Writers in the Storm

By Orly Konig-Lopez

Querying authors know the feeling: Your email pings with an incoming message. It's from one of the agents who requested your manuscript. Your heart beats in your ears, you close one eye, tilt your head to a 35 degree angle and squint at the words. Maybe this is "the one."

"Thank you for sharing, blah blah. I liked blah blah. But … "

You groan. It's a rejection.

You keep reading anyway. This is where the "but" gets interesting. There are notes. Detailed notes. And a request to resubmit after you've made the revisions. Whoa!!!!!!!

Once you're done with the "it's not a no" dance (and get an ice pack for the muscle you pulled – not that I’m speaking from experience on this), you sit down to pound out those revisions.

Wait! Back away from the keyboard. Seriously. Hands up. Scootch back. This is not the time for hasty changes. I know, I know … "But the agent is waaaiiiiittttting. And if I don't do it faaaaaast, she'll forget about me."

She is waiting, but she won't forget. You want to make those revisions count.

Hey, I said back away from the keyboard!

Here's what you need to do:

1) Read the revise and resubmit notes again. Walk away. Let them bubble in your head for a day or two. Then read them again. This time highlight the ones that speak to you. You know the ones, those comments that have you smacking your forehead and muttering, "why didn't I see that?"

2) Now pull up every personalized rejection you've received on that manuscript - trust me! Make notes. Are there any similarities to the comments? Is there another agent who rejected the manuscript but sent some feedback that's consistent with the R&R agent?

3) Re-read the manuscript from start to finish. Print it out or read it on your e-reader, whatever will give you a fresh perspective. Don't edit! Just read and make notes. You might be surprised at the things you see this time around.

4) Organize your edits. Between your notes and what the agents have pointed out, you probably have a nice list of changes to make. Compare your notes with the feedback you received from the agents. Which ones are burning to be made? Which ones are changes just for the sake of changing? Highlight the ones that will have the most impact. Jot down notes to keep you focused with any major changes. Personally, if I have a big plot changer, I write it down on a sticky note and post it next to my computer. That way I never lose sight of the "big picture."

Now the fun begins. I look at revisions like a puzzle and I love puzzles. I prefer to edit on hardcopy. When I've done a first pass, I type in my changes. That gives me a second pass at tweaking the revisions.

5) Sit on it. Not literally, you're not trying to hatch novellas. Put the manuscript aside for a few days. Sweet talk a couple of your readers into giving it another look. Then read it again. If you read it last time as a print out, this time, read it on an e-reader. Ignore that little voice taunting you to send it NOW because how much longer do you expect that agent to wait. Don't give in! Patience (not a word that comes easily to me, by the way) is your friend.

Don't skim through the manuscript looking for obvious mistakes. You've made changes, maybe even significant changes. You might have missed something or introduced new problems. Once you've incorporated this last round of edits, read it again.

NOW you can hit send!

Whether that agent offers representation or not, you'll have a stronger manuscript and the best part - at least in my opinion - you just might have learned something about your writing.

Have you had success with a revise & resubmit? What do you do with personalized rejections – delete, file, or analyze?

 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.
photo credit: KatieKrueger via photopin cc

by Shannon Donnelly

There are a lot of crimes a writer can commit—the torture of sentences, the mangling of meaning, the wrecking of words through using the wrong one at the wrong time. However, the greatest of these is the crime of lack—to forget to put in the emotion.

Now, emotions come in lots of ways and there are lots of opportunities to layer them in, but you have to remember you’re not just putting down words. You are constructing a believable scene with what should be memorable characters (people in other words). And people come with emotions.

Let’s look at the ways to make sure you get the emotion into your scenes.

1. Add emotion through actions.

This goes back to the old ‘show, don’t tell’ advice. You want to show your characters in action so the reader sees who your characters are. Does a character slam a door when he’s angry, or talk softly? Does a character laugh when nervous? Or pick her nose?

Little bits of actions can say a lot about a person. The man who stops to polish his side mirror on his corvette and wipe the speck of dust from its apple-cherry paint job reveals his love of his car. The woman who is always twirling a strand of hair is a flirt. The boy who pops his gum whenever his mother is talking is showing how little he listens to her. Those actions all say something about that character—they show emotions at work.

