Death Toll

So I am helping critique a friend's novel (and it's really good) and at one point one of her other critters suggested a change that would save a secondary character's life. My knee-jerk reaction was, "No way! It adds drama and tension and huge emotion to the scene." (And it does!) And my next thought after that was, "Of course, this comes from me; I kill a lot of people in my book. If I just count named characters who you actually get to know, I kill . . ." And it took me a long time to count up my answer.

Now first things first, there are a LOT of characters in my novel. When you have a magic system that requires two people, all of your main, magical characters come in twos. . .so I have about a zillion characters. (One of the main reasons I couldn't cut it anymore; lots of characters who are essential to the plot.

So anyhow, I counted up all the named, important characters who are killed. None that die accidentally or from diseases or something, but those who are killed. (Head smashed in, neck snapped, run through with a sword, etc.)

You ready?

Twenty-One.

I was amazed and rather appalled with myself. Because on top of that there are a ton of unnamed characters (soldiers, guards, etc.) who die. (And just to give you an idea of how many people are in this book, there are a further 20 or so front row characters who do not die. I have a HUGE cast.)

People I agonized over killing? (And this is part of the twenty-one, not on top of):

Seven

People I ended up saving from death?

Two

I'm not very merciful, am I?

Anyone else kill as many people in their book as I do?

Ciao!

Growing up.

Trust me, this post isn't about what you think it's about.

I LOVE to surf the net--to the point that sometimes I have to put limits on myself to make sure I get anything else done that day. I adore writers' sites and blogs and forums. Also agents' sites and blogs.

But it's been interesting the way my surfing habits have changed since I got an agent. I'm growing out of some of my favorite sites. Not because they are not fabulous and wonderful, but because that's not the stage I'm at anymore.

Here are some of the sites I used to read religiously that I have let fall to the wayside:

Rachel Vater's Site I love Rachel's site. She got a great personality and shares tons of advice on real-life queries. But that doesn't really apply to me anymore.

Writers.net Literary agent forum- I still pop in there once in a while, but I don't read anyone else's queries and just quickly browse any other interesting looking topics.

The Rejecter- Well, she's had a quality issue too. Majorly gone downhill. But I used to enjoy seeing the literary agent assistant's point of view on submissions. It just doesn't matter that much to me anymore.

Agent Query- The absolute number one spot in my mind for authors who are looking for an agent. But . . . I'm not anymore. Although once in a while I do go there and look up Jodi's name just to remind myself that she's real.:)

There are others, but I won't mention them publicly.;)

Now here are some that I've grown into:

The Debutante Ball- This is a really fun "grog" (group blog) of women whose debut novels are all coming out. They are only a step ahead of me and give lots of good advice as well as simple, fun reading.

Amazon.com- This one may seem weird, but I've totally started market watching.

Pat's Blog- You'll have to excuse my constant mentions of her. She's like my mentor.:) Now, I read Pat's blog before, but it was because I liked her as a person and liked her writing and pictures. Now, the content is very applicable to me. So even though this isn't technically a new site, it's one I now read with new eyes.

Of course, just like I still have my favorite pair of jeans from college and the ratty pillow I just can't let go if, there are blogs that I still read despite being in a new stage of publication life:

Kristin Nelson's Blog- It doesn't matter where you are in your publishing life, this blog has great advice. Maybe I'll feel differently when I am a multi-published best selling author (cough, cough, sputter) but for now, it's still one of the goodies.

Miss Snark- How anyone can ever grow out of Miss Snark is beyond me. Though I doubt I will participate in another Crap O Meter (we all know she'll have another one some day.;))


It's a little weird to see some of these sites stop holding my interest; rather like childhood friends you have nothing in common with any more. But you still look back fondly and remember when.:)

Ciao!

Don't Sweat the Infinitesimal Stuff.

So it's been kind of a lame week over at Writers.net. Generally, it really is a good site with lots of fabulous advice and, in particular, a wonderful place to get your query critiqued. But the last couple of weeks it had been a bit of a madhouse. A majorly irritating troll, about ten people asking about the New York Literary (Fake) Agency--about half of those *after* signing with them--and pointless arguments. Luckily, the forum is showing signs of getting back on track. However, one of the pointless arguments made me think a bit.

One of the websites I recommend to anyone who is looking for an agent is agentquery.com. Fabulous database. And most of their advice is sound. However, they state in their query advice section that when addressing an agent the term "Dear" (as in Dear Ms. Reamer, for example) is inappropriate. That it should always be Attn: Ms. Reamer.

Personally, I thought that was some of the silliest advice I've ever read.

But someone had to post it up on WN and start an argument.

Now, I understand that you want your query to be business-like, and you want to make sure your manuscript is properly formatted. Sweating some of the small things puts you above the crowd and makes you look like a professional. But for the love of Pete, who cares if you put Dear or Attn:?

I'll tell you one person who doesn't care . . .

The agent!!!

They just want you to spell their name right and assign the correct gender. (Poor Mr. Ashley Grayson--no one ever gets his right.)

By all means, sweat the small stuff--but leave the infinitesimal stuff alone.

For Example . . . Small Stuff

Double space your manuscript
Number the pages and make a running header with your name at the very least, preferably with the title too.
Send a cover letter, no matter what. Partial/full/proposal, it doesn't matter, send a cover letter.
Thank the agent for their time time in your closing.
Include a SASE!

There are numerous others, but these are examples of details that are important.

