Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 230
December 3, 2010
A Feast of Days (Part 1)
[image error]
Pictured above: Streets of Oxford
Today's guest post is by emerging writer Darrelyn Saloom, who recently attended
the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference,
and is offering up a 2-part narrative on the experience.
Darrelyn is a regular guest here at No Rules. Follow
her on Twitter or read
her previous posts.
--
On a Wednesday in November, Deirdre Gogarty and I flew to Memphis at sunset and landed
an hour later in darkness sprinkled with glittering lights. A minivan pulled in front
of Delta's Concourse B. Mike Stanton,
photographer and self-described coffee evangelist, hopped out of the driver's seat
and loaded our bags into the back of the rental. Another writer/blogger/conference
attendee named Louise Julig perched
in the front passenger's seat.
Mike drove Louise, Deirdre, and me to Oxford, Mississippi, in a vehicle that smelled
of a finely, brewed bean. A full thermos and cups waited to be filled with our driver's
special blend. We poured. We drank. We shared stories. And then Mike took us to a
tiny market/restaurant around eight o'clock that night. He ordered tacos for us in
effortless Spanish. Hungry, we inhaled the best Mexican food I've tasted since my
childhood in McAllen, Texas.
As homemade tortillas assailed my senses I entered a fictive dream. No longer in the
real world but in John Berendt's Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil or Ellen Gilchrist's In the Land of Dreamy
Dreams. We drove around the center of Oxford called the square, a haven of independent
bookstores, restaurants, churches, and courthouse. Our chivalrous driver then unloaded
our suitcases at The Inn at Ole Miss and bid us farewell. "You'll be seeing me around,"
he said as he gave us his phone number in case we'd need a ride.
Thursday morning I awoke to blinding sunlight, trees bursting with color, and a hilly
landscape that begged to be walked. Deirdre and I trotted down steep steps, passed
an old train depot, followed sidewalks to the square. We feasted on books, roasted
vegetable sandwiches, and High Point Coffee lattes. We crossed streets as courteous
drivers stopped and waited. Everyone yielded: men, women, even students who looked
too young to drive.
Later that day we attended Neil White's pre-conference
workshop. The author mapped out his approach to writing his memoir, In
the Sanctuary of Outcasts . He handed out brochures and posted diagrams of
Art & Craft. We connected dots from The
Artist's Way , by Julia Cameron and stared at our lopsided lives. Then we discussed
Voice and David Sedaris, Details and Rick Bragg. Neil explained how his original 300,000
words had become 87,000. He brainstormed 150 titles before his intuitive wife pointed
the way to the one he would choose.
Just as the sun began to sink and brighten the trees, Deirdre and I rode a red double-decker
bus to Off Square Books. We sat near
a circular corner stage in fourth-row seats as Jim Dees introduced the house band,
the Yalobushwhackers—this was Thacker Mountain
Radio, a live broadcast for Rebel Radio 92.1 FM to be re-broadcast Saturday night
on Mississippi Public Radio. Here I slipped deeper into my Oxford dream. I held onto
my chair as Ian Frazier read from his latest book Travels
in Siberia . Would someone please pinch me?
Taylor Hildebrand then sang a few original songs and Lee
Gutkind, the "Godfather of Creative Nonfiction," took the stage and performed
as though he were in a play. He entertained with a story from his travel memoir Truckin'
with Sam. His reading evoked laughter as he humorously described physical
problems he'd had which also made me worry like a mother or a wife. I've never seen
an author execute a reading quite like Lee's. Still in the fictive dream, no one had
pinched me.
[image error]
Next, the Bill Perry Trio played
keyboard, drums, and bass. (Pictured above: bass player Keith Fondren.) They
slid from blues to a funky jazz which transported me closer to home. I had to blink.
But when I opened my eyes, I was not leaning on a bar in my hometown in Louisiana
or some jewel of a dive in the French Quarter. Instead, I sipped wine in a bookstore
on the square in Oxford, Mississippi. I'd been gorging on hors d'oeuvres before the
main course arrived.
For the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference did
not officially begin until the next day.
Pictured below: Susan
Cushman and Kathy Rhodes during
Thacker Mountain Radio's live broadcast at Off Square Books. (These two ladies are
the force behind the Oxford conference.)
