Dear O'Abby: Competitions

 Here at Operation Awesome we've just finished the entry process for the latest Pass or Pages competition, so I thought it might be useful to share some observations I made while reading through the entries.

When you enter a contest, you really want to put your best foot forward and you're not doing that if you fail to follow directions.  If the contest is for a specific genre (in this case adult fantasy) don't enter if your book is not that genre.  We don't like disqualifying people, but the agents judging the contest are looking for something specific and entering something outside that genre is not going to get your book seen.

Word count matters.  If the contest asks you for a 250 word sample, send 250 words or less.  251 might not get you disqualified, but 346 definitely will.  Even 259 is kind of a stretch.

If the contest asks you to remove your bio and other personal information from the query, do it.  Contests are not always anonymous, but Pass or Pages is and if you personalize your query, or even just keep you email signature in it, it's not anonymous anymore.

But the biggest thing I noticed this time around was queries that weren't queries.  There is so much information and help out there online, there really isn't any excuse not to send an actual query letter.  Now, a query that isn't a query may not get you disqualified, but it's not going to win you the contest.  Do your research and follow guidelines.  There are reasons why queries tend to be structure the way they are and even if you don't like it, trying to force something unique onto an agent is a fast way to get rejected.

So there you are.  Some tips so next time you enter a contest you can be ahead of the crowd and enter something that will make you stand out from the crowd.

Happy writing, and if you entered Pass or Pages, good luck!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: Can I be a writer when I can't spell?

Dear O’Abby,

I’m a writer, or at least, I’m trying to be a writer. But I have a big problem. I’m a terrible speller. And when it comes to grammer and punctuation, I’m even worst. I wasn’t brought up speaking English and while I’m totally fluent in spoken English now, I think I’ve missed some important rules when it comes to written language.

I have written two novels and I would love them to be published, but I’m not confidence that my grasp of written English is good enough to get an agent or a publisher. Do you have any advice?

Yours,

Second Language


Dear Second Language,

Being bad at spelling, grammar or punctuation is not the barrier to being a published writer you might think it is. It just means you need to do a bit of extra work before you send your work out to any publishing professionals.

There are a huge number of online writing tools you can use to check your work on your own. This article gives some information about the different spelling and grammar correction software options available. If you are serious about writing, it is worth investing a little money in something like this if you’re not confident of your grasp of the rules.

Once you have run your MS through one of these tools, it will still probably need another look over because for all AI is great at picking up errors, it doesn’t always correct things in a way that suits your own writing style. So do a read-through and fix anything that doesn’t sound right for your character or doesn’t fit with your personal style.

Once you’ve done this, it’s time to get a fresh set of eyes across it. A critique partner who has a strong grasp of spelling, grammar and punctuation would be good. If you don’t have one of these, maybe try reaching out to an English teacher you might know. Or ask around in your online community to see if anyone might be available to help you with this specific area. If you have a budget, you could look at hiring a copy editor, but as they usually charge by the word, it can get expensive. Especially if you’re writing epic fantasy!

Once you have incorporated the feedback from all these sources, you should have a MS that is spelling and grammar error free! And that sounds like you’ve been writing English all your life. As long as you ensure the same care is put into your query and synopsis, your submission package shouldn’t stand out from the pack in all the wrong ways.

Good luck!

O’Abby

The Next Step...

Welcome to December!

Hopefully those of you who were doing NaNo achieved your goals. And even if you didn’t get to 50K, you still have more written than you did on 31 October which is a win  in my book! I surprised myself and managed just under 60K in November.  My book isn’t finished yet, but I figure I have only another 15K or so to go.  I aim to be done by Christmas so I can enjoy my summer holiday (I live in New Zealand so Christmas is in summer) without that hanging over me.

Last week O’Abby had a question about what to do once you’ve finished your NaNo book and I outlined some ideas about revising that first draft (here) and promised we’d talk about the next step this week.  So here goes.

Once your book is revised and polished and your readers can’t find any more major flaws, you need to decide what publishing route is right for you and your book.

If you want to be traditionally published by one of the big publishing houses you will need to find a literary agent as most of these publishers don’t accept manuscripts directly from authors.  There are numerous agents and they all represent different types of books.  Research is required to ensure you find one who will be able to sell your book.  There are a number of websites that can help you with your search.  I would recommend Query Tracker as a useful tool, and for finding our what different agents are actively looking for, MSWL.  Once you’ve found a few agents you’re interested in, I suggest you follow them on Twitter to see what they’re looking for and if you think you might be compatible with them.  Picking the wrong agent is worse than having no agent, so it’s worth going in with as much knowledge as possible.

If you are someone who likes control, self-publishing might be the best route for you.  It’s hard work because every part of the process is in your hands, from editing, to cover design to publicity and marketing.  But you get a bigger cut of the royalties from your sales and you can control when your book releases, what it looks like, the price and pretty much everything else about the process.  I would suggest though, you get a professional editor and cover designer to work with you because readers notice shoddy editing, and a bad cover gives the wrong first impression of your book and can kill sales.

