Writers in the Storm

“The Tricky Part” of writing is different for every author, but hardly anyone is good at both dialogue & description. Laurie Schnebly Campbell talks about the skills required for each, and how to discover where your strengths lie.

And, did we mention that there is a prize for a lucky commenter? That contest closes Thursday evening at 6 p.m. (PDT) and we'll announce the winner this Friday. Read on!

 by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

We all tend to be better at one of the Double D's -- dynamic description, or delicious dialogue. But if you ask a bunch of bestselling authors which they're better at, they can't always tell you...because they've worked on both to the point where now each comes easily.

Most of us aren't at that point yet, though. We've all had the experience of re-reading a page we just wrote and thinking "aaack, I SUCK at [dialogue or description]."

Sounds uncomfortably familiar, right?

STRENGTH & WEAKNESS

I personally suck at description, and whenever readers asked what my characters looked like I'd tell 'em, "like the picture on the cover."

But for some reason, drat it, that didn't quite seem to satisfy 'em. You want to know what my characters FEEL like, or what they do or think or say, no problem...but what they LOOK like? Or worse yet, what their house / dog / clothes look like? Shoot, I dunno!

Yet other writers have that same problem with dialogue. "I have no idea what these people would say." "All my characters talk the same way." "I wish I could do the kind of snappy dialogue you see with (fill in author)." "Why can't I just SHOW what happens instead of having them TALK about it?"

On the positive side, when we're bad at one of those jobs, we tend to be a lot better at the other one. No idea why, but most writers I've talked to about the Double D's feel like they have a much easier time with either description or dialogue.

If you're not sure where your strength lies, read these excerpts by two enormously popular authors and keep an eye out for what skills catch your attention:

BY JANE AUSTEN

 

"A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"

"How so? How can it affect them?"

"My dear Mr. Bennet," replied his wife, "how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them."

"Is that his design in settling here?"

"Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes."

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.

BY J.K. ROWLING

 "You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.

"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "...and leave him in the car...."

"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone...."

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.

NOTICE YOUR RESPONSE

No need to list which elements from those excerpts jump out at you -- but notice how you reacted to each example of description and each example of dialogue.

Chances are that whatever had you reacting from the standpoint of a professional ("hmm, I wonder how the author did that" or "hmm, I would've handled this differently") rather than the standpoint of a consumer ("sounds intriguing" or "mneh, yawn") is likely to be the one you're better at.

Of course, you might not even such a test-question to know which you're better at...most writers can usually say pretty quickly whether their greater strength is in dialogue or description.

THE GOOD NEWS

No matter which you're better at, either way you have a built-in advantage. Because the same strength you've already developed in doing what you're good at -- whether it's  dialogue or  description -- will ALSO help you with what you're not so good at YET.

Why?

Because they both require the same basic tools.

That's what next month's Double D's class is about, and free registration to that four-week workshop will be a prize for somebody who answers this next question:

PRIZE-DRAWING QUESTION

Which comes more easily for YOU, description or dialogue? And do you have any favorite tips for dialogue or description that I can pass along to the class? (If you'd rather I didn't quote what you say, just mention that in your post -- thanks!)

Laurie, who can't wait to hear the answers.

Laurie Schnebly Campbell gets a kick out of teaching writers about handy techniques -- plotting, synopses, motivation, fatal flaws -- and finding new areas to explore, like next month's yahoogroups class on The Double D's: Dynamic Description & Delicious Dialogue.

A reminder about last week's contest, courtesy of Chuck Sambuchino: On Wednesday we'll announce the winning commenter from Chuck's "launch" last Wednesday. If you haven't commented yet, you've got until 6:00pm. (PDT) tomorrow.

Today Writers in the Storm welcomes back guest blogger Susan Spann, as she continues her PubLaw series about your literary estate. If you've missed her previous instructive posts in this series, click on the title:  How to Choose a Literary Executor, and  Do You Need a Literary Executor?

by Susan Spann

So far, our look at authors’ estate planning needs has focused on the “how” – how to create an author’s estate plan, how to decide if you need a special trustee (or executor) to manage your literary works, and (if so) how to pick the best person to fill that role.

Today, we diverge from the “how-to” path to talk a little about the duties a literary executor actually performs. We’ve discussed this in general terms before, but people unfamiliar with probate and trust administration often don’t know exactly what’s involved in the process. In fact, many of my clients express surprise at just how much is involved with administering an estate or trust – I have one trustee client who’s been managing an estate for almost a decade.

In light of that, it seemed like a good idea to give authors a view into the other side of the estate planning world—a look at what the literary trustee or executor actually does.

