*Image deleted to prevent any potential copyright issues*
I got a request for partial!
I got a request for partial!
Sunday Update - 2026 Week 44
1 day ago
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Biting the Bullet
After yesterday's grousing, I sat down to write the little bio paragraph. (Everybody deserves a little PAM* session every once in a while.) It's not award-winning prose, but I think it gives a good impression of who I am, while not sounding like I'm handing out buffalo bagels or sleeping pills.
I also think I have a fairly good synopsis - finally. So, ready or not... Here I come. ;o)
Wheeeeeeee!
How are things in your world today?
*Pissing And Moaning
I also think I have a fairly good synopsis - finally. So, ready or not... Here I come. ;o)
Wheeeeeeee!
How are things in your world today?
*Pissing And Moaning
Monday, April 7, 2008
Some Info About Yourself
Or, in other words, a bio. :shudder:
The only thing I hate worse than a synopsis is when agents ask me to put some info about myself in my query letter. Not that I don't like to talk about myself. I'm great. My life just isn't all that pertinent to my books, and aren't we supposed to be putting only pertinent info in our query letters?
Part of it is that I haven't sold a damn thing yet. (Mostly from lack of trying, I like to think.) I have a half dozen shorts that I think are publishable, but other than a handful of lit journals, they aren't really out there. I have four completed (as in through all the editing levels) novels and one novel I've written all the way to THE END that I haven't finished editing yet (because newer, zippier ideas keep pushing it aside). Of the four finished books, I've only really queried for the first two, and frankly, I didn't know what the hell I was doing at the time. I sent out five queries for the third book, and then stopped because the fourth book was demanding my time and effort. Now I'm beginning the query process for #4. (Hence, the four years, five books and nothing published thing - but let's leave all that for another post, eh?) Can you tell I'd rather write than query?
The point here is: What the hell do I put in a paragraph about myself that will make the agent in question think I'm the bee's knees?
Don't get me wrong. When I first jumped into the fray for Spectacle, I talked about myself. And then as I learned about the business, I learned I was saying all the wrong things. Read the net and you'll find instance after instance where the agent doesn't really care when you say you're committed to the process (everyone says it, and not everyone means it). They aren't really interested in the fact that you've spent your life teaching yourself everything you can about anything that interests you. And any writing you did for any corporation you worked for doesn't really count for selling a novel because that isn't fiction.
From what I understand, you can say you spend x-number of hours writing every day, and studying the industry, and perfecting your craft, but so does everyone else, and we come back to the point that not everyone means it. If you say it, are you going to sound like you're peddling another cartload of buffalo bagels - even when it's the truth?
Of course, it helps if you have a platform. But how many homeschooling, ex-salesmen, former boozehound books are gracing the shelves these days? I don't write about my life. I write about other people's lives, and for the same reason I wouldn't read a book about my life (except for the whole brain-damage memoir thing, which is still floating in the back of my head with a dozen other ideas).
Let's face it, folks. Right now, I live in the middle of nowhere, and my life is rather bland. I like it this way because it minimizes distractions and helps me focus better on my work. But it doesn't help sell my books. On paper, I look like a hermit or a hayseed. Looking at me now, you wouldn't see the high-powered sales meetings held in the suites at the top of the Las Vegas Hilton. (Some day, remind me to tell you the story of the green semi-formal suit and how it got me more attention than any sales executive wants.) Listening to me talk about my life here in BFE couldn't possibly show how I inherited my gift of gab from my father or my ability to blend into any situation from my mother. Nothing I could tell in a query letter would show you who I am, and what having me in your stable of talent would do for your agency.
Put me in a book signing, and I'll show you who I am. Get me a gig on CSPAN's BookTV, and you'll see what I can do. (Which reminds me, I've also been on TV before, so it's no biggie. True, it was public television, and I was 17, so if the cameras didn't freak me out then, they won't freak me out now.)
But please don't ask me for a paragraph about myself in a query letter. I'll come off flat, and you'll walk away bored - and then we'll both miss out on a wonderful opportunity. For now, let's forget about the chick behind the writing and concentrate on the writing itself. Trust me, if you like the manuscript, you'll love her.
So the question today is: If you don't have publishing credits or an MFA or a platform, just what do you put in your 'some info' paragraph?
