Okay, it’s confession time. I’ve done it. Written an outline, a synopsis, and the first three chapters, polished the heck out of them and then submitted it. Of course, while I waited, I wrote my fingers off, polished until I needed sunglasses to read the story, and prayed someone would accept it. I won’t lie and say do as I say, and not as I do, but then again, I’m a multi-published author who knows how fast I can write things, is disciplined, somewhat anal-retentive, and dealing with waits that could easily take three to six months. That’s the important part of this lesson. I knew what I could do and had the time to do it.
There’s a reason why nearly everyone in the publishing industry, from top agents to small press editors say write the book first, make it the best book you can, and then submit it to publishers or agents. Because as a writer, you want to strike while the iron is hot. If an editor or agent says, “Yes! I want to see more!” You want to be Johnny-on-the-spot and deliver it while your striking prose and unique story idea remains fresh in the reader’s mind.
There’s nothing that screams amateur more than telling an editor or agent, “I’m sorry, but my critique group is still looking at this work. I’ll send it when it’s ready.” That’ll tip your work from “sure, I’ll read more” to “not wasting my time” in a heart beat. If the person was on the fence about it, then that may be the proverbial straw. It might not, probably depends on the person’s mood, but why risk it?
I will say, that it’s okay to do a final polish, a quick read-through before you send that full manuscript, or even the partial if the agent or editor responded to just a query letter. Something that takes a few days, a week at most, probably not going to be a problem. A few months, and when the manuscript is received, it’ll most likely provoke a “who are you?” response.
I know it’s hard to wait. I know it’s hard to spend months polishing something and then waiting more months for a response. Right now our turn times are running in the two to four week range, and I’m working hard to keep them that way. But before I can do my part, you need to do yours. And that includes polishing the book before you submit. The other part of the “write the book first” advice that’s often given out tells the author to then write the next book. Because that’s what you do while you wait to hear from an editor or an agent. You write the next book.
Recently I heard some horror stories about reviews on one of the loops. Like if the hero drove a red car, and the reviewer didn’t like red cars, she trashed the book. I know authors, in submitting their work to other publishers, worry about the little things. Will the editor like my work? What if the editor doesn’t want to see another vampire/historical/lady who runs a bookstore romance? Writers obsess over the tiniest detail of the work, trying to make things “just right.”
And it’s good that writers work hard at their craft. Don’t get me wrong. But I think, to be honest, if an author worries about whether an editor will enjoy the meal the heroine serves her potential hero (oh wait, she offered him steamed broccoli, and people can hate that vegetable), then perhaps the author worries too much?
I’ve read books where the author had a cowboy riding a Morgan horse on his ranch. I have nothing against Morgans. They’re a versatile breed developed right here in the US to be a riding and a carriage horse, and they’re good at what they do. However, on a large-spread cattle operation, I’ve yet to meet a rancher who breeds Morgans and raises Texas Longhorns. Just saying. Nothing against the breed, just a case of either a fanciful author or bad research on the part of the writer or the editor. That’s something to worry about.
But what if the same cowboy had worn a Resistol hat, and the editor preferred Stetsons? Would that really be something to reject a story over?
Or to bring it personal, I really really don’t like cooked broccoli. If the heroine serves steamed broccoli with a thick, rich cheese sauce over it, my stomach is going to twist, and I’m thinking ICK, not “oh, yum!”. I’m not rejecting a book over that. Seriously.
And honestly, if that’s the only negative thing a reviewer had to say about a story, that the heroine served a vegetable that people either love or hate, then maybe the reviewer is looking too hard for something to trash. Know what I mean?
So when you submit your work, dear writers, do not sweat the small stuff. If you’ve written a great story, got your researched facts correct, and you’ve presented yourself well, it’s not going to matter if your hero drives a Ford, or a Chevy, or roots for the Packers or the Vikings, or even likes the Yankees. Okay maybe the last one. (Just kidding!)
While Pink Petal Books is open to submissions in all sub-genres and heat levels of romance, there are a few specific areas in which I would love to see more submissions. Our standard guidelines apply with word counts starting at 25,000 words and going up to about 100,000. There isn’t any hard and fast deadline on these. Just an editor’s wish list.