The third option is to publish with a small press.  Most of these do not require an agent to submit so you can contact them directly.  There are a large number of small presses, some which specialize in particular genres and styles and others that publish a broad range of titles.  Some are digital only which means if you’ve always dreamed of having your book on library and bookshop shelves, this isn’t going to happen.  Like everything else, I suggest you do your research before sending your manuscript to any small press.  Some have very limited distribution channels and some only do print copies on demand.  Some have hidden costs associated with their services and should be treated with care.  You will also likely have to drive the bulk of marketing and publicity yourself as most small presses have limited resources for this.

How you publish is not a decision to take lightly, so take your time and do your research.  And don't get discouraged by rejections.  They are just part of the process and while they sting, they won't kill you.  After a while you will be able to brush them off like any other annoyance, as crazy as that might sound to you now.  I can say that because I've had close to 300 rejections in my writing career, and expect more each and every time I send a new manuscript out into the world.

And I'm still breathing!

Feel free to get in touch if you have any follow-up questions.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: Multiple agents offered. How do I choose?

Dear O'Abby,

I've been querying a new book for about six months and finally got some agents interested enough in it to schedule some calls.  I wasn't expecting it, but three of the four agents I talked to made offers of representation.

So now I have to choose which one to go with.  And I have no idea how to do that.  They're all good agents - I wouldn't have queried them if they weren't - and I would be happy to work with any of them.

Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation?

Best,

Over-Agented

Dear Over-Agented,

Firstly, congratulations on having written a book that generates this kind of response.  This level of agent interest is a really positive sign!

I understand how difficult this decision is, but you're right - you have to make it.  And it's an important decision.  You are going to have to work with this agent very closely and you need to make sure your decision is a sound one.

In your calls with the agents I'm sure you talked to all of them about revisions and their plans for the book going forward.  Think hard about the comments made.  Which agent's vision for your book most aligned with your own?  Which revision suggestions really resonated with you?  This is always a good place to start.  If an agent's vision of what your book is differs from your own, it might point to problems down the track.

Think about other things you spoke about during the call.  Did the agent's communication style gel with you?  Did she explain her process when taking the book on submission?  Did she answer your questions in a way that satisfied you?

If you've got that far through and you still don't have a preference, look at the larger picture.  Does the agent work for a larger agency which will support her when her workload is large?  What books has she already sold?  Is she just starting out on her agenting career or is she experienced?  If she's new, does she have a more experienced agent mentoring or supporting her?

And don't be afraid to reach out to any of these agents other clients to ask about working with them.  If she's a good agent, she has nothing to fear from you doing this and it's an excellent way to learn from someone who is already working with them whether she responds promptly to emails or if she's good at hand-holding during nerve-wracking moments.

At the end of the day, it's decision you have to make and be happy with.  Don't ignore your gut feelings, but do your due diligence as well.  If you're lucky, this will be a long and successful relationship!

Good luck!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby - Synopsis Woes

Dear O'Abby,

I'm querying and to begin with, I avoided agents that asked for synopses as part of the query package, but I've reached the point where some of the people I'd really like to rep my book are synopsis-wanters, so I need to actually write one.  I've done some research, and there is a lot of contradictory information out there about how to write a synopsis.  Some say you need to put the character names in CAPS when you first mention them, others say don't.  Some say a synopsis should be three pages long, others five or even one.  Can you help me figure out how to do this?

Yours,

Long-winded.

Dear Long-winded,

I feel your pain.  Synopses are not easy.  But unfortunately, they are often required, so it's important that you write a good one.  Agents and publishers use them to ensure your story has a good shape and a coherent story with beats in the right places and character arcs that make sense.

So your synopsis needs to show them that.

Different agents want synopses of different lengths, so it's a good idea to have a variety of different ones at hand.  This is actually easier to do than you might think.

Start off by going through your book chapter by chapter.  Write a brief summary of what happens in each chapter - and I mean brief.  Focus solely on the important events.  This is the beginning of your synopsis.

If you're like me, you'll probably end up with around five pages of chapter summaries which you will then use to write a basic outline of your story, from beginning to end.  Yes, end.  You do need to give away your ending in a synopsis.  How else will the agent or publisher know the book has a satisfying ending?

Once you've done this, you will probably have a fairly long synopsis which may work for some agents who ask for longer ones.  For those who only want a two or one page synopsis, you will need to edit down this longer synopsis by cutting out any extraneous words, possibly some of your lesser sub-plots and any minor characters who might not play a role in the main thread of your story.

As for capitalizing character names, this is a preference thing.  Some agents will ask for it, and in that was you should do it - always follow directions, but others won't and probably won't care if you do or don't.  I like to do it, at least while I'm drafting a synopsis, because it makes me aware of how many characters I'm naming.  You don't want to have too many.  If it's a character who shows up once or twice in the story, and isn't key to it, don't name her.  Just explain who she is in relation to the MC (e.g. estranged aunt, waitress, bank teller).