(And before anyone says it, I've thought about using the whole 'brain damaged author' thing, and dismissed it. I'd rather not be defined by what I've overcome, and it's not pertinent to anything but the memoirs I may or may not ever write.)
The only thing I hate worse than a synopsis is when agents ask me to put some info about myself in my query letter. Not that I don't like to talk about myself. I'm great. My life just isn't all that pertinent to my books, and aren't we supposed to be putting only pertinent info in our query letters?
Part of it is that I haven't sold a damn thing yet. (Mostly from lack of trying, I like to think.) I have a half dozen shorts that I think are publishable, but other than a handful of lit journals, they aren't really out there. I have four completed (as in through all the editing levels) novels and one novel I've written all the way to THE END that I haven't finished editing yet (because newer, zippier ideas keep pushing it aside). Of the four finished books, I've only really queried for the first two, and frankly, I didn't know what the hell I was doing at the time. I sent out five queries for the third book, and then stopped because the fourth book was demanding my time and effort. Now I'm beginning the query process for #4. (Hence, the four years, five books and nothing published thing - but let's leave all that for another post, eh?) Can you tell I'd rather write than query?
The point here is: What the hell do I put in a paragraph about myself that will make the agent in question think I'm the bee's knees?
Don't get me wrong. When I first jumped into the fray for Spectacle, I talked about myself. And then as I learned about the business, I learned I was saying all the wrong things. Read the net and you'll find instance after instance where the agent doesn't really care when you say you're committed to the process (everyone says it, and not everyone means it). They aren't really interested in the fact that you've spent your life teaching yourself everything you can about anything that interests you. And any writing you did for any corporation you worked for doesn't really count for selling a novel because that isn't fiction.
From what I understand, you can say you spend x-number of hours writing every day, and studying the industry, and perfecting your craft, but so does everyone else, and we come back to the point that not everyone means it. If you say it, are you going to sound like you're peddling another cartload of buffalo bagels - even when it's the truth?
Of course, it helps if you have a platform. But how many homeschooling, ex-salesmen, former boozehound books are gracing the shelves these days? I don't write about my life. I write about other people's lives, and for the same reason I wouldn't read a book about my life (except for the whole brain-damage memoir thing, which is still floating in the back of my head with a dozen other ideas).
Let's face it, folks. Right now, I live in the middle of nowhere, and my life is rather bland. I like it this way because it minimizes distractions and helps me focus better on my work. But it doesn't help sell my books. On paper, I look like a hermit or a hayseed. Looking at me now, you wouldn't see the high-powered sales meetings held in the suites at the top of the Las Vegas Hilton. (Some day, remind me to tell you the story of the green semi-formal suit and how it got me more attention than any sales executive wants.) Listening to me talk about my life here in BFE couldn't possibly show how I inherited my gift of gab from my father or my ability to blend into any situation from my mother. Nothing I could tell in a query letter would show you who I am, and what having me in your stable of talent would do for your agency.
Put me in a book signing, and I'll show you who I am. Get me a gig on CSPAN's BookTV, and you'll see what I can do. (Which reminds me, I've also been on TV before, so it's no biggie. True, it was public television, and I was 17, so if the cameras didn't freak me out then, they won't freak me out now.)
But please don't ask me for a paragraph about myself in a query letter. I'll come off flat, and you'll walk away bored - and then we'll both miss out on a wonderful opportunity. For now, let's forget about the chick behind the writing and concentrate on the writing itself. Trust me, if you like the manuscript, you'll love her.
So the question today is: If you don't have publishing credits or an MFA or a platform, just what do you put in your 'some info' paragraph?
(And before anyone says it, I've thought about using the whole 'brain damaged author' thing, and dismissed it. I'd rather not be defined by what I've overcome, and it's not pertinent to anything but the memoirs I may or may not ever write.)
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Mixing it Up
In poker, there are basically two ways you can play it - passively smooth-calling and checking or aggressively betting and bluffing. If done right, either way can win you money. But the most money is won by the player that mixes it up. The theory is it keeps the other players guessing what you're going to do next, and wondering if you're bagging a good hand or bluffing with a bad hand. If you're lucky, more often than not their guess at your hand is wrong and you're raking in their dough.
