January 2012

Keep My Fantasies to Myself During Submission?

Published on

Dear Editor…

My current manuscript is different from my others, which are high fantasy. High fantasy is such a select genre—do I say something about those manuscripts when I query this one?

Anon.

Dear Anon….

Don’t muddy this submission with stories from your past. After all, it may be that your current manuscript is a new direction in your career rather than the anomaly implied in your question. For now, keep your pitch focused on the manuscript you are submitting. When an agent or editor is interested in that story, you’ll proceed into deeper discussions, at which time they’ll ask about other projects on your desk and your plans for future stories. That’s the time to introduce them to your trolls, elves, and ancient legends. Then you can decide together whether or not you’re a literary match.

Happy writing!
The Editor

 

Use Modern Dialogue for Historical Fiction?

Published on
/

Dear Editor…

In writing an historical fiction novel about an immigrant boy in 1911, how would you handle dialogue—should it be true to the time or more modern for today’s readers?

Roz

Dear Roz…

You’re writing dialogue, not a dictionary. Most people prefer accessibility to precise adherence to “the way people really spoke back then.” Alice Hoffman’s popular, highly acclaimed The Dovekeepers is set in Ancient Israel, 70 C.E. No one’s putting up a stink because her dialogue uses modern contractions: “It’s good you don’t want it.” Use time-specific phrases, yes, but even better: inject accessible dialogue with authentic flavor by recreating the way people of 1911 strung their words together—the syntax. Read as many first-hand writings of the time as possible. Train your brain to mimic the cadence and flavor of the syntax and work that rhythm into accessible character confabs.

Happy writing!
The Editor

When Is the Best Time for a Blog Tour?

Published on

Dear Editor…

When is the best time for a blog tour? Before the book comes out? After? Anytime to get buzz on the book?

Thanks again,
Natasha

Dear Natasha…

The best time for a blog tour is during your pub month. For one thing, your book will be available for purchase. More importantly, syncing the tour with your book launch makes each stop a celebratory event and provides a “reason” for touring. But don’t stop there. Tour on your book’s publication anniversary or to coincide with events related to your topic or themes. Got identity theft in your book? Then tour in October, which is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Bloggers and readers alike will appreciate the relevant theme, and it gives you something to talk about besides yourself. Folks like learning about new books, but they don’t necessarily want to hear the author toot her own horn the whole time.

Happy writing!
The Editor

I Refuse to Believe Epistolary Novels are “Dead”

Published on
/

Dear Editor…

I’ve written a contemporary YA novel in epistolary format. All of the professional feedback I’ve received is positive (I even won an award for the 1st 15 pages). Most agents tell me the writing is excellent, BUT they are passing strictly due to the format. A favorite author told me that epistolary novels are dead. Dead? I don’t believe it. How do I find agents/editors who will consider an epistolary novel?

T. S.

Dear T.S.…

Interest in epistolary novels has waned in YA editorial circles, it’s true. But often a format or category isn’t so much “dead” as just in need of a fresh spin to jolt it out of the doldrums. If you’re committed to this format, you’d better be offering something eye-catching in your concept or plot because, as much as I hate to write this, “excellent writing” isn’t enough to break anyone into a stagnant niche. Look for agents who rep projects with your kind of concept, tone, and audience, then emphasize those in your query: “I’ve got this great novel about X”, not “I’ve got this great epistolary novel.” If it’s still a no-go, why not recast your great concept, cast, and plot as a traditional narrative? Loyalty should be to story over format.

Happy writing!
The Editor

How Do I Set Up a Blog Tour?

Published on
/

Dear Editor…

I really enjoyed your blog tour, and now that my picture book biography, Cixi, The Dragon Empress, will be released in October by Goosebottom Books, I’d like to know how I would go about setting up a blog tour.

Thanks,
Natasha

Dear Natasha…

Understand this: Bloggers are swell folks, but that’s not why they’ll agree to host your tour. They’ll host because you’ll offer their readers info and/or entertainment, along with cold, hard stuff. Readers come first, so Step 1 is identifying what take-away you can dish up. In addition to a promo item or book to give away, offer every blogger on your tour the choice of an interview with you or an article you’ll write just for them on a topic that’ll interest their particular readers. If the blogger chooses interview, answer their questions with a bent toward enlightening readers, not tooting your own horn. Let the blogger choose from a set range of tour dates, and specify how you’ll promote the tour. Organized, responsive authors have smoother, more successful blog tours.

Happy writing!
The Editor

Girl Writes Boy . . . Bad Idea?

Published on
//

Dear Editor…

I write both non-fiction picture books and boy-centric middle grade novels. I publish the non-fiction under my full name, but should I consider using initials for the novels, since I’m not the same gender as the MC? Will it matter to the reader?

Thank you for your thoughts on this!
Alison

Dear Alison…

Plenty of ladies write male narratives, and vice versa. Don’t sweat that—not for MG fiction, anyway. Now, if you were a guy writing a female lead in a romance for adult women… but that’s another marketplace altogether. Don’t hide your gender. The protagonist for my 1st person MG novel Big Mouth is a boy, and my very girly name is emblazoned across the cover. If anything, the question “Can a girl write a convincing boy?” is great fodder for discussion when I’m presenting to classes. Many people advocate writing what you don’t know. Just confirm that your character’s sensibility is convincingly male by having some fellas read your manuscript. They’ll let you now if your dude’s choices or judgments are too girly.

Happy writing!
The Editor