Organizing your Queries and Submissions

Post by Kerrie Flanagan

Last week on Twitter, writer Melissa Taylor asked me to write a post about organizing query submissions. So, Melissa, this one's for you (and anyone else who needs help in this area).

When I started freelancing over a decade ago, it was clear early on that I would need to find a way to track my query submissions. My first plan of attack was a basic, red, spiral, wire-ruled notebook. I would enter the date and what I sent out. This worked okay, but I couldn't sort anything and what if I lost it?

I then came up with a system that I still use today. I have an excel spreadsheet that I keep for anything I send out (queries, articles, proposals...).  With excel I can sort my information by date, title, publication... It really makes it easy when I want to see what I have already sent to a certain publication or where I have already sent a particular query.

Here is the spreadsheet and what I put in each of the columns.

Sent Out: The title of what I sent out
Type: query, article, proposal...
Publication/Agency: Where I sent it
Sent To: Specific person I sent it to
Email or address: The email address or snail mail address I sent it to
Date: Date I sent it
Response: The response from the editor. Yes, no, maybe
Follow up: The date I followed up on what I sent
(Optional) Notes: you can add a column with misc. notes to yourself. ie "Comment from editor said I was on the right track--send more"

I am thinking about sometime changing this over to a Google Doc, that way if something happens to my computer, I still have all the info on the Google Doc server.

Well Melissa, I hope that helps. It has helped me stay somewhat sane and not send out duplicates to publications & editors--unless they change their company name, but that is a whole different story.

So Writing Bug readers, do you have any other organizational tips that have worked for you?

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Top 10 Reasons I Ban Books

Post by Jenny

In honor of Banned Books Week, I have a confession: I ban books. Sometimes I do it regretfully, sometimes I do it with great relish. Here are ten reasons why:
10. Brain Ache – This occurs when a story is so convoluted, I need Stephen Hawking to get me through the first two chapters;
9. Ridiculous Character Names – I’m sorry, but I can’t read 300 pages about the adventures of Duffy von Winklesnout;
8. No Story – If a story arc is flatline, my interest is, too;
7. Adverb Abuse – When the characters smile happily, glare menacingly, skip gleefully, ogle lustfully, I put the book down. Hastily. (Harry Potter being a worthy exception);
6. Deus ex machina (“god out of the machine”) – No plot should need the equivalent of divine intervention to reach resolution, unless it’s in a book about…well, divine intervention;
5. Weird Formatting – This includes lack of punctuation, phonetic spelling, anything that makes me overly conscious of the act of reading. Lauren Myracle’s text-messaging format (TTYL, etc.) is a stroke of genius for her YA audience. For me, it’s just a stroke (I tried, though. I really did);
4. Overpopulation – I’m from a small family. I’ve never taught a freshman-level course or directed a Broadway production. Too many characters overwhelm me;
3. Apathy – If I don’t care about the plot or characters by page 100 (max), I’m out;
2. Envy – When a mediocre book makes it big (huge! colossal!), I know that reading it will make me yank on my hair and eat too many carbs. (This ban is often trumped by curiosity, but not always.); and
1. No Payoff - Frank Conroy said: "The author makes a tacit deal with the reader. You hand them a backpack. You ask them to place certain things in it - to remember, to keep in mind - as they make their way up the hill. If you hand them a yellow Volkswagen and they have to haul this to the top of the mountain - to the end of the story - and they find that this Volkswagen has nothing whatsoever to do with your story, you're going to have a very irritated reader on your hands." Hear, hear.

My point is—yes, I do have a point, and thank you for asking—I have the freedom to ban any book from my personal library for whatever reason I choose. But I would never presume to do the same for someone else.

And how about my kids? Are there books I don’t want them reading now…in five years…ever? You bet your bookmarks. I can’t look over their shoulders every time they choose a book, however, so my husband and I are helping them develop the skills to make their own decisions—and a respect for the Constitution, which gives them that right.

