Sunyi Dean's Blog, page 9

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer

Yet There Are Statues

When Strange Horizons asked me to contribute to their 2016 Best of the Year wrap-up, I immediately knew my entry would have to discuss Too Like the Lightning, my favorite novel not only of 2016 but of the last decade. The natural question to ask me, then, one I certainly asked myself, is if it’s so great, why haven’t I actually written a review of it? Well, for a variety of reasons I haven’t reviewed much of anything in a while, so with the sequel arriving today it seemed like a great time to both reread Too Like the Lightning and actually write about it this time.

The novel takes place in a future where humanity has flying cars, a moon base, and robots that make full time jobs strictly optional. Humanity is also enjoying lasting world peace, having given up geographic nation states, organized religion, and even gendered…

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Querying, submitting, and publishing: a daunting series of hoops

Here is an abbreviated list of hoops that a trade published book often jump through (apologies to those for whom this familiar);

finishing
agent querying
pitch to publishers
request & first reads
second reads
acquisitions (itself a multi-stage process)
offer & contract negotiations

At every stage the book can die. For writing, it might never get finished. For querying, it likely won’t snag an agent. For pitching, it might get few or no requests (unlikely tbf). For first reads, it usually doesn’t make second reads. For sales/acquisitions, it may not pass for a multitude of reasons. For offers, everything can fall through at the last minute.

Most debut books go through this or very similar process to appear on a shelf, and having once appeared there, may not sell well or earn out their advance.

Most authors write multiple books before finding an agent. Many authors go through multiple submission rounds with more than one novel, sometimes having more than one agent, before securing a deal. And most career authors will scrape by on minimum wage.

If you are a woman, you will make 20% less on average than your male colleagues, and that’s before we bring race into it. Don’t be a woman; do be white.

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Some general stats if you aren’t bored yet;

– around 81% of Americans say they want write to a book. That’s about 200 million people. Maybe 10% of them try (that’s hugely generous.)

– 97% of people who do try, don’t finish the first novel

– of those who finish, only 1/1000 acquire an agent

– Agented authors have about 1-10% chance of being bought by a publisher

– Most books don’t earn out their advance (though that isn’t necessarily a problem)

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Sooo appreciate your books when you buy them! They’ve been through a lot.

Some useful links I keep saved:

A thread on acquisitions by Brit
Querying stats from Janet Reid

Drafting a new chapter

I wrote this post recently when discussing with @Essa_Hansen how totally different our approaches are (I find this kind of thing endlessly fascinating.) There are a lot of different approaches to drafting, or writing as a whole; this is mine. Not better or worse than anyone else’s, but simply what works for me.

 

Pre-drafting

I don’t have a broader novel-level outline, and write out of order, so what is included below is the process of drafting a new chapter (or in this specific case, overhauling a chapter from scratch.)

 

Stage 1

Fill out that blank page. Notes on one side, bullet points for chapter on the other. The notes are thoughts or ideas that help me pin down what I need to happen, and the chapter bullet points are how those events can fit together in a logical way.

Because I do not have a set outline that I am working from, only rough “crucial pillar” scenes that I am building towards, I do a LOT of these drafts and end up retyping bullet points until it all makes sense. More or less.

The stage is complete when I have a “dialogue skeleton” to build on. The chapter more closely resembles a theatre script at this point, with almost 0 narrative. Also note how the dialogue isn’t real dialogue, it’s more a summary of what’s being said; it’s pretty comedic if you actually read it straight. I do that so I have clarity for myself on what needs to be conveyed, and only play with how it is conveyed in the revision stages.

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Stage 2

Start filling out the bits that I know. I begin by fleshing out the dialogue bullets into actual dialogue that doesn’t read like a parody, then couching the lines in narrative, action beats, preliminary internal thoughts (often very tell-y, not much show).

The chapter starts to have a crude shape emerging, and moves comfortably into the range of being a narrative rather than a script. I typically do two drafts at this stage.

DESCRIPTIONS, TRANSITIONS, and other such aspects are missing. Those will be filled in later; I find descriptions hard.

Nota bene: In subsequent edits, Siduri/Udama are merged into the character of Ana.

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Stage 3

Okay! The story looks like, well, a story now. I do 1-2 revision passes just for descriptions, then another 1-2 passes just for transitions. Descriptions are very hard for me; I have to think a lot about how to convey details without boring the reader or slowing my pacing. Transitions  (moving between locations or scenes) are similarly difficult, especially in a single POV book where I can’t jump to a different perspective to avoid transitioning.

Sections of text are often moved around at this point, a result of me trying to control for flow. Information needs to be given naturally, and sometimes the dialogue is adjusted for that as well.

In the SS below, the section in red has been pasted into a different portion of the chapter, and the actions/events have been revised accordingly. Pacing is everything, after all. Although I’m sure there’s a better way to do it than this, I tend to stick to trial and error. Going with the feel of what’s right.

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Stage 4

Things are wrapping up, where I’ve done the horrible hard things. This is my favorite bit, where the text is transformed from functional to fun through fine-tuning and small-scale tweaking. I’ve built my Frankenstein monster, now he needs some life.

Several passes for emotional nuance and interiority, plus show-not-tell, repetitive word elimination, and flow. Can anything be trimmed? Does anything need padding? Are any sections abrupt, any reactions too strong or repeated too often? Etc.

I read the chapter start-to-finish several times, then usually back-track and re-read the previous chapters if they’re in place (not always, since I write out of order) to see how it “feels” in situ. If in doubt, re-read and revise. Twice.

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…and the chapter is complete, for now.

 

Feedback & beyond

Once the entire novel has undergone that process across every chapter, and then the whole MS revised 3 or 4 more times, I start sending out to my critique partners for feedback. But that’s an entirely different set of hoops to jump through.

An introduction for writers looking to query literary agents

I wrote this as part of a general info post for a Facebook group I’m in. The level I’ve aimed at is introductory, so my apologies to those who are already well into the querying trenches; you can probably skip this.

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Basic Query Structure Info

The query should be about a page in length, so no longer than 300 words.
Query letters are teasers, not synopses. No need to cram the whole plot in.
Similar vein as above–don’t spoil the ending.
The successful query is one which gets Dear Agent to read pages. No more, no less.
Name/include as few characters as you can get away with. “Character soup” (way too many names) is impossible to swim through.
Answer these three questions at a minimum: Who is the protagonist, what do they want, and what gets in their way?
Specifics are your friend, e.g., “Caiden is shunned for his unseemly tap-dancing habit” rather than “Caiden is an outcast”. Details are exciting, vague is boring.
Make your stakes personal and–again–very specific. As an example, “everything s/he loves will be lost” is not very useful because that could describe any old book. Be specific to YOUR story and YOUR characters.
Biographies can be simple, and Jessica Faust has suggestions for what to include.
Do NOT query until you are done. Nothing annoys an agent more!
Proofread.

Things not to do: How to frustrate an agent in 5 easy steps, by Jessica Faust

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Basic Query Resources:

Query Shark Blog – Run by Janet Reid, a very well-known literary agent. Do read the archives in full. Yes, every single entry. Yes, it will take a long time. Welcome to trade publication, an industry which moves in an alternate timeline to the rest of reality. If things Taking a Long Time is off-putting, then you’re going to find the whole process from here on out an absolute chore.
Query Letter Hell – The Absolute Write forum is a gruelling but worthwhile experience. Sign up for free, get your 50 posts in on the forums, then stick the query up. A good query letter takes time to learn and critiquing others is the best way to improve. (PS: the password for this forum is “vista”)
Query Tracker – for researching agents and tracking your query stats, but is also useful for protecting yourself as a writer. If an agent is crap or unreliable, other authors will be sure to mention it in the “Comments” section.

The above may seem like a lot of work in order to produce a 250 word letter. However, it’s not just a letter you’re producing, because a good query will often expose weaknesses in the manuscript. This is part of why QueryShark is so worthwhile–a lot of the queries Janet dissects are actually manuscripts which aren’t query ready.

Example problems a query can highlight: insufficient stakes, insufficient character motivations, lack of logical plot progression, weak craft, passive Main Character (i.e., your MC doesn’t DO anything, stuff just happens to them), avoidable cliches, incorrect target market, incorrect genre or age category, etc.

Addendum: there are a LOT of resources out there for authors but these ones were essential *for me* so I am recommending them. Other writers may have other suggestions to build on, too.

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How to know when your query is ready:

There is no firm point for when a query is ready. But if your query meets one or more of the following conditions:

It got a stamp of approval from QLH
It got a stamp of approval from Query Shark (you can submit to her blog)
You’ve spent weeks on research and Query revisions
The letter has good feedback from a wide range of people

…then it may be ready. In the end, the only way to know is to test it. Send the query out in batches of 10 at a time. A “good” request rate to aim for is 10%, so you’re looking for at least one partial or full request from your first batch of 10. If no bites, consider revising query and/or opening pages, then query the next batch, and so on.

