Capturing the Elusive

Post by Jenny

I have a hummingbird feeder hanging outside my front window. Every August, I typically have one or two regular customers. This year, though, no such luck. I heard the birds buzzing to and fro, so I knew they had returned. But why were they giving me the brush off?

I wondered if maybe a different feeder would help. The old one was impossible to clean, anyway. So I bought a new one, filled it with fresh, homemade nectar, and hung it in the same spot. The next morning, I thoughtlessly threw back the curtain, and, lo and behold, there was the hummingbird. For one split-second, he hung above the feeder, shimmering like an ornament. Then he zoomed off. As far as I can tell, the little sucker hasn’t been back. (But I have no shortage of sugar-loving wasps.)

I’m pretty sure my abrupt opening of the curtain scared the bird away for good. Hummingbird season in my part of town is short, and I’m disappointed that I’ll have to wait another year to try again. But it got me thinking about how creative-types try to capture the elusive. Wildlife photographers sit in blinds for hours waiting for the blink-and-you-miss-it shot. Actors rehearse, balancing craft and chemistry until their performances become much more than merely ‘playing a part.’

Writers capture the elusive, too, in a variety of forms—an astoundingly unique plot twist, for example. Spot-on dialogue. A succinctly evocative descriptive passage. On the rare occasion, when I sit down to write, the elusive is not so elusive. My characters go above and beyond, surprising me with their inventiveness. The completed pages pile up. I am, as the athletes say, in the zone.

Other times, it all flies out the window. Every paragraph is work. My characters are dull and two-dimensional. Their dialogue stinks. They couldn’t care less about making my life easy, and the more I nag them, the more they resist. The farther I toss out that net, the wider they disperse.

So, what’s the cure, what coaxes the elusive near enough to grab? Patience…give it time. Perseverance…don’t give up. Progress…keep the forward momentum going, even if it means switching to another project. Preparation…set an inviting table, and see who shows up.

How do you capture the elusive in your writing?

This Week in the Writing World...August 27

by Brooke Favero

This week a discussion caught fire in the blogs after the release of the much anticipated YA novel Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I read Mockingjay this week, and it is by far the most violent of The Hunger Games series which is CRAZY because the other two were no Disney ride. Nathan Bransford asks if violence should be in kid/YA lit. And Stet wonders if violence in books desensitizes our culture. What do you think about violence in kid/YA lit?

Understanding the Industry

Chip MacGregor answers publishing relationship questions. BookEnds gives the reason for the rules. The Rejecter explains just how much a writer makes. Pimp My Novel explains the battle for Barnes & Noble.

Building Your Platform

Stet gives the how-to-why-to Twitter. Blood Red Pencil lists upcoming writer's conferences. Anne Allen gives do's and don'ts at a conference. Rachelle Gardner examines when you need a mentor.

Querying

Adventures in Children's Publishing recommends patience when querying. Rachelle Gardner explains what an agent has to offer. PubRants says you should ask this question during an agent interview.

Crafting

Wordplay helps you say less. Writer Unboxed says telegraphing kills pace and you should know more about your characters than the reader--don't share all the details. Anna Staniszewski talks about building tension. Edittorrent works coherence into backstory. Blood Red Pencil recommends using your nose while writing. Kidlit helps craft a mature voice for YA.

New Agent

Jason Pinter of Waxman Literary.

And just for fun: Kittens inspired by kittens. Don't you wish all dramatic reading were like this? I want pie. I want beef jerky.

"Training Wheel Novel?" or "Why I Heart My Critique Groups!"

post by Jennifer Carter, courtesy of Lynn Carlson

Last week Kathleen, one of the members of my online critique group, posed a question to us when she submitted her chapters for the week: Should she keep going on this (her first novel) or chalk this up to her "training wheel novel" and move on to something else? Another member of the group, Lynn Carlson, responded so eloquently that I wanted to share her advice. I think it can apply to just about any writer (except the parts where she specifically refers to Kathleen, of course) who is facing the same daunting question as we struggle to reach that milestone of getting published. Enjoy!

