A common subject among writers at conferences, meetings, blogs and any other places where writers gather is whether or not they should write to the market. I have several thoughts on this, the primary one being that the market is a moving target, so being able to write to it and target it just when your type of novel or other product is wanted is about as easy as timing the stock market. Of course, there are people that do both of these arduous feats and do them well, however, the reality for most of us is that this is a difficult thing to do, especially if you are a first-time novelist.
Several things to consider if you want to write to the market are as follows:
- it usually takes a year to write and rewrite a novel. During this time lots of trends come and go. There was a time when Chick Lit seemed to rule, and while it's still a popular genre, the ranks of Chick Lit writers have been thinned to a much smaller number in recent years.
- if you are a first-time novelist and shopping your product and have yet to find an agent and/or publisher then it could take months or years to place your work. As you can imagine, a lot can change in that amount of time. Of course, in some cases fads that fade return years later - what's old is new again - so the time that lapses just might be an advantage in this situation.
- Once a hot trend in writing peaks, say wizards, vampires, angels, etc., and everyone is trying to write to the market, the market becomes saturated and the last thing an agent, publisher or even the readers want to see is the same old thing wrapped up in new packaging. Now, if it's refreshing that's a different story - pun intended.
After all these years, I return to the same conclusions about writing and these are:
Write what you love to read,
Write from your heart,
write something you can be proud of,
because in the end you will have spent at least a year of your life on your novel in the writing, rewriting and shopping of your novel. Why would you want to spend that much of your life on something that you weren't proud of?
Very few people ever complete a novel so at a minimum that is something of which to be proud. Extend that pride to writing from your own voice and patiently pursue it's path to becoming published.
I've also concluded that the only writers who do not become published are those who give up and those who die - except that even after death your children might just find those manuscripts and have them published anyway. Unless, it's about them. Now there's an idea!
Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agents. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
When and How to Write
I often compare writing to training for a race and since I do both I can't help but notice the parallels between the two. As writers we often spend a tremendous amount of time worrying about things that may not matter in the end. For example, what the market is buying before we even have a finished manuscript. Since the market is fluid and more difficult to time than the stock market, worrying about this is pretty much counter productive. However, it is important to understand the market, not so much to time it but how to approach it, or more specifically, the agents, editors and publishers that control it.
In training for a race we focus on the type of race we are going to run. One doesn't train the same way for a 5k race as for a 10k or half-marathon. So, knowing the race you're going to run is important for how you approach your training. On Saturday I ran a 10 mile race, my first running race for 2009 and boy was I unprepared. I finished the race but I could tell that I hadn't trained properly. How could I tell? Well, since I've run longer races and felt better I knew that running the race was a bit premature. Still, I made mental notes along the way of the things I needed to change before running the next race I signed up for - a half-marathon. I know what to do, I just need to do it.
The same holds for writing. For me,the writing equivalent of a race is submitting a manuscript to a publisher or pitching that manuscript at a conference. I waited a while before sending a letter off to an editor about my first romantic suspense novel because I wanted it to be ready should I get a request for the whole manuscript. I did get the request but in the end the novel wasn't accepted by the editor for publication. Since it was the only editor I queried I'm not as bummed about it as one might think. I feel pretty good that after sending a query to just this one editor and then receiving a request for the full manuscript - well, in the writing world of odds, that's pretty good. Haven't decided if I'm going to send this out to anyone else but in the meantime I continue writing another work of fiction that I've started.
So, I will continue to learn from my racing mistakes and misjudgements and I will continue to train and run races, regardless of where I place, because it keeps me challenged and feeling alive.
The same for my writing endeavors. I can no longer stop writing than I can stop working out and challenging myself. I write mostly on the train during my commute and then edit at home on a printed out version. I write stories based on my own voice, my own imagination, and my own taste in what I enjoy reading. I doubt I'd be any better at timing the writing market than the stock market and in the end after spending a year or more on any given writing project, I want to at least enjoy the ride and fun of putting one more word on paper and taking one more step towards finishing a race.
