Why I Do What I Do

Several weeks ago I was having dinner with a friend and she asked why I kept doing all these crazy things, like the Fondo, for example, or signing up for XC Ski. Is your work life not fulfilling? she asked.

I think maybe she's on to something. Finishing half marathons or the century definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I really do not find at work - though I wish I did. I am addicted to the challenge and the start line and the finish line and even all the training.

I never really thought about it too much until the Healdsburg Half this weekend. Because my ankle has been a slow-time healing, I'd been trying to get rid of my bib, but somehow no one wanted it even though it was a sold-out race. I hadn't been able to train really at all, and I figured I shouldn't be out on the course. But then last week I realized it was going to be a gorgeous weekend, and that the course would wind through vineyards with changing leaves, and that I could drink wine and collect my long-sleeve tech tee. So on Thursday I made the rash decision to go up to Healsburg for the event and walk it. I figured it would be a nice way to spend a Saturday morning - and it was.

My TNT buddy Ashley accompanied me as she's been having trouble with asthma, and Matt jumped in for several (too many) miles. I discovered that having not trained for power-walking, it started to hurt my feet and joints after a couple miles, so we started interspersing run breaks. We walked about a 15 minute mile pace and ran an 11 minute mile pace and finished with an overall pace of about 14 minutes. It was a lovely day and I enjoyed the wine and the company, and my muscles cooperated to get me to the finish line with only a bit of complaining from my un-trained hip flexors. But this was no cardio workout for me. While I certainly enjoyed the day, I also don't feel fulfilled at all.

Although every race can't be a PR, I have enjoyed many of the events I ran in which my times were not terribly good. But they were the best I could do on those days, and so it still feels like an accomplishment. I was disappointed that this little walk could not do the same for me, but there's certainly always next time.

So here's to the training, and the start line, and the challenge. I guess I'll keep signing up until I find my dream job.

Professional Fondo Photos

The peloton heading through the vineyards:

The namesake: King Ridge

Climbing King Ridge and looking pretty happy about it:

The most spectacular coastal view coming off King Ridge:

Climbing Coleman Valley and trying very hard not to swear at the photographer:

Social Networking Is So Easy

We live in a world where everything changes daily and changes quickly. And just as those changes happen, so do my thoughts on the many opportunities available to us. When the blog post I wrote on Twitter v. Facebook posted, it made me think a lot more about the two places, and I think some of your comments helped that as well.

When it comes to marketing I think it's pretty fair to say that everyone is looking for the quick fix. We all want to spend as little time as possible doing the marketing we know is necessary because, truthfully, we want to write our books. And of course you know how important that is because when all is said and done, the only thing that matters is the quality of your book.

Unfortunately, Twitter and Facebook, and other social networking markets, are not the time-savers we either like to believe they are or have convinced ourselves they are. Gone are the days when marketing meant taking a design to the printer, ordering a stack of postcards or bookmarks, and sending them to bookstores. Not that it was easy work, but it was a one-time deal (per book). You maybe took a day or two, or a week, out of your writing schedule to complete the job and then you moved on. Now marketing is 24/7, and if you're going to be good at it, and use it successfully, you have to do the work, which is a lot.

As I said in my earlier post, Twitter is great for connecting with new readers. It's a way to connect over publishing news, world news, or just pass along your favorite muffin recipe. It's a constant conversation with strangers, but strangers who just might find you interesting enough to want to learn more about you and buy your books.

Facebook is for fans. On Facebook people seek you out. Your status posts are not for public consumption. They are for your "friends" only. Therefore, Facebook is a way for you to connect with those who want a connection specifically with you. It's the place for you to talk about your upcoming book and connect with those readers in a conversation. It's the place for you to find out which of your characters is the most beloved or who they would like to see killed off in the next book.

I think both Facebook and Twitter can be hugely beneficial to all authors, but only if they are something you connect with as well. They aren't easy to use and they don't work if you don't use them properly, but if you do, wow, you can really find something special there.


Jessica

The Archaic Query

When authors spend time together complaining about query letters, one of the things I frequently hear is how archaic the process is, how queries should be done away with in place of sample chapters. The irony of this statement is that the importance of the query has grown significantly over the past few years, which makes it, in fact, not archaic at all.

As publishing gets "easier" through the use of technology, it's important for agents to come up with more ways to streamline their own processes. When we started BookEnds 12 years ago we accepted unsolicited proposal packages via snail mail. That allowed us to skip the query altogether and read the material. And then we got busier, more successful, and the proposals would come in at a stack that was somewhere between two and three feet tall daily. I'm not kidding. I had a wall of bookshelves dedicated to holding proposals and manuscripts. As time went on technology took over and things changed. I found that even if a proposal came in, half the time I wasn't reading it. I was basing my decision on the query anyway. So why was I asking people to submit the entire package?

I know many of you hate the query and feel that it's unfair because it's a different skill set. That might be true. I have to use many different skill sets for my job. Writing queries (ha! I write them too) is different than writing this blog, or the blurbs for the website, or the blurbs for my foreign agents, etc. It's what we do to become successful. We take time to learn what we need to do.


