Publishing Pulse 6/25/10

It's been an amazing week in the blogosphere:

New Agent
Christine Mervart has joined Anderson Literary Management and is seeking Literary Fiction and Short Story Collections; in Non-Fiction she is seeking Celebrity, Pop Culture, Music, Film & Entertainment, History & Military, and Narrative.

Free Conference
Our own Elana Johnson has, with the help of a handful of authors, arranged for an online writer's conference featuring agents, editors, and other industry professionals. WriteOnCon is free; registration opens Thursday, July 1st.

Cool Stuff on the Web
Editorial Ass gives the inside scoop on why first pages are so important.

On KidLit.com Being Too Close to a Manusctipt and When to Tell Instead of Show.

Nathan Bransford spills on why he writes vague rejection letters and the importance of salutations.

Rachelle Gardener opened herself up to some very interesting Q&As.

Kristin Nelson dishes on the downside of multi-book deals.

The Adventurous Writer reveals the 5 biggest mistakes writers make.

GLA covers cleaning up formatting in a query and the five stages of querying.

Lucienne Driver talks about how to become a leader in fiction trends instead of a follower.

Former FinePrint intern guest blogs on Suzie Townsend's blog about the YA Query.

Contest News
Watch this weekend for a special announcement about our adult fiction contest, which will open on Tuesday, July 6th.

Thanks for dropping in!

Pitching to Agents: A Survivor's Story

We welcome back to the blog Shannon Messenger! She's got it goin' on, because well, just read what she has to say about pitching agents at a conference. Face-to-face. Yikes.

I went to my first writer’s conference in January, and because I was determined to walk away with as much feedback as possible, I signed up for five pitch sessions. FIVE. All to agents I was dreaming of querying in the near future. Yeah…it was terrifying.

I’ll end your suspense now and tell you that I ended up with page requests from 4 out of 5 of those pitches—believe me, no one was more surprised than me. And I really can’t take the credit. I did a lot of research before I prepared my pitch, and I found some pointers that were invaluable.

The first ones seem basic, but you’d be amazed how easy it is to forget them when you’re in the moment:

1) Always start by introducing yourself. Not only is it the polite thing to do, it helps you relax, and find your voice.

2) Smile. Most of us do not smile when we’re nervous. Try to find your smile.

3) Remember that the agent knows you’re nervous. Now, I can’t speak for all agents, but I can say that every agent I’ve met has been very nice. They know they intimidate us. So don’t freak out if your voice starts out squeaky or your first words come out like mush. Take a deep breath, remind yourself that they understand, and keep going.

As far as preparing your pitch, I followed these simple suggestions:

1) Keep it short. Just because you have ten minutes doesn’t mean you should talk for ten minutes. You want to give them time to ask questions. My pitch timed out around three minutes—and even though there was a big part of me that was panicking, wondering what would happen if they didn’t ask me any questions, let me put your mind at ease. They ALL asked questions.

2) Start with your title and main character. As fantastic as your plot may be, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens to your character. That’s what makes people care about your story. Sell them on your character.

3) Follow with two or three concise, captivating sentences and end on a cliffhanger. This is where you’re trying to catch their interest. Make it snappy. Push yourself to write some awesome sentences. And stop at a point that makes them have to know more.

Above all else, remember, you’re not there to get page requests (not saying they aren’t nice). You’re there to get honest feedback about your book so you can make the necessary adjustments before you query. Give the agents a chance to talk. I guarantee you’ll learn something. You may even meet your agent there. I did.


Shannon is represented by Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She runs a popular blog you so should be following, or find her on twitter. She is amazing, and you'll wanna keep up with what she has going on.

Thanks for dropping by, Shannon!

Building Your Book/Author Website

Why is a website so crucial?  Well, partly because the first thing many of us do when we hear about a product that interests us is go online to find out more. A website dedicated to the author/book in question serves several purposes:

1. It legitimizes the author and the book.

In the social sciences (like psychology), something that has been legitimized has clout and power behind it. It feels somehow more real, more authoritative, than something that has not. Think about the mega-authors, the bestselling authors, the ones who are household names -- they all have websites. It's part of the product that is [insert mega-name author here]. 

In a digital world, especially one in which it's so easy to create a webpage, there's really no excuse for not having a site.

2. It gives you a way to brand yourself.

I've talked about branding before, and about how I developed the Archetype Writing brand:

Before we get into [website] content, let’s talk a little bit about design. You need to pick a theme or symbol to represent you. Something that’s unique to your site and your work. In advertising, we call that branding.

