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Art of the Pitch: Sell Yourself
Since I’ve started down the road of pitching my book I’ve learned a few things. And within the past few months I’ve had a realization. There are two halves to pitching a book to an agent or editor.
What’s the first-half?
Well that’s selling them on your book. Which I’m sure we all knew. This is your opportunity to get them excited about your idea. Here you want to know your work inside and out. Develop different ways to describe it to others. Tailor it to different types of people. Not everyone is drawn to the same thing. But if you’re able to hook them with one bit, they’ll be more likely to follow you on the rest.
What’s the second-half?
Selling them on you. It is a part of the equation we often forget about. You may think I’m off base, but consider your favorite author. Not only do you know their body of work, but you probably follow them on social media. You’re obsessed with what they’re up to and want to know more about them. John Green of “The Fault In Our Stars” has a huge following on YouTube and a great personality.
And this great personality helps his agent, manager, and publisher sell books.
This is similar to George R. R. Martin. Certainly his work speaks for itself in depth, creativity, and character. It can stand on its own. But people still flock to his Live Journal page to check in for updates. He interacts with his fans and builds a dialogue with them.
Take a moment some time and read through Patrick Rothfuss’ blog and twitter.
So then how do you sell yourself during a pitch?
By being you. No one else can be you, but YOU! And who you are has been needled into the very fabric of your book. When an agent or editor can get a sense of you they’ll also be able to get a sense of how you write. So when you’re ready to type up that query letter you need to follow Rule 1 — follow the query guidelines. But find ways to interject a bit of who you are within those guidelines. Let them get a sense of YOU!
Recently a close writing friend of mind stepped out of the usual query formula — the very professional and serious tone. She found ways to stay within the guidelines but also inserted a large portion of her personality into the query. And the response was incredible, and opened a door. By being herself, by being human and personable, she found success.
My last bit of advice, and where I’ve had the most success, is to go to conventions and workshops. Meet agents and editors face-to-face. This is your chance to really let them see who you are. Sell them on your book idea, and sell them on you.
Be bold, be awesome, be you.
Star Wars and the Shared Universe
The other day I was chatting with my agent recently, going over our strategy of which publishers to contact for my new book, and she mentioned Disney Hyperion. This of course led us down the trail of how Disney has been buying up a lot of IPs recently and our fears of what may happen to Star Wars. Of course, as I pointed out to her, I’m not sure they can do anymore damage than what Lucas has already done.
Now, let’s step back for a moment and consider how weird that thought really is. Lucas, in the eyes of the fans, damaged the Star Wars brand. How can that be? It’s his creation and we’re all along for the ride. Who are we to dictate to him what is and is not good for Star Wars? Certainly we have the right to not like it and we can disagree with his creative choice, but in the end it’s all his vision.
But is it really?
In the writing community there is a concept of the Shared Universe. It is where several authors get together and co-develop a universe and then go off to write individual stories within it. They’ll confer with one another to make sure things stay consistent — character names, dates, and the like. It is my belief that Star Wars, after RotJ ballooned into such a massive force (ha!) that it became a shared universe without Lucas’s realizing.
There is so much in the Expanded Universe. So much in fact a close friend of mine has several bookshelves dedicated to just Star Wars novels. And within those novels is The Thrawn Trilogy. Which many consider to be episodes 7, 8, and 9. Think on that for a moment. A book series written by another author is elevated to the point of being on par with the original films. That’s saying a lot. In my opinion, that series was the tipping point, moving Star Wars from being George Lucas’s world, to being a shared universe among the fans themselves. It grew bigger than him, and unfortunately people forgot to tell him.
Of course that movement started well before the books with The Empire Strikes Back. Don’t believe me? Hit up IMDB and take a gander at the writer/director for A New Hope. Yeah, as we would expect it’s George Lucas. Now jump over to The Empire Strikes Back and you get a very different picture. There, in the late seventies it had already begun — the transference from a single man’s vision to a shared universe. A new director, new writers, and a sense of co-development between them all.
Which ultimately brings me to the bigger question, what’s a creator to do when their creation becomes bigger than themselves? It’s your work, something you’ve spent years and potentially decades developing, and now a mass of people are telling you what it all means and how it should go. The collective fan base will stamp their feet and yell foul if you take a direction they don’t feel is right. But who are they to dictate that to you, the creator?
It’s a sticky question. Because what is art — in this case Star Wars — without an audience? Without them, it doesn’t mean a thing. So we could argue that the audience does have some amount of ownership. And with that comes a sense that they should have a say in it’s direction. After all, it’s their experience and they want the most out of it.
I wish I had an answer to all of this. With luck, my own series will reach a tenth of Star War’s success. What artist wouldn’t want their work enjoyed on that kind of level?
