I've whined before about how behind we are in our reading. NOW you know why.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
AFTER I SELL THE HORSES.....
I had a friend years ago who was stuck in a miserable marriage. The guy was a real loser--an alcoholic, an abuser, a real dud. "I'd like to leave him," my friend told me.
"So leave him!" I replied, ever thoughtful and helpful."I can't leave him now," she'd sigh. "I have to sell the horses first."
At first her logic made some sense. The horses were housed on their common property. They were valuable. She wanted the money. But months went by, then years. She didn't sell the horses and she didn't divorce her husband and her life continued to be miserable. I lost touch with her.
But "selling the horses" has taken on new meaning for me and Jon. It's symbolic for making excuses.
"So leave him!" I replied, ever thoughtful and helpful."I can't leave him now," she'd sigh. "I have to sell the horses first."
At first her logic made some sense. The horses were housed on their common property. They were valuable. She wanted the money. But months went by, then years. She didn't sell the horses and she didn't divorce her husband and her life continued to be miserable. I lost touch with her.
But "selling the horses" has taken on new meaning for me and Jon. It's symbolic for making excuses.
- "I can't finish reading the manuscript until I do the taxes!"
- "I can't call that editor until I've done more research on her!"
- "I can't write a new blog entry until I get to the emailed queries."
All this may be true, but often we're really using the "selling horses" excuse. Of course we need to prioritize. But when we find we're using the same old stumbling block over and over again to get out of doing important work, we have to examine our motives. That old stumbling block, like my friend's rationale about selling her horses, can morph into a big, fat, comfortable and convenient dodge that prevents us from doing what we need to do.
How about you? Does the "selling horses" dodge figure in to your writing and querying? Think about it. How many times do you put off polishing that chapter because you've got to write to your mom (or mow the lawn, or paint the living room, or clean the litter box, or....) You get the idea. Lists are great and so are priorities. Just don't let "selling the horses" get in the way of finding a publisher!
Monday, March 16, 2009
WHY I "DREAD" THE SWORDS AND DRAGONS
Our reader Rebekah posted the following message today regarding my comment about "the dreaded sword and dragon" books:
Why are "sword and dragon" fantasies dreaded? We all have our own personal tastes, but it does seem a little inappropriate to casually trash an entire subgenre as though its uselessness were widely-known fact. There are approximately 77 kajillion people "dreading" the release of George R. R. Martin's next sword-and-dragon fantasy right about now. What will it take for people to quit treating this kind of fiction like the redheaded stepchild of the publishing industry? Not only that, but people seem not even to worry about the political incorrectness of publicly making their feelings about heroic fantasy known. It's considered gauche and unprofessional to mock, say, bodice-ripper romances (equally rife with cliches and slush-pile-fodder) in a blog like this, so why is it that writers and readers of heroic/historical fantasy are still treated as second-class citizens unworthy of the most basic, polite "to each his own" treatment?
Rebekah's comment and questions are valid, so important that I thought others would want to see what all the fuss is about. Before I begin, let me say once again that just because I don't represent a certain genre, it does not mean, necessarily, that I don't like, even love and respect that genre. It simply means that I CAN'T SELL IT. As a matter of fact, the first book I took on as an agent was a sword and dragon fantasy. It was beautifully written and I fell in love with it. I thought it would be a cinch to sell. It wasn't. Nor were the other books I've tried in this venue. Other agents are successful selling sword and dragon fantasy books; I am not. Therefore I've moved on.
Just because I dread the arrival of yet another S&D query does NOT mean that query is unworthy. It simply means I don't represent this genre and I'll have to reject the query.
Politically incorrect? Perhaps, but certainly not my intention. ("Bodice-rippers" politically incorrect--damn, I love that term!)
On the bright side--Jon still considers S&Ds. Send your queries to jon@ktpublicrelations.com. He says that he's waiting for the best-written, unique take on this genre. When he finds it, you'll hear about it here. That being said, please don't send him "rehashes of the same old thing."
