"You can fix anything but a blank page."
-Nora Roberts
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Fridaydream: what does it look like to have "made it?"
When you think about your goals for your writing career, what's the Big Goal?
I have three big "dreams" as an agent:
1) a #1 New York Times bestseller
2) a Big Hollywood Movie based on one of my books
3) a book on the "Banned Book list."
What does it look like to have "made it?" Do you find that your goals shift over time?
I have three big "dreams" as an agent:
1) a #1 New York Times bestseller
2) a Big Hollywood Movie based on one of my books
3) a book on the "Banned Book list."
What does it look like to have "made it?" Do you find that your goals shift over time?
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Writing Life: Kurt Vonnegut's chore list.
This is an incredibly evocative (and funny) portrait of a marriage: Kurt Vonnegut's chore list.
What goes neglected at your house when you're in the midst of a writing project?
What goes neglected at your house when you're in the midst of a writing project?
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Writing Advice Wednesday: Read.
This feels like a real "duh doy" thing to talk about, but it really matters: are you reading enough?
One of the most important and difficult parts of my job is to make sure I'm keeping up with books that are being published. I need to know not just which editors are looking for specific kinds of books (for romance, for example, I have a list of people who have told me they love cowboy books), but what people are buying, and what's selling. My regular "reading" for work includes trade publications like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, bestseller lists like The New York Times and USA Today, and the lists of recent book deals on Publishers Marketplace. (login required)
But I also have to make it a point to actually read the books that are selling particularly well, to make sure I have a good handle on the genres I represent. I also try to read anything "zeitgeisty," whether it's my cup of tea or not, because the American public tends to get really excited about just one or two books a year, and the subsequent sales of those books blow everything else out of the water. I believe that it's part of my job as an agent to have at minimum a passing familiarity with those popular books, if nothing else because if I tried to sell a children's book series set in a magical boarding school in Britain, I would embarrass the hell out of myself.
This goes for writers too. Whatever your feelings about Amazon, the site is full of great resources for writers, including an at-your-fingertips list of the books that are selling well in your genre, no matter how narrow. Amazon can quickly tell you what your competition is, and (roughly) how well it's doing, relative to all the other books available. Here is a link to the current Amazon bestsellers in the category "Women's Fiction."
Here's where I take a strong stance: if you're not familiar with at least 75% of the big sellers in your category, you are not reading enough-- and you are not doing your job as an author.
What are some of the benefits of reading other writers?
1) Reading other writers will help teach you the tropes of your genre. You can absorb a lot of information about what elements must be included in your story...and maybe what elements have become cliche' and should be avoided.
2) Reading other writers will give you a sense of others' writing style. Read too much of one author and your writing can start to sound like mimicry; read deeply and widely across the whole genre and you begin to develop your own voice.
3) Reading other writers will help you market your own work when it comes time to query agents and/or publishers. I can say from experience that when I get a query for historical romance that says the manuscript has "the wit of Julia Quinn and the sexiness of Stephanie Laurens," I sit up and pay attention. Doing your homework can really pay off.
4) Reading other writers supports the publishing industry: bookstores, libraries, publishers, and agents. If you want in on the publishing ecosystem, you have a vested interest in keeping the whole thing afloat. The best writers are fans first.
What are some other reasons to read?
One of the most important and difficult parts of my job is to make sure I'm keeping up with books that are being published. I need to know not just which editors are looking for specific kinds of books (for romance, for example, I have a list of people who have told me they love cowboy books), but what people are buying, and what's selling. My regular "reading" for work includes trade publications like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, bestseller lists like The New York Times and USA Today, and the lists of recent book deals on Publishers Marketplace. (login required)
But I also have to make it a point to actually read the books that are selling particularly well, to make sure I have a good handle on the genres I represent. I also try to read anything "zeitgeisty," whether it's my cup of tea or not, because the American public tends to get really excited about just one or two books a year, and the subsequent sales of those books blow everything else out of the water. I believe that it's part of my job as an agent to have at minimum a passing familiarity with those popular books, if nothing else because if I tried to sell a children's book series set in a magical boarding school in Britain, I would embarrass the hell out of myself.
This goes for writers too. Whatever your feelings about Amazon, the site is full of great resources for writers, including an at-your-fingertips list of the books that are selling well in your genre, no matter how narrow. Amazon can quickly tell you what your competition is, and (roughly) how well it's doing, relative to all the other books available. Here is a link to the current Amazon bestsellers in the category "Women's Fiction."
Here's where I take a strong stance: if you're not familiar with at least 75% of the big sellers in your category, you are not reading enough-- and you are not doing your job as an author.
What are some of the benefits of reading other writers?
1) Reading other writers will help teach you the tropes of your genre. You can absorb a lot of information about what elements must be included in your story...and maybe what elements have become cliche' and should be avoided.
2) Reading other writers will give you a sense of others' writing style. Read too much of one author and your writing can start to sound like mimicry; read deeply and widely across the whole genre and you begin to develop your own voice.
3) Reading other writers will help you market your own work when it comes time to query agents and/or publishers. I can say from experience that when I get a query for historical romance that says the manuscript has "the wit of Julia Quinn and the sexiness of Stephanie Laurens," I sit up and pay attention. Doing your homework can really pay off.
4) Reading other writers supports the publishing industry: bookstores, libraries, publishers, and agents. If you want in on the publishing ecosystem, you have a vested interest in keeping the whole thing afloat. The best writers are fans first.
What are some other reasons to read?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Tuesday morning thought.
"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."
-Anton Chekhov
Friday, August 31, 2012
Fridaydream: the movie version
If (when) they make a Hollywood blockbuster or cool indie film of your book, who's going to be the star?
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Thursday wishlist
This is one of the quietest weeks of the year in publishing; when I can concentrate, I'm trying to work my way through the backlog of queries. Here are some of the categories I'm actively looking for right now:
-commercial women's fiction, or literary/commercial women's fiction (also sometimes called "book club books")
-multi-generational family sagas
-stories about female friendships (I'd especially love a book that traces a group of friends over a couple of decades)
-historical romance, especially a Regency romance series with a great sales hook
-paranormal romance, especially shapeshifters
-contemporary romance, especially a series with lots of quirky secondary characters (think Gilmore Girls)
-character-driven historical fiction
-stories with a crafty angle, especially knit/crochet, quilting, or a character who makes his or her own clothes
-likeable heroines (I'll have much, much more to say on this soon)
Any terms you'd like me to explain in a future post? Let me know in the comments!
-commercial women's fiction, or literary/commercial women's fiction (also sometimes called "book club books")
-multi-generational family sagas
-stories about female friendships (I'd especially love a book that traces a group of friends over a couple of decades)
-historical romance, especially a Regency romance series with a great sales hook
-paranormal romance, especially shapeshifters
-contemporary romance, especially a series with lots of quirky secondary characters (think Gilmore Girls)
-character-driven historical fiction
-stories with a crafty angle, especially knit/crochet, quilting, or a character who makes his or her own clothes
-likeable heroines (I'll have much, much more to say on this soon)
Any terms you'd like me to explain in a future post? Let me know in the comments!
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