[image error][image error]
Pictured above: Streets of Oxford
Today's guest post is by emerging writer Darrelyn Saloom, who recently attended
the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference,
and is offering up a 2-part narrative on the experience.
Darrelyn is a regular guest here at No Rules. Follow
her on Twitter or read
her previous posts.
--
On a Wednesday in November, Deirdre Gogarty and I flew to Memphis at sunset and landed
an hour later in darkness sprinkled with glittering lights. A minivan pulled in front
of Delta's Concourse B. Mike Stanton,
photographer and self-described coffee evangelist, hopped out of the driver's seat
and loaded our bags into the back of the rental. Another writer/blogger/conference
attendee named Louise Julig perched
in the front passenger's seat.
Mike drove Louise, Deirdre, and me to Oxford, Mississippi, in a vehicle that smelled
of a finely, brewed bean. A full thermos and cups waited to be filled with our driver's
special blend. We poured. We drank. We shared stories. And then Mike took us to a
tiny market/restaurant around eight o'clock that night. He ordered tacos for us in
effortless Spanish. Hungry, we inhaled the best Mexican food I've tasted since my
childhood in McAllen, Texas.
As homemade tortillas assailed my senses I entered a fictive dream. No longer in the
real world but in John Berendt's Midnight
in the Garden of Good and Evil or Ellen Gilchrist's In the Land of Dreamy
Dreams. We drove around the center of Oxford called the square, a haven of independent
bookstores, restaurants, churches, and courthouse. Our chivalrous driver then unloaded
our suitcases at The Inn at Ole Miss and bid us farewell. "You'll be seeing me around,"
he said as he gave us his phone number in case we'd need a ride.
Thursday morning I awoke to blinding sunlight, trees bursting with color, and a hilly
landscape that begged to be walked. Deirdre and I trotted down steep steps, passed
an old train depot, followed sidewalks to the square. We feasted on books, roasted
vegetable sandwiches, and High Point Coffee lattes. We crossed streets as courteous
drivers stopped and waited. Everyone yielded: men, women, even students who looked
too young to drive.
Later that day we attended Neil White's pre-conference
workshop. The author mapped out his approach to writing his memoir, In
the Sanctuary of Outcasts . He handed out brochures and posted diagrams of
Art & Craft. We connected dots from The
Artist's Way , by Julia Cameron and stared at our lopsided lives. Then we discussed
Voice and David Sedaris, Details and Rick Bragg. Neil explained how his original 300,000
words had become 87,000. He brainstormed 150 titles before his intuitive wife pointed
the way to the one he would choose.
Just as the sun began to sink and brighten the trees, Deirdre and I rode a red double-decker
bus to Off Square Books. We sat near
a circular corner stage in fourth-row seats as Jim Dees introduced the house band,
the Yalobushwhackers—this was Thacker Mountain
Radio, a live broadcast for Rebel Radio 92.1 FM to be re-broadcast Saturday night
on Mississippi Public Radio. Here I slipped deeper into my Oxford dream. I held onto
my chair as Ian Frazier read from his latest book Travels
in Siberia . Would someone please pinch me?
Taylor Hildebrand then sang a few original songs and Lee
Gutkind, the "Godfather of Creative Nonfiction," took the stage and performed
as though he were in a play. He entertained with a story from his travel memoir Truckin'
with Sam. His reading evoked laughter as he humorously described physical
problems he'd had which also made me worry like a mother or a wife. I've never seen
an author execute a reading quite like Lee's. Still in the fictive dream, no one had
pinched me.
[image error]
Next, the Bill Perry Trio played
keyboard, drums, and bass. (Pictured above: bass player Keith Fondren.) They
slid from blues to a funky jazz which transported me closer to home. I had to blink.
But when I opened my eyes, I was not leaning on a bar in my hometown in Louisiana
or some jewel of a dive in the French Quarter. Instead, I sipped wine in a bookstore
on the square in Oxford, Mississippi. I'd been gorging on hors d'oeuvres before the
main course arrived.
For the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference did
not officially begin until the next day.
Pictured below: Susan
Cushman and Kathy Rhodes during
Thacker Mountain Radio's live broadcast at Off Square Books. (These two ladies are
the force behind the Oxford conference.)
[image error][image error]
November 30, 2010
What Would You Do If You Were Freed of Circumstance?
[image error]
The latest Glimmer
Train bulletin is now available.
