Tag: Literary agents

Writing Advice from Agents and Published Authors

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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It’s the dog days of summer, and I’ve gotten a bit lazy. The last thing I want to do this week is research and write a new and lengthy blog post.

Still, there is so much valuable insights and advice to share about the writing process. So this week, I’ve compiled some of the best tips from literary agents and published authors as they shared with the editors of Writers Digest magazine. After all, we can all use a little bit of help, no matter where we are in the writing process.

Enjoy! And have a safe holiday weekend.

Advice from published authors:

“….. write the thing that you feel urgently compelled to write. Write the thing that you feel drawn to write, and write it in a way that only you can do it and trust your instincts.
Brandon Taylor, author, The Late Americans

“There’s no need to plan everything out beforehand. Part of the fun is setting up high stakes without knowing the outcome. This way you’ll be right there with your protagonist, struggling to come up with solutions, even as the walls close in deliciously around you.”
Julia Bartz, novelist, The Writing Retreat

“But self-doubt is incredibly valuable. If you didn’t ever doubt yourself, you’d be a psychopath. Sometimes doubt is what helps me as a writer say, ‘This isn’t working right.’”
Chuck Wendig, author, Gentle Writing Advice: How to Be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself

“One thing I value about writing and publishing is that it’s not as ageist as some other industries. It’s hard to become a movie star maybe at 50…. It [publishing] is something you can break through at any time. There is room for reinvention, whether that means emotional reinvention, new opportunity, or just room for growth.”
Steven Rowley, author, The Guncle Abroad

“…find as many writer friends as you can because these are the people who will completely, 100 percent understand how difficult it is to break into publishing…Reach out and find your community.”
Jesse Q Sutano, author, Dial A for Aunties

“Understand that your book is a product that needs to garner broad support… Make sure you have a core group of diverse test readers who will give you honest feedback. It doesn’t mean they’re always right, but if half of our test readers think the beginning of your book is slow, you probably need to revise it.”
Pamela Samuels Young, author, Anybody’s Daughter

“…when people ask me my advice about these things, I say, write a novella, write a short story. Be wild and free and be able to accept failure by your own terms before you commit to spending three or four or five years on something that might fail.”
Ian McEwan, author, Atonement

“You need to give yourself permission to be bad when you are drafting… This is where you need to embrace the suck. Let yourself be bad. It’s okay. Everybody’s first drafts are bad. My first drafts are terrible, but once you have a bad first draft down, you can fix it. You can edit it, you can polish it up….”
Kate Quinn, author, The Diamond Eye

“There are so many things you can worry about when you’re writing that are all irrelevant… The important thing is a book that you write is your book and it’s you, and you put yourself into it and don’t listen to any of the interference from anywhere else in the world.”
Lisa Jewell, author, The Night She Disappeared

“I’m a big believer in being in a workshop or class, working with other writers, which is not to say to just take anybody’s advice. When you’re in a classroom or a seminar, it makes you write because you know you’re going to go there Thursday. It kind of forces you to do the work.”
Alice Hoffman, author, Practical Magic

“But the thing I always say to writers is that you never should forget the lame that made you want to write this. It is better to have a strangely proportioned beast that burns and is alive and stalks across the page than a perfection proportioned corpse on the page. That is what you run into the danger of. It’s possible from too much feedback [and] too much confusion that you wind up taking out whatever is at the heart of your work.”
Jean Kwok, author, Girl in Translation

“Find a way to make your writing process a discipline in the way that musicians practice their instrument.”
Tommy Orange, author, There There

“Characters live in the moments of quiet we often rush to yell over, so take some time to let them be heard.”
Mazey Eddings, author, A Brush with Love

“If you want to make a living as a writer, approach it like a business from the start. You wouldn’t open a corner store without a business plan—don’t just wing it for your author business!”
Jessie Kwak, author, Ghost Pirate Gambit

“The biggest thing is to read a lot so you can innately understand story structure. This even comes from watching movies and TV, and thinking about why it was great and what points did it hit and what aspects of it resonated with you….”
Alyssa Cole, author, One of Us Knows

Advice from literary agents:

“Share your work with multiple readers. Consider their feedback, especially their questions. Heed only the advice that resonates. Save a few readers for subsequent drafts so they can have fresh eyes to catch anything you or your regular readers might miss.”
Jennifer March Soloway, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

“As an agent, I want to fall under your spell. I want to read past my bedtime, be haunted by your work, be captivated, lifted, [and] spirited away by your story. If your work can deliver this magic, it makes me envision all of the opportunities we can conjure together to make the ultimate connection to the readers.”
Rachel Letofsky, CookeMcDermid Agnecy

“Remember you are interviewing the agent as much as (if not more than) they ae interviewing you. Bring a list of questions and don’t be afraid to ask tough ones.”
Kesia Lupo, The Bindery Agency.

