Writers in the Storm

Brandi Megan Granett

In 1999, several factors conspired that caused me to walk away from writing for a very long time: my first novel was accepted for publication, my darling daughter was born, and the publishing industry imploded.  Combining the demands of new motherhood with diminishing ability to sell books and zero support from my publisher recently acquired by a big five house left a bad taste in mouth about the whole writing business.  So I walked away.  I started homeschooling my daughter.  I taught classes about writing instead of writing.

When my daughter decided she wanted to be an archer in the Olympics or a Renaissance faire, I did what any homeschool mother worth her salt would do; I bought her a bow and took her to the local archery shop. X-Ring, to get some arrows.  When the owner, Jon Bach said with a sly grin, “You know mom, women are better than men at archery,” he had my attention.  Soon I found myself signed up for lessons and hooked on archery the way I once had been on writing.

Little did I know that archery would teach me so many valuable lessons that would lead me back to writing as well!

So What if It’s Christmas

To say I was hooked on archery was an understatement. Just as I used to dream of getting a short story in the New Yorker, I not only wanted to shoot archery, I wanted to make the Olympic team.  But instead of just dreaming about it, I trained for it.  Archery taught me that to excel you need to work—every day.  It didn’t matter if it was Christmas.  your birthday, or you were tired.  I would find myself shooting at midnight if I didn’t have the time during the day.  I shot the morning of my wedding!  When the writing bug hit me again, and I started working on Triple Love Score, I knew I needed to apply this same discipline. I set myself a target of 500 words a day and wrote every day, whether I felt like it or not.  Writing couldn’t be precious; it just needed to be done.

You Need a Team

Archery, even though it is a solo sport in most cases, benefits from a team approach.  I found such a supportive community from coaches to other archers.  Asking for advice, seeking out examples of other archers in person or online, attending seminars, and sharing knowledge I gained in return became the cornerstones of my development as an archer.  Without my tribe of archers, this sport would be damn lonely and extremely challenging; it is difficult to learn everything on your own!  Writing is no different.  This time around I found myself seeking out other writers.  I friended them on Facebook.  I attend conferences like the Key West Writing Seminar and the Yale Summer Writing Conference.  Most importantly, I joined the Tall Poppy Writers, a collective of women fiction authors who pledge to support each other through marketing and the sharing of resources and advice.  Without archery, I never would have learned the value of forging so many connections.  An archery coach I am fond of, Jim White, teaches that relationships determine results.  I can’t thank him enough for sharing this key insight with me.

Thoughts are Things

My personal coach and biggest cheerleader, Len Cardinale, teaches the powerful mantra, thoughts are things.  If you step up to the shooting line and think, “I will never hit this target,” guess what?  You just sabotaged your chances.  The same thing is true as you face a writing project.  If you look at every pitch or query and say they’ll never like this, you are just setting yourself up for failure.  In both writing and shooting, I try to keep a positive focus; after all, in both games, my thoughts are just about the only things I can control!

Sometimes You’ve Got to Put it Down

Learning when to walk away or when to start over is one of the hardest lessons I’ve faced as an archer. When an injury sidelined me, I struggled for months still trying to shoot despite the pain and frustration.  Likewise, we sometimes find ourselves writing a project that isn’t a good fit or that isn’t working.  Even though we may be 20,000 words in, it may be that the project needs a break or to be scrapped altogether.  Sometimes stepping away and coming back with fresh eyes enables us to see things in new ways, but stepping away can be extremely difficult.  After I stopped shooting and took a break, I came back and tried compound archery instead of Olympic style.  While I was afraid to try something new, the same way we are afraid to start a new writing project, I soon found myself enthralled with beginners joy.  Soon after that, I was able to apply all the things I learned as an Olympic archer to this new discipline.  As with writing, each piece of writing we do, whether it ever hits the shelves. the pages of a magazine, or someone else’s computer screen, teaches us something about writing that can help us to move on and try something new.

