The Intersection of Good Storytelling - Latest BRP Article

In my latest Blood-Red Pencil commentary, I talk about storytelling and the importance of developing a good plot and good depth for the story. I call these Horizontal Road and Vertical Road, respectively. Check out the commentary here, and leave comments!

Part 4 of 5-Part Book to Screen Series LIVE @ APOOO Bookclub

In the first three parts of the five-part series, Book to Screen, I offered advice on books and software to help you on the scriptwriting journey, seeing your book as a visual story, and seeing your book within a movie structure frame.

In this next part, I talk about the actual writing of the script, with short discussion on major story components, such as action, character, and dialogue.

Big thank you to those who have e-mailed about the series, have learned from it thus far, and are actually interested in now turning their books into possible screenplays!

Now, let's move forward in this journey! To read my latest The Write Life for You article in the Book to Screen series, head to APOOO Bookclub via this [link].


Leave comments!

How Has Writing Changed Your Life - Latest Blood-Red Pencil Commentary

Every once in a while, I get a question from a young writer, and I'm always eager to respond because I remember being a young writer and not really having the guidance and advice from others to help me. For my latest piece at The Blood-Red Pencil, I answer the following question from a young writer: Has writing changed your life in any way?

My short answer is YES; Head over to BRP now [LINK] to read my longer answer, and definitely share yours!


The Blood-Red Pencil
Sharp and pointed observations about good writing
[http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com]

Dealing with Fear of Criticism & Rejection - Latest Blood-Red Pencil Article

Every once in a while, I get a question from a young writer, and I'm always eager to respond because I remember being a young writer and not really having the guidance and advice from others to help me. For my latest piece at The Blood-Red Pencil, I answer the following question from a young writer: What would you tell an aspiring writer whose fear of criticism and failure keeps her from jumping in and writing?

Head over to BRP now [LINK] to read my response, and definitely share yours!


The Blood-Red Pencil
Sharp and pointed observations about good writing
[http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com]

A Writer's "Defining Moment" Book ~ Latest Commentary at Blood-Red Pencil

I like to think there is a book in every writer's memory that made him or her go, "Yes, I would like to write" or "Hmm, I think I might try this genre." In my latest commentary at The Blood-Red Pencil, "A Writer's 'Defining Moment' Book," I write about the book that made me try my hand at writing mysteries/suspense. Want to know what the book is? Want to know why this book? Then head over to BRP now [LINK] to read my commentary and also share YOUR "defining moment" book!

The Blood-Red Pencil
Sharp and pointed observations about good writing
[http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com]

Killing Envy in Your Writing

Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. (Romans 13:13, KJV)

We are envious creatures.  We all want.  We want a lot.  And in the big expanse of the world, we are certainly going to find at least one person who has exactly what we want -- in abundance.

And we're going to question why.  Why that person and not us?  Why so much for that person and nothing for us?  When will we get ours?

When we're envious, we are discontent; we long to have other's achievements, advantages, successes, and possessions.  Envy often leads to jealousy as we move from being emotional (sad, discontent) over someone's possessions to being resentful that someone has gained something that we believe we should have gained instead.

Envy is detrimental for several reasons - one in particular is this:  we denounce our own worth by comparing and wanting and becoming resentful over what other people have.

How can we be on the right path of our life, the life God wants us to have if we are so busy peeking over into the yards of others' lives and wanting what they have?

We can't be on the right path.  We won't be on the right path.

It's hard.  As humans, we want what we want when we want it.  No exceptions.  We live on the world's time, not God's time.  God gives to us when it's our time to have it.  We fail to realize that the very things we want of others could be ours if we spent more time acting in our lives and less time wanting others' lives.

In the world of publishing, it’s easy to get envious. You’re a voracious reader. You have networked with other writers, both unpublished and published. You have researched agents and editors until you believe you could recite every agent and editor that exists. You have taken classes and workshops, even pursued a degree to help you better your craft. You write, a lot—not just with the goal of being published but also with the goal of being a better writer each time you come out the writing gate. You have written, rewritten, and rewritten two, three or more times your elevator pitches, query letters, and synopses. You have revised your manuscript more times than your fingers can count. You have had your book professionally edited. You’re ready to send your literary baby out into the world, and you do. You send to agents. You send to editors who allow for unagented submissions. You send sample chapters to author friends, asking if they could recommend agents, editors. You do all of this. Not just for weeks, months. Years. And every year, as you polish a new manuscript, send it out, and start working on your next baby, you see others getting published.

