I have another great agent to introduce to the class! The subject of today's interactive interview is Sara Sciuto of Full Circle Literary. As always, details on the interactive part are at the bottom. Enjoy!
KV: How long have you been agenting, and how did you get into it?
SS: I came on to Full Circle Literary in September of 2010 and made the transition to full-time agent earlier this year. Prior to that I did a foreign rights internship with Taryn Fagerness Agency, which was fun because I got to communicate with people from all over the world; but I love the opportunity to work with authors (and later, editors) on all stages of the creative process, that comes with being a domestic agent. It's kind of the perfect job for me because my personal interests are all over the board--agenting gives me the opportunity to explore my ever-changing and expanding list of hobbies/interests with the many different kinds of projects I choose to acquire.
KV: How would you summarize your personal agenting philosophy? What do you expect from an agent-author relationship?
SS: At Full Circle we like to say we represent authors, not books. We're very active during the revision process before sending a project to editors; we're your advocate during and after publication, and offer professional guidance for the lifetime of your author career. I'm a very hands-on agent and--perhaps, because I'm a newer agent with a bit more time to gamble with--I'll often take on projects that need some editorial work if I have a strong connection to the idea or the author. It doesn't always pay off, but it's worthwhile when it does.
On that note, my dream author is more than willing to get their hands dirty revising, and comes back with something that exceeds my expectations (i.e. they do more than just plug in my suggestions--they re-conceptualize and come up with an overall stronger manuscript). To me, dedicated hard work upfront and the ability to utilize feedback is a great sign that the author will be able to handle the critiques and challenges they'll be encountering throughout the publishing process.
KV: What client work do you have coming out soon? What drew you to those writers and/or projects?
SS: I've only recently begun representing my own clients--so no upcoming releases just yet. Some of the forthcoming projects that I've assisted on at Full Circle Literary include: THE CODE BUSTERS CLUB by Penny Warner, a new middle grade mystery series; Jennifer Ward's latest picture book, THERE WAS AN ODD PRINCESS WHO SWALLOWED A PEA; and a gorgeous craft book by Kelly McCants, SEWING WITH OILCLOTH.
The projects I'm most excited about right now all have really standout writing with a strong, compelling voice. They also all have unique concepts that hit some of my hot buttons (see below). Originality is key--I bore pretty quickly of seeing the same ideas showing up in the submissions box. If I'm sick of a certain concept, certainly editors will be too.
KV: What genres do you represent? What genres do you definitely NOT represent?
SS: I'm very actively building my list and am primarily looking for middle grade and young adult fiction--dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, unique paranormal, and contemporary stories with a strong, unique voice. While I'm not specifically seeking out picture books right now, if a superbly well-written PB with a quirky or humorous narrative found its way to me I wouldn't pass it up! Ditto for a terrific author/illustrator. I'm also considering select nonfiction in the areas of craft, design, how-to, lifestyle, and pop culture.
Currently, I'm NOT considering any adult fiction (all genres).
KV: What query pet peeves and/or pitfalls should writers avoid when querying you?
SS: My biggest pet peeve is queries that are too long--especially when I have to read for five minutes only to figure out that it's adult fiction (which I don't represent!). This isn't the place for a full plot synopsis; I'm only looking to see if this is a project I would generally be interested in or not, and then I want to start straight in on the sample pages. Shoot for brevity and clarity--one sentence introducing the project, a three- to five-sentence description, brief author bio/relevant publishing history, and closing paragraph, is ideal.
I also don't like to see a query that hasn't been personalized in any way. Queries should be addressed (in subject line or greeting) to a specific agent, or at least the agency, so we know you’ve actually considered our guidelines and interests.
KV: What are you looking for in a manuscript right now? What are you tired of seeing at the moment?
SS: When I’m going through submissions I’m not hunting for specific types of projects, just someone who has a unique idea and executes it well. I of course have my personal hot buttons--I'm a sucker for anything in the Deep South (sweet contemporary to dark paranormal), gritty contemporary, utilitarian dystopias or dystopian thrillers, anything with international locales or period settings (think flappers or "Mad Men"), and anything with artistic themes. Still, when I'm going through submissions, I don't have any of this in mind--I'm just looking for unique concepts and strong writing.
With regards to trends, I generally only consider them when it comes to passing on a project. This is especially true for paranormal--I'll likely be passing if I see the words vampire or werewolf; and if you're writing about angels/immortals/demons there needs to be another element (e.g. dystopia, à la ANGEL BURN) or a really unique twist. I'm also not big on contemporary stories where the main conflict is everyday teen or relationship drama (i.e. teen chick-lit)--I prefer my contemporary stories with some grit or quirkiness to them.
KV: What’s the best way to query you?
SS: Send your query letter and first ten pages (full ms text for picture books) in the body of an e-mail to submissions(at)fullcircleliterary(dot)com. Please see our website (fullcircleliterary.com) for full submission guidelines.
Thanks again, Ms. Sciuto, for these responses. I always love finding an agent who's eagerly searching for her next client. Makes me feel a little more hopeful:)
And now on to the main event! If you have a question for Ms. Sciuto, please leave it in the comments below. You'll be able to find Ms. Scuito's answers down there a little later. We'll wrap everything up at 8:00 p.m. EDT (or 5:00 p.m. PDT--gotta love these West Coast agents!), but until then, ask away!
P.S. I won't be around much today, so I'm just going to ask that you please, please, PLEASE respect the cutoff time. If you get here late, just enjoy Ms. Sciuto's answers to everyone else's questions and resist the urge to ask one of your own:)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Agent-Author Chat: Mollie Glick and Gennifer Albin
This sophomore installment of “Agent-Author Chat” features Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary + Media and one of her newest clients, Gennifer Albin (whose manuscript also happens to be one of Ms. Glick’s newest sales).
Here’s a quick reminder about how all this will work: Ms. Albin will share her query with us, the actual query she sent to Ms. Glick, and then she’ll chat a bit about how she developed it and what advice she has for fellow writers. Then Ms. Glick will tell us what she liked about the query--and what she liked about the manuscript itself--and share some query-writing tips with us.
Ms. Albin’s query and answers will appear in orange, and Ms. Glick’s will appear in blue.
Ms. Albin’s Query Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her--tonight.
Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape. Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.
Complete at 78,000 words, CREWEL is a YA dystopian novel that follows Adelice's fight for autonomy and redemption in a world of femme fatales, steel looms, and towered compounds.
I hold a Masters in English Literature from the University of Missouri. I also served as a student editor for Pleaides and The Missouri Review and did some time teaching literature to college students.