With writing, the two ways you can write it are passive and active. Unlike poker, though, it seems like the trend is that you can never play it passive. While I do agree that a book written entirely in passive will end up being about as interesting as oatmeal, I don't think passive voice should be left out entirely. You have to mix it up. A little active here, a little passive there - keep your reader wondering what's next and keep them hooked without a constant barrage of active sentences or a total snooze-fest of passive ones.
Years ago, when I was first learning about the whole writing craft thing, and this debate first jumped into my consciousness, I picked up a book by a major proponent of the active voice (who shall remain nameless). I read about three pages in before I had to put it down. Too much, too fast. The whole plot was rapid-fire thrust into my brain. It felt like a book written for the A.D.H.D. club, and I'm not a member. For that matter, I don't want to be.
Sometimes writing in passive voice says something important about the characters and the story. Something you really need to get across without blatantly saying so-and-so is such-and-such. In the case of query letters, you only have so many words to accomplish your mission, and using passive voice to show that a certain character IS passive works much better, IMO than telling the reader so-and-so is a wimp, but she gets better. For example, I needed to use this device when I wrote the blurb for Blink. At the beginning, Mary is very passive - her world acts upon her and she really can't do anything about it. Over time, she becomes more active - and I think my blurb reflects this. Unfortunately, some agents are so anti-passive, I'm afraid the passive voice of those sentences would turn them off. *shrug*
As a reader, I like the ebb and flow of sentences. Sometimes a character does something, and sometimes something is done to them. That's the way the world works. Isn't it?
For instance:
"John was hit by a book." - passive
"A book hit John." - active
But can a book really be active? Watch for flying tomes? (Okay. In fantasy, maybe.) Think about a situation where the character really doesn't have any control - an earthquake perhaps, or a tornado. A writer could use passive voice to show how really helpless a character feels. Maybe John is huddled under a heavy object trying not to die, and he gets hit by a book. He is frightened by the trembling house. He is knocked to the floor by a gust of wind, or a powerful tremor, or by his dog - who's scared shitless, too. John feels like the world is acting against him; he feels like he has no control over his environment. He's passive.
But in the same situation, things are acting against him. So you mix it up. Huddled under his grandfather's massive oak desk, John is hit by the same copy of Moby Dick his father read to him as a boy. The wind whips his hair into his eyes, and the desk rocks. Above him, the roof creaks as the tornado whirls closer. As the heavy furniture begins to pull away from his grasp, he is knocked to the floor by an unknown force. He feels the fetid breath of hell upon his neck.
Not the best example, but you get the picture. All day every day, things happen. Sometimes we make them happen, and sometimes they happen to us. Active and passive.
Let's try another example (because it's fun and it's good exercise):
"She was hugged by her husband."
"Her husband hugged her."
IMO, the passive version leaves some things open for interpretation. Maybe she just sat there and let him hug her because she wasn't really a hugging kind of gal, or perhaps because she's pissed at him. It tells me something about her. The second sentence, while active, is kind of bleh to me.
Maybe it's a fine distinction. Or maybe it's just me. I want to see an author mix it up. A little roller-coaster and a little merry-go-round certainly makes the experience more enjoyable for me. And sometimes just sitting on a bench watching the people stroll past makes for a nice break from the action.
Time for you to chime in. Do you think I'm off my rocker? Can a book be all active, or do you like a mix?
With writing, the two ways you can write it are passive and active. Unlike poker, though, it seems like the trend is that you can never play it passive. While I do agree that a book written entirely in passive will end up being about as interesting as oatmeal, I don't think passive voice should be left out entirely. You have to mix it up. A little active here, a little passive there - keep your reader wondering what's next and keep them hooked without a constant barrage of active sentences or a total snooze-fest of passive ones.
Years ago, when I was first learning about the whole writing craft thing, and this debate first jumped into my consciousness, I picked up a book by a major proponent of the active voice (who shall remain nameless). I read about three pages in before I had to put it down. Too much, too fast. The whole plot was rapid-fire thrust into my brain. It felt like a book written for the A.D.H.D. club, and I'm not a member. For that matter, I don't want to be.
