Recently, a handful of writers have asked me if they should add a critique or pitch to their registration, which is better, what they need to do before their meeting at the conference, and how to format their critique. Luckily, most attendees don’t ask all those questions at once – what a mouthful! But you get the idea. Since I have a publishing background and have sat on the “other side” of the critique table several times, I have a different perspective that some of the other conference volunteers. I’m going to split my suggestions into three days and three posts – Day 1: Why you need critiques and pitches; Day 2: What you should include or avoid; and Day 3: How to prepare for your one-on-one time.
Here’s my advice on why writers need critiques and pitches:
1. If you crave input, feedback and suggestions, you should add a critique. Some writers are content writing for the pure joy of putting words on paper. However, most writers want to know what they’re doing right, what they need to improve and what they can do to make their work more competitive in the market.
2. If you’re ready to shop your manuscript around to agents, editors and publishers, a critique would really help, but definitely add a pitch. While you should be sending out query letters and manuscripts (while strictly following the submission guidelines of each professional you query), critiques and pitches at the conference afford you face time and reading time you can’t guarantee with a query. In 2008, about fifty manuscripts were requested by faculty members. At least one of those requests has already resulted in a published book. Several attendees from last year have shared news that even if their manuscript wasn’t a match for the faculty member who critiqued it, they got suggestions of agencies and houses to query. Some attendees even got introductions to these agents and editors.
3. If you’re tweaking your query and synopsis and need feedback on how you describe your story, a pitch session would help. Have you ever had someone ask what your book is about and it takes 30 minutes to explain? Do you dread putting together a two-page synopsis? Do you feel like you’re living in a vacuum and need to bounce your query approach off someone? That’s what you’ll be doing in a pitch session. You’ll have five minutes to describe your project. Then, the faculty member will have five minutes to ask questions and provide feedback. The faculty members won’t have any prior knowledge of your work. An agent or editor might ask for more of your work if you grab his/her attention during the pitch. In fact, publisher Karen Syed says most of her requests are based on one-on-one interactions with writers.
Next time, I’ll provide suggestions on what to include in your critique package and pitch preparation, and what to avoid in your critique package and pitch preparation.
Still have questions about pitches and critiques? Feel free to ask via a comment on the blog (you can be anonymous) or send an e-mail to conference@myscww.org.
Showing posts with label manuscript. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manuscript. Show all posts
Critiques and Pitches: Why you need these, what you should include (and avoid) and how to prepare for it all! Part 1 of 3
Your Manuscript & The Velveteen Rabbit
Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded. He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy.
-The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams , Double Day, 1922
Remember this classic? It's one of my favorite books because, in addition to being a wonderful story, it teaches us some very valuable life lessons. And more than one of those lessons can be applied to manuscripts and the writing life. But since this is a blog, let's stick with one of the most important of those lessons.
You can love your manuscript until it no longer looks like a book to anyone except you. Let me explain myself.
Manuscripts take a lot of time and energy. The more work you put into them, the more real the story becomes to you, the writer. But be careful. You can edit, revise, rewrite and change the story until it becomes unrecognizable and unsellable.
Think of your manuscript as a piece of beautiful fabric---enough to make one garment. After much thought, you choose a pattern for your garment. You sew and sew and sew and then you try the garment on. It fits, but there are a few places where it needs to be altered. You fix the hem, maybe take in the waist a bit, and then try it on again. Perfect fit.
Now, if you take the same piece of fabric, make a dress out of it, then you decide it shouldn't be a dress, but maybe a pair of pants. So you rip out the seams and start again. Now that it's pants, they're too short, so you tack some extra fabric on the hem, but it doesn't match the print. so you decide you'll make your pants into shorts, only the zipper you put in the pants is too long. . .
See what I'm getting at here? You can love your manuscript to death. You can ruin it by working on it too much or by trying to make it into something it isn't. I don't mean you should just spit your words out and never revise. I mean you need to learn when you've reached the natural end of a manuscript. You need to know when to shelve it and start on the next one. Not every manuscript will sell. That doesn't mean you're a bad writer. But don't waste time, time you could be working on the new one, to beat a dead horse.
-The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams , Double Day, 1922
Remember this classic? It's one of my favorite books because, in addition to being a wonderful story, it teaches us some very valuable life lessons. And more than one of those lessons can be applied to manuscripts and the writing life. But since this is a blog, let's stick with one of the most important of those lessons.
You can love your manuscript until it no longer looks like a book to anyone except you. Let me explain myself.
Manuscripts take a lot of time and energy. The more work you put into them, the more real the story becomes to you, the writer. But be careful. You can edit, revise, rewrite and change the story until it becomes unrecognizable and unsellable.
Think of your manuscript as a piece of beautiful fabric---enough to make one garment. After much thought, you choose a pattern for your garment. You sew and sew and sew and then you try the garment on. It fits, but there are a few places where it needs to be altered. You fix the hem, maybe take in the waist a bit, and then try it on again. Perfect fit.
