Peg Herring's Blog, page 36
September 22, 2010
If Agents Are Human
I think they are, although you may have heard differently.
Humans can't help but be more attracted to some things than to others. Even if it's a person's job to read a whole bunch of things, we tend to want to read some of them and not want to read others. I know this from years of sophomore essays.
So a submission must either appeal to an agent or not upon reading the query. We know they get tons of them. Do they save the good ones for last, as a reward for their labors, or do they shove the not-so-intriguing ones to the bottom of the pile?
I suppose it's a personal decision, and it could vary with a person's mood. I recall that some nights I read the essays with the worst handwriting first, to get them over with, but other nights I started with one I knew would be well done, to sort of get me in the mood to finish them. Of course there were nights when I just read through the stack as it came. No choices, just get it done.
So there's my question for the day. How do agents decide what they will read and in what order? Unlike English teachers, they don't have to read them all, and they don't have to read all of any one submission. They have that tiny bit of luxury I never had as a teacher: writing "Not for us" in one corner and going on to the next.
Humans can't help but be more attracted to some things than to others. Even if it's a person's job to read a whole bunch of things, we tend to want to read some of them and not want to read others. I know this from years of sophomore essays.
So a submission must either appeal to an agent or not upon reading the query. We know they get tons of them. Do they save the good ones for last, as a reward for their labors, or do they shove the not-so-intriguing ones to the bottom of the pile?
I suppose it's a personal decision, and it could vary with a person's mood. I recall that some nights I read the essays with the worst handwriting first, to get them over with, but other nights I started with one I knew would be well done, to sort of get me in the mood to finish them. Of course there were nights when I just read through the stack as it came. No choices, just get it done.
So there's my question for the day. How do agents decide what they will read and in what order? Unlike English teachers, they don't have to read them all, and they don't have to read all of any one submission. They have that tiny bit of luxury I never had as a teacher: writing "Not for us" in one corner and going on to the next.
September 21, 2010
The Right Mental State
Submissions are tough. Oh, I remember back in the beginning, when I really, really thought that agents were out there just waiting for me to write something they could hurry to a publisher and make into a bestseller.
Those days did not last.
Now I have to be excited about a project to garner any sort of enthusiasm for submissions. Not that I don't believe in my work. I do. But I have lost the belief that just because it's good, it will sell. I don't know what the formula is (no one does), but I do understand that it's a screwy business. An agent can like a MS but know she can't sell it. An editor can appreciate good writing but know he can't make a case for the book to his marketing department. And with changes coming swift and sure in the business, no one even knows if a given company will be publishing within six months. The roadblocks between reader and writer are high...and even if you get past all of them, the reader may not buy the book ("So many choices!") or may not like it ("It isn't funny like Evanovitch!").
So today is submission day. Again. It's not as much fun as it used to be, but at least I know more than I used to. To use a simile apt for mystery, it's like shooting a pistol as opposed to a shotgun. The shotgun sends out more ammo but tends to have less power. The pistol, aimed correctly, travels to the target and makes its mark.
Those days did not last.
Now I have to be excited about a project to garner any sort of enthusiasm for submissions. Not that I don't believe in my work. I do. But I have lost the belief that just because it's good, it will sell. I don't know what the formula is (no one does), but I do understand that it's a screwy business. An agent can like a MS but know she can't sell it. An editor can appreciate good writing but know he can't make a case for the book to his marketing department. And with changes coming swift and sure in the business, no one even knows if a given company will be publishing within six months. The roadblocks between reader and writer are high...and even if you get past all of them, the reader may not buy the book ("So many choices!") or may not like it ("It isn't funny like Evanovitch!").
So today is submission day. Again. It's not as much fun as it used to be, but at least I know more than I used to. To use a simile apt for mystery, it's like shooting a pistol as opposed to a shotgun. The shotgun sends out more ammo but tends to have less power. The pistol, aimed correctly, travels to the target and makes its mark.
September 20, 2010
It's Like Gilda Said
It's always something.
If, for example, a person has worked to get something, say a manuscript, done, and if the day comes when that manuscript falls into shape quite nicely and she begins to salivate at the prospect of sending out some submission letters, a call will come to say that a relative who yesterday was perfectly fine is now in the hospital and needs her immediate attention.
I'm guessing that when the day comes that this same author sells her manuscript to the biggest publisher in the U.S. and receives an advance check for 3.4 million dollars, a call will come to let her know that a heretofore unheard-of sister who was given away at birth needs a kidney transplant, and said author is the only possible donor. Of course, the sister will reside in New Zealand and have eleven children, some of whom are still in diapers, and she will also be the director of an old folks' home that will close unless someone steps in to help until she recovers from her surgery.
If, for example, a person has worked to get something, say a manuscript, done, and if the day comes when that manuscript falls into shape quite nicely and she begins to salivate at the prospect of sending out some submission letters, a call will come to say that a relative who yesterday was perfectly fine is now in the hospital and needs her immediate attention.
I'm guessing that when the day comes that this same author sells her manuscript to the biggest publisher in the U.S. and receives an advance check for 3.4 million dollars, a call will come to let her know that a heretofore unheard-of sister who was given away at birth needs a kidney transplant, and said author is the only possible donor. Of course, the sister will reside in New Zealand and have eleven children, some of whom are still in diapers, and she will also be the director of an old folks' home that will close unless someone steps in to help until she recovers from her surgery.
