THE CALL or, What to Ask a Literary Agent When Offered Representation

 

Given the nature of this blog and my general advocacy of doing research and making informed decisions about literary agents,  I've long wanted to do a post on  THE CALL, THE E-MAIL or, What to Ask a Literary Agent When Offered Representation.  I can't speak from experience yet, but I can give you the list of questions I've been creating for myself.  And we can discuss! 

A couple notes about the questions before I continue.  Depending on the agent, I might already know some of the answers and therefore wouldn't bother asking those questions.  I also expect a lot of these questions would run together and be cross-answered naturally, so while it seems like a lot of questions, I don't think I'd have to ask them all word for word.  At the bottom, I'm listing out the posts that helped me develop my list.

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What do you think of my work?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript?  Do you think it will stand out in the marketplace?  How ready is it?

Are you an editorial agent?  If so, to what extent?  What are you thinking in terms of revision?  How collaborative are you?

Will I be working solely with you, or will there be times I'll work with an associate or assistant?  If so, please elaborate.

How many clients do you have?  Are you confident you have enough time and energy to add another client to your roster?  If it's not already full, how many clients do you wish to have on your list eventually?

Do you represent clients book by book or on a career basis?  Are you confident that we have a great chance of making a career-long match?

Will you work with me on career planning and marketing?  Do you work with a publicist?

How much of my genre do you handle?  What's your approximate success rate?

What happens if you can't sell this manuscript?  What if you don't like my future projects and ideas? 

Would you still support and represent me if at some point I wrote outside of my current genre?

Do you have a plan for submission in mind already?  Which houses/editors do think will be a good fit for this project?  How many editors do you plan to submit to initially, and how many do you plan to submit to overall if it does not sell as soon as hoped?

I know it varies, but what is the expected turn-around time for an editor during the submission process?  How long will you allow a project to languish before you'll nudge?

How open are you with information during the submission process?  Will you keep me updated as rejections and offers come in?  Will I know exactly who you're submitting to at all times?  Are you willing to share the rejections with me?

What is your preferred method of communication?  How often are you in contact with your clients?  How soon can I expect an answer to any given e-mail?  How about a revision or new project?

What are your business hours?  When do you prefer to be contacted?

Do you have a verbal or written contract?  What do the terms and agreements include?  What is the duration of the contract?  If it's written, would you be willing to go through it word-for-word with me if I felt that was necessary?

Are there any situations where you'd make decisions on my behalf? 

If for some reason we need to part ways, how will this be handled?  Are there any stipulations I should be aware of?  For what reasons would you terminate a client?

If a situation should arise where you are no longer able to represent my work, do you have a plan for me?  Or will I need to seek new representation on my own?  What if I'm in the middle of the submission process?  How would I proceed?

How are subsidiary rights handled within your agency?  Would you say your agency is strong in subright sales?  Do you see potential for my project in this regard?

What are your commission rates?  Are they the standard 15% domestic and 20% foreign/film?

What is your procedure for processing and disbursing client funds?  How soon will I receive my share when payments are received?  Do you keep different bank accounts for author funds and agency revenue?  Will I receive a 1099 at the end of each year?  Will I have full fiscal disclosure upon request? 

Will you be billing me for any submission costs (supplies, etc)?  If so, what should I expect?  How will those costs be charged to me?

How long have you been an agent?  What do you love about it?  Dislike about it?

Generally, what do you expect of your clients in a given year?  What do you feel makes for an ideal agent-author relationship?

What are a few of your recent sales? 

What if another client and I approached you with a similar idea?  How would you move forward in that situation?

Would you allow me to contact a couple of your clients?  Specifically, one you've sold at least one project for and one you you've yet to sell for?  What about publishers you've worked with?

Do you belong to any organizations?  The AAR?  Are you listed on Publisher's Marketplace?  If so, do you report the majority of your deals to them?

What questions do you have for me?

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Here are the posts that helped me develop my list:

"Preparing for THE CALL" at Writers Musings.

"What Can I Expect of My Agent" at Editorial Ass.

"How to Interview a Literary Agent" at Writing for Children and Teens.

"Getting THE CALL" at Rants and Ramblings of a Literary Agent.

"Questions to Ask an Agent" at Rants and Ramblings of a Literary Agent.

"Before You Hire a Literary Agent" by Michael Hyatt.

"Questions to Ask a Potential Literary Agent" at Squidoo.

"Questions to Ask Literary Agents" at Quill Driver Books (reprinted from the AAR).

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What do you think?  Do you want to discuss any of the questions?  Add your own?  Talk about your own experience with THE CALL?  Please do!  Also, if you're interested in writing a guest post about your experience interviewing one or more literary agents before hiring one, please e-mail me. 

