learning to fail

Last year, before we moved, we had a yard sale. Mini-Engineer decided he wanted to sell something and earn money, too, but he didn’t want to sell any of his own belongings. So he drew a bunch of pictures and offered them to people who came to the sale. For $3 each. Yeah. His belief in his drawing skills may be overrated.

I could have stopped him. I could have told him no. Instead, I let him. Before the sale we talked about how people would be looking for cheap prices, and that they would bargain. Then I stood back and let him try. I knew he would be turned away and rejected. I knew that he would have disappointments, but I also hoped he would have victories. He approached the people on his own, negotiated on his own, though I kept a watchful eye. Some people did buy his pictures, not for $3, but they were sweet and nice and those good points got him through the rejections. Even better, he learned what he can do if he tries, that he can live through rejection, and that he can keep trying after failing.

It was hard to stand back and let him do this on his own. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I know it was in his best interest. I also know it’s a necessary part of his growth. I try to keep this in mind through the query process. This is an important lesson, and hard as it is for me, no matter the outcome, I know I’ll be better at the end of it.

Query Breakdown

Happy Ides of March everyone!  I once went camping in the mountains of Utah for the ides of March.  Coldest night of my life.  There was at least five feet of snow. 

Agent Linda Epstein has a post here explaining why she requested a manuscript from a query.  She described each part of the query and what she liked and didn't like about it and I found it very interesting.  We often hear why they don't request manuscripts and I thought this was a nice change.


Hope all of you who celebrate it have a Happy St. Patrick's day this weekend. 

Freedom

No, not the book by Franzen.

I made a decision last week that I think will really help me.  I stopped babysitting.  I have been babysitting anywhere from 1-4 kids regularly for the past five and a half years. Since January I've had a little girl just a few months younger than Truck Boy and an infant less than six months old.  That meant I had four kids under the age of three.  As you can imagine, some days all I did was feed them, change them, and sweep the floor upon occasion. 

I'm very excited to move forward.  Sure, my book budget may have dropped down to zero but spending time doing fun things with my kids and over all being a good person who isn't too stressed to think is well worth it. 

Mostly I'm hoping I can find a little more time to write.  Or just that I won't fall asleep every time I sit down at the computer.   I'm going to finish this book and send out my first query by the end of June.  I'm putting it out there so you can all hold me accountable. So, I'm off to work now.  Do you have a goal to share?

Synopsis

The synopsis.  The thing feared by writers almost as much as a query.  Or maybe that's just me.  A friend over at Compuserve had a great guideline for writing a synopsis.  This woman knows writing, and not only that but she can articulate it in a way that's easy to understand.  Here's what she said about writing a synopsis.

Open the synopsis with the main character, whoever that is. Give some clue as to the setting. Introduce the main external conflict and the main internal conflict. 

Follow both arcs, external and internal, from beginning to end. Include two or three major turning points, then the climax and resolution. Leave out any character or event that is not directly relevant to the synopsis story. That includes sub-plots. Use as few characters as possible and only name those who play a role in this version of the story.

In other words, simplify, simplify, simplify. No one reading it should have any trouble following the story or understanding what is at stake. Synopses are not just about what happens. They're about why things happen. The emotional core. Make sure you include that.

I may even be able to do that.  The idea of simplifying and just picking the main arc for the synopsis echos the guidelines for writing your pitch or query.  Find the core conflict, the catalyst that starts the story and use that arc.  I guess after writing 80K plus words it's hard to simplify but it's gotta be done.  Hope this helps anyone else that's working on a synopsis.  And if you are, good luck. 

Follow up

Just wanted to follow up yesterdays post with another awesome blog that was recommended to me.  Thanks, Deniz. 

The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment. 

The title says it all.

Writer at Work

So I'm hard at work on my query.  Well, mostly, it's been an interesting week.  Anyway.  I've been going through all my saved info on queries and wanted to share the posts in case anyone else can find them useful.

Nathan Bransford has some advice here and here. 
Barbara Rogan has some tips here.
A query letter broken down into it's parts here.
Agent Vickie Motter has a few here, here, here, here. 
Of course there's Query Shark.

Probably the best was this template that was suggested
What does the protagonist want?
What's keeping him from getting it?
What choice/decision does he face?
What terrible thing will happen if he chooses A, what terrible thing will happen if he doesn't?