Oh no, you don’t. You can’t push the decision whether to continue with The Land of LeVan off on us. You created this world – brought Corey, Mandy, Aurelia, et al. to life, so it’s your call. Of course you’re just asking for input, right? Since I consider writing to be both an art and a craft, I’ll have to go at it twofold.

ART: Sounds like Kathleen the writer/artist has momentarily lost her writing mojo. We all know that happens. Boy, do we know it happens. So we can commiserate, but only Kathleen knows what it will take to get her mojo back. Me, I’ve got to step away, let the writing cool, then go back so I can see the piece with fresh eyes. Sometimes I decide the piece has died a natural death, only to have it start speaking to me again through an image, a snippet of dialogue, etc. I’ve read of authors who have got to go garden, ski, travel to a foreign country, do some thing to get away from the page and refill the creative well. This is such an individual thing that I think we novices just have to do trial and error to see what works for us. Although life experience tends to provide us with clues about how we recharge best.

I also think a good dose of self-knowledge can help you decide whether this loss of momentum is a temporary thing, or a signal that you’re done, done, done with this story. I’ve noticed that lots of people believe that the writing of a novel is a charge-through kind of thing, like many projects in the workplace. Published authors seem to vary on this: some will write from start to finish, working on one story only. Many others bounce around from image to image, scene to scene, and move fluidly from one story to another – whichever one is “calling” to them at the moment. How about you? Are you a multi-tasker, juggling more than one project at a time? Many women are, by necessity and as a function of the way our brains are wired? Or are you a focused, linear type? Don’t quit on this novel until you’re sure you’ve sucked it dry of all the writing process lessons it has to teach you.

CRAFT: If you’re working on the logic that all writers have that obligatory training wheel novel (and it’s a common phenomenon, but plenty of first novels have been published) and you consider The Land of LeVan as meeting that criteria, then I ask you to reconsider. You’ll probably hate me for saying it, but if the adage of “all writing is re-writing” is correct, then ask yourself if you have TRULY written this novel, all the way through the novel-writing process? Or are you hung up in the revision process? Following your original logic, abandoning this novel at this point may mean the next novel you write will still have to be the training wheel novel. Up for consideration, my friend: you ain’t done yet. But only YOU can say.

Are you like me? Did you think this whole writing thing was going to be easier than it is, move along more quickly? When I started creative writing four years ago, I was in a hurry. The longer I write, the slower I go, because it has become obvious to me that my creative process can’t be rushed. It will take its own sweet time. There is so much to learn and I can only sip a little at a time.

You have lots of options:

Option: Muddle through, keep on keeping on. Set a small goal for this week, complete it, set another. There’s an Alcoholic’s Anonymous slogan that fits: “What’s the next right thing to do?”

Another option: Decide not to decide right now. Do something else, write something else. Be patient and wait for further instructions.

Yet another option: Stop with the story. But don’t bury it yet. You don’t/can’t yet know if it’s really dead.

All of this being said (yakety-yak), please remember that I’ve never reached the point you are at in the writing of a novel. I’ve got a couple in the “discovery draft” phase, but I can’t know what you’re going through right now because I haven’t been there. My personal opinion on The Land of LeVan? My middle-aged, non-experienced in YA genre, opinion? All I can say is you have brought the story to life for me. I find myself with an image of the snotties cavern in my head at odd moments, and I was more patient with my 14-year-old step-grandson this summer because I thought, “Oh, he’s just like Corey, a little spacey and unsure of himself.”

Your story impacted a reader’s life, and it hasn’t even been published yet. What more could you want from it?

Thank you, Lynn, for letting me steal your advice! And a note from Kathleen--The Land of LeVan is a working title.

What is your take on the "training wheel novel"? Is it obligatory? Have you put yours away or do you keep working at rewriting it? Or did you perhaps publish it?