Suggestions, Please!

So, I'm doing a study on voice in young adult literature for school and I'm trying to finish up my bibliography for it today. I'm mainly using novels told in first person but also need some in third, and maybe even second.

I've already got a long list of options, especially in first, but I'd love to know what YOUR recommendations are for YA authors/novels with exceptional voice. One thing I'm looking for is novels in third person that aren't fantasy. I'm trying for a variety of subgenres and it seems like every book I can think of in third is a fantasy novel.

So, what do you suggest? Who/what are your favorites?

Thank you!

Questions From the Inbox

I wrote a YA novel. I am seeking publication. Any tips/advice?

I edited and polished my manuscript, however I am considering professional editing. I am currently seeking a literary agent and have queried several. I understand how the publishing process works. My goal is to publish my novels through a major publisher.

Earlier in the year I decided to join with Eaton Literary Agency. Eaton Literary Agency charges fees. I do not recommend, unless you plan to pay around $5,000.00.

Feel free to post the above information in your blog for other aspiring writers.

Now I am reevaluating my options. I am considering to pay for professional editing. But, if I land a literary agent, they can edit the novel themselves.

Ms. McCormick, how do you think I should handle this situation?

-Jessie Rose

Hi Jessie!  Lots to tackle here.  First of all, congratulations on finishing and polishing your manuscript! 

As for Eaton Literary, I'm very sorry you got tangled up in an agency that charges fees.  For future querying, please look up all the agents and agencies on your list at Preditors & Editors.  If the agent or agency isn't listed or there's no information available on them, consider checking with a large writing forum such as AbsoluteWrite for a thread on the agency.  AbsoluteWrite has a comprehensive Bewares and Background Checks forum.  And if you're still unsure, you can always get in touch with me or the staff at Writer Beware.

You mentioned you're considering professional editing.  Here's the thing, do you think your writing is good enough to gain you representation?  If so, then I don't believe you should bother with a professional editing service.  A good line-by-line edit can cost a couple thousand dollars, and a broad assessment hundreds.  If you feel your writing needs a lot of help, however, then it's something to consider.  I'm more likely to suggest joining a critique group, SCBWI, and/or taking some classes though.  To me, it makes a lot more sense to build the tools needed to be a professional writer than to rely on others.  As for agents, only some are editorial and many don't have the time to do line-by-line edits.  Your manuscript needs to be as perfect as you can make it before you query, and then an agent will offer input as needed, per preference.  It's not something you can count on, so I think it's good you're considering your options and evaluating your writing. 

Beyond what I've said here, please check the agent research posts I've done in the right sidebar.  I also highly recommend perusing agent blogs for informative posts on publishing.  Nathan Bransford, Janet Reid, and Rachel Gardner are a few of the best resources out there, but I have a large list of agent and editor blogs in the left sidebar that you can get lost in for days.

All that said, my best piece of advice is this: Google and research everything!  Don't walk into anything blindly if you don't have to.  And don't be afraid to e-mail me more specific questions.  You're doing the right thing by asking and learning!

Now, I'll turn the blog over to my readers and see what advice and tips they have to share.  I didn't have as much time to list resources as I would have liked and I know they'll come through for you.  Thanks for e-mailing!

Review: FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL by Elana Johnson

A few weeks ago, I won a copy of Elana Johnson’s e-book, FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL, just as it was released. I was pretty darn excited. Why?  Well, despite the many, many examples of queries I’ve read online, how-to posts I’ve studied, and attempts I've made, I’ve never been able to write a good query. I love Elanja’s blog (so smart and funny!), and I especially love her voice, so I was eager to see if this e-book would be the eye-opener I needed.

The short answer:  It was.  The long answer:  I’d like to skip today’s WIP post one more week and review it for you.

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Elana Johnson's e-book, FROM THE QUERY TO CALL, is exactly what the title lends you to believe it is; an informative guide that takes you from the basic start-questions of what a query is and isn't and why you need one, to two detailed sections called "Writing a Killer Query" and "Entering the Query Trenches."  By the time you finish its concise, organized, well-written 63 pages, you'll not only understand the anatomy of a successful query but how to research agents, query professionally, endure the dreaded WAIT, and everything after—dealing with rejection and fielding THE CALL. 

Three things I really love about Elanja's book.  1.)  It has everything for the writer just starting to learn about "the process" of seeking representation, but plenty also for the writer who has a good handle on it.  2.)  It is, essentially, said "process" in one well-organized bundle with a handy column ever-present on the side that enables you to jump to the section you want to read or re-read.  No more hours of searching Google and hopping from site to site as you try to piece it all together. 3.)  There are seven well-written query examples used to teach throughout the book and then available in their entirety at the end.  All of which have gained their respective writers representation or resulted in a high percentage of requests.  In other words, all successful.  I learn well by example, so these queries were like the icing on the cake.

