Working Edits with an Agent

You got an agent. Awesome! Now what? You go on sub right?
 

Well not exactly. Sometimes your manuscript is in great shape and it's ready to go on sub, but more often than not, your agent will have notes for you and things they want you to work on before you go on submission to editors. This is especially true if you've selected an editorial agent.

How do edits for an agent differ from editing notes you might get from a beta reader or a critique partner?
 

In a lot of ways the notes might be very similar. But in other ways, your agent may hone in on changes to your manuscript with an eye on what might make it more marketable. This is something your readers may or may not be able to help you with depending on how well they know the market.
 

What if you don't agree with the notes your agent give you?
 

Just like with your critique partners just because the give you notes doesn't mean you're required to incorporate them. Do make makes the most sense for your manuscript. But if you choose to not take a piece of advice, it might be good to consider why and have an honest discussion with your agent about your decision and why you made it.
 

You might even get some notes you've seen before and though your addressed. My agent asked for more worldbuilding, after I did an R&R for her with a primary focus on worldbuilding. My knee jerk reaction was wait, I just added 6,000 words of mostly worldbuilding, how could this manuscript possibly need more. I sat and stewed on it a bit and then asked my agent some clarifying questions. Turns out she was looking for something a little different than what I was originally interpreting the comment as. So it's important to take some time and level set your notes and make sure you and your agent are on the same page.
 

Overall it's important to remember you and your agent are a team. Work together on your edits and check in to make sure the direction if something that will work for the manuscript and make it stronger. You've got another person in your writing corner make sure you use them effectively.

Finding Your Perfect Agent Match

I always thought I knew what people meant when they said wait for the agent who is the right fit for you, the one that gushes over your manuscript, and has the right vision for your work and your career. It seemed like a simple enough concept and yet for just over 5 years (5 years and 1 day to be exact) I wondered why I hadn’t found that right fit yet, why finding an agent was so difficult. Something about this idea of the prefect agent match didn’t fully click until I recently signed with my agent.

Getting an offer from an agent can be tough. It comes with a lot of rejection, A LOT. I had around 150 rejections over two manuscripts. It also comes with a lot of work. Writing, then editing, then having critique partners weigh in, followed by more editing. And once you start querying you may pull back, revise your submission package or your manuscript as feedback comes in. And through all that you wonder if that yes will ever come, the yes I want to see more, and even better that yes I want to represent you.

But even while you’re querying, there’s things you can do to prepare yourself for that moment when an agent says they want to offer you representation.

Figuring Out Your Priorities

What do you want in an agent? No really. We all want someone that can represent our work, and sell it to publishers, but what do you really want from your agent?

Are you looking for a hands on agent that is editorial, or would you prefer to take care of that on your own?

What kind of communication style are you looking for? Do you prefer to talk on the phone or via email? How frequently do you want to communicate with your agent?

What kind of publishers are you ultimately trying to attract? Does the agent’s submission strategy and industry connections match your writing career goals?

Those are just a few short examples, but the list goes on and on. Figure out what your strengths are, and what things are nonnegotiable when finding your perfect agent match. Then start assembling a list of questions to ask. I had been compiling questions I saw on twitter and blog posts for literally years. When it came time to have THE CALL, having all those resources plus reaching out to other writers for thoughts definitely made it easier to prepare and a lot less frantic.

The Importance of THE CALL

Going into the call I knew what I wanted. I wanted an editorial agent who would work with me to hone my craft. I wanted an agent with wide submission strategy that included bigger and smaller houses. I wanted someone that kept me in the loop throughout the process because I hate surprises and ultimately hate just waiting forever. I want to know the instant there’s something to tell. I also prefer virtual communication but see the value in getting on the phone from time to time when necessary. And lastly I want someone who would represent my career not just this book, someone that liked the other things I was working on.

Based off what I wanted I was able to pick and choose what questions would help me best understand the agent and how they would approach my work and career.

What I ended up with was two very different conversations. Both were good, but it quickly became clear that one agent would be better for my career than the other. Not that either were bad agents, just that one was a better fit for my needs and what I was looking for in an agent.

Here’s a quick rundown

Agent 1 I had met at a conference. We got along well, and her ears perked up when I mentioned the logline for my manuscript. When I talked to her on the phone she mentioned that she wasn’t overly editorial but was happy to look at changes or bring in outside help if necessary, but in the case of my manuscript felt it was pretty clean and ready to go. She also mentioned she liked to get involved in the marketing side of things and assist her authors with promotions and blog tours. We got along great and have a lot in common. She mentioned she was open to communication via phone and email but preferred email.

