The Writer's Journey

Hello Lovlies,

I've never really talked much about my querying process, but I was interviewed the other day on here by fellow writer, Beth Fred, which got me thinking. I've been striving toward my goal of getting an agent and published for quite some time on and off. At least since spring of 2009. Wow. Spring of 2009. Granted in between that time I've graduated high school, visited colleges, gone to college,  and have managed to get about 4-5 internships under my belt. Now, I'm a second semester junior--probably a senior credit hour-wise by now.

But it is interesting to see where I've ended up since then. Was I really ready to get published at the age of seventeen? Probably not. Was I really ready for all the rejection I faced? At first no. Now, when one comes shooting into my inbox I think, "Pass me a Milano cookie and let's shoot off two more queries." Let's face it, this is a business of thick skin. Build it up and wear it proud. I've made plenty of mistakes--like thinking my work of YA genre fiction was literary HAH. My professors would laugh me out of the room if I EVER mentioned that. Even querying agents with a ridiculously LONG query. Luckily mine is about 3 paragraphs now. Short, sweet, and to the point. In fact, I think I'm a pretty darn good query writer. (Or so I think lol)

My point is we're all going to make mistakes along the way. We're all going to find our moment to shine. The writer's journey is all about finding your place in the literary world. I just have to say--the publishing industry as a whole has been awesome. Am I happy I discovered it? Yes--I don't have the words. To everyone on Twitter, YALitChat, and just about every writer's blog out there. We're here. We're listening to your words. And I for one hope for only the best for all of you.

For those who are always striving. Always pushing forward even after rejection. Don't worry. You'll make it as long as you never give up.

So I raise a glass of apple cider (not yet 21) to my fellow writers who through everything--the hardships and the struggles--are STILL here and still trying. Now, THAT's something to be proud of.

Let's make 2012 our YEAR!

Lotsa love guys,

Liz <3

Cat's Don't Dance's OUR TIME HAS COME says it better than I ever could.

 

Putting Together a Book Trailer

Hello Lovelies!

It has been quite some time since I've posted. Ironically, I've been blogging the last 10 weeks for a marketing research company. Technically, their new website is about to come up, but they have 9 of my posts ready and in the queue for when the blog finally launches. I'll be posting when the time comes!

Today though, I figured I'd talk about putting together a book trailer. As some of you know I've been helping out Stacey Darlington, author of Athena's Curse, with publicity efforts, and of course, her official book trailer. The beauty of a book trailer is the fact that there is either limited or no animation. Instead, it relies on the mood created by the music and images chosen for the piece.

Step 1. Decide the mood you wish to convey. Eerie? Adventurous? Romantic? Terrifying?

Step 2. Decide aesthetically how to convey this mood. For example, would cartoons work? Black and white illustrations with sparse colors, like what I used for Stacey? Or would photoshopped images and photos create a better impression and aide you with the mood you wish to convey? It's really a matter of preference. Also consider what is easier and readily available to you.

Step 3. Do you have a program that you can build this trailer on? Or know someone who does? Figure out what it is capable of before you jump in. Mac has iMovie, not too sure what Windows has.

Step 4. Create a storyboard. This can be as elaborate as a giant poster or as simple as a few thumbnail (miniature) sketches that contain the general idea you want on each slide/scene.

Step 5. This step goes hand-in-hand with Step 4. Consider the copy (words) to go along with each frame. Remember keep this short and minimal. You know those tag lines and elevator pitches we use whenever we go to a conference? Keep it to that length.

Step 6. Once that has been decided, get started on those pictures/drawings/illustrations or what have you.

Step 7. Choosing the music. This step can really be done at any point in the process. Some prefer to know what kind of music they are using beforehand so that they know what works as they created the images. Others, like myself, wait towards the end once we have the idea on paper. Remember to choose royalty free music or music you or a friend composes themselves. Here are a couple sites my tech-savvy cousin recommended I try:

http://incompetech.com/

http://freepd.com/

Step 8. The last step is putting it all together using a simple program. My advice: If you don't have a lot of knowledge keep things as simple and clean as possible. Simplicity can oftentimes have a greater impact than those trying to clutter a screen with extraneous details. Trust me. Keep it simple.

Below is the trailer for Athena's Curse. Hope you guys like it!

The Fine Line Between YA and MG

I've been so sporadic with my blog posts over the last few months and for that I am sooooo sorry! Blogging can be difficult between school, writing, extra curricular stuff, and work. BUT I am trying to change that.

Anyway on to my post.