There's no telling which section(s) will be the most helpful to you until you buy it and read it for yourself, but for me, it was the meat of the book, "Writing a Killer Query."  The way Elana broke the example queries down and showed me the four elements of a successful query was exactly what I needed.  Many others have done this online for free, sure, but not quite so in depth and certainly not Elana-style.  The big eye opener for me?  Learning I've been missing a very important element in my query—the consequence—and how important that small element really is.

Believe it or not, there's a cherry on top all that cake and icing. If you buy FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL, Elana will critique your query either by e-mail or on her Query Ninja blog.  Not only are you bound to learn a lot from this book, but you'll get a personalized, hands-on lesson too, if you wish.  Pretty darn good deal, and a great opportunity. 

Congratulations on a fabulous e-book, Elana, and thank you so much for the insight and knowledge you've put into a neat, accessible package and provided so many.

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Have you read FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL?  If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments.  Haven't read it?  Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Procrastinating

Have you been to this site? Inkygirl.com Daily Diversions for Writers. Some of her comics are genius. Here is another favorite.

Book Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Note: This is my second-ever review. Bear with me. I'm leaarning.

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Title: An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green

Reading Level: Young Adult

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

First sentence: The morning after noted child prodigy Colin Singleton graduated from high school and got dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, he took a bath.

Self-professed “washed up" child prodigy Colin Singleton wants to matter. He wants to be the genius his father thought he could cultivate with hours of extensive study. More immediately, however, he wants his (ex) girlfriend Katherine XIX back – the nineteenth Katherine in a string of K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E-S (precisely) who have dumped him over the years from third grade to the night of his high school graduation.

Fortunately for Colin, he has one great friend, the humorous Hassan, who prescribes a road trip after finding post-dumped (x19) Colin wallowing in despair. They find a tourniquet for their road trip in a town called Gutshot Tennessee, home of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand's final resting place, and on initial exposure, no Katherines.

After being offered a job interviewing textile workers, Colin and Hassan settle in for a summer with highlights such as hog hunting, tampons, a family secret, the multi-faceted Lindsey, Monster Thickburgers, kissing, and yes, even another Katherine. But for Colin, the summer also includes his long-awaited eurika moment, and a mathematical theorem with the potential to predict the end result of any romantic relationship infallibly.

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES is masterfully crafted with unforgettable characters, laugh-out-loud humor, historical facts, anagrams, theorems, brilliant math, and even footnotes, clearly living up to the John Green standard of original, mind-prickling books with smart, lovable characters.

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And look, whilst practicing my revision-procrastination techniques, I made a personal seal of recommendation. It reads, "excellence in young adult literature - official seal of recommendation." Yeah! Uhm anyway, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES will be the first to get my seal, for whatever nerdiness it's worth.

Researching Literary Agents Part II

In Part I we covered the best sources for finding literary agents.  We learned to weed out those agents who are closed to submissions and/or don't represent our genre.  And we've got a list of prospective agents ready or in the works. In Part II we'll be covering how to assess an agent or agency's legitimacy.

Your main interests are:  Making sure an agent/agency is legitimate, has a respectable name in publishing, and has verified sales.  I'd recommend checking at least three of the following before contacting an agent.  I'd also recommend keeping notes of interest on each agent as you research to help you prioritize later.

Check with the Association of Author's Representatives:

You don't necessarily have to do this first.  I've noticed that more and more agents are choosing not to be members (for a variety of reasons), and a lot of new but perfectly respectable agents just haven't met the criteria to join yet.  Don't be alarmed if some of the agents on your list are not members.  Just put a mark next to their name and carry on. 

However, it is a good starting point.  You might first consider familiarizing yourself with the AAR by reading the following:  About the AAR, Canon of Ethics, and Membership Criteria.  While word of mouth is an excellent vessel for information and opinion, you should make a habit of verifying the legitimacy of something by learning about it and coming to your own conclusions.  Now, use the search function and see which agents on your list are members.  If they are, mark that down somehow, perhaps by writing "AAR" next to their name. Make note of any specific information you can gleam from their profile.  If they aren't a member, mark that in another way.

You've just taken your agents through their first checkpoint.  But don't stop here.  I mentioned that market guides can have errors and scams.  Well, the AAR can have bad apples, too. 

Look to your friendly watch-dogs right here on the net:

Predators and Editors is a great place to go next.  P&E offers quick, reliable information for a second checkpoint.  Once again, I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with the site by reading their Rating Criteria.  You'll need this information to fully understand how the agents are being rated. 

