Preparing to Submit - Requested Materials.

First I would like to apologize for my absence these last few days. I returned to my day job following an injury. while the medical leave offered me much more time to write and focus on my promotional efforts it did of course keep me from earning the pay for my bills. So I am pleased to have returned but now I am working also to find the delicate balance between day job and dream job, finding time for all parts to come together.

As promised from my previous post I will be focusing lastly on SASE, Sample Chapters as well as some examples of things agents both look for as well as hope never to see. Hopefully as you go through your work adding and subtracting finishing touches this will help you narrow in on a few specifics to look for. The SASE is a simple topic I just wanted to touch upon because I was confused when I first started my research and I would see it mentioned. A SASE is simply a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. They ask you to include it making it that much easier to respond if and when they have an answer to your submission.

So you have your letter, it is professional yet interesting and you have sent it out to a number of agents. As the SASEs start returning you get the expected but hard to swallow rejection letters filling a bottom drawer in the spare room where you can hide the away. Hope is flickering, you are rereading your query looking for changes for the forty seventh time when something spectacular happens, a letter requesting more information. 

Go ahead and hug someone close, have a celebratory drink even high five the cat if that's your style (mine just like to lay on my laptop when I am working). Now that you have it out of your system time to get back down to business. First thing to know, what did the agent request? At this point many will request the full manuscript and if that is the case then make sure you have a crisp printed copy (or formatted document file if they prefer) and send it as soon as you can. You don't want to keep them waiting as though you have other offers, playing coy is not the way to go.

If by chance the agent only wants to see a few sample chapters then that is all you should send. Do not give them unsolicited work. They want to know that you pay attention and will do what you are asked. Go ahead and proof read what you are sending one more time. Then send it and wait to hear back. Once you have an agent interested it is still possible to have additional queries out but if the agent asked for some exclusive time it is customary to give it them instead of continuing to search.

The beginning of the book is a big deal. I have spoken with a few, submitted to several as well as read  numerous sites and books offering tips from active agents on what they do and don't look for. The first chapter is almost always the first thing they mention. One of the items I have seen and heard repeatedly is that the first chapter needs some action in it. Do not give long winded descriptions of characters or take three pages setting a scene. Characters need to be doing something productive not just mindless moving about. 

Next usually comes point of view. Make sure it is clear who is doing what, who is speaking and if it  is third person or first person. This should not however be done in a blatant uncreative way by simply announcing something. Weave it into the story just make sure everyone is on the same page. Remember that the characters that live in our heads and speak to us daily cannot be heard by the rest of the world so it is vital that stories not rely in inference but can be understood by anyone that chooses to read it. 

Creativity is, of course, key to great story telling. While not everyone can or would come up with the same book you wrote it is also important to make sure not everyone could come up with the open of that story. Don't use gimmicks or cliches, beginnings seen a thousand times over, write something unique to you and your characters. Get the agent interested and then keep them interested by making sure the excitement, passion, romance or whatever else you sold them in the query actually exists. 

The last thing I want to leave you with is the most difficult one for most writers I know. Every agent is different. They have different tastes, personal desires, professional affiliations and unique outlooks on what is or is not a good fit for them. You will get rejection letters. It will hurt. It is ok to cry or pout for a bit and wonder what may have made them choose it but the truth is that you may never find out. You just have to pick yourself up and move on. Keep trying because while not every book is right for every agent persistence can pay off and when you finally get that one acceptance letter it will make you forget every rejection that ever came your way.

Preparing to Submit - Query Letter

In the last few days I have talked about my decision to attempt submitting my work for traditional publisher's consideration this year. I am currently an indie author but I am looking to make the transition into a hybrid of indie and traditionally published work. My last post involved the places to fund an agent. It is a task that can seem intense and daunting calling on a novice to jump into a wide search pool with very few ideas of ways to filter it.

I gave a few suggestions such as the Writer's Market along with a couple of sites I have found helpful, QueryTracker and AgentQuery. Once you have narrowed your search by genre, location or whatever parameters you have chosen to use, you should have a list of people you are interested in submitting your work to. It can be terrifying to follow through and send out your baby to strangers for judgement.