What banned books are you reading this week?

Guess This Screenplay

Post by Trai Cartwright

Do you know what movie this screenplay is from?

INT. LOUNGE AT GRAND 8

Danny checks his watch -- 12:58 -- then the lounge around him: prison had more nightlife. He nurses a bourbon, folds back the New York Times and scans.

FRANK (O.S.)
Catching up on current events?

Danny lowers the paper; Frank is sitting across from him, changed out of his dealer's threads.

DANNY
Ramon?

FRANK
Glad to meet you. Frank Catton  wouldn't get by the gaming board.
(beat)
You just out?

DANNY
This afternoon.

FRANK
(re: Danny's drink and whereabouts)
And already turning over a new leaf.

Frank signals a passing waitress; she ignores him.

DANNY
(directly, this is why he's here)
You seen him?

FRANK
Last I heard he was in L.A. Teaching movie stars how to play cards.
(beat)
Why? You don't have something planned already?

DANNY
You kidding? I just became a citizen again.

Frank stares at Danny a moment, finally catches his eye, and Danny can't help but grin: of course he has.



Just cuz I watched “Ocean’s Eleven” again the other night – still an astonishing film.  Did you know that Brad Pitt’s part was originally written for a black man?  What black actor would you have cast in his place?

.

This Week in the Writing World...September 24

by Brooke Favero

This week the blogs buzzed about freedom of speech and banned books because Wesley Scroggins, an associate professor at Missouri State University, said the YA novel Speak is pornography and should be pulled from libraries and schools. While many bloggers are seething, Pimp My Novel encourages reading a book from The Banned Book List.

Personally, I believe America is great because we can Speak our mind and we can choose to put the book down. Simply: know what you're reading and know what your children are reading before you pick up the book. No need to be grumpy.

What do you think?

Understanding the Industry

Pimp My Novel brings you up to speed on the battle for Barnes & Noble. Chip MacGregor answers questions about writing conferences. Pub Rants gives advice when a publisher is going tats-up. Nathan Bransford defines a writer's platform.

Querying

Guide to Literary Agents offers several links to improve your pitch. Rachelle Gardner asks eleven questions for crafting your pitch. BookEnds recommends perfecting the opening paragraph and the rest of the manuscript. Janice Hardy says you have 250 chances to keep them reading. BookEnds also gives her opinion on whether your political preferences affect representation. Rachelle Gardner lists ten ways to annoy an agent. Stet offers a coping strategy for rejection. Kidlit says you can resubmit a revision but give it lots of time. Writer Unboxed writes a query in five easy steps.

Crafting

The Blood Red Pencil gives cussing tips. Dystel & Goderich recommends Stephen King's writing pointers. Iggi & Gabi gives technical tips for writing dialogue.

New Agents

Logan Garrison of The Gernert Company.

Contests

Dear Lucky Agent Contest for paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Tahereh says you know you have a writer friend when... And if you haven't heard: the Great Gatsby Rap.

Freelancing Faux Pas

Post by Kerrie Flanagan

I am a self-taught writer. I don't have a degree in journalism or an MFA. I am actually an elementary school teacher by trade. But self-taught or not, there is no excuse for me to ignore THE basic backbone of all nonfiction---the facts.

I was hired to write a press release, but was asked to write it like an article-one that would tug on the heartstrings of the readers. The hope was the local newspapers would run the press release as a story and it would encourage readers to attend a nonprofit fundraising event.

I interviewed the people involved, researched the nonprofit and wrote the story. Before submitting it, a few writer friends read it and it brought tears to their eyes. I was thrilled and thought my job was done. That was until I got a call saying the subject of the story was upset because I had some important facts wrong.

My heart sunk. I knew better. I knew I should have double-checked some of the facts. It would have been easy for me at the end of the interview to take a couple of minutes to review the facts with the person I was interviewing.

