Michelle Hauck's Blog, page 61

Goodbye Summer

Just a little note to say the blog will probably be somewhat slower for the next two weeks as I ease back to work and drop Boy off at college. I'll be spending all my time not reading Pitchwars subs, crying and watching sad movies. 

There will still be great articles, but maybe fewer in number than usual. Thanks for your support on this. Hope you'll be here when my time eases up. 

And if you ideas for post topics or advice you'd like to see about certain query questions, drop me a comment.

Win Chapter Critiques from Pitchwars Mentors

Obviously, all the Pitchwars mentors are slotted into specific categories and genres. That keeps you from getting help from some great experts. But here is your chance to get help from a mentor you couldn't normally submit to! Everyone can enter once and after that if you help out a mentor by buying or preordering their books, you'll get additional entries from them.



Some of the Pitch Wars mentors, including me, are hosting a chapter-critique Rafflecopter Giveaway! Anyone can enter. It starts at midnight tonight and will run until September 4, 2015! 
Here’s the list of mentors that will participate giving a chapter critique:
Brenda Drake, author of TOUCHING FATE and THIEF OF LIES. Mónica B. Wagner, author of FROSH: FIRST BLUSH. Kate Brauning, author of HOW WE FALL.Emily Martin, author of THE YEAR WE FELL APART.N.K. Traver, author of DUPLICITY.Helene Dunbar, author of WHAT REMAINS.Joy McCullough-Carranza, who’s supporting Laura’s Shovan book, THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY.J.A. Souders, author of RENEGADE~REVELATIONS~REBELLION          Elizabeth Briggs, author of MORE THAN MUSIC, MORE THAN COMICS, MORE THAN FASHION. Kelly Siskind, author of CHASING CRAZY. Trisha Leaver, author of THE SECRETS WE KEEP. Jaye Robin Brown, author of NO PLACE TO FALL and WILL'S STORY: A No Place To Fall Novella. Michelle Hauck, author of GRUDGING: BIRTH OF SAINTS and KINDAR'S CURE. K.T. Hannah, author of CHAMELEON. Stacey Graham, author of HAUNTED STUFF: Demonic Dolls, Screaming Skulls, and Other Creepy Collectibles. Lee Gjertsen Malone, author of THE LAST BOY AT ST. EDITH'S.Sarah Nicolas, author of DRAGONS ARE PEOPLE, TOO.Brighton Walsh, author of CAGED IN WINTER, TESSA EVER AFTER, CAPTIVE and EXPOSED.Stacey Trombley, author or NAKED. 
Kate Karyus Quinn, author of (DON'T YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME, ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE, and DOWN WITH THE SHINE.
Here’s how this giveaway will work: you’ll get a free entry just for stopping by and signing in, and if you want to increase your chances, you can support the mentors by buying their books or pre-ordering them. If you want to increase your odds to get a critique from a particular mentor, you can go and buy/preorder said mentor’s book by following the links above. You can buy more than one book, and up your chances in more than one giveaway, too! You might even win a chapter critique by more than one mentor.

  WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM BRENDA DRAKE
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM MÓNICA BUSTAMANTE WAGNER
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KATE BRAUNING

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM EMILY MARTIN

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM N.K. TRAVER
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM HELENE DUNBAR
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JOY McCULLOUGH-CARRANZA
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM J.A. SOUDERS
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM ELIZABETH BRIGGS
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KELLY SISKIND
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM TRISHA LEAVER

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JAYE ROBIN BROWN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM MICHELLE HAUCK

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WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM K.T HANNA

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WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM STACEY GRAHAM

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WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM LEE GJERTSEN MALONE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM SARAH NICOLAS

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM BRIGHTON WALSH

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM STACEY TROMBLEY

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WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KATE KARYUS QUINN 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JAMI NORD

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM LISA MAXWELL
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WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM TAMARA MATAYA
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win Query Critiques from Pitchwars Mentors

Obviously, all the Pitchwars mentors are slotted into specific categories and genres. That keeps you from getting help from some great experts. But here is your chance to get help from a mentor you couldn't normally submit to! Everyone can enter once and after that if you help out a mentor by buying or preordering their books, you'll get additional entries from them.



