format and action had caused a strong reaction
To my query….she fell in love

Kat Harris shared her amazing video of a song she wrote and performed...

Windsong's entry intrigued me, as I wasn't sure whether it was a frog who made the promise, or that the prospects of obtaining a frog were promising.

There was no moon
No roses
No wine
No shooting star
To show you were mine

Chorus:

Just an emerald necklace
And the promise of a frog
Just an emerald necklace
Emerald necklace and a song

When I looked at you
White feathers
A beak
Surely a jest
For birds cannot speak

I had no promise
Of your heart
Just the
Word of a frog

Chorus

Now I see you
Bird outside
Girl in
In the game of my life
I'm going to win

Chorus (repeat twice)

I loved the images and language in this one from Nisa

The following is to the tune of "The Riddle" from the musical The Scarlet Pimpernel and depicts my novel "Power's Touch". -

See the dreams pass before her eyes
See the youth stripped clean with the lies
Angels speak no words
In a land so cursed

Just trace a portrait of darkness
You'll have an image of yourself
Betray the night
Gain a sense of right

Oh we all can taste bitter-sweet scars
Like moonlight spilling 'cross falling stars
I need more
One thing that is sure

The power, glitter, they lead us
In a dance trapping away trust
We cast our lot
And with luck it will pay off

And I am sorely disappointed that the video associated with this entry from Janet Lane never made it online. It sounds like AWESOME performance.

It's to the tune of "Chapel of Love" recorded by the Dixie Cups in 1964.
I had three women singing, a la the Dixie Cups, with two men as back-up for the "whoa, whoa, whoa's."

GYPSY TO THE CHAPEL ... to "Chapel of Love" by Dixie Cups, 1964. New lyrics by Janet Lane

CHORUS
Goin' to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Chose to be a Gypsy
And we're gonna get married
Goin' to the Chapel of Love

Fall is here
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Time for bliss
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Break the tile
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
And then we'll kiss
But Big John says, "Something's amiss!"
And my Gypsy King is headed to jail! So now we're ...

CHORUS:
Goin' to the gallows
And we'll never get married
Goin' to the gallows
And we'll never get married
Lookin' for the chalice
And that naughty monk's secrets
Lookin' for the chalice, and LOVE!

Two days left
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
A big surprise
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
My Gypsy King
(Whoa, whoa, whoa)
Told me lies!
That surly knight is always right
And the chalice is finally in our hands!

CHORUS
And now I found a true lover
But we'll never get married
Found a true lover
But we'll never get married
I'm half Gypsy
Will I ever get married?
Lookin' for the Chapel of Love.
(Yeah, yeah yeah yeah)
Lookin' for the Chapel of Love
(Yeah, ONE MORE TIME!)

(Slow, with full harmony): Lookin' for the Chapel of ... Loooooove!
(Baritone): Whoa, YEAH!

But for sheer entertainment value (plus extra marks for bravery and enthusiasm), the winning entry:

Angels, Demons, and Beauty Queens*
* With Michael Jackson clawed hands swaying back and forth to the tune of “Thriller.”
(Lots of wolf howls)
It’s close to mid-night and Linny’s on a very scary plane
Out of her body, she sees a sight that makes her want to faint
She wants to run, but Elvis imp-er-sonators take the plane
She starts to scream, but Lycra stares her right between the eyes
She’s mortified!

Cause it’s a thriller, a real bone chiller
Agents jump to read it, oww
And publishers scream for it, yoww
It’s a diller, a real thriller yarn
But my query really sucks
I’ll have to rip it up
Toooonight!!!!
(Jackson howl)

Back on the airplane, Mary melts the bomb with laser beams
Annette raises a dead man and wonders if her powers are a dream
They want to run, but the FBI believes they’re double agents,
They strategize, but an evil demon stalks them from the skies
They’re terrified!

Cause it’s a thriller, a real bone chiller
Agents please, please read it!
And publishers scream for it(in a good way)
Cause it’s a thriller, a real genuine chiller
I want to win that book cause’
I need another, another, another hook!!
Tooonightttt!!!!
(Jackson howl)

by Taryn L. Hook

So, congratulations, Taryn! You've won a copy of Agent Demystified by Authoress of Miss Snark's First Victim.

So watch your email for instructions!