The good news is that the press-release hadn't gone out yet and I was able to make the necessary changes. The bad news is it looked bad for the client who hired me and then she potentially looked bad to the organization who hired her to do the PR for the event.

Big lesson learned: Check the facts and don't make assumptions.

What writing faux pas' have you made?

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Hold the Croutons

Post by Jenny

I love a good salad bar—though I’m also a moderate germaphobe, so I won’t eat at them during flu season. I’ve noticed that there are two basic types of salad bar folks: the people who take a little bit of everything, and the people who take a larger quantity of a few favorite items. I’m a proud member of the former group, sans croutons. I get it from my mother, who is a salad architect. She can build a salad like nobody’s business. In fact, she was once jokingly told by a waiter that the salad bar was intended to be all she could eat, not all she could carry.

My husband belongs to the second group—lettuce, cheese, carrot sticks, a tiny bit of dressing (or even a squeeze of lemon) and he’s set. Our older son is following in my footsteps. He’ll try at least a bite of almost anything. Our younger son is a salad minimalist like his dad. But without the lettuce.

The “salad bar dichotomy” carries over into other areas, as well. Reading, for instance. Some readers are loyal to one genre or author and read a single book from beginning to end before starting another. Other readers take on an eclectic mix of half a dozen books at once. I’m one of those, and despite my good intentions, the bookmarks in some of my books never reach the end—the equivalent of putting too much on my plate, I suppose.

The same holds true for writers. Some writers stay within their chosen genre and work on one project at a time. Others experiment with different styles and may have many WIPs at once.

And how about the clean plate/clean slate club? Some of us feel obligated to clear our first salad plate before going back for more. Some of us don’t. Some of us finish every book or project we start, regardless. Some of us move on down the list as soon as our interest in a book or project begins to wane.

The great thing is, neither method is right or wrong. We simply have different preferences. So, tell me: which type are you? Does the same hold true for your salad-bar-eating, your reading, and your writing? And should Jello salad ever actually be considered a salad?

Best In Show: Making Screenwriting Contests Work for You

Post by Trai Cartwright

[Excerpted from an article I wrote for Writer’s Digest “Writing Contests” magazine:]

Screenwriting contests, they are a-changin’. Used to be, there were only a handful, and winning one scored you a small title and a smaller check, but little else for your trouble. Used to be, only story editors and junior executives or their assistants judged most contests, bringing with them limited expertise or interest in the outcome. Used to be, only dramatic or indie screenplays had any chance of winning.

But times, they have a-changed.

While there are still a suspiciously high number of contests that are at best unhelpful to a writer and at worst shameless scams—in the past decade a dynamic range of industry-minded and increasingly powerful contests have emerged. It’s the Golden Era of Screenwriting Competitions and there’s never been a better time to submit your scripts to (carefully researched) contests, and reap the rewards.

One indicator that things have changed in the contest world: the iron-fisted rulership of the coming-of-age/historical biography/family drama has ended. Now, any and every genre has a shot at taking the top slot. Why? Because contest-winning screenplays are no longer just calling cards to the industry. They are commercial enterprises that get attention and sometimes even get made.

This million-dollar cottage industry’s mission is now about providing real assistance for new writers hacking their way into Hollywood, often by sending out the best contest scripts all over Hollywood for consideration. You don’t even have to win—placing in the quarter or semifinals of any of the top contests can be a springboard to getting your script read. These competitions now attract brand name players as their upper strata judges, and they facilitate launching the careers of new writers, sometimes by taking on those scripts themselves.

Once the best-kept secret in town, screenwriting contests are now fertile ground for high-stakes competition, with future power-scribes duking it out for real-money prizes and that crucial all-access industry pass.

As a competitor, it’s more important than ever to submit only your best work. What does it take to win or place in a contest? What exactly do contest judges look for? What excites them? What turns them off? What’s a guaranteed pass?

