Despite the instant success of Lauren Weisberger’s roman a clef, The Devil Wears Prada, for most debut authors, pitching a novel to agents and editors is the most difficult step to getting published. If you can’t pique the interest of either of those gatekeepers, you’re going to become disheartened perhaps without knowing why. You might have the most potentially marketable book since To Kill A Mockingbird, but if you can’t write a query letter your manuscript is likely to yellow with age. Negative or non-responses to query letters are why some writers give up and self-publish. Self-publishing is an entirely different process that is not without its own pitfalls, and is costly and the subject of another article.

Hopefully, you have done your homework and you’re ready to write your letter. You know exactly to whom you are writing, and precisely what kinds of books he or she deals with. In the case of fiction, sending a thoroughly modern spy novel to someone who specializes in the 10th century building of Europe’s cathedrals, or to someone who is no longer with the company, is tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot?no, the head. It’s worth a call to insure the editor or agent is still there. For non-fiction, the rules are specifically different and require an outline.

I find it helpful to think of the query letter in four parts. The first paragraph (part one) should simply introduce your book and why you are writing to the recipient. For example you could write: “I’ve recently completed a XXX (identify the type of book) of approximately XXX words, tentatively entitled (italicize) for which I am seeking representation (or an editor).”

Part two is the hard component. Here, in a couple of paragraphs, you have to summarize the entire book. Think of it as being like the blurbs on book jackets, with one difference. In cover blurbs, the outcome is deliberately left hanging to tantalize the reader into buying the book. In the blurb as written for the query letter, you have to give an indication of how the book ends. Don’t be mysterious. Here, the agent or editor wants to know (a) you can write sentences that hang together, (b) you have a plot that will draw the reader in, and (c) you have a satisfying ending.

Make a point of identifying the primary protagonist of the book in the first sentence of the blurb by naming the character. Traditionally the blurb is written in present tense. You are saying (without saying it), “In the book, this happens and this happens and then this happens.”

Part three should explain what qualifies you to write this book. Describe your writing credits, as well as any other pertinent experience. For instance, if the story is set in the world of national or international tennis and you’ve played on the circuit, that’s pertinent. It means that you know what you’re talking about. Here you get a chance to be more personal, but not too cute.

Part four spells out what you will do i.e., “If you think you might be interested in representing XXX (title, italicized), I would be happy to send you a synopsis and either a partial or complete manuscript. I’m looking forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.” Yada-yada.

If the recipient wants to see more, he or she will probably ask you to submit the first 3-5 chapters along with a synopsis. The synopsis is vital not only in condensing the story, but in showcasing your characters. Be sure you have completed your synopsis before you send out the query letter. They may respond to you via email. I’ll talk about the synopsis in another article.

“Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul”?

Popularity: 13% [?]

When an agent or editor responds favorably to your query letter, he or she will probably ask you to submit the first 3-5 chapters of your book along with a synopsis. Writing the synopsis is the tedious but necessary evil. With a non-fiction book, the process differs in that you will have to submit an outline. In other words, you are pitching an idea or set of ideas on how to solve a problem such as how to survive in the desert with Antonio Banderas (Angelina if you’re guy), or how to cook a seven-course dinner with one pot.

For fiction, basically the synopsis should be a chapter-by-chapter summary of the plot. The key word here is summary. It must be concise and in the present tense. In essence, you’re saying: “In the book this happens and then this happens, and so forth.”

A good way to do this is to first label your chapter headers (Chapter One, etc.). Then write a summary of that chapter, then of the next, and so on. Of course, you will remove the chapter headers when you are finished with your summary paragraphs. The next step is to trim, trim, trim like crazy. Then trim some more.

Sometimes it’s helpful to preface the synopsis with a brief background paragraph of the protagonist(s). A few sentences can explain who he or they are in the context of the time and place, before launching into the chapter-by-chapter summary.

In presenting the kind of synopsis that will capture the attention of the reader, you will have to include a character sketch for each of the main characters. These sketches should concentrate on the characters’ motivations, especially those that bring the characters into conflict with one another. Keyword?Conflict. Remember, unless the villain is a one dimensional psychopathic serial killer with no conscience, the person has a human heart, and is many-sided.