Once you're ready to proceed, find your listed agents by first name in the directory.  If the agent is not recommended for any reason, I would personally scratch them off the list.  However, if you're iffy about the reasoning, you can always continue to research the agent.  Please note, however, that legitimate agents should never charge fees.  If any of your agents are noted to charge fees I'd highly recommend that you do not proceed.  While you're there, you'll be looking for agent rating, notes on the agent, if they have verified sales, etc. Make notes on your list as you see fit and carry on. 

You can also check with Writer Beware.  There is an invaluable amount of information available on the Writer Beware web site (including information on agent research) and Writer Beware will keep you up-to-date on schemes, frauds, unreliable agents, and information on how to protect yourself from the aforementioned.  You can familiarize yourself with there mission statement by reading About Writer Beware.  If your research reveals little about an agent and you're still unsure, you can e-mail Victoria Strauss (awesome WB staff member) and she'll check the archives for you.  Or you can use this (free) Agent Verification Service. 

Check out trusted industry resources:

Publisher's Marketplace is a great place to go for information.  If you're a member, you can see agent and agency profiles (editors, publishers, and authors, too), look up previous sales, clients, and publishing history, etc.  If you're not a member, it's still worth your time to check out.  Some agents and agencies have public pages and keep their recent sales and clients updated, and you can also sign up for Publisher's Lunch, a free newsletter that is e-mailed daily.  Also, consider signing up for at least a month or two of paid membership while you're doing your research.  Payment is month-to-month and you can cancel your subscription at any time. 

Another great site to check out is Agent Query, which is generally viewed as one of the best and most reliable resources for writers on the net.  Recommended by both Writer Beware and Writer's Digest.  They have a searchable database that offers generally up-to-date agent profiles.  They also have interviews, live-chat transcripts, message boards, networking opportunities, etc.  It's also free.

Google is your friend:

Google offers a variety of useful resources.  You can start by going to Google Groups and doing a quick search on your agents.  Sometimes you can find some great, pertinent information through questions and discussions about agents that have been posted.  After you've done that, you might choose to do a Google Book Search.  If you type an agent's name into the search box with quotations, you can often find snippets of acknowledgements where an author's agent has been mentioned.  This is a good way to 1) Check an agent's legitimacy. 2) See who an agent's clients are if you're unsure. 3) See how authors are describing their agents in the acknowledgements. 4) Check past sales.  This also works (sometimes) with Amazon's "Look Inside" feature. Beyond this you have your regular ol' Google search, which is equally if not more helpful.  I usually search for an agent by name-only and then also with the word "agent" or "literary agent" with it.  As a general rule, I look through 6+ pages, usually close to 10.  This might seem like a bit much, but I've found some hidden treasures farther into the pages than one might generally look. 

Check the buzz:

I'd highly recommend checking one or more message boards to see what people are saying about the agents you're interested in.  You may have already done this during your Google search as the boards will often come up.  If not, the Absolute Write Water Cooler has a Bewares and Background Check forum including a great index that you can check.  The Verla Kay Children's Writers and Illustrators Message Board also has certain boards where you can read about agents and their response times.  Another tip:  If you sign up for Query Tracker (it's free) you can read comments people have left after querying an agent.  This can help you get a sense of how an agent responds to their queries, the taste they leave in writers' mouths, and what you might expect when you send out your own query.  Keep in mind, however, how subjective this area of research can be.

You can do even more:

If you have any friends or acquaintances that are agented (online or in a critique group, perhaps), you can always ask them who their agent is, how they like their agent, and how the agent works.  You can also ask if they have any knowledge of the agents on your list or if they've had any experience with them, i.e. if they've queried them or met them at conferences, etc.  I would not recommend trying to get an "in" with anyone's agent unless they offer.  You're only heading in to awkward territory (for many reasons) if you do.

Go to conferences.  A great way of expanding your list and meeting legitimate agents is to go to conferences and network if it's within your means.  I'd recommend, however, that you get a good feel for how the conference is run and make sure you know how to handle yourself.  If you actually meet with any agents and cannot handle yourself professionally and competently, you might lessen your chance with an agent rather than increase it.

Keep an eye out for publishing news and interviews.  Publisher's Marketplace and The Guide to Literary Agents blog are great for this.  New agents and agencies are generally more open to expanding their lists than the veterans, and they spring up all the time.  So, if a new agent/agency has a decent publishing history (or has worked with a respectable house) and you've made sure they are not a scam, they would be excellent to target if they meet your criteria.

Final tips:

• Resist agencies that advertise.  Respectable agencies usually don't need to.
• Never trust one source of information.
• If you're unsure about an agent, it's better to pass over them or continue researching.
• Learn how the publishing industry works before querying.
• Educate yourself about scams and warnings signs.
• Try to get an idea of each agent's reputation - a legitimate agent is not necessarily a good agent.
• Care about yourself and writing enough to find a good match.  