I have pasted the sample chapters below followed by a synopsis and bio. Thank you for your time and consideration.
KV: Ms. Albin, how did you first come up with the idea for CREWEL?
GA: I think the idea came from a painting by the Spanish surrealist painter, Remedios Varo, which I’d studied in college. In the painting girls are embroidering the world from a large tower, and the world flows out from the windows. I’m not sure exactly how it germinated into the novel, but one day last August, I wrote a one page prologue that’s still the first page of CREWEL. I would have kept working on it, but a few days later I fried my Mac with a whole glass of water, so I picked the idea back up in November and started to build a story around it.
KV: Tell us a little bit about your query-writing process. Did you work on it here and there as you were writing the manuscript, or before, or after? How many times did you revise it? And how did you decide what order to put things in?
GA: I greatly admire the YA writer Scott Tracey, and he outlined his query process on his blog. He advised to start writing the query and perfecting it as soon as possible, so that’s what I did. I wrote my first (horrible) query in December and then many more horrible queries over the next few months. At the end of April, I had the opportunity to participate in a live query critiquing workshop. I wanted to do it, but when I showed my husband my best query, he basically told me it sucked. We then spent about four hours together writing a pretty experimental new one to send in for critique.
First I tried a summary of the book, which was too detailed and too vague at the same time. Next, I tried sticking to the first fifty pages, but even that’s a lot to boil down. It was my husband’s idea to go back and start in the backstory and lead up to the beginning of the novel, and I realized he was on to something.
KV: What was the hardest thing about writing your query? What was the easiest?
GA: Trying to figure out what to include was always the hardest part of the query. I have several plot layers and subplots in CREWEL, and for a long time, I tried to cram them all into the query. It was easier when I decided to stick to the inciting incident and initial stakes. The easiest thing was realizing I had THE query when it was done. I knew as soon as I read it that I was finally happy with it.
KV: Ms. Glick, when you first read Ms. Albin’s query, what caught your attention?
MG: I loved Genn’s query because it immediately drew me into the story and left me wanting to know more. That’s what I look for in a query and also what I look for in a first chapter. And her premise was high concept and intriguing. I was also impressed by her bio. I liked that she’d studied literature at the graduate level and that she already had two successful, well written blogs.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about CREWEL?
MG: I know I’m going to take a book on when I find myself setting everything else I’m reading aside and ignoring my husband because I’m so engrossed by it, and when I start making notes as I read it. I started reading CREWEL at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. one evening and didn’t go to bed until I’d finished it.
I loved the originality of the world--her description of the spinning was absolutely mesmerizing. And the characters were great. Nobody writes a villain better than Genn, and I love a good villain!
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. Albin’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
MG: In one night! She submitted it to me over a weekend, then let me know that she had interest that Monday, so I sat down and read it that day. My response times vary, though, depending on how many client manuscripts I have in at a given time and how sure I am that something sounds like a good fit for me.
KV: Ms. Albin, what tips do you have for fellow writers as they work on their queries?
GA: Get help! From people who’ve read the book and those who haven’t. Your critique partners and betas may fill in gaps with their own knowledge, while people who haven’t read it will point out areas that are confusing. And don’t be afraid to ask for criticism. I think you can get too caught up in your own head sometime to get the information out on the page.
KV: Same question to you, Ms. Glick. What query-writing suggestions do you have?
MG: First and foremost, make sure your letter is professional, informative, and grammatically correct. You wouldn’t believe how many inappropriate or poorly worded queries we get! And bonus points for capturing the voice of your novel in your letter and making me laugh or captivating my curiosity.
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
GA: I’ve heard the terms “whirlwind,” “fairytale,” and “Cinderella story” a lot lately. I think reading a story like mine can be both inspiring and super frustrating. So while I think it’s important to dream REALLY BIG, remember all our journeys are unique and joyful and bittersweet. Not a single moment will happen like you think it will--but it will be better because it’s happening! My agenting journey was short, but there was a lot failure and heartache in other areas of my life before I got serious about writing.
One day I realized there was no other option but to just freaking do it. I was tired of sitting on the sidelines of my life--wiping noses, couponing, and doing laundry--so I jumped in the game, which meant demanding time for me (often in the form of handing off the kids to my husband at the door). There are going to be a million reasons not to write, but none of them are as good as the reasons you should write. So keep dreaming and write on!
MG: The market is tough right now, but great books rise to the top like cream… If you’ve got a great premise and a great query letter you WILL get noticed. I’m always looking for the next novel that’s going to sweep me off my feet!
Thank you, ladies, for these informative, inspiring thoughts. And for those of you who might have missed the announcement on PM, CREWEL just sold to Farrar, Straus Children's in a three-book deal, so we'll all be able to check out Ms. Albin's debut next year!
Here’s a quick reminder about how all this will work: Ms. Albin will share her query with us, the actual query she sent to Ms. Glick, and then she’ll chat a bit about how she developed it and what advice she has for fellow writers. Then Ms. Glick will tell us what she liked about the query--and what she liked about the manuscript itself--and share some query-writing tips with us.
Ms. Albin’s query and answers will appear in orange, and Ms. Glick’s will appear in blue.
Ms. Albin’s Query Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her--tonight.
Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape. Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.
Complete at 78,000 words, CREWEL is a YA dystopian novel that follows Adelice's fight for autonomy and redemption in a world of femme fatales, steel looms, and towered compounds.
I hold a Masters in English Literature from the University of Missouri. I also served as a student editor for Pleaides and The Missouri Review and did some time teaching literature to college students.
I have pasted the sample chapters below followed by a synopsis and bio. Thank you for your time and consideration.
KV: Ms. Albin, how did you first come up with the idea for CREWEL?
GA: I think the idea came from a painting by the Spanish surrealist painter, Remedios Varo, which I’d studied in college. In the painting girls are embroidering the world from a large tower, and the world flows out from the windows. I’m not sure exactly how it germinated into the novel, but one day last August, I wrote a one page prologue that’s still the first page of CREWEL. I would have kept working on it, but a few days later I fried my Mac with a whole glass of water, so I picked the idea back up in November and started to build a story around it.
KV: Tell us a little bit about your query-writing process. Did you work on it here and there as you were writing the manuscript, or before, or after? How many times did you revise it? And how did you decide what order to put things in?