Agent 2 had requested an R&R and had already sparked some great ideas and pushed me in ways I didn’t think possible. When I talked to her on the phone, she mentioned she preferred email but was happy to talk on the phone as well. She expressed that she was very editorial and explained what she liked about my story and what she thought needed work. Her submission strategy included sending to small groups of editors and spreadsheets to update with what material was out there and current progress and responses.

By the end of the conversation Agent 1 felt like she would be a really good friend, and Agent 2 felt like she was someone who would push me outside my comfort zone and help me continue to grow and develop my writing career.

So can you guess which agent I picked?

If you guessed Agent 2 you would be correct. I really loved Agent 1 and will continue to reach out to them and be their friend, but at the end of the day, I wanted someone who would work with me to improve my craft and my stories. And if I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted ahead of time, in the heat of the moment I may have made a decision that wouldn’t have taken my writing career in the direction I wanted. It's important to note that I didn't pick the person who would be my friend, I picked the person that was best for my writing career. And because I had spent so much time considering what was important to me, the decision that was best for me became clear pretty quickly.

So for all of you hopeful writers out there looking for their perfect agent match, keep working, keep pushing, and keeping thinking about what you want in an agent. And when the time comes you’ll be ready!

Most Common Query Flaws I See as a Pitch Wars Mentor

If you don’t know what Pitch Wars is, you probably should! It’s a contest that hooks querying authors up with established authors and editors to help their books become “publishing” ready. Read more about it here: http://www.brenda-drake.com/2017/06/pitch-wars-2017-details/

My job? First, I get emailed a bunch of submissions from people who are interested in me as mentor. They come in very much like a query to an agent. Query, and first chapter. I read through all my submissions and am allowed to choose ONE to mentor. The amount of submissions vary year to year, category to category and mentor to mentor but so far I’ve averaged around 80 submissions. That’s 80 query and chapters to read through in a couple weeks, and that’s not including the full manuscripts I’ll request. And honestly? The hardest part is choosing only one.

No, not kidding. I’m convinced that the quality that comes in through Pitch Wars is higher than the average slush pile (not that I can compare, I’ve never peeked inside and agents inbox but I’ve heard stories!)

So how can you stack the deck? How do you make sure your query is on my list of "Yesses!"? How I pick my "THE ONE!" is honestly pretty personal, just whichever story I connect with for whatever reason. But you can do a lot of things to make sure you're at least one of the stories I agonize over not picking. So here are some of the most common issues I see in my submissions. You may noticed they go a bit beyond the basics, because, like I said, the qaulity in Pitch Wars is pretty high!

1) Confusing query

Some books are easier to pitch than others, that’s a simple truth. I’ve written books nearly impossible to write a great query for and others that just flow from my little typing fingers like honey. To you, as the author, it all makes sense. You know this story in and out—but I don’t. Sometimes it’s really hard to take a step back and look at it through fresh eyes to see the gaps in logic. It probably makes perfect sense in the book, but in this tiny one page summary… it doesn’t. The solution? Other people need to read your query and not just your critique partners. You need fresh eyes, someone who knows nothing about your book (also, preferably other writers. Non-writers just don’t quite understand what is expected out of a query) that can point out places they get confused. 

2) The story is missing the “why?”

 I’ve noticed this a lot, I remember tweeting about it as I read my submissions last year. Most of you understand that you need “stakes” in your query, but stakes aren’t quite so powerful if we don’t understand why _______will happen if your character doesn’t ______. How does it connect? One big one is, why YOUR CHARACTER needs to be the one to do it. What are his personal stakes in this? Why was he chosen? Why not someone else? If there are 100 people out also trying to save the world, well, if your character fails, someone else may succeed. That sucks out the tension.

3) Confusing first pages

One part of this are pages that don’t fit the query. This can get tricky with multiple POV books but if your query hooked me, I want to start reading that story, not a different one. Make sure they feel connected. Another part is trying too hard to hook with high intensity but not grounding the reader. It’s VERY important that we understand the surroundings, characters and their immediate goals right away. 

4) Overlooking character

Plot vs Character is an old debate and personally, I’m hooked by great ideas. I love concepts. What ifs. Something new and exciting! But if I don’t care about the people involved in those great ideas? It’s all for not. I won’t keep reading. Personally, I don’t think plot and character should be fighting each other, they should be working together. You need BOTH. Personal stakes are just as important as external stakes. 

5) Pages that require the query to make sense

Something is stated in the query then it’s just assumed we’ll know that in the pages. Your pages must stand alone. Don’t look at them like a pair, look at them individually. Will my pages hook a reader if they haven’t read the query? Will my query hook a reader without knowing anything about the story? The story is the important part, the query is just a tool used to convince people to read your story.