As for Lucas, well all I know is that he came back to the Star Wars franchise in the 90s and made some terrible fanfiction. So come on Disney, we’re all in this shared universe together, let’s bring back the magic … er … Force.
Going On A Which Hunt
I am normally the king of homonyms, but this one was on purpose. Just the other day I was going through my novel to clean up some of the grammar problems when I noticed a recurring issue — the dreaded Which. Many of my several sentence fragments — another problem of mine — started with the word which. Obviously there isn’t a big problem using it, but after a while it becomes very noticeable. Then I have to ask myself, “Is there a better way to write this?”
The answer will always be yes.
The reason I think so is because all a sentence like that is doing is telling the reader something. How weak. Generally this happened in cases where I would describe an action and follow it up with something like, “Which made Wil angry.”
Terrible.
This lead me to realize I need to go on a Which Hunt. They all need to die in ways most gruesome. There is even a good chance that I could cut those sentences altogether and not miss a beat. It would be just like a witch, to sneak into a story and mess it all up. What a jerk.
I’m sure there are other words like that that I’ll find. Two of my other big offenders are so and just. They pop up all the time, but luckily I have gotten to the point that I can catch them while I’m writing.
What are your Whichs?
LibertyCon 2013 Postmortem
Time travels swiftly. I’m sure you’ve all been there. That point when you look up and realize it has already been a year. What had felt like a forever-away has pounced on you in moments. And so it was that I found myself walking around the Chattanooga Choo-Choo to attend LibertyCon.
For those that frequent the larger convention beat, LibertyCon is an interesting beast. You see, my only convention for many years had been GenCon Indy. Which is a massive weekend of gaming. To get into events you have to register for tickets. Very rarely can you just show up to something and get in. GenCon engulfs downtown Indianapolis. Restaurants in the area create custom gaming themed menus it’s so big.
LibertyCon, on the other hand, takes place in one small hotel area. Each panel is only going to be in one of three places (for the most part) and the attendance to each will be a smattering of people. The main focus of the weekend is Science Fiction and Fantasy writing.
And I love it.
It’s because of the intimacy of the entire thing. At each panel you begin to see familiar faces. Staying after to talk with the authors, agents, and artists one-on-one is encouraged. We are all there to talk about the art and craft of writing. For beginning writers it’s a great resources to learn from those that have gone before.
This was my second year in attendance. I’ll be honest, this year didn’t feel as strong. Aside from one panel, the moderators did little to keep the panelist on topic and wouldn’t open it up for questions near the end. If you wanted to ask a question you needed to strong arm your way into the middle of someone’s rambling. Which is not something I like to do if I can help it. In addition, I didn’t feel like many people gave substantive information. Many times I felt like the panelists devolved into moaning about the state of traditional publishing.
Despite all that, I still had a good time. My goal this year was to meet new people. One of LibertyCon’s greatest strengths is how small it is. This allows you to really get to know everyone around you. If you didn’t get a chance to ask your questions during the panel, there is always time afterward. This year my writing group and I struck up a friendship with author Stuart Jaffe.
Stuart had a lot of information to give and was very personable. What I found most impressive was his ability to moderate and keep panels on track, while also opening up the floor for questions. Here is a quick blurb about him from his Amazon Author page.
Stuart Jaffe is the author of The Max Porter Paranormal-Mysteries, The Malja Chronicles, a post-apocalyptic fantasy series, The Bluesman pulp series, and After The Crash as well as the short story collection, 10 Bits of My Brain. Numerous other short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies.
He is the co-host of The Eclectic Review — a podcast about science, art, and well, everything.
I’m currently reading his book, “A Glimpse of Her Soul.” A YA Dark Fantasy about a girl who discovers that there is a message written on her soul. And there are plenty of monsters lurking in the dark who want to part her with that message. He definitely doesn’t waste anytime getting right into the meat of it all. When I finish the book I’ll give a deeper review here.
Leaving his reading on Saturday I stuck around and spoke with him a bit when the rest of my crew wanted to head out to eat. We invited him to come along and with it being his birthday and having nothing better to do, he accepted. What started as a simple invitation turned into a night of (nerdy) adventure. Unable to find a place to eat around the convention, we all packed up and headed over to the condo we were staying at. This ended up being a better deal. The restaurant was quieter, which gave us all time to talk shop and joke. Afterward we headed back to the condo to play Cards Against Humanity until 1:00 AM.
Getting up the next day was brutal, but totally worth it.
