Writers in the Storm

@OrlyKonigLopez

“Strong writing, great story, but I just didn’t love it.”

Any writer who’s had a manuscript on submission with an agent and received a similar reply, knows that banging-head-on-table feeling. And haven’t we all whined back at the computer at some point, “But you liked it. Come onnnnnn”?

How can an agent like your manuscript, compliment your writing and still turn you down?

Well …

Several months ago, an agent I follow posted a call for readers. I thought why not, right? Maybe I’ll finally get a glimpse behind the curtain and crack the code, right?

No codes cracked, but boy did I get a whole new appreciation for the submission process. A few of the things I learned:

1) Write a kick-ass query that fits your story. The query for one submission absolutely knocked my socks off. I knew exactly why the agent had requested that manuscript. The pages started well but the story never felt like it got out of the gate. The writing had great potential but the craft lacked maturity. After finishing, I tried marrying what I’d read with the promise from the query. They didn’t match. And sadly, the writing in the manuscript wasn’t as strong as the writing in the query.

2) Polish, polish, polish. Another manuscript was beautifully written and story kept me interested, but there were a lot of small mistakes—missed words, wrong words, etc. Some mistakes are inevitable (I don’t think I’ve ever picked up a published book without finding a couple of minor oopses), but at some point, it becomes obvious that the book didn’t get that final polishing read. And the moment it becomes obvious, it becomes distracting.

Personally, I’ve found that reading the manuscript in a different format is helpful—if you usually read it on the computer, print it out instead. Or read it on your e-reader. Change the font. Or ask a friend or critique partner with a sharp eye for a fresh read.

3) Like, love and marketability. During my time reading, there were a couple of manuscripts that, at one point or another, I honestly forgot I was reading a submission and not a published book. They were thoroughly enjoyable. One in particular I really, really liked.

Then I started writing the reader report. I was so excited about this really good book—did I mention I really liked it?—and flew through a few of the sections of the report. But the deeper into the report I got, the more I had to really think about the various elements the agent was looking for. And guess what? That really, really likeable book was missing a few key components for it to be marketable in a particular genre.

Yes, those were points that could be fixed with a re-write. Whether the agent sent a revise & resubmit, an offer with notes to revise, or a "like but didn’t love" rejection, I don’t know. But that fine line between really liking something and being able to see how it would be marketed became very clear.

4) The advantage of a reader report—on your own manuscript. So if doing a reader report on someone else’s manuscript helped shed a spotlight on what was missing, why not try it on my own work? Ummm, yeah, that was painful. It’s so much easier to be objective on someone else’s work.

But if you put those emotional months (years in some cases) aside and look at your manuscript from a business perspective, you might be surprised. I’m sure there are as many variations on reader reports as there are agents who rely on readers. Here are the items that I included in the reports I prepared and then in the report I prepared on my own manuscript:

Overview: What’s the story about. Who are the main characters, what do they want, what do they do.

Editorial assessment: How was the writing? Does it grab the reader’s attention? Was it an enjoyable read? Was the manuscript clean of mistakes?

Plot and Storyline: What’s the main plot? Do the storylines support the main theme of the book? Are all storylines plausible and realistically tied up at the end?

Conflict: Do the characters face both internal and external conflicts? Are the external conflicts realistic or contrived? Are the internal conflicts realistic or overdone?

Character development: Are the characters unique? Interesting? Do they have growth arcs?

Emotional connection: Is there an emotional connection with the characters? Do we care what happens?

Dialogue: Is it natural? Does it move the story forward? Do the characters have distinct voices?

Setting: Where does the story take place? Do the descriptions transport you there?

Recommendation: It’s hard to be objective about our own writing. Chances are, if you’re doing this for your own manuscript, your recommendation would be to take it on. :-)

But if you go through this exercise you might be surprised what you uncover.

And what you discover about your own manuscript, just might help you go from a nice “like but don’t love” to a “love it. I want to sign you.”

About Orly

After years of pushing the creativity boundary in corporate communications, Orly decided it was time for a new challenge. Three women’s fiction manuscripts later (plus a handful of picture books), it’s safe to say she’s found her creative outlet.  When she’s not talking to her imaginary friends, she’s reading or at least trying to ignore everyone around her long enough to finish “just one more paragraph.” Orly is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

You can find her on Twitter at @OrlyKonigLopez or on her website, www.orlykoniglopez.com.

Shannon Donnelly

I don’t actually believe in writer's block. That probably makes me sound arrogant, but what I’ve found is that blocks are actually your writer instincts trying to get your attention—and what better way than to stop you cold?

Every writer needs good instincts. You have to have that gut feeling when you’re scene isn’t being true to your characters, you need to be able to read your own work and know by that instinct if it’s good or is boring you as much as it’s going to bore a reader, and you’ve got to know when you’re heading down the wrong path. A block is something to get your attention.