I lined up a panel of contest judge superstars to find out, and sent the article off to Writer’s Digest. They’ve published it twice, once in their Screenwriters and Playwright’s Market and now in this month’s one-off bookazine, Writing Contests.

A friend of Northern Colorado Writers is the editor, Mr. Chuck Sambuchino, and he’s put together a terrific bunch of articles plus over 300 real-deal contests for all kinds of writers looking to score in the contest world. Available at bookstores September 25.

What has your experience been with writing contests?

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This Week in the Writing World...September 17

by Brooke Favero

This week, Nathan Bransford asks: does social media help sell books? Personally, I think it does. Just this week I found out from a friend on Facebook that her sister just published a middle grade novel. I ran to the store and bought it. So if I'm your target market: yes, it works (and we should probably be friends on Facebook). What do you think?

Understanding the Industry

Pimp My Novel elaborates on the promotional quantity of the co-op system. Rachelle Gardner helps you figure out how well your book is selling. Adventures in Children's Publishing explains the anatomy of an auction. BookEnds says make your readers work for you--buzz is the best marketing.

Querying

Janet Reid illustrates how to kill your chances with an agent. PubRants lists killer openings that stop an agent from reading more. Kidlit says your day job does matter. Flogging the Quill offers agent advice on narrative preference.

Crafting

The Blood Red Pencil stresses the first page. Guide to Literary Agents gives six steps for creating an anthology. Janice Hardy helps identify manuscript flaws. Stet offers a four-part series on writing effective dialogue: 1,2,3, & 4. Authoress explains why a do-nothing hero is a story killer. Writer Unboxed says it's okay to give your hero a fatal flaw. Iggi & Gabi gives useful critiques.

New Agent

Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents.

Slush Pile Hell offers six signs your professional editor might not be so professional.

It's All in How You Slant It

post by Kerrie Flanagan

Yesterday morning at the Northern Colorado Writers coffee the topic of reprinting and re-slanting articles came up. One writer said he had done a lot of research on a topic and wanted to know how he could make use of all his work and sell different articles on the same topic.This led to a discussion on reprints and re-slanting and today, to the topic for my post.

With reprints, you are selling an article that has already been printed. No changes have to be made to the article and you can send it out as is. Not all publications take reprints so check the guidelines first and then be sure to let them know it is a reprint. Typically you get paid half of what you received for the original article. It is a great way to generate more income and clips from an article that is already finished.

Selling reprints is fabulous, but I believe the key to staying busy as a freelance writer, is to take the information and research you have and slant it as many different ways and times as you can to as many different publications as you can.

A graphic organizer is really helpful to do this. Here is an example of one. If you are not familiar with how one works, you put your main topic in the big circle (the topic you have done all the research on). Then you start branching off with sub topics in the smaller circles, then branch off of those and so on. You can have fun with this by using a big piece of paper and different colored markers or colored pencils.

For example, lets say I want to do an article on Fort Collins, Colorado. I've done a lot of research on the topic, plus I live here. "Fort Collins" would go in the big circle and then I could branch off with topics like outdoor activities, micro breweries, history of the city, pet friendliness, festivals and so on. Then I can take these topics and break them down even more.

Once I have all these ideas, I can begin to slant them to fit different magazines. Fort Collins is known for its outdoor recreation. I could pitch an article to Women's Adventure Magazine about the great rock climbing at Horsetooth Reservoir and then take some of the same information and pitch an article to FamilyFun about the reservoir being a great family destination with cabins to rent, swimming, boating and hiking.

I am taking the same basic information, but I am slanting the focus to fit in two completely different markets. It keeps my brain focused on the one big topic, so it doesn't feel scattered, allowing me to get more queries and articles done.

What do you think is the key to generating more work as a freelancer? Reprints? Re-slanting? Something else?