Hopefully everyone on your list so far has shaped up to be a good and legitimate match.  If you didn't do this before you began your research, you might begin to consider the things that are important to you in an agent, i.e. years of experience, track record, reputation, personality, if they are editorial, etc.  Using the Google and message board methods mentioned above, you can do even more research to try to answer your interest-specific questions.  Once you've found out everything you can, which is sometimes limited, I know, begin to prioritize your list.

In Part III we'll take a look at agent specifics, submission guidelines, and personalizing queries.  If there is anything else you'd like me to cover, let me know in the comments!  Also, I'm probably forgetting plenty here.  If you have some other nuggets of advice, please speak up!

On Researching and Dealing with Agents

A few days ago I received a query. This morning I had a tweet from someone wanting Jodi Reamer's e-mail and/or web site address. As someone trying to promote agent research, I find these incidences somewhat alarming. Let's have a closer look shall we?

The e-mail:

My first and foremost concern is that this person has an obvious disregard or ignorance of the following: publishing history, previous sales, scams. If said person had done any research, they would have realized I am NOT a literary agent. However, let's say there was a misunderstanding since I do happen to have an e-mail address with the word "agent" in it and do the Agent Spotlights. Even if someone had mistook me for an agent, a quick Google search would have revealed the following: no web site, no Publisher's Marketplace page, not on Preditors and Editors, AAR, or any query-tracking web site, and most importantly, I have ZERO sales to my name. Red flags, people. Huge red flags.

Beyond this, I must assume the author is also disregarding submission requirements. If the writer was following submission requirements, it seems likely he/she would have noticed I have none and am not an agent. On top of this, the query was addressed to "Dear Sir." I may have a gender-neutral name, but again, research would have revealed my name and, I'd like to think, my gender. But don't worry, I did not take offense because we have already deduced there was zero research involved. Tip: You can find an agent's gender on LitMatch.

The tweet:

My first thought was as follows: Google!? My second thought: Maybe this is someone I know and they want some quick information. Though, even that would have been alarming. Shall I repeat myself here? Research the agents you want to query, please! But, on realizing I did not know this person, I clicked over to their profile. What did I find? They are tweeting everyone under the sun (including John Green and Stephanie Meyers) trying to get Jodi Reamer's e-mail address. We must note, if the writer does not even know what web site Jodi Reamer can be found at, we can assume he/she a) does not know Jodi Reamer is with Writer's House, and b) he/she is planning on firing off a cold query with complete disregard to Ms. Reamers submission requirements. Alas, there is more. The writer was tweeting agents asking, "are you an agent?" and tweeting "e-mail me at X if you're interested in X kind of manuscript." Shall I continue? The writer also spelled query wrong in all of his/her tweets and was promoting their novel as "epic" and "fabulous." Can we get a tally on the mistakes here? Anyone?

Honestly, I'm not writing this to poke fun at either person. I would love to see them succeed. However, I am concerned, and I'm feeling an increasing amount of pity for literary agents. I took the time to e-mail both of these writers to suggest they use Querytracker.net, at least, and gave the tweeter a rundown on what he/she was doing that was unprofessional.

Where do we go from here? Look forward to a series of posts on researching and dealing with agents. I know most of my readers know what's what, but maybe we can field a few of these unknowing aspirees and help them. Feel free to put your 2 cents in on the upcoming posts.

Linktastic!

Beth Revis posted a ton of great links yesterday (including some recent contests!), which reminded me I've been meaning to do the same. Some of them may be repeats, but if they are, they must be worth it, right? ; )

The Bridget Zinn fundraiser and auction was brought to my attention by this post over at Market My Words. Now I'm seeing it all over! A lot of authors/writers are pitching in. What a great community we have. Comment on Sheli's blog post, check out the auction, donate, and/or buy a signed copy of HOP! PLOP! by Corey Schwartz!

Keri Mikulski has her Yay for YA Summer Give Away up. Win some books!

Have you read Pj Hoover's book, THE EMERALD TABLET? The first chapter of the second book in the series, THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD, is posted HERE as a teaser on Buried in the Slush. THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD comes out in October - can't wait!

Here's one you might have read, seeing as it was posted a couple months ago, but if you haven't, it's a great read - Q&A With Four Young Agents.

Avoiding Red-Flag Mistakes on Your First Page - great list!

The QueryTracker blog on The Dreaded Pitch. Time-worthy reading.

Agent Rachelle Gardner on Antatomy of a Winning Query and Getting THE CALL. Anyone else get butterflies just reading that? Anyway, her post reminded me of Ginger Clark's guest blog on How to Handle an Offer of Representation over on Nathan's blog from a couple years ago. Still great reading. Check it out!