Pack Your Portmanteau

Post by Jenny

NCW member Bob McDonnell writes a very fun blog “exploring use, misuse and humor of words,” where he recently posted a link to the 50 Funniest Pop Culture Sayings That Made it to the Dictionary.

I’m familiar with approximately thirty of the words, and of those thirty, only seven or so have made it into my personal lexicon. I have nothing against the rest—many of the words are quite clever—but I feel so chronically uncool when I try to incorporate slang into my vocabulary. Back in the day, I was pretty safe with any words or expressions from Seinfeld or The Simpsons, but even that window has closed for me now. As for more current slang, I can’t imagine trying to toss “adultescent” or “meatspace” into my conversation. (Indeed, my spellchecker doesn’t even recognize them as words, which is probably a good rule of thumb for me).

My favorite word on the list (though you won’t likely catch me using it) is #6: frenemy (friend + enemy). I love a good portmanteau—a fabulous word in itself that can mean “a large, hinged traveling case made of stiff leather,” or “a word composed of parts of two or more words.” I’m also drawn to the pairing of opposites—yin/yang, sweet/sour, comedy/tragedy, past/future, smooth/crunchy, and, occasionally, passive/aggressive.

I hope I don’t have human frenemies, but I have others. Caffeine is my frenemy (gives me daytime energy, nighttime insomnia.) So is chocolate (tastes good, makes me fat). Ditto the internet (vast source of helpful information, bottomless well of time-sucks).

My question today is not whether you have frenemies (though if you have a good story, please share) but how you incorporate slang into your writing. Especially YA writers…how do you make slang natural, how do you know when enough is enough? Are you forced to listen to actual teenagers conversing? (Okay, so maybe it’s not as bad as I imagine; I’ll find out in a few years.)

While we ponder the question of slang, let’s have a little fun on a Monday morning. Tell us your favorite portmanteau, or combine a couple of words to make your own. It doesn’t have to be serious or topical or even logical. For instance, here’s mine:

Smelloquence – the fluent and expressive description of olfactory stimuli.

For further inspiration, pay a visit to Urban Dictionary. At the very least, it will have you wondering…who actually talks like that?

This Week in the Writing World...August 20

by Brooke Favero




This week is back-to-school for my kids which means back-to-writing for me. When you write, what pushes you? Daily minimums, goals, threats, treats? I think I'm going to do a combo of goal/treat this week. Denver has an incredible dessert restaurant, D Bar, on 17th. Has anyone gone?







Understanding the Industry
If you're writing romance, Guide to Literary Agents recaps the agent panel at RWA. Bookends talks about product placement in books . Michael Stackpole lists 9 must-have clauses for digital rights contracts. Guide to Literary Agents ignores the numbers in the irony of impossible. Rachelle Gardner sweetly answers the community's pressing questions. Janet Reid helps sift through the blogosphere and adds a much needed agent rating system. Steve Laube offers perspective by examining the changes in our culture. Dystel & Goderich talks cover art and its usual suspects.

Querying
SlushPile Hell gives a short list of things not to include in your query.



Building Your Platform
Pimp My Novel says when marketing your book, don't forget traditional media like radio. KT Literary says every author should have a website and a blog. BBC News explains why book signing are becoming such a performance. Blood Red Pencil offers valuable promotion ideas. WIP it gives advice for protecting your online reputation.



Crafting
Nathan Bransford tells how to write a novel. Writer Unboxed discusses cliff-hanger chapter endings. SFWA offers 5 free to-do list trackers to keep your writing on track. Janice Hardy explains how to ask for feedback. Kidlit discusses character stereotypes in a vlog--her Rubik's Cube will blow your mind. Stet explains how to help your readers suspend belief. Adventures in Children's Publishing rounds up WriteOnCon: see days 1, 2, and 3. Wordplay tells when to use pronouns.



New Agents
Weronika Janczuk of D4EO Literary.

Guess the Movie...

This movie is playing at the New Belgium Bike-In Cinema tomorrow night (8/20)

in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Can you guess what it is...?