Frustration settles. Irritation settles. Agitation settles. Doubt settles. Failure settles. Envy settles and takes root and colors the work you’ve done, the work that still needs to be done for you to reach your own literary success. It’s not easy. Reaching Publishdom isn’t necessarily about talent—and it’s important to know that. Yes, it’s important to be talented, and as a person who is big on the writing craft and seeing writers constantly trying to master their craft, I believe it is the most vital thing a writer can have. However, other components play a role, too—marketability, persistence, perseverance, connections, and luck to name a few. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, what we haven’t received yet, we should focus on what else we can do, what more we can do to claim our rightful success. There is plenty to go around—we don’t need to covet others’ literary success.

We have to recognize the green-eyed monster. It exists. No need in frontin’ like it doesn’t. I openly admit that I have been envious, I have been jealous. And recently, too. It's hard to admit that.  No one ever does.  But I know if I work harder at what I need to do, if I focus on mine and not others, if I talk to God and ask Him to guide me in my own successes and to remove envy from my heart; at some point, envy will be removed and the space to allow my successes room will expand.

And then, I will have killed envy.

And then, I will succeed.

Where You At? Setting

In its basic definition, setting is a story's time and place.  Setting can help illustrate a historical moment or create a story within a particular social context.  Years after 9-11, writers began to integrate this horrific event into stories and use hints of the tragedy to reflect societal issues that erupted after the event, such as fear, safety of one's self and his or her family, and love loss.  Setting can also create mood. A story set in Maine in January has a different feel than a story set in Louisiana in August, or Paris in the spring.  The first could help create a mood of entrapment as piles of snow fall upon the state, closing people in, perhaps giving them cabin fever.  In the third scenario, a writer might find the perfect opportunity to illustrate a romantic story as Paris in spring gives off a romantic air.  In some way, characters have to interact with the story's setting, and their interaction can reveal characters' traits.  Oftentimes, setting is developed within narrative description; however, writers can show setting through character's thoughts, action, and/or dialogue.

Setting has, at its core, at least four components:

Geographical Location
Baltimore, Paris, DC, and Jamaica are all geographical locations.  One of my favorite books, Sugar by Bernice McFadden is set in Bigelow, Arkansas.


Time Period
Time periods could be 1948, Great Depression, today, and the 1960s.  Sugar is set in the 1950s.


Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Location
This can include specific information, such as the earnings, employment, income, poverty, and wealth within a particular location. Sugar is set in a tiny Southern town, where the vast population consists of blacks who are neither rich nor terribly poor; however, they work hard, very hard to survive and create a slice of normal living for them and their families.


A Specific Building, Room, ETC.
This can include the specific "places" within a geographical location where characters interact, such as a bus, a school, a military base, lawyer's office. Sugar has several specific places, as most books do.  One specifically that I recall is church. Faith plays a big role in this story, but that's not why it's such a searing remembrance for me.  In one scene, the main character Sugar is in the church, where she faces the gossipmongers, the adulterous men she's slept with, Pearl (the woman who has become a good friend to Sugar), and Joe (Pearl's husband and a man with an unknown connection to Sugar). The church itself is almost a character in this setting and definitely, I would argue, in the story overall, and this specific scene paints an extraordinarily poignant moment that brings the story, really, full circle.

The Importance of Being Open

A week or so ago, I received wonderful news; I learned that my best friend's husband was in remission from his leukemia. This was beyond wonderful news. Or great news. Or awesome news. This was, indeed, a major blessing, a miracle. He was only diagnosed this year, and his case was severely advanced. In fact, the prognosis wasn't a good one. When he went from 100% cancer to 6% cancer in the matter of five months, doctors were astounded; they brought in even more doctors to try to figure out how this could happen.

"We've never seen anything like this," a doctor said.

And my girlfriend and I could only laugh. We were pretty sure he hadn't. It was all the hand of God.

And when my girlfriend's hubby went from 6% to NOTHING two weeks later, they were stumped yet again.

As I talked on the phone with my girlfriend while she shared this wondrous news, this tickle raced up and down my spine, and I smiled, then nodded.

God had given me a message.

A message through my best friend's husband.

