Writers in the Storm

By Nalini Akolekar

For those of you who don’t know me, I started my publishing career back in the Stone Age as an editorial assistant at Silhouette Books.  I loved my job and was strongly encouraged to stay in the field, but life and children intervened and I wound up taking a hiatus from the business that lasted several years.

When I decided it was time to get back to doing what I loved, I started off with some freelance reading for Karen Solem at Spencerhill Associates.  I had come full-circle.  Karen was my first boss in publishing years earlier at Silhouette.  It didn’t take long for me to decide that I wanted to learn the agenting side of the business and get back to the industry that I love.

Authors frequently want to know how to find an agent--wanting to be an agent meant I had to find some authors!

Queries, client recommendations, conference pitches – these are all excellent ways to find great writers to represent.  Ultimately I think finding the right authors is 25% good instinct and 75% good luck.  So far my instincts have been pretty darn good, but my luck has been even better.  Signing each new client requires a mix of artistic, business, and personal compatibility—each author and situation is as unique as the writing that drew me to them in the first place.

Here are just three examples of some ways it’s all come together:

I was living North Carolina at the time and decided to stop into a local writers’ group meeting in the coffee shop section of a local bookstore.  It was a small group of unpublished writers, and they had exchanged pages before the meeting for critiquing.  I stuck out like a sore thumb as they discussed the work they had all read.  I kept quiet and listened, then asked if I could get copies of the pages.

Barbara, the striking blond sitting across from me, handed me an extra copy of her chapter.  She was skeptical, but friendly, and holy cow could she write!

We stayed in touch, and over the next year I gained some clients and experience while she finished her book. I loved the completed novel as much as I had loved those first few chapters, and so I signed her up.

A few months later she was choosing between two offers and ended up signing a 2-book contract with a Big Six publisher.  How’s that for a fairy-tale ending…I mean, beginning?  The best part is that it’s a true story.  For real. You can ask her-- Here.

One of my favorite queries happened to come from another North Carolina writer.   Just one among the hundreds in our submissions inbox, the email caught my eye, the query caught my attention, and the book knocked my socks off.  Coincidentally this query was from another Barbara – Barbara Claypole White.

The opening line of her letter was “DOGWOOD DAYS is a love story about dirt.“  How could anyone not read more?  The book was as insightful, poignant, and quirky as she is. It took a little longer for us to find the perfect publisher for the book that became THE UNFINISHED GARDEN, but the journey and the relationship we built has been has been totally worth it.

Laura Drake’s famous contribution to Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents Blog was “My First 400 Queries Were Rejected: How I Persevered and Got an Agent & Book Deal”. (You can read it Here.)

Her story has been tweeted and re-tweeted a million times.   Laura talks about the editor who introduced her to her perfect agent, and the flip side of that story is that I was the relatively new agent who received the phone call from that editor.

She knew I was taking on new clients and graciously said that while she doubted Laura’s book would work for her particular imprint it was too good not to be published.  This was a lady who knew her stuff so I jumped at the chance.  Not only had a wonderful, talented writer been dropped in my lap, but she’s a fabulous person to boot.

Over the past five years I’ve been able to build a healthy roster of talented and diverse authors and place their work with a wide range of publishers that includes the Big Six, indies and e-first imprints.  The work is challenging and exciting, and the satisfaction is immense. 

These days my biggest challenge is remembering that I can’t possibly represent every talented author that I come across and still do my job effectively.   But it’s hard to remember that when I still get that gambler’s thrill every time a query catches my eye.

What stories do you have about agents and writers finding each other? What do you think makes a great query opener? What do you find most frustrating about querying?

About Nalini

When Nalini Akolekar was growing up her mother would frequently ask her in exasperation, “What are you going to do with your life?  All you ever do is read romance novels!”  Little did she know, her daughter was building a career for herself—one captivating page at a time.

Nalini joined Spencerhill Associates after a lengthy editorial career and several years in advertising sales.  Agenting provided the perfect opportunity for combining her editorial instincts with her sales, marketing, and business experience.

Nalini specializes in romance and women’s fiction in the adult market, but she also loves thrillers. Many of the new authors she’s worked with have gone on to sell multiple books to major publishers.

By Travis Erwin

Defining voice is a bit like nailing Jell-O to the wall. The harder you try, the messier things get, but let’s pick up that hammer and give it a whack anyway.