I love this piece featured from Lydia Fitzpatrick, "Characters, Unfettered," where
an interview with Brad Watson leads to deep insight. Here's a brief excerpt:
answer, and start thinking about your own.
Go to the bulletin's
full table of contents.
[image error]
The latest Glimmer
Train bulletin is now available.
I love this piece featured from Lydia Fitzpatrick, "Characters, Unfettered," where
an interview with Brad Watson leads to deep insight. Here's a brief excerpt:
The central idea for the [Brad's] novella had evolvedFind out Lydia's
… in order to study "where the human imagination takes a human life when unfettered
by unexpected circumstances."
OK, I thought, interesting. I sent the interview off to the editor. I ate some ramen.
Lived my life. But this idea kept coming back to me. While I walked my dog (pathetically
fettered as I am), or stared at the hot bar at the Piggly Wiggly, or refreshed my
Facebook news feed. What would my life be, if I freed it of circumstance?
answer, and start thinking about your own.
Go to the bulletin's
full table of contents.
[image error]
November 29, 2010
3 Lessons From a Career in Publishing
[image error]
Over the holiday, I wrote a guest post for Writer Unboxed about a few things I learned
after 12 years in publishing. Go read:
3There are many more lessons I could discuss, of course, but these are
Lessons in Publishing I'm Thankful for (That Writers Should Know About)
good pointers to start with!
[image error]
November 28, 2010
Best Tweets for Writers (on break)
[image error]
Best Tweets rests this week. Please come back next week!
--
Stay busy in the meantime:
Want to know about the best stuff I read each week?
Click here to subscribe
to my shared items.
Follow me on Twitter (@JaneFriedman)
List of Tweeps most
often included in weekly Best Tweets for Writers (always under development)
Follow Writer's Digest editors on Twitter: @writersdigest @brianklems @robertleebrewer @jessicastrawser @chucksambuchino @chadseibert @vanessa_lw @psexton1 @kellymesserly
Become a fan at the Writer's Digest Facebook
page (nearly 10K fans)
[image error]
November 26, 2010
Glimmer Train Monthly News
[image error]
Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning
stories for their September Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly
and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2,000–20,000.
The next Fiction Open will take place in December. Glimmer
Train's monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.
Deadline soon approaching!
Short Story Award for New
Writers: November 30
This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers whose fiction has not
appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. No theme restrictions.
Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) Click
here for complete guidelines.
--
If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation
volumes of the best stuff from their Writers
Ask newsletter.
Check them out: Volume
1 and Volume
2.
[image error] [image error]
[image error]
Glimmer Train has just chosen the winning
stories for their September Fiction Open competition. This competition is held quarterly
and is open to all writers for stories with a word count range between 2,000–20,000.
The next Fiction Open will take place in December. Glimmer
Train's monthly submission calendar may be viewed here.
First place: Lydia Fitzpatrick (pictured above), of Brooklyn, NY, wins $2,000
for "In a Library, in Saltillo." Her story will be published in the Winter 2012
issue of Glimmer Train Stories.
Second place: Andrea Scrima, also of Berlin, Germany, wins $1,000 for "Leaving
Home."
Third place: Brenden Wysocki, of Marina del Rey, CA, wins $600 for "A Dodgy
Version."
A PDF of the Top 25 winners can be found here.
Deadline soon approaching!
Short Story Award for New
Writers: November 30
This competition is held quarterly and is open to all writers whose fiction has not
appeared in a print publication with a circulation over 5,000. No theme restrictions.
Word count should not exceed 12,000. (All shorter lengths welcome.) Click
here for complete guidelines.
--
If you didn't know, Writer's Digest partnered with Glimmer Train to publish two compilation
volumes of the best stuff from their Writers
Ask newsletter.
Check them out: Volume
1 and Volume
2.
[image error] [image error]
[image error]
November 23, 2010
Ultimate Blog Series on Novel Queries (#9)
[image error]
This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
FULL QUERIES
Here is where we put it all together—so you can see how the query elements add up
to the whole! My thanks to the query letter writers who granted permission for this
use.
Note: Tomorrow I will cover FAQs. Feel free to submit a question in the comments,
and I'll address it tomorrow.
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
REVISED QUERY LETTER
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
REVISED QUERY LETTER
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
REVISED QUERY LETTER
Next up: FAQs (leave some for me in the comments!)