Synopses are always in third person and present tense.  You don't need to worry about showing and not telling here either.  It's just telling the story in its most basic sense.  If you can capture some of the voice in there, that's good, but it isn't essential.  Just make sure the grammar is clean and there are no typos or obvious errors.  And make sure your story makes sense.

It's always a good idea to get someone else to read your synopsis before you send it out.  Someone who hasn't read your book.  They will be able to tell you if there are places they are confused, or they feel a character's behavior is inconsistent.  It might be a flaw in your synopsis, but it may also be something you need to look at in the book itself.

I hope that helps.  There is a lot of contradictory information out there, but as long as you get your story down on the page in a way that makes it clear you know how to write a story, you'll be okay.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: How Long Can I Take Over An R & R?

Dear O'Abby,

I just received a revise and resubmit from an agent.  I've been querying this book for what feels like forever, and was just about to trunk it because no one seemed interested.  But now I have this agent wanting me to make some pretty substantial changes that I think may take me quite a while to execute.

She hasn't given me any timeframe in which to get back to her, so now I'm wondering if I need to drop everything and focus on this revision so I can it back to her ASAP.  Or is that not the expectation?  How long can I take over this?

Yours,

Timely

Dear Timely,

First off, congratulations on the R & R!  That's a fantastic step.  It means the agent has connected with your story, sees its potential and now wants to know if you can revise and make it shine.  Hopefully she has also given you a few helpful notes to guide you as you do the revision.  I also hope those notes align to the vision you have for the story.  I've seen R & Rs that writers have really struggled to get through because what the agent wanted the book to be didn't align with the author's vision of it.

So, if you are happy with the notes and prepared to do the work, you need to take as long as you need to in order to make the book the best it can be.  An agent isn't going to be impressed if you address only the specific things she mentioned in her message to you and send it back in two weeks.

She wants you to really take on board what she is saying and apply those things to the entire book.  And you've mentioned that the changes she's suggested are substantial.  Maybe changing a POV or amalgamating two side characters into one.  Maybe one of the storylines is underserved and needs to be pushed up in the narrative.  I don't know what the changes are, but it's important you do them well.

These things all take time, not just to write, but to think through.  You want to get this right, so you need to take time over it.  But you also don't want so much time to go by that the agent forgets she even requested you send it back.  So my advice is, take as long as you need to make the book as good as you can.  But don't waste time either.  If they're a good agent and really believe you can make the story shine, they are not going to mind waiting six months or so for something polished.  I've even heard of authors being signed after holding on to an R & R for a year.

But in reality, an R & R is a test.  You're being asked to show how well you can revise because this is important once you get into the editorial phase of publishing.  You want to be thorough, but you need to be able to turn things around to meet deadlines.

So really consider the notes she's sent.  Thank her for the feedback and let her know she can expect a new draft in X weeks/months.  Think realistically about how long you think it will take, how much time you have available to work on it, and then add two or three weeks to that number so you have a buffer in case life throws you a curve ball.

Now get to work!  You have a revision to do.

X O'Abby

#AtoZchallenge Eight Pages or Less - Synopsis writing

Synopses.... I know. The thing most authors dread above all else. And why not? You spend months or years crafting a novel that is exciting, vibrant, full of fascinating and realistic characters with flaws and failings, a plot that urges readers to keep reading right until the final page of beautifully realised prose.

And then you have to try and distill all that into a document that’s less than eight pages. In some cases, even into a single page. No wonder synopses have writers tearing out their hair!

But don’t stress too much. While it’s important that a synposis is clear and well written, it’s not designed to show off your sparkling language and inventive turn-of-phrase. Agents and publishers ask for a synopsis as a means to ascertain if your story flows well, meets enough beats and has a satisfying ending. And yes... You do have to give away any plot twists or surprises at the ending.

So how to begin?

Firstly, some housekeeping. Synopses are always written in third person present tense, regardless on how you’ve chosen to write the actual novel. Character names should be in caps the first time they are mentioned, and it’s important not to mention too many characters by name. If they are not central to the story, try and call them by their role eg/English teacher or step-mother.

If you’re an outliner (and I’m not), it may be helpful to dig that out. Chances are you’ve changed a lot since writing it, but it could be a good starting place. If, like me, you’re not an outliner, take a look at your manuscript and try to distill what happens in each chapter down to a handful of sentences.

This probably won’t flow together very well, and the cause and effect of events may not be clear because you’ve basically just created a list of what happens in the book. So go through with an eye to the overall plot and make sure the reasons and reactions for and to every major event are clear.

Novels aren’t just plot though. The character journey or arc is equally important, so now it’s time to go through your nascent synopis to ensure who your characters are and how they move through your story is clear. Characters almost always change during the course of a novel, so it’s important that their arc is clear too.