Overall I made some new friends and a couple of connections. Stuart convinced me to check out JordanCon next year (which I had always assumed was Wheel of Time only) and he highly endorses Con Carolina. As it is now I’m going to get some rest, do some more writing, and get ready for next years convention. Last year I had a half complete MS. This year I had a completed one. Now it’s time to have it either represented or in a publisher’s hands by next year.
LibertyCon 2013
It’s that time of year again, convention season. Like last year I’m heading off to LibertyCon. For those that haven’t been or don’t know, it’s a fantastically well put together convention for Science Fiction and Fantasy enthusiasts. There are a load of great authors that attend every year and the panels informative.
Last year I was very lucky to have coffee with Brandon Sanderson and ask him some writing questions. As well as get some of my books signed by Timothy Zahn. Who is a major influence in why I wanted to write.
This year is a big year for me as my book is done and I’ll be looking for an agent and/or publisher soon. Which means getting names and trying to get to know people. There is a YA panel on Sunday that I hope will be good for networking.
I plan on doing a postmortem on the trip. So be sure to check back and see how it all went!
We Are Not Alone
Another blogger, Lia Carel, ran into similar issues with starting a second draft that I did. Lots of “advice” that isn’t really explained by other authors. I’d like to submit her take on starting a second draft.
The Second Draft — The Wall
Time to get into the meat of writing a second draft. When I first sat down to start my second draft I was hit with dread. I didn’t know where to start. I looked at my manuscript and froze. There were nights I’d literally open my laptop, look at the document, and then close the lid. I basically hit The Wall. Eighty-four-thousand words stared back at me and said, “Come at me bro.”
What frustrated me most was that I knew what big areas needed changing. I had scenes that needed to be added and scenes that needed to be deleted. It should have been easy. So I would start to dive into a random chapter and go to town. But as I snipped and added, I would realize that the changes I made affected so much later in the book. If I changed “C” then I’d have to consider the ramifications on “R” and “W.” The more I edited, the more these started to pile on one another and I felt lost.
The Wall fell on me.
After scrambling out from it I had to sit back and rethink my strategy. Where was I going wrong? Within a few days it hit me. I needed a second outline.
I know it sounds strange, but this really did wonders for me. In basic terms, I skimmed through my book and made an outline of what each chapter was about. Making bullet points of the major beats in each scene. However, when I ran across a beat that needed to go, I did a strikethrough. If a beat needed to be added, I wrote it down and made it bold. In no time I had a quick overview of how the book needed to be fixed. As I got further into the outline I’d easily remember, “Oh yeah. We cut that scene so we need to cut this one too. Or at least the mention of that.”
I was on a roll.
The next step is so simple, everyone will say, “Well duh.” And to you I say, “Back off! I was too busy being crushed by a wall.”
Start at the beginning.
Yes, simple. And probably what most of you would have done. But for some reason I had it in my mind I could jump around all willy-nilly and just fix the bits I wanted. Too bad I was wrong. With my new outline in hand I read along. Tweaked sentences and paragraphs. Added scenes and deleted scenes. Bolstered my world building and caught areas where I could do some nice foreshadowing. And in no time my second draft was completed.
At this point I want to stress an opinion of mine about the writing process. Now, these ideas are born out of my art background. They may seem strange to some of you, but stick with me.
During these subsequent drafts, consider the fact that you’re trying to write from big picture down to details. What do I mean by that? As an artist, when I start a new drawing I start with a sketch. I’m getting the general idea of what I want down on paper. I want to get the underlying structure in place first. Once I feel I have a good gesture, I move a “layer down.” Meaning I start to bolster the shapes, doing my outline and adding flat colors. With each step it is necessary to never jump to the details before your basic shapes are in place.
I view writing the same way. When I first started reading about editing I saw a lot of the same “tips.” Cut out was, very, and like. Check for passive voice. So on and so forth. And yes, I agree these are all things that need to be addressed. But these are details. Become too focused on them and you will loose sight of the big picture. Consider this. You could have a flawless manuscript in terms of grammar. But if the structure and characterization are off, what does that gain you?
Draft big to small. By the fifth or sixth draft you can focus on the very-s, likes, and was’s. Knowing that your character arcs and scenes are rock solid.
Thanks for reading about my ideas on writing the second draft. If you haven’t read the first two parts here and here, check them out. Also, feel free to let me know what you think. Disagree with me or agree. I always have fun talking about writing.
The Second Draft — Another Pair of Eyes
As we talked about last time, there are three things to do when starting your second draft. Take a break and then read it, get someone else to read it, and start the second draft. For this post I want to look at getting others to read it. This section can be broken down into two parts. Alpha readers and beta readers.
Alpha Readers
These are people reading the work as it is being produced. Generally you will hand them one to two chapters at a time to critique. This has its ups and downs. Which I will speak about my own experience with this method. I attend a bi-weekly writing group (though recently I took some time off to focus on finishing my second draft), where we critique each others work. So one week we’re off, where work is submitted to be critiqued the following week.