Before you do submit anything it is very important to take some time, have others that can be objective read through it in order to give you feedback as well as perhaps catch any spelling or grammatical errors you may have missed when proofreading it yourself. You are sending out work that you want to have published and you want to make sure that the agent can see it being worthy of that goal. whether or not they like the story or represent a specific genre is completely subjective but getting the piece to look and present as professional as possible will lessen the obstacles that must be overcome.

Ok so now you have your squeaky clean manuscript and your list of agents in your excited shaking hands, now what? Most commonly what happens next is that you send a query letter. This is a letter that basically catches the agent's attention and pulls their interest in to read your book. It is typically a one page sales presentation. You need to hook them and draw them in, let them know about you and your work, you have to get them excited.

The first part of this all important letter is the introduction. You need to draw them in but most of all you need to connect with them. Take the time to personalize the letter, use the agent's name and take a look at some of the work he or she has represented in the past or may currently be doing. Does your work fall in line with what is currently offered? Mention it, let them know you did your homework and that you can be a good fit for them and the agency.

Be straight to the point and professional. You don't want to waste time giving vast descriptions of parts of your work, let them know the title, genre and length. Also while it is best to wait to submit until your book is finished if you have jumped the gun and have chosen to send letters out while still putting the finishing touches on, let the agent know the expected completion date. Once you have made that connection you have to put on your best salesman's hat and get that pitch down perfect.

Selling your book is an art and it takes people time to figure out the best way to describe their work, especially since you only have one or two paragraphs in which to present it. Again you want to be succinct. Show your creative talent but also keep it brief. For me when I was creating my first attempts at this section I wrote out the entire sales pitch. It took nearly three pages. After I got everything written out I set to work seeing what I didn't absolutely need to include. Then I found ways to combine sentences and information to dwindle down the length until it fit the letter. It took a few days of practice to get it there and I can remember a number of times that it got frustrating and I needed to take a break.

Once you are past the selling portion you have the bio. You get to sell yourself. Even if you have never published a book it is important to make sure the agent sees who they are working with. Make sure to include any awards you may have received or experience you may have, though try to keep both in the literary world. Agents are not going to care if you placed second at the junior high science fair unless your book involves scientific research related to your award.

End with a sincere and professional thank you for their time and consideration. Some agents provide a turnaround time while others only respond if interested. Keep sending out the letters and make sure to stay positive, you will get rejection letters. Just make sure to keep any that offer suggestions as they may be useful and help land a different agent. All the rejections you receive won't matter once you finally land that acceptance.

My next post in this series will cover the SASE, Sample Chapters and will get into a little more of what an agent does.

Preparing to Submit - Where to find an agent

As I wrote yesterday I will be writing an entire series about submitting to an agent using questions submitted to me along with information that I myself have found useful. I have worked with a few agents in the past but then I took several years off from writing and so I am learning this new way of contacting agents, submitting work and of course the increasing world of independent authors.

While I see nothing wrong with taking the self published route, I myself went through and Indie Publisher, but because there is still a stigma attached many people continue to aim for a traditional contract. Many people have discovered that in order to be taken seriously as an author whether traditionally published or not, it is key to edit and revise your book before allowing it into the world. Sadly there are still a number of writers that refuse to take these steps and will simply hit publish on anything they write, this is where the stigma comes from.

For those who choose to try your hand at the traditional route as I am planning to do, there are a few things to consider. One of the biggest is do you want to submit to publishers directly or should you use the talents of a literary agent? Knowing that I am not a great negotiator as well as the fact that it can be difficult to represent your own work objectively I have chosen to seek the advice, guidance and representation of an agent.

Today I want to cover the first and perhaps one of the most overwhelming steps, where to find an agent. The first place I turn to, and always have, is the best selling book The Writer's Market. There are a number of these books that can be purchased. I have chosen the original version as well as the Guide to Literary Agents as a compliment. I wanted to get deeper insight into what agents are looking for and perhaps more importantly, things they hope never to see again.

Both books offer tremendous lists of agents and cover what genres they represent, how to contact them and what should be included in the submission. Agents are contacted for a specific piece of writing so it would only be appropriate to send them the requested pages or chapters from one particular book. If you are accepted and they sell your book to a publisher then you could contact them again in the future for additional pieces but only one at a time.

For those more adept at technology or that prefer ereaders to regular books there is of course the largest tool available for finding agents, the internet. This is such a vast search location however that it can easily become overwhelming. You can start with a simple search on your preferred search engine, mine is Google. just type in things like "Literary agents", "Submitting a book", or Agents and Publishers". Any one of these will give you a host of possibilities.