I've been wrestling with the idea of pitching my YA novel as Upper Middle Grade. While researching the topic I stumbled upon an interesting thread at YALITCHAT. In short, most people agreed that age was a factor, but not a deciding factor. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was considered MG (middle grade) even though it contained dark themes and Harry was fifteen. The romance that soon started to develop within the series was relatively tame as was most of the violence. Even though book 7 turned out to be YA and a bit violent it was in no way as violent as many other YA novels so it was still okay to advertise the Harry Potter books to middle grade readers.

Basically, a book can be considered MG as long as these older themes are tamed. Consider, Tamora Pierce's the Lioness quartet series. It was considered MG yet spanned the life of a girl trying to become a knight from age 11 to 18. Throughout this time she learned about love, sex, and how to fight and protect her people. Even though Pierce's novels could be somewhat violent it was always understated and any sex scene faded out. They were all tame, making the topics perfectly acceptable for MG.

YALitChat's Middle Grade lair also posted an interesting article from Upstart Crow Literary explaining the fine line between YA and MG. I found it helpful and think it may prove useful to others in the same boat.

Happy Writing!

Chapter and Picture Books?

I swear, I was going through old books I used to read as a kid like those Animal Ark books and I ran across a picture book that had me as a main character lol. It was bound and everything but I'm pretty sure it was done by some friends of my parents years ago. I must have been one or two years old back then. Lol, somehow I saved the world from aliens?

I sat there, pulling book after book out of this box. All these Animal Ark stories and I remembered just about all of them. Is it a bad thing I'm planning on taking at least three back to college with me for "research purposes". :)

Seeing all these books that I absolutely LOVED to read made me realize how much I would like to try to write for the younger readers in terms of chapter books and maybe a picture book or two. I already have a character in mind from a MG, I was just wondering if anyone knew of any good sources for learning about chapter books. If you do, feel free to leave a comment or link :)

Guide to Literary Agents

I would just LOVE to recommend this site to anyone who has yet to take a look! Guide t0 Literary Agents Blog

It is full of helpful tips. Interesting feedback on real queries and why they worked. Word Counts for just about every genre. Q&A's with agents. Also Agent Alerts that let you know when a new agent has joined an agency (please note new agents are building up their client list...good for first time writers :) )

And loads of other stuff. It's hosted by Chuck Sambuchino the editor of Guide to Literary Agents.

Chuck also set up on the left hands side certain categories you can click if you're only interested in a certain thing like for example Successful Queries, or Children's, Christian etc.

Hope those of you who haven't seen this site check it out---it's one of my absolute favs and the one I actually follow habitually! ;)

Writer's Block--How to Fight it??

Hello lovelies!

Ah I've missed you all and I'm hoping the feeling is mutual :] So I have had some tough writer's block issues the last 2 and a half months! Yikes! I've decided that at some point you just have to grit your teeth and wade through it. I honestly don't feel like writing, but I'm truly missing it. I want us to open up the discussion on writer's block and what you all do when it strikes. Personally, it's partially because I need help and I'm sure many other writers out there must be going through the same thing.

So tell me, how the hell do you get rid of writer's block?

Teen Slang in Books

Hey guys,

First of all, sorry I haven't been on lately. I just have been busy, I guess. The New Year didn't exactly turn out as planned but I do hope you all had a better time! Wish you all happiness in 2010! :D

Anyway, so for those tempted to give writing for the YA genre a try stop and please please don't forget about voice. A character's voice should sound authentic. Constantly trying to use slang is just...well annoying.
EX: "Oh my god! Dude, no freaking way! It's like totally rocking, for sure!"

That's just way too much slang for a teen to believe. (Although, I'll admit. I have used, "Dude, no freaking way!" but only for really shocking things... :]
Remember that slang can easily go out of style as quickly as it came. Anyone remember buying your kids those $50 Razor scooters? They are about $10 bucks now and a fad that came and went quickly. That is how slang is so try to refrain from littering your manuscript with slang even teenagers can't decipher.

Also using slang from your childhood=rejection. Teens will put the book down. I know I would.

Too much slang in general sounds cheesy and annoying so use it sparingly. You're usually pretty safe with "dude", but make sure to take into account who your character is. Sorry a preppy girl would never say dude. Rocker chic...hell yes. Get it? Keep the slang to a minimum if you want a shot in the genre.

Happy Writing

The Why

So I'm a reading another manuscript for this agent and so far I like it. I'm about 24k in and really I have no complaints, except one thing. The writer does a great job at setting up the premise, keeping the reader interested, and getting straight into the action. The problem is the writer throws their characters into the scene as if it is their job to beat the bad guys. Thing is...I want to know why they should even care? Why are they in this position? Sometimes writers are so concerned with writing a compelling and intriguing plot and starting right where the action is that they may forget a loose end or two, like the why.