6) Not showing us what’s special

This is honestly the number one reason a query goes in my no folder. There have been millions of books published. There are thousands upon thousands of books being queried right now. If your book doesn’t stand out, if you don’t show me something, anything new, for me to latch onto, it’ll get buried alive. It won’t stand out on a book shelf, the same way it won’t stand out in the slush pile. Often, we find trends in our queries. Not publishing trends, just things that for whatever reason, several people decided to write at once. You’ll hear mentors talking about these, “A lot of red heads in my queries this year.” “Wow, that’s the fourth friendly ghost story I’ve seen so far”. Those things don’t mean the kiss of death. One of those friendly ghost stories might be AWESOME because it has something super unique about it that the others don’t. It might be an *amazing* voice or writing style that flows with the story (my very first mentee was like that. About a girl who sees a boy’s spirit. Not overly unique. But her setting and voice and atmosphere was THROUGH THE ROOF and I couldn’t get it out of my head). But not everyone has that kind of writing style (I don’t) so you find another way. A twist, a unique setting, an unexpected tone. 

So think about this, just assume, for arguments sake, that there are several other books being entered into Pitch Wars with a similar story as yours. How will yours stand out? You wrote a mystery with a whodunit, why will I choose yours over the other 5? You wrote a romance. Why is yours the one I’ll remember over the others? No, you don’t need to add in Cyclopes clowns to make me remember you. Make it something real. Something engaging. Something that gets my mind spinning through the possibilities. What will engage and hook one mentor will be different for another, so don’t worry about that. Not everyone will love your work. Just make sure, somehow, it stands out. Show me what is special about your story. Show me how your future publisher will market you. 



If you can stand out, explain the story in a way I can understand, include compelling emotions in your characters,  with decent writing and it all fits into my wishlist, you'll very likely find yourself in my (much too long, I'm sure) want pile!

This year, I'm mentoring YA with the lovely Rebecca Sky, you can find out more about the submissions we're hoping to receive here: http://www.rebeccasky.com/gallery.php

Good luck Pitch Warriors!

The dreaded "I just didn't connect" rejection and how to up your chances!

How many times have we heard that standard rejection, "I just didn't connect with it" or heard the word "SUBJECTIVE." These are realities in the publishing world. They're legit reasons for rejections even if we don't full understand them. 

Truth is, sometimes there is nothing you can do to make a particular person love your work. That's the nature of art.

 Some people are going to love it, some are going to hate it, some will be neutral (this is a life lesson all authors learn when they start getting reviews!) So sometimes that's what we mean when we say "it's subjective." I'm sorry, you're just not "the one". 

During #pitchwars someone compared the slush pile to dating... and boy what an analogy! So let's play with that, shall we?

Sometimes mentors, agents or editors have to say no to books that they know are fantastic. Books they know deserve to be chosen. Because there is another book that just connects... for whatever reason.

Let's think of submitting your work like a first date, and all the things you should keep in mind to up your chances of a love connection-- do's and don'ts.

Step one: Basic hygiene

This one is simple. Wash your hair, brush your teeth, wear deodorant. In publishing? This can translate into grammar and punctuation or even into character motivations that make sense, staying away from cliches, plot that moves forward etc.

Step two: Be Interesting

On a date, if you have nothing to say about anything, we may start getting bored. Naturally, people are going to be more drawn to someone like, say, a fire fighter, than an accountant who has no hobbies-- simply because they want to know more about them. "Is it scary?" "Have you ever saved someone's life?" if exciting questions start running through someone's mind, that's piquing their interest and they'll hang around a little longer to see what's around the corner. 

In publishing, this is premise and the promise of plot. Something that makes us want to keep reading just to see what's going to happen. 

Step three: Personality

Here's where things get sticky, because there isn't one right personality. 

 You might be funny, or witty, or sarcastic, or deep, or intelligent. The main point is that you stand out and draw people in. That people enjoy talking with or about you.

This is the voice/tone of your story. You know that guy who everyone else thought was hilarious but really just annoyed you? Or the weird girl no one else understood but was your absolute best friend?  We are all drawn to different things. We come at it from different perspectives so we see things differently. That's okay. Just makes sure you HAVE a personality. 

Some people like spicy, some prefer sweet, some love sour, and some want savory. Don't add chocolate to your curry sauce just because someone wants something sweet. Your goal is simply to not be bland.

The last and most important step is.... Emotional connection

That thing that's SOOO important but SOOOO difficult to pin point. I'm not even going to try to come up with dating examples because I'm pretty sure I'll fail. It's that thing that takes you from stranger to relationship. From crush to a meaningful part of your life. In books, sometimes it can be kind of accidental, you just happen to hit the right topic or remind the reader of something that really resonates with them. Sometimes we can't do anything more to help someone fall in love, we just have to wait for the right timing. 