For last few weeks, I had slowly but surely gone into a depression, and just the day before my friend called, I had hit the stage of I CAN'T DO THIS. I felt like a failure with school, with everything in my life, and I just knew that everyone would eventually learn that I couldn't cut it.

And then I received this news from my friend.

Over the phone, I told her, "God just gave me a message through hubby. Surely, if God is great enough to heal him from cancer, he can do a work in me. My issues so pale in comparison."

This blessing that had rained upon my friend and her hubby, in effect, had rained down upon me, too, and almost instantly, I truly felt like I could do all things.


How does this apply to writing?

Here was my lesson learned: Sometimes, God gives you answers through the trials and triumphs of others. Be open. Watch intently. Listen closely.

You can use the trials and triumphs of writers before you to propel you forward. Through the various social networks I belong to, I spend a great deal of time listening to stories. Listening to those authors who submitted like crazy for years before getting their big break. I listen to the stories of those who managed to hit big on the very first try. I listen to those who hit it big then have their run well dry and have to try for yet another big break. These stories supply me with information. The what to dos, the what not to dos.

You can use the works of others to inspire your own work. I have a handful of authors that I truly love, and when a book of theirs drops, I buy it to see how their writing has changed-- if it's changed. I read to learn more - about the craft, about the author, about his/her technique, and how I might apply those things to my own writing.

You can join organizations that are a bit out of the ordinary to learn what's going on in that part of publishing. I watch to see what's going on African American fiction, but I also join more multicultural organizations, too, because I want to be mainstream, and I want to see what's being published or not being published on that front, too. I check out organizations based on various genres so I can see how sales are going within those genres, to learn of new sub-genres, and to find out which editors, agents might be looking for that type of material.

Every genre has its trailblazers, those that have made the way before us much smoother, who have knocked down walls and allowed space for us and our words. It's important for us to find these trailblazers, to learn of their journeys, and to delve deep within ourselves in order to discern how we can forge our own trails for others to follow.

You never know who can be the catalyst to help you to achieve your literary dream.

You never know how much you can that catalyst to help another achieve his or her literary dream.

Be open. Watch intently. Listen closely.

Believe~Act~Receive

I have a faith blog where occasionally, I pick one of my favorite verses and write a short thought about it. One verse I chose, that I love a lot, is  "If you believe, you will receive…" (Matthew 21:22, NIV)

On my blog I talk about the importance of fully believing, of letting that belief infiltrate your mind and thoughts so fully that you start to think the belief is true NOW. As such, your actions change, synching with your belief, and before you know it, you have received.

Why am I bringing this up now? How does this tie to writing?

Think about it.

We all dream of being published. We all dream of having our words within the hard covers of a book that others will read and enjoy.

We all sit in front of our computers or before our notepads and write the stories we wish to tell.

But are we really writing the stories we want to tell?

Are we really pursuing publication vigorously?

If you believe that you are a published author, then you have to ACT in a fashion that will make this belief a reality.

How do you do that?

First- think about what's on your heart. Think about the stories that will move you, that will reveal your passion and true gift as a writer, and write those stories.

Second- Be creative. Once that story is written, a synopsis has to be written, too. A query letter, too. A pitch, too. All tools that entice an editor or agent. These tools need to make your literary baby SHINE; therefore, careful creative attention will be necessary.

Third- Be studious. Buy magazines like Writer's Digest. Buy books like 2011 Writer's Market. Check out sites Agent Query. Peruse the front pages of books similar to yours at bookstores. Why? Writer's Digest has awesome articles on many of the tools mentioned above, and it always has information about markets. 2011 Writer's Market has the names and addresses of literary agents and editors who are waiting to discover YOUR book. Agent Query is an easy database to help you find agents. If you go to the bookstore and browse through the front pages of books like yours, then you might come across an agent or editor name that you can look up later and consider submitting to.

Fourth- Be tenacious. Generate a list of agents and editors you'd like to contact. Fine-tune your tools (synopsis, query letter, pitch). Have your book edited. And submit systematically. Every month, submit SOMETHING. And while you're submitting, WRITE the NEXT work. If this is the dream you want, you have to be ALL or NOTHING to make that dream a reality.


Before you is PublishDom, the world of the published author. Between you and PublishDom is the road you must travel to reach it. If you believe you are that published author, you will act upon the above suggestions to help you BECOME that published author.