Now . . . Infinitesimal Stuff

One space or two after periods.
Time New Roman or Courier New (unless requested)
Dear or Attn:
Whether to hand-write or type your address on your SASE (unless you handwriting is really that bad, and you know who you are.;))
20# or 24# paper

If you are getting a slew of rejections, trust me, it's not because you addressed the agent incorrectly on your query. Stop focusing on the teeny, weeny things--work on your writing! That's WAY more important.

However, on the whole salutation thing, Mya Bell wrote up a fun guide for how to address your query based on which genre you are writing. With her permission, here's the list.:)


romance - Darling Agent or Liebe Agent

gay fiction - Dahling Agent

gang fic - Yo, agent!

newbie author - Hey, uh, agent?

suspense - Psssst, agent ...

humor - Woo hoo! Agent

British Humor - Blimey, agent!

chic lit - Hey Girl! [Guy!]

Chinese history - Ah so, agent

vampire fiction - Good Eeeevening, agent

Victorian fiction - To whom do I owe this pleasure?

epic fantasy - My Precious

sea tales - What ho, agent!


--- Mya Bell

Gotta love Mya.:)

Ciao!

Recognizing the Next Big Thing

Pat and I were discussing this few weeks ago and I thought I would share.

During the couple of weeks that Miss Snark did her Crap o Meter I thought it was fairly obvious from the hooks which ones were going to be awful, and which ones had promise. After reading the first 750 words, I thought it was even more obvious. I don't think I'm alone in that. I think that most readers feel they could probably recognize the "next big thing."

But what about when professionals don't?

I'm going to use two examples, both my friends.

First, Pat. Pat received a rejection from an agent at Writers House and his reasoning was basically that he just did not connect with the voice. Since Pat's book is told from the point of view of a 30-some-odd mentally challenged man, voice is everything! If you don't connect with the voice, you don't connect with the book.

But just a little while later Pat was picked up by a lovely agent at William Morris (and received offers from others as well.) She and her agent worked on the book for a little while and when it was ready, they sent it out. It sold in a week, at auction, for six figures.

That is almost unheard of for a debut novelist.

What did the agent at WH miss? He later sent her a very nice congratulatory note, and you have to wonder, were there some sour grapes in there? Was he kicking himself a little? Why did he not recognize the huge potential?

Example number two, my friend Stephenie. She sent out about 15 queries and received two requests for partials. (She says her queries sucked . . . I don't know about that.:)) But a very small, upstart agent requested her first chapter and wrote her back to say that, although it was cute idea, there just wasn't a market for this kind of thing.

Tell that to Little, Brown who offered her the biggest advance they had ever given a first-time author. And believe me, it paid off.

What did this agent miss? She didn't just miss a publishable book, she missed a book that hit the NYT bestsellers list shortly after its release, and the second one debuted there and stayed for over twenty weeks.

Aren't agents supposed to see that coming?

But sometimes they don't.

Kristin Nelson mentioned several months back that she hardly ever regrets the ones that got away. She even did a post where she posted the covers of several books she remembers rejecting and, although she is thrilled for the authors' successes, she doesn't regret not being their agent. She did mention one she was sorry about because she loved the book. But it was very early in her agency's history and it was a genre she was not representing very strongly. But she'd have loved to be the agent and, if she had received that project now, would have taken it on.

My own story is a little weird too (and will hopefully be followed up with some fabulous deal, bestseller, jealous agents, etc. etc. etc. *wink*) As most of you know, Jodi was the very first person I ever sent anything to. And she got a barely better than first draft edition. An edition that was rejected by dozens and dozens of agents. One of the things that is still surprising to me is that she contacted me when she was half-way through that very first edition to say that she was loving it.

By that time, I was embarrassed by that version. The story was essentially the same, but the writing was so-so at best. Jodi was very happy to get the revision and mentioned that I had fixed many of the very things she was going to suggest. But what got her attention, was that first draft. She saw something in my book that she was intrigued enough by to let me know she was already seriously thinking of taking it on, halfway through that awful version. She saw something she liked enough that--had I not had a revision for her--she was willing to spend time working on to make it right.

Did she see something real? Is it something anyone else will see? I guess we'll find out.

It's amazing to me what agents do and do not see. And I know every agent has the unpublished book on their shelf that they love, love, love, but that nobody else loves. But we don't hear about those very often, but I know they exist. (Man, I hope that's not in my future.)

I wonder if this shakes their self-confidence sometimes. Both the ones that they let go, and the ones no one else seems to want. Because I have to believe that agents do take their clients' work personally, if not to the degree that the writers do.

Anyway, sorry for the novella here. But it's really been on my mind.

Thoughts?

Ciao!

I am so Tired!

I just sent my--hopefully--last (I know I said that last time) revision off to Jodi and Man! I am beat! It's hard to explain how tiring doing revisions can be--especially in a very emotional section like the one I am working on right now. I typed up my e-mail, attached my file, and hit send. Then there was a huge sigh of relief. Whew!

I write because I love to write--don't get me wrong. But revising and polishing? That's a whole different thing. I don't know a single writer (except maybe Pat who loves everything;)) who loves every step of the writing and publishing process. First draft? Oh yeah! It's like teen aged love. You have the biggest crush on this story and it just makes you giddy to write it. But as you moved onto editing and polishing--and even more so when you start editing and polishing with someone else--it's more like marriage or a very-long term relationship. You still love the book--more than ever, really. But now there's kids, and a mortgage, and different schedules and a job, etc. And it becomes work.

Worthwhile work.

And every revisions make sit better and makes you even more glad you started the whole process to begin with.

I love my book.

But boy, it wears me out!

Ciao!