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Do you Eat Pray Love?

post by Jennifer Carter

My best friend recommended the book Eat Pray Love to me a year or two ago, and like so many of my good intentions, I bought the book and then put it on a shelf...for about a year or two. So when the movie came out last week, I decided it was time to find out what all the buzz was about. In what I recognize now as Liz Gilbert style, I went to see it soltanto--all by myself. I've been on a bit of an Eat Pray Love kick ever since, and finally started reading the book.

I came across an article on CNN.com yesterday about how to Eat Pray Love in the good old US of A (I'm going with Jenny's trend recognizing all the best nouns are verbs these days). The article said to Eat in New Orleans, which I'm not sure I'm quite ready to do just yet, and Love in Hawaii, because it's romantic. Quite frankly, if I'm going to be on a plane that long, I may as well be going to Italy! Interestingly, though, it said to Pray in Colorado, specifically at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes.

I visited the Shambhala Center a few years ago as a surprise for my then-boyfriend's birthday. It was snowing and freezing, but it was still a warm experience for both of us. And the food was terrific. At that time though, I had barely been introduced to the idea of meditation. The friend who recommended the book to me eventually tried it out and also said I should give it a whirl, but it's still somewhat of a foreign concept to me...much like yoga, though I have actually tried a class or two of that.

Meditation seems like a challenging practice to me, so I would love to hear if others do it and how it works--does it improve your ability to write?

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Birthday Lists

Post by Jenny

I recently celebrated my birthday. Despite the discovery of what is apparently my first bona fide chin whisker, I’m happy to add another number to my age. It sure beats the alternative, right?

Unlike New Year’s, when we’re all in the same boat as we turn over new leaves and such, birthdays are a more personal time of reflection and self-evaluation. This has led me to compile the following birthday lists:

Ten Things I Really Should Do Better at My Age:
10) Think up titles
9) Parallel park
8) Wear skirts
7) Pitch to an agent
6) Use coupons before they expire
5) Cook fish
4) Follow up on queries
3) Resist chocolate
2) Manage my time
1) Tell people I’m a writer

Regarding #1, I hesitate to tell people I’m a writer because I know it’s only a matter of time before the conversation reveals that I’ve never actually been published. But publication doesn’t make me a writer. Writing makes me a writer. So, my birthday resolution is to boldly and proudly ‘fess up whenever I’m asked. Now, list #2:

Ten Careers I’m Disinclined to Pursue for Age-Related Reasons:
10) Ballet dancer
9) DJ
8) Hand model
7) Competitive eater
6) Astronaut
5) Anything beginning with ‘Wiki’
4) Sherpa
3) Video game designer
2) Bartender
1) X-Games athlete

‘Writer’ is not on the list, for writers are not bound by age constraints or physical limitations. In fact, we often get better as we get older—an incredibly liberating thought that almost makes me feel sorry for supermodels and child actors.

Finally, from the Department of Shameless Self-Promotion: This birthday also marks the start of my blog, Choice City Native. It’s the chronicle of my attempt to have one new experience in my hometown every week for the next year. I’d love to have you stop by.

This Week in the Writing World...August 13

by Brooke Favero

Happy Friday the 13th. Hyperbole and a Half offers an interesting perspective on expectations vs. reality. Sometimes I feel like her when I'm writing. But I dust myself off and go again. Why? Because I love writing and I'm a determined mule. When rejection or failure stings, what pushes you forward?

Shake off the day's voodoo with these links:

Building Your Platform

Pimp My Novel bestows the ten commandments to blogging. Books Blog gives advice to private writers how to manage your public role. Guide to Literary Agents says social media can help when done right. Writer Unboxed talks about the fine art of ego management. Dystel & Goderich harnesses literary karma. The Blood Red Pencils shares how to write tight tweets. There are No Rules lists five ways to use book trailers to drive sales.