And

The main character must decide whether to__________. If they do (this) the (consequences/peril they must face are).  If they decide not to do (this) the (consequences/peril they face are)

Or

Who is the protag?  (A fairy princess unicorn)
What is their problem? (is lost in the forest and alone, being royalty she's never been alone before.)
What do they do about the problem? (she searches for her lost guide, in the heart of the forest where the sun doesn't shine)
Who/what is the antag? (where she meets the wizard Horace who wants to use her horn in his immortality spell)
What are the stakes? (without her horn she'll lose her magic and princess unicorns will become normal unicorns, thus losing their royal status and their access to crowns.)

No, that's not really my story but it should be.  It would be crazy amazing, right?  Moving on. 

Hope this is useful to someone.  I'm getting back to work. 

Finally!

I just sent my baby off to beta readers.  I'm a little nervous and very excited.  I can't wait to find out how I can make it better because I have no perspective anymore.  I do feel a little hollow inside.  This draft took about three weeks longer than I had planned so I've been pushing myself and it's been all I've been thinking of.  Now I'm not going to look at it until I hear back from them. I'm so very grateful to readers and critiquers.  I couldn't have done this with out them.

Don't worry, I still have plenty to do.  I plan to polish my query, get it critiqued, polish, critique, polish.... you get the picture.  I'll also be working on synopses of it plus the two that follow just in case I can find someone who wants to buy the whole trilogy.  Hey, I can dream.  I'll continue to research agents and maybe, just maybe I can catch up on blogging.  I'll be coming to all you campaigners! 

I just started babysitting again and today is my first day with the 2 month old.  Since we got pretty girl when she was 16 months old it's been 3 years since I had an infant.  I forgot how much they spit up.  Off to clean.

What will you be doing in the near future?  Any fun plans. 

One Of Many

The other day in speaking with a friend I mentioned that I had been having computer problems, hadn’t been able to write and that it was driving me crazy.  Another friend who was present did the whole “you write?  What? What’s it about?”  routine.  She then proceeded to tell me all about the dozen people she knew who were writing novels. 

I’ve become fairly open with my friends because this is who I am.  It’s not a nasty disease or a character flaw to hide.  It’s a good thing!  But this conversation is one of the reasons I don’t like to tell people about my writing.  Hearing of all the people who are writing novels often makes me insecure.  I know I’ve put a lot of time into researching publishing and filling my writers toolbox but all of a sudden I feel as if I’ve lost my individuality.  As one of a crowd I have no voice, and we all know how important voice is.

This is something all writers must face.  How does one write and showcase their work in such a way that it stands above the masses?  How does one make it leap out of the slushpile and start a bidding war? 

I think the important thing is not allowing yourself to be swallowed up in the masses.  Remember who you are, remember that you and your story are individuals. 

So, go show them who you are!

Queries

As I was perusing a few blogs before my son awoke this morning I found two lists of what not to do on a query.  Apparently a lot of people are making these mistakes.  While I'm not yet working full time on my query revising and tightening my novel has given me some ideas for things to include so I thought it would be time to dust off all my saved query information.

The first blog I found this morning was from Rachelle Gardner. 
The second was over at BookEnds. 


Here are a few things I've saved about queries.  Unfortuantly when I saved them I didn't write down who wrote them in the first place.  I'm sorry I can't give links.  And to whoever did write them, please don't sue me.



Things to put into your query:

1. Theme (better that it be implicit than explicit, unless you know specifically that the agent feels otherwise)
2. The through line of your story (this is what we usually think of when we think 'query')
3. Make clear what the story is about.
4. Your credentials, if you have any relevant to the agent (prior publiciations, for example, or specialized knowledge/experience)
5. Request for representation (it's only polite)

The heart of the query is the through line + what the story is about. Key things to cover well:

* Who is this about?
* What is it about?
* Where does it take place?
* What is the problem?
* What is the obstacle to solving the problem?     




And

Query template

What does the protagonist want?

What's keeping him from getting it?

What choice/decision does he face?

What terrible thing will happen if he chooses A; what terrible thing will happen if he doesn't.

Here's another form of the same thing:

The main character must decide whether to ________. If s/he decides to do (this), the consequences/outcome/peril s/he faces are______. If s/he decides NOT to do this: the consequences/outcome/peril s/he faces are________.

Hope this is helpful, and if you have any good query links post them in the comments.

ETA I just found this sight with links to 35 blogs about writing the perfect query letter.