My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.
• Applies to memoirs and nonfiction, too!
• The more abstract the idea is, the more world building you have to do
• Difficult to go against known laws of physics unless you come up with a damn good reason
• Top-down (big picture, create world around larger concept) or bottom-up world building (world built around a specific character)
• Non-fiction—build the world for people that have never been to the locale. Show what is different and new.
• If you’re not familiar with it, be general unless you want to do the research.
• Manipulate the world into pushing the character where you want
• History doesn't have to be a large component, but helps establish the world
• Real-world influence helps
• Even in fantasy, it still needs to be consistent (rules/laws)
Showing posts with label writer's conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer's conference. Show all posts
Monday, February 17, 2014
SCWC: What to Expect from Your Agent—And What She Expects from You!
My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.
• Main thing—look for authenticity (on the part of both author and agent)
• Passion—important for agent to be passionate about your work. Crucial for their pitching.
• Honesty in author/agent relationship. Editorial feedback, valuable critiques
• Ethics—agent should be following AAR guidelines. How do they earn their profits? You shouldn’t have to pay to get your work evaluated! Follow your instinct, avoid red flags.
• Communication—sometimes writers are afraid to ask questions about their work. Ask your agents questions, you have a right to know! Follow-up with agent and make sure they follow-up with you.
• Agent should have a plan (proposal package), should know editors/people that would be interested in your work.
• Agents can secure advance for you, negotiate contracts, review royalties, make sure publisher sticks to their deadlines. Handles foreign rights. Works as a middle man to resolve issues between writer/publisher
• Agent should be open-minded, creative, and flexible. Be open to new possibilities/change and grow with the times since the publishing industry is always changing.
• Is agent committed to your work? How persistent and dedicated are they? Do they know when to cut their losses and move to Plan B?
• Make query letter short/brief. Give an idea of command of language.
• What is author’s plan? Do you want to have a career? Do book tours?
• Contract red flag—excessive bias/favor towards publisher, publisher tries to take all the rights
• Ask agent for references, check to see who they have published, what books they represent
• 10%-15% commission for agents
• Main thing—look for authenticity (on the part of both author and agent)
• Passion—important for agent to be passionate about your work. Crucial for their pitching.
• Honesty in author/agent relationship. Editorial feedback, valuable critiques
• Ethics—agent should be following AAR guidelines. How do they earn their profits? You shouldn’t have to pay to get your work evaluated! Follow your instinct, avoid red flags.
• Communication—sometimes writers are afraid to ask questions about their work. Ask your agents questions, you have a right to know! Follow-up with agent and make sure they follow-up with you.
• Agent should have a plan (proposal package), should know editors/people that would be interested in your work.
• Agents can secure advance for you, negotiate contracts, review royalties, make sure publisher sticks to their deadlines. Handles foreign rights. Works as a middle man to resolve issues between writer/publisher
• Agent should be open-minded, creative, and flexible. Be open to new possibilities/change and grow with the times since the publishing industry is always changing.
• Is agent committed to your work? How persistent and dedicated are they? Do they know when to cut their losses and move to Plan B?
• Make query letter short/brief. Give an idea of command of language.
• What is author’s plan? Do you want to have a career? Do book tours?
• Contract red flag—excessive bias/favor towards publisher, publisher tries to take all the rights
• Ask agent for references, check to see who they have published, what books they represent
• 10%-15% commission for agents
SCWC: Self-Publishing Savvy: Why, How, Where, What You Need to Know
My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.
• Why self-publish? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
• What is your project? Self-publish if it’s hobby writing; you like telling stories but don’t expect to make a living; a personal record meant to be shared by family
• When you start treating your books like business, then you’re a career writer.
• Self-publish if you are you a perfectionist and an outgoing person who likes things your way and doesn't mind doing all the work if it means you’re control.
• Make sure you build up an internet/social media presence (blog, website). Are you involved in your genre’s organizations? Learn from them, get involved in their activities.
• Write a damned good book, be in a critique group, get beta readers, hire a professional editor…create a damned good book cover! Pay for it unless you’re a graphic designer, make sure it looks good as a thumbnail.
• Release plans: build anticipation on website/social media/blog, do giveaways, have a release party (online or in person)! Café press/zazzle
• ISBN makes your book unique since titles can’t be copyrighted. Createspace will assign one for free, but the publisher will always be “Createspace”.
• Formatting books: booknook.biz, other companies, Createspace. Lulu.com does hardcopies, Createspace does not.
• Smashwords formats for multiple e-readers
• Multiple books require structure—brand each genre (consistent cover schemes), consider creating your own publishing imprint if you write a lot of books.
• You must learn to market without marketing—no one wants to hear “buy my book!” Everyone wants to hear, “How are you today?”
• Resources: createspace.com, kdp.amazon.com, smashwords.com, bowker.com, booknook.biz, mobipocket.com, APE: Author, Publisher, and Entrepreneur
• Why self-publish? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
• What is your project? Self-publish if it’s hobby writing; you like telling stories but don’t expect to make a living; a personal record meant to be shared by family
• When you start treating your books like business, then you’re a career writer.
• Self-publish if you are you a perfectionist and an outgoing person who likes things your way and doesn't mind doing all the work if it means you’re control.
• Make sure you build up an internet/social media presence (blog, website). Are you involved in your genre’s organizations? Learn from them, get involved in their activities.