By now you should have a pretty good overview of the book, but it is probably starting to run long. The length of synopsis required by agents and publishers varies widely, so I suggest having several different ones at hand if you’re querying. I like to have them at around five, three and one pages to cover all my bases, so this is the point at which I start editing.

When editing, the words you choose are very important. You have limited space, so make sure every word you use is pulling its weight, every sentence is as succint and full of meaning as it can be. It’s amazing how much more a well-crafted sentence can convey than a baggy, over-blown one.

Once you think you’ve nailed it, give your synopsis to someone who hasn’t read the book to take a look at. Ask them if it makes sense, if they understand the story and its arc. Sometimes as an author, you’re too close to the story and the characters to see where you’ve missed a crucial piece of information.

And then, barring more edits, you are done. Your synopsis is ready to send out into the world.

Good luck with it!

Dear O'Abby: How long should I wait to hear back from an agent?

Dear OA Abby, 

After reading Pat's WEP entry, I have to wonder...

How long should someone wait to hear back from an email to an agent, editor, etc before checking if the message was ever received? Is there an especially, non-naggy way to say, "Hey! Just checking if you got this. Pass or love, just want to be sure it made it to the inbox."

- A writer who isn't  a canned meat product made mainly from ham


Dear Not-Spam (I hope I can call you that),

This is a good question.  Many agents have an expected response time on their websites, so my advice would be to look for this, and add another two to four weeks to it before nudging for a response.  If there is no response time listed, Query Tracker can be a good resource because other authors often post how long it took for them to get a response.

Or the agent may be a "no response means no" agent in which case you can assume that no reply after  around six weeks is a pass.

If you've done all this, and the agent doesn't mention being a non-responder, it's perfectly okay to give them nudge if it's been a long time.

I would make it something really short and sweet like:

Dear Agent Snail,

I'm enquiring about my query for (Awesome Novel title in a category this agent represents) which was sent on (date at least 8-10 weeks ago, depending on the agent's reported response time).  I know email can be glitchy, so just wanted to check you had received it.

Yours,

Not Spam

And include the original email under the new one so the agent won't have to go trawling through their in box to find it.

Like all things to do with agents, just keep it professional and polite.

Good luck with your book.

O'Abby.

Waiting to Query Your Dream Agent

You’ve just finished your manuscript and you’re ready to start querying! YAY! You have your query letter, synopsis, and comp titles all ready to go; you’ve got your list of agents to query; you threw up four times already. So, it’s time to fire off that query to your dream agent, right?

Well, hold up.

First of all, are you sure that your manuscript is 100% polished, professional, and perfect? What about your query letter and synopsis? Have you gone through a few rounds of revision and sent your manuscript to betas and CPs? If not, get on that right now.

Okay, so you did that. Now can you query your dream agent?

Well…you could, but why not wait a little longer?

Look, I know it sounds annoying and counter-intuitive. Agents can take up six to eight weeks to get back to you, and frequently their response time is even longer. So why wait to submit your work to the person you want to hear back from the most?

The simple answer is, if this is your first time querying, you probably aren’t as prepared as you think you are. I recently celebrated the first anniversary of when I started querying the manuscript I am still querying. In a caffeine-induced haze, I thought it would be fun to look back at the first query letter I ever sent and oh lordy. Not only was it over a page long and read like a synopsis, it also clocked my manuscript as coming in at 167,000 words. Yikes. At the time, though, I felt like my work was completely perfect and it’d be signed by the first agent who saw it. Obviously, it was not.

What I learned from this is to start with my middle-interest agents – people I thought might be a 50-75% fit for my work – just to get some practice. Why submit the version of my work that has the highest chance of rejection to the person I want to love it the most? Even after sending thirty queries, I’m still adjusting my entire query package. Not everyone does this, but as I’m querying a work that feels done, I’m still having other CPs and betas read it. My manuscripts are constantly evolving. So by the time I’ve queried maybe ten middle-interest agents, I am much more confident in my work and am ready to send it to Dream Agents.

My disclaimer, though, is that the writing, revising, and querying process is very different for everyone. Some people send five queries, get full requests on all of them, and find their agent within a couple of months. Some people query for years and never get anywhere. You don’t have to make your process the same as anyone else’s, or take anyone else’s advice. If this is your first time querying, it can be daunting. So maybe send some practice queries first. You never know what might happen.

Dear OAbby: How Do I Address an Agent in a Query Letter?

Dear OAbby is a new feature on Operation Awesome where we answer your questions! It's an advice column by writers, for writers, chock-full of information about writing, querying, the publication process, etc. If you have a question you'd like answered, just send it to operationawesome6@gmail.com. All questions may be edited for clarity and/or space, and will be posted anonymously, with no identifying information.

Dear OAbby,

When submitting a new book to an agent from whom we got feedback in the past, should we address them with Ms./Mr. or first name?

Sincerely, 
Address Unknown

Dear Address Unknown,

When querying an agent for the first time, the general rule is to use Mr. or Ms. with the agent's last name. If you're not sure of the agent's gender, it's fine to use their first name. I'd advise against anything like 'Dear Agent' or 'To Whom it May Concern,' because those greetings make it look like you haven't done your research.