After that it becomes the more refined work of looking through the sites to find one that offers the most agents for your genre(s). The two I have worked with the most are AgentQuery and QueryTracker. Both of these sites have afforded me a large number of agents to choose from across the category spectrum. Once you have your site or sites you wish to explore you can go about filtering by genre, location or any number of additional limitations in order to bring down the long list or agents.

Tomorrow I will be focusing on the query letter and all of things that can be asked for when submitting once you have found your list of possible agents.

Preparing To Submit

Yesterday I was sitting at home enjoying the rain and happily hosting my time slot during an Indie Author Promotion event. All the while I was being taunted by a cardboard box on my cocktail table that had been delivered from Amazon earlier in the day. For Christmas I had requested gift cards for Amazon in order to purchase a few books including the Writer's Market. I knew it was waiting patiently inside that  box but I was busy doing the online event so I couldn't dive in no matter how eager I was.

Well today is a different story. I am in a business frame of mind so I see no better time than now to tear open the box, settle in with my coffee and set to work on the daily schedule I created last night. I intend to get about an hour worth of exercise in. I will be taking some time to read. I have already made a list of places to contact about holding book signings in the area so all I have left is some dedicated writing and revising time. 

I have written before about the four main stories I am working on. Sharing Strength being my biggest focus at the moment, it needs to simply be completed as a first draft. Chocolate Covered Cherries is in the same boat but much further behind though I have had a number of recent breakthroughs as the main character finally revealed her concerns to me. Breathe and Welcome to Syn on the other hand have been drafted. Breathe has even been edited to a degree. There was an issue with the ending so I created two different endings and allowed my main beta reader to go through them and figure out which seemed more appealing to the reader.

Now that I have all the feedback I have found a way to incorporate parts of both endings so all I have to do now is the rewrite. Welcome to Syn has the initial draft completed but it has been sitting giving me time to gain perspective and objectivity. While I believe there are no rules carved in stone when it comes to how to write a book it is nevertheless important to take professional advice in order to improve the possibility of success.

For my reading time today I will be reading some of the Writer's Market Guide to Literary Agents. I am hoping to gain some insight into what agents look for as well as what they hope to avoid. I am planning to share the information I learn from this book over the next few days here in my blog so if you have any questions about submitting to agents please comment and I will do my best to find the answers.

Getting Involved

When I was a child I loved to write. As an adult it a passion that has not faded but instead grown into a burning flame approaching bonfire status. I have simply enjoyed telling stories and taking my readers or even those listening if I shared aloud on a journey that came from my imagination. 

After awhile I noticed that many of the short stories I came up with had resemblances to the previous ones and that my lack of life experience was hindrance to my story telling. I began traveling more, studying different cultures and meeting as many people as I could. I talked at length with people others may have found unappealing such as the homeless and worked to overcome language barriers so that I could learn about those around me and the world as they saw it.

Traveling has become a secondary obsession for me and goes hand in hand with my writing. I am currently looking at doing a book for each of the places I have explored and doing my best to incorporate all of the things I have tried, surfing, skydiving, snorkeling, ultra light piloting, and so many others. I love being outside and it is my goal to bring those elements into my stories.

I also have been doing my best to be hands on with the promotion of the writing work I create. I enjoy the live events like signings and interviews. Again it is an opportunity to talk to people as well as be able to interact with those that have found some value in my work. It is important for me to find out who I am reaching as an audience and what draws them in so I can continue to grow my readership base.

I find that partnering with other authors and artists can also create a wonderful ross promotion opportunity while also affording myself the chance to meet new and interesting people. Sometimes those people bring heartbreaking stories while others bring with them a sense of inspiration and new connections for me as an author. It is a matter of making sure I let my supporters know how much they matter to me and to genuinely be interested in what they have to say as well.

I even do my best to make sure I am involved in the worlds I write about. My debut novel was about dancing and I was very active as a dancer for years. I have a tried to help out at animal adoption and awareness events including the rescue of several animals of my own. The current ones being what I call the Crazy Cat Lady Starter Kit. How do you get involved in your writing worlds?