September 17, 2010
September 16, 2010
Rules for Eating
1. You have to.
2. But it's better if you don't.
3. If it tastes good, spit it out.
4. If it tastes like sileage, experts want you to eat it.
5. If it has no fat, it will have calories, and vice versa.
(Corollary: if by some miracle you avoid both fat and calories, there will be a ton of salt.)
6. Living on bread and water used to be the ultimate punishment. Now they want you to give up the bread.
2. But it's better if you don't.
3. If it tastes good, spit it out.
4. If it tastes like sileage, experts want you to eat it.
5. If it has no fat, it will have calories, and vice versa.
(Corollary: if by some miracle you avoid both fat and calories, there will be a ton of salt.)
6. Living on bread and water used to be the ultimate punishment. Now they want you to give up the bread.
September 15, 2010
Rules for Writing Mystery
1. At the end, the reader should think, "I should have seen that coming, but I didn't."
2. If a character is Too Stupid To Live, he shouldn't.
3. Funny is good, but it does not replace plot.
4. Scary is good, but it does not replace plot.
5. Character is wonderful, but you still have to have a plot.
2. If a character is Too Stupid To Live, he shouldn't.
3. Funny is good, but it does not replace plot.
4. Scary is good, but it does not replace plot.
5. Character is wonderful, but you still have to have a plot.
September 14, 2010
Writing's Rules
Rule #1-It has to be good.
Rule #2-Nobody agrees on what "good" means.
Rule #2-Nobody agrees on what "good" means.
September 13, 2010
September 10, 2010
What Is It About Autumn?
I feel a sense of urgency, like I have things to get done before...before what? I don't know.
Maybe it's the (recovering) schoolteacher in me, feeling like I need to get ready for school. I know for years after leaving the classroom I had dreams of going there and being totally unprepared. (In the dreams it was usually because they told me I was teaching geometry this year. Yeah, like they didn't know better!)
It could be the primitive cave woman, anxious to stock up for the long winter ahead. I feel like I should be stocking the freezer and pantry with food, just in case.
The cooler weather might be a factor. Less humidity, less stifling heat, and a person just has to feel like moving around more. So what can I get done? I ask myself.
Whatever it is, I'm antsy and haven't been able to concentrate on my WIP. I keep getting up to do a little painting, a little baking, a little cleaning. That's all good, but sooner or later the Writer is going to have to dubdue the Doer. No more making tomato sauce. We need to get this story preserved.
Maybe it's the (recovering) schoolteacher in me, feeling like I need to get ready for school. I know for years after leaving the classroom I had dreams of going there and being totally unprepared. (In the dreams it was usually because they told me I was teaching geometry this year. Yeah, like they didn't know better!)
It could be the primitive cave woman, anxious to stock up for the long winter ahead. I feel like I should be stocking the freezer and pantry with food, just in case.
The cooler weather might be a factor. Less humidity, less stifling heat, and a person just has to feel like moving around more. So what can I get done? I ask myself.
Whatever it is, I'm antsy and haven't been able to concentrate on my WIP. I keep getting up to do a little painting, a little baking, a little cleaning. That's all good, but sooner or later the Writer is going to have to dubdue the Doer. No more making tomato sauce. We need to get this story preserved.
September 9, 2010
Four Good Ones-Count 'em-Four!
If you read me often, you know that I'm always reading mulitple books. It saves having to go find where I left it when I have a few minutes to read. Right now, all four are winners, which is practically unheard of for me.
I mentioned THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a while back, and I've reached the point where I can see what all the excitement is about. It's got me hooked, although it took a while.
I finished DRINK THE TEA last night and loved it. Kaufman's protagonist is very compelling, and the story moved along quickly with that I-need-to-know-what's-going-to-happen urgency, with flashbacks complementing the present-day stuff.
P.J. Parrish can usually be counted on for a good story, and THE LITTLE DEATH is no exception. Sympathetic characters, interesting backdrop, and solid clue-leads-to-more-knowledge plotting.
And the incomparable Laura Lippman has done it again with I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE. The story of a woman who, as a girl, was held captive by a serial killer is told on two levels, now and back then, and I want to know all about both stories.
Of course, I haven't finished three of these books, so there is the remote possibility that these authors tanked in the final third. I doubt it.
I mentioned THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a while back, and I've reached the point where I can see what all the excitement is about. It's got me hooked, although it took a while.
I finished DRINK THE TEA last night and loved it. Kaufman's protagonist is very compelling, and the story moved along quickly with that I-need-to-know-what's-going-to-happen urgency, with flashbacks complementing the present-day stuff.
P.J. Parrish can usually be counted on for a good story, and THE LITTLE DEATH is no exception. Sympathetic characters, interesting backdrop, and solid clue-leads-to-more-knowledge plotting.
And the incomparable Laura Lippman has done it again with I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE. The story of a woman who, as a girl, was held captive by a serial killer is told on two levels, now and back then, and I want to know all about both stories.
Of course, I haven't finished three of these books, so there is the remote possibility that these authors tanked in the final third. I doubt it.