GA: I greatly admire the YA writer Scott Tracey, and he outlined his query process on his blog. He advised to start writing the query and perfecting it as soon as possible, so that’s what I did. I wrote my first (horrible) query in December and then many more horrible queries over the next few months. At the end of April, I had the opportunity to participate in a live query critiquing workshop. I wanted to do it, but when I showed my husband my best query, he basically told me it sucked. We then spent about four hours together writing a pretty experimental new one to send in for critique.
First I tried a summary of the book, which was too detailed and too vague at the same time. Next, I tried sticking to the first fifty pages, but even that’s a lot to boil down. It was my husband’s idea to go back and start in the backstory and lead up to the beginning of the novel, and I realized he was on to something.
KV: What was the hardest thing about writing your query? What was the easiest?
GA: Trying to figure out what to include was always the hardest part of the query. I have several plot layers and subplots in CREWEL, and for a long time, I tried to cram them all into the query. It was easier when I decided to stick to the inciting incident and initial stakes. The easiest thing was realizing I had THE query when it was done. I knew as soon as I read it that I was finally happy with it.
KV: Ms. Glick, when you first read Ms. Albin’s query, what caught your attention?
MG: I loved Genn’s query because it immediately drew me into the story and left me wanting to know more. That’s what I look for in a query and also what I look for in a first chapter. And her premise was high concept and intriguing. I was also impressed by her bio. I liked that she’d studied literature at the graduate level and that she already had two successful, well written blogs.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about CREWEL?
MG: I know I’m going to take a book on when I find myself setting everything else I’m reading aside and ignoring my husband because I’m so engrossed by it, and when I start making notes as I read it. I started reading CREWEL at 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. one evening and didn’t go to bed until I’d finished it.
I loved the originality of the world--her description of the spinning was absolutely mesmerizing. And the characters were great. Nobody writes a villain better than Genn, and I love a good villain!
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. Albin’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
MG: In one night! She submitted it to me over a weekend, then let me know that she had interest that Monday, so I sat down and read it that day. My response times vary, though, depending on how many client manuscripts I have in at a given time and how sure I am that something sounds like a good fit for me.
KV: Ms. Albin, what tips do you have for fellow writers as they work on their queries?
GA: Get help! From people who’ve read the book and those who haven’t. Your critique partners and betas may fill in gaps with their own knowledge, while people who haven’t read it will point out areas that are confusing. And don’t be afraid to ask for criticism. I think you can get too caught up in your own head sometime to get the information out on the page.
KV: Same question to you, Ms. Glick. What query-writing suggestions do you have?
MG: First and foremost, make sure your letter is professional, informative, and grammatically correct. You wouldn’t believe how many inappropriate or poorly worded queries we get! And bonus points for capturing the voice of your novel in your letter and making me laugh or captivating my curiosity.
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
GA: I’ve heard the terms “whirlwind,” “fairytale,” and “Cinderella story” a lot lately. I think reading a story like mine can be both inspiring and super frustrating. So while I think it’s important to dream REALLY BIG, remember all our journeys are unique and joyful and bittersweet. Not a single moment will happen like you think it will--but it will be better because it’s happening! My agenting journey was short, but there was a lot failure and heartache in other areas of my life before I got serious about writing.
One day I realized there was no other option but to just freaking do it. I was tired of sitting on the sidelines of my life--wiping noses, couponing, and doing laundry--so I jumped in the game, which meant demanding time for me (often in the form of handing off the kids to my husband at the door). There are going to be a million reasons not to write, but none of them are as good as the reasons you should write. So keep dreaming and write on!
MG: The market is tough right now, but great books rise to the top like cream… If you’ve got a great premise and a great query letter you WILL get noticed. I’m always looking for the next novel that’s going to sweep me off my feet!
Thank you, ladies, for these informative, inspiring thoughts. And for those of you who might have missed the announcement on PM, CREWEL just sold to Farrar, Straus Children's in a three-book deal, so we'll all be able to check out Ms. Albin's debut next year!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Suspension of Disbelief
I saw some great movies* over the weekend. We borrowed Swing Vote from the library and watched it Friday night, and then on Saturday, Honey Bear and I got a babysitter--wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles!--and went to see Super 8. Even though these films were very different, the thing that stuck out to me about both of them was how easily they got me to suspend my disbelief.
I used to think of suspension of disbelief, or the willingness of readers to set aside their doubts and go along with a less-than-plausible storyline, as something that only fantasy and sci-fi readers had to do. But as I watched Swing Vote, I realized that, at least to some degree, readers--or watchers--of every genre must suspend their disbelief.
Swing Vote features Kevin Costner as the sloppy Ernest “Bud” Johnson and Madeline Carroll as his determined, go-get-’em daughter, Molly. Molly spends the month before Election Day learning about the electoral system in her elementary school class, so she really wants her dad to fulfill his social contract and cast his ballot. But Bud, of course, forgets to vote, and by the time he remembers, he’s too drunk to even turn the key in the ignition. Molly takes matters into her own hands by sneaking past the sleepy polling volunteers, forging her dad’s signature in the voter registry, and feeding his ballot into the machine. The power cuts out just before Molly makes her selections (understandably spooking her), and she runs away before the process is complete.
Molly’s little mess-up probably wouldn’t have come to anything had one of the candidates won in a landslide, but in fact, with only one state left to report, the presidential race is in a virtual tie. Thanks to the electoral college, whoever takes New Mexico will take the election, and New Mexico comes down to one county, one city, one vote--Bud Johnson’s.
If you know anything about the American electoral system, you’ll know this scenario is wildly unrealistic. Elections, especially presidential ones, never come down to just one vote. And yet as I watched the story unfold, I was willing to go along with it. Even though there was nothing fantastical about Swing Vote, I still had to suspend my disbelief.
Good moviemakers--and good writers--never trust their audience to willingly suspend their disbelief; they force them to do so through top-notch storytelling. So what was it about Swing Vote and Super 8 that so thoroughly engrossed me? THE CHARACTERS. That seems to be the answer to pretty much every writing question, but that’s because your characters are king. If you want me to suspend my disbelief, just make your characters enchanting and unforgettable. I will believe just about anything enchanting, unforgettable characters tell me. I will follow them to the end of the world and back.
*I loved Swing Vote and Super 8, but I ought to warn you, they both have quite a bit of language. Bud Johnson curses at the slightest provocation, and the tween boys in Super 8 sound like a junior high boys’ locker room. (Or so I’m told. I’ve never been inside a junior high boys’ locker room, mind you, but Honey Bear informs me that it’s pretty bad.) We’re talking multiple S-words in both films, and one character in Super 8 takes the Lord’s name in vain every other sentence, so that’s something you should be aware of, especially if you’re thinking of showing either of these movies to your kids.