Reasons Behind Sharing Strength

Last night I got a spark of inspiration and was able to write, Most importantly I was able to write through the first major conflict in Sharing Strength. There are still a number of issues to address in the book but I have been t a tremendous standstill on this first one. Because there is an aspect of parts of my life woven into the fabric of each of these characters I know their pain and I also am weighed down with the guilt of putting them through these frustrating situations.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a complicated thing to be diagnosed with. I have been doing my best to understand it for nearly a decade and while I pushed it to the back of my mind for years afraid it made me weak or less than others around me I have come to see it not as something I need to hide from nor coward behind but rather it is simply a part of me that I handle as best I can.

It does not make me weak. I have known many with the disorder that feel like I did, that it lessens them in the eyes of those around them. If anyone truly looks down on someone with PTSD then they do not fully comprehend what it is that the afflicted person is dealing with. It is not a disease it is a psychological reaction to a traumatic event or series of events. In my case it began when I was in my early teens and continued until my early twenties through a number of actions and my responses to them.

Like any person coping with PTSD I did not ask for this and I did not cause it. So many people will say that a person brought it on themselves but I promise you from the bottom of my heart no one would choose to have these complications. The nightmares and flashbacks, the uncontrollable panic attacks, knowing logically that the person or situation that hurt you is not there but being unable to calm yourself down. The constant stress in your life and the honest belief that you did this to yourself and that something must be wrong with you because you cannot simply get over it like those around you seem to be able to do.

No one has the right to tell you how to feel but when you suffer from PTSD they try. There are also those that believe it is only something that affects the military. This is completely untrue. Yes there are a significant number of cases in active and veteran military members. The combat situations they endure are extreme and it is understandable why so many deal with psychological demons after they return home. It is not their fault just like anyone else dealing with the diagnosis.

There are so many other ways to get it though and that is why this book is so important to me. It showcases characters that have gone through a large spectrum of situations that have all led to therapy and the PTSD support group. They all deal with their own nightmare scenarios, their personal coping mechanisms and of course try to interact with each other. The book demonstrates not only the different aspects of how they came to be there but also the importance of having the support they need.

I am fortunate that I was able to get help and learn some ways to handle it when my anxiety takes over. I have an incredible support network and I am thankful beyond words for that. But even with my help and support I still have extremely bad days. It is my goal to publish this book and get the word out about what those like me are dealing with and to let them know that they are not alone. We need to stand as one until each and every person suffering has a place to feel safe and happy.

Love of Animals

As I am writing my novel focusing on PTSD I am also working hard on the next volumes for my charity series Rescue Me. They are anthologies full of animal stories, poems and dedications. I began this project last year after becoming friends with a very inspiring woman who had created an charity anthology of her own all about music called Rock & Roll Saved My Soul.

With the help of Kate I was able to publish Volume 1 in November. It went over well and I am thrilled that I am able to donate all proceeds to a very worthy organization War Dogs Making It Home located in Chicago, IL. They take rescue dogs and train them to be service dogs for veterans wit PTSD and TBI, obviously a cause close to my heart.

I have four feline friends of my own that are all rescues and the will be featured in the cat edition benefiting The Cat Network. I have also grown up with dogs, cats, fish and even rodents. I have loved all of my animals and as I have gotten older I have tried to become more involved with local rescues and shelters.

I am currently looking for submissions for the next four editions. There is a deadline but I am willing to extend it if I get people interested that aren't able to make the current one in order to make sure everyone is included. The volumes accepting submissions are:
Feline - Purrfect Companions, benefiting The Cat Network
Canine - Man's Best Friend, benefiting National Mill Dog Foundation
Volume 2 - More Stories of Hope, National Search Dog Foundation
Senior / Special Needs - Against All Odds, benefiting Leave No Paws Behind

The picture shown at the top of this post is from a rescue pet store I checked out while backpacking in Japan. Even internationally I am drawn to anything that has to do with animals. I will admit that I looked into the possibility of doing an international adoption to bring her home with me but it wasn't feasible. I did follow up though and I was able to confirm that she was adopted just two days later.

My animals are my companions, my comfort and my daily inspiration. I cannot wait to see the stories that people submit and to bring awareness for all of these deserving organizations. Please feel free to contact me either here or on Facebook. I can be reached either on my author page Renee Jean or on the page for the series Rescue Me - Animal Anthology.