Some of the Pitch Wars mentors, including me, are hosting a chapter-critique Rafflecopter Giveaway! Anyone can enter. It starts at midnight tonight and will run until September 4, 2015! 
Here’s the list of mentors that will participate giving a chapter critique:
Brenda Drake, author of TOUCHING FATE and THIEF OF LIES. Mónica B. Wagner, author of FROSH: FIRST BLUSH. Kate Brauning, author of HOW WE FALL.Emily Martin, author of THE YEAR WE FELL APART.N.K. Traver, author of DUPLICITY.Helene Dunbar, author of WHAT REMAINS.Joy McCullough-Carranza, who’s supporting Laura’s Shovan book, THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY.J.A. Souders, author of RENEGADE~REVELATIONS~REBELLION          Elizabeth Briggs, author of MORE THAN MUSIC, MORE THAN COMICS, MORE THAN FASHION. Kelly Siskind, author of CHASING CRAZY. Trisha Leaver, author of THE SECRETS WE KEEP. Jaye Robin Brown, author of NO PLACE TO FALL and WILL'S STORY: A No Place To Fall Novella. Michelle Hauck, author of GRUDGING: BIRTH OF SAINTS and KINDAR'S CURE. K.T. Hannah, author of CHAMELEON. Stacey Graham, author of HAUNTED STUFF: Demonic Dolls, Screaming Skulls, and Other Creepy Collectibles. Lee Gjertsen Malone, author of THE LAST BOY AT ST. EDITH'S.Sarah Nicolas, author of DRAGONS ARE PEOPLE, TOO.Brighton Walsh, author of CAGED IN WINTER, TESSA EVER AFTER, CAPTIVE and EXPOSED.Stacey Trombley, author or NAKED. 
Kate Karyus Quinn, author of (DON'T YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME, ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE, and DOWN WITH THE SHINE.
Here’s how this giveaway will work: you’ll get a free entry just for stopping by and signing in, and if you want to increase your chances, you can support the mentors by buying their books or pre-ordering them. If you want to increase your odds to get a critique from a particular mentor, you can go and buy/preorder said mentor’s book by following the links above. You can buy more than one book, and up your chances in more than one giveaway, too! You might even win a chapter critique by more than one mentor.

  WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM BRENDA DRAKE
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM MÓNICA BUSTAMANTE WAGNER
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KATE BRAUNING

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM EMILY MARTIN

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM N.K. TRAVER
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM HELENE DUNBAR
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JOY McCULLOUGH-CARRANZA
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM J.A. SOUDERS
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM ELIZABETH BRIGGS
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KELLY SISKIND
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM TRISHA LEAVER

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JAYE ROBIN BROWN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM MICHELLE HAUCK

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM K.T HANNA

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM STACEY GRAHAM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM LEE GJERTSEN MALONE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM SARAH NICOLAS

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM BRIGHTON WALSH

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM STACEY TROMBLEY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM KATE KARYUS QUINN 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM JAMI NORD

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM LISA MAXWELL
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

WIN A CHAPTER CRITIQUE FROM TAMARA MATAYA
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Query Questions with Alex Barba

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.
 
Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
Yay to having Alex Barba of Inklings Literary here today to talk about queries! Thanks Alex!
Is there a better or worse time of year to query? Nope!
 
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query? If you're misspelling words, yes!
 
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong? I look at sample pages unless the query is unintelligible.
 
Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them? At the moment I check them myself, although I may need an intern in the future!
 
Do you keep a maybe pile of queries and go back to them for a second look? Hardly ever.
 
How important are comp titles? Is it something you want to see in a query? If it's a very good, very true comp, then yes. Otherwise no.
 
Some agencies mention querying only one agent at a time and some say query only one agent period. How often do you pass a query along to a fellow agent who might be more interested? Hardly ever. I don't mind if you're querying multiple agents at once, but if I request a full manuscript, it's very appreciated if you let me know if you've had other requests and/or offers of representation.
 
Do you prefer a little personalized chit-chat in a query letter, or would you rather hear about the manuscript? Manuscript, definitely. Although hearing that you've checked my preferences is always good - then I can safely assume that it's the type of story I'm looking for before I even get into it!
 
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included? I don't require word count, although it's helpful. I'd say it's always a good idea to state the genre first.

Should writers sweat the title of their book (and character names) or is that something that is often changed by publishers? While the title & names are sometimes changed by publishers, what I'm concerned with is what I'm reading. So yes - make sure they're kick-ass/what you want!
 
How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those? At the moment, since I just opened for queries, I'm receiving about 40 queries a week. It depends on the batch, but if I averaged it out I think it'd come to about 2 manuscript requests per 40 queries.
 