As to your question, you've already gotten feedback from this agent, so I'd look at the earlier email to see how the agent identified themselves. Most likely, they signed the email with their first name. If that's the case, then it's fine to open your next email by addressing them with their first name (since they opened the door to that relative informality). If they didn't sign the email, or if they signed it using something other than their first name, then I'd stick with Mr./Ms. [Agent Last Name] to be on the safe side. Either way, as long as you use either their first name or Mr./Ms. [Agent Last Name], and not something generic like 'Dear Agent,' you should be fine!

Happy Querying!

Yours truly,
Dear OAbby

Everything You Need to Know About... Query Letters!

Contest season is coming around the bend, and whether you're planning to submit to Pitch Wars, Pitch Slam, Nightmare on Query Street, or another contest, there are some common requirements for every submission package. Over the next few weeks, Operation Awesome will be giving and rehashing tips, advice, and 'lessons learned' about each of these required pieces of the submission package.

So, without further ado, let's start with QUERY LETTERS.

Top Query Tips from the Operation Awesome Crew

KARA: Specific details are what make query letters stand out for me when I read them. "Character meets a horrible fate" is not as eye-catching as "Character will be kicked out of the house and be at risk of being eaten by zombies." Take out all the vague phrases in your query letter and provide specifics instead. Don't worry about a "spoiler," because query letters are meant to get an agent/editor interested in your novel, and specific details are what do that.

MELINDA: Please don't tell me you've been writing since you were a kid or that your book is sure to be a bestseller. You have no idea how many times I read those words. They scream, "novice." We've all been writing since we were kids, and we all have hopes of our books being bestsellers. Tell me something relevant that will make me want to read more. Leave out the fluff.

J: If you're going to compare your book to another book, that other book better

• be in the same AGE market as your book.
• not be a cross-genre seller (Harry Potter, Divergent, Hunger Games, The Shining... if it's a top 10 best-seller, NO, don't use it).
• be in the same genre as your book.
• have enough in common with your book that one can read your query and the online description blurb of the book and draw parallels.

"It's just like 'A History of the World in 6 Glasses,' except it makes no reference to real history, and it's about vampires, so the only drink is blood, and the target audience is pre-school. But otherwise, it's totally the same." No.

The purpose of book comparisons is to figure out which 500 people regular readers to market your book to first. Sure, everyone might love your book later, but all books have to start with a core audience. Sticking with my ridiculous example, "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" would first have been marketed to people who enjoy food history books. Would fantasy writers love the book for the new world-building angle? You bet! But they aren't the core audience, they're not where the focus belongs during the initial launch. The book isn't shelved with writing books, it's shelved with gastronomy history. If there were a magazine ad campaign, the ads would be in "Food Network Magazine" not in "Apex."

LEANDRA: Have an intriguing first line. You can't land the fish if you don't hook it first. ;)

JAIME: Make sure you answer three simple questions. What does my main character want? What's standing in their way? What will happen if they don't succeed?


Operation Awesome's Library of Posts About Writing Query Letters

Query Writing 101: Writing a Basic Query
Query Writing 102: Query Dos and Don'ts
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Query Letters

U is for Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Query Letters #AtoZChallenge

The #AtoZChallenge 2017 Theme at Operation Awesome is the Publishing Journey.

At Operation Awesome, we strive to provide writers and readers with the resources they need to succeed, at every stage of the journey. With that in mind, here's a cheat sheet for writing query letters, the bane of many writers' existences!

The internet abounds with resources for novelists trying to craft query letters, the introductory communications emailed (typically) to agents. Query letters are meant to entice agents to read the novel, and ultimately, offer representation. If you're working on your very first query letter, or you've been querying a novel you believe in and haven't received many requests for pages, here's a quick 'cheat sheet' for making sure you've got all the information you need.

First, you can't go wrong with a simple, three-paragraph query. The query should run between 200-400 words - any longer and it starts reading like a synopsis, which is not what an agent wants to see in your initial communication about your book.

Second, many people disagree about the correct order of paragraphs in a query letter. Always follow any agent submission guidelines, but for a general query, the order really doesn't matter - you can put the housekeeping information first and then lead into the story, or vice versa. I always start with the story, because that's the most likely aspect of a query to hook an agent, and put the housekeeping info at the end.

Third, always address the query to the specific agent you're querying. If you're querying John Smith, starting your email with 'Dear Mr. Smith' is perfect. If you're querying Randy Smith, and you're not sure whether Randy is male or female, starting the email with 'Dear Randy' works fine.

Fourth, always include your full name and contact information (including phone number) at the end of the email. You can also include your website (if it's specific to your writing endeavors), Twitter handle, etc., but those are optional at the query stage.

Fifth, do not give away the ending! A query is meant to entice the agent to read more, as opposed to a synopsis, which covers the entire plot.