Jessica

The Stone Angel - Margaret Laurence

For this year's Canadian Book Challenge over at The Book Mine Set, I'm trying to re-read 13 Canadian Books from my past. I'm a bit behind schedule, but here is my second contribution.

Book: The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence (point of interest - my first re-read for this challenge also had angels in the title - The Rebel Angels)

First Read: I can be quite specific here - it was the summer of 1994, between grade 12 and 13. I had received a French language bursery and spent 6 weeks in the town of Rivière-du-Loup, living with a family and taking courses at the local CEGEP. I had limited access to English books, so read everything that I had packed in my suitcase, including the 4 Manawaka books.

Original Impressions: I didn't like it. In fact, if I hadn't had such limited book access that summer, I probably wouldn't have read the rest of the series. But I did read all of them, and found each book better than the one before, until I came to the last book, The Diviners, which I quite enjoyed.

Current Impressions: I re-read The Diviners a year or so ago and absolutely loved it, so I thought that this book was probably worth a re-read. I was staying with my sister last week, and she noticed that I was reading The Stone Angel and asked why I wanted to read the ramblings of a bitter old woman (note - she had to read it for school, while I first read it of my own free will and never had to study it). I certainly enjoyed it more than I did the first time around, but I wouldn't count it as one of my all-time favourites - I didn't click with Hagar the way that I did with Morag in The Diviners.

Hagar is a 90 year old woman who, as she approaches death, reflects back on her mostly unhappy life. She grew up as the only daughter of a relatively well-off merchant in the fictional prairie town of Manawaka. She married against her father's wishes and discovered that she wasn't happy in marriage. She became estranged from her elder son; left her husband; and then lost her younger son. She ends up lonely and resentful, living with her elder son and his wife. Come to think of it, my sister wasn't too far off calling Hagar a bitter old woman!

But really, it is a story of pride and ultimately redemption. Hagar realizes, close to the end of her life, that, "pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear. I was alone, never anything else, and never free, for I carried my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched." She reflects, "I must always, always, have wanted... simply to rejoice. How is it I never could? ... Every good joy I might have held, in my man or any child of mine or even the plain light of morning, of walking the earth, all were forced to a standstill by some brake of proper appearances - oh, proper to whom? When did I ever speak the heart's truth?"

So I like to think that Hagar found redemption in the end and was able to leave her bitterness aside.

It was a much more enjoyable read now than it was 17 years ago; as I can see more meaning and purpose in the story of Hagar's life. I look forward to re-reading the rest of the Manawaka books.

Regarding the cover - I was reading my mother's copy which she purchased for $1.95 in the late '60s (I suspect). The McClelland and Stewart website has 3 different editions for sale (I picked my favourite cover for this post), the cheapest of which, an e-book, sells for 12.95!

Workshop Wednesday

By repeated request we've started Workshop Wednesday. It will definitely play out through 2011, and beyond that we'll just have to see. We've received well over 200 queries at this point, but we are choosing at random, so don't be afraid to participate as per the guidelines in our original post.

For anyone wanting to comment, we ask that you comment in a polite and respectful manner, and we ask that you be as constructive as possible. If you can be useful to the brave souls who submitted their query and comment on the query, that's great. Please keep any anonymous tirades on publishing or other snarky comments to yourself. This is and should remain an open and safe forum for people to put themselves and their queries out there so that everyone can learn. I'm leaving comments open and open to anonymous posters, as I always have; don't make me feel the need to change that policy.

And for those who have never "met" Query Shark, get over there and do that. She's the originator of the query critique, the queen, if you will.


Dear Ms. Faust,

Sixteen year old transfer student Hannah Slaughtery never imagined her future would involve fighting against monsters she doesn’t believe in with people she’s not even sure she likes.

I like this opening. It grabs my attention and I think it works. If I wanted to get picky, although I don't know that it matters in the grand scheme of your query, I would wonder why you bother to mention that she's a transfer student. I don't know that it matters for a query.


But when she and four other students attend a retreat at Piaculum Academy, they discover they are the next generation of Partizans, a band of supernatural warriors dating back to the dawn of man. Each must decide how much of themselves they are willing to sacrifice as they stand against the Formorians, a ruthless and tyrannical empire of demons who have been wiping out the Partizan lines for generations in order to make way for their own ascension.

I like this, I only wonder if you aren't complicating things too much by over-describing. Do you need to name the groups in the query or can you simply say that they discover they are the next generation in a line of supernatural warriors charged with standing against an empire of demons . . . ? I also wonder, for the book's sake, if you need a bigger conflict. In other words, if they don't know if they are willing to sacrifice themselves, do they care about their own ascension (I assume you mean to power)?

All of that pickiness aside, I think this paragraph works.


As Hannah struggles to comprehend her legacy, she is distracted by the unexplainable, yet undeniable connection she feels toward Finn, another Partizan, who is obviously hiding something from her.

I think the problem I have with this is that I don't feel the action of the book or the big climax or conflict. I feel a little blah about all of this. You tell me the setup, but you don't really tell me a lot about Hannah's individual struggle, and I don't think her attraction to Finn is it.