I have this really cool pen that my mom got me as a stocking stuffer one year. The barrel is clear, and there’s a little light in there that changes colors. I turned it on, put it on a white sheet of paper and started snapping photographs as it changed colors. That silly little gift, with the light orange, has become my symbol for Archetype Writing. I have it on my site; I have it on my blog. (I also have it on notepaper and my business cards. I'm getting oodles of mileage out of that pen.)

I also used specific colors to go with the Archetype brand --  most notably orange, a color I chose because it is associated with adjectives like energizing, vital, friendly, and fun.  I paired it with black to ground it, since black brings to mind adjectives like bold, strong, powerful, and sober.  In other words -- I was going for a site that is fun to visit, but also includes authoritative information.  (If you're particularly interested in the psychology of color in branding and advertising to help you build your site, I highly, highly recommend the Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color by Leatrice Eiseman.)

Over on my new Writer's Guide to Psychology website, the brand is strongly influenced by my book cover. I decided to carry over the image of the brain, along with the typewriter font and the warm, robust colors, particularly dark red.  If someone has seen the book, I want them to know they've reached the right website the second they see it, and vice versa.

3. It provides interested parties with additional information -- information that you control.

Sites like Amazon.com provide fantastic information on books.  They give us all the details on the publisher, let us browse reviews, and even let us order a copy for ourselves.  But while newer features like Author Central give writers ways to customize their pages and bios, they still can't control a lot of the information published there.

On your website, you can include as much information as you like -- and make sure it's accurate.  You can provide excerpts, tips, and tidbits to really get potential readers intrigued.

So how do you go about creating your own website?  

Storyboarding

The first thing you need to do is sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and storyboard a bit.  What is your primary graphical symbol going to be? What do you want your menus to say?  Will you have submenus?  How will you lay them out?

To the right you'll see what a basic storyboard looks like for me...and how that might translate into a completed site.  My sites rarely look just like my storyboards, but they're often quite similar.

Once I've come up with a basic storyboard, I do a lot of thinking in Photoshop and Dreamweaver.  I try combining things in different ways to see how they look.  I went through nearly 15 iterations of the Writer's Guide to Psychology website before I was happy with the design.  To the right and below are just three of them (the bottom one being what I settled on).


In other words, don't worry if it takes you a while to get it right.  Trial and error is often the best way to figure out what's going to work for you and your book.

Actually Building the Site

I'm one of the lucky ones -- I've been creating webpages since 1995, and I love doing it. It's fun for me to design a site; create the graphics, text, and other media; and tweak until I'm happy.

You may not feel that way, or you may not yet know how to build a website on your own.  If either of these things is the case, you have several options.

1. Hire someone to build the site for you.

• Pros: You don't have to get your hands dirty.  You pay someone and the work is done.
• Cons: You're trusting your site to someone else, and you don't get the same opportunity to play around until the site feels just right.  Having someone else build a site for you an also be expensive, especially if you rely on them to do all your updates.

2. Use a website that provides templates.

• Pros: You can build a site on your own without having to understand how the coding works.
• Cons: These template sites vary widely in quality, ease of use, and functionality. Many (if not most) of them scream amateur. Some require you to have some basic knowledge of how the web works.  Some are costly.  You are limited by the template you choose, especially if you're plunking down hard-earned cash to use a particular one. And there's no guarantee someone else won't be using exactly the same template.

3. Use a blogging website like WordPress or Blogger to create your site.

• Pros: Easy to use and update, lots of templates to choose from.  In many cases you can tailor a blog to look more like a website than a blog.  WordPress and Blogger both offer a way to make different pages so everything isn't running through the blog engine.
• Cons: Custom templates can be buggy, and they often require some HTML and/or CSS knowledge to really tweak them.  Instructions on how to make changes vary from very good to extremely poor. 

4. Tackle a website-building program like Microsoft Expression Web or Adobe Dreamweaver (or find a friend who knows them and can help you).

• Pros: You have complete control over your site and the possibilities are limitless.
• Cons: Advanced knowledge and patience are required.  (If you're going to try to learn Dreamweaver, I highly recommend Dreamweaver CS4 Missing Manual and CSS: The Missing Manual if you want to really understand CSS.)  MS Expression web is considerably cheaper (unless you're a student or teacher) and has very similar functionality to Dreamweaver. There are also plenty of books to help you learn MS Expression Web, though I haven't read any of them, so I can't make any particular recommendations. (Once you learn one of the programs, you can move back and forth pretty easily between them.)

For the novice, I suggest using a blogging platform like Blogger or WordPress.  Overall, they're easy to use, there's lots of help available, and they're fairly easy to customize.

A little tip as you build, especially if you're using someone else's templates.  Remember, just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should do something.  In other words, simple is often better.