If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested? It's ok to resend if there have been dramatic changes made, but definitely mention that it's a resend in the first sentence of the new query.
 
What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you? Sometimes you magically connect with a piece of writing. Sometimes you don't. Unfortunately, there's no science or proven method to writing a piece that will connect with someone!
 
Do you consider yourself a hands-on, editorial type of agent?  I look for projects that are polished as-is, but I am not averse to editing - if I find something I totally love but that just needs a few tweaks, I'll offer representation with the author's understanding that we'll do some editing before submitting!
 
What three things are at the top of your submission wish list? 1. YA versions of Elizabeth Bennet (admirable - yet fallible - heroine) and Mr. Darcy (suspect/maybe standoffish at first, but eventually proven totally lovable). 2. YA with a compelling, complicated romance really at the forefront - think Stephanie Perkins or a YA Emily Giffin or Nicholas Sparks. 3. Anything Wizard of Oz-y. Bring on the ruby-slippered heroines! Maybe a retelling, except grounded YA? Or Dorothy-as-a-teen-type thing?  
What are some of your favorite movies or books to give us an idea of your tastes? Good question! Some of my favorite books, in no particular order: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty, the Between the Lines series by Tammara Webber, and Dealing with Dragons  by Patricia C. Wrede. Some of my favorite movies in no particular order: Casablanca, White Christmas, Family Man, Love Actually, Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, The Lord of the Rings (also the books because, duh).
--------------------------------
Alex Barba is an agent and the foreign rights contact at Inklings Literary Agency.

Alex has a background in publishing and entertainment. She came to Inklings after a stint as a literary consultant in New York City, having scouted the U.S. book market for film and TV clients and foreign publishers. Prior to that, she spent time in Los Angeles as an editor at a digital magazine, and doing story development on scripts with a literary management company.
In her own words, what she wants: 
I represent YA fiction (because I am still a 16-year-old girl at heart). I'm looking for grounded contemporary YA, but an extremely well-done contemporary with fantasy or sci-fi elements will occasionally grab me. And a clever retelling/re-spin of an old classic is always thrilling (think Ella Enchanted, one of my favorite books ever). Cinematic elements draw my eye, but ultimately I believe truly great stories are built on the backs of multi-faceted, compelling characters. Some other things I particularly love: stories about self-discovery, awesome action sequences, interesting friendships, smart girls making bad choices, a good love story, and darkly humorous writing with wacky plot twists.
Please no queries that are outside my category/genre interest!

My Pitchwars Mentor Wishlist

Because it got pushed down in the lineup, here's a recap:



This year I am mentoring in the adult category. 

And I'm being very selective in what I'm looking for: fantasy and a very few types of science fiction.

I want adult fantasy and especially adult epic fantasy, though I'll look at all other kinds of fantasy. That's urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, each and every kind of sub-genre of fantasy.

Sorry but:

-I'm not your person if your story includes tons of romance. If the MC bats her eyes and moons over guys/girls a lot, it's not for me.
-I'm not your person if your word count is over 120,000 or under 70,000.
-I'm not your person if you have vampires or werewolves.
-I don't do Twilight.
-I'm not a big fan of ghosts.
-I'm not your person for whiny/bitchy or complaining main characters.
-Elves and dwarfs are not really my area of interest.
-I'm not your person if you believe your manuscript is practically perfect as is. You have to be willing to revise--not huge, rewrite-the-whole-thing revisions, but some.
-If you have graphic sex scenes or kill all your main characters, it's not for me. I quit GoT in the second book.

Clarification: I don't mind if you kill characters in the ms. Just not all the point of view MC in the middle of the book. Killing characters is to be expected in fantasy.


-I do want unique concept. Something that stands out of the crowd.
-A little romance is okay. As long as it isn't the MC's focus.
-I will consider dystopian or post apocalypse, but no other type of science fiction.
-I want magic and big worlds.
-I want characters with secrets they're hiding and lots of backstory that comes out gradually, not in the first chapter.

Some of my favorite authors include: Brandon Sanderson, Kate Elliott, Michael J. Sulllivan, Robert Jordan, Kristen Britain, Jim Butcher, Rachel Aaron and more.

If you have something like the Green Rider series, I want to see it. If you are into WoT (if you know what this means, you're my kind of writer) and The Dresden Series, I want to see it. 