Now, if you take the same piece of fabric, make a dress out of it, then you decide it shouldn't be a dress, but maybe a pair of pants. So you rip out the seams and start again. Now that it's pants, they're too short, so you tack some extra fabric on the hem, but it doesn't match the print. so you decide you'll make your pants into shorts, only the zipper you put in the pants is too long. . .
See what I'm getting at here? You can love your manuscript to death. You can ruin it by working on it too much or by trying to make it into something it isn't. I don't mean you should just spit your words out and never revise. I mean you need to learn when you've reached the natural end of a manuscript. You need to know when to shelve it and start on the next one. Not every manuscript will sell. That doesn't mean you're a bad writer. But don't waste time, time you could be working on the new one, to beat a dead horse.
Writing Trends: Hummers and Hybrids
As an aspiring author, it's important to keep a keen eye on the "NEW" bookshelves in both bookstores and libraries. By keeping your reading list current, you're keeping your finger on the pulse of the market. Just as in fashion, there are trends in the book world. If you're writing a book you intend to sell, especially if it's one you've had on your desk for a while, you need to make sure that manuscript would be marketable in today's world.
Don't delude yourself. Reading someone else's work, even if it's similar to yours, WILL NOT pollute your writing. It will enrich it. Don't get me wrong---you should never copy or plagarize in any way. But you should read the kind of books you write. Note the elements that pop up in every title. And then note the new trends---new styles, new types of characters, etc.
Take the romance genre for example. Gothic tales filled with brooding heros, dark dungeons, and isolated castles were all the rage in the 60's and 70's. The eighties were all about sucessful business men, the boom of the comtemporary romance, and money. Lots and lots of money. We we all watching Dallas while we read Jackie Collins. And remember all those great Judith McNaught novels? And who can forget Jayne Ann Krentz's eighties books? The last few years have been all about the paranormal. And paranormal likely wouldn't have sold in the days of Boy George and WHAM!. And even if it did, it would have been to a smaller audience. Who knows what the newest trend will be?
Ever notice how lots of best-selling authors start writing different kinds of books, even after major successes? Sandra Brown now writes romantic suspense---not short categories. Brenda Joyce is concentrating on paranormals instead of historicals. Even established authors have to follow trends sometimes.
Sometimes, writing for pleasure is a different game that writing for commercial success. Sure, you should write books you would like to read. But don't kid yourself either. Be honest with yourself when you reflect on WHY you write. And if you're writing to become the next top-seller, you need to know the market inside and out. I'm not suggesting that you "write for the trend" because you may be too late to catch it. What I am suggesting is that you read widely and figure out the baseline of your genre. Once you know that, you can easily spot what's new and hot and marketable.
Writing a manuscript fitting the expectations of today's reader goes a long way in getting it published.
In short, nobody wants to buy a Hummer right now. We're all thinking about Hybrids and MiniCoopers. Make sure your book is not a Hummer. Who knows when they'll be back en vogue?
Don't delude yourself. Reading someone else's work, even if it's similar to yours, WILL NOT pollute your writing. It will enrich it. Don't get me wrong---you should never copy or plagarize in any way. But you should read the kind of books you write. Note the elements that pop up in every title. And then note the new trends---new styles, new types of characters, etc.
Take the romance genre for example. Gothic tales filled with brooding heros, dark dungeons, and isolated castles were all the rage in the 60's and 70's. The eighties were all about sucessful business men, the boom of the comtemporary romance, and money. Lots and lots of money. We we all watching Dallas while we read Jackie Collins. And remember all those great Judith McNaught novels? And who can forget Jayne Ann Krentz's eighties books? The last few years have been all about the paranormal. And paranormal likely wouldn't have sold in the days of Boy George and WHAM!. And even if it did, it would have been to a smaller audience. Who knows what the newest trend will be?
Ever notice how lots of best-selling authors start writing different kinds of books, even after major successes? Sandra Brown now writes romantic suspense---not short categories. Brenda Joyce is concentrating on paranormals instead of historicals. Even established authors have to follow trends sometimes.
Sometimes, writing for pleasure is a different game that writing for commercial success. Sure, you should write books you would like to read. But don't kid yourself either. Be honest with yourself when you reflect on WHY you write. And if you're writing to become the next top-seller, you need to know the market inside and out. I'm not suggesting that you "write for the trend" because you may be too late to catch it. What I am suggesting is that you read widely and figure out the baseline of your genre. Once you know that, you can easily spot what's new and hot and marketable.
Writing a manuscript fitting the expectations of today's reader goes a long way in getting it published.
In short, nobody wants to buy a Hummer right now. We're all thinking about Hybrids and MiniCoopers. Make sure your book is not a Hummer. Who knows when they'll be back en vogue?
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