Your Domain Name

If you're not using Blogger or WordPress (or sometimes even if you are), you'll want a website address (aka a domain name) that refers to you or your product.  Fortunately, domain names are inexpensive, often around $10 a year.  GoDaddy.com is an easy place to buy a domain name, though I prefer SSL Catacomb Networking, as they're often cheaper and I like the control they give me over my domain names.

Dot-com (.com) names are the most popular because everyone automatically tacks ".com" onto a website address, but you can use all kinds of domain extensions (.net, .info, etc.) if .com is already taken.  Though website domain sellers often encourage you to buy every extension under the sun, that's really not necessary.

Once you have your domain name and host service, you're ready to upload your finished site. (I use Website Source because you can do pretty much everything with it...including shell in if you want to. Don't worry if you don't know what shelling in is...it's the ability to do high-level customization of your site on the server side.)  Programs like Dreamweaver and Expression Web will help you upload straight from the program.

So...what have I missed? What else does a website do to help a book? And as a writer, do you have your own author or book website? If you have a website, what approach are you using?  Do you like it?  Would you do anything differently if you were starting over?

Publishing Pulse 6/18/10

Ah, another week has gone by. So many exciting things going on! I just want to give a big shout out to literary agent Kathleen Ortiz for working through the contest entries. She is AWESOME.

She also has a great post about why agents care about submission guidelines, so read that too.

New Agents:
Ann Bohner of Pen and Ink Literary: reps romance, women's fiction and YA.

Adam Korn of DiFiore and Company: reps literary fiction and a list of non-fiction. Click here to see his profile.

Adam Schear of DiFiore and Company: reps commercial and literary fiction and a list of non-fiction.

Christine Mervart of Anderson Literary Management: reps short story collections, literary fiction and a short list of non-fiction. 

From Guide to Literary Agents, a new agent alert for Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary. Read the details here.

Be sure to check out the updated agent profiles to stay on top of who's accepting queries and who isn't. Scroll down a little to see the updated agents. 19 have updated their profiles just this month, including Michael Bourret and Colleen Lindsay. And always make sure to check agency blogs and websites for the most up-to-date information.

Awesome Reading:
6 Keys to Revising Your Novel by guest poster Kristina McBride on the Guide to Literary Agents blog.

An interview with literary agent Jennifer Laughran (through YAHighway).

Awesome post about doing your homework before querying agents by Debra Schubert.
Looking for a Critique Group? Read some advice here from guest poster Susan Uhlig.

Author/agent Mandy Hubbard has some great advice for your opening pages.

Literary agent Jill Corcoran gives a most excellent formula for writing a query letter.

An author branding Manifesto from author Maureen Johnson. Funny and insightful.

Blog to Watch: Adventures in Children’s Publishing. They had a great first line contest a week or two ago, so add them to your follow list so you won’t miss out on other adventures!

Have a great weekend!

Manuscript Length

How long should a novel manuscript be?

I belong to quite a few writers' groups, both local and online, and in my QT Blog posts, I try to address recurring topics discussed in these groups that apply to aspiring writers. The question of word count comes up frequently.

I'm not an expert on all genres, so I'm going to link to and quote from folks who know what they're talking about. What I do know is that loads of aspiring writers, especially those new to the business have monster-long, and I mean doorstop-huge manuscripts well in excess of 130,000 words.

So, let's start off with the numbers. Here's literary agent Colleen Lindsay's take on manuscript length from her blog, The Swivet:

Word counts for different kinds of novels vary, but there is are general rules of thumb for fiction that a writer can use when trying to figure out just how long is too long. For the purposes of this post, I'm only talking about YA, middle-grade and adult fiction here. And bear in mind that there are always exceptions, but good general rules of thumb would be as follows:

middle grade fiction = Anywhere from about 25k to 40k, with the average at about 35k

YA fiction = For mainstream YA, anywhere from about 45k to 80k; paranormal YA or YA fantasy can occasionally run as high as 125k. The second or third in a particularly bestselling series can go even higher. But it shouldn't be word count for the sake of word count; the word count must actually be what works best for the story.

urban fantasy / paranormal romance = Usually around the 100k mark; some bestselling urban fantasy writers are able to turn in even higher word counts, but as a debut author, stick to the appropriate range.

mysteries and crime fiction = Cozies tend to be shorter than the average, somewhere around the 60k to 70k mark; most other books that fall into this category fall right around the 90k to 100k mark.

