Before You Send Your Query Letter

I'm waving at you from beneath the huge pile of virtual papers we refer to as the slush pile. It's massive. It's overwhelming. And yet, I know that it's also a pile of the hopes and dreams of writers like me and you.

When I approach the slush pile, it's with the hope of finding a gem that my company can bring to publication. I strive to give everyone a fair chance. However, time is not only valuable, but it's scarce. I can't devote a half hour to every submission. The pile would grow faster than I could pare it down. Writers only get a couple of minutes to grab my attention. While this can be disconcerting, I believe knowledge is power.

Put yourself the acquisition editor's or literary agent's shoes. What would you want to know about the story? What's most important about your manuscript and you as the author? Get them that important information as quickly as possible.

Here are a few things I want to know right away:

• Genre
• Target audience
• Word count
• Title

Surprisingly, these items are missing from many submissions I receive. To make matters worse, many writers don't read our submission guidelines to know we don't publish adult fiction, picture books, or non-Canadian writers. These folks are wasting my time and theirs by submitting. The Golden Rule applies. If you were the person feverishly going through hundreds of submissions, what types of submissions would you want to receive?

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When Melinda Marshall Friesen isn't writing, she works as marketing director and acquisitions editor at Rebelight Publishing.

The Dirtiest Word in the Writing World

The dirtiest word in the writing world is plagiarism. Over the past couple of years, I've encountered multiple instances of plagiarism. From a friend whose novel idea was stolen by another writer to someone in my writing community having their work copied word for word and marketed under the offenders name. When I released my first book, I did a blog tour and one of the bloggers copied another blogger's review. This is every writer's fear. Someone steals a car--you can get a different one. A stolen idea is one of a kind and cannot be replaced. It's a huge violation.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as "an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thought of another author without authorization and the representation of the author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author."

Recently, I had a reader leave a question in the comments on Wattpad that she suspected me of copying another's work. I had never read the work in question, but had heard of the book because it belonged to a local author. I'd written this particular piece five years ago, so well before the release of the other book. I was taken aback. Any resemblance would be coincidence, but if they really were that similar, my reputation was at stake since the other book hit the public eye before mine. I knew the other author's editor and brought the matter to him. He told me that my story and the other were very different. So, I assured the reader there had been no misconduct and encouraged them to read further and see the differences for themselves.

I appreciated how gracious and polite the reader was about the whole matter. I also thanked the reader for asking the question for couple of reasons. Firstly, if I was plagiarising another's work, I should be called on it. Secondly, I'm glad the reader asked rather than making the assumption that I stole another's work. I believe this reader did the right thing and I hope in a similar situation, others would do the same.

Let's look out for each other. If you suspect plagiarism, bring it to the attention of the author. But always be very careful about hurling accusations.

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Melinda Marshall Friesen writes YA and adult science fiction. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her children. When she's not writing, she's devising ways to avoid venturing out into the bitter cold.