Another Successful Query Letter

UF authors Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein are hosting a guest blog today by UF author Kevin Hearne: Pimping Druids, the Fae, and Kevin Hearne. Of particular interest is his posted query letter that led to a sale! Check it out. And check out Kevin's new release Hounded.

Phew!

Phew! Well, we did it folks. We completed the A-Z blogging challenge. It wasn't easy but with help from our friends we survived. :) Thank you, writer friends who helped out!

And thank you, folks that commented or just stopped by. I, personally, look forward to keeping up with all my new friends and newly-discovered blogs. :)

As fellow Seton Hill University students know, we are nearly at the end of the semester. Deadlines are staring (pounding?) us in the face! And as we all know (W is for Write), the most important thing is to write. So, you'll have to forgive me as I go off and

write!

I'll be back later in the week.

Z is for Zowie!

One of my fellow MFA students told us this month she just got a book deal with Berkley!
Zowie! Congratulations, Nancy!
As a great wrap-up to the month, I asked her if she has any tips for the rest of us. It turns out she does:

Tip 1: Try new things

I was writing romance when I investigated the Seton Hill Writing Popular Fiction MFA Program. Doctor Wendland suggested that I study a different genre to learn new things. So I signed up to write a thriller/mystery for my thesis. This led to my thesis manuscript, Mind Games, a mystery/ thriller which caught the eye of an agent at Folio Lit and they signed me to shop the thesis around.

Wait~ I’m not graduated- how did I get my thesis looked at by an agent?

Tip 2: Keep writing and rewriting and listen for the ideas and critiques that ring true.

I write between two and twenty pages a day. I also spent a couple days every month rewriting and revising the pages my mentor and CP’s critiqued while continuing to write the book. I wrote between semesters. I wrote. I listened. I revised. I wrote.

By the time I got the last critiques on the thesis from my mentor, I was able to make corrections and send the work in full to Folio- who signed me and…sent me revisions. After working with them to create the book they thought would sell best, the thesis was set to go out to editors in January.

It usually takes time for a book to sell, I’ve had editors hold a work for up to 3 years. So …

Tip 3: Once you finish one book, write another. Oh, and write what you know. (I know this seems contrary to try new things.)

A friend of mine noticed that I bake- a lot- and that I eat gluten-free foods due to Celiac Disease. She said, “You know, you should write a Gluten-free bakery mystery.” At the same time my Aunt was looking at knee replacement surgery in January and complaining about being laid up for 6 weeks, and did I have anything she could read? Add to the mix the mystery modules I’d taken at school such as Vicki Thompson’s Building a Mystery World etc. and I thought-okay, I’ll write a cozy mystery about a woman trying to make a go of a gluten-free bakery in the middle of wheat country – small town Kansas. I had a deadline- my aunt’s surgery- so I started writing the day after Thanksgiving- finished the first draft the day after Christmas and revised twice in time to print it out and get it mailed to my aunt for her surgery and off I went to January Residency.

Tip 4: Don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t let fear hold you back. Seek out the person who can help you sell.

At Residency this January, our guest speaker gave an interesting talk about the book market where he said something like this, “The Cozy Mystery market is dead, buried, molding in its grave.” To which I thought, “Of course it is, I just wrote one.” FYI- the first romance novel I sold was a western historical romance when the historical market was dead, buried, molding in its grave.

After hearing this I almost didn’t show the Gluten-Free Cozy to anyone but my aunt. I certainly didn’t tell my mentor about it. I thought the thriller/mystery was enough. But a friend of mine thought I should just see if maybe there might be interest. So I e-mailed an editor at Berkley and asked what she thought of the idea. She said, send me a partial. Except I had an agent who was shopping my thriller- so long story short, Folio has multiple agents and said send them the full. Two days later Paige Wheeler called and said she’d love to shop the cozy and gave me some thoughtful revisions. I spent a couple weeks revising. March 7th I sent in the final revised version. March 20th the book went out to editors. April 5th I got the call that there was a three book deal on the table. After some negotiation, it was a done deal and “Gluten For Punishment” is the working title of the first in a cozy mystery series.

Tip 5: Keep writing

The first cozy won’t be released until late 2012 or early 2013. The thriller/mystery market is much slower to reply so I’m still waiting to hear on the thesis manuscript. Can you guess what the next words out of my agent’s mouth were?

“What else are you writing?”

“Well,” I said, “I’ve got this Steampunk Middle-grade book for boys…”

Nancy's Bio: Nancy J. Parra is always writing something and happy to discover people like to read what she writes. An award-winning author of sweet western historical romances, and contemporary romantic suspense, she recently sold her first mystery series to Berkley Prime Crime. Nancy is currently at work on her next novel and loves to hear from readers. She lives in the Midwest with her little dog, "Boo Boo." Nancy's blog.