Writing the Vision

Then the LORD answered me and said:


Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.
Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:2-4


This verse always speaks to my spirit, both my faith-filled spirit and my writerly spirit.

There are many of us who dream of having our words be read by others - to move others with our stories, with our testimonies. We want to entertain, educate readers.

But sometimes we stunt our own growth because we are not writing our vision. We dedicate time to everything - family, work, friends, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, e-mail, and the list goes on and on. And do you know what's usually at the bottom of that list? Writing. And for many of us, writing is our passion. If you're like me, you believe writing is one of your life purposes.

What a disservice we do to ourselves by not reveling in our passion, in a talent God has lovingly given to us.

Though I am taking literary liberties with this verse, I believe our appointed time for the writing vision to come is now. We can make the decision to rededicate ourselves to our words, to the stories that pull us out of bed at three in the morning.

When we take the time to write our stories, plain upon tablets, their appointed time for publication will come, and readers will run to take part in it.

Make your appointed time today and connect with your literary passion.

Writing Your Query Letter

If getting your manuscript in the hands of an agent or editor is your goal for 2010, you will need a strong, titillating, one-paged query letter.  Many agents and editors ask either for a query only first or for the query, synopsis and possible sample chapters, so no matter how you slice it, you will inevitably have to create a query letter.

Agents and editors can receive hundreds of queries in a week, sometimes in a day, so the look of and content within your query letter are extremely important.  You don’t want to give him/her an unnecessary reason to reject you.

THE LOOK

You know the saying, Image is everything.  Well, it’s true.  The look of your query letter is important.  For one thing, the letter should be addressed to a specific agent or editor.  This means you need to do your homework.  Buy Writer’s Market or Guide to Literary Agents.

Research editors and agents who publish or represent the type of work you are trying to get published.  “Dear Editor/Agent” will not suffice and will show that you’re lazy and not up for the task of seriously seeking representation or publication.  Also, place your contact information on the letter, too.  Consider the business letter format in which your mailing/contact info is top and center, followed by the date, the agent/editor’s contact info, and Dear So and So are on the left hand side of the letter.

You want to also make sure you have good margins (1” all the around is typical) and good font size. Do not narrow your margins or decrease the size of your font just to give you more space. These things make you look amateurish.  Two additional “look” factors are spelling and grammar.  You want clear, concise, and vivid writing.  Consider your query one of many at a cattle call.  There are hundreds of query letters and any little thing can cause your letter to get booted during auditions.  This is the easier of the two important components (look and content) to do; don’t let it be the reason your audition ends abruptly.

THE CONTENT

Three important things should occur in the content of your query letter – intro/hook, book synopsis, and short bio, and each of these should be developed in a paragraph.

Intro~Hook

The first paragraph of your query letter is crucial and needs to do a few things. It needs to give the agent/editor critical information about your book and supply him or her with the hook.

Typical “critical” information we find at the onset of a query letter includes title, word count, and genre. Agents and editors want to quickly ground themselves in the letter they read, and this information is a good way of doing this. Why? Because, for example, knowing your genre helps them to determine if your work is something they might be interested in. Of course, you have done your homework, so you are submitting works to editors and agents who actively seek the genre you write. However, I know of many writers who blindly submit query letters to agents and editors and lose out because their genre does not mesh with those they submit to.

What can raise the eyebrow of an intrigued editor or agent is the hook. If you read my article on synopsis writing, then you know of the logline; the hook is very similar to it. A hook is a concise, one-sentence tagline for your book. Three questions that are typically asked within the hook include who is the main character, who/what is standing in the way of the main character, and what makes this story unique.

QueryTracker.net Blog talks about the high concept hook here.

Book Description ~ Mini-Synopsis

Once your hook snags an interested agent or editor, the second paragraph of your query letter should tell the agent/editor what the book is about.  This is not your full synopsis.  This is not the place to write how much your mother loves your book.  This is not the place to state that this is the best book you’ve ever written.  You have a paragraph, perhaps a bit more in which to entice the agent/editor with what your book is about.  Introduce main characters.  Introduce main conflict.  Consider reading back copy of books that are in the same genre your book falls in.  Oftentimes, the back copy is what sells a book to a reader who happens to spot the book in a store. 