[image error]
Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
[image error]
This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
FULL QUERIES
Here is where we put it all together—so you can see how the query elements add up
to the whole! My thanks to the query letter writers who granted permission for this
use.
Note: Tomorrow I will cover FAQs. Feel free to submit a question in the comments,
and I'll address it tomorrow.
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
In a January interview with Guide to Literary Agents, you praised
The Thirteenth Tale and indicated an interest in "literary fiction with a genre plot."
My paranormal romance MOONLIGHT DANCER blends a literary style with the romance tradition.
When a 16th century ghost demands help, a Korean/Caucasian woman must risk love and
life to prevent murder.
Moonlight Dancer explores the stories of two unique women—Kendra, a Korean Caucasian
herpetology student, and NanJu, a troubled Korean shaman—and the men they desire.
The lure of an enchanting antique Korean doll launches Kendra literally into the arms
of Hiro, a handsome Japanese Caucasian art dealer. Once Kendra brings home the mysterious
doll, unsettling events—hallucinatory dreams, an averted accident, unexplained time
shifts—force Kendra to seek Hiro's help, and later, his love.
NanJu also yearns for love, but shunned by community and family alike for her shamanic
calling, she loses her only beloved. Although NanJu has been dead for 400 years, due
to connections Kendra does not suspect, NanJu comes and goes as she pleases. For Kendra,
NanJu's comings and goings (with the antique doll as foil) exact a toll of terror
and confusion.
And NanJu must not only reveal a terrible secret of betrayal and murder, but
also convince Kendra to risk her life to rectify it.
Moonlight Dancer could be characterized as Nora Roberts' BLACK ROSE meets Margaret
Drabble's THE RED QUEEN. I glean inspiration from such writers as Jasmine Cresswell,
Jody Picoult and Alice Hoffman. My work has appeared in the literary magazines Natural
Bridge, The Writing Lab, Under the Sun, Verbatim. I earned my MFA from St. Mary's
College where I received the Agnes Butler Scholarship for Excellence in Fiction.
I would love to send you sample pages from this novel. I look forward to hearing from
you soon.
REVISED QUERY LETTER
In a January interview with Guide to Literary Agents, you praised The
Thirteenth Tale and indicated an interest in "literary fiction with a genre plot."
My paranormal romance MOONLIGHT DANCER (xx,xxx words) blends
a literary style with the romance tradition. When a 16th century ghost demands
help, a Korean/Caucasian woman must risk love and life to prevent murder.
Moonlight Dancer explores the stories of two unique women: Kendra, a Korean-Caucasian herpetology student,
and NanJu, a troubled Korean shaman—and the men they desire.
Lured by an enchanting antique Korean doll, Kendra falls for Hiro, a Japanese-Caucasian
art dealer. When Kendra takes home the mysterious doll, unsettling events —hallucinatory
dreams, an averted accident, unexplained time shifts—force Kendra to seek
Hiro's help, and later, his love.
NanJu also yearns for love, but shunned by community and family alike for
her shamanic calling, she loses her only beloved. Although NanJu has been
dead for 400 years, due to connections Kendra does not suspect, NanJu she
comes and goes as she pleases. For Kendra, NanJu's comings and goings (with the antique
doll as foil) exact a toll of terror and confusion.
And NanJu must not only reveal a terrible secret of betrayal and murder, but
also convince Kendra to risk her life to rectify it.
Moonlight Dancer could be characterized as Nora Roberts' BLACK ROSE meets Margaret
Drabble's THE RED QUEEN. I glean inspiration from such writers as Jasmine Cresswell,
Jody Picoult and Alice Hoffman. My work has appeared in the literary magazines Natural
Bridge, The Writing Lab, Under the Sun, and Verbatim. I earned my MFA from St. Mary's
College where I received the Agnes Butler Scholarship for Excellence in Fiction.
I would love to send you sample pages from this novel. I look forward to hearing from
you soon.
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
Dear Ms. Rofe,
In reading your October 7, 2010, interview on the Guide to Literary Agents blog and
reviewing your profile on the agency website, your dedication to Middle-Grade fiction
is apparent. That dedication and your affection for "adorkable" heroes
lead me to write to query your interest in my novel Pictures of Me.