“A rejection does not mean that your writing sucks. It simply means it’s not a good fit for that particular agent. You need to find your match, someone who clicks with your book in a unique way that’s not unlike dating.”
Rachel Beck, Liza Dawson Associates

“Know what kind of writer you are: a sprinter or a marathoner, and let yourself be that kind of writer. Don’t be afraid you’ll forget your great idea. If it’s a great idea, it’ll stick to your ribs no matter how much you try to shake it off.”
Liz Parker, Verve Talent and Literary

“The key to success is being delusional enough to think that what you write is necessary, but humble enough to listen to informed feedback.”
Michael W. Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, LLC

“Remember that ideas are cheap! You are more than one project, and there is inspiration everywhere if you look for it.”
Molly Ketcheson, Wolfson Literary Agency

“Being able to say what your novel is about in one or two sentences really helps. It’s not a question about what ‘happens’ in a novel, but it’s a question about what the heart of the novel is.”
Catherine Cho, Paper Literary

“Writing should be fun. If you’re getting to a place where it’s not anymore, take a break and let yourself fall in love with your writing again.”
Saffron Dodd, Ash Literary

Preparing for a Writer’s Conference: The Elevator Pitch

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment

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Congratulations! You’ve just signed up for a writer’s conference. Whether you’re attending your first conference or you’ve gone to a couple dozen in your career, there’s always plenty of prep work to do before you go. For one, you’ll need to pack your elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is a brief description of who you are and what kind of writing you do. Most authors agree the pitch should be no more than 30 seconds long, or about 50 to 100 words. Since you don’t have a lot of time to make your points, you need to make every word and every second count.

But creating a pitch for the first time can be daunting. Even more experienced writers don’t always get it right and have to re-do theirs from time to time, especially as their projects change.

Why is an elevator pitch necessary?

There is some debate among literary agents about the purpose of elevator pitches and whether they are truly necessary. At the Book Ends Literary blog, agent Jessica Faust suggests that authors and would-be authors dump the traditional pitch in favor of real conversation. Some agents don’t want to be bombarded at a conference with pitches. They’d rather get to know you as a person and as a writer. They want to talk about publishing and the latest books you’ve read.

I can understand Faust’s point. Imagine being a literary agent at a conference attended by several hundred people. Would you want to be hounded by all these would-be authors? If that were me, I would want to hide out in a corner just to avoid the rush of people clamoring for my attention.

Still, it’s important to have an elevator pitch ready in case someone asks. Why? Because writers like to hear what other writers are working on, and agents and publishers are always looking for new talent and new book concepts. So when someone asks, “What are you writing?” you can be prepared to answer them, briefly and succinctly.

Moral of this story: don’t dump your elevator pitch altogether, but do keep it in your back pocket.

What should an elevator pitch include?

When you only have 30 seconds to make an impression, it can be challenging to squeeze as much information into your elevator pitch. Opt for the most important points. Avoid giving a chapter-by-chapter account of your story; that will simply take too long. Shorter is better, about 50 to 100 words, but have more points prepared in case you are asked follow up questions.

When you prepare your elevator pitch, here are a few factors to keep in mind:

What genre do you write? – Mention what genre story you are writing. Is it women’s fiction, a memoir or a self-help book? For examples of some great elevator pitches in these three genres, see Bookbub’s Insights blog.

What is your current project? Give a brief summary of your story line, focusing on character and conflict. Then add context for the story – where does it take place in relation to the world we live in. Finally, consider why readers should care about your story.

What have you written previously? Even if you haven’t published anything before, say so. Instead, you can say, “This is my debut novel.”

Keep it snappy. Once you’ve written the key elements of your pitch, edit it so it will grab a listener’s attention.

Practice your pitch. Keep practicing your pitch so it feels comfortable rolling off your tongue. One of the worst things to happen is to sound too rehearsed and canned, or like you are speaking lines for a play. You want to come across as natural as possible.

Here’s a great tip from The Writing Cooperative. When someone asks how they can find out more about you and your writing, don’t just hand out your business card or spit out your website URL. There’s no guarantee that they will ever follow up with you and checkout your website on their own. Instead, say something like “I’ll be happy to give you that information. Do you have an email address I can send it to?” or ask for their business card. This way you can follow up with them after the conference. Be sure you really do follow up with a personal note.

Remember not to hound agents and publishers at conferences. They’re there to enjoy the event just as much as you are. Focus on creating conversation. Inquire how their day is going. Ask what authors they enjoy reading. Ask what sessions they’ve attended. Just get the conversation started.

Then don’t be surprised if they turn the spotlight on you at some point and ask “What are you writing?” Then be ready to give your elevator pitch, naturally and comfortably.

Writing Critiques: Who Are The Best People to Review Your Writing?

~ The Regal Writer ~ 1 Comment

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It’s one thing to show off your latest work to your family and closest friends. After all they are the ones who know you best. They know how ambitious and creative you are and how hard you work at your craft. But can they be truly objective about your work? Can they provide more helpful comments other than “it’s a great story.” If you want more than a pat on the back, then you have to look elsewhere to get your writing critiqued.