2. Let emotion color descriptions.

When you describe a room, you’re not just putting in description so the reader can “see” the room. That description can be colored by the viewpoint of the person seeing the room, and it can also be used to create emotion. This is why dark, dank creepy places are so popular in horror novels—these words have loaded meanings. This is also why rich men in beautiful clothes are more popular with romance writers.

Descriptive words can add emotion. This is also where the right word really matters—and it had better be right. You want evocative phrases, but no so colorful the writing stands out and becomes more important than the story (or the emotion).

3. Have characters react with believable emotions.

The key word here is believable. You can have a woman scream, or a man cry, or a child laugh manically—however, if that reaction is not in line with the cause (a reaction to match the triggering action), you are heading to farce. The woman’s scream had better be a reaction to something she views as menacing (even if it is a mouse). The man’s tears need to be a reaction to something that could really draw tears, and not just a melodramatic, over-the-top moment that makes the reader’s eyes roll. Now, it’s better to go too far and then pull it back, but learn when you’ve gone too far and too dramatic so you can pull it back.

4. Put emotion into dialogue.

This is a great place to put emotion—and not just swear words. Put in sarcasm, let characters say one thing and mean another, give your characters great words.

This does not mean to put a lot of words around your dialogue. It’s not “he shouted” or “she cried” that puts emotions into dialogue. You want the dialogue itself to be great without any tags around it. Give your character terrific lines to shout or cry out, but let the words carry their own weight.

5. Layer in emotion with your word choices.

This was mentioned earlier, but let me stress it again. Some folks get “writerly” and fall in love with the words. You can get too fancy. Beautiful prose is lovely, but it can also take you down the road where the words start becoming a distraction.

Watch those wonderful words. In particular watch out for their misuse. A lot of things slither, but if a man’s foot slithers across a room, that’s going to stop a reader right there because the reader is now going to try and imagine how a foot can slither. Or if an unsteady ship undulates across an ocean, that’s another stopper—do ships really undulate? The reader is now thinking more about that word choice, instead of reading the story.

Pretty words are great, and they can (as mentioned above) evoke mood and emotion. But they can also trap a reader, particularly if it’s the wrong word for what you really meant.

6. Finally, you can just put in the emotion.

You can name it for the reader. It’s okay to say: He was angry. Or: She was sad. But don’t stop there. People are complicated, meaning we hardly every have just one emotion. A lot of times we’ll hide a deeper emotion under a surface feeling—or we’ll feel one thing, but also we’ll have guilt for that emotion.

Let your characters be layered and complicated. Dive into their emotions and don’t settle for what’s on the surface. Dig into what’s under that anger or sadness, and figure out what your character is going to do with that emotion.

Above all, get your emotions onto the page any way that you can.

If your writing isn’t moving you, you need to look at why. Why are you holding yourself back? Why are you dipping a toe into the shallows instead of diving into everything that’s inside you—and inside your characters?

Writing takes not just courage but a willingness to be stupid, to reveal your flaws, to be silly, and it takes a lot of self-awareness. Bring your feelings to the keyboard next time you write and open yourself up to your own humanity—it’ll make your characters a bit more emotional on the page.

About Shannon

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’s at work on her next Regency romance, a sequel to Lady Scandal, and will be bringing out the next book in the Mackenzie Solomon Demons & Warders Series, following up on Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire.

By Chuck Sambuchino

Ready to send your book out and contact agents? The last thing you want to do is to rush that submission out the door and hurt your book’s chances.

When submitting your all-important query to agents or editors, it’s not just a question of what to write in the letter—it’s also a question of what not to write.

I asked 11 literary agents about their personal query letter pet peeves and compiled them below. Check out the list to learn all about what details to avoid in a query that could sink your submission—such as vague wording, too much personal information, grammatical mistakes, and much more.

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“I think the biggest querying no-no I’ve ever seen was when an author tracked down some sensitive personal information and included it in their cover letter. Eeep! As agents we absolutely love when authors do their research and get to know our interests, but you want to always make sure what you include in your query letter is professional and that you don’t slip too far into the realm of the personal.

The biggest no-no I’ve seen recently probably would be authors whose query letters focus too much on their author bios and don’t tell me what their book is about! Make sure you put those essential story details up front.”

~ Shira Hoffman of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.
For more advice from Shira, click the link above.

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“I’ve received queries for ‘Dear Editor,’ ‘Dear Agent,’ ‘Dear Publisher,’ as well as e-mail queries that are addressed to 10 different agents together.”

~ Jacquie Flynn of Joelle Delbourgo Associates
For more advice from Jacquie, click the link above click.