Ask yourself these questions:

v Does the synopsis make clear the main character’s goal? What does the main character want to accomplish?

v Does your synopsis explain what is keeping the main character from achieving his or her goal? This is the conflict essential to the plot.

There are as many aspects to the writing of a novel as there are styles. But some basic rules apply even to the activists and risk-takers. The basic building blocks of a book are the scenes. They are the units of action, dialogue, thought and description, which occur at a specific time in a specific place. Narrative is the glue that holds the scenes together. I hope that following these plain vanilla guidelines will help to keep you building and writing.

“Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul”?

Popularity: 16% [?]

I am going two give ewe some suggestions to improve you’re writing and to insure you have happy readers. I no I am committing many mistakes. This proves that spellchecker should not be you’re best friend. I did not misspell any words in this paragraph, but it is terribly annoying, know?

This problem happens often with homonyms, words that sound alike but have different meaning and spelling. Examples:

• to, two, too
• your, you’re
• their, there
• hear, here

“Insure” is another problem. I rarely see this word used correctly including the first paragraph. In most cases, the correct word is “ensure” and occasionally it is “assure.” When discussing insurance policies or something similar, then “insure” is correct.

The spellchecker can’t tell you if you used the wrong or right word. Be cautious and look it up in a dictionary if you’re not sure which word to use. I admit that when I type fast that I occasionally use the wrong word because I “hear” the word in my head and my fingers type the wrong one.

While writing this article, I received my daily grammar email and it provided addition incentive for watching your words. Here’s an example:

Meant: The former basketball player remains physically fit.

Typed: The former basketball player remains physically fat.

Embarrassing, eh? The last thing we need is to unintentionally offend someone.

Editors can tell you I’ve overlooked mistakes that a spellchecker missed. When I spout articles, I lose perspective from looking at them too long and do a poor inspection. Shame on me, I know. If you have the luxury, then try partner editing. Exchange your article with a co-worker and edit one another’s work.

Did you notice another problem in the first paragraph? Apostrophe abuse! There should not be apostrophes in that paragraph. While on a cruise, I encountered frequent apostrophe abuse in the ship’s newsletter. “It’s” should’ve been “its,” “1950′s” should’ve been “1950s,” and “50′s” should’ve been “’50s.”

Contractions should be the easiest apostrophe mistake to avoid, but it’s prevalent in many resources even reputable ones. When proofreading, break up the contraction and sound out the whole thing. For example, read the first sentence of this article by saying, “I am going to give you some suggestions to help improve you are writing.” You should know immediately that apostrophe does not belong there.

Another apostrophe catastrophe is in “calendar years.” It takes little thinking, but it makes sense once you think about it. If you shorten a year to two digits, then it should have an apostrophe in front of the first digit to indicate it has been shortened. Remember that contractions are shortcuts, therefore to use it in a year is to shorten it.

On the other hand, when you do include all the digits of a year, you are not shortening it. There is no apostrophe even if it is plural. A year is not a person, place or thing and cannot “possess” anything. When you make it plural, just add an “s” on the end and nothing else.

An abused apostrophe is its use in “FAQ.” Unless someone forgot to tell me, FAQ is not a person either and cannot “own” a thing. Someone made a good point asking me about the “s” in “FAQs” because it could be covered in “questions.” That is true, but it can also mean, “question.” “FAQs” and “FAQ” are acceptable. Many might argue because FAQ is an abbreviation that an ‘s is OK. If the abbreviation is recognizeable without the ‘, then it should be fine to drop it. When talking of letter grades such as A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s, and F’s; it helps to have the apostrophe.

Also, remember possessives like “hers, “his,” “ours,” and
“theirs” already indicate ownership of something. Don’t make it a double ownership by adding an apostrophe. There are articles using “her’s,” “their’s,” and so on. It’s ugly.

If you watch for these common mistakes, then you should have happy readers especially in those that are nitpicky about these errors.

Popularity: 11% [?]

When my son died, I wrote. It saved me. However everything I composed in my journal and computer files was not to be seen by the world. While it was important to me because it was either my raw guts spilled forth or memories of my four-year-old whose laughter echoed down the hospital corridors, it was not what poetry magazines wished to publish.