Agent Janet Reid on Social Interactions with Agents.

Agent Jenny Bent on The Agent who Knew Too Much.

Kathy Temean, illustrator and New Jersey SCBWI Regional Advisor, has started a great new blog called Writing and Illustrating for children. (Link via Corey's blog. Thanks!)

Check out the blog Boys Blogging Books where a group of teen boys are reviewing books and sharing what they like. Great for those of you writing "boy" books, yea?

Aannd, Through the Tollbooth is blogging about author branding all week. The first post Author Branding - The Thing That Makes Us Go Hmmmm suggests a great way to consider what your shadow brand is: Your brand is what people say about you when you leave the room. Hmmm. I wonder....

Woo! That's a wrap. I just looked over Beth's list again and she has a bunch of other great stuff, so check that out for even more!

Cynthea Liu - Library Lovin' Challenge

Have you already left your comment for Cynthea Liu's Library Lovin' Challenge? If not, get on over there! Cynthea is donating 10 cents up to $100 to the Briarglen Elementary School Library. If we can get up to 1000 comments, she'll double it! You don't even have to say anything intelligent (unless you want to). Just say something - it's that easy!

She is also running a really fun contest called Red Light Green Light that correlates with the Library Lovin' Challenge. It's really awesome and quite ingenious. RLGL will only move to the next round if we can get 400 comments by Sunday (one per person), 05/03/09, and to keep it going we've gotta keep the comments coming in. So spread the word and get in on the fun - it benefits the Briarglen Elementary School Library and can benefit your writing, too!

And that's not all I have to say about Ms. Liu. Have you checked out her web site for kidlit writers? Writing for Children and Teens? She has AMAZING posts, contests, critiques, etc. Just look at this list of top articles. She even has a Crash Course and book. I've spent quite a bit of time reading through a bunch of her articles and it's been worth every second.

Check it out and please spread the word. Thanks!

Ahh, the Sweet Sanity of Organization

Heather introduced me to Document Map in Word the other day. Oh my. Am I the only person who didn't know this wonder has been available in Word all this time? I've only been using it for a couple days and I already can't beleive I've been writing for the last five years without it. If you set it up right, it's like having a mini-outline right on the side of your document. No more scrolling through pages forever. And I can keep track of all my notes and thoughts. I feel so much more organized and sane, like I might actually be able to get through this draft without losing my mind.

So... if you haven't tried it, I'm officially recommending it. The same goes for Windows Live Writer. I started using Live Writer last week for my Agent Spotlight entries and it's a huge help. I can write up the post, link all my links up ahead of time, upload any pictures I want to use, and avoid any formatting issues between Word and Blogger.

With these two things working for me, my writing world suddenly feels so much more together and streamline.

You might not have a need for Live Writer, but really, seriously, try the Document Map if you aren't already. Plus, you can e-mail me if you want an easier run-down on how to use it.

Widget Fun

I moved some things around and added this neat Amazon Wish List Widget to my side bar in place of my To Be Read list. I plan on choosing my new reads from this list for my 2009 goal to read two to three books a month (at least, and as finances allow.) Pretty cool! You can also make one for your favorites and recommendations.

My most recent adds? Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids and Get Known Before The Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths To Grow An Author Platform by Christina Katz. Shelli recommended / mentioned these on her blog, Market My Words, and I'm pretty excited about them.

Not sure when I'll pick them up but they will definitely be part of my 2009 book consumption.

Thanks Shelli!

Holly Lisle

Have you ever checked out all the awesome info Holly Lisle has on her website for writers? If you haven't, you really should. Just take a scroll of her "Writer Index" on the left hand side and take special note of the free workshop articles she has.

I keep her bookmarked and I refer back to her "How To's" and "Work Shops" rather frequently for one thing or another. I've also subscribed and gone through her plotting workshop, which I pulled some great advice and info from.

Yesterday I was digging around her index again, looking for things I haven't read, and realized I should really post her website in case others aren't aware of the free info she has just sitting there. I'm positive every writer, no matter the genre, can learn something from what she has up on her site.

Posting this does sort of fill me with guilt though - I've never read any of her books. However, I do plan on purchasing several of her e-book clinics eventually and maybe I'll pick up a book or two someday as well.

Really though, check her website out! And if you've read any of her books I would love comments and/or recommendations.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Thanks to the fabulous Heather, I've been made aware of Neil Gaiman's book tour for his new book "The Graveyard Book."

As per the website:

"Watch Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book on a 9-city video tour. At each stop on the tour, Neil will read one chapter from The Graveyard Book. Beginning on October 1st, we will post the video readings daily. By the end of the tour, on October 9th, you will be able to watch the master storyteller himself read The Graveyard Book in its entirety right here."