Characters need a reason for doing what they do. It's that simple.

Classics Turned Into Comics?

I was reading a Publishers Weekly article about Classic books like Pride and Prejudice, Macbeth, and Beowulf being turned into comics in order to "promote literacy". I wonder, is this helpful to those reluctant readers? In all honesty I have yet to read any of these novels. Although, next semester I will be reading Beowulf in English Lit class, but I'll admit I'm curious and the thought of reading a classic in comic form sounds appealing. I'll also admit that I've never considered classics as leisure reading...probably a bad thing since I'm a writer. Any one have an opinion on the subject?

Writer's Block-Talk to Your Characters

So I was talking with an author friend, Nazarea Andrews, and she gave me a great idea for getting to know my characters. I'm in a bit of a writer's block rut at the moment.

So I sat down with one of my characters and took her to lunch. She was soooo mad at me. She knew what I had planned for her and she wasn't happy about it. She tried to dodge every question and plea for help with the story until finally I got pissed at her and told her what I had planned was for the better. After she struggled I promised she would mature, unfortunately she took it as an insult. And her love interest well...let's just say he now thinks he's a killer. Great right? Well at least now I've got some ideas.

May be something fun to try :]

ViNoWriMo- Vinyl Rhino

For those of you who didn't get to participate in NaNoWriMo fear not, you have another shot at crafting a novel in a month. Vicious Writers is hosting Vicious Novel Writing Month (ViNoWriMo) on their writers' site Key Publications Network.

Though this challenge is a bit more difficult than NaNoWrimo. For one thing you will have no idea what you will be writing about until New Year's Eve when the topic is announced. You have from January 1st to the 31st to complete your 50,000 word manuscript which must use the topic as a main theme. At the end of the month you submit your manuscript to be judged.

The first place winner receives $500 dollars and the opportunity to publish with Key Publications Network. They will be opening their doors in January with the release of Faith's Friendship by Nazarea Andrews. She was the winner of 2009's ViNoWriMo. If you are interested in checking out her blog I have a link to her blog under my links page.

**Now if you'd like to learn more about ViNoWriMo please click on the title of this blog post to visit Viciouswriters.com

Also, you must become a member of Key Publications Network to participate. A link to that is located beneath my links column as well. www.key-publications-network.socialgo.com

Best of luck to you all!

Harry Potter Seven Release Dates

Harry Potter 7 Part 1 comes out November 2010 and Part 2 July 2011

I'm sorry, but the link to the trailer was deleted literally 2 min before I originally published this post.

December-The Writing Back Burner

An interesting post by Nazarea Andrews--her debut novel, Faith's Friendship, is due out in January--sparked my interest. Click on the title of the of this post if you'd like to see her post.

Anyway, she's so busy that writing has kind of been put on the back burner. Though, it's understandable, putting a book out, getting the author website going, editing, etc all that takes time, and not only that, but we are in the midst of the holiday season. The holidays are busy, for parents it's going to be taking off to watch the kids once winter break arrives, for students like me it's the dreaded finals, for teachers it's finally time to get their christmas shopping done. Dinner parties become the norm, as do shattering decorations for those with youngsters or just the clumsy folk. Now where in that time frame do we find time to write?

I'm a bit saddened by it, but I'll admit I haven't written anything in more than a week and refuse to because I need precious time to study for finals, and read a couple manuscripts. Well, at least I haven't put this blog on the back burner. Though, it's not just us! Check out Agent Mary Kole's blog www.kidlit.com (sadly, I can't remember the exact post). According to her, even agents and editors are taking a break from submitting projects. Most use this time of the year to catch up on their large manuscript pile, queries, etc and hold off on submitting projects until after the new year.

Hmm, I wonder what it is about December?

Anyway, Happy Writing!

Meyer Accused of Plagiarism

Wow, I was reading an article on Publishers Weekly, which stated that Stephenie Meyer had been sued by the author of The Nocturne, Jordan Scott, for similarities between her novel and Breaking Dawn. In the end the judge ruled in favor of Meyer.

Click on the title of this blog post to read the full article.

I'm sure similarities can be found in many novels. In case none of you have ever read this, but most plots have all been done. What makes them original is the twist and spin you give them. Anyone notice the Twilight Saga's similarity to Romeo and Juliet? Star crossed lovers type theme? All book and movies have similarities to one another. If you really nitpick I'm sure you can find plenty. Any one have any thoughts on the matter?