Sometimes writing in passive voice says something important about the characters and the story. Something you really need to get across without blatantly saying so-and-so is such-and-such. In the case of query letters, you only have so many words to accomplish your mission, and using passive voice to show that a certain character IS passive works much better, IMO than telling the reader so-and-so is a wimp, but she gets better. For example, I needed to use this device when I wrote the blurb for Blink. At the beginning, Mary is very passive - her world acts upon her and she really can't do anything about it. Over time, she becomes more active - and I think my blurb reflects this. Unfortunately, some agents are so anti-passive, I'm afraid the passive voice of those sentences would turn them off. *shrug*
As a reader, I like the ebb and flow of sentences. Sometimes a character does something, and sometimes something is done to them. That's the way the world works. Isn't it?
For instance:
"John was hit by a book." - passive
"A book hit John." - active
But can a book really be active? Watch for flying tomes? (Okay. In fantasy, maybe.) Think about a situation where the character really doesn't have any control - an earthquake perhaps, or a tornado. A writer could use passive voice to show how really helpless a character feels. Maybe John is huddled under a heavy object trying not to die, and he gets hit by a book. He is frightened by the trembling house. He is knocked to the floor by a gust of wind, or a powerful tremor, or by his dog - who's scared shitless, too. John feels like the world is acting against him; he feels like he has no control over his environment. He's passive.
But in the same situation, things are acting against him. So you mix it up. Huddled under his grandfather's massive oak desk, John is hit by the same copy of Moby Dick his father read to him as a boy. The wind whips his hair into his eyes, and the desk rocks. Above him, the roof creaks as the tornado whirls closer. As the heavy furniture begins to pull away from his grasp, he is knocked to the floor by an unknown force. He feels the fetid breath of hell upon his neck.
Not the best example, but you get the picture. All day every day, things happen. Sometimes we make them happen, and sometimes they happen to us. Active and passive.
Let's try another example (because it's fun and it's good exercise):
"She was hugged by her husband."
"Her husband hugged her."
IMO, the passive version leaves some things open for interpretation. Maybe she just sat there and let him hug her because she wasn't really a hugging kind of gal, or perhaps because she's pissed at him. It tells me something about her. The second sentence, while active, is kind of bleh to me.
Maybe it's a fine distinction. Or maybe it's just me. I want to see an author mix it up. A little roller-coaster and a little merry-go-round certainly makes the experience more enjoyable for me. And sometimes just sitting on a bench watching the people stroll past makes for a nice break from the action.
Time for you to chime in. Do you think I'm off my rocker? Can a book be all active, or do you like a mix?
Friday, April 4, 2008
Weird Searches
Hello. It's once again time for the weird and wonderful ways people find my blog. Most of the searches that bring people here are writing related. You know, people doing research on writing and agents, looking for ways to improve their craft, etc.
And then there are the weird ones...
This month's weirdest searches were:
spanking - I don't know why you were here, but I'm not into that. (Except in the case of naughty children, but let's not get into that debate.)
"hit head" "wet burrito" - This brings to mind a whole series of hilarious images.
pseudonym for brown noser suck up - I think the word this person was looking for was 'synonym'. Use a thesaurus. And a dictionary. Please. (On the upside, at least they spelled pseudonym right.)
what is pmmd? - In my world, PMMD stands for Post Manuscript Malaise Disorder. (I don't know what it stands for otherwise.) It's a little thing I made up to describe that feeling you get when you just finished writing a book. Sometimes there's a little bit of a lost feeling that comes after you just spent 6 weeks typing furiously to get a book finished and before you're ready to either start another book or edit the one you just finished. It's not contagious, and it's not fatal.
plum tuckered - This one keeps coming back. It means dog tired, whooped, bushed, beat, exhausted... You get the picture. It just says it in a more colorful way. Maybe I picked this up those couple years I spent living in north Florida. (Which is not really Florida, but more like Georgia-lite.)
Finally, I seem to be getting an overwhelming number of searches related to the chocolate cake recipe I posted a while back. Welcome to the site, fellow chocolate lovers!
So, tell me some of the weirdest ways people find your blog, and what are some of your most popular non-writing posts?
And then there are the weird ones...
This month's weirdest searches were:
spanking - I don't know why you were here, but I'm not into that. (Except in the case of naughty children, but let's not get into that debate.)