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“Spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. They just make me want to stop reading.”

~ Lisa Leshne of LJK Literary Management
For more advice from Lisa, click the link above.

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“Unfocused queries and the term ‘fiction novel.’ ”

~ Melissa Flashman of Trident Media Group, LLC
For more advice from Melissa, click the link above.

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“I’m sick of vagueness. I get so many queries every day that don’t tell me enough about the novel. If there’s no reason for me to say yes, then it’s going to be no.”

~ Bridget Smith of Dunham Literary, Inc.
For more advice from Bridget, click the link above.

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“[Just recently], somebody queried me with a YA fantasy—and in the place where they should have put their professional bio or a few sentences about themselves, they had taken on the persona of their main character and said something about the character instead … Queries are business letters. Agenting is a business. Publishing is a business. I try to be nice and friendly and funny and all, but the bottom line is that I expect those with whom I work to be professional and take what they’re doing seriously.”

~ Linda Epstein of Jennifer De Chiara Literary
For more advice from Linda, click the link above.

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

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“I do encourage all writers to treat their query as a job interview. Be professional. Be concise. Here’s a quick heads up on what you probably do not want to say:

Hello Agent (or insert wrong/misspelled name),

I have written an absolute masterpiece. It is a 200k word epic, romance, historical, sci-fi YA mystery. It’s my first book and I took ten years to write it. It’s comparable to (insert NYT Bestseller’s name). I don’t have any writing experience, but my (insert husband/wife/mom/BFF) said it’s the best thing he/she ever read. I already attached it. So take a look and answer me right away.

“Don’t laugh. I receive a lot of these. And a few have turned out to be great stories simply in need of a little editing. Most, however, are projects that are not ready for submission. I’m going to be totally honest here and admit that statements like the above (or any combination therein) form a negative impression in my mind. I want a professional, prolific client who knows their craft and understands the market. Don’t lie in your query, but always put your best face forward.”

~ Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency
For more advice from Nicole, click the link above.

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“I have several query pet peeves:

1. When my name is spelled incorrectly.
2. When a query begins with a ‘what would you do’ question—like, ‘What would you do if you came home and found a wooly mammoth eating your daffodils?’
3. Anything that tells me the writer is a hobbyist and not serious about making it as a professional writer.
4. When there are multiple typos and grammatical errors—one or two I can forgive, anything more than that and I start to question how polished the manuscript would be if I requested it.
5. When pertinent information is left out of a query—such as era for a historical, or whether the book is nonfiction or fiction (though, usually if I can’t ascertain that on my own from the query, there are other problems).
6. When a writer tells me his work is ‘the greatest, the best, the most amazing, the next blockbuster’—let me judge that for myself, please.”

~ Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC
For more advice from Jessica, click the link above.

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[On nonfiction queries specifically:]

“First, not having a good grasp of the competition. An author needs to know the category inside and out and be able to explain how his book fits in. I always get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I find similar books that the author didn’t know about.

Second, dull chapter summaries. Often the sample material is great, but the summaries are boring or vague. It’s so important that chapter summaries be compelling and convey the energy and depth of unique information that will be in the book. They have to make an editor want to read more.

Third, a marketing section that simply says the book ‘will appeal to everyone!’ That’s never true, and it doesn’t help publishers figure out how to position and sell your book. An author needs to understand who her audience is and how to reach them.”

~ Laurie Abkemeier of DeFiore and Company
For more advice from Laurie, click the link above.

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[On nonfiction queries specifically:] “I think a pitfall that hopeful nonfiction writers can fall into all too easily is including in a query everything they hope might happen with their book. I see too many queries that claim that the book is ‘a perfect fit for publicity on Television Show X.’ What I want to see in a query for nonfiction is a clear and feasible plan for how the author can help utilize connections and an already established platform to aid the publisher’s efforts.”

~ Faye Bender of the Faye Bender Literary Agency
For more advice from Faye, click the link above.

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“I’m not fond of being called ‘Sir.’ But really, I just want to know what the manuscript is about without having to put a huge amount of effort into figuring it out. It shouldn’t be an Easter egg hunt for the plot line.”

~ Bree Ogden of D4EO Literary
For more advice from Bree, click the link above.

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About Chuck

Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest Books edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS and the CHILDREN'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 guides FORMATTING & 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.

photo credit: Fernando X. Sanchez via photopin cc(same bio)