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Manuscript Hospital

Post by Jenny

Last year, a friend gave me a live orchid plant. I was appreciative but apprehensive. After all, orchids are the Paris Hilton of potted plants, and I wasn’t sure if my pale greenish thumb was up to the task. When my friend confessed that she had killed off her own orchid in about five minutes, I was sure my plant’s fate was sealed.

I parked the orchid in my living room and left it alone. I figured if it was going to die of something, neglect was easier than over-care. I did water it as directed, but little else—other than the occasional apology for its imminent demise.

To my surprise, it stayed fresh and beautiful for the longest time. Then it appeared to take a turn for the worse. One bloom after another dropped off under cover of darkness, and I thought the end was near. But the plant still looked healthy. Sure enough, it eventually produced a little bud and flowered again. When the second round of blooms withered, I knew what to expect.

This time, two buds appeared.

That was months ago.

I’m still waiting.

My husband doesn’t believe that the buds will develop into anything, but I’m not willing to give up. I know the plant can and will bloom again. The poor thing’s progress may be achingly slow, I thought as I watered it the other day, but at least it’s not dead yet.

Then I realized: that’s exactly how I feel about my manuscript.

My orchid-giving friend told me that in tony SoCal, there are such things as orchid hospitals, where orchid lovers nurture the plants through their times of dormancy. Oh, how I wish for something like that for my manuscript. Instead of languishing on my hard drive all summer while I take my boys to the pool and the movies and watch their baseball games, how much nicer it would be for my manuscript to spend that time with a caring professional.

I imagine the manuscript hospital as more of a spa—new-age music, gurgling water fountains, graceful palms. Every day the manuscripts (for surely mine isn’t the only one) receive fresh air and sunshine and gentle exfoliation to remove all unnecessary adverbs and dialogue tags. They have personalized therapy sessions with kind editors. (And chai. I think my manuscript would enjoy a nice cup of chai.) After the summer, my manuscript and I reunite, both feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back to work.

If you know of such a place, please let me know. Maybe our manuscripts could share a room.

This Week in the Writing World...September 10

by Brooke Favero

Everyone remembers where they were when 9/11 happened. Me, I was getting ready for work but called in a sick day after the second plane crashed. I recently discussed the events of 9/11 with my children and choked on the story of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Heroes and villains. Good vs. evil. A nation united in hope.

Where were you on 9/11?


Building Your Platform
BookEnds gives sound advice on twittering and other public social media. Confident Writing gives a simple guide to running a Facebook page.


Querying
Nathan Bransford explains how to deal with contradictory querying advice. Kidlit tells how she evaluates full manuscripts. Rachelle Gardner gives her opinion on revision letters and gives an insider view of a pub committee meeting. The Lit Coach offers advice on how to lure an agent. Pimp My Novel reminds us: timing is everything.

Crafting
Writer Unboxed reminds us that the writing is in the rewriting. The Blood Red Pencil provides a handy self-editing checklist. Guide to Literary Agents helps you grow your writers group. Janice Hardy fleshes out characters. Wordplay asks does your story have enough mystery? Advanced Fiction Writing makes sense of the story structure. Nathan Bransford shares the seven keys to great dialogue. Inkygirl links to a JoNoWriMo.

If you still haven't talked enough about Mockingjay, check out this interesting poll over at Adventures in Children's Publishing. I was in the majority for most of the questions. Oh, and if you're in need of a little good fortune, pick carefully.

TriMedia Film Festival is This Weekend

Post by Trai Cartwright

This weekend marks the 5^th Annual TriMedia Film Festival, held right here in Fort Collins at three locations:  the Lyric Cinema Café, the Lory Student Center and at Bas Bleu Theatre.  Just what is the TriMedia Film Festival?  Its mission is to be an annual event of national stature that celebrates film, television, and theatre arts, and integrates emerging and established artists in all categories. The festival has an innovative "tri-media" focus featuring film, TV pilots & specials, and live theatre.
 

That’s what the website says, but as someone who participated last year and is doing even more for the festival this year, it’s a unique opportunity to celebrate and support local talent.   