Mentored by Garrett, a First Crusade era Catholic priest turned vampire, Hannah begins her metaphysical transformation to become a witch, knowing only one thing for sure: the carefree days of her youth have come to a screeching halt.

In the framework of your query this feels dropped in, and maybe this is the heart of the series. Maybe we need to learn more about this transformation. Maybe this is really the core of your query.


The Partizans, a YA paranormal is complete at 72,000 words and has series potential. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.

Overall I think this is a good query and I definitely think you'll get some requests off it. I do, however, worry that it's a little flat, that you could insert some excitement, some action into it that would push it over the edge and give it that oomph to get you lots of requests. I think your book overall is probably different and intriguing, but that doesn't come through in a big enough way in the query. The query sounds a little like a lot of other queries, which is why I think you need to work on focusing on more action.



Jessica

Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard - Richard B. Wright

This book caught my eye because I'm always a bit of a sucker for historical fiction. Especially good historical fiction; and the author of Clara Callan promised a good read. (As a side note, I read Clara Callan back when it first came out, and absolutely loved it. I couldn't believe that a male author could express female feelings in a first person narrative so deeply and accurately that I kept forgetting that it wasn't written by a female author.)

The plot in a nutshell? As the title implies, the main character, Aerlene Ward, is the illegitimate daughter of Mr. Shakespeare, author of such well known plays as Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Hamlet. Her mother Elizabeth had an affair with Shakespeare when she was a young woman recently moved to London, and Shakespeare was a young actor and playwright living in London while his wife and young children were left behind in Stratford Upon Avon. It is written as though Aerlene at age 80 is dictating her memoir, and jumps between the "present day" with Aerlene as an elderly housekeeper; her mother's story of growing up and moving to London as told to Aerlene; and Aerlene's own childhood.

It didn't have the same emotional clout (in my opinion) as Clara Callan, but again I was amazed that such believable female characters could be written by a male author (no offense intended to any men reading this!). It was a pretty easy and enjoyable read, and I passed it on to my sister to read as she recovers from an appendectomy. I thought it was a well crafted book in terms of the storytelling, and was sad when it ended.

And that's about all I have to say. There were no deeper meanings in this book to discuss; no controversy to pick apart; no unresolved issues. I enjoyed the book, and will leave it at that.

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Taxes and Authors

Can you please tell me if a publisher takes care of income tax in royalty payments? Or is paying tax the job of the author or agent?

As an author you are not an employee of the publisher, you are an independent contractor. Therefore you are responsible for filing your own taxes and paying them (quarterly). Typically, all payments are sent through your agent and issued from your agent, less her commission. Therefore, at tax time you should receive a 1099 from your agent that shows your actual earnings. And don't forget to save those receipts for things like your computer, Internet access, printer ink, or the ereader you use. All of those would be considered business expenses.


Jessica

**Quick disclaimer. I'm not even close to a tax attorney so before filing make sure you check with your accountant on what you really can write-off and what you can't.

Classifying Your Novel

My novel is about a collage age student on a journey of self discovery. There are paranormal events, some sci fi components, romance, but ultimately it is about the main character finding herself and accepting all that she is. So here's my question, where would my story fit? I have tried representing it in different ways, but some agents suggest different catagories. I even had it classified as New Adult, but is that the best place? Any resources or help would be greatly appriciated. :-)My goal is to reach a larger audience, but if I classify my novel as New Adult, would these other components be okay as cross genres?


It's really hard for me to tell you where your story will fit without reading it. My question to you would be who will read your book? What else are they reading? Personally, I'm not a fan of the term "new adult." I think it's silly and, yes, I could easily be proven wrong and it could become a new genre, but in my mind it's a trendy term that's going to be gone tomorrow. Besides that, at what point do people go to the bookstore or log into their ereaders and ask for the "new adult" section. There's YA, there's mystery, there's SF (not Sci Fi, by the way), there's romance, etc., but I've never seen new adult. When all else fails, label it fiction, but it sounds like you're writing a genre that needs a genre home. You need to find which home.

One thought, the one authors hate most to hear, is maybe it doesn't fit anywhere. Maybe you've tried to make your book into something it can't be and you need to go back in and strengthen certain areas of your book so that it is something.

Now, before someone named "anonymous" jumps in to tell me that this is the problem with publishing and all of us who work in it, that we have no imagination and need everything to be the same, let me point out that in the advent of ereaders we're seeing a real strength in proper categorization. Generally labeled books are not doing as well as genre labeled books. People are finding it easier to go into a section in their ereader bookstore to buy a book than they are sifting through a fiction section where some books might fit their interests while a lot do not. That does not mean that you slap any label on a book. Your label needs to fit the expectations of the readers.


Jessica

The Great East Bay Shake Out

This morning at 10:20 am, the lab participated in the Great California Shake Out, in which we, along with 8.5 million others, dropped, covered, and held on, and then evacuated the building as a result of an imaginary earthquake. It's important to be prepared after all.