Annie O'Malley likes 5th grade well enough. That is, she liked 5th grade. Right
up until the most important project of the year, the Fifth Farewell, turned out to
be a self-portrait. A self-portrait? Annie's not crafty like her mom. And she's
not creative like her best friend Taylor. What is she going to do? It's a conundrum.
That's a word from her collection. That's right. Collection. Annie collects words
like some kids collect rocks. So far she's collected 981.
Then Annie starts to think: if a picture is supposed to be worth 1,000 words, maybe
she can use her words to make a picture. Trouble is, she can find a word to
describe everyone and everything but her.
Audacious – that's Taylor. Effervescent – that's her little sister, Daisy, who seems
to be in full bloom when Annie hasn't even started. She's even got a word for Madison
and Addison, the two-headed amoeba of the fifth grade: nemesis.
As the end of fifth grade approaches, Annie comes up with plenty of words to describe
herself. How she feels when her new friend Kate turns on her and joins up with the
amoeba: blindsided. How she feels when Taylor pulls away to deal with her brother's
recent Autism diagnosis: flabbergasted. How she suddenly feels around long-time friends
Sam and Oliver: awkward. Not exactly the picture she wants to present.
When Annie finally does discover the perfect words, there's an even bigger problem.
Does she want to reveal who she really is? Can she find the courage to 'go for
it'?
PICTURES OF ME is a 32,000-word contemporary Middle Grade stand alone novel with series
potential. It will appeal to fans of Lauren Myracle's ELEVEN, Kate Messner's THE BRILLIANT
FALL OF GIANNA Z. and Wendy Mass's FINALLY.
This is a simultaneous submission. The requested ten pages directly follow. Thank
you for your time and consideration.
REVISED QUERY LETTER
Dear Ms. Rofe,
In reading your October 7, 2010, interview on the Guide to Literary Agents blog and
reviewing your profile on the agency website, your dedication to middle-grade fiction
is apparent. That dedication and your affection for "adorkable" heroes
lead me to write to query your interest in my novel Pictures of Me.
Annie O'Malley likes 5th grade well enough. That is, she liked 5th grade. Right up
until the most important project of the year, the Fifth Farewell, turned out to be
a self-portrait. A self-portrait? Annie's not crafty like her mom. And she's
not creative like her best friend Taylor. What is she going to do? It's
a conundrum. That's a word from her collection. That's right. Collection.
Annie collects words like some kids collect rocks. So far she's collected 981.
Then Annie starts to think: if a picture is supposed to be worth 1,000 words, maybe
she can use her words to make a picture. Trouble is, she can find a word to
describe everyone and everything but her.
Audacious – that's Taylor. Effervescent – that's her little sister,
Daisy, who seems to be in full bloom when Annie hasn't even started. She's even
got a word for Madison and Addison, the two-headed amoeba of the fifth grade: nemesis.
As the end of fifth grade approaches, Annie comes up with plenty of words
to describe herself. How she feels when her new friend Kate turns on her and joins
up with the amoeba: blindsided. How she feels when Taylor pulls away to deal
with her brother's recent Autism diagnosis: flabbergasted. How she suddenly
feels around long-time friends Sam and Oliver: awkward. Not exactly the picture
she wants to present.
When Annie finally does discover the perfect words, there's an even bigger problem.
Does she want to reveal who she really is? Can she find the courage to go for
it?
PICTURES OF ME is a 32,000-word contemporary middle-grade stand-alone novel with series
potential. It will appeal to fans of Lauren Myracle's ELEVEN, Kate Messner's THE BRILLIANT
FALL OF GIANNA Z. and Wendy Mass's FINALLY.
This is a simultaneous submission. The requested ten pages directly
follow. Thank you for your time and consideration.
ORIGINAL QUERY LETTER
Dear TK
The first time her momma goes off with one of the boyfriends for the whole night,
ten-year-old Rawling Summer decides she'll be the one doing the leaving as soon as
she knows how. But she doesn't know leaving your Momma and being free of her are two
different things.
A DECENT LIFE is Rawling's coming-of-age story set in Nordeen, a small southern town,
where not repeating your mother's life is as difficult as avoiding mosquitoes on a
hot summer night.