Voice is a writing style. It is both a particular book's, and its author’s personality—right there on the page. In acting terms, think stage presence. Voice is not just about word choice, but also sentence and story structure. Voice can be everything. It can overcome a weak plot, unlikable characters, even shaky grammar and sloppy writing. Voice is the proverbial, “I don’t know what it is, but I know it when I see it”.

And whatever it is, it grows in a bed of confidence so as writers we must learn to trust ourselves—and  our voices.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~ Steve Jobs


 Steve Jobs is not an author, but still, there are things to take from this quote.  Confidence breeds boldness. Take a few chances. Not everything you write will resonate. But sometimes, just the act of writing and getting your work out there—whether it be in a critique group, a Facebook post, a tweet, or whatever—will give you the confidence to write something else. To take chances in your other writings.

The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice. ~Theodore Roosevelt

 Voice is one of the most fragile elements and sadly is often edited, or “critiqued out” in the many drafts it takes to create a finished piece. Stand true to the emotion and heart of your words. Say what you want to say and say it loudly. That is not to say we should bristle at any and all criticism, but just a declaration that we as writers, we must trust certain aspects of our style and recognize not everyone will approach craft and structure the same way.

The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. ~ Neil Gaiman


Marvel at and admire the writers you love, but don’t try to be them. Don’t strive to be the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King. Be the very first you.

It’s all you got.

In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard ~ John Grisham


Ask yourself questions. Why am I writing this story? What drew me to it and its characters? Then think how you would tell the story orally. Would it be serious, funny, or a fast paced thriller? A writer’s voice is a tool used to make a reader feel emotion. It sets the tone, the tempo, and anchors the reader to the point of view. But it is an abstract art prone to subjectivity and translation.

The best writers have a feel for it. They recognize when they have found the voice that is not only natural for them, but for the story they want to tell. And the only way to do that is have confidence in your storytelling talents, in the story, and in the characters you are sharing.

There is no magic formula for finding or developing voice. There is no on or off switch for it. No Fairy Godmuse to wave a wand over your keyboard and bestow you with it. We as writers must work and hone our voices for there are no experts with can’t fail tricks.

And if somebody tells  you there is—chances are they are full of something other than it.

Here is the opening excerpt from my memoir THE FEEDSTORE CHRONICLES. I think it highlights my voice well.

Most coming-of-age stories are fraught with symbolism, hidden metaphors, and a heaping mound of other literary devices.

Not this one. Not mine.

You see, I came of age while working at a dusty Texas feed store. A place where To Kill a Mockingbird involved a twelve-year-old and a BB gun. Of Mice and Men was a problem easily solved with rat poison. And David Copperfield was nothing more than a dude that made shit disappear.

In the spring of 1989, I was a rosy-cheeked boy of sixteen. Doyle Suggs was a twice-divorced, thirty-year-old high school dropout. On the surface Doyle and I had little in common, yet his involvement in my life changed me in drastic and dramatic ways.

Doyle ran a feed store in Amarillo, Texas. A joint called Pearls's feed and Seed. Working there provided me my first paying job, my first taste of how fun life could be, and  ... my first brush with real danger. 

Your turn! Either post a few lines that displays your voice in the comments, or a few lines of your favorite author's voice.

A native Texan, Travis lives in the Texas Panhandle with his wife and two boys. Despite the ever-present gale force winds, he can’t imagine living anyplace else. He is the author of a comedic coming-of-age memoir, THE FEEDSTORE CHRONICLES, and a Women's Fiction novel titled TWISTED ROADS. Travis pontificates about both writing and life on his long running blog ... Bacon, Beer, and Books. He can also be found on twitter @traviserwin

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By Sharla Rae

All writers have things about thAll writers have things about the writing business we fear. One that comes to mind is submitting our work to an agent or editor for the first time. Well maybe the second and even the third time, too.

But there's another fear that isn't discussed much.

Switching genres.

Being a historical writer I had plenty of arguments for not even trying to write a futuristic. For one thing, I’ve always thought of historicals and futuristics as polar opposites. Many of my historical and futuristic friends agree.

But I’m also a huge fan of Star Trek and Star Wars as well as futuristic romance. For years, I’ve been gnashing my teeth to write one. But it was too darn scary.