Querying

Bookends says get your query blurb right. Adventures in Children's Publishing lists ten tests your manuscript should pass before querying. Rachelle Gardner gives some tips on how to talk to an agent when you get The Call. And her guest blogger, Camille Eide, talks about how to handle the Editorial Letter after The Call. Janet Reid comments on a couple query shark entries which are great examples. Guide to Literary Agents lists querying do's for both agents and writers.

Crafting

Clever Nathan Bransford diagnoses common writing maladies. SFWA lists 5 online resources for research because wikapedia should never be sited as a source. Pimp My Novel gives a shout out (he doesn't shout) to dialogue tags. Janice Hardy helps fill plot holes. Bookview Cafe recommends creating structure, shape and interest in your WIP. Combreviations avoids semicolons. Guide to Literary Agents explains how to start a mystery novel. Some of the tips apply to any story opening. Wordplays says skip the boring parts. C. Patrick Schulze overcomes flat writing.

Hyperbole and a half also provides a public safety video about cats. Spoiler: Cats: They have sharp parts.

Not What I Envisioned

Post by Kerrie

A few months back I had a post about our brand new NSA (neighborhood supported agriculture) garden that we share with some neighbors. After all the rain and snow we received early on in the season, the garden is finally thriving.

When we first sowed the seeds and planted the fragile seedlings, I wanted to do something to protect the plants from harmful insects without using pesticides. I read somewhere that marigolds can deter unwanted insects.

I liked this idea. I envisioned a border of cute, 6" marigold all the way around the garden bursting with yellows and oranges. I happened to have a packet of seeds laying around that I had gotten in some box of cereal. Perfect. I planted the seeds and smiled. This was going to be the best garden ever.

As the summer went on, the garden began to flourish and the border of marigolds was joining in the fun. But instead of stopping at a cute 6" height, the marigolds kept growing and growing and growing (and no flowers yet). My husband kept asking if I was sure I planted marigolds.
"Yes, I am sure they were." I kept insisting.

When they hit about the 2 foot mark something had to be done. They were starting to shield the sun from the peppers and onions. I wasn't worried about the pumpkins and cucumbers because they are strong viney plants with an attitude--they can take care of themselves. But I had to save the rest of the veggies. So I pulled out some of the marigolds and replanted them somewhere else in the yard where they wouldn't bully any small fragile plants. So much for my original garden vision.

Has this ever happened with your writing? You have a vision of where you want your story or article to go, but somewhere along the way something goes wrong. You take your characters on a bunny trail, or you include unnecessary information or you put some bizarre twist in the middle of your story that makes no sense.

I know I have done it and I am sure most writers have as well. What do you do to fix this when it happens? Do you have any outrageous examples of a time this happened to you?

What did I learn from all this? Things don't always go as planned and never trust seeds from a cereal box.

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The Write Stuff August preview

post by Jennifer Carter

I have really been enjoying putting the NCW newsletter together these past few months, and I wanted to put out the reminder that the August issue of The Write Stuff will be coming out soon. If you have any personal progress updates, upcoming events, thoughts/prayers, conference or other writing-related reports to share, please send them to me at jennifer@northerncoloradowriters.com. I'm also looking for short fiction or essays, excerpts, or poetry (I can't believe no one has submitted any poetry yet!) for this issue.

We've got some exciting things planned for the August issue, including local writing opportunities and a revamped Member Services section, so I hope you will check it out.

Also coming up soon is the deadline for the current NCW writing contest. A few weeks ago I asked, "What has NCW done for you?" The winning piece, in whatever form you choose to answer that question, will win a $25 Amazon gift card. Deadline is Sunday, August 15th. You can also send those submissions, preferably in the body of the email, to jennifer@northerncoloradowriters.com.

Roget...Yea or Nay?

Post by Jenny

While helping price books for the NCW Wine and Words fundraiser, my 9-year-old came across a nearly-new copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. He was quite taken by it, and we ended up bringing it home. As my son browsed through the book over the next few days, he read aloud words and phrases that caught his attention, including: bamboozler, ‘have no truck with,’ dupe, armada, ‘turn turtle,’ quibble, catalytic, and ‘turn up trumps.’