It is FABULOUS! He is AMAZING! You HAVE to check it out! Trust me!

You can find it: Here.

Thanks Heather!

Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape)

If you haven't read Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones I still highly recommend it, especially with Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) to read right after it!

I finally bought a copy of Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) and loved it just as much, if not more, than the first. I can't wait to pick up her new books Girl, Hero (came out in August) and Need (coming this December.)

If you're in need of a new YA book to devour, I highly recommend Carrie Jones!

Buy them and Enjoy!

Highly Recommended Blogs

There is a post I've been meaning to get to that keeps alluding me, but it finally came to mind today when I was wracking my brain for something to blog about.

Must-read blogs!

I have quite the list of blogs going over on the side of my page - blogs I read. In fact, it might seem overwhelming to some but I really do read or at least check in on all of those blogs.

Specifically though, I wanted to bring attention to the second row that I have labeled "Blogs: Agents, Editors, and Publishers" because there are some really, really awesome gems in there for writers. It's safe to say I'd recommend any of the blogs I have listed, but there are some in particular that are constant, priceless resources for writers.

Jessica Faust at BookEnds, LLC is a literary agent who cofounded the agency with fellow agent Jacky Sach. Jessica makes awesome posts about the publishing business quite frequently. She's definitely worth bookmarking. Just check her archives! Her most recent post "Query Letter Phrasing to Reconsider" is definitely worth checking out but don't forget to check her labels/archives out, too. I guarantee you'll find plenty worth reading!

Moonrat, an editor, frequently makes awesome posts on her blog Editorial Ass from her editorial perspective of the publishing business. Make sure you check her archives and labels for some of the great posts she has done in the past. A recent example I'd recommend: "Why you should never submit unagented to publishers."

Jennifer Jackson over at her blog Et in arcaedia, ego is a literary agent. She also has some great, informative posts but my particular favorite thing about her blog is her "Query Wars" where she posts the number of queries she has received in a week and what she has requested partials for, etc. She'll often make comments regarding the sad little numbers of requests she makes and I find it to be a rather intriguing peak into the world of querying from an agent's perspective.

Editorial Anonymous is a children's book editor who frequently posts responses to questions that she has been asked, among other fun things. These little gems often offer awesome, quick insight into the publishing/editing world - especially for authors who write for children.

Literary agent Nathan Bransford is already highly known and widely popular in the blogging community of writers, but if you haven't discovered his blog yet, he is certainly a must-read. I always look forward to his posts and they rarely disappoint. If your time is limited, make sure you at least take the time to read "The Essentials" that he has up on the side of his page including his very informative FAQs!

Colleen Lindsey, an agent for FinePrint Literary Management, posts frequently on her blog The Swivet. I'm not interested in every post she does, but she has made some really, really great posts that have been very informative for me as a writer. As with all of these, check her tags and archives. There is some awesome information buried in there!

Kristen at Pub Rants is another literary agent among my list who has a healthy, wealthy archive of awesome posts. Many of her posts don't interest me, but she has posted so many great things in the mix that I can't not keep an eye on her blog.

And of course, I have to mention Miss Snark, who no longer actively posts, but has a huge, plentiful archive of knowledge that is definitely worth digging through when you have the time.

Okay, so yes, that is probably most of the blogs I have listed under that section but they really are great. I hope you take the time to check out some of them and garner some free, valuable knowledge! I sure have learned a lot from all of these blogs combined and I gain even more by actively following them. Now if only I could finish a manuscript and put my knowledge of the publishing business to good use!

The Year of Secret Assignments

Please bear with me while I learn how to write book reviews! Here is my first.

THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS by Jaclyn Moriarty.

Lifelong friends, Cassie, Lydia, and Emily, are sophomore students at Ashbury High School, rival school to Brookfield High. When their English teacher attempts to dissolve the feud between the schools with a confidential pen pal project, the girls tackle their assignment with varying degrees of interest and reluctant enthusiasm.

Emily and Lydia are surprised to find themselves paired with charming, funny partners, Charlie and Sebastian (Seb), while Cassie struggles to break down the defenses of mean, threatening Matthew who opens their correspondence with a threat. After some hilarious initial correspondence, each girl sets about meeting their pen pal in person. What follows is a series of secret rendezvous, kissing, hurt feelings, and a tragic betrayal where Matthew finally crosses the line.

When Emily and Lydia find out that Matthew has betrayed sweet, vulnerable Cassie, they vow revenge and, with the help of Charlie and Seb, instigate a series of Secret Assignments, spy tactics, lock picking, and other downright hilarious payback tactics.