And seriously, all the entries were beyond awesome. I was blown away by your amazing creativity and willingness to take risks. I loved them all. BIG thanks to everyone who "pitched" in.

You guys rock. Literally.

Social Networking Basics

The first article in this series on social networking covered blog readers. This second post will address basic info on the major social networking sites.

Now, if you're already tweeting and hurling sheep at your Facebook friends, you may be well-acquainted with social networking sites. My next post on this topic will cover ways to maximize the benefits of your online presence.

But for now, we're going to start with the basics, because none of us want to end up in this situation:



For those of you who think "Twitter" has something to do with woodland creatures falling in love, here's a quick rundown. I've linked each heading to my own profile, so you can see what they look like.

Facebook: www.facebook.com Facebook is a social networking site that allows you to create a profile, upload photos, post links, and add "friends". This site requires accurate personal information (If they discover a profile for a fictional character, business or pet, they'll delete it) and therefore gives the added bonus of looking up the girl you went to summer camp with and your third grade crush.

How does this help with your writing career? You can use Facebook to post links to your personal blog, and keep your contacts in the loop regarding your writing projects. You can network through groups for writers and fans for your genre, and-- if you've established a following-- you might just get a group of your own "fans." Many, many people of all ages use Facebook, so it's a great place to make connections with potential readers.

Downsides: A recent scandal erupted when it became known that Facebook had altered their user agreement (without notifying users) to language that essentially gave Facebook rights in perpetuity to any content used on their site. Meaning they had rights to photos, notes, text, etc. if it had been posted to a user's profile. They have since backed off on the language and are rewording, but it would still be ill-advised to post any original content there. Post links back to your personal blog or website where you are guaranteed full rights to your content. Also, Facebook's silly side (Superpoke, pieces of flair, etc.) can be a lot of fun, but be careful about maintaining your professional image.

Myspace: www.myspace.com Myspace is similar to Facebook, but in my experience is geared towards a younger audience. If you are a YA or MG author, get thee a Myspace page. Unlike Facebook, Myspace allows pages for fictional characters, so if your contemporary character wants to get online, this would be a good place. You can customize your profile-- even blog there, if you like.

How will this help with your writing career? Like Facebook, Myspace allows you to add users as "friends". Unlike Facebook, default settings allow you to view profiles of people you aren't already connected to, so that can provide an easy way to increase your online connections. It's also easy with the customizable profile to add things like book trailers directly to your profile for easy viewing.

Downsides: Since a public profile means anyone can find you, that includes smarmy dudes looking for someone to complete their threesome and the like.

Twitter: www.twitter.com Lately cyberspace is all a-Twitter. Everybody and their agent is Twitter-pated. So what is Twitter, anyway? Twitter is a "microblog" site, where users post personal updates, links, etc, but are limited to 140 characters per posting. You can "follow" other users who interest you, and other users can choose to follow you.

How does this help your writing career? As opposed to Facebook and Myspace, which require you a user to approve you as a "friend," Twitter allows you to follow any user you like (unless their profile is private). As a result, agents and editors who may not be thrilled if you try to "friend" them on Facebook, generally don't mind unknown Twitter followers. Many agents maintain Twitter accounts and following publishing professional can often get you the inside scoop on timely topics. In addition, you can follow QueryTracker there, too, for breaking news on new and updated agents on QueryTracker.net.

Downsides: Although agents might not be following you (even though you're following them), most of them still check their @ messages (if you're new to Twitter, an @-message is a post starting with @[username]). Which means you still need to be careful of the impression you're making if you respond to an agent's tweets. The casual nature of Twitter can be a bit misleading. Like always, you should keep your professional reputation in mind and avoid tweeting anything you wouldn't want a prospective agent or editor to read.

Rallystorm: www.rallystorm.com Suz did a great job of discussing Rallystorm on Monday. Check out her post, if you haven't already.

Linked In: www.linkedin.com Linked In is a professional networking site. Keyword here is professional. While agent opinions vary regarding friend requests from aspiring authors on sites like Facebook and Myspace, Linked In is one place where the connections are generally professional in nature. In other words, if you are working with an agent or editor, it's perfectly appropriate to ask them to add you to their Linked In network. But Linked In is absolutely not a place for cold networking with publishing professionals.