I have a novel I finished before Triple Love Score, called Tarnished.  This is a project I let go in order to start something new.  I don’t know if I’ll return to it, but I know that I made the right decision moving forward instead of clinging to something that wasn’t able to find a publishing home.  Sometimes in an archery tournament, you find yourself unable to get the shot to fire.  You just stand there like a statue; that was me with Tarnished.   It can be really hard to let the arrow down and start over again, but what result can you expect to have from something that is stuck and breaking down?  It is better to start again.  Don’t be afraid to let down and recompose yourself.  It isn’t failing to do that—it’s learning.

What's Your Bow and Arrow?

While I don’t think all of you are going to rush out and try archery as a way of making your writing better (though I really recommend it), I do recommend looking at the other things in your life that you enjoy or are successful at.  How did that happen?  How can you build those elements into your writing practice to get where you want to go as a writer?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

About Brandi

Brandi Megan Granett (formerly Scollins-Mantha) is the author the newly released TRIPLE LOVE SCORE (Wyatt-Maczenie, September 1, 2016), MY INTENDED (Eagle Brook/Morrow, 2000), and CARS AND OTHER THINGS THAT GET AROUND (2014). She earned her Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Aberystwyth University, Wales, and her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in Stockton, NJ, with her husband and daughter. When she is not writing or teaching or mothering, she is honing her Olympic archery skills.

• Brandi’s Amazon Author Page
• Visit Brandi’s Website: http://www.brandigranett.com
• Connect with Brandi on Goodreads
• Huffington Post Columnist Page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandi-megan-mantha/

Susan Spann

In the publishing world, an "elevator pitch" is a one-sentence (under one minute) pitch an author gives an agent, editor, or reader in order to prompt interest in a manuscript or book.

I've heard a lot of these over the years, and I help authors write (or revise) them in conference settings. In fact, this coming weekend I’ll be taking pitch appointments and helping authors prepare to pitch agents at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Conference in Denver.

While the content of every author’s pitch will vary, depending on the setting, genre, and nature of the author's work, there are some constants common to effective elevator pitches. Since I’ve got pitching on my mind, I thought I’d use today’s guest post to offer a few pro tips for crafting the perfect elevator pitch for your novel or nonfiction book:

1. Effective pitches last under one minute. (No Exceptions.)

Many times, authors try to cram too much information into an elevator pitch.

(This is the #1 mistake I see, and the #1 error agents mention to me.)

Authors often think an agent or editor (or a reader) needs to know everything about the novel in order to understand its premise. That’s not true. Long pitches lose your listener, and can persuade an editor or agent that you're not ready for publication. Telling too much actually tells the listener that you can’t describe your work effectively.

Instead, craft a pitch that you can deliver in a single breath . . . without gasping and flopping around on the floor like a fish at the end.

2. Effective pitches favor “high concept” over telling the entire story.

The purpose of a pitch is to make the listener excited about reading your book or manuscript, not to tell the entire story.

Consider movie trailers and the jacket copy on published novels: neither tells the entire story. In fact, the most attractive pitches entice without revealing more than absolutely necessary. They tell you about you the protagonist, the conflict and stakes (s)he faces, and leave you wanting to read and find out what happens.

3. No backstory dumps.

For purposes of the pitch, your character's backstory almost never matters. I say “almost” because if your hero is a ninja detective (like mine), you’ll obviously want to mention that fact, even though his ninja training happened in the past. However, the details of his backstory—the woman who scarred him, the brother who died, and the fact that he’s really, really fond of udon—don’t belong in the pitch.

Authors find backstory compelling because MOTIVATION and FEELINGS and THIS IS IMPORTANT . . . except, in the context of the pitch, it usually isn’t. All the agent, editor, or readers really needs is "A middle grade novel about a three-legged chihuahua raised by a clan of ninja cats, who must employ his ninja skills to stop an evil platypus mage from killing all the ninja cats and taking over the world."

No matter how much you want to tell the listener all about the chihuahua's abandonment issues, and how his cousin is also a platypus, and how he also has asthma and a really bad case of gout ... please don't.

Backstory turns a winning pitch into a loser faster than a platypus mage can vaporise a clan of ninja cats.