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Querying: the difficult stats

The average agent reads 3,000 queries a year, requests full manuscripts from 10% of submissions, and takes on 3 new clients (these are rough estimates, remember that agents vary a lot.) Chances of acceptance are therefore roughly 1 in 1000.
However, most queries are an easy rejection for many reasons (wrong genre, not to agent’s taste, MS isn’t ready, on and on). In realistic terms, your real competition is the 10% of people who get full requests.
All that said, rejection is very common. People like to cite JK Rowling, but in fact she signed with the second agent she queried, which is phenomenally quick. A glance through twitter might show you some better stats: writers who have hundreds if not thousands of rejections, some times even multiple agents, before getting their debut on a shelf.

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Some general query-related thoughts:

The more unusual your book, the broader you should go in categorising it. None of this “I’ve written a paranormal detective thriller romance fantasy adventure with scifi elements and a semi-dystopian setting” because nobody will know what that is. Honestly, just call it fantasy (or whatever). Don’t give agents a reason to reject by pigeonholing your genre into something narrow and niche.  Let the only reason they reject be for the pages you submitted, and nothing else.
There is a pervasive myth that you need connections to secure an agent, or that you need to attend conferences, or do workshops, or that you must have previous publications, or (a big one) that you need to pay for private editor. These are very much not true. You *can* find agents through those routes, and some writers have used editors, but none of those are necessary. Plenty of writers land agents through regular, old-fashioned cold-querying.
On the subject of professional help: Getting someone to write the entire thing for you isn’t advisable. It won’t be your voice, and it defeats the process of using the query letter process as a kind of final manuscript check. Besides, a lot of query ‘experts’ are frankly appalling. QueryShark runs a query-help service which is probably good, but it won’t be cheap, and you still have to write it; she only helps you revise.
Trade publishing moves slower than self-publishing. It’s all about the long-term game, building a career and connections with patience and persistence. For some genres, trade publishing is unequivocally a better career path, but the same is true in reverse. Do your research and consider what’s best for you.

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MASSIVE CAVEAT: Obviously I’m not an agent, so take everything here with a pinch of salt. I’m only passing on what I’ve learned and experienced but there is a world of information out there, and you will need to find your own way in the end.

Please feel free to send in comments or corrections, especially if I have made mistakes or left anything unclear!

 

Leeds Writer Circle “Anything Goes” competition

I participated in my local Leeds Writer Circle “Anything Goes” competition this summer. Results are below!

Leeds Writers Circle

Monday, Sept 10th saw the adjudcation for our own “Anything Goes” competition. Judge Andy Humphrey gave excellent feedback on all the entered pieces of writing, which was much valued by everyone attending. The winner was Sunyi Dean for her story “Ice Cream and English Summers”. Since entering the piece for this competition she has succeeded in getting a version of it published by Flash Fiction Online. Read it here. Double congratulations are therefore in order. In second was Jason Heppell, also winner of the Annavation Prize. Third was Peter Richardson. Full details on the Competitions Page.

Sunyi will be a familiar face to those in the Novelist’s Group. Members will be delighted to know that she’s on something of a roll at the moment, having just secured an agent for her adult speculative fiction novel “Anchor (To Your Other Self)”. There is an online interview here that gives…

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New publication: Ice Cream and English Summers

A new publication of mine in FFO: Ice Cream and English Summers

I wrote a little bit about this on Twitter but basically, this story has a Dramatic History.

The short version: I wrote this, got some feedback that burned because I was oversensitive about the content of the story itself, and I nearly trashed it–subbing it only to one ‘zine in the end.

But they took it, with edits of course. And their edits/suggestions were fantastic for addressing its issues without breaking the feel (I hope).

In short, I clearly have no idea what does or doesn’t sell and you should always try anyway. And take a step back from critiques sometimes. It’s okay to do that.

Querytracker Interview

Link to my “success story” interview with Querytracker.

https://querytracker.net/success/sunyi_dean.php

 

Nota bene: everyone who records receiving an offer via Querytracker is given the chance to fill one these out (yes, they are ‘form’ interviews) and I would recommend anyone to do so if they can, and if they feel comfortable. I found these personal accounts very helpful when I was still querying and hope that mine can be of use to others at some stage.

 

A tea-related rant that rhymes

A random tea-related rant from a couple years ago that I wanted to salvage before closing down my previous FB profile. It also happens to rhyme.  You’re welcome 

New publication: John Kills Jenny

New publication of JOHN KILLS JENNY via Sub-Q, a magazine of Interactive Fiction.

 

Every choice matters, so pick your options carefully.

A convicted murderer must play through a “rehabilitation game” to earn his own release.

New publication!

New publication of JOHN KILLS JENNY via Sub-Q, a magazine of Interactive Fiction.

 

Every choice matters, so pick your options carefully.

A convicted murderer must play through a “rehabilitation game” to earn his own release.