At 2:41 pm, the building started shaking and banging. I sat in my chair, wondering what was going on. Was there construction? Could this be planned somehow? How does one create an earthquake? Crazy thought I know, but I do work at a National Lab with crazy scientists. It began to dawn on me that this actually was a real earthquake, and I began to think that perhaps I should be getting under my desk. Right about when I started to do so, the shaking stopped. It had lasted maybe 10 or 15 seconds at most.

Everyone started emerging from their offices and cubes, asking, "Was that an earthquake?" We were all so confused about how such a thing happened on the day of the Great California Shake Out. It was by far the strongest earthquake I have felt. We were woken up by one in Socorro with a loud thud, and I have felt two or three here in the Bay Area, with just slight swaying.

Well guess what, this one was only a 4.0! I have always wanted to feel a real earthquake, but this one sure made me realize that I want nothing to do with a real earthquake. Keep in mind that earthquake magnitudes are on a log scale, so a 6.0 would be 1,000 times greater than a 4.0. Holy crap! (I think that's right anyway...)

The only relief is that this earthquake was centered about one mile from my building, so I was super close by. In addition, the USGS says that since it was so deep (6.0 miles), the shaking is felt more profoundly. On the other hand, it is not unlikely that the Big One will occur on the same Hayward Fault also near both my building and my office. So good times lie ahead! My goodness mother nature.

What Is Platform

Frequently agents will tell writers, nonfiction writers most specifically, that they need a platform. But what is a platform?

A platform is needed for non-narrative nonfiction. This is nonfiction in which your readers expect you, as the author, to have a certain level of expertise. If you're providing advice on anything—how to achieve happiness, credit repair, parenting, wart removal, movie suggestions, cooking, sleeping, eating, shopping, business start-up—you will need a platform. Heck, sometimes you will even need a platform for memoirs and humor, but not always.

So what is this elusive platform? Let me first tell you want it's not. A platform is not your credentials. It has nothing to do with your degree or degrees, or the level of respect your colleagues have for you. A platform is your name recognition on a national or international level. It's how well you can sell books simply because you have a following.

A platform is your national newspaper column, your television show on NBC, your regular appearance as an expert on radio, TV, or a major website, like theknot.com. A platform means you have thousands of Twitter followers, a blog with thousands of readers, and you get major attention for those things or have received major attention for those things through other outlets.

In other words, a platform means that thousands of people you don't know know you and would buy your book because they know you.


Jessica

Goodreads 201: Part 4 - Introduction emails (content)

Okay, today I'm going to wrap up how to direct message people who have joined a group that you are also a member of. This presupposes a few things (covered in past posts)

• You've updated your profile to make it look good
  
  
• You've worked on your headline and short blurb
  
  
• You've participated (in a friendly - not look at me look at me) way on the forum so you don't look like a drive buy shooter.
  
  
• You have a place for people to read samples (preferably your website - so you can get them to it as well.
  
  
• You have some nice covers and an image that you can put in the message (i.e. the images is on the internet somewhere such that you can get a URL link to it.

As I mentioned in Part 3 I have different messages in a file that I copy/paste from. Now...even though you are copy/pasting you still want to make it personal. At a minimum you should start by typing: Hey person's name, before the paste. But I like to go further and if possible mention something they said in their welcome post - usually they'll mention some authors they like so you can either a) agree that xyz is one of your favorites or b) say I've never tried xyz thanks for letting me know I'll check them out. Other topics that are could to use is comments on nice Avatars, or if they live somewhere you've always wanted to visit (my hot spot is Australia / New Zealand) you can work that in to.

The next important thing...don't sound needy...or desperate...don't beg...don't whimper. Here is what you have to think of as you are crafting your message. You are on a reader site. These people WANT to find new authors to fall in love with. Your attitude should be one of confidence (but not arrogance). You are here to help them. If you've come from the "query world" think about how you would approach an agent to look at your work.

Okay...so you are in the "welcome thread" you see someone introducing themselves - Click on their picture. Then click on "compare books" to see if they have any of your books on their shelves. You'll see one of 4 things:

• No books - this will happen a lot in the beginning.
• Books - unread (now's your chance to get them to "move it up on their TBR pile)
• Books - read and rated (Respond to anyone with a 3 or better) 1's and 2's you can just move on - or try an advanced technique that I'll cover another day
• Books - read, rated, and reviewed (3 or better)

NO BOOKS
A typical post I suggest for someone with no books on the shelf:

Hey Susan,
I saw your post in the fantasy group. It's always good to meet people who like reading fantasy! I'm glad you like Rothfuss, I've really enjoyed the first two books. I'm also an author, but don't worry I'm not here to pressure you to buy my books. I just wanted to introduce them and you can decide for yourself if you are interested in finding out more.
RIYRIA REVELATIONS: Unlikely Heroes...Classic Adventure
There's no ancient evil to destroy or orphan destined for greatness, just two thieves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a cynical thief, and his ex-mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a living performing dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they are framed for the murder of the king.





I've been very happy with the reception the series has received here on goodreads (2300+ ratings and 500+ reviews) and, if you do get a chance to "check them out", I would love to know what you think...good, bad, or indifferent any and all feedback is welcome (much preferable to the crickets chirp).