But I'll tell you a secret.  Most of the time it comes down to relating to the characters and their goals. So how do we do that? Here's the part you don't want to miss. 

The thing that is most likely to HOOK those readers at all levels, to give you the best chance at falling into love: 

Emotional stakes

So you know how in pitches we tell you we need to know what happens if they fail? The world ends, they freeze to death in the icy tundra, deadly virus spreads across the world, dictator gains power and enslaves millions etc etc. But it can't be only physical. There needs to be emotional stakes also.

Don't just think about the premise as the idea- the logical "will this concept sell?" because just as important (sometimes more) is that you aren't just hooking the head of your readers-- but their heart.
Sort of like the hot millionaire who loves puppies- he sound *amazing* on paper. But it's the broke musician who steals your heart and won't let go. Don't be the millionaire. Be the musician. (I mean, be both if you can but if you have to choose...)


So, I don't care if you've written a survival story where the whole point is them making it through the icy tundra to safety, there still needs to be something emotional at stake. There's a sick little sister with you  and your mother just left you both but you haven't told your sister yet so that's hanging over your head, and all the while you feel responsible for her but your afraid he's going to let her die less than two days into that responsibility *weeps*. All this on top of freezing temperatures and fighting off wolves etc. (also mind you that it doesn't need to be sad like that, there are a million types of emotions you can use) The DEEPER you go with those emotions the more likely you're going to connect to someone

Keeping to your goals!

Happy 2015!

Maybe it’s a cliché, but this time every year we all do it. We make goals.

I will… eat better in 2015. I will…. Exercise more in 2015. I will… write more, spend more time with my kids, watch less TV, catch up on my reading lists, go back to school, get a new job, get a promotion, get published!...

Some goals stick for a week. Some a month. Some we never even touch with a ten foot pole. But how many of us actually achieve our New Year’s resolutions? According to statistics… not many. 

So how do you make 2015 the best it can be? Here are a few tips.

1) Make the right goals.

               Jamie talked a bit about this earlier this week. Some goals are completely out of our control so it’s unfair to hold ourselves to them. I’ve done this many times, made goals that I couldn’t control. Truth is, those are usually the big life goals that really matter, so I’d never tell you to drop them. It’s okay to have those goals, just so long as you understand that it’s not your fault if you don’t achieve them. So here’s what you do.

               Keep those goals… but break them up. Instead of saying “My goal for 2015 is to get an agent,” say “I will send out 100 queries this year.” Or “I will start to query my new WIP this year” (maybe with a specific time, like by summer?). Think about what things you can do to give yourself the best chance at achieving that overall goal so that you know you did the best you could.

2) Be Flexible                  

                                                                             

               Sometimes things change. What you imagine is going to be SO AWESOME… isn’t working out. Are you a failure if you stop querying that book after 2 months because you realize it’s not ready to be published? NO! Are you a failure if you stop trying to run a mile a day because you realize it’s hurting your knees? NO!

               When you realize something isn’t going to work out: STOP. And try something new. Your knees are hurting? Find a gym with a pool and start swimming instead. When you realize your novel isn’t going to work out? STOP and either find a way to fix it, or start something new. It makes no sense to be stubborn and keep pushing against those brick walls. Find a way around them.

3) Find someone to be accountable with!

               According to this website http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/ you are ten times more likely to achieve your goals if they are explicit. A.K.A. you tell other people about them.

               Post them on your blog, post them on Facebook and twitter, tell your family and friends… even if they couldn’t care less. I know when I have something I need to do, I tell my husband. Most of the time, he doesn’t care. “Oh you’re going to clean out that closet tomorrow? That’s cool. You’re going to finish your draft this week? Awesome.” Sometimes I get a text back that says… “Umm, okay?” I laugh and say, I’m telling you so that I’ll actually DO IT. It works guys. Sometimes, he asks if I did it. Sometimes he doesn’t. On occasion it doesn’t work out, but I am so much more likely to commit to my goal just by knowing I’ve said it out loud and someone heard me. The absolute best way to do this is find someone willing to check in with you. Someone who will notice if you don’t update them, or if you’re not moving forward. I recommend hooking up with a CP for this. Help each other stay accountable, and help each other brain storm if one of those goals aren’t working out.

The goal of a goal is to TRY something new. Try to make yourself better. Try to move forward. It’s okay if you don’t succeed so long as you fought for it, so long as you didn’t give up. 

Even if your goals change throughout the year, if you keep working, you succeeded in my book.

Are these things you’ve ever tried? Did they work for you? What are your goals this year?