In terms of a novel this means submitting between one to four chapters every other week. So over the course of a eighty-thousand word novel his may take roughly sixteen weeks before they’re read the entire thing. Which leads to fractured input from the readers. Its nice to have the deadlines, but the helpful critiques start to dwindle as time goes by. Ultimately this method is good for people that want a good idea if their story is fleshing out well.
I thank my critique group for going through my first novel, but I wouldn’t do something like that again.
Beta Readers
My favorite group of readers. Beta readers get the entire novel in one go. It may still be rather rough with grammar errors, plot holes, and continuity errors. But their job is to give you the overall feeling of the book. Are there scenes missing? What needs punching up or explained better? Do scenes or characters need to be cut?
They are going to help you see things you may have missed. Which will be a lot. My advice here is to pick people whose opinion you trust, that will tell you the truth, and that are from varied backgrounds. Adults, children, teenagers, lawyers, and candlestick makers. Obviously the material may change who you pick, but the wider the audience the better feel you’re going to get for your book.
Next post I want to talk about the act of writing the Second Draft. These will be tips on where and how to start it. I suffered for a month trying to figure out a great way to tackle eighty-four thousand words. And if I had problems, I know others have as well. Until then, get writing!
The Second Draft – Taking A Break
So you’ve finished the first draft of your first book. Awesome! That’s more than a lot of people have been able to do. There are millions of unfinished manuscripts rotting in dresser drawers and resting on hard drives. Now that your done it’s time for that next step. Which in my opinion you have three options. Take a break then read it yourself, get someone to read it, or start your second draft. Eventually you’ll do all three, but the order may change.
We’ll unpack these one at a time.
Take A Break Then Read It
At this point you want to separate yourself from your own work. Take some time off to either outline another book (I recommend a different book or series), or go out and do something. Take part in a hobby and enjoy life. Don’t take too long though. Maybe a month or so.
Why?
This is a method we use as artists to clear our mental palette. In my day job as an animator I often have to step away from my work. I go around to other desks and see what others are up to. And when I come back I’ll see everything with a fresh pair of eyes. Flaws that I didn’t catch before jump out and slap me. Plus the stuff that is good really stands out. Often times you’ll wonder if you really wrote it.
During this time you should be taking notes on what you’d like to change. This is when you mark scenes for deletion or decide what needs punched up. With your break I know you’ll easily see the flaws.
Big point here. Don’t get discouraged. Your first draft was just getting words on the page so you have something to work with. Think of it like modeling with clay — if you’ve never modeled with clay, stop reading and go do it then come back so this analogy makes sense to you (also it’s fun) — when you start your just worried with getting your major shapes down. The ovals, cubes, and cylinders. That’s your first draft. Taking a break and reading it is like stepping back from the clay and evaluating it. Are the proportions correct? Can you shave away any parts to shore it up?
After that you either get someone to read it our start the second draft. Which I recommend doing one before the other. So keep a look out for those posts coming in the next few days.
Concept Drawing
Here is another concept drawing of a character from my book: Winfield, who owns and runs Winfield’s Eclectic Books!
Scott Winfield
The Second Draft – A Harrowing Journey
What a crazy ride it has been. Starting my first book my goals were simple. Outline a book and shoot for 50 thousand words. For a first timer it felt more than reasonable. By the end of the first draft I had something like 82k words. I was stoked. At that word count I had plenty of editing room. After a bit of a break to distance myself from the work I jumped into the second draft.
I stumbled quickly. See, there is plenty of material on the internet about how to write a first draft, but so very little on doing your second. Makes you wonder how many unedited manuscripts are floating around out there. Probably more than we could count in a weekend.
With that in mind I plan on trying to remedy that. Over the next several posts I’m going to be breaking open my experiences on starting that second draft. And maybe I’m in the minority. Maybe everyone is really swish with second drafts and just struggle with that initial output. But, just in case I’ll talk about it anyway.
On a slightly different note, in celebration of finishing my second I’d like to show everyone a little bit of concept art I drew up. Being inspired by my coworker Jenn Lyons I decided to draw a character from my book. May I present Brenda Courdry, AKA Brenda the Beast, AKA Brenda the Seventh Grade Giant. A head taller than most eighth graders, she’s the First Home position on her Lacrosse team, and a powerhouse on the field. She has a penchant for giving people nicknames. Why learn their real name when they aren’t worth her time to begin with?
Brenda Courdry
Hope you enjoy it! I look forward to presenting more characters at a later date. Come back for more!
Jeffrey N. Baker 