Released June 2011:Counterfeit Bride Pre-order from Amazon

Y is for Young Adult

Earlier in the month, we discussed J is for Juvenile, but I think Young Adult (YA) is so huge it deserves it's own post, don't you? Of course, YA is fiction written for young adults, approximately 12-year-olds to 21-year-olds--although definitions do vary. Like juvenile fiction, YA is very difficult to do well. YA readers look for realistic empathetic young adult characters, dramatic plots, and interesting settings.

Historically, there have been a few popular YA series, such as C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series (more than 120 million sold). But YA has taken off like a super-sonic rocket in the last few years. Most notably, we have J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (more than 400 million sold), Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (more than 100 million sold), and more recently, Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy. What can we learn from this? All of these are multi-book series. All have memorable characters, conflict-laden plots, and intriguing settings. I think the biggest take-away is: young adults like to read if given the chance. Some say YA novels have saved the book industry. I say, Hurray!

Let's look a little more closely at the characteristics of YA:

• unique YA character and voice. Both characters and voice must be memorable and empathetic and seem like young adults. It is crucial that readers identify with/via them.
  
• authentic dialogue. The characters need to speak like young adults. This does include slang, jargon, and the latest cultural references and gadgets.
  
• simple language. YA readers don't want to trip over a lot of poetry or similes. Tell the story in a clear writing style. And speaking of story...
  
• original and dramatic ideas--including dramatic openings and closings.
  Look at the four examples above, they involve an alternate world, magic on earth, vampires on earth, and a dystopian future.
  
• often YA involves humor--but not always!
  
• Finally, YA protagonists need to solve their own problems without their parents' or other adult's help. Authors need to be careful not to 'talk down' to YA readers, or minimize or devalue them in any way.

Like I said, it's tricky!

As writers, I don't think it works to 'chase the ambulence'. But, of course, if the muse is sending you a YA book, by all means accomodate him/her/it. :)

Good luck!

X is for X-Rated

Another subgenre that's booming is X-Rated erotica. Today, we have a special treat as I interview erotica author Betsy Dornbush, aka Ainsley.

What's erotica?

Erotica is romance, basically, with more graphic sex scenes and using specific and slang terminology rather than, or addition to, euphemisms. Scenes range from basic to elaborate, from conventional to fetish.

How does it differ from romance?  Is homosexuality allowed, for example?

Homosexuality precludes romance? Sorry, I’m being facetious (and teasing you, since I know that’s not what you meant). There is a lot of homosexual erotica out there, and by and large they are romances.

I think erotica differs from regular romance in a couple of notable ways. Romance is pretty formulaic. There’s little formula to erotica, though using such a structure isn’t frowned upon. I think good erotica is very much story-based, and more open to exploration of that story in a lot of ways. Also, the sex in erotica isn’t always between the primary love interests.

I find writing within the genre very freeing. The market is wide open to all sorts of stories. I’ve always wanted to write a space opera, which would be a tough sell on the regular SF markets. But my publisher picked it up immediately and my editor loved it. They’re even asking for a series.

How does it differ from pornography?

Hmm, good question. First to define pornography, because everyone might have a little bit different opinion on exactly what it is. I think the US in particular is so prudish about sex that a lot of people lump erotica and pornography together. To me there’s just as much entertainment value in a finely worded sex scene as in a finely worded fight scene. Content means less to me than good story and good writing.

So I might not have the same bias against pornography as your regular reader. I’ve never really thought of pornography as bad, per se, just another form of storytelling. But to me a workable definition of pornography means it is story-less. Turn on the TV and there’s two (or more) unnamed characters going at it. That feels like sex for sex’s sake.

Erotica always has a story and a lot more words are often dedicated to that story rather than the sex scenes.

But, even just a sex scene without the standard framework of plot around it, which I’ve both read and seen, still seems to contain some inkling of story. So it begs the question: can sex alone stand as story? I think it can. Without being too graphic here, think about how we as human beings think of story structure and compare it to the sex act, from first kiss to intercourse, and you might see what I mean. There’s a very similar cadence and pattern. It’s occurred to me that our sexual nature is the foundation of universal dramatic structure, first acknowledged by Aristotle in Poetics.

How has the explosion in electronic publishing affected erotica and why?

Erotica was at the forefront of electronic publishing, and they still are. By and large, most erotica is electronic only. I think the erotica genre publishers might be slipping in that slightly because they don’t take prompt advantage of newer electronic formats like Kindle and Nook. But they are still lightyears ahead of mainstream publishing when it comes to eBooks. As an aside: my editor for my erotica is every bit as rigorous as I’ve heard other mainstream authors describe. I think erotica and eBooks have a crap reputation for editing, which may have been true in the past and still true to a degree. It was something I definitely looked for in a publisher. I’m actually going through the process with my forthcoming book right now and hardly a page goes by without something to fix or rework.

Tell us about your work.

I write erotica about half time. I anticipate writing the second book of my space opera series this summer. Right now I’m working primarily on the second book of my urban fantasy series, SENTINEL, featuring demidemons rebelling against the demon king Asmodai. Plus, I’m polishing a futuristic fantasy entitled THE SILVER SCAR.