Sixth, don't name more than two or three characters. If your novel has dual narratives, it's fine to point that out in the housekeeping paragraph, and center the query around one of the characters. You can also have one paragraph for the first character and a second paragraph for the second character, but make sure they are intersecting in a way that makes sense (hero/villain, the two romantic leads, etc.).

Seventh, always use third-person present tense, regardless of how your novel is written.

Eighth, if you intend your book to be the first in a series, the best way to say that is in the housekeeping paragraph, with a sentence like 'This novel stands alone, but is intended to be the first book in a series.'

Nine, be specific! It's not particularly enticing to say that your main character must unearth a dark secret or the consequences will be dire. It's much more enticing to say something like, 'Harry must find and destroy the Sorcerer's Stone, or else Voldemort will resume his corporeal body and become an unstoppable evil wizard again.'

Tenth, make sure you can answer all the following questions about your novel (which I'll also answer, using Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as an example). These answers will give you an outline for drafting your query:

List of Questions for Paragraph 1

What is your main character's full name? Harry Potter

How old is he/she? (if you're writing for children, you need to specify the age. If you're writing for adults, you likely don't need the age unless it's significant to the plot). Harry is 10

Where does he she live, at least at the start of the book? Number 4, Privet Drive, Surrey, England

What is your main character's 'normal state' at the beginning of the book? Harry lives with his aunt, uncle, and cousin and he's treated like a servant

What is the 'inciting incident' that propels the main character, and the plot, into action? Harry receives his Hogwarts letter

How does your main character react to the inciting incident? Harry goes to Hogwarts and begins his education

List of Questions for Paragraph 2

What is your main character's goal? Harry wants to find the Sorcerer's Stone before Voldemort, the most evil wizard ever

What does your main character do to achieve that goal? Harry and his friends begin researching the Stone and trying to track it down.

What stands in the way of your main character's achieving that goal? No one believes Harry, he's injured at a Quidditch match, etc.

What are the stakes (in other words, what happens if the main character can't achieve the goal)? If Harry can't find the Stone, Voldemort will come back to his corporeal form and regain power.

List of Questions for Paragraph 3 (Housekeeping)

What is your title? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

What is your word count? (round up to the nearest 1000) 77,000

What is your age group? Middle grade

What is your genre? Fantasy

- Optional - What two or three books would yours be compared to?

- Optional - Why did you choose to query this agent?

- Optional - What life experiences and/or writing credentials qualify you to write this book?


Additional Resources

Agent Janet Reid's QueryShark blog

Evil Editor's query critique blog

Miss Snark's query critique (archived blog)

Do you have additional query letter tips to share? Feel free to share your own draft query letter in the comments, and we'll give you feedback!

Building Your Writing Bio with Short Story Credits

(source)

When I first started querying, I kind of dreaded my bio at the closing of my query. I didn't have any credits, hadn't won any contests, nor could I put that I had a MFA in creative writing, or was working toward one. 

Which, before I continue, let me say-- You don't need ANY of that. If you have a fabulous story with a stellar query that lends itself to an agent requesting material (and possibly offering rep), then that is all you need. 

But for myself, I've found that having something to include in my bio helps to give me a boost of confidence before pressing send. Seeing those acceptances in black and white at the bottom of my query letter lets me know that I can do this, that someone has found merit in my work, and that I'm not a total hack (aren't we writers so lovely to ourselves?). 

Besides taking less time than writing a novel, writing short stories and submitting them can help alleviate the tedium of the querying process. With short stories, the wait to find out whether you've been accepted is often much shorter, and it's fun to anticipate cover reveals and even work on edits, which can help you get a feel for the process.

If you're interested in submitting work to the short story market (as well as flash ficton, poetry or magazines), the below links are a few places that you can find calls for submissions:

Ralan

Jeanne Lyet Gassman

NewPages

Coffintree Hill

Dreaming Robot Press
Brave New Girls

What are your thoughts on writing credits and short stories (flash fiction, poetry, etc.)?

December 2014 Mystery Agent Critique Forum --Open now!

Welcome back to the Mystery Agent critique portion of our contest. Those who wished to be included in the open forum are ready for your critiques.

Our rules are simple:

Be helpful. 
Be relevant. 
Be kind. 

Thank you to all of you, and to all our amazing entrants! Happy critting!

Visit the entries in the tab under the OA blog banner: MA Critiques.

Just a little more info about the forum:

You DO NOT have to register to comment.
To comment on a pitch, just click Reply on the main post in the thread. It will bring up a comment box where you can enter your name and comment.
To return to the full list,click December 2014 Mystery Agent in the top left corner of the forum.

Any questions? Lave in the comments below this post.

Reason for Requesting: Personal Preference

Today's post isn't so much a helpful tip as it is a statement of fact: I--and all interns, agents and editors--only request things we love.