• Write a damned good book, be in a critique group, get beta readers, hire a professional editor…create a damned good book cover! Pay for it unless you’re a graphic designer, make sure it looks good as a thumbnail.
• Release plans: build anticipation on website/social media/blog, do giveaways, have a release party (online or in person)! Café press/zazzle
• ISBN makes your book unique since titles can’t be copyrighted. Createspace will assign one for free, but the publisher will always be “Createspace”.
• Formatting books: booknook.biz, other companies, Createspace. Lulu.com does hardcopies, Createspace does not.
• Smashwords formats for multiple e-readers
• Multiple books require structure—brand each genre (consistent cover schemes), consider creating your own publishing imprint if you write a lot of books.
• You must learn to market without marketing—no one wants to hear “buy my book!” Everyone wants to hear, “How are you today?”
• Resources: createspace.com, kdp.amazon.com, smashwords.com, bowker.com, booknook.biz, mobipocket.com, APE: Author, Publisher, and Entrepreneur
Thursday, July 26, 2012
SCWC: World Building for Speculative/Paranormal Fiction
- How deviant from reality is this going to be? The more different it is, the more you will have to explain. Obliterating the usual “rules” can be fascinating but hard to follow
- How similar to us is an alien culture?
- Human systems are founded on religious beliefs (magic, gods, goddesses, God). What role does religion play in the fictional society? How is moral development affected? What is the foundation of the society? How do ideologies affect how they react to or treat other people?
- Map-making can be helpful in creating a new world (town, city, country). Spatial understanding of where people are to the natural world.
- Different/skewed versions of well-known stories/fairy tales
- Logic flaws make unhappy readers (ex: how does a sparkly vampire impregnate a girl if he doesn’t even have blood flow to get it up).
- “It works, because…” Make it believable. Explain why it’s possible.
- Nature is full of bizarre, fascinating things—good source for inspiration/ideas
- Environment is a huge determinant of people’s behavior (ex: more crime during heat, less crime/violence when women and children are present).
- Get inspiration from real news stories/feeds.
- Novel-writing tips: http://storyfix.com/
- Author/reader networking: http://redroom.com/
- Write FIRST, edit later. Don’t edit while you’re writing. Go back to edit after you’redone.
- Nowadays sci-fi fans demand technical accuracy.
- Only explain enough to take away questions (have someone else read it and find out if they feel distracted from the story because they’re wondering how something works).
- No one ever explains how a flux capacitor actually works, but just the mention of it is enough to ground the story
- When you’re making up names/words, stay consistent with the structure of the language
- Tactile experiences give things more credibility (acting out a story to a friend as opposed to just telling it to them).
- Don’t do a big information dump—“tease” it out a little at a time.
SCWC: Tweaking - Making the Difference Between Good and Published
- Build to power. Always end your sentences with the strongest/most powerful word.
- Change the order of words in sentences/move sentences around. Save “what happens” for last.
- Make material visually attractive. Hard nowadays to distract people from their busy lives.
- Paragraphing accentuates dynamic/pivotal points. Put sentences in their own paragraphs to demonstrate their importance.
- Use punctuation “tricks” to add drama.
- Don’t be afraid of sentence fragments or one-word sentences.
- Ellipses imply the character’s thoughts are trailing off. A surprise sentence ending.
- Don’t be afraid of short and/or long sentences.
- Use prepositions to add more sentence variety.
- Make dialogue unusual/brilliant
- The best writing is fast writing—spontaneity creates a better story/flows better
- Take out dialogue introductions, use “shortcuts.”
- Most of us are pretty dull most of the time; make the character more interesting than you. We don’t want boring conversation, we want the best of what we say.
- Use action tags for dialogue—carefully and sparingly
- Can characterize people through the words/actions of other characters
- Pause for reaction time.
- Make your dramatic scenes long (and longer). Inject heart-stopping events
SCWC: Package Submission
This is in regards to when you’re ready to submit your manuscript to an agent.
Package Submission
- Query letters/synopsis for submission to agents
- A good query letter should be brief—sell yourself and sell your book
- Do your research and adhere to the requested format!
- Need to capture reviewer right at the start, then elaborate a little further on stories/characters
- Explain why you’re qualified to right this book (your bio should be relevant to the story)
- Don’t copy a generic submission template
- You’re applying for a job—be pleasant and business-like. Present yourself as someone your agent/publisher would want to work with. Your bio is your resume.
- Agent website/blogs tell what they require and some talk about what they like/don’t like to see in query letters.
- Synopsis—sample of your writing skills. 1, 3, and 5 page overview of story. Don’t leave cliffhangers/surprises. Tell it all. Touch on major characters, conflict, resolution, key story element. Start with 5 pages, then cut down to 3 pages, then cut down to 1 (working backwards is easier to get the meat of the story down to a one-page synopsis for submission).
- Follow agent’s directions for initial story submissions (first 3 chapters, first 50 pages etc).
- You have to be really damn good in order to break the rules.
- Looking for an agent: http://pred-ed.com/ and http://aaronline.org/
- http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/lunch/free/ - newsletter, see which publishers are selling/popular/good ratings
- http://duotrope.com/ - search publishers by genre, etc
- “Submishmash” - http://www.submittable.com/ - manage submissions
- Send multiple submissions at a time
- The bigger the agent the better, but relationship with agent is important too (may find that a smaller agency is more agreeable).
- An agent is good to have so they can fight your publishing/publisher battles for you.
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