"hit head" "wet burrito" - This brings to mind a whole series of hilarious images.
pseudonym for brown noser suck up - I think the word this person was looking for was 'synonym'. Use a thesaurus. And a dictionary. Please. (On the upside, at least they spelled pseudonym right.)
what is pmmd? - In my world, PMMD stands for Post Manuscript Malaise Disorder. (I don't know what it stands for otherwise.) It's a little thing I made up to describe that feeling you get when you just finished writing a book. Sometimes there's a little bit of a lost feeling that comes after you just spent 6 weeks typing furiously to get a book finished and before you're ready to either start another book or edit the one you just finished. It's not contagious, and it's not fatal.
plum tuckered - This one keeps coming back. It means dog tired, whooped, bushed, beat, exhausted... You get the picture. It just says it in a more colorful way. Maybe I picked this up those couple years I spent living in north Florida. (Which is not really Florida, but more like Georgia-lite.)
Finally, I seem to be getting an overwhelming number of searches related to the chocolate cake recipe I posted a while back. Welcome to the site, fellow chocolate lovers!
So, tell me some of the weirdest ways people find your blog, and what are some of your most popular non-writing posts?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Progress Report
I don't have too much to report on at the moment. It's been one of those weeks. You know how sometimes you don't feel good, but you don't really feel sick either - just... I don't know... off? That's been this week.
Nonetheless, I did get started on my new book, and it is making progress. (Not quite the progress RTL made, but not every book can be written in 6 weeks.) This new book will be a suspense novel. I haven't decided if I'm going to throw a romance in with the suspense, but right now, it's not looking like there'll be a love interest for my MC. She's not striking me as a woman who will tolerate a distraction in her life right now. We'll see if that shifts as I get to know her better.
The villian is coming together nicely. I'm striking out into a less populated area in the realm of serial killers and focusing on a female murderer (they do happen every now and then), because as Kipling put it so well "The female of the species is deadlier than the male." She's kind of a trophy wife gone mad. So far, it's fun to write. Also, I sent the first pages off to my CP and she proclaimed it 'fierce'.
Other than that, I've restarted the query process with a newer, tighter blurb. (If you want to see it, let me know.) Just a few queries at a time, to test the waters. I know RTL is highly publishable and should make some nice sales, so if I don't get some interest right off the bat, I'll revise my query letter - as many times as it takes until I get it right and get an agent.
On the home front, my blanket is also coming along nicely (even though I ditched the blanket-meter). I finished the first seven strips, sewed them together and started on the next set of the pattern. So far, so good. And so warm. As I was sewing the strips together, my lap started to overheat. LOL The blanket is all in cream and rose with a strip of light sage for pizzazz. (I'd offer them for sale, but at the amount of time I put into one of these things, I don't know if I could recoup that financially.)
So, what's up in your world?
Nonetheless, I did get started on my new book, and it is making progress. (Not quite the progress RTL made, but not every book can be written in 6 weeks.) This new book will be a suspense novel. I haven't decided if I'm going to throw a romance in with the suspense, but right now, it's not looking like there'll be a love interest for my MC. She's not striking me as a woman who will tolerate a distraction in her life right now. We'll see if that shifts as I get to know her better.
The villian is coming together nicely. I'm striking out into a less populated area in the realm of serial killers and focusing on a female murderer (they do happen every now and then), because as Kipling put it so well "The female of the species is deadlier than the male." She's kind of a trophy wife gone mad. So far, it's fun to write. Also, I sent the first pages off to my CP and she proclaimed it 'fierce'.
Other than that, I've restarted the query process with a newer, tighter blurb. (If you want to see it, let me know.) Just a few queries at a time, to test the waters. I know RTL is highly publishable and should make some nice sales, so if I don't get some interest right off the bat, I'll revise my query letter - as many times as it takes until I get it right and get an agent.
On the home front, my blanket is also coming along nicely (even though I ditched the blanket-meter). I finished the first seven strips, sewed them together and started on the next set of the pattern. So far, so good. And so warm. As I was sewing the strips together, my lap started to overheat. LOL The blanket is all in cream and rose with a strip of light sage for pizzazz. (I'd offer them for sale, but at the amount of time I put into one of these things, I don't know if I could recoup that financially.)