For the whole Pitchwars bio go here. 

Query Advice: When to Sequel

Yesterday we heard from an author about tips to writing sequels. But what about them? When is it a good idea?

You've finished your shiny, sparkling new manuscript. You've sent it to critique partners and beta readers and shined and polished. You love your characters. Love your plot. Have heard nothing but wonderful things about it and think about it day and night. You can't wait to find an agent for it!

You have conversations with family about what you'll do with all the money from books. There are suggestions around the dinner table of what actress to cast for the movie. You cruise through pictures online that would make fabulous cover art. You're dreaming and you're going big.

You send out your first query letters, then sit at your computer and start writing the sequel.





That story up there was about me after my first manuscript. And it was probably not the wisest route to take. Let me tell you why.

That wonderful story that I love got only three agent requests and went exactly nowhere. I was a beginning writer and had no idea what I was doing. No idea how to show. No knowledge about head jumping. No concept of conflict. I now know that it stunk.

And what did I do while querying? I wasted time on a sequel. 

That's my story, and it doesn't mean it's yours. I'm sure some first novels turn out fantastic and get picked up by both an agent and then a publisher. But the chances are not good.

If no one wanted your first story, why would they buy the follow up? So I'm here with some friendly advice that I figured out the hard way after about three months of querying.

When your book is finished and you are sending it out to agents, write something totally new. You'll learn more about writing this way and have something to send to agents if the first book fails.

The same advice falls true for people with agents. While your book is on sub, write something new in case it doesn't sell. Many first books (that land agents) don't get picked up, including mine. (Which was actually my fourth manuscript.) 

Write something new so you can get right back out querying or on submission. Don't waste six months or a year, having to come up with something else because you spent time on a sequel.

I put the sequel aside after about three months and wrote something else. That something else got picked up by a small press and was my first success.

By all means, outline that sequel. Have a direction planned in your head. Make a blurb about it for agents. Write a few chapters if you just can't put it down. But don't write the whole book. Focus on moving forward until you know for sure that book has a future. Then write it!

Of course this advice doesn't work so well if you intend to self publish. This advice is aimed at those who want their career to be along the traditional lines.

You may love your characters and that's natural. But there comes a time to move on. And leaving those characters on the back shelf for a few months or a year, might actually make the sequel stronger and give you fresh perspective.

Happy Writing!

Trick of Writing Sequels with Auston Habershaw

Compiled for the first time, THE OLDEST TRICK comprises The Iron Ring and Iron and Blood in the Saga of the Redeemed. Tyvian Reldamar gets betrayed by his longtime partner and left for dead in a freezing river. To add insult to injury, his mysterious rescuer took it upon himself to affix Tyvian with an iron ring that prevents the wearer from any evildoing.
 
Revenge just got complicated.
 