Recently I reread some of my poems from five years ago. My stomach filled
with queasiness. Now I understood why editors rejected my work. My pain was
clear, but I could see the blood on the pages

These days I receive poems from aching parents who hope I’ll publish their
creations in my e-zine or bereavement newsletter. These parents are
grieving intensely. They yearn for, and love their child. I know writing
helps them release a little of the agony so that they can go to bed at
night and climb out in the morning. But often I cringe. Cliches steal from
what they want to convey. It seems cruel to tell a broken-hearted mother or
father that their rhyming lines can’t be published. Their poetry will never
flow on the glossy page of magazines if they don’t follow some simple rules.

The rules for writing from heartache

These are rules for those who have been through or are living through a
difficult season and find creating poetry the venue for sanity.

1. Toss away cliches. Yes, we live with cliches and the grief world is full
of them. Think of some of these and write them down. Beside each well-worn
phrase, come up with a fresh way of saying the same thing. “My heavy heart”
to convey the burden of pain, is common. How about changing it to “The
sting that grinds each limb”? or “My groaning limbs”?

2. Stretch your vocabulary. Make friends with your dictionary and
thesaurus. Learn new words and how to use them. Write them on index cards
and stick them on your refrigerator.

3. Come up with imagery to show, not tell. One of the best lines I saw was
in a poem a friend wrote describing lifting balloons into the heavens at
the tombstone of his daughter. The month was January and he penned,
“Breathing the frost of pain.” That image of struggle was clear to me
and reading it, made my lungs ache.What is pain over the death of a dear
friend? What does it feel like? Is it nights with tissues, watching
infommercials? Is it fear of losing your mind? How can you show the love
you held for this significant person and the hole his loss has made in your
heart?

One unique string of words

Don’t over-do the agony-filled lines. One string of words?a unique
string?is enough to convey the pit of sorrow.

I thought about images when I clipped five roses from a gangly rose bush in
our garden after a night of rain.

Five Roses In Memory of a Four-Year-Old

Yesterday
into the house
where you danced
I carried five roses
five for the age
you never knew
five for the years
you’ve been gone
delicate, pink,
five for those
of us left
tear drops on
green petals
glistening.

These lines clearly imply sadness even without the use of words like
“sorrow,” “sad” and “grief.” The title also is key because it answers the
question of how old my child was when he died. I chose “danced” instead
of “lived” (although “lived” may have been fine), because I think
that word catches a clearer description to hold in our mind.

Stay away from tired ideas

4. Search for new themes. Often we read about the same heartache theme over
and over. Ponder on how to write new themes in old grief. How about
describing a dream you had about your deceased loved-one? What was he
wearing? What was the sound of his voice?

Find a single word, reflect on it and go from there. Number. What do
numbers signify (as in the poem above)? How do they connect with our pain?
Graveyard. How about what graveyards teach us?

When you lose someone special, you want others to ask what he was like, or
for those who knew him to share the memories they held with this loved-one.
After my Daniel died, I wanted people to freely listen to me talk of a boy
who loved Toy Story and watermelon.

I came up with a poem to help others understand the value of asking?that
was my theme?despite their fears of wondering if this is the “right thing”
to do. I ended it with a phrase I hope will leave an image in the minds of
readers—”the flowers that never die.” Flowers are associated with funeral
homes, memorial services and grave sites. My “reasoning” for creating
this phrase was to show that what the bereaved really want given?more valuable
than the flowers left at the stone?is the chance to share from our heart
the one we miss.

When You Ask….

When you ask about him
leave your fears at the door

Your questions open each window
watch the sunlight stream in

I see his infectious grin
the soft hand inside mine

Come, sit, let me tell you
these times are too rare

When you ask about him
you release permission*

And I need this sunshine
like daily bread

I can warm these rooms
with the life-giving memories

When you ask about him
you bring the flowers that never die.

So I wouldn’t break my own rule, I deleted this poem of a worn-phrase even
after it was accepted by an editor. Originally I had written in line ten*,
“you grant me permission.” When I became aware of the cliche, I changed
it to “you release permission.”

5. Venture outside. God has created spectacular nature. Even if you live in
a city, as I have, a tiny sparrow or the clouds can provide inspiration for
new thoughts and ideas. Take a walk with your pad of paper and pen. Jot
down words to describe your loved-one. Think of color, smells and sights
that have to do with your yearning for this person. Is it autumn? Do the
colors of the leaves portray any of the colors of your friend’s life? Can
you write lines about rust or gold in describing your relationship and/or
loss? When you are near a construction site, listen to the bulldozers and
backhoes. What do they symbolize to you?