Sometimes, it isn't about your query or your writing or even your concept. Sometimes, things just don't click. And sometimes that's not your fault, its ours. Because we only request things that we can see ourselves falling in love with. Otherwise, why take the time to read? If an agent chooses to represent you, they are going to be spending quite a bit of time with your work. They need to LOVE it. And that's what you want too. Someone who's passionate about your work.

If there's nothing you can do about an agent's preferences, why am I telling you this? Because SUBMISSION GUIDELINES!

Every agent has them. Agents love to talk about what their favorite things are. And though you can't change them, you can use them to figure out who the best match for your book is. That way you save yourself a little heartbreak of being rejected by an agent who probably wasn't the right fit anyway.

I'll be doing a post about this sometime soon on my own blog in a little more detail. For now, remember: Everyone has a personal preference. Do your research and you'll have no trouble finding the right match.

Reasons for Requesting: Character Interests

So you've got this concept, right? And an idea of what kind of character you need at the helm. You've developed their personality and dialogue and fears, so you've got a pretty well developed character on your hands. But there is a vital ingredient that your character will be lost without: Interests.

Yes interests. We all have them. Our hobbies and activities that make our hearts sing. And, especially for YA and Middle Grade, these things are important. I mean all of us were probably in some kind of club at one point or another. Band, theater, sports, art, underwater basket weaving... there are lots of things out there to be interested in.

But many times when I read an MS the character doesn't seem to... like anything. They make a big deal over the things they hate and don't get but not what they love. I think often times that's a trap authors fall into, especially in fantasy. They make the character's life flat and boring until the adventure starts and THEN the MC's life begins. But it feels cheap. Like the character has existed in a bubble until the story comes along.

How do you solve this? Give your MC goals and interests. Give them a path in life that they would have gone on if not for their adventures. And for bonus points, work their talents and interest somewhere into the plot. If they are adept at underwater basket weaving, maybe add a scene where the only way to beat the villain is to weave a basket-like prison underwater. Obviously an exaggeration, but it makes the character feel more real and three dimensional.

Ron was good at chess. It came in handy. Hermione was good at all of her classes and that comes in handy. In an MS I read recently, the MC used her talents and passions to solve the situation. Give them interests and make them count and its a good way to earn a request.

Bonus tip: if the only thing the character is ever passionate about is the love interest, you're doing something wrong. The character's whole life is not tied to the love interest. Even though 'interest' is in the title, it doesn't count as one. I have read books where that has happened.

That's all for today. Have a great week everyone!

Reasons for Requesting: Setting

As mentioned the last time I posted, I went to Alaska this summer on a cruise with my family. It was truly a beautiful, breathtaking landscape. The kind that gets you inspired to write epic fantasy with huge, sweeping landscapes. Mostly because it almost doesn't seem real. Below are some pictures from the trip, including some sleepy sea lions :)

The weather was amazing to match the scenery. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. So it can be hard to make an image come to life with only a few paragraphs.

One of the great powers of writers is to make places that exist only in words come to life in the readers mind. Its a hard task and definitely one I struggle most with as a writer. Dialogue flows easily. Plot and characters? One of my strong suits. But imagery of any kind, particularly setting? I struggle big time with that.

So when a see a writer who can nail that setting? GIMME! The setting is as much a character as anyone else in your story. It should be a fully integrated element of the story. A most recent example I've come across of pitch perfect setting is  The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Spain is a huge part of the story and this book makes me want to visit.

In the end, that's really what your setting should do. Make us want to BE there. Make us want to hop onto the nearest train to Spain, Italy, Alaska or any number of fantastical locations. There are a lot of important elements that go into fleshing out a world, but setting is one of the most important.

Helpful tip for setting if you're bad at it like I am: Practice with describing places. It doesn't matter if its your local coffee shop or the glaciers of Alaska. Practice setting the scene to help it become more natural. And use all five senses when you do. Practice makes perfect right? And it might just land you an agent!

Querying for the Young Writer

Hello everyone! Its been awhile since I've posted on here. That's because I have been absent for the past month. For the first ten days I was on a cruise in Alaska with my family. It was really a breathtaking experience and I'll talk more about that in my next post.

But today's post has to deal with the other thing I was doing this July. For two weeks I was a Residential Assistant at a creative writing camp called Shared Worlds. Its a fantasy writing camp in which kids from ages 13-17 get together in world building groups and create worlds together from scratch. Its truly an exciting experience. I should know: I went there myself for three years.

All of the kids who went to camp with me understand what its like to be a young writer. Some of them are more advanced than others. Some of them have been writing for longer. But they all have aspirations to one day have books in print.

So today, I'm talking a bit specifically to young writers, especially those who are querying or want to start querying in the future. I started diving into the trenches when I was sixteen, so I know how it can be. Let's go over some tips for querying your novel.