In training for a race we focus on the type of race we are going to run. One doesn't train the same way for a 5k race as for a 10k or half-marathon. So, knowing the race you're going to run is important for how you approach your training. On Saturday I ran a 10 mile race, my first running race for 2009 and boy was I unprepared. I finished the race but I could tell that I hadn't trained properly. How could I tell? Well, since I've run longer races and felt better I knew that running the race was a bit premature. Still, I made mental notes along the way of the things I needed to change before running the next race I signed up for - a half-marathon. I know what to do, I just need to do it.
The same holds for writing. For me,the writing equivalent of a race is submitting a manuscript to a publisher or pitching that manuscript at a conference. I waited a while before sending a letter off to an editor about my first romantic suspense novel because I wanted it to be ready should I get a request for the whole manuscript. I did get the request but in the end the novel wasn't accepted by the editor for publication. Since it was the only editor I queried I'm not as bummed about it as one might think. I feel pretty good that after sending a query to just this one editor and then receiving a request for the full manuscript - well, in the writing world of odds, that's pretty good. Haven't decided if I'm going to send this out to anyone else but in the meantime I continue writing another work of fiction that I've started.
So, I will continue to learn from my racing mistakes and misjudgements and I will continue to train and run races, regardless of where I place, because it keeps me challenged and feeling alive.
The same for my writing endeavors. I can no longer stop writing than I can stop working out and challenging myself. I write mostly on the train during my commute and then edit at home on a printed out version. I write stories based on my own voice, my own imagination, and my own taste in what I enjoy reading. I doubt I'd be any better at timing the writing market than the stock market and in the end after spending a year or more on any given writing project, I want to at least enjoy the ride and fun of putting one more word on paper and taking one more step towards finishing a race.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
When to call in an expert
Last week I posted that my basement flooded because my sump pump failed and of course it happened on a day of record-breaking rain levels. Just call me Noah.
I knew the pump was failing but I thought I had a little more time and was working on getting a professional in the following weekend but the rain and the sump pump had other ideas. (I know in a rational world that inanimate objects allegedly can’t think but at times like these - when your basement is flooding, the world is anything but rational.)
I diligently researched the makings and installation of a sump pump and not because I wanted to do it myself but because I wanted to understand the process. The previous install was not done by a professional and that’s part of the reason there were problems, plus as the technicians who helped me this past week commented, it was a bit of a mess. So, I now have two brand new sump pumps and I rest much easier at night - two because I decided to replace the other aging one so I didn’t have to go through the water cleanup again; and hey, the guys were there already. They drove a white truck and I told them they were my knights in shining armor - okay fading jeans. One was older and the other younger and the younger one was being expertly trained and guided by the older more experienced one.
So, what can writers learn from this? Well, sometimes you have to get help from professionals, or at least folks in your field who have more experience than you do. BUT, how do you know who to contact? After all, it’s not like there are certified, state approved writing coaches like there are certified and registered plumbers? Or are there? Then, what about cost? How much do you spend and how do you know if you’re getting ripped off? I received several types of warranties on my new sump pumps and the labor and I’ll definitely know if they stop working because my basement will flood again - or hopefully, I will notice that the sump holes are filling up first and call before you have to call me Noah again.
Well, as writers we do have some choices, not all expensive but not all of that affordable either. The choices range from a writing partner, critique group, writing contests, writer’s group - preferably in your chosen genre, writer’s conferences, online courses, all the way to high-priced professional editors sometimes called book doctors. So, how do you know which one is right for you, or even which one to start with?
My first choice would be to join a writer’s group if you can, particularly one in the genre in which you write such as mystery, romance, etc. The reason for this is that a group gives you a chance to network and find out what other, more experienced writers are doing. Depending on how much writing you have already accomplished and what your skill level is, a critique group would also be one of my first choices of things to do, coupled with entering writing contests sponsored by organizations and/or publishers in your particular genre. All of these choices tend to be more affordable, especially in these slow economic times.
Writer’s conferences, especially ones that represent your type of writing, in my opinion are invaluable. Yes, they cost a little more, but depending on how organized and realistic about your writing goals you are, you can obtain a significant return on investment by attending a writer’s conference. Often you have a chance to network with agents, editors and publishers and often have a chance to pitch to all of the above. So, the money you spend may actually open the door to your first book contract. Again, you have to be organized and realistic and above all else, have a completed manuscript! You’d be surprised how many people go to conferences where they pitch and the agent, editor or publisher asks for them to submit and then they never follow through. A recent and informal query of agents, editors and publishers who asked for submissions indicates that only about 30% of writers followup with the actual submission.