Anyone who’s been to a film festival knows it generally breaks down into two categories:  the established and the hometown.  They have decidedly different ambitions: the established (Sundance, Toronto, LAIFF, etc.) wants to be the place talent is discovered and deals are made; the hometown focuses on recognizing the hard work of local filmmakers who are developing their craft.  

The established fest attracts established Hollywood players and films that often already have so many of the key ingredients required to find a wide audience:  stars, agents and connections.  And not to mention press agents.  The hometown festival stresses the importance of supporting the arts, and in particular this esoteric craft of non-Hollywood filmmaking, and looks to lend a hand as the novices make that tough climb from one film to the next.  

I could give you a long, boring lesson on how film distribution works, but you’ll just have to take my word for it that film festivals play a crucial part in making sure independent movies remain a part of the cinema conversation.  I took two of the indy films I produced on the festival circuit and found distribution for them both directly due these showings.  I also got to meet lots of other burgeoning filmmakers, young stars learning their chops, and plenty of the non-studio folks who make independent cinema’s wheels go round.  It was a dog-eat-dog experience – a game of who can monopolize the top dogs, standing in unmoving lines for a hot ticket, paying $20 for a drink at a networking party that does little but line the pockets of the hosts. 

Last year at TriMedia, I had just the opposite experience.  I staged two screenplays written by teens and acted by teens for the theater portion of the festival, and I moderated “Class C” a documentary about girl’s high school basketball produced by – no fooling – Wally Kurth.  The Wally Kurth – the deeply-dimpled, pompadour-sporting Wally Kurth who starred in “Days of Our Lives” when I was a kid.  He’s since moved on to “General Hospital” but I forgive him – especially because he made brought such a touching, interesting film to our town and was so cool during the Q&A.

It was personal, entertaining and inspiring. 

I’ll be there again this year, staging more screenplays for the Youth Talent portion, and producing the Great American Songbook Sing-along honoring Kai-Ho Mah.  He’s a local senior who conducts Standards sing-along’s at his retirement center, and is the star of one of the documentaries being shown at TriMedia (“Fulfillment”), made by local filmmaker Aaron Burns.   

More importantly, he’s a really good egg – the kind of guy who really brings the joint to its feet with his sparkling charm.  I’ll be moderating a film or two, too, maybe rubbing elbows with some playas, but it’s these other events I’m really excited about – they’re about our town, and our hometown talent getting their shot at a spot-lit stage or screen.  I don’t know about you, but in my book, that’s something to celebrate.  And I won’t have to pay $20 for a drink.  

www.trimediafestival.org

What was your favorite film festival experience?

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The Weather is Cooling, But Conferences are Heating up.

Post by Kerrie Flanagan

Cooler weather has finally arrived in Colorado, bringing with it the start of school, shorter days and writing conferences. Lots and lots of writing conferences. This is the perfect time for all of us word wranglers to emerge from our creative spaces and hang out with other writers and learn more about our craft.

I have put together these four P's to help you get the most out of a writers conference you might be attending in the near future.

Be Prepared
The Boy Scouts were definitely on to something here. Take time to research the faculty who will be there. This will allow you to figure out who you want to meet and also give you some talking points when you do visit with them. If you are pitching to an agent or editor it is imperative you do some upfront work. (Here is an article I wrote with tips pitch sessions). Make a plan of the sessions you want to attend and what you hope to get from them. 

Be Professional
Writing is a business and I believe all writers need to treat it as such.Therefore, at a conference you should be professional. Have business cards made and ready to hand out when people ask for one. Be respectful of the agents and editors. You want to be remembered-- but not for stalking. Put some thought into what you should wear (think business casual).

Be Polite
A conference is not the time to be a wall-flower and hide in the corner or in your hotel room. It doesn't matter if you are a self-proclaimed introvert, you need to dig deep inside you and unearth any extrovert skills you may have. Introduce yourself to other writers at meals, hand out business cards, ask questions during sessions and talk to the agents and editors, you never know what may come from this meeting.


