This just in from a client whose query letter I revised:
After just a quick read, I LOVE IT! Thank you so much, Laine. You truly have a gift.
Query Letter
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Tag Archives: novel
Author as Entrepreneur
Here’s an article listing the 10 aspects of every entrepreneur. Every one of these applies to authors.
1. Passion. This is the sole driving force that will keep you moving through tough work days, endless rewrites, rejections, and deals that fall through at the last minute.
2. When you’re writing, you’re thinking about your idea…all the time.
3. You know that any issue in your piece is an opportunity to make it stronger.
4. Every new piece you work on is better than the one that came before.
5. There are no guarantees in publishing but you keep writing anyway.
6. You are social enough to network but know when to sit in the chair and be alone with your writing.
7. You know your strengths…and that means you also know where you are weak…and you get help from others with those weak areas.
8. You know your limits. You can’t write a book in a day. You can’t work on more than a few things at once. You pick the most important and get them done.
9. You are energized by writing. You are energized by talking about writing. You are energized by reading this blog!
10. You get something back from your work. It might be a paycheck. It might be a “thank you” from a reader whose hunger you fed particularly well. Both put something back into you.
Rejections
For anyone who needs a laugh about all those “good” rejections they’ve been getting, check out this blog post.
Funding
If you’ve ever considered funding a project through Kickstarter or similar site, check out this article. It talks about the community involvement and personal connections needed to create a successful campaign.
Writing About Real People
When I read this essay from a memoir author, I recalled how often asked about work that involves real people. Often for memoir and biography authors, the question arises about whether to include events that would cause someone else pain. Even novelists and short story writers can face the same concerns when they mine their lives for material.
The pain can be as simple as a little embarrassment over a minor slip to revealing criminal activities. Remember that I’m not talking about legal aspects of the work; the question here is only about whether to write about things that will cause someone else pain.
Your truth is your truth. If you are driven to write your truth, there’s a reason for it. Honor that reason. Honor your truth.
Yes, that can be the difficult road to take. But writing in and of itself isn’t an easy pathway. The truth is often ugly, even harsh. It still shines because that is the nature of truth.
The Backlist
Ever wonders what happens to books that are no longer in the forefront of readers’ minds yet don’t go out of print? They’re on the publisher’s backlist. Usually anything more than a year old (and sometimes things less than 12 months old) are backlisted.
Think of it as a backwater where the already scant marketing assistance is even more rare. Yet if you want to get your hands on the rights so you can self-publish it and market it yourself, you’ll often meet opposition.
Here’s an interesting take on a trend to buy up backlists and redistribute them with fresh vigor.
Used E-Books
Amazon announced that it’s poised to start reselling used e-books in this article by Publisher’s Weekly. This is a tricky thing…e-books don’t have a physical presence so it’s difficult to ensure that the copies aren’t pirated.
And of course it’s problematic because it means authors get cut out of yet another revenue stream.
On the up side, of course, every sale means another reader who might become loyal enough to buy your latest the moment it comes out…as a freshly pressed e-book, not a used copy.
What do you think of this trend?
Travel into a Novel
In recent years, several books set in beautiful or popular places have had “book tours” build up around them. Not book tours where authors show up but tours where readers travel to the places mentioned in their favorite novels.
Now a start-up business is working to make that process easier to implement. Click here for the article.
Remember that post about how the closings of B&N could create new opportunities for indie bookstores? I said in a comment that the bookstores should remember to keep focused on creating a gathering space by offering community events that are based around different kinds of books.
Here’s an article from The Atlantic about libraries doing exactly that. They’re even redesigning their interiors to provide more meeting space.
Books bring people together. They always have. The faster indies focus on connecting people in their communities, the faster their sales will grow and the happier authors will be because they’re appreciated in a real, meaningful manner.
Query Letters
I work on query letters for a variety of fiction and nonfiction book authors. Every query has to have the following:
1. A great tagline. This is a single sentence that sums up the conflict and the protagonist’s journey. It’s one of the toughest things to get right…but it’s the grabber that keeps agents and publishers reading your query.
2. A short description of the book. This is 2 or 3 paragraphs long. Although it contains some plot highlights, it’s really about the character’s journey. The conflict and any antagonist come into play enough to enhance the protagonist’s journey…and you have to give an idea of how it ends.
3. A paragraph about you. This of course includes your credentials like other publication credits (even if unpaid) and editorial work at a newspaper or magazine. It should also include any awards your work has won. Also tell them why you wrote the book. The human connection is important!
4. Information on the current market trends that support your book, the manuscript’s length, it’s category and/or genre, and the fact that it’s finished. If you have a sequel or are already working on the next unrelated novel, they need to know that, too. They want to sign career authors, not flashes in the pan!
Let me know if I can help with your query letter.
Set Your Novel in a Famous Place
Here’s another article from Writer’s Digest. Author Josh Pahigian shares the reasons why.
All are valid for different reasons. One of the best is the fact that your marketing machinery will be built in. Tourist boards, local shop owners, and travel advertisements all help to keep your book in people’s minds…or to spark that important first interest in your story.
5 for the Writer’s Bucket List
Here’s a list from Writer’s Digest listing 5 things for your bucket list.
When I posted this to Facebook (find Writer’s Resource under CreationToContract), I noted that I liked the “Do something bizarre” tip best.
Also of interest is the “Self-publish something” tip. They’re not necessarily talking about a book, either. Blog posts, ezine submissions, and other short bits can be great for the author’s soul. And enhance your platform. And provide potential readers of your books with another way to find out about you.
An unbeatable combination!
Read this interesting article, one author’s take on how distraction can work for the creative process.
Honors for Message Stick
Just a quick note on this blog post by Rick Rofihe. My first novel, Message Stick, was given the nod as one of the top entries to this year’s contest.
The story follows Gabriel Branch, a biracial Australian Aborigine, as he searches the outback for his best friend. He is stalked by a powerful Pitjantjatjara shaman who leads an artifacts smuggling ring. The novel won two national awards and now has been honored by this latest contest.
Check out his blog to enter your own novel!
House of Cards
NetFlix’s new series House of Cards was written up in the New York Times. The article talks about how the series was intended to be watched in long segments of two or more episodes at a single sitting. Many viewers, they anticipated, would watch all 13 in a single sitting.
The article compares the experience to that of reading literature. These days, many pundits have been talking about reading rates and how the internet has changed people from long-form readers into readers who want quick bites. This series in its own way proves that literature and other types of long-form reading is not dead.
The key is that the format has to be appropriate for long-form reading. Stories that delve into something deeper–in terms of a character’s inner or outer journey, for example–have always been in demand. They will continue to be, if this single-sitting viewing pans out as the newest trend.
And in case you’re wondering, I watched the series myself over the course of three evenings.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 