How will this help your writing career? You probably won't find Linked In to be all that helpful at the Seeking-Representation stage. But it can be a great networking tool once you're officially part of the publishing industry. Linked In adds a person's whole network of connections with them. So, you'll see your personal contacts, but also your contacts' contacts.

Downsides: Not that useful for an aspiring-to-be-agented author.

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com Goodreads is a fun way to connect with your friends over books. You can post books you've read, books you've loved, books you're reading right now, and what books you can't wait to read next. You can compare your thoughts with your friends and snoop through their lists to find new great things to read.

How does this help your writing career? Anything that exposes you to more good books can only help your writing. Anything that connects you to people who love to read, is good for your platform. And one day, folks might be posting about your book there.

Downsides: Although you can peruse your friends' lists of contacts, Goodreads is mostly directed towards people you are already connected to.

There are plenty of other sites where you can connect online, from chatboards to music sites like Imeem.com. Any connection you can make online, helps build a pool of folks who might be interested in your book later. So get out there and start networking... just don't forget to keep writing while you're at it.

Publishing Pulse 3/6/09

New Agents on QueryTracker:

Carrie Howland - Donadio & Olson, Inc.

Alanna Ramirez - Trident Media Group, LLC

Brendan Deneen - FinePrint Literary Management

Literary Agents:

The Web site Editor Unleashed, which is run by former WD editor Maria Schneider, is hosting a live forum chat with agent Michael Bourret of the Dystel & Goderich Literary Agency.

The chat goes down from 1-2 p.m., on Wednesday, March 11. Visit the EU Web site here. If you're writing juvenile fiction and have a question that no one can seem to answer, this is a perfect place to ask it!

Michael's interests: "a wide range of books, from middle grade and young adult fiction, to arts and entertainment, to serious nonfiction. He is a politics and news junkie, as well as a connoisseur of fine wine and reality television."

Colleen Lindsay started the first Query Fail on twitter. It was fun to watch all the tweets come through from the various agents, publishers, and authors. Check out her post on it here (oh, and see all those people on twitter? Baaaa...).

Fun Things To Win:

We all know that as important to writing is reading. I think I spend more money on books than anything else in my entertainment budget. So what's better than reading books? Reading FREE books. I'm sure there are scads of contests scattered across the Internet. My addiction is so severe that I usually rely on a handful of blogs to keep me in the loop.

Win a signed copy of Charles de Lint's THE MYSTERY OF GRACE. I totally entered.

Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of TANTALIZE and ETERNAL, runs one of the best blogs on the planet. She lists giveaways, author interviews, and much more almost every day. Click here to enter to win NEVER TRUST A DEAD MAN by Vivian Vande Velde (say that three times fast!).

Enter to win ETERNAL by Cynthia Leitich Smith, who also gives a great interview. In fact, this blog (In Bed With Books) has tons of giveaways, so check it out.

Other Interesting Tidbits:

1. Blogging is a fun way to "get yourself out there." Heather did a post this week on using Google Reader to follow the blogs you like. Do you want to become one of those people other people follow? (If you can follow that sentence, you deserve some sort of prize.) If you do, you need to blog. Not sure what to blog about?

Well, a couple of us QTBloggers have started doing a Work in Progress Wednesday. Mine from this week is here. Archetype posted here. The real inspiration came from Kate Karyus Quinn on her blog. If you're a blogger/writer wondering what you can post about (believe me, I've been there), try posting a Work in Progress Wednesday! There's nothing like giving a report, receiving positive comments and encouragement, and just the sheer thrill of blogging, of course. If you like, post your blog address in the comments. I'm always looking for new blogs to follow and read. (I've tried clicking on the tiny heads in our sidebar, but some of you have more than one blog!)

2. There is something in the works for Monday that I think you're going to love. Last Monday, we opened up the blog in our first Open Mic Monday. If you didn't get a chance to ask a question, please do! We want this blog to be for you. Lady Glamis asked a question about showing vs. telling. And the five of us have been cooking up something special to answer her question...don't miss it!

3. One last thing: You may have noticed our sweet, new graphics telling you a little more about the QTBloggers. We did an introductory post when we first took over the blog, but our readership has grown so much since then. So now, at the end of each post, you can see us and read a little bit about us. We'd like to get to know you too! Leave us a comment with a little tidbit about yourself. What genre do you write? Where are you in the querying stage? How long have you been writing? Who is your favorite author? Or maybe you're a random-fact person like me and just want to pontificate on the awesomeness of say, ginger ale. Go for it! We'd love to hear from you.