I used to think of suspension of disbelief, or the willingness of readers to set aside their doubts and go along with a less-than-plausible storyline, as something that only fantasy and sci-fi readers had to do. But as I watched Swing Vote, I realized that, at least to some degree, readers--or watchers--of every genre must suspend their disbelief.
Swing Vote features Kevin Costner as the sloppy Ernest “Bud” Johnson and Madeline Carroll as his determined, go-get-’em daughter, Molly. Molly spends the month before Election Day learning about the electoral system in her elementary school class, so she really wants her dad to fulfill his social contract and cast his ballot. But Bud, of course, forgets to vote, and by the time he remembers, he’s too drunk to even turn the key in the ignition. Molly takes matters into her own hands by sneaking past the sleepy polling volunteers, forging her dad’s signature in the voter registry, and feeding his ballot into the machine. The power cuts out just before Molly makes her selections (understandably spooking her), and she runs away before the process is complete.
Molly’s little mess-up probably wouldn’t have come to anything had one of the candidates won in a landslide, but in fact, with only one state left to report, the presidential race is in a virtual tie. Thanks to the electoral college, whoever takes New Mexico will take the election, and New Mexico comes down to one county, one city, one vote--Bud Johnson’s.
If you know anything about the American electoral system, you’ll know this scenario is wildly unrealistic. Elections, especially presidential ones, never come down to just one vote. And yet as I watched the story unfold, I was willing to go along with it. Even though there was nothing fantastical about Swing Vote, I still had to suspend my disbelief.
Good moviemakers--and good writers--never trust their audience to willingly suspend their disbelief; they force them to do so through top-notch storytelling. So what was it about Swing Vote and Super 8 that so thoroughly engrossed me? THE CHARACTERS. That seems to be the answer to pretty much every writing question, but that’s because your characters are king. If you want me to suspend my disbelief, just make your characters enchanting and unforgettable. I will believe just about anything enchanting, unforgettable characters tell me. I will follow them to the end of the world and back.
*I loved Swing Vote and Super 8, but I ought to warn you, they both have quite a bit of language. Bud Johnson curses at the slightest provocation, and the tween boys in Super 8 sound like a junior high boys’ locker room. (Or so I’m told. I’ve never been inside a junior high boys’ locker room, mind you, but Honey Bear informs me that it’s pretty bad.) We’re talking multiple S-words in both films, and one character in Super 8 takes the Lord’s name in vain every other sentence, so that’s something you should be aware of, especially if you’re thinking of showing either of these movies to your kids.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Interactive Interview with an Agent: Jeff Ourvan
I’ve got another good one for you. Today’s interactive interview features Jeff Ourvan of Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. Details on the interactive part are at the bottom. Happy reading!
KV: Are you a writer yourself? What did/do you write?
JO: Yes, I’ve written two thrillers and also two non-fiction works about sports, one of which, HOW TO COACH YOUTH BASEBALL SO EVERY KID WINS, will be published next spring.
KV: How long have you been agenting, and how did you get into it?
JO: This is my first year as a literary agent. I was for a long time a PR guy and spokesperson and then a corporate attorney, in addition to working as a magazine editor. I also studied creative writing for many years with the novelist John Rechy.
I wanted to bring all these skills together so had considered agenting for several years. I knew of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency because Jennifer successfully represented my wife, who is a published novelist with Harper Collins. And I found out I enjoyed working with authors a lot more than I did with lawyers.
KV: How would you summarize your personal agenting philosophy? What do you expect from an agent-author relationship?
JO: I was on the author side of this coin long before I was an agent, and so I’m keenly aware of how much heart and soul and work and tears it takes to write, let alone market, a successful book. And I know from personal experience that authors place their hopes and dreams in an agent’s hands, so I take that responsibility seriously. I work closely with my authors, and I hope I help them to bring forth their very best--which, from my perspective, means marketable--work before we ever take that work to editors and publishers.
The relationship between writers and agents has to be based on mutual consideration, a shared vision, and a common objective to work diligently and professionally. E-mails and phone calls have to be returned.
KV: What client work do you have coming out soon? What drew you to those writers and/or projects?
JO: I have some terrific projects right now, including a memoir from a former top leader of Hezbollah; a memoir from the only Jewish-American spy in Baghdad; a very clever romantic comedy set at Harvard University; a zombie novel that both turns the genre on its head and reads like Edgar Allan Poe; and several exciting YA and sci-fi works.
All of these authors are new, excellent, page-turning writers. Also, they offer something different, something not out there yet that people--meaning publishers and editors--would be intrigued to either learn about or to experience.
KV: What genres do you represent? What genres do you definitely NOT represent?
JO: I favor nonfiction works--international, sports, music, history and memoir--and commercial fiction, including thrillers, mysteries, international, YA, and really just about anything other than children’s picture books.
KV: What query pet peeves and/or pitfalls should writers avoid when querying you?
JO: Well, since you ask, please spell well and use proper grammar. I’m in part judging ability based on the care writers take when they query me. Second, just get right to the point. And third, try to control the use of adjectives and superlatives when describing yourself or your work--less is more in that regard. But I went through a couple hundred queries today so I might just be cranky.
KV: What’s the best way to query you?
JO: E-mail is preferred.
KV: How do you feel about a writer’s including a few sample pages at the bottom of the query? Do you find that more assertive or obnoxious?
JO: Yes, it can be helpful to paste a few pages of the manuscript below the query. I typically know from the general query whether I'd want to read more, but in a case where I'm on the fence a few attached pages can help me to capture a sense of writing ability and style.
Thank you, Mr. Ourvan, for these responses, and good luck to everyone who decides to query. I imagine that will be quite a few of you, as Mr. Ourvan represents a wide range of genres:)
I’m sure everyone knows the interactive drill by now, but for any newcomers, here’s a brief refresher: If you have a question for Mr. Ourvan, feel free to leave it in the comments below. He’ll drop in periodically throughout the day and leave his answers down there in the comments as well. We’ll wrap everything up at 4:30 p.m. EDT (or 1:30 p.m. PDT), so don’t dilly-dally!
KV: Are you a writer yourself? What did/do you write?
JO: Yes, I’ve written two thrillers and also two non-fiction works about sports, one of which, HOW TO COACH YOUTH BASEBALL SO EVERY KID WINS, will be published next spring.
KV: How long have you been agenting, and how did you get into it?