I also write short fiction, though less than I like with so many books stacked up to write. When people ask, I tell them I’m a science fiction and fantasy writer. Even my newer erotica has more of a SF/space opera flavor than romance or erotica.

Where can we find your work?

Last year Whiskey Creek Torrid released two of my erotic romances featuring vampires under the penname Ainsley: QUENCHED by Ainsley & E. C. Stacy, QUENCHER by E. Cameron Stacy & Ainsley. My erotic SF romance, LOST PRINCE, SALT ROAD SAGA Book 1, will be released in July 2011, also from Torrid.

I’m also anticipating the release of my urban fantasy, SENTINEL: ARCHIVE OF FIRE, this year, from Whiskey Creek’s mainstream imprint. Also, I just had a story released in a crime anthology entitled DEADLY BY THE DOZEN. You can learn more about my work at http://betsydornbusch.com

Betsy's Bio:In 2010 Whiskey Creek Torrid published two of Betsy Dornbusch's erotic romances under the pseudonym Ainsley. The first installment of her erotic space opera series, The Salt Road Saga, will be released July of 2011, also from Torrid. SENTINEL: ARCHIVE OF FIRE, the first book of her urban fantasy series featuring demons rebelling against Asmodai, King of Hell, will also be released in 2011 from Whiskey Creek Press, under her own name. Her short fiction has appeared in print and online venues such as Thuglit, Sinister Tales, Big Pulp, Spinetingler, and the anthology DEADLY BY THE DOZEN. She's been an editor with the ezine Electric Spec for five years. She regularly speaks at local fan conventions and writers’ conferences. She’s the sole proprietor of Sex Scenes at Starbucks (http://betsydornsch.com) where you can believe most of what she writes. In her free time, she snowboards and sees punk rock concerts.

W is for Write

This year we've focused on writing several times here.

There was Writing Affirmations which included A writer is someone who writes..

And we discussed some myths of writing that get in the way, such as good writers compose nearly perfect drafts often at a single sitting.

And don't forget BICHOK, also known as butt in chair hands on keyboard.

Another good one was: Writing Facilitates Thinking with Writing is a tool for thinking: When writers actually write, they think of things that they did not have in mind before they began writing. The act of writing generates ideas.

Also, recall, the blank page which includes You must flex your writing muscles regularly to make them strong.

All of this points to one conclusion: If you're a writer or want to be a writer,

the most important thing is to write.

So, I'm going to go take my own advice right now, and write the very last chapter of my current WIP.
Wish me luck!

V is for Voice

One of the trickiest things to get a handle on as a writer is literary or writer's voice. It's also one of the most crucial because readers and editors love distinctive voices. Writer's voice is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice can be considered to be a combination of a writer's use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc. Of course, technically, every author has a voice.

All my favorite authors have very strong and distinctive voices, how about yours? Let's look at some specific examples to help us get a handle on this topic. From Blackout by Connie Willis:

       I knew I didn't like Eddritch, Colin thought.

       "He did, however, mention your repeated absences. And the failing mark you got on your last essay."

       "That's because Beson made me write it on this book, The Impending Threat of Time Travel, and it was total rubbish. It said time travel theory's rot, and historians do affect events, that they've been affecting them all along, but we haven't been able to see it yet because the space-tiem continuum's been able to cancel out the changes. But it won't be able to forever, so we need to stop sending historians to the past immediately and--"

       "I am fully acquinted with Dr. Ishiwaka's theories."

I can identify Willis' writing with only a few sentences because her voice is so distictive. It's very in media res, almost stream-of-consciousness, with lots of gerunds.

From One for the Money by Janet Evanovich:

       ...Joe Morelli came into the bakery where I worked every day after school, Tasty Pastry, on Hamilton. He bought a chocolate-chip cannoli, told me he'd joined the navy, and charmed the pants off me four minutes after closing, on the floor of Tasty Pastry, behind the case filled with chocolate eclairs.

       The next time I saw him, I was three years older. I was on my way to mall, driving my father's Buick when I spotted Morelli standing in front of Giovichinni's Meat Market. I gunned the big V-8 engine, jumped the curb, and clipped Morelli from behind, bouncing him off the front right fender. I stopped the car and got out to assess the damage. 'Anything broken?'

       He was sprawled on the pavement, looking up my skirt. 'My leg.'

       'Good,' I said. Then I turned on my heel, got into the Buick, and drove to the mall."

Evanovich is also easy to identify. In her case, she uses simple language, specific details, funny names e.g. Tasty Pastry, and lots of humor. Note, too, even with such short excerpts we can differentiate these voices from one another.

For another example, a while back I discussed Kelly Link's distinctive voice: Spec Fic Tools II: Voice.

So, the question is: how do we cultivate our literary voice? I think free-writing is effective. Try writing without your internal editor and see what comes out. :) Good luck!