1) Gay erotic romance set in Las Vegas or with a casino theme approximately 25-35000 words long.
2) Erotic western historical romance approximately 25-35,000 words long.
3) Multi-cultural romance. Show me the infinite wonder of our global world!
4) Older Woman, Younger Men. What can I say? I’m getting to the age where I could be a cougar. So give me some hot twenty to thirty something guys!
There are, of course, topics that I am perennially in love with and would love to see too.
Don’t let this list stop your imagination. As I said, Pink Petal Books is open to all genres of romance. My authors can tell you I have grabby editorial hands when it comes to a good story. So show me what you’ve got! I can’t wait to see.
Although some publishers and discourage the practice, many authors refer to their manuscripts as their “babies” or “children”, even going so far as to sending our birth announcements. While this can lead to problems when it comes time to edit and work with a book, it is a good analogy in places. Just as in the delivery room, doctors assess the health of a newborn using the Apgar Test, so, too, do manuscript submission editors evaluate the “health” of a newly sent manuscript.
For a little background, in 1952, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised her test as a quick way to assess the health of newborn babies. The baby is evaluated on five simple criteria, from a score from zero to two. The numbers are added up and can determine the health. For the purpose of her original test, the five scores were, Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.
The criteria we use come from a similar test established by Nimble Books, and can be found at the following link: http://www.nimblebooks.com/wordpress/2010/01/apgar-test-for-authors/. Some publishers have actual written submission checklists. At Pink Petal Books, our checklist is mostly a mental one and we don’t ever assign scores to books, but this set of criteria gives potential authors an idea of what we want to see in a manuscript. I also would like to think that our list doesn’t differ too much from those of other publishers.
The way to read this is the first line contains the criteria. The second provides the score and the writing underneath explains our rationale for the scoring system. I think you may be surprised by how some items are scored.
1. Author has personal media site such as blog or website.
+1
Author has already shown that she needs to have a presence in the marketplace, and by putting content on the blog, may already be driving website visitors to her site.
2. Author’s website is not on an obvious free site such as “freewebs” and has her own domain
+1
Author already treats writing like a business and knows that a strong web presence will only enhance sales.
3. Author is strongly committed to promotion, including an active presence on several loops, including the publisher’s own reader’s loop
+1
Author is willing to sell her book and understands that her job doesn’t end as soon as the manuscript is turned in.
4. Author submits a clean manuscript
+2
Author shows that she takes her craft seriously and reduces time and financial investment by being capable of editing.
5. Author plays a key role in a specialized organization that can be leveraged to market the book
+1
For romances, this is usually being a member of RWA and its chapters. And personal feelings on RWA aside, someone who is a chapter president or other volunteer (Even if it’s just for contests), has a higher visibility than someone who doesn’t.
6. Book is the start of a new series
0 or +1
Publishers love series, and so do readers. The problem becomes when the author doesn’t market the series and the first book tanks. The publisher will be less likely to take on the second book. In this case, an author who shows that she has successfully sold a series, and/or has a strong marketing plan for the series, might tilt this number into a positive territory.
7. Book is in a profitable genre
+1
While I like a variety of romances and want diversity in my catalog, the truth is, something that is in a marketable genre such as ménage, shape shifter or gay male, especially from a new or lightly published author, may be a “safer” bet.
8. Book is in a genre that we’d like to expand into
+1
Even if it’s in an “unprofitable” genre, if it’s an area we’d like to grow for personal or professional reasons, then that may give the book a boost in the acquisition department.
9. Author expresses frustration with publisher response times, seems likely to require substantial “handholding”
-1
Increases cost. Time is money. Simple questions are okay. I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from asking questions. But daily/hourly emails may be too much, unless required by the situation.
10. Author wants to do cover
-1 to +1
We allow authors to do their covers if they meet our requirements and have experience. Obviously showing samples of GOOD covers and being willing to work with publisher direction would nudge this into positive territory.
11. Author doesn’t follow writer’s guidelines
-2
Book will most likely not get contracted. If an author cannot read and follow simple directions, then chances are the author will not be able, or willing, to follow editorial direction.