JO: This is my first year as a literary agent. I was for a long time a PR guy and spokesperson and then a corporate attorney, in addition to working as a magazine editor. I also studied creative writing for many years with the novelist John Rechy.
I wanted to bring all these skills together so had considered agenting for several years. I knew of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency because Jennifer successfully represented my wife, who is a published novelist with Harper Collins. And I found out I enjoyed working with authors a lot more than I did with lawyers.
KV: How would you summarize your personal agenting philosophy? What do you expect from an agent-author relationship?
JO: I was on the author side of this coin long before I was an agent, and so I’m keenly aware of how much heart and soul and work and tears it takes to write, let alone market, a successful book. And I know from personal experience that authors place their hopes and dreams in an agent’s hands, so I take that responsibility seriously. I work closely with my authors, and I hope I help them to bring forth their very best--which, from my perspective, means marketable--work before we ever take that work to editors and publishers.
The relationship between writers and agents has to be based on mutual consideration, a shared vision, and a common objective to work diligently and professionally. E-mails and phone calls have to be returned.
KV: What client work do you have coming out soon? What drew you to those writers and/or projects?
JO: I have some terrific projects right now, including a memoir from a former top leader of Hezbollah; a memoir from the only Jewish-American spy in Baghdad; a very clever romantic comedy set at Harvard University; a zombie novel that both turns the genre on its head and reads like Edgar Allan Poe; and several exciting YA and sci-fi works.
All of these authors are new, excellent, page-turning writers. Also, they offer something different, something not out there yet that people--meaning publishers and editors--would be intrigued to either learn about or to experience.
KV: What genres do you represent? What genres do you definitely NOT represent?
JO: I favor nonfiction works--international, sports, music, history and memoir--and commercial fiction, including thrillers, mysteries, international, YA, and really just about anything other than children’s picture books.
KV: What query pet peeves and/or pitfalls should writers avoid when querying you?
JO: Well, since you ask, please spell well and use proper grammar. I’m in part judging ability based on the care writers take when they query me. Second, just get right to the point. And third, try to control the use of adjectives and superlatives when describing yourself or your work--less is more in that regard. But I went through a couple hundred queries today so I might just be cranky.
KV: What’s the best way to query you?
JO: E-mail is preferred.
KV: How do you feel about a writer’s including a few sample pages at the bottom of the query? Do you find that more assertive or obnoxious?
JO: Yes, it can be helpful to paste a few pages of the manuscript below the query. I typically know from the general query whether I'd want to read more, but in a case where I'm on the fence a few attached pages can help me to capture a sense of writing ability and style.
Thank you, Mr. Ourvan, for these responses, and good luck to everyone who decides to query. I imagine that will be quite a few of you, as Mr. Ourvan represents a wide range of genres:)
I’m sure everyone knows the interactive drill by now, but for any newcomers, here’s a brief refresher: If you have a question for Mr. Ourvan, feel free to leave it in the comments below. He’ll drop in periodically throughout the day and leave his answers down there in the comments as well. We’ll wrap everything up at 4:30 p.m. EDT (or 1:30 p.m. PDT), so don’t dilly-dally!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Winners!
Thanks again, everyone, for entering my contest! I appreciate your faith in my critiquing abilities:) Now, without further ado, here are the three random winners:
Charity Bradford
A.J. Cattapan
Mim
Congratulations, ladies! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for more instructions. I look forward to reading your partials!
In other news, make sure to drop by this Thursday, June 9, for our next INTERACTIVE installment of “Interview with an Agent,” which will feature Jeff Ourvan of Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. He might be a new agent, but he has a lot of experience in the publishing industry, so he should be able to answer a wide range of questions.
Happy Monday, everyone!
Charity Bradford
A.J. Cattapan
Mim
Congratulations, ladies! Please e-mail me at kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com for more instructions. I look forward to reading your partials!
In other news, make sure to drop by this Thursday, June 9, for our next INTERACTIVE installment of “Interview with an Agent,” which will feature Jeff Ourvan of Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. He might be a new agent, but he has a lot of experience in the publishing industry, so he should be able to answer a wide range of questions.
Happy Monday, everyone!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
A Random and Totally Impromptu Contest
I finished Bob last week, but I’m still a little too antsy to settle back into Steve, so I have some time in the afternoons while my kids take naps. As I was bumming around the Internet earlier today, I thought, “Gee, it’d be nice if I had some manuscript to critique so I don’t have to keep wasting time. But where am I going to find one…?”
The answer hit me right away: From a contest!
I realize I’m not an agent or an editor or even an agented writer, but if you need another set of eyes to go over the beginning of your manuscript, I’d love to help. To enter, simply comment on this post and let me know you’d like to win. You’re more than welcome to tell me what your manuscript’s about, but I'll select the winners randomly, so it won’t make any difference when it comes down to picking.
The Rules
1. Anyone may enter.
2. Everyone who enters may only enter once. (So even if you have multiple manuscripts for review, please only enter once. If you do win, you’ll have to decide which manuscript to send.)
3. Please only enter if your manuscript contains no worse than light PG-13 material. I can handle a little language, a little blood, and a little kissing, but not much more than that.
Well, I think that pretty much covers it. You don’t have to promote the contest in any way, and your manuscript doesn’t have to be finished or in any particular genre. I’m willing to read whatever you’ve got.
The Prizes I’ll select three random winners to receive a 30-page critique from yours truly. No agents involved this time (although I’ll be hosting an agent-judged contest at the end of this month), but I like to think that I’m pretty thorough when it comes to critiquing. My critique will include in-text comments as well as chapter and general notes that address the overall plot and characters and anything else I feel like mentioning:)
The contest closes at 3:00 p.m. EDT (noon PDT) on Saturday, June 4, and then I’ll announce the winners on Monday, June 6. I look forward to learning more about your projects, and thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me something to do!
The answer hit me right away: From a contest!
I realize I’m not an agent or an editor or even an agented writer, but if you need another set of eyes to go over the beginning of your manuscript, I’d love to help. To enter, simply comment on this post and let me know you’d like to win. You’re more than welcome to tell me what your manuscript’s about, but I'll select the winners randomly, so it won’t make any difference when it comes down to picking.
The Rules
1. Anyone may enter.
2. Everyone who enters may only enter once. (So even if you have multiple manuscripts for review, please only enter once. If you do win, you’ll have to decide which manuscript to send.)
3. Please only enter if your manuscript contains no worse than light PG-13 material. I can handle a little language, a little blood, and a little kissing, but not much more than that.