Why are "sword and dragon" fantasies dreaded? We all have our own personal tastes, but it does seem a little inappropriate to casually trash an entire subgenre as though its uselessness were widely-known fact. There are approximately 77 kajillion people "dreading" the release of George R. R. Martin's next sword-and-dragon fantasy right about now. What will it take for people to quit treating this kind of fiction like the redheaded stepchild of the publishing industry? Not only that, but people seem not even to worry about the political incorrectness of publicly making their feelings about heroic fantasy known. It's considered gauche and unprofessional to mock, say, bodice-ripper romances (equally rife with cliches and slush-pile-fodder) in a blog like this, so why is it that writers and readers of heroic/historical fantasy are still treated as second-class citizens unworthy of the most basic, polite "to each his own" treatment?
Rebekah's comment and questions are valid, so important that I thought others would want to see what all the fuss is about. Before I begin, let me say once again that just because I don't represent a certain genre, it does not mean, necessarily, that I don't like, even love and respect that genre. It simply means that I CAN'T SELL IT. As a matter of fact, the first book I took on as an agent was a sword and dragon fantasy. It was beautifully written and I fell in love with it. I thought it would be a cinch to sell. It wasn't. Nor were the other books I've tried in this venue. Other agents are successful selling sword and dragon fantasy books; I am not. Therefore I've moved on.
Just because I dread the arrival of yet another S&D query does NOT mean that query is unworthy. It simply means I don't represent this genre and I'll have to reject the query.
Politically incorrect? Perhaps, but certainly not my intention. ("Bodice-rippers" politically incorrect--damn, I love that term!)
On the bright side--Jon still considers S&Ds. Send your queries to jon@ktpublicrelations.com. He says that he's waiting for the best-written, unique take on this genre. When he finds it, you'll hear about it here. That being said, please don't send him "rehashes of the same old thing."
Monday, March 9, 2009
I FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING!
It's Monday morning and I'm knee-deep in email queries, but had to stop. I stopped because I had a real epiphany!
Contrary to doom-and-gloom statistics, writing, story-telling and imagination are alive and well!
One look at my in-box and Jon's stack of queries, partials and manuscripts and you know it's true. You guys are amazing--truly amazing. Today alone I've read queries for a nonfiction book on parenting, several women's fiction offerings, some science fiction (which I forwarded to Jon), many, many horror novels, historical romance and more. Yes, even the dreaded "sword and dragon" fantasies continue to fill up the in-box.
But, think about it--all of you out there writing your little hearts out. Getting rejected time and time again. Hopefully improving as you go and finding groups and mentors to help you. It's truly inspiring and gratifying to be in this business where hope springs eternal--for you and for us.
I just wanted to thank you--all of you for doing what you do. Publishing may be experiencing some real hits right now, but the writing life is alive and well. So pat yourself on the back and declare this day a day of celebration for those who write stories.
Contrary to doom-and-gloom statistics, writing, story-telling and imagination are alive and well!
One look at my in-box and Jon's stack of queries, partials and manuscripts and you know it's true. You guys are amazing--truly amazing. Today alone I've read queries for a nonfiction book on parenting, several women's fiction offerings, some science fiction (which I forwarded to Jon), many, many horror novels, historical romance and more. Yes, even the dreaded "sword and dragon" fantasies continue to fill up the in-box.
But, think about it--all of you out there writing your little hearts out. Getting rejected time and time again. Hopefully improving as you go and finding groups and mentors to help you. It's truly inspiring and gratifying to be in this business where hope springs eternal--for you and for us.
I just wanted to thank you--all of you for doing what you do. Publishing may be experiencing some real hits right now, but the writing life is alive and well. So pat yourself on the back and declare this day a day of celebration for those who write stories.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
CHECKING IN
We have not been abducted by aliens. We aren't vacationing in the Carribean. And we haven't retired.
We're just too busy and the blog has taken the hit. Jon continues to shuttle back and forth to Florida to tend to aging parents, leaving me to pick up the slack with our two businesses.
Random thoughts:
We're just too busy and the blog has taken the hit. Jon continues to shuttle back and forth to Florida to tend to aging parents, leaving me to pick up the slack with our two businesses.
Random thoughts:
- I await the contract for our three-book deal for a cozy mystery series. As soon as the paperwork is finalized, I'll go into more detail.
- My trip to NYC last week was cancelled due to illness--not mine, someone else.