mainstream/commercial fiction/thrillers = Depending upon the kind of fiction, this can vary: chick lit runs anywhere from 80k word to 100k words; literary fiction can run as high as 120k but lately there's been a trend toward more spare and elegant literary novels as short as 65k; thrillers also run in somewhere around the 100k to 120k mark; historical fiction can run as high as 160k words or more (and again, these are just rough guides - there are always exceptions). Anything under 50k is usually considered a novella, which isn't something agents or editors ever want to see unless the editor has commissioned a short story collection. (Agent Kristin Nelson has a good post about writers querying about manuscripts that are too short.)

science fiction & fantasy = Here's where most writers seem to have problems: most editors I've spoken to recently at major SF/F houses want books that fall into the higher end of the adult fiction you see above; a few of them told me that 100k words is the ideal manuscript size for good space opera or fantasy. For a truly spectacular epic fantasy, editors will consider manuscripts over 120k but it would have to be something extraordinary. I know at least one editor I know likes his fantasy big and fat and around 180k. But he doesn't buy a lot at that size; it has to be astounding. (Read: Doesn't need much editing.) And regardless of the size, an editor will expect the author to to be able to pare it down even further before publication.

I recommend reading all of Ms. Lindsay's article from which I quoted above because it gives some examples of when and how longer word counts make it through.

Jessica Faust from Bookends, LLC also blogged about this topic in an article appropriately called Book Length.

Here's agent Nathan Bransford's opinion on Novel Word Count.

How about an editor's take on it. Moonrat blogged about the ideal length of a submission.

My point is 130,000+ word debut novels are rare. There's a reason they're not the norm. Publishing is a business. As writers, it's our job to know as much about the business as possible. There is a ton of online information on this subject from industry professionals.

If you have thoughts on this topic or other links to good articles about manuscript length, please share them in the comments.

Have a great week!

Mary

How to Grab an Agent's Attention in a Query

First, how important is a query letter?

The query letter is the first thing I look at, so it should accurately reflect your project.  I think some authors think query letters are just a formality, but so much of being an author is also being able to market your work - and if you can’t take that first step to write a query, you’re in trouble.

 Literary Agent Katie Grimm of Don Congdon and Associates,

from an interview on WordHustler.

Now, tips from twenty agents to make your query shine:

Only about once a year does something immediately grab me from a query. If that happens, I immediately get in touch with the author to ask for the manuscript as soon as possible. Those very rare moments happen when the story sounds fresh and interesting, the tone of the letter expresses the tone of the book, and in those three or four very simple paragraphs, there is a preponderance of evidence that the author is a great writer.

Jim McCarthy of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management, on The League of Reluctant Adults blog.

A great hook. Even if the rest of the query isn’t as stellar as it should be, if you have a great hook, I’m requesting pages. I totally get that some people just have issues with queries and that’s ok with me. But you have to grab me somehow. 

Kathleen Ortiz of Lowenstein Associates, on YA Highway.

I see queries all the time that capture my interest. The one thing they have in common is compelling voice. They usually have a fresh approach to a plot, or an interesting concept. If it’s non-fiction, it’s generally something that makes me think, “Oh I want to know more about that.”

Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management, on the WOW Women on Writing Website.

In short, the perfect query isn’t the most important part; doing your homework on agents (finding which are really a perfect fit), and having good writing and a solid story are. 

Natalie Fischer of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, on the Teens Writing For Teens blog.

I have no patience for query letters that compare the work to a bestseller or literary lion. I’ve seen letters where the author compares their work in a way that makes me sure this person has completely unrealistic expectations. What I do find helpful is for the author to tell me whom they envision being their audience (e.g., readers of so-and-so may enjoy my work). There is a big difference between over-hyping and helping to position the readership.

Wendy Sherman of Wendy Sherman Associates, on WOW, the Women On Writing website.

I am always thankful when someone values and respects my time by gathering information prior to contacting me. I am also a stickler for grammar, so typically, a poorly written query, or one that contains grammatical and/or typographical errors directs my attention elsewhere. 

Adriana Dominguez of Full Circle Literary, on The Examiner.

No need to apologize for yourself—"I'm so sorry to take up your time." Please don't threaten or beg me to "make your dream come true" or try to pump up the project in ways that mean nothing—telling me how your mom or friends loved it, or that you have 150 Facebook friends, all of whom you're sure would buy a copy. Don't get in your own way! Just tell me about the book, and we'll go from there.

Holly Root of the Waxman Agency, on the Guide to Literary Agents blog.

I’d like to see the author summarize their book in a paragraph or less, and be able to point out authors whose work is like theirs. And of course, what makes me hit “delete” are the usual mistakes—addressing the letter “Sir/Madam,” calling me someone else’s name, misspelling my name, lots of typos, a weak command of the English language, etc. etc. 

Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd., on Gretchen McNeil's blog Seanchai.

I don’t want self-aggrandizing statements. (This book is the next bestseller!). All I need is a brief paragraph outlining the plot and characters, and five pages so I can see if you can write. Please only include biographical information that is relevant to the content and sale of the book. And take into account what I’m looking for. It’s just a waste of time to send me material that I do not take on.

Beth Fleisher of The Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency, on the QTblog.

Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of query letters that don’t tell me anything about the plot. I can’t figure it out. I’m being pitched a story, but the writer won’t tell me what the story is–though he assures me it’ll be a great read!  Baffling. 

Tina Wexler of International Creative Management, on the Teens Writing for Teens blog.

Another pet peeve is what I like to call the Chinese menu query letter. I get query letters that pitch me five projects in three fiction genres, a screenplay and a memoir. Needless to say, I respond with a polite no thank you. Also, I automatically reject any query that has my name improperly spelled.

Barbara Collins Rosenberg of The Rosenberg group, on author Dianna Love's website.

Do take the time to hone and then highlight your one or two sentence pitch or hook. Do take only one paragraph to summarize the rest of your work-following the grab-your-attention style found on the back cover of books. 

Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency, on the WOW Women on Writing website.

The worst thing you can say is “I am unpublished and this manuscript isn’t very good.” If you don’t think it is good or publishable, then don’t waste anyone’s time mentioning it or sending it along. The writer becomes a professional writer the moment they act professionally and being apologetic isn’t being professional. Have confidence and poise.

Stephen Fraser of the Jennifer DiChiara Literary Agency, on The First Novels Club blog.

A crisp and to-the-point letter that lets me know you know your way around words and can tell a good tale. 

Jennifer Flannery of Flannery Literary, on Gumbo Writers.

What if, instead of on impulse sending a pushy email requesting a status update, you wrote to an agent: “I just wanted to let you know that you should feel free to take your time considering my manuscript. I know how busy you are, and I’m just happy you’ve requested the full and are considering – naturally, I want you to have the time to make the right decision here”? What if you made it your goal to be the most professional and pleasant writer to ever approach the agent you’re querying – can you imagine what sort of impact that might have on the results you get?

Stephen Barbara of Foundry Literary + Media, on the blog of Erica Ridley. 

Be honest and open and show some personality. Agents aren’t looking for worker bees, we want to see originality. Talent is primary, but compatibility goes a long way. Make it clear to agents from the start that you are going to be cooperative and will work with an agent for the betterment of your career. 

Rebecca Sherman of Writer's House, on The Career Cookbook.

From an agent’s stand point, the most important part of your query is the story pitch. I need to love the concept above all else. If you have writing credentials or a compelling reason for querying me specifically, great, but if I don’t love the pitch than the rest doesn’t matter.

Mandy Hubbard of D4EO Literary Agency, on Day by Day Writer.

It sparks my interest in the story, tells me more than the title and word count. It's great when a writer can clearly describe the appeal or "hook" of his or her own work and say why I'd be the best representative for it. Sell yourself to me. Professional credentials help, but aren't necessary. You might mention other authors whose work you like or who inspire you. 

Steven Malk of Writer's House, on Hope Vestergaard's blog.

Please don’t be overly friendly or chummy. We’re not looking to be friends (though I certainly like being friends once I’ve signed you on as a client), but to form a business relationship. Keep it cordial and professional.

Caren Johnson Estesen of the Caren Johnson Literary Agency, on Break Into Fiction.

The real key to a successful query letter is to get the point across succinctly. Write a good letter and check it for spelling and grammar. We're nerds! We will judge you for your funky punctuation. And try to capture the spirit of what's exciting about your book. Convey your own passion for the material without egotism. Or, best of all, make me laugh. 

Jim McCarthy of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management, on The League of Reluctant Adults blog.

Now, put these tips to use - and let me know the results. 
Go forth, conquer, and dare to be remarkable!

Publishing Pulse 6-11-10

Around the Publishing Blogosphere:

Agent Rachelle Gardner offers advice on evaluating a publisher's legitimacy and some hints on refining your one-line pitch.

Jessica Faust at BookEnds gives some insight to foreign publishing rights and suggests devising a style sheet for your novel.

The Rejector helps delineate between promotional web content and self-publishing.

Eric at Pimp my Novel discusses the finer points of choosing a title.

Publishing News:

The New York Times discussed the various e-reader options.

Author Magazine gives us the top ten publishing myths.

Contests and Opportunities:

Contest on The Bookshelf Muse

Agent Sara Megibow posted a request for romance novel queries on client Natalie Bahm's blog.

Have a great weekend, everyone!