This section takes a lot of work.  If you had a minute to tell someone about your book, one minute to make someone want to run out and buy your book, what would you say?  Write that, fine tune it, tweak it, make sure your main characters and your book’s conflict rings in the paragraph.

Bio

The third paragraph of the query letter is all about you – your writing experience and credentials, professional memberships, and any significant information relating to the book and your writing of it.  If you have published books, articles, and other works by reputable houses or in reputable magazines, you will want to showcase them.  If you’ve written a book that’s set in a cable newsroom, and you are a producer/writer for a cable newsroom, it is definitely relevant to tell an agent/editor this; it shows that you have first-hand experience with the setting to which you write about.  You do not want to write your autobiography here; you want to showcase any information about you that is relevant to the task at hand:  trying to get your book read, represented, and published!

You want to make sure you end the letter with a few sentences that thank the editor/agent for taking the time to read your material and offer to send additional material per request.

At the end, your query letter should be a shining example of your book and you as the author.  It’ll take some practice to get the letter where you want it because after all, your book is thousands of words long, and now you’re being asked to sum it up within a page; however, if you want representation and publication of your masterpiece, an exciting, tightly written query letter will be your key.

Agent Kristin Nelson has wonderful examples of query letters on her blog, complete with commentary. And it’s good to note that the writers of these letters received representation, too! Here’s the link.

Writing the Short Short Story

This weekend, I was talking to a sisterfriend of mine about writing. She was working on a short story for a contest. She asked me to read what she had written thus far, the first couple of pages, and as I read I thought, This is great stuff—for a longer story. She had set up the main character well, had placed me firmly into the context of the story’s situation, and had detailed the environment efficiently. However, as I neared 1,000 words in what was supposed to be a story 2,000 words or less, I had no idea where we were going or where this story was ending. Only because I knew my girl and knew the types of stories she wrote did I have a sense of the type of story she was writing. People who don’t have that knowledge—most people—might be lost.

I asked her to explain to me what, ultimately, the story was about, and once she did, we talked more about how to make what she had into an effective short story—not a great beginning to a novel.

A lot of writers who are entrenched in Novel World often have a hard time transitioning into writing short stories—like my friend. And like me. While pursuing my MFA, I was told on a few occasions that some of my short stories were novelistic. I’m not sure this was a compliment. Now, I can laugh loudly at the comment and realize that to an extent, it is true—but it doesn’t have to be.

In Novel World, we have space to develop scenes and environments, to let characters muse, to place a well-intention monologue, to—well, you get what I’m saying. More space allows for more stuff for the writer to revel in.

With short stories ranging in length to say 2,000 to 20,000 words, there is also a range in how one can tackle a short story depending on its size. A longer short story offers the writer the opportunity to explore some of the things that a novel offers the writer. When you’re writing a shorter short story, one say close to flash fiction and touching on the level of short story—that 1 to 2k zone, it’s important to think of a few things.

GETTING TO THE POINT

We talk a lot about having a great first chapter, first page, first paragraph, even a first sentence, and here, this point is extremely important. I talk more about the first page on this article at the Blood-Red Pencil.  What is the point of the story? What are you trying to say with it? What is its purpose? Its theme? It’s important to think about these questions because the most important thing about a short story is where you start it. You start it too soon and you’ll rush to go to the resolution. You start it too late and readers will be left wondering what happened in the past for the story to occur.

CHARACTERS & DETAILS

These points are not in any order, and if they were, I might put this first because many people think of their characters before a story idea. For a short short story, it’s important to think the fewer the better when it comes to characters. Not more than 3 main characters, and for a short short especially, less than 3 is preferably. Now, don’t take the “less” to mean that your characters should not be fleshed out, not be detailed. They better be! And now that I’m thinking on this, maybe this point should be second because knowing what your theme or idea or purpose is for the story will help you determine which details, which characteristics of your character should be detailed in the story and which ones should not. Once you have an idea of the story, of the theme, then you can clearly make sure that everything, from the dialogue to the character development, adheres to that theme. A short short story is too, well, short to not keep your focus while writing it.