12. Author has been published before
-2 to +2
This depends on the author’s other publishers. Some publishers don’t edit. Others are known for attracting authors with the “crazies”. So just because an author has been published before, doesn’t necessary give her an edge when it comes to manuscript submission. However, if the author was published with a house known for quality work, solid editing, and attracting the best authors. Then yes, this will provide an edge.
It’s okay if the author doesn’t hit all of these points. For example, a cleanly written book in a genre we take, but the author hasn’t quite gotten her website up and running yet, may still score higher than a previously published author, with a book in a popular genre, but who turns in a badly written manuscript.
Last week I talked a bit about what I like from the editor in the relationship with the author. This time, I’ll talk about the author. The good thing is the responsibilities for both of them are very similar. An author needs to communicate clearly and professionally about any issues. If disagreements happen, and they will, then the author should stay as calm as possible. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of edits that make you swear every word you know twice and reach for chocolate. But when communicating any displeasure, it needs to be done with as little venom as possible.
The author also needs to listen and learn from any suggestions. That way, when the editor sees the next manuscript, there will be growth, and possibly less edits. The author should ask questions, seek clarification, and be a participant in the process. Hitting “accept all changes” and sending the manuscript back without going through the edits doesn’t do either party any favors.
And the author needs to honor any deadlines as much as possible. Things happen. Sometimes a deadline needs tweaked. Hopefully the publisher sent the manuscript with as much lead time as possible, so any changes to the deadline can be accommodated. And the author should tell the editor if a deadline is in jeopardy. The more notice the better, even if it’s a situation where the author isn’t sure the deadline will be missed. “Hey, I may be running behind, can you give me a couple more days just in case?” If not, the editor will say, but if so, then the editor isn’t wondering where the edits are and the author is working as fast as she can.
And, lastly, the author’s job is also to do the best job she can do.
I’m going to digress a bit from the more grammar and craft-type issues into a professional one: the editor-author relationship. And I’ll be honest. Having been in this business for a really long time, much of it on the author side, I have an idea of what I like in an editor, and that’s the kind of editor I strive to be.
The truth is, most editors find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The hard place is helping authors craft better stories. The rock is the publisher and their guidelines. It is a balancing act. And in the forefront is the editor’s job, which is to make the book a better one. Let’s not forget that. There’s a lot of politics that go into publishing, and a lot of it can land the editor, and the author, smack dab in the middle. But in the end, the editor’s job is to make the work a better one. (Next week we’ll talk about the author’s job.)
So the editor has to read through the work, suggest changes and clarifications along with the occasional grammatical fix, keeping in mind the author’s particular style, the story, house style and any other publisher guidelines. Not only that, but the editor may have to steer the manuscript through several rounds of revisions, then send it off to a copy editor to have the final tweaks ironed out. All the while staying true to the focus of the story and being professional to the author.
I also believe that the editor’s primary responsibility after all of this is to the author.
House style guides and publisher guidelines are pretty inflexible. And I’ll go out on a limb here and say as an author, I have no love of publishers’ house styles which err on the side of grammatically incorrect. If we have one rule here at Pink Petal Books, it is that if you have questions, the grammatically correct answer always wins. (Yes, we sometimes make mistakes, but we try really hard to ensure that doesn’t happen. We will never deliberately choose the grammatically incorrect answer.)
So what does this mean? It means that the author should never feel as if the editor is jockeying between the copy editor and the author, and standing with the copy editor. It means that the editor should accept the author’s reasoning so long as it’s grammatically sound and understandable by the average reader. It means that in a dispute between the author and the copy editor, barring the previous two reasons given, the editor should back up her author. It also means that the editor needs to be firm, yet professional, in making sure the author is using every opportunity to grow.
Finally, the editor needs to communicate. If something isn’t right, or the editor thinks more work needs to be done, then the editor needs to say so. A fluid dialogue is much easier to follow then choppy dictates and mandates. In the end, the editor needs to make the decision that the book is the best it can be and send it onto the next stage. And hopefully, in that same end, the author can feel well-served by her editor and get to work on the next novel. Because she knows that her editor is dying to read it.
When characters exchange looks, or glances, many authors have their “eyes” do all the work. After all, it’s easy to type, “Their eyes met.” Except, if you have a critique partner, or an editor such as myself, who has a sarcastic sense of humor, then the immediate image that enters the reader’s mind is of their eyes popping out of their heads, ambling across the floor, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. Or even worse, “his eyes roamed over her.” Well, unless he’s a zombie, and his eyes popped out of his head to slide all sticky and slimy over her body, his gaze, his attention, or his focus is going to be doing the roaming, not his eyes.