Told entirely in letters, diary entries, notebook notes, and e-mails, THE YEAR OF SECRET ASSIGNMENTS illustrates a humor-packed story about six unique teenagers dealing with the trials of life. Will they come out ahead? Will Matthew get what he deserves? Does romance ensue? Pick up a copy to find out! You won’t be disappointed. In fact, I guarantee you’ll find yourself laughing out loud and marveling over Jaclyn Moriarty’s fabulous writing.

You Must Read This!

This has to be one of my favorite blog entries I've read, definitely. You have to read it if you're a writer!

Warning: The consumption of liquids during the reading of this blog is strongly ill-advised.

Libba Bray: Writing a novel - a love story.

Enjoy!

Fabulous!

I finished reading Tips on having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones only hours after starting it. I just couldn't put it down. Turns out Jones' main character Belle has it a lot worse than I did (not complaining here) but there were a great many hilarious lines and mixed emotions I could still relate to.

From the cover to the acknowledgments, this book is a jewel. It's going on my highly recommended list, so if you haven't read it, do so!

I'm left to wonder though - how many of us have actually had a gay ex-boyfriend? I seem to be tragically attracted to gay men myself... I can recall having the hots for three gay guys during my high school years (yea, that went nowhere fast) and then, of course, there is the one I actually dated (though he considered himself bi-sexual, I guess.)

Any in your past?

Writing Exercises

Have you been looking for writing exercises to improve your craft? Here are a few I've found helpful.

Imitation:

I had an amazing English teacher in college who introduced me to imitation tools. She asserted that developing a unique writing style needs to be a conscious act. Some brilliant minds can develop this subconsciously as they read and devour the works of published authors, but for the rest of us, it can take some work.

My teacher suggested analyzing the style, structure, technique, and voice of favorite and/or successful authors. Take a few choice paragraphs from something you love and pattern the sentence structure with your own words by repeating the clauses and phrases exactly. After you've gotten the hang of it, you can start modifying and varying the imitations to see what other outcomes you get.

Copying:

Copying, not plagiarizing. One of my favorite writing exercises (it's actually quite relaxing, I swear!) is to copy word-for-word entire chapters from my favorite books. It's truly the best way to get into an author's voice and style, to feel it for yourself, to see how they structure their sentences and choose their words. You'll pick up a lot of small details doing this that you didn't notice while reading.

Word removal:I got this exercise from The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman (highly recommended.) It's best done with a work in progress. What you do, is go through the first page of you novel and remove every adjective and adverb and list them. (You can also do it with nouns and pronouns but the result is a little crazier.) So, your adjectives and adverbs are removed. Now what? Read your page without them. This can make an incredible difference in how the page reads. Usually you will find it reads faster, more fluently, and yet the story is still well-conveyed. It will give you an eye for what you can do without and what really needs the boost.

Take it further.

Take your list of removed adjectives and adverbs and replace each of them with something more unique and less cliche. Place these into your page and read it. Usually the page now sounds over done and not consistent with your voice, but I almost always keep at least one of these replacements. It really helps to pinpoint cliche descriptory words and in turn gives you a sharper eye for coming up with more unique descriptions and phrases.

Rewriting:

Most authors hate rewriting, but it can also be a very useful tool. I suggest taking a few less-than-adequate sentences, or trouble sentences, and re-writing them at least five different ways. It's tiresome, it gets old fast, but suddenly you have five versions to choose from and analyze. Trust me - try this. You'll begin to see why some sentences work and others don't. It will help you develop a more natural feel for writing sentences in the future.

Plot study:

I got this one from Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell (also highly recommended.) Bell suggests taking six novels from the genre you want to write and/or authors you would like to write like to do a plot study with. He suggests making a schedule you'll stick to (eight to twelve weeks is recommended) then reading one book at a time with a day between each to soak it in and think it over. Once you've read each book you go back to the first and begin your plot study. To do this, you'll need flashcards. For each scene, use one flashcard, number it, and jot down the following information: Setting, POV character, scene summary, and scene type (being "action, reaction, setup, deepening, etc." according to Bell) Once you're done, you can go through each book scene-by-scene rather quickly to see how it was pieced together and how the plot developed. Bell offers more suggestions to this exercise, but they would only make sense if you read his book.

I've done this with a few books now and have developed my own process. I write quick summaries of each scene, including plot points and methods of foreshadowing, and skip the other details. I also write the notes on my laptop as I'm reading, almost like I'm outlining the book, and then read through it that way. It works better for me than flashcards. However you want to do it is fine, the main idea is to really study a plot line, pull it apart, and see how it was put together.

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I'd recommend both of the books I mentioned in this post as they have a ton more useful information and exercises between them. If you have any exercises or how-to books to suggest, please add them to the comments!