Professional editors have a mixed reputation and rightfully so. It’s not a regulated field and there are no guarantees. He/she can’t promise you that your book will be accepted by a mainstream publisher or sale in the six figures - in fact if they do, that’s the first indication you should run. Depending on their experience and credentials, they will give you their insights to your written product and hopefully help you improve it on whatever level you’ve contracted them to do such as grammar, sentence structure, flow of ideas, etc. The right professional editor can provide you with an invaluable service and feedback but my advice is to first check their references and credentials carefully. Then send a sample chapter and see what kind of response you receive before committing to a large sum of money.
Writing is notoriously lonely and isolated, but every now and then we need to pull ourselves away from our writing to actually experience life and get perspective. After all, isn’t that what writers are trying to pass onto their readers?
For more information on writer’s groups in your area or online go to:
goolge or yahoo and type in writer’s groups + “your area”
www.meetup.com and sign up for this free service that let’s you know all types of events in your area to include writer’s groups.
I knew the pump was failing but I thought I had a little more time and was working on getting a professional in the following weekend but the rain and the sump pump had other ideas. (I know in a rational world that inanimate objects allegedly can’t think but at times like these - when your basement is flooding, the world is anything but rational.)
I diligently researched the makings and installation of a sump pump and not because I wanted to do it myself but because I wanted to understand the process. The previous install was not done by a professional and that’s part of the reason there were problems, plus as the technicians who helped me this past week commented, it was a bit of a mess. So, I now have two brand new sump pumps and I rest much easier at night - two because I decided to replace the other aging one so I didn’t have to go through the water cleanup again; and hey, the guys were there already. They drove a white truck and I told them they were my knights in shining armor - okay fading jeans. One was older and the other younger and the younger one was being expertly trained and guided by the older more experienced one.
So, what can writers learn from this? Well, sometimes you have to get help from professionals, or at least folks in your field who have more experience than you do. BUT, how do you know who to contact? After all, it’s not like there are certified, state approved writing coaches like there are certified and registered plumbers? Or are there? Then, what about cost? How much do you spend and how do you know if you’re getting ripped off? I received several types of warranties on my new sump pumps and the labor and I’ll definitely know if they stop working because my basement will flood again - or hopefully, I will notice that the sump holes are filling up first and call before you have to call me Noah again.
Well, as writers we do have some choices, not all expensive but not all of that affordable either. The choices range from a writing partner, critique group, writing contests, writer’s group - preferably in your chosen genre, writer’s conferences, online courses, all the way to high-priced professional editors sometimes called book doctors. So, how do you know which one is right for you, or even which one to start with?
My first choice would be to join a writer’s group if you can, particularly one in the genre in which you write such as mystery, romance, etc. The reason for this is that a group gives you a chance to network and find out what other, more experienced writers are doing. Depending on how much writing you have already accomplished and what your skill level is, a critique group would also be one of my first choices of things to do, coupled with entering writing contests sponsored by organizations and/or publishers in your particular genre. All of these choices tend to be more affordable, especially in these slow economic times.
Writer’s conferences, especially ones that represent your type of writing, in my opinion are invaluable. Yes, they cost a little more, but depending on how organized and realistic about your writing goals you are, you can obtain a significant return on investment by attending a writer’s conference. Often you have a chance to network with agents, editors and publishers and often have a chance to pitch to all of the above. So, the money you spend may actually open the door to your first book contract. Again, you have to be organized and realistic and above all else, have a completed manuscript! You’d be surprised how many people go to conferences where they pitch and the agent, editor or publisher asks for them to submit and then they never follow through. A recent and informal query of agents, editors and publishers who asked for submissions indicates that only about 30% of writers followup with the actual submission.
Professional editors have a mixed reputation and rightfully so. It’s not a regulated field and there are no guarantees. He/she can’t promise you that your book will be accepted by a mainstream publisher or sale in the six figures - in fact if they do, that’s the first indication you should run. Depending on their experience and credentials, they will give you their insights to your written product and hopefully help you improve it on whatever level you’ve contracted them to do such as grammar, sentence structure, flow of ideas, etc. The right professional editor can provide you with an invaluable service and feedback but my advice is to first check their references and credentials carefully. Then send a sample chapter and see what kind of response you receive before committing to a large sum of money.