Well I've rambled enough. Again, welcome to the group - it's a great place to find new things to read.

Michael: [book:Theft of Swords|10790290] | [book:Rise of Empire|11773712] | [book:Heir of Novron|11100431] | [book:The Viscount and the Witch|12746970]

So let's break it down:

• Personal introduction by name
• Welcome to the group
• Something personal about their post
• A disclaimer about being an author - but no pressure
• Book Section: Headline, Blurb, Covers, Sample button
• Some form of "validation" - The idea here is to give people a reason to believe you are "worth their time.
  
• Invitation for them to reach out to you - VERY important remember you want to make connections - make it two-way.
• Closing bringing it back to your welcome
• Signature that has links to your books in it. (I used the "no cover" version as the graphics are already in the message.

UNREAD BOOK
Goodreads people have HUGE TBR piles. But they are usually easily swayed by interaction to move your book up on the list - especially when in competition with some "big guy" that will never have that "personal touch" with them. Use this to your advantage.

Hey Susan,
I saw your post in the fantasy group. It's always good to meet people who like reading fantasy! I'm glad you like Rothfuss, I've really enjoyed the first two books. I hope you don't mind but I took a peek on your shelves and was happy to find out you already have my book listed--how cool is that! I'm not here to pressure you to buy my books (that's just not my style). I just wanted to thank you for your interest and to give you a link where you can read a sample.



If you're like me your TBR is large (and growing all the time but that's a good thing about goodreads) so here's a bit about my book as a reminder:

RIYRIA REVELATIONS: Unlikely Heroes...Classic Adventure
There's no ancient evil to destroy or orphan destined for greatness, just two thieves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a cynical thief, and his ex-mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a living performing dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they are framed for the murder of the king.

Well I've rambled enough if you do get a chance to "check them out", I would love to know what you think...good, bad, or indifferent any and all feedback is welcome (much preferable to the crickets chirp). Again, thanks for the interest in my book and welcome to the group - it's a great place to find new things to read.

Michael
[bookcover:Theft of Swords|10790290] [bookcover:Rise of Empire|11773712] [bookcover:Heir of Novron|11100431] [bookcover:The Viscount and the Witch|12746970]

READ BOOK - RATING BUT NO REVIEW
You've found someone you want to keep a hold of and get a direct connection with them. I would send them a message and immediately after do a "friend request" and in the message of the friend request say something like:I'm so glad you read and liked my book, Theft of Swords.

If they friend you back (which they usually will) you'll have their email address (if they have made it public) - PURE GOLD. Respond back when you see the "friend accepted" notice and ask them if you could add them to your email distribution list to notify them of upcoming releases or giveaways. Again they'll usually say yes - now you have a way to connect them and as long as you keep writing well, they'll buy each time you come out with a new book. -- Plus you can get them to buy direct from you where you get to keep most of the profit. Okay this whole email and direct buying is a whole post in and of itself, which we'll cover more later but getting back to the intro email: Here's how I word it:

Hey Susan,
I saw your post in the fantasy group. It's always good to meet people who like reading fantasy! I'm glad you like Rothfuss, I've really enjoyed the first two books. I hope you don't mind but I took a peek on your shelves and was happy to find that you read my book, Theft of Swords--how cool is that!

I'm dying for a little detail about your impressions. Would you mind adding a little review to your rating to let me know what you thought? It doesn't have to be a full blown review just a few sentences would be great. And feel free to tell me the good and the bad (this business makes tough skins and all I ask if is honest feedback). Writing can be such solitary work sometimes so hearing from people is what I live for. If you are uncomfortable doing this publicly, then just send me a message.

Well I've rambled enough. Again, thanks for the interest in my book and welcome to the group - it's a great place to find new things to read.

Michael
[bookcover:Theft of Swords|10790290] [bookcover:Rise of Empire|11773712] [bookcover:Heir of Novron|11100431] [bookcover:The Viscount and the Witch|12746970]

P.S. As you can see from my signature I've written some other books as well. If you would like to learn more about any of them and/or read a sample you can from here.

I think about goodreads as levels. First you want them to shelve you, then read, then rate, and finally review. The more reviews you have the more credibility you'll get so this is a way to turn a rate into a review. Not to mention...many readers will be so thrilled that an author took time to reach out to them that they'll talk about you with their other goodreads friends = word of mouth which is the end game.

The P.S. at the bottom is optional of course depending on whether they know (as evidence by their shelf) you can personalize this a bit as well. Such as...I saw that you read the first two books in the Riyria Revelations did you know I've released another 3? You can find out more..blah blah blah.


READ BOOK - RATING AND REVIEW
Okay this is the mother load. You don't have to sell this person anything. What you need to do is make a good impression on them and hope to turn them into a word-of-mouth generating machine. This is a time to express gratitude and let them get to know you a bit.

Goodreads has an ability for people to post on other's reviews so the first thing you should do is go out and thank them for the review. Also, just as before be sure to send them a friend request after you send the intro email.

Hey Susan,
I saw your post in the fantasy group. It's always good to meet people who like reading fantasy! I'm glad you like Rothfuss, I've really enjoyed the first two books. I hope you don't mind but I took a peek on your shelves and was happy to find that you reviewed my book, Theft of Swords.

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to do this. It's difficult sometimes when you are like me and just starting out and no one knows who I am, so by providing some independent feedback, others will be more likely to take a chance.

Writing is not something I do for the money...I do it because I can't stop the stories from filling my head and sharing them with others is how I get rewarded. I don't know if readers really know just how much of a kick we get out of reading reviews. It makes the long nights worth it and can take the sting off of the inevitable bad review.

Well I've rambled enough. Again, thank you for letting me know that my writing is not going out to a vacuum. I'm glad you've found he group - it's a great place to find new things to read.

Michael
[bookcover:Theft of Swords|10790290] [bookcover:Rise of Empire|11773712] [bookcover:Heir of Novron|11100431] [bookcover:The Viscount and the Witch|12746970]

P.S. If you'd like to be added to my email distribution list to be notified of future releases and/or giveaways please send me your email.

Something I should note about all of these messages. My goal is to turn these people from a casual reader into a fan - and the way you know you've done this is that they have provided you their email (for future notifications) and by having ongoing dialogs with them (both personally and through the group). Again I'll discuss this more in future posts - we've already covered a lot today.

Whew, this is a long post but I think you'll find it helpful.

Workshop Wednesday

By repeated request we've started Workshop Wednesday. It will definitely play out through 2011, and beyond that we'll just have to see. We've received well over 200 queries at this point, but we are choosing at random, so don't be afraid to participate as per the guidelines in our original post.

For anyone wanting to comment, we ask that you comment in a polite and respectful manner, and we ask that you be as constructive as possible. If you can be useful to the brave souls who submitted their query and comment on the query, that's great. Please keep any anonymous tirades on publishing or other snarky comments to yourself. This is and should remain an open and safe forum for people to put themselves and their queries out there so that everyone can learn. I'm leaving comments open and open to anonymous posters, as I always have; don't make me feel the need to change that policy.

And for those who have never "met" Query Shark, get over there and do that. She's the originator of the query critique, the queen, if you will.


Dear [Agent's name]

Considering your client list and book sales, I am writing to seek your representation of my women's fiction manuscript "All of Us", complete at 85,000 words.

Dan Wilkins is having an affair – or at least, he thinks he is.

Hmm. I’m listening . . . I love this opening. I can’t wait to find what you’re talking about.


Gini is the spitting image of his wife, and everything he thought that depressed, lifeless Emma was when he married her. He didn't even know Emma had a twin, and now he's sleeping with her.

Dan wouldn’t find it incredible that another person looks precisely like his wife? He wouldn’t think it was his wife playing a trick? Have you ever met a person who looks so much like an unrelated person that they could actually be that person? This doesn’t seem plausible, and also, this part feels disconnected from the rest of the query—it’s completely forgotten after the next paragraph.


Then one day Emma shows him a positive pregnancy test – but Dan hasn't touched her in months. The truth comes out. Gini is Emma – she is one of seven alters in Emma's mind. Emma has Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Dan had no idea he married a multiple. He has to be the only man in the world to cheat on his wife with his wife.

Now Dan has to learn to accept the separate parts of Emma's mind or watch his marriage disintegrate. He joins Emma in therapy to meet her alters – none of which had any idea Gini was taking over.

He was cheating on Emma (at least emotionally) and thought she was lifeless and depressing. Seems to me his marriage had already dissolved. Yet he’s willing to go through therapy and the other issues that are often part of DID, such as paranoia, epileptic seizures, phobia, and panic attacks? I’ve missed something . . . I need to know more about Dan’s journey with Emma. Does he realize that he does in fact love her and want to help? Is he sorry or feeling guilty that he cheated? I think the part about Dan sleeping with Gini is not important enough, judging by your query, to be included. It might be best to scrap that part and focus on Emma’s disorder.


Assuming control of the body once again, Gini tries to get an abortion, and Dan feels he has no choice: he lays out an ultimatum. Emma must integrate all of her alters into one whole, or else give up custody of the baby. But is there a way to get rid of Gini so that Dan and Emma can become a family – multiple parts and all?

The element of the baby sort of takes this over the top for me. I think the baby is a great ticking clock to create a deeper sense of urgency to Emma’s healing journey and to up the stakes, but since you’ve started the query with infidelity, continued it with mental illness, and have now arrived at pregnancy and child custody, I feel like I have whiplash. It is probably because you didn’t want to leave anything out in your query, but that’s the thing with queries: to write one, you have to master the art of leaving the right things out. What is the main focus, the larger thread of your book? This is what you’ll want to focus on because a publishing professional will use it as a sales handle. It seems here the main idea is Emma’s mental illness. This is interesting enough without the infidelity and the baby. These bits should be in a synopsis, not a query.


Please find below the first [xx] pages of “All of Us” [+ other submission requests]. I would be happy to provide you with the complete manuscript. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

I would have rejected this because even though I love the intrigue of DID and Dan cheating on his wife with his wife, it seems like you present some misinformation, improbabilities, and contradictions, like Dan not knowing a person identical to his wife would be his wife, or Emma being expected to integrate her personalities during the short span of her pregnancy. Something about the casual way you discuss Dissociative Identity Disorder worries me that you haven’t done enough research to properly depict a character with this controversial disorder.

This query was a little jarring. I felt jerked around because things change abruptly on this page. First Dan's cheating, but only maybe. Then, he's cheating with his wife's long-lost twin. Then, he's actually not cheating at all because he's sleeping with two different women within his wife. Then! I don't like Dan too much in the beginning because he's cheating on his wife. Then, without much note to this, he's solidly helping her through her illness. Then we take another hairpin turn when Dan says Emma must integrate all her personalities, but in the next sentence, I'm told they are trying to become a family, personalities and all.


Lauren

It's all about distribution...stupid

Okay, so I'm sorry to be so harsh in my intro but I get angry when I see author's setting themselves up to fail. I just ran into two people on facebook and neither of them were in any of the main distribution networks. How is this possible? I know (or hope) that most people here already know all that I'm about to tell them. But in case there are a few people here that are just getting started please listen up.

The first guy mentioned "I just hired a publicist for my book xyz just the latest attempt in getting my writing noticed." My first thought was...did this guy just attempt to run before walking...So I went to Amazon with an intent to find what his ranking was...and it wasn't there. Nor was it on B&N! Further research showed in ONLY available on LuLu and for $17.99. Really? Seriously? So you've spent money to HIRE a publicist and your books aren't even available for purchase (lulu is not enough) and your price is WAY TO HIGH!!

The second guy announced "I've finally taken the plunge and released an ebook". Again I went out to the usual suspects and nothing...so I wrote to him (Maybe my search wasn't very good). "Are you on Amazon, B&N, ibookstore?" His response ... "Should be; I know Smashwords distributes to Amazon, B&N, Sony and Apple, among others." My thougths...So you're making an announcement before you have verified live links? UGHH!! Work with me people.

Okay rant over lets get some real information going.

#1 - If you do nothing else put a kindle version of your book up. It is free. Formatting takes just a little bit of time to learn and if you're not here - you're not really publishing your work. If you don't know how to format...there are many books on this (some free some $0.99 - $2.99) It really is not rocket science.

#2 - Once you have the kindle formatted use Calibre (free software) and make an .epub from it. Post it to B&N using PubIt...Also free and easy to do.

#3 - Open your kindle version in a browser (it is essentially just .html which is read by browsers and copy paste into word (don't use your original word file -as it will have lots of "overhead" you don't want or need for it's own formatting. Then follow the layout guidelines at Smashwords to format it the way their "meat grinder' wants it.

#4 - Post to Smashwords and go to their distribution area and turn off: Kindle, B&N (since you'll do direct) and turn on ibookstore, kobo, diesel, etc.

#5 - Watch your smashwords to see if it gets kicked out by their meatgrinder - if so make the changes they recommend then resubmit.

#6 - Wait until you see links available for your books at Kindle & B&N and then...you can announce to people.

Okay I'm back to work on other things. I plan to continue the "Goodreads thing" tomorrow. This just got me hot enough under the collar that I had to post.

Reading Your Contract

It's a totally weird phenomenon, but I've had more authors hire lawyers to read the Author/Agent Agreement they sign with me than I have authors who have hired lawyers to read the publishing contract. Now, I'm not saying you have to hire a lawyer to read the publishing contract, since that's one of the things you pay your agent to do (read and negotiate), but when you do I find it odd you would hire someone to read the least important of the two contracts.

I appreciate that you trust me to negotiate a strong contract on your behalf, and I will certainly do that, but what I find most disconcerting of all is the recent realization that so many authors are signing these contracts without reading one word of either of them. Isn't that mom lesson number two? Right after saying please and thank you, aren't you taught to never sign anything without reading it first?

No matter what you think you are signing, you are responsible for it once you sign. Therefore, when getting your contract, it's important that you are aware of what it is you're committing yourself to.

Due dates? Those are your responsibility. That means if you commit to a due date that seems "absurd and ridiculous," well, you've committed to it, so if it is "absurd and ridiculous," maybe you need to discuss that with your agent and editor before actually signing the contract.

Manuscript length? The publisher expects your manuscript to be a certain length, and if you think it's too short or too long, discussing that with your agent and editor before signing is better than trying to argue the point with your publisher well after the fact.

Materials? If the contract says you are responsible for providing 25 pieces of artwork, permissions for copyrighted material, an index, or your firstborn child, you will be responsible for supplying that.

My point? Read your contract and ask your agent about anything that you have questions about. That's what you pay her for. I get that a 15-page legal document is a pain to read and can make your head spin. I read them almost daily and sometimes my head spins, and yes, I always think they're a pain to read. But they are important and they can be negotiated before you sign them. It's not so easy to negotiate after they've been signed and counter-signed and you realize you actually like and would like to keep your firstborn child.


Jessica

An Offer on the Table

I was helped a lot by a previous post of yours, how to turn a small press offer into something bigger. I went back and read it again and was well prepared for the exciting day. I got the small press offer, did not accept it (but did not turn it down either), and found a good agent. The novel is now on submission with the knowledge that there's an offer on the table. My question is: how long can you keep the small press waiting? It's been about a month now (since the offer; two weeks since submission to other editors) and I'm hoping we'll hear from the other editors soon. Two weeks ago, I informed the small press that an agent would be handling the contract and could I have a few more weeks for my response? I haven't heard back from them as of this writing. Thanks very much.

In my opinion two weeks is more than enough time, bordering on too much time actually. I understand it probably took two weeks to find an agent and that's perfectly acceptable, but with an offer on the table, no matter how small the press, the other publishers should be jumping through hoops, at your agent's insistence, to respond as quickly as possible. In my experience, once you've secured an agent, she should submit the material immediately and ask for replies immediately. The only caveat to that is if you are fully intending to turn down the small press offer no matter what happens with other publishers.

What you really need to be doing is talking to your agent about her strategy and ask not only how she's approaching editors with the project but what sort of timeline she's giving them.

Jessica

Goodreads 201: Part 3 - Introducing yourself

Welcome back to this third installment on Goodreads. You'll notice that it is now 201 instead of 101 because we're graduating to more advanced techniques. If you've not read the other two posts in this series you need to as it will get you setup before you take this next step.

So you have your profile setup, you've found some groups that are specific to your genre now it's time to start interacting. Almost every group has an "introduce yourself post". Read the guidelines of the post carefully then...well...introduce yourself. Some frown upon writers putting links to their books in their introductions so make sure you know the rules. Personally, I think your introduction should only "graze" the fact that you write - as you'll see as we go on there will be plenty of other opportunities to discuss that. So I usually recommend a recommendation such as this:

Hello my name is Michael, and I've been a fan of fantasy since I first read The Hobbit at age 12. Prior to that I had little interest in reading and it opened up a whole new world for me that I'm forever grateful for. I'm also a writer, I was originally self-published but recently was picked up by a big-six publisher (Orbit, the fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group). I'm really glad I found this group and I'm looking forward to finding a ton of new books to add to my tbr pile.

If the group allows for links I'll make a signature like this (the text has links to the books):
Michael: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Viscount and the Witch

If they don't mind graphics (some will some wont then I make the signature two lines with my name on the first and the small thumbnails on the next line separated with a single space.

Now that you have officially announced yourself to the group its time for....well participation. And if you start by saying "buy my book, buy my book" in every interaction you have, I'm gonna have to slap you up the side of your head!! This is the biggest way to ruin what can be a valuable resource for you. If you haven't read my past threads on participation in social networks please do so now!

Okay, so how should you interact. Go out to the threads - make some comments. (We'll cover starting threads another day, you'll have enough to do just by responding to others) Again - don't mention your books strongly. You can hint about your writing for instance a post about the "size of fantasy novels" I might have Michael respond like this:

I know many fantasy reader love big, thick books. For whatever reason it seems like every time I sit down to write, they always come out to be about 100,000 words, which is 300 pages and relatively short by fantasy standards. My new publisher has released my six-book Riyria Revelations series as a trilogy so now each "book" has two of my stories and that puts them in the 600 - 900 page range!! I guess I get the best of both worlds.

Notice the subtly. The post is:

• On point - and contributes to the topic at hand
• Mentions the title of Michael's series but no "buy me buy me"
• Let's those that read short works know he might be interesting to them, and those that read long works that they'll "get their moneys worth.

If you just joined the group. I suggest you only respond to 3 - 4 posts on the first day. Then visit back on a regular basis and participate more. This will "spread out" your posts - many people subscribe to groups as a digest feed and if you have 20 posts all to the same group in the same period of time you'll look like a spammer. The secret is a continual flow of interactions sprinkled here and there.

Now...for the big step....Sending direct messages to people in the group. This is where you can either totally blow it or be very successful. It's all in the approach. Here is my recommendations.

Start by sending introductions to people who just joined the group. I check the "introduction" post on a regular basis and send a direct (and private message) to people as they join. The process I go through is this:

• Click on their picture to get to their profile
• Do a "compare books" to see if they have any of your books on their shelves
• If they told you a bit about themselves in their intro post - be prepared to use it. If not check out their profile to see some tidbit.

Okay so here goes I have 4 "welcome to the group" messages in a file that I've given Michael. They are:

• No books on the shelf
• Books on the shelf but not read
• Books on the shelf and read and reviewed
• Books on the shelf read and rated

I'll share the "content" of each of these in the next installment but you'll find they have the same things in common.

• Starts with using their name: Hey Susan, blah blah blah
  
• Welcome them to the group
• Mention something personal about them. (Can comment on their avatar, a shared favorite author, a comment on where they live -- Oh I've always wanted to visit Australia, etc)
  
• Tell them you're a writer but not going to "pressure them to buy"
• Thank them if they already know about the books, introduce them if they have not
• Provide a link where they can read samples
• Tell them you're looking forward to seeing them "around the group

I suggest you write your four separate intros before the next post (probably will be a few days as I'm swamped with some stuff). Then we can compare/contrast between yours and mine.