Rawling bides her time, avoiding Momma at home and the bullies at school. By the time
she's fifteen, she's talked her way into a job at the diner and is living in a room
upstairs. When she manages to graduate from high school, everyone in town thinks it's
a miracle. When she gets accepted to college to become a court reporter, no one believes
it. But when her mother dies in a car crash and ghosts from her mother's past come
to life, friends can only slow Rawling's slide backward. And no one, not even Roy,
her so-sweet and so-bad boyfriend, can save her when she learns about her daddy.
In the vein of Curtis Sittenfeld and Lorrie Moore, A DECENT LIFE is a work of women's
fiction complete at 80,000 words. My award-winning essays, focused on Italian language
and culture, have appeared in anthologies, newspaper travel sections, and online guides.
Thank you for your consideration.
REVISED QUERY LETTER
Dear TK
The first time her momma goes off with one of the boyfriends for the whole night,
ten-year-old Rawling Summer decides she'll be the one doing the leaving as soon as
she knows how. But she doesn't know leaving your Momma and being free of her are two
different things.
A DECENT LIFE is Rawling's coming-of-age story set in Nordeen, a small southern town,
where not repeating your mother's life is as difficult as avoiding mosquitoes on a
hot summer night.
Rawling bides her time, avoiding Momma at home and the bullies at school.
By the time she's fifteen, she's talked her way into a job at the diner and is living
in a room upstairs. When she manages to graduate from high school, everyone in town
thinks it's a miracle. When she gets accepted to college to become a court reporter,
no one believes it. But when her mother dies in a car crash and ghosts from her mother's
past come to life, friends can only slow Rawling's slide backward. And no one, not
even Roy, her so-sweet and so-bad boyfriend, can save her when she learns about her
daddy.
In the vein of Curtis Sittenfeld and Lorrie Moore, A DECENT LIFE is a work of women's
fiction complete at 80,000 words. My award-winning essays, focused on Italian language
and culture, have appeared in anthologies, newspaper travel sections, and online guides.
Thank you for your consideration.
Next up: FAQs (leave some for me in the comments!)
[image error]
Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
[image error]
November 22, 2010
Ultimate Blog Series on Novel Queries (#8)
[image error]
This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
QUERY LETTER RED FLAGS
Here is an overall list of red flags to look for in your query letter.
If it runs longer than 1 page (single spaced), you've said far too much.
If your manuscript's word count is much higher than 100,000 words, you're more likely
to be rejected. See
this post for a definitive list of appropriate word counts by genre.
Ensure you've specified your genre, without being on the fence about it.
There should be no need for headings/subheads in your letter.
Avoid directly commenting on the quality of your work. Your query should show what
a good writer you are, rather than you telling or emphasizing what a good writer you
are.
On the flip side: Don't criticize yourself or the quality of the work in the letter.
Don't editorialize your story for the agent/editor, almost as if you were writing
a review of the work. ("In this fast-paced thriller", "in a final twist that will
change your world", "you'll laugh, you'll cry, …"
Do not explain how or why you came to write the story, unless it is really interesting
or integral to the hook.
Do not talk about how you've wanted to write since you were a child.
Do not talk about how much your family and friends love your work.
Avoid heavy use of adjectives, adverbs, and modifiers. In fact, try creating a version
of your query without ANY modifiers, and see what happens. (Slowly add back the essential
ones.
Do not attach any documentation. Do not attach a resume. Do not attach rejection letters.
If you want to risk it, enclose the first 1-5 pages of your manuscript.
And don't forget my earlier advice about query hooks: They only need to be about 100-150
words, and they shouldn't comprise more than a few brief paragraphs (at most!).
Note: For my final installment in the series (#10), I'll offer up final FAQs.
Use the comments to ask a question.
Next up: full letter samples
[image error]
Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
[image error]
This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
QUERY LETTER RED FLAGS
Here is an overall list of red flags to look for in your query letter.
If it runs longer than 1 page (single spaced), you've said far too much.
If your manuscript's word count is much higher than 100,000 words, you're more likely
to be rejected. See
this post for a definitive list of appropriate word counts by genre.
Ensure you've specified your genre, without being on the fence about it.
There should be no need for headings/subheads in your letter.
Avoid directly commenting on the quality of your work. Your query should show what
a good writer you are, rather than you telling or emphasizing what a good writer you
are.
On the flip side: Don't criticize yourself or the quality of the work in the letter.
Don't editorialize your story for the agent/editor, almost as if you were writing
a review of the work. ("In this fast-paced thriller", "in a final twist that will
change your world", "you'll laugh, you'll cry, …"
Do not explain how or why you came to write the story, unless it is really interesting
or integral to the hook.