By chance, I had the opportunity to talk to an author who writes both genres. I pounced on the poor woman. She laughed at my fears, saying “Writing a futuristic is writing a historical set in the future.”  

What did she mean? And assuming she’s right, why did I still not dare to go where this historical alien has never gone before? What was holding me back?

For that matter, what prevents so many futuristic writers from writing historicals? Okay, you might legitimately answer the market demands, but we’re talking genres here.

I love historical research as much as I love the writing. I can and have published my historical novels. It’s safe. So right away I know I have to get past the scary stuff.

Some of my futuristic author friends say the reason they can’t write historicals is because they hate research. “We can just make everything up,” they say.

Wait a minute!

Don’t you have to know some scientific stuff? There has to be a little learning curve, right? I was beginning to see a flaw in the “no research” statement but I let it go. I had scarier stuff to worry about.

Who am I to write a futuristic? I’m no rocket scientist. I can barely run the DVD player. Um, okay, I don’t run it all.

Wait a minute!

The futuristic romances I read aren’t all space labs and huge words. And if they were . . . bor-r-r-ing! Another flaw in my thinking? Definitely. After all, just because I researched and wrote about loading a six-shooter doesn’t mean I’m an expert at it. Um, never have done it actually.

And then there’s the lingo. I know Old West vernacular. I practically grew up with it, but when it comes to futuristic speak . . .

Wait a minute!

I have Star Trek manuals on species and space ships, and few for Star Wars too! [I warned you that I’m a huge fan.] Hmm. I even have a book called Astronomy & Space Science, a Harper Collins dictionary/glossary of terms.  Did someone say no research? I’m used to research and this is beginning to sound fun to this old die-hard historical researcher.

How can historical characters and their lack of modern technology possibly equate to spaceman technology?

Wait a minute!

What about the six-shooter I mentioned above? At one time, it was as ground-breaking as a flying car of the future. And I do have all those futuristic manuals to spur my imagination.

But, um, I still have to give my futuristic plot that special Sci-Fi flavor. That means some world building, installing a culture.

Wait a minute!

Culture includes lingo and technology. Got that covered. Then there’s government/law. Hey, on Earth there are more different types of governments than you might realize. Pick one. Knowing and understanding how they operate is all I need to know. Also, I’ve made up historical towns and even built a world around them. Religions? I can pick one or not, depending on the story.

Hey! I can world build!

It helps that I’ve read Fae Rowen’s futuristic blogs, World Building Part I and Part II as well as her WriterStrong blog, World Building Techniques. And then there’s that Writers digest book in my library, Writers Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe.

What about characters and emotional stuff? I know what historical characters went through on a day to day basis, their problems and reasoning. But what do people of the future think about? Worry about? What makes them tick?

Wait a minute!

People of the past were risk takers, adventurers, and explorers, always wanting to improve their condition. Think wagon trains, Lewis & Clark, etc. No one can say “space travel” or “universe” without equating futurisitic characters to all of the above! It’s not the people that are so different; it’s just the place and time!

Next excuse, please. Plots?

Forget the “wait a minute.” This one’s easy. All genres have some form of the same basic 7 plots, the quest, voyages & return, hero’s journey, overcoming the monster, love, revenge, comedy, etc. That’s a comfort, right? Okay, you might argue that the story still requires the futuristic flavor. Not a problem. Just read all of the above.

Note to futuristic writers: You lied! Scared me for nothing! I can research “all” this shit. And it’s really no big deal. I’ve done most of this  when I wrote historicals! And furthermore, you can too write historicals. You might start with my blog: Researching the Historical Novel because, face it, you know how to do a lot of research too.

So how about the rest of you out there in the writing universe? Did I make a good case for how alike these two genres are? Anything to add?

Wanna fight about -- er, discuss it?

About Sharla

Sharla has published three historical romance novels: SONG OF THE WILLOW, LOVE AND FORTUNE, and SILVER CARESS. SONG OF THE WILLOW, her first solo effort, was nominated by “Romantic Times Magazine” for best first historical.

When she’s not writing and researching ways to bedevil her book characters, Sharla enjoys collecting authentically costumed dolls from all over the world, traveling (to seek more dolls!), and reading tons of books. You can find Sharla here at Writers In The Storm or on Twitter at @SharlaWrites.

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