A block is not something you really can avoid—we all face it at some time. But how do you unblock without spending hours and hours and hours trying to figure out what’s up?

Here are some tricks to help you.

1-Change the viewpoint character. Most times when I'm stuck, I'm in the wrong character's head. This is how the writer part of my brain tells me it's going wrong. I change viewpoint to another character until the writing flows again.

2-Make certain you know your conflict. Every scene needs conflict. This means every character should want something and your characters should be ready to fight and argue to get what they want. As it’s been put, every character should want something even if it’s a glass of water. A lot of times I’ll look at a limp scene that I hate—or I’ll have a scene I don’t want to write—and if I nail down the conflict suddenly I can’t wait to get at it or I’ll know just how to fix it.

3-Interview your characters. Have a stubborn character who won’t talk? Have a character that keeps going off the Rez and taking the book with her? Have a wooden character? Sit down as if you are a People Magazine writer and start asking questions—where are they from, what do they want, what’s their biggest secret, worst fear, best memory? Every time I introduce a character in a story I stumble and so does the story. That’s because I don’t know enough about that character to get their voice onto the page. An interview is a great way to kick the story back into gear. Sometimes you’ll luck out and the character is just there, but if you’re struggling and blocked maybe it’s because you’re trying to make your character do something that’s utterly out of character.

4-Introduce a new plot twist. Does your story seem boring? Are your characters covering the same ground they just went over? Does the writing feel stale? This is where you throw rocks at your characters. It’s important to note you are not making the characters do something out of character, you are throwing the characters a tough situation to see how they deal with it. If you’re not really sure of the outcome of a scene, this will spark your interest in finding out what happens next.

5-Get a map. Somewhere about page 100 I always need to do a synopsis or outline. This isn’t pages and pages of details but it’s enough to get me back on track. I need to know the main character’s arc and the main turning points. Page 100 for me is the spot where I’m deep in the woods and if I don’t have some idea of where I was thinking about going, I’m going to wander aimlessly or just stand there and stare at those trees. I want to have great scenes lined up and waiting for me.

6-Think of a great scene and write that. You don’t have to be a linear writer. Yes, you can be, but it’s not mandatory. If you can’t wait to get to that love scene or the big break up or the confrontation with that awful bad guy, write that now. Don’t slog through some stuff to get there. Write the good stuff and then figure out how to tie it together. You may find out you don’t really need all those dull scenes between.

7-Go for dialogue. I can write description or dialogue. In general I find doing the talking first—getting those great snappy lines on the page is a lot more fun for me (and therefore more fun for the reader, too). Once the dialogue is in place I go back and do an edit to layer in descriptions and actions to accent or provide more subtext to the scene. And a lot of times I can just write the dialogue like I’m taking dictation—that’s the best.

8-Do just a touch of research to spark some details that get you excited. A lot of times I struggle with a scene because it’s not vivid enough in my own head. I need a detail and my instincts come out to block me, telling me I’m missing something. One time I needed the feel of what it was like to hit a piece of wood with a poker—the hero opening a locked box that way. Another time I needed a description of a shop in London. Recently I’ve been working on a book set in Paris, 1814 and I’ve needed some details of events and sights. If I can’t see it vivid in my imagination how can I put it into the reader’s head? The real trick here is not to get lost in the research. Set a time limit or look for just one specific thing that you know you need—don’t go browsing the Web for days.

9-Use Hemmingway's trick and always stop for the day in mid-sentence, knowing what you want to write next. I love this one--it always leaves me eager to get back to work. A lot of time my writer’s block isn’t so much a block as it’s sheer laziness.

10-Have writing ritual habits to connect left and right brain. A cup of hot tea or coffee and start with editing a page or two back helps me ease into the groove. This is really important if I’ve been away from the book for a day or two or more. Having a set of habits gets my mind into the writing space. If something stops working—the coffee starts giving jitters—the ritual needs a change. So I have to stay aware of what works for me and what doesn't. For example I used to be a night-owl writer but these days I function better as a morning writer when it’s quiet and just me and my keyboard and the characters. A lot of time this can help you get a sudden insight into what your writer’s instinct is trying to tell you—as in a scene that wasn’t working for me recently wasn’t working because I’d stuffed in a dumb reason for why the characters were where they were. My characters shut up about the next scene because they didn’t want to seem that dumb—once I fixed their motivation, they started setting up the next scene for me.

Which means that above all else listen to and develop your instincts. Trust your gut, your muse, your characters, or whatever you want to call it. But when the writing slows down or stops, it’s time to look at why. Don’t fight that block. Use it. Look at the scene, the characters, talk to another writer, and see what your writer’s instincts are trying to tell you.

 

Want to share tips that have worked to get your writing back on track? Need a little more help getting unstuck now? 

 

 Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written." She is also the author of the Mackenzie Solomon, Demon/Warders Urban Fantasy series, Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire. Shannon is currently working on Lady Chance, the next Regency romance after Lady Scandal in the “Ladies in Distress” series.

