Thoughts On Query letters…
Query letters are easy vehicles for rejection. Send your first three chapters (or 30 to 40 pages of the manuscript) along with a cover letter.
Try sending your work to an Assistant Editor, who is probably fielding most of the editor’s slush pile anyway and would love to discover you.
Thoughts On Voice…
Your style may change, but your voice stays. Voice is not style. Voice is connected to your world view.
Your voice reflects your values and your view of relationships. It’s your sense of ethics, morals, values, and world view.
Your voice is your accent.
Stick to the stories you can tell. Trust your gut and your voice.
Thoughts on simultaneous submissions…
It’s often harder to find an agent than an editor. Go after both at the same time!
Submit multiples. This is your career, don’t sit back and wait for answers.
Quote “What’s the worst that can happen- you get two offers on the same day?”
Thoughts on writer’s block…
Writers block probably means you lost interest in your own book.
The story has to excite you. Tell the story for yourself. This may mean you have to deprogram yourself for a while and ignore advice you’ve been given.
Also, consider whether you started the book in the right place. Begin it from a different place/time/etc and see if you can regain the energy of the story.
Write your way into the characters. You write and you write and you write.
This is a self-taught business, only you can teach yourself how to write.
Thoughts on finding time to write…
Set a kitchen timer for one hour. Only write during this time, nothing else. You may get one session in per day, you may get seven or eight, but you will at least get in one.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips said she averages three sessions per day.
Thoughts on edits…
Both authors had different styles. One writes all the way through the rough draft and edits only after the rough draft is done, the other edits all the way through when writing. What is important is to find your own style and not to let edits or the fear of edits bog you down.
Plough through to find the vision—then rewrite.
Thoughts on what they wish they knew in the beginning…
That no matter what you write, there’s someone who will not like it.
Realizing that I had to write the book for myself first.
Thoughts on category/starting in category…
There is an enormous amount of freedom in writing category as the publishing house does not stand or fall based on one author. Category can experiment more.
Working in category is a great place to learn craft and writing discipline. Ie: writing to deadlines.
The hardest part can sometimes be getting out of category. It is sometimes best to write your breakout book, rather than proposing it… then go with it!
Thoughts on promotion…
Building an online presence is important and establishing an internet mailing list of readers.
The key is to not over-use the list. Stick to a monthly newsletter, etc. Establishing a good mailing list of readers can make a significant impact by getting fans out to bookstores for new reads.
Random notes I took…
Separate the core story from the landscape.
Stories can start with character, conflict, or a plot idea. Use whatever works for you and then keep developing books around the idea.
Hardcover is dependent upon paper back prints. The decision is made by the publisher.
Make your own definition of success and follow it!
Jane Ann Krentz at Publisher book signing.You'll find more information, including speeches by Jane Ann Krentz (aka Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle) at http://www.krentz-quick.com/
You'll find more information, including tips from Susan Elizabeth Phillips at http://www.susanephillips.com/
.