STRUCTURE

Short stories have the same structure as other works of fiction; we move from situation, to conflicts, to resolution. But in a short story, even more so a short short story, it is important to know specifically what the situation is, what the conflict is, and what the resolution is. A short short story takes up small space—in words and in story space. As a result, you’ll need to be mindful of just how many obstacles you’ll place in the story. This point ties in well with the first one because once you have an idea of the story you want to tell, you will need to be mindful of how you start the story. Will you start straightaway with conflict or not? And oftentimes, it’s good to place the character within conflict at the start so that you don’t waste much space with having to lead us to the conflict.

TIME

Short stories typically cover a short span of time. When developing your short short story, think about the time span that the story covers and think about how you can effectively tell the story with a developed character, conflict, dialogue, setting, resolution in the word space you have. Because you don’t have much word space, it’s good to think about a single event, a single, significant event in the main character’s life.

There is so much more I could say about this topic, and probably will in later commentaries.

I’m more of a novelist than a short story writer, but I’m fond of the short story. For me, I treat them like puzzles that need to be solved. Some run from the idea of having to write something short, but if you look at a short story as a game in which you are being challenged to bring a character to life in one momentous event of that life in a short amount of words, then you can make the art of short short story writing a fun activity.

Two Tips to Spark Your Writing

Hello All! We're moving into holiday season, what with Halloween come and gone and with Thanksgiving and Christmas before us. This time of year also marks a major time for writers, too--especially those writers who participate in NaNoWriMo. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, it's a contest of sorts where during the month of November thousands of people from all over the world decide to roll up their sleeves, charge up their laptop batteries, and write a 50k novel in 30 days. Now me personally, I've only written a 50k book once in my life. In the last six years, I've used NaNoWriMo to write the first 50k (sometimes I made it to 60k+ in 30 days) of a novel. And you can, too. If you've been thinking and thinking and (you get the picture) about writing your book, take this month to DO IT. Stop playing. It won't get done through osmosis (I've tried).

If you're in a stage right now where you're stumped for an idea to join in on the NaNo fun, here are two tips that I used often to either kick-start a new story or to just do a writing exercise to get the brain warmed up for writing.

What's Your Fortune?

Somewhere around my house, there is an Altoids can full of years' worth of fortunes from fortune cookies. Every once in a while, I like to get the can, flip it open and pull out a fortune. Fortunes are often so broad and encompassing in their statements that they make for great story-sparkers. Look at these, for example:

1. Now is the time to do that one thing you've dreamt of.

2. The one you love is closer than you think.

3. May life throw you a pleasant curve.

4. There is yet time enough for you to take a different path.

Each of these fortunes presents a wealth of ideas for a story. For the first one, I can easily see a character who has lived a life of doing everything but the one thing that would truly make a heart sing, and somehow, when she's presented with that dream, there is trepidation but ultimately a desire that surpasses the doubt and makes her go for her dreams. We have seen plenty of movies, read many of books that take on the second fortune. Number 3 is a lot like number 1 in a way. I can see a forlorn character that has not had an easy time and then that pleasant curve arises—does he go with the pleasant curve or stay stuck in his rut? Which connects to the 4th fortune, too. How many of us have read stories where a character, time and time again, seems to do the wrong thing, take the wrong path? I have and I always get irritated with the character, wondering when she will realize that there are other paths, better paths to take. What is the moment that makes that character take the different path? What is the result of having done so? See how just a sentence can send the mind spiraling into Writerville?

Resuscitating Stories of Long Ago

We all have them. In a folder hidden inside other folders: stories we wrote long ago that never saw the light of day. We may have tried to sell them and that didn't come to pass. We may have written them and decided they were garbage but because we wrote them we couldn't simply discard them. There is nothing like time, fresh eyes, and new perspectives to take a has-been story and revise/rewrite it to become a literary gem. Take out a story you've written and have discarded. Ask yourself...

1-    How might a gender change for the main character affect the story? An occupational change? A cultural/ethnic change?

2-    How might a setting change affect the overall story?

3-    How might adding an additional antagonist affect the story?

4-    How might a POV shift affect the story?

5-    How might a genre change affect the story?

6-    How might cutting say the first 10 pages from the story change how the story begins, how it moves forward?

7-    How might cutting say the last 10 pages from the story change how the story begins and how you lead toward the new ending?

By looking at major components of a story and examining how major structural changes could affect it might give you the opportunity to take a story you thought died long ago and revive it, turning it into something amazing.