There are writing groups, of course. Many new writers swear by them, claiming they have gained valuable feedback from fellow group members. But most members are as new as you are to writing, so they may not have the best perspective of your skill or a solid grasp of your story. Members will likely tell you that the work is good as is, simply because they either don’t want to offend you or because they want to be seen as a valued contributor to the group or because they may not understand the difference between good writing and great writing. Personally, I’m skeptical of writers groups for critiques.

So who are the best people to critique your writing? Depending on where you are in your writing process, any one of the following people can provide meaningful and practical feedback.

1. Close friend or spouse
In his book On Writing, Stephen King suggests completing a first draft before having your work reviewed, and then showing it to only one or two people who are closest to you and who you trust, usually a spouse, partner or best friend. King’s wife reviews his first drafts, and she provides valuable input that helps him during the revision phase.

Your significant other knows you best, understands your love of writing, and supports your need to spend countless hours pouring your heart and soul onto a blank page (or computer screen). They may be in the best position to tell you if there’s a better way to phrase something or if a character seems one-dimensional or if a plot twist seems contrived. They may be close to you personally, but they are not close to your work, so they can give you an objective review of your work without killing your enthusiasm for it.

2. Writing instructor or coach
If you’ve ever taken a writing class, you know how valuable the instructor’s knowledge can be. Not only do they become familiar with you as a writer over time, they can help you become aware of your own creative thought process. In that way, you refine your self-editing skills. As they become more knowledgeable of your writing, they can identify weak spots you need to improve on as well as strengths you can maximize to the fullest.

A coach not only provides technical guidance but will also help you be accountable for your writing and help you stay on track to meet your goals. They may be published authors themselves, so they can give you insights about the path to publishing. Many instructors also serve as coaches, offering instruction on a one-on-one basis. Instructors and coaches help you learn to help yourself, but their services may come at a price — the price of a writing class or a coaching session. But the cost may be worth it.

3. Beta readers or reading groups
Other helpful sources of feedback are beta readers and reading groups. Beta readers are individuals in your personal network who are avid readers, while reading groups are groups of avid fans. They may be fans of certain genres, such as mystery or science fiction. If you’re writing a science fiction novel for young adults, reach out to the avid readers in your network and ask for their input. Because they are familiar with the genre and have likely read tons of stories in that genre, beta readers can tell you how your story compares with others they’ve read. Is it on par with them, or does it need improvement? Beta readers and reading groups understand what works and what doesn’t, what will appeal to readers and what won’t.

Mind you, reading groups have a different focus than writing groups. While writers groups focus on writing technique and performance, readers’ groups focus on the storytelling aspect. They understand what makes readers read certain books and not others. And that information can help you craft your story better.

4. An editor
After you’ve revised your story enough times to make it believable and readable, it’s time to submit it to an editor for review. That thought might make you weak in the knees, but don’t fret. Remember, editors are your friends. They’re there to help you hone your story further. They’ve reviewed and edited hundreds of other stories, so they know that many of them are decent enough stories, but aren’t publishable. The editor can tell you how to make your story more publish-worthy.

There are two types of editors. One works for a publication and routinely reviews submitted stories. They know what writing style they’re looking for and the types of stories they want to publish. If your work does not meet the publication’s criteria, it will be rejected.

The second type of editor may work on their own, offering their services to aspiring writers before they formally submit it to an agent or publisher. They will likely charge you for their expertise, but it may be worth it to have someone review your work with a fresh pair of eyes. If you’ve worked on it a long time, you may be too close to your work to see it objectively.

To find a freelance editor, ask fellow writers for referrals. Or check out organizations such as Editorial Freelancers Association or the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, which post directories of editors.

5. An already published writer
If you’re fortunate enough to count a published writer among your acquaintances, take advantage of their expertise. Ask if they are willing to review a few pages or a chapter or two. If they don’t have time to review it, ask if they’re willing to discuss your project. You might get enough meaningful advice just through the discussion alone. Since they’ve been through the publishing process already, they can tell you what worked for them and what they would do differently.

6. An agent
If you aspire to be published, at some point, you will want to show your completed work to a literary agent. Agents tend to work in specific genres, so do your homework and find an agent that works in the same genre as your story. A good place to start is Writer’s Market, which is updated and published every year, and Writer’s Digest magazine, which profiles a literary agent in each issue. Each agent is different, so be sure you review their submission criteria.

Agents will review your work with an eye on its marketability. Will it sell? Is it publishable? Agents have relationships with multiple publishers and can determine if your story is a good fit at one of them. Most important, they’ll review your work to determine if you are worthy of being represented by them.

Depending on where you are in your writing journey, you will no doubt have a connection to one or several of these individuals at some point. No matter which of these people you choose to review your work, their insights can help you become the best writer you can be.