 

 Chuck Sambuchino

The time has come. Your novel or memoir or book proposal is now complete. Not only is it complete, you’ve revised it several times and incorporated the critical ideas of peers and editors to make it better. You’ve developed a list of agents to target and researched each one.

You’re ready. It’s time to start the submission process and send out your work. But before you formally e-mail your book out to agents and editors, go down this checklist of dos and don’ts to make sure you’ve giving yourself and your submission the best chance possible.

 (This article excerpted from Chuck's forthcoming book, GET AN AGENT (December 2014).

Submission Tip Checklist

1. Be formal. Although you’ll be sending most queries electronically and there is a tendency to be less formal over e-mail, address the agent as you would in a paper letter. Remember that elements like sarcasm and self-deprecating humor do not necessarily come across well in unsolicited correspondence.
2. Personalize your query to each agent or market. (No mass submissions to multiple people at the same time.) Make sure that you have the agent’s name spelled correctly. If their name is “Sam Johnson” and you are not positive of their gender, use neither “Mr. Johnson” nor “Mrs. Johnson,” but rather just address them using “Dear Sam Johnson.”
3. Double-check the agency or publisher guidelines to make sure you’re submitting the correct materials to the correct contact. This, obviously, is a huge point—so take your time with it.
4. Make the e-mail’s subject line specific if the market requests it. If not, simply writing “Query: (TITLE)” is a safe bet. If you’re sending your e-mail to a specific agent at an agency, but the agency only provides a generic e-mail address (e.g., query@xyzagency.com), then use the subject line “Query for (Agent Name): (TITLE).”
5. Keep your emotions in check: Submission e-mails should be professional and businesslike, so resist the temptation to say something off-putting like “Although you inexplicably did not respond to my last query, I am trying you again with a new project and hope you will at least get back to me on this one.”
6. Do not say “I welcome your feedback or comments on my work/pitch.” It’s not an agent’s job to critique the work for you, and they will see such a comment as a red flag.
7. Don’t type in all caps or all lowercase. Use proper punctuation and pay attention to grammar and spelling always. (You can write your book’s title in all caps in the query letter, but not anything else.)
8. Double check the mailing address or e-mail inbox you’re sending to. One wrong letter in an e-mail address is enough for your query to be lost in cyberspace forever.
9. Respect the importance of the query. A good query will open doors, so make sure others have seen and critiqued your letter before you send it out to dozens of markets. The same goes for your synopsis or nonfiction book proposal. Don’t go into battle with questionable weapons.
10. If querying by e-mail, make sure all your font and type size is the same. Since you will be cutting and pasting into e-mail, different sentences can appear different sizes. Send yourself or a friend a test e-mail to check for such an issue.
11. Make no demands. Anything that seems like a demand (“Respond to my letter within three weeks to respect my time”) is a major turn-off.
12. Act with humility when talking about yourself. No matter your current accomplishments, and no matter how much you think your novel is the best thing since “Breaking Bad,” you need to simply discuss the story. Even if your writing history is impressive, be sure to state your accomplishments quickly and humbly.
13. Unless you have a serious health concern that prevents you from using a computer, submit your own book yourself. In other words, don’t have a friend or relative submit your book for you. This kind of communication gets confusing and the agent may not know whom to address in correspondence. Plus, it can give an agent pause to wonder why the writer is not confident enough to submit his or her own work.
14. If you do use snail mail, don’t try to set yourself apart by using fancy stationery. Standard letterhead and envelopes are preferable. Don’t include any extraneous materials that were not requested.
15. Do a final check to make sure the agent (or market) in question is still open to submissions. For example, if an agent suddenly closed herself off to unsolicited queries this morning, she will usually say so on Twitter first, and also make a note of it on her official agency website. Those two online locations are good places to visit right before you hit “Send” to double-check that communication lines are still open.
16. And after you do send off the work, ensure that you noted the e-mail on your submissions spreadsheet, so you can effectively keep track of each agent you’ve submitted to and when.

 

(Hi, everyone. Chuck here chiming in for a second. I wanted to say I am now taking clients as a freelance editor. So if your query or manuscript needs some love, please check out my editing services. Thanks!)

If you missed Chuck's last post, Classifying Your Book: How to Research & Target Literary Agents, you can click here to read it.

Do you have a fun story to share about querying? Something a bit less than fun? A question about queries? a Seventeenth Tip?

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About Chuck

   Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest Books edits theGUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and theCHILDREN’S     WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the largest blogs in   publishing.

His 2010 humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK, was optioned by Sony Pictures.   Chuck has also written the writing guidesFORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT and CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM.

Besides that, he is a freelance book & query editor, husband, sleep-deprived new father, and owner of a flabby-yet-lovable dog named Graham.

Find Chuck on Twitter and on Facebook.