Finding Agents & Editors

OK, so you have a great book that’s been revised, rewritten. You have had your book professionally edited [link to Editor article: http://www.apooobooks.com/finding-editor-literary-baby-shonell-bacon/]. You have a query letter that sings [link to Query Letter article: http://www.apooobooks.com/writing-query-letter-shonell-bacon/]. You have a synopsis that succinctly tells your tale [link to Synopsis Writing article: http://www.apooobooks.com/writing-synopsis-shonell-bacon/].

Now, you’re ready to try to enter Publishdom by looking for an agent or an editor. The journey is arduous, but it’s not impossible.

Unlike other articles, what this post does is highlight some places on the Net that offer excellent advice, resources, and databases to help you find a literary agent or editor.

What you will notice, once you’ve checked out these resources, is that several key components seem to resonate:

1-    You need to have a solid product – must have a compelling story, a well-developed story, an edited story.

2-    You need to have components that help sell this product – must have a query letter that hits each component [intro, story, bio, etc.] well, that is written to appropriate editors and agents who publish the type of book you’ve written, and that gives these editors and agents a reason to want to read your work. Also, must have a synopsis that tells (not reports) your story, the whole story and nothing but the story—including the ending. No cutesy “Will she survive to find the love of her life?” questions.

3-    You need to have done your homework – must research editors and agents. Don’t just open up the latest Guide to Literary Agents and send to the first 50 agents. Agents and editors receive piles of query letters and submission packets every day. Don’t let yours get dumped because you failed to follow directions and submit to those agents/editors who are looking for the type of work you write. Also, pay a visit to your local library. Skim the acknowledgment pages of those books that fit within the category to which you write. Take note of editors and/or agents that are mentioned. These could be potential agents, editors to submit work to.

4-    You need to persistent – must accept that rejection could be a part of your journey to Publishdom. Learn what you can learn from the experience and move on to the next letter to be (e)mailed to the next agent or editor.

5-    You need to think outside the box – must think beyond just writing pretty query letters and sending them to agents/editors via snail or e-mail. Author friends (reference to an agent, editor anyone?), conferences, author chats, readings – NETWORKING – can help you get the big toe inside the door so that you can slip that pretty little submission package to your potential agent or editor.

If you have experience with looking for an agent or editor and capturing (or not) an agent/editor, share those stories here. This is a great opportunity for all of us to learn from one another.

Agent Query

[http://www.agentquery.com/]

AQ was recognized by Writer's Digest in its June 2009 issue as one of the best websites for writers--five years in a row. Not only is this a site to find an agent; AQ offers a plethora of information for writers, such as info on major publishers and small presses, literary magazines, conferences, and grants and foundations.

SFWA

[http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/agents/]

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has great information about literary agents, especially discussion on dishonest agents and amateur, marginal, and incompetent agents. It's just as important to know what NOT to choose in an agent as it is important to know what TO choose in an agent. Worth the read.

ACFW Conference

[http://www.acfw.com/conference/edsnagents.shtml]

"The Premiere Christian Fiction Conference"-- American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) will be coming to Indianapolis, Indiana, from September 17-20, 2010, and on their site, they have a list of the editors and agents that will be in attendance.

Larry Brooks

[http://storyfix.com/get-published-series-part-5-%E2%80%93-what-agents-and-editors-are-really-looking-for]

Larry Brooks, author of psychological thrillers and great books on writing, offers a truthful look at what agents and editors are really looking for at his blog, StoryFix.com.

Tara Lazar at Jacket Flap

[http://www.jacketflap.com/megablog/index.asp?Year=2009&Month=03&Day=05&postid=314226]

Last year, literary agent Colleen Lindsay hosted "QueryFail" on Twitter, where agents and editors got together and shared the worst query lines from their slush piles. Tara Lazar at Jacket Flap took notes of some of the things learned from checking out QueryFail.

Poets & Writers

[http://www.pw.org/content/agents_and_editors_qampa_four_literary_agents]

Last year, Jofie Ferrari-Adler wrote the feature for Poets & Writers--a Q&A with four literary agents.

BookEnds, LLC – Literary Agency

[http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/]

The blog for BookEnds, LLC, a literary agency, has great advice on all things writerly--including, of course, those staples that can help you get the attention of an editor.

Guide to Literary Agents

[http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/]

This excellent blog is developed by Chuck Sambuchino, editor of Guide to Literary Agents-Where and How to Find the Right Agents to Represent Your Work through Writer's Digest.