4. Memorize your pitch. Don't read it.

Authors often want to read the pitch, because it's too long or complicated to memorize or because the author is afraid of forgetting it due to nerves. Don't do this.

You've spent thousands of hours writing and revising this story. You can memorize one sentence--and if you can't memorize it, that means your pitch is too long.

Edit, shorten, and tighten it until you can commit it to memory. Editors and agents understand nerves, but they also need to know you understand your work and that you can talk about it without a cheat sheet.

5. Practice your pitch with other people, and listen to their feedback. 

The first time pitching your book is always the scariest (and least comfortable), so practice it with friends and fellow writers before you try it out on editors and agents.

Practice until you're comfortable, and ask the listeners for feedback. Pay attention to what they say. If the pitch is too long, or confusing, be willing to fix it.

6. Relax.

Many authors are terrified of face-to-face meetings with editors and agents, but industry pros are only people--and generally, quite nice ones. The pitch is not your "one and only chance" for success. It’s a chance to talk about your book with some someone who might actually want to read it.

Obviously, this isn't an exhaustive list of ways to improve your elevator pitch, but hopefully it gives you a good head start. Do you have other suggestions that have worked for you?

About Susan

Susan Spann writes the Hiro Hattori Novels, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. The fourth book in the series, THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER, will release from Seventh Street Books in August 2016. Susan is the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2015 Writer of the Year, and a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing and business law. When not writing or practicing law, she raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. Find her online at http://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), and on Facebook (SusanSpannAuthor).

I love fortune cookies. From cracking them open, to pulling out the slip of paper, to reading the fortune, to eating the sweet crunchy thing—I love everything about them. I always smile when I find saved fortunes (a recent "found" cache led to this post) whenever I go through an old purse or drawers in my house. They're great for starting conversation at a party, especially when one of my friends yells, "In bed!" after every reading. They make an easy dessert.

But what good are fortune cookies to writers? Ah, let me count the ways...

1. Fortune cookies are succinct in their predictions or advice. They don't tell you everything. No backstory. No names. Just "Beware a stranger." or "A surprise tonight." What if you plant a foreshadowing idea or information like a fortune cookie for your reader? You can heighten the suspense, tension or anticipation with a hint of danger or excitement, but keep it a mystery so your readers continue to turn the pages.
2. Fortune cookies are fun. Who hasn't scoffed at a fortune cookie, then later had a friend remind them about dinner at Wong Fu's and the crazy fortunes? Have you ever gotten a fortune that you so wanted to be  true? What would that fortune be for your protagonist? For your villain?
3. Have you ever gotten a fortune that you abso-posi-lutely didn't want to happen? Were you hyper-vigilant, worried, in denial, laughing? What if an off-handed comment produced the same response in your hero? Think about how that comment was heard. From a neighboring table in a fancy restaurant by a beautiful stranger? Overheard outside his partner's office? Whispered in his ear after passionate lovemaking? The message is important, but so is the delivery.
4. What do you do when the bag, or box, is empty? Do you rush out for more? Are you happy those cookies are finally gone? What does your character do when there seems to be no help, no insight, no where to turn? Do they rush to be in the company of others or are they content with solitude? Do they seek advice from reliable, or not so reliable, sources? How do they get through that black moment?
5. If your muse is on vacation, grab a bag of fortune cookies and crack them open. You'll find something to spark a story idea, whether it's for your work in progress or for starting a brand new project. Expect some fun, even if you don't eat the cookies.
6. Everybody orders take-out. Think goal-motivation-conflict. The hero's goal is bad news for your

   

   heroine. Her goal is equally bad for him. What if they ordered take-out, alone or together, and the fortunes are just what they want, but for the other person? You could spin that into a humorous, awkward, or dramatic response, depending on where the scene takes place in your book.
7. And, of course, you know, there never has to be a mention of a fortune cookie in your manuscript. This can be a covert strategy. Transparency isn't necessary for authors.

 Share one of your saved fortunes with us. Other than "You're going to sell a book soon"-because that's a given, what would your ideal fortune say right now?

ABOUT FAE

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present.  As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong. She is grateful for friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand their stories be told. Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen.