A must-read.

If you're reading this, I'm guessing this link is going to prove useful.

Which one is your biggest bugaboo? I've narrowed it down to two, myself: 20 and 22.

Go read the post. Then come back and tell me a story, and tell me what you're going to do differently.

On social media marketing.

I'm still pretty new at this whole blogging thing, as you know, though I'm pleased that (so far!) I'm sticking to my resolution to post at least three times a week. Yay, me.

I'm also on Twitter (@millercallihan) and Facebook (though I only "friend" people I actually know personally or professionally), and I'm starting to use Google Plus a bit as well. Link is here; let me know if you'd like an invite and don't have one yet (whether I "know you" or not).

I use LinkedIn but have never found it particularly helpful in my line of work. A friend of mine gets head-hunted at least once a week via LinkedIn, though, so I think that one depends on your industry.

What other social media platforms do you use? Have you found anything else that's useful for self-promotion? What's the next big thing going to be?

On headaches.

I've been getting a lot of headaches lately-- eyestrain, mostly, I think. I've been a migraine sufferer for about 25 years now, and I get occasional sinus headaches and weather headaches as well, so I am pretty good at telling the difference.

Having a headache makes everything a little more difficult. I move more slowly (literally), I get irritable more quickly. It takes longer to accomplish even fairly simple tasks, and it wreaks havoc on my attention span-- especially bad on days when my big plan is to power through a bunch of manuscripts, or when I'm redlining a contract.

I thought all of this would be easier to juggle when I was finally free to make my own schedule and set my own agenda (as I am now)... but I find that I'm really hard on myself on days when I haven't accomplished as much as I thought I should, or as much as I planned to.

Why is that? Having had headaches for most of my life now, I'm actually pretty good about not leaving things till the absolute last minute, because I know I can't assume I'll be in any state to do them at said crisis point; there's always a chance I'll be laid up with a migraine, where a dark, quiet room is the only thing worth having in this life. In other words, I KNOW what headaches do to me, and I KNOW a headache is always a possibility.

To get to the real point of this post, then, I have two questions for you guys:

1) Do you have any amazing headache remedies? Here are some things I'm already doing: getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, maintaining my caffeine intake (I usually drink 2 cups of coffee in the morning), exercising, taking Excedrin or acetaminophen for an especially bad headache. I had an eye exam less than two months ago. I'm pretty bad about taking breaks from the computer, so I know that's a big one to work on.

2) What do you do when you fail to meet your own expectations? I know a lot of you have word count goals and the like; what happens when you don't meet them? How do you cut yourself a little slack when you need it, without lowering your standards?

The Query Critique, at last!

At long last, I’m delighted to post Brian Buckley’s prize for winning my summer writing prompt contest: a public critique of his query letter, here on the blog. (The delay is on my end, not Brian’s, I hasten to mention.)

Here is Brian’s letter, with my comments rather obnoxiously posted in bold throughout.

Dear Ms. Miller-Callihan,

You’ve spelled my name right and used my preferred form (Ms. Miller-Callihan). Ten points to Griffindor.

I've enjoyed your blog from the very beginning, but I never queried because you don't rep science fiction. Then you said "Send me your query letter," and my keen writer-sense just knew, somehow, the time was right. Here's what I've got:

This is funny and clever, but unless someone specifically encourages you to query them in a category they don’t represent, don’t do it. Still, I like the tone here; it’s confident and charming, and doesn’t read like a form letter you copied out of a book called How to Write a Query Letter. I also like that you mentioned the blog, as it shows me that you’re not planning to spam everyone in the industry indiscriminately. Telling the agent why you are querying him or her, in particular, is a good way to try to forge a connection. I’m more likely to put in the time reading a query if I feel like the author’s done their homework.

Petras Fairburn is clueless when it comes to politics. Too bad he's Emperor of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Witty and concise. The short paragraph is a great strategy here, and you’ve got me wanting to learn more about your story.

Petras didn't want to be Emperor, of course, but he has very persuasive friends. There's the Star-Witch, for one: the most wanted criminal in the universe, near-omnipotent and nearer-immortal. For reasons all her own, she befriended him way back when he was a twelve-year-old nothing on a backwater colony world. He didn't ask for a friend like her, but it's hard to say no to the Star-Witch.

A lot of good detail here, but I’m starting to worry that Petras is too wimpy or passive a figure to carry the story. Readers want active characters that do things, not characters to whom things just happen. You might be better off cutting this paragraph and jumping directly into a description of the main plot of the novel, instead—I feel like this is probably mostly backstory.

And there's Karmindy, his wife, whose sweet homemaker smile conceals the virtuosic mind of the shrewdest tactician in the Empire. He didn't ask for a wife, either, but it's hard to say no to Karmindy.

You’ve got a nice echo of the previous paragraph—“it’s hard to say no”—which is starting to give me a sense of Petras as a character. But again, I think this is mostly backstory, and you might want to cut it.

When Karmindy unleashed a plot to put her husband on the Gardenia Throne, the Star-Witch was only too glad to help. When it actually succeeded, they told him not to worry: they'd handle everything. He'd just be a figurehead.

Backstory. Combine these three paragraphs into one short paragraph—remember that we don’t necessarily need all the character names upfront. Just give me the barest possible outline of what I need to know.

Now Karmindy's dying of a ripgun wound, the Star-Witch has disappeared, and a quintillion human beings are looking to Petras for leadership. They certainly need it. The Empire is one stray shot from a civil war, and the Sagittarians – a billion-year-old race of reclusive, telepathic methane-breathers – seem less friendly every day. But worse than the Sagittarians, worse than the seemingly inevitable war, is the doubt in Petras's mind that whispers: it's impossible, you're in over your head, you'll never, never be good enough...

Some good world-building going on here. I like “quintillion,” I like “reclusive, telepathic methane-breathers,” and I like the humor of the twist at the end, that this is really a story about a character’s anxiety about his inadequacy. I’m still worried that he’s too passive a figure, though, so make sure you’re able to include something showing that he is in fact a hero (I assume this is the case?), so the reader knows this is a story that’s going to be fun to read.

With a novel, the query letter should read like the copy on the back cover of the book (or the hardcover jacket flaps). You’re trying to convince someone to read the book.

True confessions time: when I’m working with a debut author, I often crib heavily from the author’s original query when I’m putting together my cover letter to send to editors. I figure if the query was good enough to catch my eye, it’ll likely do the same for the editors to whom I’d like to sell the manuscript.

At any rate, Brian, I think you’ve got a lot of these details nailed, but I can’t shake the sense that most of your query consists of the things you think the reader needs to know before turning to page 1. Try recasting it instead like a movie trailer, where you’re giving away some elements of the plot in order to entice the reader. You don’t have to give away the ending, but you do have to give me a sense of where the story is going. Tell me enough that I’m eager to find out the rest for myself.

You don’t have a bio paragraph here, which I think is a mistake. Even if you feel like you don’t have much to say, I like to know if you have a blog, if you are on Twitter or Google + or anything else of that ilk, who your favorite authors in your genre are, whether you’ve won any blog contests, that sort of thing. Tell me where you live and one detail about you that would be fun for the game “Two Truths and a Lie.” This is a chance to make yourself memorable, to help yourself stand out from the maybe-100 other queries an agent gets that day.

The Counterfeit Emperor is science fiction, complete at 111,000 words. Thank you for your consideration.

Concise, detailed, a solid and professional wrap-up. Were this a “real query” to me, I’d want you to include somewhere a line like “Per your submission guidelines, I’ve included a synopsis and the first three chapters of the novel.”

Sincerely,
Brian D. Buckley

Mailing Address

Phone Number

Email Address

http://briandbuckley.com/

I’ve edited Brian’s personal details here (except his website!), but I always want to see all this stuff included. If I love your query, you want to make it as easy as possible for me to get hold of you to tell you so. Leave it up to the agent how to communicate with you; give them all your contact info.

SUMMARY: This is a solid query that could just use some fine-tuning. If this were a genre I know anything about (I admire SF but don’t get to read much of it), I’d read the first three chapters with interest.

Well done. Thanks to Brian, and thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! Let’s do this again soon.

On anniversaries.

(Query critique will have to be next week, guys; we had a power outage here yesterday for 12 hours and I'm scrambling to finish the most urgent tasks on my list before the weekend. Sorry for the delay!)

I've never said so in so many words on the blog, but I'm now an ex-New Yorker, having relocated to my home state of California over the summer. It feels especially strange, not "being there" this weekend, even though when I was there I usually just put my head down and tried not to think about it too much.

I'm not going to say much about the Big Anniversary that's coming up, in part because it's hard to imagine I could say anything here that would usefully contribute to the media glut that's been underway for what feels like ten years already. Suffice it to say, I have my own "where were you" story, just like everyone else, and just like everyone else, I have my own complicated relationship to the anniversary's observance.

This morning I was filling out a bio/questionnaire for a writer's conference I'll speak at this fall, and there was a section in this questionnaire for me to write down any special preferences I have. I never quite know what to write for that sort of thing: too vague and I come across as wishy-washy, too precise and I sound like a terrible curmudgeon. I successfully fought the urge to write "no [you-know-what] stories," but it got me thinking about who "owns" a given narrative, and why.

If it literally happened to you, of course you have the right to write about it. If your experience was featured in People Magazine, you'll probably get a book deal out of it, complete with possibly-optional ghost writer.

But what about the all the (in)famous Law & Order episodes "ripped from the headlines?" Why does true crime, or lightly fictionalized versions thereof, always feel so tawdry? Why is it even more grotesque when the writer tries to claim a tangential, minor, over-eager relationship to the events being described?

Who owns a story? How do you tell a story that you're not sure is yours to tell?

New Year's Resolutions

School starts here next week, and even *cough* years after my high school graduation, Labor Day still feels like a new beginning. I miss having the excuse to buy school supplies. Especially pens. Are you guys obsessed with pens, or are you all devout computer-only types?

My all-time favorite is probably still the Pilot Precise (V5, black or blue ink), used in conjunction with a spiral-bound notebook, unlined, with paper thick enough that the ink won't bleed through. My thoughts seem to unfold differently (better) when I write by hand instead of typing. I often compose first drafts of my submission letters that way; it's as if my brain keeps up with my hand/s better when the mechanical process of writing is slowed down.

I'm a serious list-maker, as I think I've mentioned here before. I often have multiple versions of the list going in different places (not always a great idea) because I derive so much satisfaction from writing things down, but it's really not the same if I'm typing the list-- too sterile, and too detached. It's harder to remember the items on the list, too, somehow, if they're not in my handwriting.

Most of my lists are of the to-do variety. I'm currently experimenting with the Auto-Focus system, which Erin Doland at Unclutterer linked to a few weeks back. It's working pretty well so far, but I find I still need a secondary list of the day's "musts," to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. But I do like it, and it's worth trying if you are looking for a new technique for keeping track of all the different parts of your life.

But I also love making lists of other things, and one of the most satisfying (personal) things I've done in the past several years is to do the "101 in 1001" project. There's a link here to a fancy sharing website, but I just made my own without getting all high-tech or social media about it. Part of what the "deadline" did for me was to encourage me to make time for all the "someday" items on my list.

I'm sorry about all of the "unnecessary" "quotation marks" today, guys. I'll move on to the grocer's apostrophe in my next post, I promise.

Anyway.

I didn't come close to finishing my 101 in 1001 list, but it got me out of a rut, and reminded me that weekends are not just for laundry and the grocery store. I'm thinking I'll do the project again soon.

Right now, though, with the new school year upon us (or already begun, in many places), I'm itching for some New Year's Resolutions. Here's a couple of mine. If you're inclined to join me, I'd love to hear yours as well.

-Get faster at responding to queries, especially the ones that I'm excited about! Too often, I set aside the really good ones because it's easier and faster to deal with the quick no's.

(An aside: Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency had a thoughtful post a couple of days ago about why she doesn't send rejection letters-- I assume she refers here to rejecting the initial query, not a manuscript she's requested from the author. I try to at least write a "this isn't right for me" form letter, so at least the author knows the query didn't vanish into an electronic black hole, but I'd really like to hear how you feel about all of this, being on the other side of the table.)

-Impose more structure on my work day so that I don't spend all day on email or phonecalls. Block out at least two hours a day just for reading, both client work and prospective client work. Get back to prospective clients while my thoughts on their manuscripts are still fresh in my mind.

-Find or DIY a notebook and pen combo that will fit inside my e-reader case, so I can keep better notes as I'm reading. Maybe then I can stop wondering what I meant by a Kindle note that reads like this: "I want to knww moe abt the crmny pls... also why j said hat in the last ch"

-Develop a more realistic sense of what can get done in a given week. Make a good list of the "musts," work through them diligently, and stop beating myself up about anything that has to be shoved to the next week.

-Twitter every weekday.

-Blog at least three times a week, unless I'm traveling. I am, as always, open to requested topics!

What's on your fall list? Tell me all your secret plans.

Public Service Announcement

Hi all,

A kind reader brought to my attention that people with WordPress blogs had trouble leaving comments under the old comment system, so I've switched to a new comment form on the blog. So if you've had trouble commenting in the past, I hope you'll try leaving a "test comment" here.

New writing prompt is coming right up!

On the fabled "summer slowdown."

I can sense August around the corner: my email inbox is quieting. Publishing industry folks and prospective clients alike are heading out on vacation (or at least taking a "tech vacation," a very 21st century term for a practice I highly recommend). Things feel a little sleepy at this time of year. I know I'd certainly rather sit on the patio with a glass of white wine than put the finishing touches on the "tough love" critique letter I owe one of my clients.

It's a great time of year for daydreaming, I think, and that makes it a great time of year to brainstorm ideas for new writing projects.

I'm thinking of taking a break from the "inside baseball" posts for a few weeks, but I've been missing all of you. If I posted writing prompts for a while instead, would anyone play along?

I'm thinking it would work like this: I post the prompt, and you write on the prompt on your blog (and post a link in the comments-- I promise to click over and read!). If your favorite genre is haiku, you can put the whole thing in the comments.

What do you think? And how is your summer going?

On professionalism and communication.

Disclaimer: What I have to say pertains specifically to the literary agent/client relationship. The degrees of formality are very different in different industries—and even in different segments of my industry.

We’ve had a lot of productive discussion in the comments (thank you!) regarding professionalism and formality in business relationships, and I thought it might be worthwhile to map out my own feelings on the subject.

On “first contact,” usually the query letter:

I prefer “Dear Ms. Miller-Callihan” for the first missive, even though I immediately encourage a first-name basis relationship as soon as I start corresponding with an author. When you first email me, you don’t know me or how I prefer to be addressed (okay, you do now), so it’s best to err on the side of formality here. “Dear Courtney” is a little too familiar in this context; “Hi Courtney” is MUCH too familiar.

Extrapolating a bit: I’d encourage you to address women as “Ms. [Lastname]” and men as “Mr. [Lastname].” I don’t know any woman in the working world who, at this point, would be offended by the “Ms.,” by the way, which has become widely accepted as the default honorific for adult women. My marital status is irrelevant to the work I do. So “Ms.” it is.

On staying in touch through the querying process:

Especially when you’re a writer who is querying agents and seeking representation, there are a lot of pitfalls regarding the communication. Is it okay to check in with the agent, and if so, when? How often, and under what circumstance?

If you’re querying me, I always want to hear from you, in descending order of importance, under the following circumstances:

1) if you get an offer of representation from another agent. Please let me know if this is the case, even if you haven’t heard back from me on your initial query. Agents are human, and it’s human nature to want things that other people have. This is just as true of debut novels as it was of the hottest guy/girl in your high school. If you’ve got an offer of representation from someone, use it to your advantage and follow up with the other agents you’ve queried!

2) if you've gotten word that you have serious interest or an offer from a royalty-paying publisher. This rarely comes up, but as a public service announcement I feel compelled to say it here: Please DON'T query agents and take steps to self-publish your work simultaneously. I think there are great reasons to self-publish, which I'll discuss in a separate post if you are interested, but if you're interested in a so-called "traditional publishing" book deal, self-publishing will really mess up your chances, no matter how fantastic your book is.

3) if you have a personal or professional connection that you didn't mention in your first query. Say you write romance novels and meet Nora Roberts at a writing conference, and she offers to blurb your book. I would very much like to hear about that. But don't hold back that information from your initial query (and don't stalk Nora Roberts!); this applies only if something changes in the interim.

4) if you've been to a conference or otherwise received professional feedback (say, from another agent) and have revised the manuscript accordingly, let me know that too. I don't want to tell you not to revise, but generally speaking it's probably better to leave the work alone during the query process. Work on your next manuscript in the meantime!

5) if I’ve requested a full manuscript from you, and it’s been more than a month since you’ve heard from me. I get swamped with reading sometimes. It’s a lovely problem to have. My current clients always get priority over my prospective clients; if you sign with me, you’ll be glad this is the case! But while I try very hard to keep up with all of it, everyone needs a nudge from time to time. If it’s been a month with no word on your full, go ahead and nudge me. (nicely please.)

6) if you sent your initial query six to eight weeks ago and have not heard anything from me, it's OK to send one follow-up email asking me to confirm receipt/let you know if I am still reviewing the material.

Here are some circumstances under which I do NOT recommend following up with an agent whom you're querying (in no particular order):

1) If you've tweaked the manuscript so that Chapter 2 is now Chapter 3 and Chapter 3 is now Chapter 2, and so-and-so's name has changed. It's unlikely to affect my feelings on the work. If you find that you accidentally sent the wrong attachment, or you forgot to attach it, it's OK to send it again. Mention in the email that this replaces your initial query, and that you do not need an immediate response from me.