Author Nikki Duncan

[http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/]

Author Nikki Duncan offers a great write-up on professionally grabbing and keeping the attention of agents and editors.

Advice on Self-Publishing

Many writers—once they have a strong, well-developed, and edited manuscript—decide to self-publish instead of seeking a deal with a traditional publishing house. And that’s great, but new writers who are at that stage of deciding if self-publishing is the route for them should stop and seriously think about the time and energy that is involved in the process.

For this article, I called upon some lit friends of mine—Sammie Ward, King Dhakir, Electa Rome Parks, and Tamika Newhouse—to offer sound, real advice to those looking to self-publish. Each of these authors has started his or her literary career through self-publishing; some have gone on to traditional publishing success and some have stayed within the independent halls of self-publishing and have developed their own publishing houses that now successfully sell their and others’ works.

Across the board, these authors will tell you that self-publishing is not for the faint of heart, but it is doable if you are determined, if you have a plan, and if you have the drive to administer the plan.

Below are excerpts from each author based on one question I asked: What three pieces of advice would you give to someone interested in self-publishing?

To keep this article from getting too long, I have compiled full responses, bios, and latest books from each authors into a PDF titled “The Write Life for You Presents… Authors on Self-Publishing.” The link for the booklet is at the end of the article.

Sammie Ward, author, founder of Lady Leo Publishing, latest LLP release,

Can a Sistah Get Some Love? [website; book info]

One thing Sammie emphasizes in her response is the importance of promotion:

Learn the Business – As a self-publisher, you are the company; therefore, you have to learn the business side of publishing. No one is going to see your product/s if you don’t do what it takes to get them noticed. Learn what channels it takes to get the titles reviewed, do print interviews, book signings, do radio interviews, get a website, emails blast, reach out to bookstores about consignments to place your books on their shelves, send out a newsletter, mailings. If you have a blog, promote! I can't touch enough on Promotion! Promotion! Promotion!

King Dhakir, author of I Hate My Job [website; book info]

Stop Asking for Handouts – The truth is other authors don’t owe you spit, literally and figuratively.

We live in the Internet age, which means you can find out just about anything with the click of a button.

I negotiated my printing deal just by browsing the net and doing my own research. The time and energy is priceless, and worth it. Why rely solely on lawyers and agents when you can find the knowledge yourself? The knowledge is the life saver to know whether you’re getting cheated by folks who supposedly have your back.

If you can chat on social sites for hours and play games on them, then you shouldn’t have an excuse to cut corners in regards to learning the basics of the publishing business. Knowledge is everywhere, and you have to seek the jewels.

Instead of focusing on authors helping you out, focus on the THREE groups of people below to help your movement:

1)      The Media – press

2)      The Public – promoting

3)      Bookstores – book your OWN signings

King Dhakir keeps it realer than real in his overall response on this question, so definitely check out the booklet to read further!

Electa Rome Parks, author of latest novel, Diary of a Stalker [website; book info]

Initially, I used self-publishing as a vehicle to position my product, gain reader feedback, build my readership base, establish a sales record, learn the industry and key players, and hopefully, in the process, garner the attention of an agent/publishing house. I accomplished all of these goals through self-publishing.

Yes, I would definitely do self-publishing over in a New York minute! For me, self-publishing was like being in the trenches; I worked my butt off and learned such valuable lessons. Now, as a mainstream author, I can appreciate it all the more.

Treat It as a Business – Once you make the important decision to self-publish, you enter the realm of becoming an entrepreneur. You will wear many hats from publicist, marketing guru, bill collector, coordinator, editor, etc. during your venture. Go in with a concrete business and marketing plan in place. Have a vision, know your short and long term goals. Know your target audience and market. Be informed and most of all be professional.

This is your business and your product (book) represents who and what you are as an author. It can literally make you or break you.

Tamika Newhouse, author (latest book, The Ultimate No-No ), founder of Delphine Publications [website; book info]

Go Beyond Cyberspace – You cannot be successful by just advertising online. Build events around your book and get out there in the public and perform book signings. Also know and remember no one is going to promote you more than yourself, so invest in yourself. As long as you never give up, your investment will never go sour.

You can see all the authors’ advice and more by downloading the booklet, “The Write Life for You Presents… Authors on Self-Publishing.” You can download [here].