Well, I think that pretty much covers it. You don’t have to promote the contest in any way, and your manuscript doesn’t have to be finished or in any particular genre. I’m willing to read whatever you’ve got.
The Prizes I’ll select three random winners to receive a 30-page critique from yours truly. No agents involved this time (although I’ll be hosting an agent-judged contest at the end of this month), but I like to think that I’m pretty thorough when it comes to critiquing. My critique will include in-text comments as well as chapter and general notes that address the overall plot and characters and anything else I feel like mentioning:)
The contest closes at 3:00 p.m. EDT (noon PDT) on Saturday, June 4, and then I’ll announce the winners on Monday, June 6. I look forward to learning more about your projects, and thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me something to do!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thoughts on Querying
In honor of finishing Bob’s revision (yay!), I thought I’d share a few random thoughts on querying. This is what’s been bouncing around in my head of late.
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” I ask myself this sometimes when I don’t want to do something, or when I’m afraid to do it. Sometimes the answer still isn’t very pretty (“Well, if I drive to the doctor’s office by myself, I might crash in the gorge and die a spectacular, horrific death”), but in the case of querying, the answer’s really not so bad. The worst thing that could happen is that every agent passes and I’m still right where I am. But where I am is good (I have a great family and a great life), so I could live with that. And if I could live with it, then I probably don’t need to be terribly afraid of it.
“Whatever you do, don’t settle.” I recently exchanged some e-mails with an online writing friend who had just received an offer of representation. Exciting, right? Well, it was exciting, but the thing was, the offering agent wasn’t one she’d queried (another agent at the agency had passed her manuscript off to this agent), and the offering agent had never sold anything in the same genre as this friend’s manuscript. When it came right down to it, even though the offering agent was a reputable agent with a good history of sales in another genre, this friend simply didn’t feel good about signing with the agent. “I want an agent for my whole career,” she said, “not just this one manuscript.” I couldn’t agree more.
At this point in my writing career, not having an agent doesn’t really scare me (see “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”). After all, I’ve gotten really good at not having an agent. What WOULD scare me is having an agent I wasn’t comfortable with, or an agent who was only interested in one of my manuscripts and not my full body of work, or any agent who wasn’t the right agent for me. Now I realize things change and it’s not unusual for perfectly respectable agents and perfectly respectable authors to end up parting ways, but going in, I want to feel like the relationship is going to last.
“Enjoy the ride on this crazy query-go-round, and don’t worry so much about how everyone else’s ride is going.” Another online writing friend--one of my critique partners, in fact--recently received an offer of representation, but in this particular case, the offering agent was absolutely perfect. My friend was so excited about this agent that she almost didn’t want to bother with contacting the others to let them know about the offer. (But this friend did still contact the other agents, because she knew you always, ALWAYS give the other agents considering your work a chance to make a competing offer.) She ended up signing with this agent, and I couldn’t have been happier for her. Honestly. But I probably wouldn’t have been human if I hadn’t felt that teeny, tiny twinge of jealousy.
I didn’t indulge the twinge, mind you. I didn’t take it out to brunch or feed it bonbons or generally give it the impression that I wanted it to hang around. Instead, I reminded myself that my friend’s journey is not my journey and that just because something wonderful happened to her doesn’t mean the same wonderful thing won’t someday happen to me. And after a while, the twinge of jealousy went away. Now I’m just waiting, waiting, waiting for that someday to arrive:)
Well, that’s it from me. What thoughts have you had lately, querying, writing, or otherwise?
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” I ask myself this sometimes when I don’t want to do something, or when I’m afraid to do it. Sometimes the answer still isn’t very pretty (“Well, if I drive to the doctor’s office by myself, I might crash in the gorge and die a spectacular, horrific death”), but in the case of querying, the answer’s really not so bad. The worst thing that could happen is that every agent passes and I’m still right where I am. But where I am is good (I have a great family and a great life), so I could live with that. And if I could live with it, then I probably don’t need to be terribly afraid of it.
“Whatever you do, don’t settle.” I recently exchanged some e-mails with an online writing friend who had just received an offer of representation. Exciting, right? Well, it was exciting, but the thing was, the offering agent wasn’t one she’d queried (another agent at the agency had passed her manuscript off to this agent), and the offering agent had never sold anything in the same genre as this friend’s manuscript. When it came right down to it, even though the offering agent was a reputable agent with a good history of sales in another genre, this friend simply didn’t feel good about signing with the agent. “I want an agent for my whole career,” she said, “not just this one manuscript.” I couldn’t agree more.
At this point in my writing career, not having an agent doesn’t really scare me (see “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”). After all, I’ve gotten really good at not having an agent. What WOULD scare me is having an agent I wasn’t comfortable with, or an agent who was only interested in one of my manuscripts and not my full body of work, or any agent who wasn’t the right agent for me. Now I realize things change and it’s not unusual for perfectly respectable agents and perfectly respectable authors to end up parting ways, but going in, I want to feel like the relationship is going to last.
“Enjoy the ride on this crazy query-go-round, and don’t worry so much about how everyone else’s ride is going.” Another online writing friend--one of my critique partners, in fact--recently received an offer of representation, but in this particular case, the offering agent was absolutely perfect. My friend was so excited about this agent that she almost didn’t want to bother with contacting the others to let them know about the offer. (But this friend did still contact the other agents, because she knew you always, ALWAYS give the other agents considering your work a chance to make a competing offer.) She ended up signing with this agent, and I couldn’t have been happier for her. Honestly. But I probably wouldn’t have been human if I hadn’t felt that teeny, tiny twinge of jealousy.
I didn’t indulge the twinge, mind you. I didn’t take it out to brunch or feed it bonbons or generally give it the impression that I wanted it to hang around. Instead, I reminded myself that my friend’s journey is not my journey and that just because something wonderful happened to her doesn’t mean the same wonderful thing won’t someday happen to me. And after a while, the twinge of jealousy went away. Now I’m just waiting, waiting, waiting for that someday to arrive:)
Well, that’s it from me. What thoughts have you had lately, querying, writing, or otherwise?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Agent-Author Chat: Adriann Ranta and Mindy McGinnis
So excited to launch a new interview series on the blog today! Our first-ever installment of “Agent-Author Chat” features Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary Services and one of her new clients, Mindy McGinnis.
Here’s how it’ll work: Ms. McGinnis will share her query with us, the actual query she sent to Ms. Ranta, and then she’ll chat a bit about how she developed it and what advice she has for fellow writers. Then Ms. Ranta will tell us what she liked about the query--and what she liked about the manuscript itself--and share some query-writing tips with us.