You're a Writer; You Need a Reader.

As requested, I'm starting a series of posts regarding social networking and building an online presence.

The next posts will cover the basics of social networking sites, social site etiquette, and tips on using your online presence to network effectively.

For today, though, I'm going to discuss a helpful basic tool: blog readers.

Writing a novel is a creative process, but getting that novel published is all business. So if you want to find an agent and publish your work, it makes sense to keep informed about the publishing industry.

Since you're hanging here with us on the QueryTracker.net blog, you're probably aware that there are many industry blogs and news feeds available online. But keeping track of them can get tricky.

That's why, in my opinion, you need to use a feed reader. If you don't use one already, GET ONE TODAY.

There are a lot of feed readers available, but the easiest to get started with are probably Bloglines and Google Reader. If you are already following the QueryTracker.net blog (i.e. if your tiny avatar is currently smiling at us from the sidebar), you've already got a head start with Google Reader. Once you create a Google Reader account, you'll find all the feeds from blogs you're following on blogger already added to your reader page.



It's very easy to add any other feed you'd like to keep track of... you just click "add a subscription" and type in the address of the feed you want.

You can subscribe to all those fabulous agent and editor blogs, news feeds on books and publishing, and all your favorite authors' blog feeds. If you like, you can organize them into folders like I do. Once you've added all your feeds, Google Reader (or Bloglines, or whatever reader you choose) will watch all those sites for you and compile any new posts for you to read whenever you want.

Fabulous! You can also star your favorite posts for quick reference. Uberhandy.

With my subscriptions, I always feel in-the-loop as far as publishing news goes. If you need good feeds to follow, there are quite a few industry blogs listed on my private blog. Most industry blogs will also have links to other great feeds to check out.

So if you're not already a blog reader guru, go feed yourself! And if you're all over Google Reader already, don't worry... I'm just getting warmed up.

Stay tuned for my next posts covering social networking and your online presence.

What ARE QueryTracker.net. QueryTracker.net Forum, and RallyStorm?

We're going to post frequently about ways QueryTracker.net, QueryTracker.net Forum, and RallyStorm can help you become a better writer, find an agent, and get published.  To that end, let's get started at the beginning -- what exactly are these sites, and why would you want to use them?

QueryTracker.net

If you're a veteran of the query process, you know how hard it can be to keep track of agent information, submissions, and the responses to your submissions.  Maybe you've spent hours digging through Writer's Market or printing off pages from AgentQuery or PublishersMarketplace.  Maybe you've created elaborate tables, spreadsheets, or lists.  You've almost certainly found yourself thinking, There has to be an easier way to do this.

QueryTracker.net not only helps writers find agents, it gives them a way to organize their notes, their submissions, and their responses in one convenient place.  As writers record their experiences with different agents, that information is compiled, analyzed, and returned in the form of agent-specific trends and statistics.  As a result, writers can make informed decisions about who to query and what to expect when they do.

In 2008, QueryTracker.net first made Writer's Digest's popular Top 101 Sites for Writers list.

(And best of all, QueryTracker.net is free! An affordable premium subscription is available if you want even more data and statistics.)

QueryTracker.net Forum

QueryTracker.net Forum is a community of QueryTracker.net users who support one another and help each other out.  Newcomers are always welcome, and members are enthusiastic about helping with query letters, synopses, and the first five pages of manuscripts.  There are also areas to share information about literary agents, find out about scams and scammers, and just have a little fun!

RallyStorm

RallyStorm is a social networking site that takes the best ideas from places like Facebook and combines them with the best ideas from places like Google Groups.  Once you've become a RallyStorm member, you can join one of the many existing groups or create one of your own.  Your groups can be small private forums for family or friends only, or large public forums to interact with others who share your interests. 

Since many of the earliest members of RallyStorm are actually QueryTracker users, you will find a number of groups dedicated to writers, most of them open to newcomers.  Some of the most popular are YA Authors on RallyStorm, Adult Fiction, the NaNoWriMo Support Group, Speculative Fiction Authors, and Romance Writers of RallyStorm.

Go and check them out!