- Queries continue to flood in. I've requested about 4 partials in the past week; Jon has asked for a few more.
- For some reason the queries for "wizard and dragon" fantasies are on the rise. We're not interested, so don't send them to us.
- It's still bloody COLD here--sunny, but cold.
- I'm reading Beautiful Boy, a stunning memoir by a gifted journalist.
- I'm also reading The Glass Castle, another memoir--unbelievable, but true, story.
- I just added Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace to my stack of "must reads" after reading about the author in this week's New Yorker magazine.
- The cats are so full of static that you risk "electrocution by petting" if you get near them.
- Our bird feeders are full of pine siskins.
......and our desks are full of queries, partials and manuscripts. Hope the winter's treating all of you well!
Friday, February 13, 2009
FINDING BALANCE AND WINNING: Thoughts for Valentines' Day
Yesterday we finished reading a large stack of chapters and wrote many "no thank you" and a few "please send more" letters to some very impressive authors. Today I'm working on a backlog of emailed queries. What I should be doing, I keep muttering to myself, is calling editors and selling books. It's a matter of balance.
Agents, like authors, are pulled in so many directions, it's hard sometimes to know which fire to put out first. I heard a speaker once address this dilemma by using the term, "What's Important Now?" WIN. Corny, but it often works for me.
What's Important Now? For me? First, writing this post--the blog needs attention. Next, my brimming inbox dictates attention to the queries. Yesterday it was chapters. The day before that I worked on contacting editors about current projects.
Often, these plans get changed when the phone rings, the email dings, and an important opportunity or crisis surfaces. But using the WIN method, I can usually get on track again.
Try it. Do you need to polish a chapter or make your query sing? Or, more important, does your daughter need some time with you? Ask yourself, "What's important now?"
Maybe the chapter can wait until tomorrow and your query can be fixed tonight. Right now, your daughter or husband or wife or mom or best friend may need you. It's Valentines' season. Lighten up on yourself. Eat some chocolate, give some hugs and enjoy. Your writing will be all the better for it!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Agents, like authors, are pulled in so many directions, it's hard sometimes to know which fire to put out first. I heard a speaker once address this dilemma by using the term, "What's Important Now?" WIN. Corny, but it often works for me.
What's Important Now? For me? First, writing this post--the blog needs attention. Next, my brimming inbox dictates attention to the queries. Yesterday it was chapters. The day before that I worked on contacting editors about current projects.
Often, these plans get changed when the phone rings, the email dings, and an important opportunity or crisis surfaces. But using the WIN method, I can usually get on track again.
Try it. Do you need to polish a chapter or make your query sing? Or, more important, does your daughter need some time with you? Ask yourself, "What's important now?"
Maybe the chapter can wait until tomorrow and your query can be fixed tonight. Right now, your daughter or husband or wife or mom or best friend may need you. It's Valentines' season. Lighten up on yourself. Eat some chocolate, give some hugs and enjoy. Your writing will be all the better for it!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Monday, February 9, 2009
MORE FROM STEPHEN KING
Lorri Lynch in USA Weekend's popular "The Who's News Blog," talked to Stephen King last week. I love King's comments about popular writers:
"Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful is Jodi Picoult. You’ve got Dean Koontz, who can write like hell. And then sometimes he’s just awful. It varies. James Patterson is a terrible writer but he’s very very successful. People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet."
When Jon was in graduate school he took a course in children's literature. Many of his classmates were librarians and teachers. These educators told how Stephen King's books were literally "used to pieces" by their students. Most of these educators loved King's writing--some did not. What they all agreed on was that Steven King GOT KIDS TO READ. For that , he should be canonized.
"Somebody who’s a terrific writer who’s been very, very successful is Jodi Picoult. You’ve got Dean Koontz, who can write like hell. And then sometimes he’s just awful. It varies. James Patterson is a terrible writer but he’s very very successful. People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet."
When Jon was in graduate school he took a course in children's literature. Many of his classmates were librarians and teachers. These educators told how Stephen King's books were literally "used to pieces" by their students. Most of these educators loved King's writing--some did not. What they all agreed on was that Steven King GOT KIDS TO READ. For that , he should be canonized.
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