On his quest to get even, Tyvian navigates dark conspiracies, dodges midnight assassins, and uncovers the plans of the ruthless wizard Banric Sahand. Tyvian will need to use every dirty trick in the book to avoid a painful and ignominious end, even as he learns to work with—and rely on—his motley crew of accomplices, including an adolescent pickpocket, an obese secret-monger, and a fearsome gnoll.
The Long Arc: The Challenge of Writing a Series
When I sat down to start writing the Saga of the Redeemed, I knew where it was all going. Maybe not on a micro level (like, the individual scenes for all the books were pretty damn far from being plotted out), but in general, I knew where I wanted Tyvian Reldamar to start and I knew where I wanted him to end up (don’t worry – I won’t spoil anything). I also knew it wouldn’t be contained in a single book. Probably not even three books.
How did I know this? Well, I don’t really know. I think it was because of two reasons, and I think these two reasons are pretty important factors to consider anytime you’re planning to write a book or series of books:
#1: How Big is the World?
I don’t mean physically, either. Maybe “deep” is a better word – basically, how much story is there to explore in the setting you’ve created? If you don’t visit every single nation on your world map, will the audience miss it? How much of the world matters in the story, anyway? For Tolkien, of course, he had a vast mythology and epic forces of good and evil clashing, and so he needed a bunch of books to give the story the space he felt it deserved. Likewise, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files just keep going and going and going because it always feels like there’s more to discover. On the other hand, there’s The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison – an excellent, excellent book, mind you – which is contained in a single volume. Why? Well, Maia’s story fits there, neatly and cleanly. There simply isn’t a need for more.
#2: How Much Does the Character Change?
This is crucial. For the most part, stories are about how the protagonist changes as a result of their experiences. Now, there are exceptions (*cough*JamesBond*cough*), but mostly that’s true of almost every story, regardless of genre. We are reading to experience some kind of change, subtle though it may be. The further a journey your character has, the more story you’re going to need to write and the more books it will take to tell that story. Tyvian, in my novels, begins as a shallow, narcissistic, self-involved criminal. The story is about his slow change from that to…something else. Now, I don’t think people change on a dime, nor do I think stories of redemption accomplished in a weekend are convincing (sure, sure – Uncle Paul found Jesus this weekend and is going to stop drinking – what’s this, the seventh time?), and so I feel that Tyvian’s shift must be a gradual one. It is going to take several books to accomplish.
The series, however, presents some significant challenges for the new author, such as myself. At a basic level, you need to get a publisher to keep buyingyour books (or, I suppose, you can self-publish, but then you need to keep paying for cover art and editing and so on and so forth, so the basic problem is the same, even if the specifics are wholly different). Are my books selling? Well, sure they are! They are pretty steadily floating between 1000th and 2000th place on Amazon for Fantasy novels! So…yeah, people are buying them, but nobody is putting a down-payment on a summer home. I’ve got a contract through Book 3 (which, technically, is Book 2), but I need two more books to finish the story to a point where I feel satisfied walking away.
Can I get a contract for those other two? Can I score an agent to represent me? I don’t know. It’s worrying, frankly, and it’s something you need to consider about your series. They might not want to publish books 5 and 6, no matter how dear they are to you.
Of course the other, perhaps more daunting problem (even if it is more under your control) is actually writing a satisfying series of novels. You know how you read the first book in a series and you’re like “whoah! That was the most awesome thing ever!” and then you read the next one and you’re like “Oh…uhhh…it was okay, I guess,” and then by the time you’re at book 3 you’re totally fed up and the story is lame and you don’t care about the characters anymore?
Yeah, nobody does that on purpose.
All writers try to make their second and third and fourth books every bit as awesome as the first one. The problems, however, are two-fold as I see it. A sequel must:Be true to the original in tone and feel.Advance the story so that things are totally different.Clearly, these two things are potentially at odds. Doing it well requires you to have a keen grasp of what matters in your story and what does not. This is harder than you think, too. First off, you’ll probably guess wrong – the things you love about your series might not be the same things your audience loves (hence: WRITE REVIEWS, PEOPLE!). Secondly, even assuming you guess correctly, you still need to change things to keep it fresh enough. Remember the Star Wars prequels? Remember how boring they were? Well, each Episode did not sufficiently advance the story we cared about enough to make it work and, furthermore, the world as presented was not deep enough to support all three films. Could you have done them so they worked? Sure! But we would have had to focus on Anakin and his gradual change into a monster rather than on four-armed lightsaber duels and CGI effects.
The pitfall of keeping it fresh, though, is losing the thing that made it fun to begin with. To use George RR Martin’s series, A Sword of Ice and Fire, I’ve basically checked out of the books at this point because the thing that kept me invested – the struggle between the Lannisters and the Starks – is basically over and done with. Everybody I loved is either dead now or changed so much that I’m no longer invested. The books go on and the world is certainly deep enough, but the characters just aren’t there anymore for me. As much as it remains a towering achievement of fantasy literature, I’m out.
So, to circle back, I find myself writing Book 4 of The Saga of the Redeemed at the moment and I need to keep reminding myself of why I love this series in the first place (answer: the characters) and what has to change in the story to keep it fresh (maddeningly enough: the characters). It’s a balance, and a difficult one. I mean, honestly, how many more swordfights can Tyvian get in before it becomes boring?
(looks at notes)

Gosh, I hope it’s a lot.
-------------------------------
On the day Auston Habershaw was born, Skylab fell from the heavens. This foretold two possible fates: supervillain or scifi/fantasy author. Fortunately he chose the latter, and spends his time imagining the could-be and the never-was rather than disintegrating the moon with his volcano laser. 
  
Auston is a winner of the Writers of the Future Contest (Volume 31) and has had work in Analog and Stupefying Stories. His debut epic fantasy series, The Saga of the Redeemed, is available from Harper Voyager books. He lives and works in Boston, MA. He has a blog athttp://aahabershaw.com/.  