It was fun for me to hear him getting excited about new words. I’m all for vocabulary building. But what about a writer’s use of a thesaurus? Is it a help or a hindrance? The Time Magazine blurb on the front cover calls Roget’s “a sterling reference tool.” On the back cover, harpercollins.com advises that the book is “the first source to which writers, students, and speakers should turn to add eloquence, weight, and style to their spoken and written ideas and sentiments.” Brad's Reader calls it “a writer’s best friend.”

On the other hand, Stephen King writes: “Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” (Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully - in Ten Minutes). Likewise, Procrastinating Writer founder Jennifer Blanchard’s post on Daily Writing Tips offers a cautionary tale against thesaurus overuse.

So, when is it okay to Roget? (Aren’t all the best nouns also verbs these days?) I think it should be examined on a case-by-case basis. A well-chosen word can make a sentence resonate. But there’s a fine line between eloquence and…excuse me for a moment while I consult the thesaurus…magniloquence (lofty and extravagant speech). When in doubt, read aloud. If your word choice sounds wrong (incorrect, indecorous, undue, unseemly, unfit, inappropriate, undesirable, inadvisable, impolitic, contraindicated, unworkable, incongruous, ill-suited, ill-considered, unsuitable, or malapropos), it probably is. Take it out and save it for Scrabble™.

As much as I love the quest for a new word, I try to keep my thesaurus use in check. More and more often these days, however, I find I need one not to discover a new perfect word, but to help me identify the perfect word that’s just out of my brain’s reach—that frustrating ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ feeling. I wonder if Mr. King would approve of using the thesaurus as an aid for memory loss…?

Do you have a thesaurus in your writer’s tool box? Do you use it?

This Week in the Writing World...August 6

by Brooke Favero
Happy Shark Week. Are writing/critique groups valuable? This week, Stet categorizes the different members in a writing group. Are you in a writing group? Is it helpful? What type of group member are you?

Understanding Publishing
Bookends addresses using a small publisher. Rachelle Gardner wants to know if you have the passion to go from good to great. Chip MacGregor gives tips for finding freelance jobs. Janet Reid says no to exceptional queries.

Building Your Platform
Guide to Literary Agents spotlights seven things Olivia Sharpnack has learned. Her focus: platform. Scott Tracey asks: can you over promote your book? Dystel & Goderich offers an opinion about over promotion. Pimp My Novel lists 12 steps to sell your book.

Crafting
Guide to Literary Agents helps you write a thriller. Nathan Bransford compares writing vs. storytelling. Kidlit explains how to ground the reader. Edittorrent trims sentences. Janice Hardy gives tips for developing characters. Adventures in Children's Publishing discovers the details of your characters. Plot to Punctuation explains the bystander effect. Katie Ganshert defines the three O's to a great scene.

If you have a thing for apostrophes, you might like this or check your writing horoscope at Magical Words.

Mini-Vacations-Fuel for Writers

Post by Kerrie

In honor of spending another few days in Crested Butte, I thought it would be a good time to revisit this post I wrote a couple of years back.

I have thoroughly been enjoying my summer. This year we have not traveled far from home. It is not because of gas prices or that we are trying to reduce carbon emissions--it just worked out that way. Plus we live in the most beautiful state in the country, so there really isn't a need to go very far.

We just got back from Crested Butte, a small mountain town in Southwest Colorado, where my aunt and uncle live. This is a picture from their deck and you can't see it, but there is a field of wildflowers to the left. It was an incredible place to sit, relax and soak in the view.

I don't get a lot of writing done when I am gone, but these small trips refill my creative energy. I blogged a few weeks ago about fully recharging, but these trips serve a different purpose.

When we went camping last month, I was filled with the fresh scent of pine, heard the calming sound of a running river and marveled at the clarity of the star-filled sky at night. From this past trip to Crested Butte, I tucked away in my memory the sounds of the bluegrass music we heard at a concert in a barn, the feeling of walking through a field of wildflowers as tall as my knees and being immersed in a laid-back mountain community where doors are left unlocked and everyone seemed happy.