6. If you use a computer to compose, print your poem. Errors are easier to
spot when you have it printed on a 81/2 by 11 sheet. After you have edited
your masterpiece, place it in a drawer. Marinating your poetry is good policy.

7. A few days later, take out your piece and read it aloud. Poetry is meant
to be read aloud; isn’t this what we learned in Poetry 101?

Take time to read good poetry

8. Read dynamic poetry. Perhaps you won’t be able to write like Frost or
Tennyson, but by reading these literary heroes out loud, you will notice
the images and words they use and see what makes a poem work well and why.
Don’t neglect the Psalms, especially the ones that describe tears and
sorrow. They are therapeutic as well as helpful in grief because their raw
honesty ploughs through. Taking the time to learn how to create more
effective and poignant poetry will help share your loss and love with the
world.

Popularity: 11% [?]

A professional biography or overview, showcasing your background, experience and expertise, is a necessity for every business owner. This often overlooked marketing tool is an excellent way to introduce you and your business to potential clients and possible strategic business partners. Potentially, it might open up opportunities for speaking engagements, radio or television interviews, or a feature print article. While any information about you and your business is helpful, information that is presented in a professional, well-polished manner can make all the difference in how others perceive you. Consider these important points as you craft your own professional biography.

1. One page wonder.

Your professional biography should be a few paragraphs and kept to one page or less. One page is perfect for copying on the reverse side of a handout or flyer. Several paragraphs, left justified make it easier to read and skim.

2. First, second, or third person?

Always write your biography in the third person. That is, refer to yourself by your name or she/he as appropriate. It sounds more professional as it appears that a third party wrote the text. For example, “Alexandra has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Newsweek, and Time magazines.”

3. Business in brief.

Not only do readers want to know what you do, but also they want to know who you work with – because they might want to work with you! A professional biography should include a sentence or two about your business niche (or niches) as well as the types of clients you serve. A modified version of your 30-second elevator pitch might be perfect.

4. And the winner is?.

Make sure that you include a list of awards that you have received. Readers are interested in knowing about your talents and the organizations that recognize you for them.

5. Organizations.

Include names of the organizations, clubs, or associations to which you belong. A reader’s interest might be highlighted at seeing that you belong to the same alumni association or professional business group. Again, these connections might possibly lead to some interesting and exciting business opportunities.

6. Certifications and designations.

Include any professional certifications or designations you hold. Make sure you write out their names in full, rather than use abbreviations. Not everyone might know that CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant. And, perhaps, in a different discipline, it might represent something else – like a Certified Materials Analyst. If you no longer hold a particular designation, but it has played a major role in who you are and what you do, don’t hesitate to make a reference to it. For example, “Ann is a former Certified Data Processor and spent the last decade as an adjunct faculty member teaching higher mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.” Don’t include abbreviations of college degrees, like MBAs as it looks unprofessional. The only exception to this would be for a Ph.D. designation.

7. Published?

Have you written any articles, books, e-courses or e-books? Self-published or not, your works add to your level of professionalism and credibility. Showcase them in your biography and you might earn additional royalties in terms of new clients or other opportunities.

8. Did I mention the media?

Have you been a guest on talk radio or television? Were you or your business featured or even mentioned in a newspaper article? If so, readers want to know. Again, these types of “mentions” add to your credibility and presence.

9. Call me any time.

People who want to know about you will read your biography for just that reason. And, if its compelling, rich, and includes the information they’re interested, in, they’ll want to contact you. Include complete contact information like your title (if any), name, address, telephone, fax, email, and website address. Make it easy to find this information by including it in the last paragraph of your professional overview.

10. Write, rewrite, and do it again.

After you have written your biography, edit, edit, and edit again. You may need to do a dozen or so revisions before you get it just right. Eliminate extra words, use descriptive words, keep the sentences short but varied in length, and write in the third person. Ask some friends to provide input as well. Make sure to revise your biography regularly to keep it up-to-date and refreshed.

Copyright 2004 by Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff.

Popularity: 9% [?]