So, what's up in your world?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
WTF Files
I don't know if y'all have heard about this story, but it's definitely one for the WTF Files.
3rd graders plot teacher attack
That's the AP story, and thank goodness it's sans reader comments. I read another take in the Atlanta paper, and some of the comments were almost as WTF as the story.
Seriously, though, WTF is wrong with the world that children feel it's okay to plot against their teacher because she reprimanded one of them for standing on a chair. And now, it looks like no punishment is going to be given. I heard on the news yesterday that the local law enforcement thought 'behavior modification' was the best way to handle this. These kids have never been taught about consequences, and from the sounds of it, they still won't be. From the sounds of it, they haven't even been expelled, but are instead on 'long-term suspension'.
(Update: I missed the part where three of them are being charged as juvenile offenders. I'm glad someone is taking this seriously. Finally.)
Give it a few years, and the ring-leaders will kill someone.
Of course, someone's already blaming the TV, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the parents. Sure some kids get to watch CSI - which IMO is way too graphic for little kids - but when it comes down to it, the parents are the ones letting them watch. And then the parents are the ones who don't explain the show to the kids afterwards. The parents apparently haven't impressed upon their kids what right and wrong are.
Teaching morality is a parent's responsibility. Not the TV, not the school, not the government. Not even books. When did people stop taking parental responsibility seriously???
Feh.
And thus ends today's unscheduled rant. Proceed with your regular daily activities.
3rd graders plot teacher attack
That's the AP story, and thank goodness it's sans reader comments. I read another take in the Atlanta paper, and some of the comments were almost as WTF as the story.
Seriously, though, WTF is wrong with the world that children feel it's okay to plot against their teacher because she reprimanded one of them for standing on a chair. And now, it looks like no punishment is going to be given. I heard on the news yesterday that the local law enforcement thought 'behavior modification' was the best way to handle this. These kids have never been taught about consequences, and from the sounds of it, they still won't be. From the sounds of it, they haven't even been expelled, but are instead on 'long-term suspension'.
(Update: I missed the part where three of them are being charged as juvenile offenders. I'm glad someone is taking this seriously. Finally.)
Give it a few years, and the ring-leaders will kill someone.
Of course, someone's already blaming the TV, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the parents. Sure some kids get to watch CSI - which IMO is way too graphic for little kids - but when it comes down to it, the parents are the ones letting them watch. And then the parents are the ones who don't explain the show to the kids afterwards. The parents apparently haven't impressed upon their kids what right and wrong are.
Teaching morality is a parent's responsibility. Not the TV, not the school, not the government. Not even books. When did people stop taking parental responsibility seriously???
Feh.
And thus ends today's unscheduled rant. Proceed with your regular daily activities.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Brand Spanking New Blog
I love it when a new writing blog shows up. I love it even more when it's already got at least one writer I'm already familiar with. (Last time it was Manuscript Mavens, and look how well that's turned out.)
So without further adieu, I present....
The Fictionistas
From their Welcome post: "We, The Six (Melissa Francis, Kristin Painter, Rhonda Stapleton, Amanda Brice, Gwen Hayes, and Chrissy Olinger) are an elite team of YA authors at different points in our publishing careers. We cracked each other up so much that one day we decided it would be nice to share with the world our unique perspectives."
As you all know, I'm not a YA writer (not that I haven't played with the idea), but these gals know what they're talking about. I predict much of their insights will translate across to adult writing as well, and if not, the posts look to be fun to read anyway. Check them out when you get a chance, and add them to your blogroll if you like what they have to say.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled blogrolling.
So without further adieu, I present....
The Fictionistas
From their Welcome post: "We, The Six (Melissa Francis, Kristin Painter, Rhonda Stapleton, Amanda Brice, Gwen Hayes, and Chrissy Olinger) are an elite team of YA authors at different points in our publishing careers. We cracked each other up so much that one day we decided it would be nice to share with the world our unique perspectives."
As you all know, I'm not a YA writer (not that I haven't played with the idea), but these gals know what they're talking about. I predict much of their insights will translate across to adult writing as well, and if not, the posts look to be fun to read anyway. Check them out when you get a chance, and add them to your blogroll if you like what they have to say.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled blogrolling.
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