Advice to Writers

As writers sometimes we lock ourselves up in a dark room, chain our legs to the chair, or superglue our butts, (whichever option is readily available) and write. During this time you begin to forget to shower, forget to clean, take out the dog, or don't realize 5 hours have passed until your wondering why your stomach won't stop its incessant growling.

Fellow writers it's okay to reside within our own worlds when the muse is calling us, but don't forget to take a look at the real world. When you finish that manuscript you have a whole other world to deal with, and that is the world of publishing.

We can't just be those secluded writers that hardly interact with our fellow writers. No, we must learn as much as we can, see what similar books are being released in our manuscript's genre, join a critique group, attend a conference, and dump the shyness that some tend to hide behind.

This is a new world you will be entering, now make the most of it. I bet you your manuscript needs work. For most of us this is true; we won't have a sellable manuscript right out of the gate. We need one another to tell us what's working and what's not, but remember it is your work and your opinion that matters the most.

If you are interested in networking with other writers, check out the Writers Digest Community and Key Publications Network. I have the links up on the right side of this blog.

Good luck :]

Grammar

So I've been reading a manuscript and the writer constantly repeats the word "and".

Here's what I mean: Sally was tired and hungry and angry.

The writer does this all throughout the manuscript, almost every time they are listing words. As a reader and writer it starts to irk me and I believe writers should try to stick commas in between unless he/she is trying to emphasize the words, by repeating "and". Though emphasis is lost if one constantly and repeatedly uses "and" multiple times in a sentence. Just my two cents.

Remember grammar is important. The writer who says they don't need to know how to spell or use grammar correctly and believes that their agent or editor will handle it, is the one who ends up with an unpublishable manuscript, which no one will want to spend time cleaning up.

So remember edit, edit, edit, and then edit again. Then it'll probably be ready for an agent.

When to Drop a Hint or Introduce a Character

I've been doing some beta reading and editing for a fellow writer and I've noticed that knowing where to drop a hint or introduce a character is crucial. Truly, the world the writer has created is definitely interesting and they write very well, but they just need to see where to drop the hint, which really isn't a big deal. No major revisions required, just tweaking here and there.

Here's a tip or two.

One: Make sure the stakes are high. Don't hold off until the end of the novel to have us gripping the edge of our seat. Give the reader something to chew on early on and please make sure it makes sense. Ex: Someone shouldn't want someone dead just because they kicked over a lawn gnome. Make sure its plausible. Your reason may be plausible but the way you present it may not make it sound like it is. Keep that in mind.

Two: If you have a character who is important to the story, try to introduce them closer to the chapter where he/she becomes important. Don't introduce them in chapter two and expect us to remember much about them in chapter nine. If they don't tie in yet to the main character then try introducing them later.

Hope this is helpful. Happy Writing!

The Nook

According to Publishers Weekly the Nook is out-of-stock. Barnes & Nobles is taking pre-orders but they won't ship out until January 4th. For those of you who wanted to give the e-reader as a Christmas gift they are sending out Nook gift certificates to those who pre-order before Christmas so at least you can stick that in the box or card.

(click the title of this post if you want to read the article)

Puppies? Breaking the Writer-Cat Tradition

Okay seriously who wouldn't want such an adorable puppy!? (It's a maltese!) For those of you that don't know I live in a dorm and probably won't be moving off campus for another year and a half. But I'm counting down the days until I can have a puppy. I know I'm breaking the "writer-cat tradition" but I love dogs!

According to Monica Wood, author of The Pocket Muse, having a cat as a pet is a bit of a writerly tradition, but I say having a pet to well, pet, curl in our laps, or nip our feet while we write sounds like the job of either a cat or dog. Besides, you never know what kind of idea they'll throw your way. With a quick bite to your toe your puppy could probably spawn the idea of that scary mini monster that bites feet in your middle grade novel. Who knows. ;]

Writers and Scams

Okay. I'm trying to do all I can to help a fellow writer of mine understand what it takes to be published. Unfortunately, she fell for a scam agency back in March-Children's Literary-avoid them! I have even shown here Preditors and Editors-a site that'll usually help you figure out if an agent or publisher is legit or not.-http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

Yet, I get an email from her stating that Publisher America is interested in her picture book which I think is great! But when I look them up, I find out that they are nothing more than a vanity press that POD's (prints on demand)-Guess what, Borders will not place your book on its shelves. Instead the book won't be printed unless someone orders it and even then who says they will know of its existence.

I wish I could help her further, but she just hasn't taken the advice about finding an agent or at least using Writers Market or checking the Association of Author's Representatives database that I've given her. I know she is far from computer savvy, but I don't know what else to tell her...