Where's the time?

Eons ago, you could write a book, print it out, send it off in a book box and get a rejection or, if it appealed to someone, find an agent or editor. 

No longer so!

Now, you need an "Author Platform;" A presence on the web, really on the world, that says you are somehow connected, not just five ways to Kevin Bacon, but to half a million people you have never met in person. These are people who like to read your written word.

I do understand. It's a built in audience for your book. What I do not understand is how you have the trim to write a book, when you need to build a website, blog, tweet, LinkedIn, and be entertaining on Facebook, which I find to be quite a depressing site whose main function is to point out to me, "Am I REALLY related to these people?" I am already convinced that I did not go to school with half the people who say they were in my class. My memory cannot be that bad.

So, my apologies for being missing from my site for so long. I have been running another edit to cut wordcount. It has either tightened my work up or killed it dead. I have long ago decided I am not the person to judge my own work, so, in the near future I am thinking about putting up two clips. 1. from when I started the book, and 2. after twenty-five edits. We shall see, because right now I am focusing on my Author Platform.

I found a nice article on The Creative Penn. There is a ton of information on building your platform and what it is and isn't. One is A Definition of Author Platform by Jane Friedman.

Now, I know that I need "visibility, Authority, and reach." I think I also need about twelve more hours in a day. Guess I shall give up my afternoon nap. I cannot give up housecleaning as I gave that up long ago.

AgentQuery Connect

Things seem to fall into your lap just when you need them. I am eternally working on my query letter and I've just discovered AgentQueryConnect.

AgentQueryConnect has a neat feature where you post your query letter and/or your synopsis and fellow writer members critique them. Within minutes of posting my, what I thought was polished query, I had my first critique. Don't forget, I have been researching and working on this Query for months and months.

When I wrote my first manuscript, a mystery novel, I went to 'Of Dark and Stormy Nights' mystery conference, in Chicago. I had a novel critique with a published Mystery author and her words to me were, "Would you like the name of my agent?"

I then, in true newby fashion, sent off a query letter (with absolutely no idea what one was) and, to make matters worse, without a finished manuscript in place. I was near finished, I was barely edited and I knew I had plotting problems.

This time around, I have worked for four years to learn plotting, character, everything I possibly can to make this book the best I can do. I have spent the last two years, while waiting for it to perk in my head and be critiqued by others, researching all the editor/agent/writer blogs for what makes a good query/synopsis/longline, you have it. But, there is always room for improvement and my first critique on AgentQueryConnect proved that to me.

I'm off to bed now, although I literally slept most of the day today, and hope to get back to polishing my query in the morning.

LESSON TO LEARN: Do NOT send your query off first to your very favorite pick of an agent. If you do, you will be sorry five queries later when you discover that it needs to be polished more.

The most important paragraph you will ever write!

The most important paragraph you will ever write is probably the second paragraph of your query. This paragraph is your teaser, the paragraph that will take the agent/editor’s feet off his desk as he sits up with delight in his eyes and a deep desire to read the rest of your manuscript.

The following two paragraphs were in my entry for: Mandy Hubbard - Query Day is Here!

Alex is the youngest of a neglected trio of brothers with the will to survive. When the brothers flee their home, they journey to a land ruled by the Thunderer of the Iroquois nation and guarded by a fierce black dragon man. As they strike out on a quest for security and friendship, they find that learning can be full of magic, compassion does exist, friends come in all sizes, and some battles are worth fighting. (You will notice this is very near what I have on this blog side bar. I would not have left that up, had it been successful in the query. You do not want editor's/agents reading the same thing twice.)

Moon Tree Brothers is an fantasy novel told through the eyes of the youngest brother, Alex, age eleven. Alex’s battle, in this the first in the series, is to make life safe for the sisters they left behind, complete the education he has not been given at home, and stay out of trouble when he is used to being alone and out in the night.

Mandy Hubbard's critique:
So, I’m having a hard time with this one. You’re telling us a lot. But you’re not showing us much. All I know about Alex is he’s a neglected 11 year old. I think you spend too much of your query trying to summarize the themes of your novel instead of setting it up and trying to hook us. Don’t tell us what they’ll learn: show us what their challenge is in the beginning of the book.

Try something closer to:

“Alex LASTNAME is eleven years old when he leaves the only home he’s ever known in favor of a long journey to FOREIGNPLACE. But he, along with his two brothers, are determined to succeed in order to find a safe haven for their sisters.

"But the journey is complicated by X factor and Y event, and Alex begins to wonder if he’s made a mistake. Can he really make it all the way to FOREIGN PLACE?

"Hmm, see, I can’t even write the query for you because I truly have no idea what your story is about. You’ve got a 5 paragraph query and of it, only about three sentences pertain to the events of the book, and a few more are listing out the lessons we’re going to learn along the way. (NEVER preach the lesson’s we’ll learn, let us discover them ourselves!)."

I am now working on another version of my query. I want to make sure any editor/agent I submit to cannot wait to get my manuscript. And, do not forget that you want to tailor your query to each agent/editor individually.

I believe the lesson here is: write your query as well as you write your manuscript. How many years did you work on your book?

Synopsis should retell your story - part #3

I have already mentioned and want to remind you that you are sending out a packet to submit your manuscript for publication. This is highly serious stuff. You have very few words with which to capture their attention, so do not waste words by repeating them.

Presuming you are sending the first fifty pages of your manuscript with your synopsis, remember that they are, hopefully, going to be reading at least the first few sentences of each.
Do you really want those first few sentences, that will make or break your chances, to be identical? That cuts, by half, the well crafted words you have written that they read.

OPEN YOUR SYNOPSIS WITH:

o Set up context of story
o Who is main character
o How old is main character, in the case of writing for youth,
o The setting
o The Events or circumstances that open your story
o Include actual scenes in glowing detail, not just a summary
o Connect the dots with your own summarizing

YOUR WRITING:
o Include indelible image in first couple of paragraphs to WOW them
o Use vivid, sensual images
o Portray, actual scenes in glowing detail, not just summary
o Surprising juxtaposition of words
o Fresh emotional element
o Make it compelling
o You may gloss over the premise, since the editor/agent will be reading those first fifty pages (which includes premise and introduces protagonist), but be very sure to make it very clear how it all fits into the overall arc of the book

YOUR GOAL:
o to convince agent or editor that the rest of your manuscript is every bit as interesting and action-packed as first fifty pages
o To summarize the entire book and show conclusion
o To make work come alive and show it is unique and interesting

SHOW:
o you have vision and tenacity to take compelling characters through first chapter to satisfying conclusion
o Point of view ie first-person/third-person omniscient/etc
o Build suspense, relieve it

THIS IS A retelling of your story, in your voice, showing conflicts and challenges of your characters.

Next post: A list of questions to answer to get your synopsis started in the right direction.