Over the next two months, we’ll take a look at those duties. Starting now:

THE AUTHOR’S ESTATE

After an author’s passing, the author’s creative works automatically become part of the author’s estate, which is a fancy lawyer word that means “the assets a deceased person owned at the time of death.” The estate includes all real property, personal property, intellectual property and other assets. The estate doesn’t include any property or assets held in joint tenancy because those become the property of the surviving joint owner(s) at the time of one owner’s death.

No special actions are required to place a person’s assets into the estate at the time of death – by law, they pass automatically into the estate.

However, special actions are required to collect the assets on the estate’s behalf, because the people and institutions holding onto the assets might not know about the death or that the assets are part of an estate.

WILLS AND PROBATE COURT APPROVAL

When the author has only a will, and not a trust, the estate usually has to go through probate, which is a specialized legal proceeding in which a court supervises collection and distribution of the estate and all of the assets. The person the court appoints to handle this job on the estate’s behalf is called the executor (or sometimes the personal representative).

The executor of a will has no power to act until the court issues an order granting that authority, so if you opt for a will instead of a trust, your executors (which includes your literary executor) will need to go to court to get authority before they can take the other steps we discuss below.

(One exception: if your estate’s value is low enough, some states allow the executor to act without going to court, but that’s fairly rare.)

THE ADVANTAGE OF TRUSTS: NO PROBATE

When the author has a trust, and the author’s assets are properly placed in the trust (either directly or by means of a “pour-over will”), probate is not required. The trustee – or, if appropriate, the literary trustee – can proceed directly to managing the Estate.

TRUSTEE AND EXECUTOR DUTIES

Once the probate court grants permission, in the case of an executor, or once any statutory post-death “waiting periods” end, in the case of a trustee (check with a lawyer to see if such a period exists in your state), the literary executor and/or trustee can begin the process of administering the author’s literary estate.

To simplify matters, we’ll look only at functions of a literary executor – the general executor will have additional duties (again, consult an attorney to find out more).

Here’s a list of the duties the literary executor or trustee will need to perform, in roughly the proper order:

1. Identification and “collection” of literary assets.

This means tracking down all of the author’s creative works (published and unpublished) and identifying them as part of the estate. Unpublished works are usually fairly easy to locate and collect: they’re on the author’s computer, in filing cabinets, or among the author’s personal effects. “Collection” of published works involves sending a notice (and usually a copy of the author’s death certificate and documentation establishing the trustee’s authority to act on the estate’s behalf) to publishers and/or literary agents.

Estate Planning Tip: create a list of your literary works and other intellectual property, with the location, publisher, and any passwords or other information necessary to access the relevant work.

2. Management during early estate administration.

In most cases, the author’s assets can’t be distributed right away. A probate court will need to approve the author’s will, and even a trust requires asset collection, an accounting, and a distribution plan before the trustee can start handing out the copyrights.

In addition to reviewing the author’s estate plan to see which heirs receive which specific assets, the literary executor or trustee will need to manage the works until distribution is authorized.

For published works, this means reviewing all contracts, taking any required actions triggered by the author’s death, and collecting royalties (into a special trust or escrow account) if appropriate. For unpublished works, this usually means holding the works in a secure location until the time of distribution – unless the author’s estate plan specifies otherwise.

Sometimes, contracts have termination clauses or other events that trigger on the author’s death. In those situations, the literary executor or trustee may have to interface with heirs and negotiate renewals or extensions of rights. Administration can be a complex task – and a literary attorney is often a helpful person to have on your side to assist you.

What follows “early administration” can be a little more complex, so we’ll put the rest of the duties off ‘til October. We’ll pick up the topic again next month, when we’ll look at long-term estate administration, distribution to beneficiaries and heirs, and resolution of estate-based conflicts.

Hopefully, today’s post gives you some idea of what a literary executor or trustee has to do on your behalf—and lets you know what to expect in case anyone ever asks you to serve in that capacity.

Have questions? Please feel free to ask in the comment section – I’d love to hear from you!

Susan Spann is a publishing attorney and author from Sacramento, California. Her debut mystery novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Thomas Dunne Books, July 2013), is the first in a series featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori.

Susan blogs about writing, publishing law and seahorses at her website. Find her on Twitter @SusanSpann or on Facebook.

By Chuck Sambuchino

Literary agents are full of great advice for writers. That’s why, whenever I am concluding an interview with an agent, I always end the encounter by asking “Is there any other piece of advice you’d like to discuss?”

This open-ended question often draws a fantastic answer, as the agent’s most passionate advice will pour out.

That’s why I’ve gone through a whole bunch of literary agent interviews and cobbled together some of the best writing tips that agents have passed on over the years. There was so much good material that I had to break it down into multiple columns. This is Volume I, and you can check out agents’ helpful and inspiring advice below.

And I want to take a moment and say that I’m excited about being a recurring new contributor to Writers in the Storm. You will be seeing more columns from me on WITS in the future. Thanks for reading!