We will be setting off for Mesa Verde in a few weeks and I know I will be come away from there with a connection to the past and the amazing history of the area.

These mini-vacations are giving me images, scents, feelings and experiences that can be used in my writing in the future. They will allow me to write more vivid descriptions, create believable characters and provide me with ideas for articles.

So, while I may not be getting a lot of writing done now, my future writing is going to reap the benefits. I encourage you to take some time to enjoy the world around you and soak it all in. You don't have to take notes or write down everything you see, just let yourself fully experience it.

What mini-vacations have you taken lately and how have they helped your writing?

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What Platform?

post by Jennifer Carter
I've heard agents and other professionals say that for the prepublished author, platforms are not all that important. Then again, I've heard others say it's crucial and I should definitely have one before I try to get published.

If I were to assume the latter is correct, then it would be a good idea to figure out just what the heck a platform is to begin with. Now, I've gone to some workshops and read some articles about building your platform, but I have to admit, when I picture mine it still looks something like this photo. And just as empty. I hear the words they're saying about what it is, and I do understand English most of the time, but I have to say--I still don't get it.

From a nonfiction standpoint I can see how it would work--you are an expert on something and that's your platform. In certain cases of fiction writers I can see it, like Mike Befeler's geezer lit or Cricket McRae's homecrafting mystery series, but what does a run-of-the-mill literary fiction writer's platform really look like?

I've heard that whatever your book is about, that's your platform. Well, I'm not sure I want sin and repression in a small town to be my platform, because what if I want to write about something else? Do I need two or more platforms? One for every book?

We have over 200 writers in NCW, so I would love to hear from any or all of you on your take on platforms. Are they necessary? Do you have one? How did you "design" it? And if you had one before you got published, did it help? If you didn't have one, did it hinder you?

Be a Good Sport

Post by Jenny

My older son’s baseball team didn’t win a game this season. They lost some close ones, some blowouts, and some games they should have won. It was a frustrating experience, but the boys showed amazing character. They went out and played hard every time. They didn’t quit. And they didn’t turn on each other. Even more impressively, neither did the parents or coaches. It’s impressive because adults often seem to feel entitled to indulge in poor sportsmanship. Judging from industry blogs (such as this recent post by agent Jessica Faust), writers are no exception.

So, a quiz: Aspiring Author is looking for agency representation. She does her research and finds the perfect Agent, a match surely made in publishing heaven. She crafts a personalized query letter and sends it per submission guidelines. Then—in a day, a week, a month—the unthinkable happens. She receives a rejection from Agent. Aspiring Author is floored. Obviously, Agent wouldn’t recognize a bestseller if it was hand-delivered by Hemingway’s ghost. Aspiring Author (who now suffers from major Hurt Feelings) should:

a) Immediately call the agency, ask to speak to Agent, and, when the request is denied, berate the receptionist until s/he hangs up;
b) Take her case to Twitter. “Agnt sux bcuz…”
c) Write a blog titled “Top 10 Reasons Agent is Not Qualified to Carry My Book Bag;”
d) Create a Claymation video depicting Agent being flattened under her slush pile. Post it on YouTube;
e) Reject the rejection in a reply email. Throw in some mild profanity. Ignore spelling and grammar—agents don’t care about that stuff, anyway;
f) Resubmit from a different email address every day for as long as humanly possible; or
g) Be a good sport. Understand that virtually every writer gets rejected many, many times. Vent in private. Cry a little. Eat too much chocolate. Then get back on the horse and start querying elsewhere.

The answer, of course, is “g.” (I know none of you would even consider doing otherwise. But everyone knows someone who knows someone…) Yes, there are bad agents out there, and any unethical behavior should be exposed ASAP. But, remember—the best way for a writer to trash his/her reputation is to publicly trash someone else’s.

Does anyone have a story of a writer behaving badly? (Names should be changed to protect the insolent.)