All right, everybody got that? Have I made it sufficiently complicated? :) Ms. McGinnis’s query and answers will appear in orange, and Ms. Ranta’s will appear in blue.
Ms. McGinnis's Query Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond. Seven years later, violence is her native tongue in a time when an ounce of fresh water is worth more than gold and firewood equals life during bitter rural winters. Death wanders the countryside in many forms: thirst, cholera, coyotes, and the guns of strangers.
Mother and Lynn survive in a lawless land, where their once comfortable home serves as stronghold and lookout. Their basement is a lonely fortress; Father disappeared fighting the Canadians for possession of Lake Erie, the last clean body of water in an overpopulated land. The roof offers a sniper's view of their precious water source--the pond. Ever vigilant, they defend against those who stream from the sprawling cities once they can no longer pay the steep prices for water. Mother's strenuous code of self-sufficiency and survival leaves no room for trust or friendships; those wishing for water from the pond are delivered from their thirst not by a drink, but a bullet. Even their closest neighbor is a stranger who Lynn has only seen through her crosshairs.
Smoke rises from the east, where a starving group of city refugees are encamped by the stream. A matching spire of smoke can be seen in the south, where a band of outlaws are building a dam to manipulate what little water is left.
When Mother dies in a horrific accident, Lynn faces a choice--defend her pond alone or band together with her crippled neighbor, a pregnant woman, a filthy orphan, and Finn--the teenage boy who awakens feelings she can't figure out.
NOT A DROP TO DRINK (69,000 words) is dystopian YA. I have been a YA librarian in the public school system for seven years, allowing me to spend forty hours a week with my target audience. I also serve as a moderator for the writing community at AgentQueryConnect.com--screenname bigblackcat97. The first fifty pages are included in this e-mail, per your submission guidelines. Thank you for your time and consideration.
KV: Ms. McGinnis, how did you first come up with the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
MM: The awesome b/f is a documentary watcher, and he introduced me to a film called Blue Gold, which is about the very real possibility of a global fresh water shortage in the near future. I literally dreamt the novel that night. When I woke up I said to him, "I think I wrote a book in my head just now."
There was research involved, past that first flash of inspiration. I read the book WATER: THE EPIC STRUGGLE FOR WEALTH, POWER AND CIVILIZATION by Steven Solomon cover to cover. While I didn't necessarily draw from it when writing DRINK, I felt I needed that kind of background in order to do the story justice.
KV: What was your process for writing the query? Did you work on it here and there as you were writing the manuscript, or before, or after? How many times did you have to revise it?
MM: Again, I was very fortunate with the query. It just kinda happened in my head while I hovered on the verge of sleep. The opening line of DRINK and the hook for the query are the same--I found an awesome sentence and I made it work for me.
I wrote the query after the novel was finished--I'm a very linear person that way. The query saw minimal revisions due to the excellent writing community over at AgentQueryConnect. I've spent so much time honing query skills in the act of critiquing for others that the first draft and final product of my query for DRINK were very similar.
That's one reason why I think a community like AQ is pivotal; you're helping someone else, but your skills are benefiting. I freely admit that the queries for trunked novels prior to joining AQ were at a level of suck heretofore unknown since the invention of papyrus. In any case, I ran the DRINK query past a few AQ vets and they gave me some polishing tips.
KV: What was the hardest thing about writing your query? What was the easiest?
MM: The query for DRINK really wasn't hard at all. That pivotal hook was already there, so the heavy lifting was done. The easiest, again, was the hook. Like I said, it's the first line of the book and it rocks, so I cut and pasted and called it a hook.
KV: Ms. Ranta, when you first read Ms. McGinnis’s query, what caught your attention?
AR: The first line is a fantastic one, and her whole query has a very simple, punchy style that mimics the tone of the novel. It’s original, with no gimmicks.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
AR: I love that the book takes place in something like a square mile…It’s a very small, simple, limited setting, but the stakes feel impossibly high. The world Mindy has created is so bleak, but she’s avoided overwriting her scenes so the power of the circumstances can stand on their own. It all has a very effortless feel, which can be so difficult to pull off, and allows the reader to be completely immersed.
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. McGinnis’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
AR: Once I found DRINK in the morass that is my query inbox, I read it as soon as I could. I think I was finishing off another manuscript at the time, but I still had the first 50 pages of DRINK in the back of my head. Once I got to it, I read it in two days! I try to keep my turnaround time for queries within a month, but as any reader is familiar with, when something piques your interest, there’s no procrastinating.
KV: Ms. McGinnis, what tips do you have for fellow writers as they work on their queries?
MM: Join AgentQueryConnect and accept criticism with grace. You don't have to agree with what your critters say - in the end it's your query - but you need to give it weight, especially if you're consistently getting feedback on the same points. Kill your darlings, if you must. Also, develop rhinoceros skin. I queried on and off for ten years before Adriann decided to love me. I was at the point where I dreaded hearing back from agents, I was so convinced every reply would be a rejection.
KV: Same question to you, Ms. Ranta. What query-writing suggestions do you have?
AR: Ditto the above. Once you’ve finished a book, you have to emotionally separate yourself from it so you can recognize things like hooks, genres, comparable published books, flaws, holes, etc. There are countless resources for practical, effective querying (and editing), but in order for it all to be useful, you can’t take it personally.
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
MM: Lots of advice: Don't be afraid to suck. I sucked for a long time before the suckage seepage slowed. I still have days when I look at what I wrote the night before and feel like e-mailing Adriann and asking if she might have been in a particularly forgiving mood when she signed me.
Don't compare yourself to others and don't look to others for validation. If you want to be a better writer, read. And if you're down on yourself--read my blog! Chances are, I'm down on myself too and mocking myself, which is bound to make everyone feel better.
AR: Revise, keep an open mind, be patient, read great books, support authors you love, read blogs, be flexible, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, find a schedule and stick to it, and buy a million copies of DRINK when it publishes. Cheers!
Thank you, Ms. McGinnis, for sharing NOT A DROP TO DRINK with us, and thank you, Ms. Ranta, for giving us your insights. I know I’ll be looking forward to seeing NOT A DROP TO DRINK on bookshelves someday:)
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Here’s how it’ll work: Ms. McGinnis will share her query with us, the actual query she sent to Ms. Ranta, and then she’ll chat a bit about how she developed it and what advice she has for fellow writers. Then Ms. Ranta will tell us what she liked about the query--and what she liked about the manuscript itself--and share some query-writing tips with us.