1) Seek advice

This is important for any writer out there. Everyone should get multiple sets of eyes on their query and first pages before sending them off. But for young writers in particular, this can be a helpful resource. If you were like me in high school, you didn't show a ton of people your writing. Taking this into consideration, the querying process can seem really frightening. So before diving in blindly, you want to do research. Talk to other writers online who have been through this. Sign up on agentqueryconnect.com and find people who are willing to lend you a helping hand. They're out there and super friendly. I don't know where I'd be without the people online who gave me advice for the querying process.

2) Beg for Critiques

If you are a young writer, people will be inclined to critique you less harshly. Again, if you were like me, you received heaps of praise from your peers and teachers and believed, naively, that you were the best writer ever. It only takes a stack of rejections to tell you otherwise. It is possible that, as a young writer, you have never received a thorough critique. Beg for one. Hand out your writing under the guise of 'tear it apart. Leave no word alive.' Not only will it improve your manuscript, but its better to get a harsh critique from people you trust first.

You have to build up a backbone to enter the trenches. It might hurt, but your writing will be better for it.

3) Query as if you were Older

Something I see in the slush pile a lot when it comes to young writers: A stress on their age. People who point out that they are 'just sixteen' or 'in high school' and writing a book. You don't see older writers saying their age. Why? Because its not the age that matters. Its the writing.

I think some writers stress their age as a bragging point. Like 'I'm young but I'm querying and that's special'. Honestly, its awesome for ANYONE to be able to finish a book, no matter the age. If you're a good writer, then age won't make a difference. My agent didn't know I was eighteen until we had the call. And it worked out fine for me.

Those are three important tips for young writers, though some of that advice holds true for writers of any age. Get advice and get critiqued. And young writers, never stop trying to get better. You have a long road ahead of you, but you have the talent and the drive to back it up.

Happy Writing!

Reasons for Rejection: Unlikable Main Character

When I say unlikable main character, I'm not talking about an anti-hero. I can always get behind an Elphaba going bad or an Ebeneezer Scrooge going good. I'm actually quite fond of an anti hero. But in their case, I know I'm supposed to have doubts about their morality. Since the book is trying to make them a little unlikable, I can role with it.

A character becomes unlikable when we're SUPPOSED to like them, and then we don't. When we are TOLD something about a character but not SHOWN, that character might start to annoy us. If you tell me that your character is 'really a good person' but all I see them doing for the first pages is being nasty, that turns me against them. And when I turn against the main character, its all over for the pages. Because how can I stay with this person for 50,000+ words if I hate them?

I think one of the best examples for me is of Tris from Divergent. I know a lot of people like this book, which is great. I'm glad you'll get a joy out of it that I never will. The problem with the test at the beginning is that we are told that Tris, in addition to being brave, is divergent for selflessness and intelligence. The book does not put its money where its mouth is because she is only selfless and smart when the plot calls for it and other times becomes borderline sociopathic and stupid. I also disliked the character because the books always wanted me to side with her and I often found myself going against her. Obviously a lot of people like Tris because they didn't see this contradiction so they were perfectly fine with liking her.

There's a simple solution to this: show don't tell. Show who your character is. That way there is no question of whether or not I'm supposed to like them. It will make for a smoother journey through your pages and, perhaps, even an exciting one.

But like with Tris, everyone reacts to characters differently. Though I dislike her, a lot of people love her. In the same way, your character may hit home with an agent but fall flat with another. That's the old subjectivity coming into play. You can't make a MC who appeals to everyone. But you can 'show' and not 'tell', to make it a little easier.

Reasons for Requesting: Queries

Let's go with another positive post today and talk about reasons why I request from the slush pile: the query letter itself.

Queries are really hard. Any writer who has ever been in the trenches knows this. Exactly how do you bottle up your wonderful story into just a 200-300 word summary? It takes a lot of practice to finally learn how. But I can tell you that all the practice is worth it.

I find a lot of the queries I read aren't very good. They're either too long or too confusing. They focus more on the author's life story than the actual book or they focus too much on the little details of the story rather than boiling it down to what's really important. But I never pass judgement just on a query. I'll always look at the pages no matter what the query says.

So then you might say, 'why does it matter? Can't I just let my awesome writing shine through?'

Well, having a query that makes your concept shine does something important. It makes me want to like your story. If I read a query that pops, it gets me excited. It makes me want to read the pages and I will over look a few flaws in the first pages for a good concept. Because, gosh darn it, I want this to be good. Now you need to have the writing to match it, but it helps to get me enthusiastic.

If a query is dull or confusing, I'm more likely to search for reasons to reject. Because I'm not excited, I'm looking for an excuse to stop reading. Flaws become more visible. Even worse, if your query is snarky or arrogant in tone, you might make me REALLY want to stop reading.

This isn't a constant rule. I have read first pages attached to lack luster queries that really grabbed my attention. But those are the exception and they only do so because they pop from page one. But usually, really good writers have the dedication to write stellar queries. (I have never requested more pages after a snarky query letter though. Humor is good. Snark and arrogance--NOPE!)

Make your query count. Because the query can affect an agents outlook on your story from the beginning. Its probably best to make that outlook positive rather than negative.