Do not talk about how you've wanted to write since you were a child.
Do not talk about how much your family and friends love your work.
Avoid heavy use of adjectives, adverbs, and modifiers. In fact, try creating a version
of your query without ANY modifiers, and see what happens. (Slowly add back the essential
ones.
Do not attach any documentation. Do not attach a resume. Do not attach rejection letters.
If you want to risk it, enclose the first 1-5 pages of your manuscript.
And don't forget my earlier advice about query hooks: They only need to be about 100-150
words, and they shouldn't comprise more than a few brief paragraphs (at most!).
Note: For my final installment in the series (#10), I'll offer up final FAQs.
Use the comments to ask a question.
Next up: full letter samples
[image error]
Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
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November 21, 2010
Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 11/19/10)
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I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the week's best Tweets.
If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments. Want to know about the best stuff
I read each week? Click
here to subscribe to my shared items.
Getting Published, Agents/Editors
All writers who beg agents to give feedback
with rejections, read this post from @BookendsJessica
@RachelleGardner
5 Writers Explain How They Got, Kept & Fired
Agents
@Awl
Craft & Technique
6 Vital Signs of A Healthy Plot
@elizabethscraig
A look at ending our scenes
@elizabethscraig
How to maximize the premise of your story
@Writeitsideways
Is your novel's hero half-baked? Take these character
tests & find out
@GalleyCat
Definitive list of cliched dialogue
@elizabethscraig
Publishing News & Trends
More smart comments from @jmcquivey on how
and why e-books are forever changing book publishing
@twliterary
10
Lit Mags you should be reading from @flavorpill
@PoetryFound
Blogs & Websites
The
blog-to-book model only works under special conditions. @benhuh explains why
@toc
Online Resources & Tools
Twitterific:
links to this week's top writing articles
@elizabethscraig
The Writing Life + Fun Stuff
The
Economist on aspiring novelists
@Weegee
Looking for more?
Want to know about the best stuff I read each week?
Click here to subscribe
to my shared items.
Follow me on Twitter (@JaneFriedman)
List of Tweeps most
often included in weekly Best Tweets for Writers (always under development)
Follow Writer's Digest editors on Twitter: @writersdigest @brianklems @robertleebrewer @jessicastrawser @chucksambuchino @chadseibert @vanessa_lw @psexton1 @kellymesserly
Become a fan at the Writer's Digest Facebook
page (nearly 10K fans)
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November 18, 2010
Ultimate Blog Series on Novel Queries (#7)
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This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
CLOSE YOUR LETTER PROFESSIONALLY
You don't read much advice about how to close a query letter, perhaps because there's
not much to it, right? You say thanks and sign your name.
But here are 10 things to remember about your closing, to leave a good final impression.
1. Make sure you confirm the manuscript is completed, if you haven't already.
Some writers like to end with a variation of, "May I send you the completed manuscript
for review?", which is fine.
2. You don't have to state that you are simultaneously querying. Everyone assumes
this. (I do not recommend exclusive queries; send queries out in batches of 3-5—or
more, if you're confident in your query quality.)
3. If your manuscript is under consideration at another agency, then mention
it if/when the next agent requests to see your manuscript.
4. If you have a series in mind (meaning your query is for the first in the
series), this is a good time to mention it. But don't belabor the point; it should
take a sentence.
5. Never mention your "history" with the work, e.g., how many agents you've
queried, or how many near misses you've suffered, or how many compliments you've received
on the work from others.
6. Resist the temptation to editorialize. This is where you proclaim how much
the agent will love the work, or how exciting it is, or how it's going to be a bestseller
if only someone would give it a chance, or how much your kids enjoy it, or how much
the world needs this work.
7. Thank the agent, but don't carry on unnecessarily, or be incredibly subservient—or
beg. ("I know you're very busy and I would be forever indebted and grateful if you
would just look at a few pages.")
8. There's no need to go into great detail about when and how you're available. Make
sure the letter includes, somewhere, your phone number, e-mail address, and return
address. (Include an SASE for paper queries.) I recommend putting your contact info
at the very top of the letter, or at the very bottom, under your name, rather than
in the query body itself.
9. Do not introduce the idea of an in-person meeting. Do not say you'll be
visiting their city soon, and ask if they'd like to meet for coffee. The only possible
exception to this is if you know you'll hear them speak at an upcoming writing conference—but
don't ask for a meeting. Just say you look forward to hearing them speak. If provided,
use the conference's official channels to set up an appointment.
10. Don't enclose or attach anything (except an SASE) unless the agency's guidelines
specifically say to do so. However, many believe (and I agree), it's perfectly fine
to enclose your first 1-5 pages with a paper-based query. Just be confident about
your story opening! It must be dead on.
Next up: general red flags
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Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
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This is my definitive No Rules series on novel queries. It's meant particularly
for writers who are new to the query process. (A series on nonfiction book queries
will come later.) Go back
to the beginning of the series.
CLOSE YOUR LETTER PROFESSIONALLY
You don't read much advice about how to close a query letter, perhaps because there's
not much to it, right? You say thanks and sign your name.
But here are 10 things to remember about your closing, to leave a good final impression.
1. Make sure you confirm the manuscript is completed, if you haven't already.
Some writers like to end with a variation of, "May I send you the completed manuscript
for review?", which is fine.
2. You don't have to state that you are simultaneously querying. Everyone assumes
this. (I do not recommend exclusive queries; send queries out in batches of 3-5—or
more, if you're confident in your query quality.)
3. If your manuscript is under consideration at another agency, then mention
it if/when the next agent requests to see your manuscript.
4. If you have a series in mind (meaning your query is for the first in the
series), this is a good time to mention it. But don't belabor the point; it should
take a sentence.
5. Never mention your "history" with the work, e.g., how many agents you've
queried, or how many near misses you've suffered, or how many compliments you've received
on the work from others.
6. Resist the temptation to editorialize. This is where you proclaim how much
the agent will love the work, or how exciting it is, or how it's going to be a bestseller
if only someone would give it a chance, or how much your kids enjoy it, or how much
the world needs this work.
7. Thank the agent, but don't carry on unnecessarily, or be incredibly subservient—or
beg. ("I know you're very busy and I would be forever indebted and grateful if you
would just look at a few pages.")
8. There's no need to go into great detail about when and how you're available. Make
sure the letter includes, somewhere, your phone number, e-mail address, and return
address. (Include an SASE for paper queries.) I recommend putting your contact info
at the very top of the letter, or at the very bottom, under your name, rather than
in the query body itself.
9. Do not introduce the idea of an in-person meeting. Do not say you'll be
visiting their city soon, and ask if they'd like to meet for coffee. The only possible
exception to this is if you know you'll hear them speak at an upcoming writing conference—but
don't ask for a meeting. Just say you look forward to hearing them speak. If provided,
use the conference's official channels to set up an appointment.
10. Don't enclose or attach anything (except an SASE) unless the agency's guidelines
specifically say to do so. However, many believe (and I agree), it's perfectly fine
to enclose your first 1-5 pages with a paper-based query. Just be confident about
your story opening! It must be dead on.
Next up: general red flags
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Looking for more great query letter advice? Check out the Writer's
Digest official guide to queries, which includes examples and instruction by genre.
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November 17, 2010
A New Way to Take Classes With Me
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Since 2009, I've taught dozens of online classes for Writer's Digest, and spoken at
just as many live events.
But I know many of you haven't been able to work these classes into your schedule
(since classes often run during the day), or you can't leave home to attend a conference.
So it's exciting to let you know about a new opportunity for you to learn from me,
as well as other publishing professionals, on your own terms and on your own schedule.
Writer's Digest Tutorials just launched,
and it's an on-demand education system, with pre-recorded classes. You can subscribe
on a monthly or annual basis, or you can buy complete sessions outright.
Here are a few of the sessions available from me:
How
Writers Can Succeed in the Future of Digital Publishing
The
3 Essential Paths to Self-Publishing
How
Do I Get My Book Published?
3
Secrets to Getting Your Nonfiction Book Published
What's also nice about this system is that you can preview about the first 5 minutes
of each session before deciding to commit.
Go check it out.
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P.S. If you're interested in a cool LIVE class, one of the most popular contributors
to Writer's Digest, Elizabeth Sims, is teaching a
class on writing mystery/thriller, which includes a critique of your first page.
It's happening on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m.
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Jane Friedman
The future of writing, publishing, and all media—as well as being human at electric speed.
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