 
Buy Links
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Oldest-Trick-Book-Saga-Redeemed-ebook/dp/B00SRYV25I/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-oldest-trick-auston-habershaw/1121123546?ean=9780062417220
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-oldest-trick-1
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Auston_Habershaw_The_Oldest_Trick?id=Gx1rBgAAQBAJ&hl=en%3Futm_source%3Dna_Med
Harper Collins: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062417220/the-oldest-trick
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-oldest-trick/id962070656?mt=11

Book Blogger Conversation with Emma S

I'm excited to start a new series of posts with a group that is under appreciated--book bloggers!

Book bloggers are obviously so important to authors. They give consistent reviews. They open their blogs to us. They are readers and fans! I think we should honor them more.

So this series of interviews was born! Hopefully it will help authors find bloggers and give everyone else a better appreciation of them.

Welcome to Emma S and find out more about her and her blog. Be sure and check out her links at the end of this post.

What types of books do you review?I review primarily young adult, which a few middle grade and Christian novels thrown in. I'm not very genre picky except I don't read horror, most paranormal, or erotica.

Do you have any guidelines for authors to follow in contacting you? A link will work.I do! Here's the link to my review policy: http://bookworm716.blogspot.com/p/review-policy.html

Do you post anything besides reviews—such as cover art or giveaways?I'm not usually part of mass blog postings. I have participated in a couple blog tours, though. But I do a couple memes - Top Ten Tuesday, Random Friday (which is my own invention), and Rewind & Review - as well as discussion posts.

How do you find books to review or do they come to you?I usually request them from publishers via email or on Edelweiss or NetGalley. I'm also very fortunate to have a close relationship with an indie bookstore in my hometown. They let me review whatever YA ARCs they receive and I'm interested in.

What got you into blogging about books?I started reading book blogs after I'd been blogging for about 2 years. Prior to May 2013, I mostly blogged about really random stuff. But then I realized that I could be a book blogger because the only requirement was that I loved books. So I started reviewing what I bought or checked out from the library, and then the owner of my local indie found out and offered me the pick of their ARCs.

What elements go into a good review and how long does it take to write one?I don't know if there's any formula you can follow to write a good review. I think a cover, some sort of rating, a summary of the book (even if it's copied from Goodreads or a retail site), and links to buy the book are all important. Other than that, bloggers and reviewers should tailor it to their own style. My style is very categorical, and I never write super long reviews. On average, I think it takes me about 30-45 minutes to finalize every detail of my reviews, not counting break times in between.

How often do you post reviews?I try to post at least one a week. I think on average, it's one or two.

Can you think of any special methods or personality types that an author has used to really help you draw close to a character?Not really? I mean, if a synopsis mentions a bookish character, or one who's interested in the same things as me, I'll usually add that book to my TBR list. But I don't have any specific chart that tells me why I feel close to a character. Sometimes they just turn out to be a kindred spirit.

What types of things make for an extra special book? The kind you don’t forget?I'm a sucker for Shakespeare retellings, Jane Austen retellings, and superheroes. I love when I just connect with the writing style - I can't predict when it'll happen, but oh, it's so thrilling when a book leaves me feeling like I had the most wonderful dream. I love slow burn romance. I appreciate a good meet-cute, but I also love when the couple in question have known each other for ages but were friends first. I also don't easily forget strong sibling relationships or friendships.

Any marketing tips you’ve noticed work really well for authors?I love when an author connects with readers beyond their books. Personally, I didn't enjoy Lauren DeStefano's books, but I follow her on Twitter because she's personable and hilarious. And I love that Tara Dairman (author of All Four Stars and The Stars of Summer) talks about food a lot, which fits with her books and shows she knows what she's talking about. Honestly, any author who is active on some form of social media and acts like the regular person they are is my favorite. I feel like I can be friends with them, as well as admire their writing.

Favorite books you’ve reviewed.So many! Off the top of my head, I can say Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg, Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, Emeralds & Ashes by Leila Rasheed, and My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga.

Books you are looking forward to in the next year.This is another one where I could list a million books. I'll be good and choose six:A Study in Charlotte by Brittany CavallaroThe Crown's Game by Evelyn SkyeThe Girl from Everywhere by Heidi HeiligOutrun the Moon by Stacey LeeThe Steep and Thorny Way by Cat WintersWhen We Collided by Emery Lord

Do you prefer kindle or actual books when reading?Definitely actual books. I read e-books on occasion and I get e-galleys all the time, but I prefer to hold a physical book, run my hands over the cover, look at the end papers (they can be gorgeous sometimes), and smell that book scent.