Writing is notoriously lonely and isolated, but every now and then we need to pull ourselves away from our writing to actually experience life and get perspective. After all, isn’t that what writers are trying to pass onto their readers?
For more information on writer’s groups in your area or online go to:
goolge or yahoo and type in writer’s groups + “your area”
www.meetup.com and sign up for this free service that let’s you know all types of events in your area to include writer’s groups.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Love Is Murder Con
Okay, it's countdown to the Love is Murder Con this weekend and my next post on Tuesday will be full of exciting post Con news so stay tuned and hope to see you there. For more info go to www.loveismurder.net.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
When Love is Murder
Catchy title huh! Love is Murder CON, or more familiarly LIM, is a wonderful Con held in Feb each year, and for 2009 it's coming up soon (Feb 6-8). Go to www.loveismurder.net for more information. But before I go on I must let you know that I am on the board for this Con but lots of members of this blog will be at LIM this year so take a gander at the website and please join us if you haven't signed up already. I have to say that LIM is one of the best and most fun Cons I've been to and been involved with and lots of folks seem to agree.
Being a board memeber is rather interesting and exiciting. Long before I became a member of the LIM board, I of course like many others attended lots of writers conferences/conventions (LIM inlcuded) and from that perspective I often thought and questioned why certain Cons ran things the way they did. Regardless of how a Con is run let me tell everyone that these endeavors are a bucket (I really want to say *#@!) load of work. Now it's not that we don't love to have suggestions to improve and enhance on what we do because believe me we do. BUT it's important that everyone undersand just how much thought and effort goes into a Con even if everything doesn't go they way they want it to.
A recent article from the Romance Writers of America National Organization laid this out quite well explaining all the planning effort invovled in one of these events from finding a hotel to accomodate the Con and the attendees at the most reasonable price possible without detracting from the Con itself, to making the cost of the Con such that the right talent is attracted as headliners and agents and publishers so that the attendees get what they want out of the Con. In other words it ain't as easy at it looks.
The questions that each attendee has to ask him/herself of attending any Con are as follows:
- what will attending this particular Con provide for him/her such a face-to-face meetings with agents, editors, publishers, & librarians (LIM has that)
- meeting top notch writers for both readers and writers (LIM has that)
- networking with other readers/writers as well as the agents, editors, publishers and librarians (LIM has that)
- having a bunch of fun socializing with all of the above (LIM has that)
- and so much more.
So, join us at Love is Murder in 2009 and become part of the coolest crime scene that happens every winter in the Chicago area!
For more information go to www.LoveisMurder.net.
See ya there!
Being a board memeber is rather interesting and exiciting. Long before I became a member of the LIM board, I of course like many others attended lots of writers conferences/conventions (LIM inlcuded) and from that perspective I often thought and questioned why certain Cons ran things the way they did. Regardless of how a Con is run let me tell everyone that these endeavors are a bucket (I really want to say *#@!) load of work. Now it's not that we don't love to have suggestions to improve and enhance on what we do because believe me we do. BUT it's important that everyone undersand just how much thought and effort goes into a Con even if everything doesn't go they way they want it to.
A recent article from the Romance Writers of America National Organization laid this out quite well explaining all the planning effort invovled in one of these events from finding a hotel to accomodate the Con and the attendees at the most reasonable price possible without detracting from the Con itself, to making the cost of the Con such that the right talent is attracted as headliners and agents and publishers so that the attendees get what they want out of the Con. In other words it ain't as easy at it looks.
The questions that each attendee has to ask him/herself of attending any Con are as follows:
- what will attending this particular Con provide for him/her such a face-to-face meetings with agents, editors, publishers, & librarians (LIM has that)
- meeting top notch writers for both readers and writers (LIM has that)
- networking with other readers/writers as well as the agents, editors, publishers and librarians (LIM has that)
- having a bunch of fun socializing with all of the above (LIM has that)
- and so much more.
So, join us at Love is Murder in 2009 and become part of the coolest crime scene that happens every winter in the Chicago area!
For more information go to www.LoveisMurder.net.
See ya there!
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