“Read and share. I think it is critical to really read and analyze published books that are similar to what you want to write and really study them to see how the successful authors are doing it. How do the successful authors in your area develop characters? Give backstory? Create tension? Keep pacing up? POV? Voice? Develop setting?”

- Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency

******

“Go to writers’ conferences! Conferences are where the art of writing and the business of publishing intersect. They’re great places to network and become part of a larger writing community. And they give writers incredible access to the insights of top editors and literary agents. I’ve had the good luck of meeting several of my clients at conferences. Having that face-to-face contact can tell you so much about how you will work with someone.”

- Elizabeth Evans of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency

******

“One of the things I stress is persistence. When submitting query letters, persistence is key, but authors must be smart about their approach as well. Make sure you have a well-curated list of agents you are going to query. Make sure they are truly a good fit for you. Keep meticulous notes during the process. And if you get any constructive criticism, do not be defensive and shrug it off—see if you can use it to make your pitch better. So many people give up after a few rejections. Keep the process moving by honing your letter as well as your manuscript/book proposal. And stay positive! This is a hard one, I know, but bitter and frustrated authors send out that vibe and I can always sense it–in person and even in query letters. You are selling your project, so sell it with a smile on your face.”

- J.L. Stermer of N.S. Bienstock

******

“Be well read in your genre and know the market. Don’t give up! In particular, don’t get stuck on one project. Sometimes you need to put a book aside and start something new.”

- Jessica Alvarez of BookEnds, LLC

******

“The best advice I can give to an aspiring author is to get serious about your career. It’s more than a hobby. You have to be focused and educated. Join writers’ organizations or a critique group. Read, read, read and read some more in the genre you want to write in and search the web on the proper way to format a manuscript and query an agent way before you start submitting. Our agency gets 300 submissions a week. In order to stand out, your query letter has to be beyond reproach and when we ask for sample pages—they need to be A+ shape. If you’ve done your homework, you will be successful.”

- Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency

******

(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!)

“Trust yourself. Trust your instincts.”

- Katie Shea of Donald Maass Literary

******

“I think that it’s important to remember that book publishing is a professional as well as creative business. Most agents are inundated with submissions. In order to stand out from the crowd, therefore, everything about your submission must be outstanding, from the way it reads to the way it looks to what you bring to the table in terms of credentials. It is increasingly important to educate yourself about the publishing industry and understand the importance of selling and marketing yourself and your ideas. If I had to name five things I’d look for in a prospective writer, they would be:

1. Professionalism—ability to divorce your ego as much as possible from the process
2. Sufficient understanding of books and the book market to know whether your idea works as a book-length narrative as opposed to a magazine article or short story
3. Creativity and understanding of narrative form
4. Willingness and ability to take editorial direction
5. Willingness to do whatever work is necessary to make the work saleable.”

- Deborah Grosvenor of Grosvenor Literary Agency

******

“Woody Allen said 80% of success is just showing up. It’s different for writers. Eighty percent of success for a writer is working hard. You can’t underestimate how important it is to put in the hours. Read, write, study the business. Repeat. Day after day.”

- Howard Yoon of Ross Yoon Literary

******

“Read as much as you can, especially in the genre you are writing in. You need to know your market and your competition, as well as what has already been done and what new things you can bring to the table. Do not just write about what you know, because that can often be boring. Write the book you want to read, then figure out how to pitch it when you finish writing. Join a critique group so you are not writing in a vacuum. Keep revising your manuscript until it is in the best possible shape before you start querying agents, but stop sending agents revisions after a requested material has already been sent. Be courteous in your dealing with agents, as we have very good memory and will remember you when you contact us again. Be patient, be realistic, but be persistent.”

- Sandy Lu of L. Perkins Agency

******

“1) Don’t quit your day job! With advances getting smaller as the publishing industry doldrums continue, most authors should not expect to make a living solely by their writing.

2) Learn how to market yourself and create a platform—a website, a blog, write a column for a newspaper, etc. Publishers need authors who can bring a built-in audience to their books.

3) Write about things people want to read. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

4) I don’t believe in writer’s block. If you write every day, even if it’s a page of crap, the very act of writing (or typing) will begin to get the creative juices flowing. So sit your butt down in the chair and start hammering away at those keys. Books don’t write themselves.”

- Doug Grad of the Doug Grad Literary Agency

******

“Don’t take rejection personally.”

- David Dunton of Harvey Klinger, Inc.

******

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Any dream is achievable if you work hard enough.”

- Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency

******

GIVEAWAY!!

Chuck is excited to give away a free copy of either the brand new 2014 GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS or 2014 CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET to a random commenter.

Comment within 1 week; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail.

Click here for the rest of Chuck's posts here at WITS.

Do you have any questions you'd like to ask? Please give him a warm welcome down in the comments section!

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