All right, everybody got that? Have I made it sufficiently complicated? :) Ms. McGinnis’s query and answers will appear in orange, and Ms. Ranta’s will appear in blue.
Ms. McGinnis's Query Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond. Seven years later, violence is her native tongue in a time when an ounce of fresh water is worth more than gold and firewood equals life during bitter rural winters. Death wanders the countryside in many forms: thirst, cholera, coyotes, and the guns of strangers.
Mother and Lynn survive in a lawless land, where their once comfortable home serves as stronghold and lookout. Their basement is a lonely fortress; Father disappeared fighting the Canadians for possession of Lake Erie, the last clean body of water in an overpopulated land. The roof offers a sniper's view of their precious water source--the pond. Ever vigilant, they defend against those who stream from the sprawling cities once they can no longer pay the steep prices for water. Mother's strenuous code of self-sufficiency and survival leaves no room for trust or friendships; those wishing for water from the pond are delivered from their thirst not by a drink, but a bullet. Even their closest neighbor is a stranger who Lynn has only seen through her crosshairs.
Smoke rises from the east, where a starving group of city refugees are encamped by the stream. A matching spire of smoke can be seen in the south, where a band of outlaws are building a dam to manipulate what little water is left.
When Mother dies in a horrific accident, Lynn faces a choice--defend her pond alone or band together with her crippled neighbor, a pregnant woman, a filthy orphan, and Finn--the teenage boy who awakens feelings she can't figure out.
NOT A DROP TO DRINK (69,000 words) is dystopian YA. I have been a YA librarian in the public school system for seven years, allowing me to spend forty hours a week with my target audience. I also serve as a moderator for the writing community at AgentQueryConnect.com--screenname bigblackcat97. The first fifty pages are included in this e-mail, per your submission guidelines. Thank you for your time and consideration.
KV: Ms. McGinnis, how did you first come up with the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
MM: The awesome b/f is a documentary watcher, and he introduced me to a film called Blue Gold, which is about the very real possibility of a global fresh water shortage in the near future. I literally dreamt the novel that night. When I woke up I said to him, "I think I wrote a book in my head just now."
There was research involved, past that first flash of inspiration. I read the book WATER: THE EPIC STRUGGLE FOR WEALTH, POWER AND CIVILIZATION by Steven Solomon cover to cover. While I didn't necessarily draw from it when writing DRINK, I felt I needed that kind of background in order to do the story justice.
KV: What was your process for writing the query? Did you work on it here and there as you were writing the manuscript, or before, or after? How many times did you have to revise it?
MM: Again, I was very fortunate with the query. It just kinda happened in my head while I hovered on the verge of sleep. The opening line of DRINK and the hook for the query are the same--I found an awesome sentence and I made it work for me.
I wrote the query after the novel was finished--I'm a very linear person that way. The query saw minimal revisions due to the excellent writing community over at AgentQueryConnect. I've spent so much time honing query skills in the act of critiquing for others that the first draft and final product of my query for DRINK were very similar.
That's one reason why I think a community like AQ is pivotal; you're helping someone else, but your skills are benefiting. I freely admit that the queries for trunked novels prior to joining AQ were at a level of suck heretofore unknown since the invention of papyrus. In any case, I ran the DRINK query past a few AQ vets and they gave me some polishing tips.
KV: What was the hardest thing about writing your query? What was the easiest?
MM: The query for DRINK really wasn't hard at all. That pivotal hook was already there, so the heavy lifting was done. The easiest, again, was the hook. Like I said, it's the first line of the book and it rocks, so I cut and pasted and called it a hook.
KV: Ms. Ranta, when you first read Ms. McGinnis’s query, what caught your attention?
AR: The first line is a fantastic one, and her whole query has a very simple, punchy style that mimics the tone of the novel. It’s original, with no gimmicks.
KV: Obviously, the manuscript met--or exceeded--your expectations. What did you love about NOT A DROP TO DRINK?
AR: I love that the book takes place in something like a square mile…It’s a very small, simple, limited setting, but the stakes feel impossibly high. The world Mindy has created is so bleak, but she’s avoided overwriting her scenes so the power of the circumstances can stand on their own. It all has a very effortless feel, which can be so difficult to pull off, and allows the reader to be completely immersed.
KV: How quickly did you read Ms. McGinnis’s manuscript? Is that pretty typical of your response times on requested material, or do those vary?
AR: Once I found DRINK in the morass that is my query inbox, I read it as soon as I could. I think I was finishing off another manuscript at the time, but I still had the first 50 pages of DRINK in the back of my head. Once I got to it, I read it in two days! I try to keep my turnaround time for queries within a month, but as any reader is familiar with, when something piques your interest, there’s no procrastinating.
KV: Ms. McGinnis, what tips do you have for fellow writers as they work on their queries?
MM: Join AgentQueryConnect and accept criticism with grace. You don't have to agree with what your critters say - in the end it's your query - but you need to give it weight, especially if you're consistently getting feedback on the same points. Kill your darlings, if you must. Also, develop rhinoceros skin. I queried on and off for ten years before Adriann decided to love me. I was at the point where I dreaded hearing back from agents, I was so convinced every reply would be a rejection.
KV: Same question to you, Ms. Ranta. What query-writing suggestions do you have?
AR: Ditto the above. Once you’ve finished a book, you have to emotionally separate yourself from it so you can recognize things like hooks, genres, comparable published books, flaws, holes, etc. There are countless resources for practical, effective querying (and editing), but in order for it all to be useful, you can’t take it personally.
KV: Any last words of advice or encouragement you’d like to share with us?
MM: Lots of advice: Don't be afraid to suck. I sucked for a long time before the suckage seepage slowed. I still have days when I look at what I wrote the night before and feel like e-mailing Adriann and asking if she might have been in a particularly forgiving mood when she signed me.
Don't compare yourself to others and don't look to others for validation. If you want to be a better writer, read. And if you're down on yourself--read my blog! Chances are, I'm down on myself too and mocking myself, which is bound to make everyone feel better.
AR: Revise, keep an open mind, be patient, read great books, support authors you love, read blogs, be flexible, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, find a schedule and stick to it, and buy a million copies of DRINK when it publishes. Cheers!
Thank you, Ms. McGinnis, for sharing NOT A DROP TO DRINK with us, and thank you, Ms. Ranta, for giving us your insights. I know I’ll be looking forward to seeing NOT A DROP TO DRINK on bookshelves someday:)
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
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