2) if it's been less than six to eight weeks (or the ballpark time listed on the agent's website) since your initial query. I try to be quick. It doesn't always happen. If you follow up too quickly or too aggressively, I'm likely to take a quick look at the material and (unless it blows me away) send you a nice "no thanks." My interactions with people during the query process definitely weigh into my decision about whether to offer representation. The writing is paramount, but the quality of the interactions matter too.

3) if you just want to confirm receipt of the query (and it's been less than six to eight weeks with no response). I understand the anxiety of wondering whether something's gone into a black hole, but sometimes this strategy is less about the anxiety and more about trying to forge a connection/force some kind of response out of the agent. Let your work speak for itself. Caveat: If I've requested a full manuscript from you, I don't mind a bit if you want me to confirm receipt of that. Asking in the same email where you send the manuscript as an attachment is ideal.

4) calling the office. If I have not given you my direct line (which I do only if I am seriously pursuing the project/the would-be client), please don't call. In the midst of a busy work day, a cold call from a prospective client feels like a telemarketer phoning on Thanksgiving.

5) adding me to your mailing list under any circumstances. If I want to be on your mailing list for some reason, I'll let you know.

6) if you are re-sending the same query, unless I asked you to, of course. I once received the same query-- I am not making this up-- three hundred and fifty times, often three or four times per day.

7) adding me as a contact on LinkedIn. I'll accept LinkedIn invitations from anyone I know personally, anyone with whom I have worked (as colleagues) at any time, any clients of mine or of my agency's, and anyone with whom I've exchanged emails, say regarding a revision. But lately I've had a slew of LinkedIn invites from prospective clients, and I have to admit I'm a little perplexed at why this is the case. If you're looking to engage me via social media, comment on a blog post or follow me on Twitter; I'd love to talk to you. But I don't get the LinkedIn thing.

On keeping your agent happy:

1) Be polite and professional in your dealings with me, with my agency's employees, and with anyone and everyone at your publishing house.

2) Make your deadlines. If you can't keep to the schedule we've discussed, let me (and your editor, if applicable) know as soon as possible.

3) Keep me posted on what's going on-- personally as well as professionally, as needed. I've mentioned before that I love it when my clients let me know if they're going to be away or unavailable for a few days, especially if they are waiting on me for something.

4) Write fantastic books.

5) Write fantastic books.

6) Write fantastic books.

On promoting yourself.

Jessica (hi, Jessica!) asked in the comments about how writers can best use social media (Twitter, blogs, etc.). The unstated part of the question, I think, was how to use those tools to further your writing career-- and by extension your book sales.

Agents and editors talk a lot about "platform," but what we really mean is: when your book is finally available for sale, who can you tell about it? And will they buy it? Or ask their library to do so?

The social media stuff is all newer than we often think about, so ingrained has it become in our worldview. The oldest blogs out there, like Kottke, are still less than fifteen years old. These resources just weren't available two decades ago, and it feels like it's changing all the time. The good news is, anyone can build a platform on the Internet. The bad news is that it takes a lot of time and effort to do it well.

I am fairly new to Twitter myself (@millercallihan, should you care to follow) and by no means an expert. Holly Tucker (also an SJGA client! her book is fantastic and now available) gave me some great Twitter advice, though, which I haven't followed as closely as I should: that is, you should pick a sort of Twitter identity. Do you mostly RT other people's posts? Do you post interesting links that you find? Do you post personal updates, a sort of mini-blog? I have taken a hybrid approach, myself, but it works for me. I am obsessed with Community, so that probably makes more than its fair share of appearances in my Twitter feed.

The standard advice for both Twitter and for blogs is that as a non-celebrity (or future celebrity, if you prefer), it's critical to engage with other people. Seek out kindred spirits. Take the time to read other people's posts or tweets, and write back! No one likes to feel that they're speaking into a vaccuum. The idea behind all social media is that you're creating a community. That takes time, so if you're reading this before your book is published, or even before you have a book deal or an agent, start now.

But when it comes down to what you should actually WRITE on your Twitter feed or your blog or whatever, the thing I keep coming back to is something Neil Gaiman said last year. This is great advice and deserves its own paragraph.

“Use your blog to connect. Use it as you. Don’t ‘network’ or ‘promote.’ Just talk.” (source)

So along those lines, let's talk. Anybody reading this who started a blog before, say, this past Tuesday, has more experience with blogging than I do. What works for you? What else should I have said? What advice do you have for newbie blogger me?