Be Productive
Go to as many sessions as possible and meet as many people as you can. Regardless of how tired you get, you should stay until the end. There is plenty of time for sleep and rest after the conference. A lot of time goes into making a great event from start to finish, so take advantage of that.

Here are some conferences happening in Colorado over the next six weeks.

Northern Colorado Writers Mini-Con
$98/$118
September 18, 8:00-5:00
NCW Studio, 108 East Monroe Drive
Fort Collins, CO
One day event with 10 workshops to choose from. Topics for all genres and levels. Personal essays, Digital Publishing, Self-Editing, Blogging, Magazine Writing. Plus networking opportunities. Limited to 50 writers

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Conference
$275
September 10-12
Denver Renaissance Hotel
The 2010 conference theme is Nuggets of Knowledge. Veteran members and guest experts will conduct workshops as we host eight agents and five editors, keynote speaker Brenda Novak, and closing speaker Connie Willis. 

Mountain & Plains Independent Bookseller Assoc: Writers & the Independent Marketplace
$225
September 25
Marriot Denver Tech Center
Working from the premise that you have mastered the craft of writing and are ready to take an active part in getting your book published, the industry experts at this conference will prepare you to assess the publishing opportunities currently available and provide step-by-step guidelines that will help you get your book into print, into bookstores, and into the hands of readers.

Douglas County Writers Conference
$75
October 2
Castle View High School, Castle Rock
An entire day of workshops, networking and activities for writers. Gain valuable tips and insight from experienced writers and other publishing professionals.


What are the conferences near you that you will be attending in the next couple of months?


Do you have any conference advice for those writers new to the conference scene?

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Stick a Fork In It

Post by Jenny

I shouldn’t confess this in front of the likes of This Mama Cooks and Hearth Cricket and all the other foodie folks out there, but I overcook everything. I have served my (very forgiving) family crumbling roast beef, stringy chicken, and curling fish fillets. All my baked goods have at least four toothpick-test holes in the top.

Part of my problem comes from having always lived in Colorado, where the higher altitude often necessitates extended cooking times. The rest is due to my semi-obsessive need to always be sure. I don’t want to risk serving up pinkish poultry or doughy zucchini bread. So I leave the food in the oven a little while longer. Just to be sure. The irony here is that those extra five “be sure” minutes often take my food from perfectly done to overdone.

In short, I don’t trust my judgment.

I have the same trouble with my writing. When is a WIP ever “done?” I have, on occasion, thought a project was completed, only to have someone else peel back the wrapper, so to speak, and reveal the equivalent of a soggy cupcake bottom.

I know I’m not the only one who struggles with the issue of readiness. Read through your favorite agent’s list of blog posts, and you will likely find categories such as “revisions,” or “self-editing,” or “manuscript preparation,” or “will you, oh wise industry professional, please please please tell me when my book is ready?”

In a guest post on literary agent Nathan Bransford's blog, Brian Russell compares manuscripts to houses (The Architecture of Revision). He writes, “We have to wind a new structure through the old. We have to see two things at once. What was, and what might be…And what might be… and what might be… and what might be…For there is no end, really. There are a thousand possible shapes, a million possible forms.”

So true, so eloquent, and yet…aaack! Would someone please invent a manuscript version of one of those pop-up turkey timer thingies that will, once and for all, put this question to rest? Needless to say, I very much appreciated Alan Orloff’s recent "Enough Already" post. When it comes to revising/polishing/obsessing, the devil is truly in the details. (And, for the love of Pete, someone please stop me before I try to learn Hebrew.)

How do you know when your writing passes the toothpick test?

This Week in the Writing World...September 3

by Brooke Favero

I caught it this week: the cold. Throbbing eyes, burning nose, scratching throat. But mostly the burning. It scoffs at Sudafed (my strongest line of defense). This morning it pounded me deeper into my pillow while four sets of hands yanked me up to fix breakfast. May your weekend be better than mine. Enjoy the links.