Plus there’s so much more that goes into a look besides the eyes. Does the character duck her head and glance through her bangs? Does he stare boldly? Is he nervously fiddling with his fingers while glancing in her direction? When we look at something, our emotions and our body language oftentimes say a lot more than our eyes.
It’s also a really easy fix in a manuscript. Which means that it’s one of those little polish points that an author can do to make her work more professional.
So remember, unless it’s a cybernetic eye that someone can take out and affix to spider-like legs to let it roam at will (Red Dwarf fans will remember Kryten doing this. And Babylon 5 fans should remember G’Kar taking out his prosthetic eye and staring at himself in it.), the eyes shouldn’t go off on excursions on their own.
Personally, I find first person stories a hard sell with me, and that’s because like the nursery rhyme said about the little girl with a curl, “when she is bad, she’s really really horrid.” So, too, with the first person point of view.
I find the best first person stories (see Cheryl Dragon’s, Best in Bed) have a first person point of view that is a character’s unique voice. Whether it’s Harry Dresden or Carrie Bradshaw, I feel an instant connection with the character. With Cheryl’s book, it was a triple home run, because each of the female leads has her own voice and they’re all unique. The voice makes the book more intimate, makes the setting all the more familiar. We walk the streets of New York City with Carrie Bradshaw, meeting Mr. Big at all the best clubs. Cheryl takes us into Chicago and makes the city a character with her use of the first person voice.
First person lends an immediacy to the story. In a historical tale, the first person narrator can bring us closer to the action and make us think that we are in Regency England or the American Frontier.
So what do you need to watch out for in first person?
It is easy for an author who hasn’t honed her craft to falter with first person. It lends itself to lazy writing, telling rather than showing. Watch out for lots of I did this and I did that paragraphs. The emotion fades away, which is a hallmark of a first person narrator telling the story, rather than showing it through their eyes.
It also can create infodumps. The narrator stops the action to relate a long string of events, some of which may not even be germane to the story. A lot of times these are side, or parenthetical remarks, that are supposed to add character, but really add boredom.
First person tales can also be skimmable tales. You know the ones where you scroll the mouse or the page (or turn them rather quickly), hitting the high points of the story because you don’t get any meat to the tale. If the reader finds herself going “yeah, yeah yeah” when reading the story, then it’s skimmable, and not at all engaging.
The truth is, the pitfalls with first person also occur in third; they just stand out more in first person. It can, however, create quite the engaging story, and when used effectively, can be a point of view that offers the reader the best view into the action. I encourage authors who wish to use first person to do so sparingly, and make sure they have plenty of beta readers familiar enough with first person pitfalls to really mark up the manuscript. That way, when it’s finished, it will shine.
The reading market is becoming increasingly global, and electronic books make the world even smaller. With websites open 24/7 for immediate download, a reader in Singapore or Australia could order while those in other places are asleep, and viceversa. This means that as the readers are becoming increasingly diverse, so too are the authors. And just because many of us share the same language, we don’t all speak it the same way.
Which creates a problem for authors and publishers alike. Does an author follow her home/native language, or does she follow the language conventions of the publisher’s location? And if the story is based in a third location, does the author follow that country’s language style instead?
Last week I talked about scene sets and a very good question came up…if starting with dialogue, or even in the middle of the action isn’t a hook, then what is?
The important thing to remember is that a hook has many layers. It isn’t just a single line of dialogue. It isn’t just an action. It’s more of a scene, a feel, something that compels the reader. And that takes us back to beginning journalism and the five W’s.
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
That final question is probably the most important one when it comes to crafting, and baiting, a story’s hook, than the other four combined.
Who? Who is our lead character(s)? Who is in the scene with him or her?
What are they doing? What is happening to them?
Where are they?
When are they?
And why are they there, doing what they’re doing, and having those experiences?
All Books - Coming Soon
All Books - Heat Level->
Specials ...
1. Holiday Hearts: An Antaeus Family...
Submission Guidelines