If you could only purchase one book, what would it be?Nnnnnhhhhhhh. I could purchase books after this one right? It's just the only one I can buy at the store that day? If so, I'd choose the French edition of Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I'm trying to collect French editions of all my favorite YA books, and I think this one is next on my list.

What’s your favorite spot to read?There's this little nook overlooking the middle room at my university's student center. It's still kind of loud up there, but there are usually fewer people upstairs. There's also a covered pathway at the back of one of the academic buildings, and it has these arches along the outer wall. You can sit under there, and it's pretty peaceful (except when class has just let out). Those descriptions are probably terrible, sorry!

Give us your best advice for a beginning book blogger. There's no right or wrong way of reviewing, really. Post count is important, but do what's best for you and don't kill yourself trying to churn out a post every day.Don't tag authors in any negative reviews; in fact, it's really best to not tag them in any reviews anymore. Find your group of blogger friends. We're a great community, and there are so many bloggers that you'll easily find a circle you fit into. Books will always be common ground, so it isn't hard to strike up conversations.

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Emma is a self-proclaimed bibliobibule (that means someone who reads too much). She is also a book blogger and writer, who loves to threaten her friends with killing off their characters in her novels. Emma splits her time between her university in Kentucky and her parents' home in Virginia. In her free time, Emma fangirls over Taylor Swift, Disney movies, Shakespeare, fairytales, superheroes, history, and various book series. 

Links:My blog:  Awkwordly EmmaMy Twitter: @AwkwordlyEmmaMy Tumblr: awkwordlyemmaMy blog's Facebook page

Query Questions with Vicki Selvaggio

Writers have copious amounts of imagination. It's what makes their stories so fantastic. But there's a darker side to so much out of the box thinking. When a writer is in the query trenches, their worries go into overdrive. They start pulling out their hair and imagine every possible disaster.

 

Here to relieve some of that endless worrying is a new series of posts called Query Questions. I'll ask the questions which prey on every writer's mind, and hopefully take some of the pain out of querying. These are questions that I've seen tossed around on twitter and writing sites like Agent Query Connect. They are the type of questions that you need answers for the real expert--agents!

If you have your own specific query question, please leave it in the comments and it might show up in future editions of Query Questions as I plan to rotate the questions.
It's great to have Vicki Selvaggio here from The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency to answer some Query Questions.


As with all my responses to the below questions, I’d like to note that all agents are different when it comes to their query/submission protocol.
Does one typo or misplaced comma shoot down the entire query?
My protocol: The answer is “no”—one punctuation or typing error isn’t going to make me stop reading. In general, though, all writers (and illustrators, if applicable) should proof their query and manuscript several times, reviewing grammar, punctuation, and/or other errors. I’d also suggest having a reliable reader or critique partner review your query and manuscript before sending it out into the world of agents. At times, we become so passionate, that we can’t see those hidden mistakes. In addition, take a moment before you click “send”, make sure you’ve addressed the query properly—I can’t say how many times my name is incorrectly spelled, or that my title has mysteriously changed to “Publisher” or “Editor”!
Remember: Your work represents “you”, so send only your best!
Do you look at sample pages without fail or only if the query is strong?
My protocol: Honestly…I’m not a huge fan of the query letter. While I review queries faithfully, I’m more interested in the manuscript, and I will read the submission regardless of how I feel about the query letter.
The query, for me, is nothing but a tool in which I use to find out information about the project you’ve submitted, why you’ve submitted it to me, what other projects you have and/or the genres, what other publication credits you have (don’t fret if this is “none”. And don’t apologize for that!), and most importantly, to get an overall feel of you as a writer and your project.