Understanding the Industry
Pimp my Novel examines the blockbuster phenomenon.

Building Your Platform
Rachelle Gardner talks head shots. Her advice: keep it professional. She also offers advice to authors about endorsing other books. PubRants gives an interesting reason for using a pseudonym. Writer Unboxed asks whether to Facebook or not.

Querying
Janet Reid tells how to sell yourself and not your back story. Nathan Bransford defines high concept. Slush Pile Hell offers some new adjectives to help you describe your book.

Crafting
Adventures in Children's Publishing recommends making the most of criticism in all its forms. The Blood Red Pencils gets your who/whoms straight. Guide to Literary Agents tells us five things we can learn from television. Hyperbole & a half illustrates the four levels of social entrapment--it's a great lesson in dialogue. Janice Hardy stops you from overstating. Kidlit talks chapters and scenes. Dystel & Goderich gives a model for memoirs.

New Agent
Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

The Rejectionist stresses proofreading. Poor sap. Tahereh gives 100 steps to writing a novel. What step are you on? I'm on 99. So I'm almost there.

Why Don’t all Companies Have Craft Services?

post by Trai Cartwright

There’s a nifty table that exists on every set – every commercial, music video, film, tv show, or infomercial, they’ve all got this table. This table is the entertainment industry’s equivalent of a watering hole. You know, the place where the whole community comes for refreshment and in doing so, runs into everyone else they know. Then, inevitably, they start to trade town news, maybe overhear a little gossip, plan a bit of match-making or grieve some loss. It’s the place they commune.

On a set, this place is called Craft Services. It’s run by staff referred to as Craft Services. They don’t have names; they are not people. They are providers. Their table, stationed at the back of the hubbub, out of the way of gaffers and 2K lights and dolly tracks, out of range of the sound engineer’s microphones, is an oasis. It’s where the crew – everyone from the grunts (PA’s) to the above-the-line staff (the movie stars) all congregate when they are bored, when they are feeling social, when they want the inside scoop, and yes, sometimes when they are hungry.

Every Craft Service table tends to stock the same stuff, with new “menus” four times a day: in the morning, it’s danishes, doughnuts and yogurts and licorice; in the afternoon and evening, it’s twenty kinds of candy (including licorice –always, always licorice) plus energy bars and drinks, granola and other hand-held carbs (think cookies, bagels, and brownies). Late at night (as most sets run for 14 hours), it’s taken over Willy Wonka, providing sugar in every form known to man.

Coffee is always freshly brewed and ready, or, on the big-budgeted films, barristas are on hand to make made-to-order caffeinated drinks. There’s tea, but no one drinks it except the actress with a cold, trying to keep her voice from going out. There’s also cold remedies and pain relievers, which is a life-saver because everyone gets each others’ colds, and sometimes each other’s hangovers.

It’s hard to underestimate the power of a great craft services table. A new kind of pastry will be talked about for hours, brightening everyone’s day. Instant and constant caffeine makes those 14-hour schedules possible to manage. It’s the actresses’ lament, as they struggle to stay away from the free calories, complain bitterly at the unfairness of it all as they suck their licorice whips, and then finally give in to the temptation of an onion bagel, but only because it was flown in from New York.

Craft Services is the great equalizer on set; everyone needs it, everyone wants it, and it’s the only place to get that sugary nourishment and community vibe. It provides a place to hover, and thus to belong. It’s the grandmother’s kitchen where we all gathered to play games, make cookies, watch the grown-ups do their grown-up business, and take a rest from our busy, busy lives. I think every company on the planet should take a page from the Hollywood handbook and provide Craft Services. Ten bucks says productivity and morale would go sky high – until, of course, you run out of licorice.

What food item would you want for your craft service table?
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