Do you have an assistant or intern go through your queries first or do you check all of them?
My protocol: No assistant or intern. I read, read, read everything! And I want to! For me, it’s like teaching your son and/or daughter to walk, talk, and/or ride a bike…I want to be there. I want to share in that excitement. I want to discover that gem!
In addition to this, it’s important for me to respond personally (no form letters) to everyone, even if I’m rejecting a project. But…this does take time, and I tend to be slower in my response time.
 If the manuscript has a prologue, do you want it included with the sample pages?
My protocol: Simple…yes! If it’s part of the manuscript, include it.
How important are comp titles? Is it something you want to see in a query?
My protocol: I believe it’s important for a writer (and illustrator, if applicable), to have an idea on comp titles. While I’m not expecting a market analysis (please don’t send one), be aware of what projects are similar, and most importantly, how they’re different, and show that you’ve done some research.
When submitting to me, list this briefly.
Most agents have said they don’t care whether the word count/genre sentence comes first or last. But is it a red flag if one component is not included?
My protocol: I like to know this information ahead of time (before reading the manuscript)—it gives me a guideline on voice/character’s age/content. While I don’t have a preference if it’s in the beginning or the end of the letter, I do make a mental note, when one or both are missing.
Remember: Word count and genre gives a guideline on what I should expect to see in your submission. If you can’t decide what your genre is, and/or what the word count is, I’d review your manuscript again before submitting!
How many queries do you receive in a week? How many requests might you make out of those?
My protocol: This varies, depending on what website mentioned me (or interviewed me), or what event/function/social media/contest I’ve participated in.
Generally, the range is 50-100 a day (in a week, that’s a lot!). And as I’ve mentioned, I respond, personally to each one, which takes me a long time.
While I can’t give a percentage of requests (based on the number of queries), as it’s hard to say what will appeal to me on a daily basis, I can say that I’m quite thorough…meaning, I’ll request a manuscript, just to be sure (if I’m not), before I reject it. And usually, I include comments, so that the writer knows exactly what didn’t work for me.
If a writer makes changes to their manuscript due to feedback should they resend the query or only if material was requested?
My protocol: Yes…and due to this, I’ve requested revised manuscripts. I do prefer an e-mail notification first, however, before forwarding the same “revised” manuscript. This allows me to organize my files/submissions appropriately.

What does ‘just not right mean for me’ mean to you?
My protocol: Responding personally, my comments include my reason for passing on the project—I try to avoid using this phrase. I’m an author too…so I remember that, when responding.

What three things are at the top of your submission wish list?
My protocol: I can’t list just three. I love all genres—from lyrical pictures books all the way to gut-wrenching thrillers.
For me, I want a beautifully written story in any genre. I’m all about the journey, the experience—captivate me, educate me, inspire me!
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With a strong background in business ownership, Victoria A. Selvaggio comes to The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency as an Associate Agent with over 6 years of actively working as a volunteer and Regional Advisor for SCBWI Northern Ohio. Drawn to the publishing scene first as an author writing all genres, with her most recent publication in the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, Vicki’s passion for honing the craft carried over into reading manuscripts for the agency. Currently, she is excited to read compelling manuscripts that will resonate with her long after she’s done.

I am currently looking for lyrical picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction, new adult, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, paranormal, fantasy, narrative nonfiction, adult fiction but find I’m especially drawn to Middle Grade and Young Adult. I especially love thrillers and all elements of weird, creepy stuff. If it’s out of the box, and it will make me think and think, long after I’m done reading, send it to me! On the flip side, I yearn for books that make me laugh, cry and wonder about the world.
vselvaggio@windstream.netTwitter: Victoria Selvaggio@vselvaggio1 Facebook: Vicki SelvaggioLinkedin: VictoriaSelvaggiowww.victoriaselvaggio.comwww.jdlit.com

Cover Reveal for TOUCHING FATE

Touching Fateby Brenda Drake Release Date: 10/13/15Entangled Teen: Crave
Summary from Goodreads: Aster Layne believes in physics, not psychics. A tarot card reading on the Ocean City Boardwalk should have been a ridiculous, just-for-fun thing. It wasn't. Aster discovers she has a veryunscientific gift—with a simple touch of the cards, she can change a person's fate.
Reese Van Buren is cursed. Like the kind of old-school, centuries-old curse that runs in royal families. Every firstborn son is doomed to die on his eighteenth birthday—and Reese's is coming up fast. Bummer. He tries to distract himself from his inevitable death...only to find the one person who can save him.
Aster doesn't know that the hot Dutch guy she's just met needs her help–or that he’s about to die.

But worst of all…she doesn't know that her new gift comes with dark, dark consequences that can harm everyone she loves.

About the Author
Brenda Drake, the youngest of three children, grew up an Air Force brat and the continual new kid at schooluntil her family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brenda’s fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write young adult and middle grade novels with a bend toward the fantastical. When Brenda’s not writing or doing the social media thing, she’s haunting libraries, bookstores,and coffee shops or reading someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

Author Links: