Don't You Love the SOUND of the Paranormal?

by Terry Spear

Well, maybe not like ghostly sounds or banshee screeches…but your words turned into voice.

We all have voice, but what if you turned your book into a real voice, one that you can hear?

I am the proud producer of a couple of audiobooks. Some of my Highland books were turned into audio, which was lots of fun. I love Scottish dialogue. But I wasn’t involved in the process.

This time, I was. With The Dark Fae. And Kiss of the Vampire. Two young adult books. Two different projects and ways of going about it.

With The Dark Fae, I found a narrator on ACX. This is owned by Amazon. It was different from Voices, in that once I approved the book, I was ready to sell it. I just need to pay the narrator. I didn’t have to. I could have paid just through royalties, 50/50, but I wanted to pay an hourly rate. And then it was done.

But if you don’t want to or can’t afford to invest, then the 50/50 royalty is a good way to go. You have to decide who to distribute it through also. If you want only Amazon to distribute it, then you receive a higher % and they also make it available on Itunes. If you want to make it available to other outlets, you couldn’t do it if you check Amazon only, so if you’re looking for other outlets, it’s better to check the block for that.

For The Dark Fae, the check is in the mail, literally, and once the narrator receives it, I can have ACX distribute it.

With covers, you can’t use the original cover you would use on your books. Audiobook covers need to be square.

Terry's book covers shown here are for demonstration only

So I played around with that until I could create a whole new cover, same look, but square. Of course, I tried the easy way out first, thinking to squish and squash it into the right size. But it would have looked awful. So I had to start from scratch. They won’t allow you to use borders either. All in all, you want the best look, so that’s important!

Now, with the other project, Kiss of the Vampire, I went through Voices. Once you have a book narrated there, you have to upload it to someone else to distribute it for sale. If you agree to pay a set price, you have to put that money in escrow right up front. Then when you have finished reviewing the files and agree to them, you can approve it and release the money right then and there.

I didn’t care for having to set up the escrow, but in the end, it was easier than having to pay the narrator through ACX since my narrator didn’t want to receive payment through Paypal because she’d lose some of her payment that way.

Why even create an audiobook? There are lots of audiobook readers. I love to listen to audiobooks! Especially on trips. It gives your book another outlet. Ebook. Print book. Audiobook.

Will you sell a lot? You never know. It’s just like with any title. We never know which will do well. You have the added advantage/disadvantage of adding voice—a narrator’s—to the mix. Some will love the narrator’s voice. But if the majority don’t care for the audiobook version, it can hurt audiobook sales.

I remember a friend saying she was buying the author’s book and wouldn’t listen to the audiobook because of the way the story was written and she felt she wouldn’t get as much out of it by listening to it. So it doesn’t mean that an audiobook will hurt book sales. In another case, I tried to get into a book and just could not. So by accident, I picked up the audiobook version and didn’t have anything else to listen to on the way back and forth to work and so I kept listening to it until I reached the end. Good book—to my surprise!

Why keep the option open to be able to distribute on your own? You can make cds of your works. Offer them as gifts. Offer them for reviews. Get creative

What is the next project? Second book in the fae series. And since I’ve already worked with my narrator, we’ve already agreed to terms and she’s delighted to start a new project.

And that means more audiobooks in the future.

So, ever listen to audiobooks? Do you produce them for your own work? Or have you thought of giving it a shot?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written a couple of dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance and continuing her new series about shapeshifting jaguars. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear .

World Building for Earth Day: Bottom up World Building

Our relationship to Earth

determines what we eat, what we wear, how we live, even the shape of our bodies, in short everything about us. As writers we can focus on portraying human relationships and hope the setting will take care of itself, big mistake. To maintain plausibility every component of the story should have consistency with the world of the story.  I used a bottom up approach to world building, working from the needs of the plot to the architecture of the imagined world. 

1.      Seed idea.
Ever story grows out of a seed idea, something which is so wonderful that it must be shared. My stories grew out of a dream of a woman fleeing by moonlight, a child in her arms.

2.      What plot works best?
Most stories use a combination of basic plots. The writer simply matches seed idea to appropriate plot combination.
Tragedy -- Things go from bad to worse.
Comedy -- An absurd problem is solved in an absurd manner.
Romance -- Individuals fall in love and attempt to overcome differences.
Mystery -- The cause of a crime or other event is uncovered.
Epiphany -- Significance is found in ordinary life.
Disaster -- An attempt is made to avert or overcome an unfortunate event.
Adventure -- A visit to a strange place.
Agency/Hero's Journey -- Someone discovers something which could save society.

 

Awake after the dream, I decided that the king has been assassinated, and the royal nanny is escaping with the infant heir. They hide out until the heir comes back as an adult to claim the throne. This fits the pattern of the long-lost heir plot, a variation of the hero's journey. This pattern is used for stories ranging from Oedipus Rex to Harry Potter.

3.      What sort of society is necessary for the plot?
The long-lost-heir plot often features patrilineal kingship and rule by divine right. God favors the legitimate first-born son and gives him the right of absolute rule.

I have deep-seated dislike of divine right, so I wanted another way of proving kingship. I decided a hereditary queen would nominate and marry the king. Such a society would be matrilineal, inheritance passing from mother to daughter. Given this, I know the royal child of my story is a girl. As an adult, she faces the challenge of selecting the next king. This setup as has the makings of a nice romance.

4.      What environmental forces are necessary for the society?
Society develops and adapts in response to the basic human needs for shelter, air, water, food, and access to mates. Knowing the resulting society, the writer can backwards engineer climate and terrain.  It helps to think of shortage. I learned this from Frank Herbert's Dorsadi Experiment which has a world with a shortage of toxin-free food and water.

I settled on a lack of shelter as the driving need on Fenria, my imaginary planet. On Fenria, fierce tides and weather lead to a high death rate at sea. In response, the society has a taboo against women fishing and operating boats. As a result, females live longer and society invests in women's education at the expense of male education. On Fenrian, men are expendable. Fenrian doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers are female. Voila! A matriarchal society.
 
5.      What kind of cosmology will produce the shortage?
Cosmology can be thought of as the rules for how a universe functions, or as rules for a magical system.  For a story to have conflict, nothing in the world should be for free. Without cost there's no conflict, no social development, and no story. Cosmology should have built in costs.

Every long-lost-heir must prove his identity. Oedipus Rex has damaged feet and Harry Potter has his scar. Standard devices for proving royal identity include special marks, scars, magical talismans, or feats demonstrating the favor of the gods. My distaste for divine right eliminates most of these. I settled on technological solution, a neurological implant which opens doors in the palace, but which also can be infected with an electronic virus.  Thus, my story fits within a scientific cosmology.

I prefer scientific cosmology because the scientific laws of thermodynamics already have costs. I can still have my hereditary queen without any additional work of developing a complete magical system. 
 
6.      What genre best fits the story?
Where to shelve a book depends mostly on the publishing market. I believe most stories straddle genres, containing plot elements from multiple genres or combining a plot favored by one genre with a cosmology favored by another.

My story has science and technology integral to the plot making it science fiction, but it also focuses on a romantic relationship. This combination makes the story SFR, science-fiction romance. It's up to me to decide if I will pitch the story as science fiction or as romance.

I feel that leaving the decision of genre for the end gives the writer the greatest range for creativity and freedom while still producing consistency within a story. I believe that all stories, even realistic stories, can benefit from bottom-up world building. Thinking about the world necessary for the plot can help determine where to set the story and what details of setting should be included or excluded.

Lizzie Newell lives in Alaska and writes science fiction set in a maritime world. She has written a half dozen novels and hopes to publish them soon. She expects her novella, Sappho's Agency, to be available first.  Her novel, Princess Politkofsky, which she mentions in this article, is about a princess who returns to her planet to save it from an electronic virus and then falls in love.

More information on Lizzie Newell's writing can be found at http://www.lizzienewell.com. She has founded Northern Speculative Fiction, a website http://www.northernspecfic.org/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northern-Speculative-Fiction/ dedicated to speculative fiction writers living in Alaska and Yukon.

 

The accompanying

photos are of models

and drawings made

by Lizzie Newell as

part of her

world building.

 

 

FF&P Romance writers Spring On-Line Workshops

The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal
Chapter of the RWA Presents the line up of great workshops for Spring 2013!
Click here to see the full line up!
http://romance-ffp.com/page/workshops

Web Design--presented by Catherine Chant May 6-17, 2013

At the end of this workshop you will have a better understanding of what goes into making your author website more appealing and inviting to a visitor and thus more effective for promoting you and your work. This two-week workshop will cover the golden ratio of layout design, web fonts and web-safe colors, using white space, user interface considerations and website organization, web graphics for the artistically challenged, and the importance of testing websites with multiple operating systems and browser applications.

Beyond Google --presented by Ally Broadfield May 6-June 2, 2013

Workshop Description: There's nothing more frustrating than wasting your precious writing time on a futile web search. Whether you are looking for a specific piece of information or need to research an entire time period or subject, this class will help you conduct the best search for your information needs. You will learn how to utilize multiple online search resources, including search engines, web directories, and databases. You will also learn how to refine search terms, narrow or broaden your search, how to use Boolean logic, and many other tips and techniques to make your research more efficient and successful. (Click link for full course description)

Romantic Suspense seeks Paranormal -- presented by Leslie Wainger May 6-June 2, 2013

Writing romantic suspense should be easy, right? Take some romance, add some suspense, and voila! Except...not really. To stand out in this crowded genre you need to plot every step as carefully as your killer plots his next murder, and your couple's relationship has to be as romantic as Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. This course will start with the basics and go deep, preparing you to write a romantic suspense novel that makes readers stay up nights reading.

Storytelling through the anxiety curve -- presented by Sally J Walker

Humans exist in varying states of anxiety allowing for survival. This writing workshop of lecture and writing exercises will teach you how to identify stress and coping mechanisms in fictional characters that will create a marketable short story or novel. From envisioning those dynamic, vivid characters to screwing up a “normal day,” your creativity will be challenged through brief exercises and class discussions.

Vampires down the silk road and beyond -- presented by Elis Flynn & Jacquie Rogers

Stories about vampires can be found virtually all over the world, in many places and ways you may not expect. The names may change and even some of what vamps can do, but whatever you call them, the legends about vampires have long been a part of human history. Let's look at those myths around the world following the Silk Road, that series of routes that was integral to traders long before the Christian era began. (Click link for full course description)

PLEASE JOIN US!

Top Ten Pet Peeves of a New Editor PART 2

by MM Pollard, editor, Black Velvet Seductions 

January 1, 2012, I became an acquisitions editor with Black Velvet Seductions. I’ve been on the job for over a year now, and I have a growing list of pet peeves of a new editor.

Let’s continue our talk from April 1^st about little things that writers have done when submitting their work for consideration that drive me (and other editors) crazy. Here’s the second half of my list—

6. …writers who don’t proof their manuscript before they send it in.

I know, I know, proofing your own writing is hard to do. Ask a friend who uses the language properly to read your story and make notes on changes.

If common English punctuation and grammar trip you up, then may I suggest taking a Workshop with MM?  

7. …writers who send their manuscripts typed in size 9 of a decorative font and singled-spaced.

Editors read, that’s it! Double space and use an easy-to-read font like Times New Roman, Courier New or Arial in a size 12 font – it’s easier on the eyes. Being kind to the editor is in your best interest. 

8. …writers who send in separate chapters from beginning, middle, and end of the manuscript, instead of the first three chapters or the entire manuscript, according to the publisher’s request.

I don’t understand their thinking with this one. How can an editor tell anything about pacing or plot or character development in three non-sequential chapters?

9. …writers who aren’t prepared to send in additional information, like a chapter outline or a promotion plan, when requested by the editor.

It’s a fact of small press publishing today that writers who use such presses will need to do some promotion for their books once they are published. Have a promotion plan handy in case a publisher is interested in seeing it. Same with a chapter outline. Better yet, write a fabulous synopsis, and I wouldn’t need to see a chapter outline.  

10. …writers who sign with a publisher, but don’t let other publishers who also received their work know that bit of information.

This happened – I read a submission I thought showed promise. I was excited. I checked out the writer’s blog and website where I found out that another publisher had already contracted the work. Lots of wasted time and energy on my part! It’s not as if we had let her submission hang out in submission purgatory for months.

Common courtesy is so underused in business relationships today. Need I say more? Uh, I guess I already did.

 

Now it’s time to ask yourself how many of my pet peeves are you guilty of? If you realize that you are guilty, chalk it up to being a novice in this writing business and promise to change your ways. If you aren’t guilty, pat yourself on the back. I would love to hear from you. 

MM Pollard, Editor, Black Velvet Seductions

About MM Pollard

MM Pollard is a very nice former English teacher and now acquisitions editor for Black Velvet Seductions.  She has accepted the mission to find and help writers correct ungrammatical grammar, misused usage, problematic punctuation, and poor writing in their work.

With fifteen years of experience teaching English serving as a resource of knowledge and a life-time love of teaching and of language, MM has been presenting workshops since February, 2011. She has presented workshops for many RWA chapters, Savvy Authors, Writers Online Classes, and in her own virtual classroom. MM is excited to have over thirty workshops scheduled for 2013. Check out her blog for more details.

Also check out her new forum for free workshops and advice on using English correctly. You don’t have to register as a member of Lefora Forums unless you wish to comment.

MM has helped many writers improve their language and writing skills through her fun workshops. Yes, English can be fun! MM is sure she can help you, too, master the fundamentals of English. 

MM Pollard,                                                                                                                     

editor, Black Velvet Seductions

Workshops with MM http://blackvelvetseduction.com/Workshop1 -- info on her workshops on her private forum

MM’s Forum http://freeworkshopswithmm.lefora.com 

MM’s Fundamentals in English http://queenofenglish.wordpress.com – sign up for her newsletter on her blog and see her complete list of workshops for 2013

 

I hope you will join my class on

FLASHBACKS

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic& Paranormal Romance Writers

This 10 Day class starts April 22, 2013

For more information click HERE

 

FF&P WORKSHOP UPDATE

The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the RWA Presents the line up of great workshops for 2013! Click here to see the full line up! http://romance-ffp.com/page/workshops

SWOT Analysis for Writers by Dr Leslie Dow April 15-28, 2013

SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis is a tool used every day in business strategy to identify the critical internal factors that a company can use to take best advantage of any situation. Sound familiar? Writers can use this powerful tool to do the same thing. Using SWOT you’ll learn how to evaluate your characters strengths and weaknesses against the external opportunities and threats posed by your plot. Using this simple technique you will strengthen motivation by identifying those places where internal strengths and weaknesses collide with external opportunities and threats in ways that make stories great!

Flashbacks -- presented by MM Pollard April 22-May 12, 2013

Flashbacks present a problem with verb tenses. Since a flashback is past, but you’re writing in past tense, how do you show the flashback is more past than past? Confused? Trust me, you aren’t the only one. Editor Laurie Sanders, BVS, says that the poorly written flashback is one of the reasons she rejects manuscripts. Flashbacks are a device that a writer must use with care, or she might lose her reader in that distant past, never to see that reader again. We’ll consider kinds of flashbacks, uses for flashbacks, and reasons not to use flashbacks as well as the mechanics involved. Reward for doing your homework: MM’s personal feedback on every assignment. Consider homework as opportunities for mini-edits by MM.

Web Design --presented by Catherine Chant May 6-17, 2013

At the end of this workshop you will have a better understanding of what goes into making your author website more appealing and inviting to a visitor and thus more effective for promoting you and your work. This two-week workshop will cover the golden ratio of layout design, web fonts and web-safe colors, using white space, user interface considerations and website organization, web graphics for the artistically challenged, and the importance of testing websites with multiple operating systems and browser applications. This workshop is aimed at writers who have websites already and want to make them better, or writers who are planning to set up a website and want to know more about how the content should be arranged, either because they plan to do it themselves, or they want to be more informed when hiring a professional designer. This workshop is the perfect follow-up to any class you've taken on HTML or creating a web presence. When you know HTML or a piece of web software, you know how to make a basic web page. The "Principles of Good Website Design for Writers" workshop guides you through the NEXT STEP in the website development process by showing you how to take that basic page and make it a GOOD web page. One that invites visitors to stick around and read what you have to say. PRE-REQUISITE: Students should be familiar with the basics of setting up a website (domain name, software, etc.). This class focuses on design principles and how to make your website more user friendly, appealing and effective. It is NOT a coding class on how to program your website or how to use website design software. The workshop will include exercises designed to strengthen the concepts discussed. Students do not need to have an active website to participate, but may find the lessons more "hands-on" if they do. The instructor will offer feedback on any student's website during the workshop if the URL is offered during the class.

Beyond Google --presented by Ally Broadfield May 6-June 2, 2013

Workshop Description: There's nothing more frustrating than wasting your precious writing time on a futile web search. Whether you are looking for a specific piece of information or need to research an entire time period or subject, this class will help you conduct the best search for your information needs. You will learn how to utilize multiple online search resources, including search engines, web directories, and databases. You will also learn how to refine search terms, narrow or broaden your search, how to use Boolean logic, and many other tips and techniques to make your research more efficient and successful. A list of searchable web directories and websites covering multiple topics based on the needs of workshop attendees will also be provided.

Romantic Suspense seeks Paranormal -- presented by Leslie Wainger May 6-June 2, 2013

Writing romantic suspense should be easy, right? Take some romance, add some suspense, and voila! Except...not really. To stand out in this crowded genre you need to plot every step as carefully as your killer plots his next murder, and your couple's relationship has to be as romantic as Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. This course will start with the basics and go deep, preparing you to write a romantic suspense novel that makes readers stay up nights reading.

PLEASE JOIN US!

 

 

Interview with Editor Heather Howland from Entangled Publishing

Entangled Editor Heather Howland

Readers, we have a special treat for you: an interview with Heather Howland, one of the editorial directors at Entangled Publishing, LLC. Get ready for a new perspective from the other side.

I have heard so many good things about Entangled publishing. Please tell our readers about the publisher you represent.  

Entangled Publishing is a boutique publisher of romantic novels in most teen and adult subgenres. Founded by industry-savvy authors and backed by a successful media corporation, Entangled Publishing utilizes a bold new business model that ensures authors are paid a fair royalty for their talent and hard work, while giving everyone in the company—from the copy editor to the marketing director—a financial stake in the books they work on. In other words, we don’t make money unless the author makes money. 

Though we’re relatively new on the scene (we began accepting submissions in April 2011 and released our first book in July 2011), Entangled has experienced tremendous growth and success. Our books are distributed worldwide via Macmillan, and at last count, 5 of our titles have been New York Times bestsellers, and 9 have been USA TODAY bestsellers. Our commitment to quality and fairness are the driving forces behind everything we do.

Describe the genre of the most recent release, and is the only genre you represent?  

My most recent release was CHASING MRS. RIGHT, the highly anticipated sequel to Katee Robert’s NYT bestselling Brazen debut WRONG BED, RIGHT GUY. While I love sexy contemporary romance and have a lot of it on my list (I am the editorial director of Brazen, after all!), I equally adore gritty paranormal romance. In May, I’ll be releasing SOUTH OF SURRENDER, the third book in Laura Kaye’s Hearts of the Anemoi series. The book is dark, steamy, and utterly addictive. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, I highly encourage you to give it a shot. Laura and I are longtime BDB fans (as are most of my authors—I don’t think this is a coincidence), so there’s definitely some Brother flavor going on. 

For authors or prospective authors: what influences your decision to read a submission: the query letter; synopsis; an agent’s submission; etc.

Our very first impression of your novel is the query letter. Properly formatted, well-written query letters instantly engage me, and that’s exactly what you want to do. I can’t stress how important it is to know the industry and what’s expected of you (and your query letter) before submitting your material to agents and editors. First impressions are everything! 

To be honest, I’m just as likely to pick up an unagented query as an agented one. While it’s nice to know someone else in the industry has already vetted the manuscript, I’ve actually been really successful plucking gems out of the slushpile and making bestsellers out of them. There’s a certain thrill in discovering an author and helping him or her build their career.

Gems found in the slushpile. Good to know! To get an author’s submission read, what is the biggest no no you see that makes you reject them?

Again, know the industry. Know the genre you’re writing and what plot elements have already been done too many times to be considered fresh. Know your craft inside and out so when you break a rule, it’s a stylistic choice that will make me sit up and take notice. Know what a clichéd beginning is and avoid writing one (It was a dark and stormy night. As the lightning crashed outside, I stood in front of the mirror and assessed my long, wavy blond hair and closed my aquamarine eyes…). Know what the agent or editor you’re querying is interested in—I’m not the best editor for a person with a cozy mystery or an epic fantasy, for example. And please, please, please don’t query an editor with a generic, meant-for-agents “I’m seeking representation for my novel” letter. We won’t represent your novel—we’ll publish it.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 

Do. Not. Give. Up. I can’t tell you how many authors I’ve found in the slush that have gone on to become bestsellers—after the same manuscript was repeatedly rejected by agents and other publishers. This industry is extremely subjective and time-sensitive. All it takes is finding an editor who loves your book, shares your vision, and will do everything in their power to make the book—and your career, if they’re hands on like me—glow. Even if an editor can’t take on a particular project because of timing or another book like it on their list or any number of other reasons, we do remember authors we love. And we’ll be waiting for you to submit your next project. Also, do yourself a favor and read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. This is the most effective, efficient, commercial plotting system out there. You can’t go wrong if you follow Blake’s formula.

How can our readers find your submission guidelines?  

Entangled recently switched to the greatest invention in the history of the submission process, and it’s called Submittable. Authors who work with magazines and literary journals will already be familiar with it. We ask that all submissions be sent via this portal, and in return, we guarantee a response within 30 days. Read through the various imprints, select the one that’s right for you and your book, and submit! If you want to direct your submission to a particular editor, there’s a field for that. It’s extremely simple, plus it allows authors to see status updates as their book progresses through the submission process. You can read our guidelines and submit your manuscripts at https://entangledpublishing.submittable.com/submit/

A 30 day response is nearly unheard of from a publisher! Thank you for this wealth of information. Tell us more about you:

BIO:
Heather Howland began editing in the legal, industrial, and technical sectors nine years ago while working as a Production Manager. Before joining the Entangled family, she worked as a freelance editor and as the acquisitions editor of a small romance publisher. She now edits popular authors such as NYT bestsellers Katee Robert and Laura Kaye, USA Today bestseller Cari Quinn, and Amy Andrews, as well as up-and-coming authors Tonya Burrows, Samanthe Beck, and Tessa Bailey. In her spare time, Heather creates book covers for Entangled and Brazen, hosts craft chats and teaches editing workshops for various organizations, and mentors YA authors through the editing process at Savvy U. She holds a BS in creative writing and psychology, which she channels into her love of dark and sexy romantic fiction. Find her on Twitter at @HeatherHowland.

Heather was interviewed by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers

member Nancy Lee Badger

Interview with Beth Campbell from BookEnds, LLC

Agent Beth Campbell

Today I’m interviewing Beth Campbell in order to give our readers a new perspective from an literary agency's point-of-view. Welcome, Beth, to the Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers Blog. As an on-line chapter of romance Writers of America, the chance to talk with an someone from a literary ageny is priceless.  

Please tell my readers a little bit about you, such as why did you decide to work for the agency?

I’m a 23 year old former-English-major who loves cats, cooking, dancing, and reading (both critically and for fun). I started to strongly consider publishing as a career when I was a sophomore in college, and shortly thereafter, I landed a summer internship with BookEnds! I was drawn to this company in particular because of their reputation as an agency that advocates fiercely on behalf of their authors, and I came back to work as an assistant because I saw that it was true. The agents here have a lot of passion for their work and for helping people who are interested in publishing. I started working here about seven months ago, and I’ve learned a lot, taken on a lot of responsibility, and felt incredibly welcomed by the agents and the authors they represent. 

My cat, Blaze, helps me write. Please tell our readers about the agency you represent.  

 

BookEnds is a full service literary agency based in the suburbs of New York. We have three agents—all of whom have worked as editors at major publishing companies—their assistant (me), and a dog named Riggins who often hangs out in the office. We represent a wide variety of iction and non-fiction genres and can boast several dozen bestsellers. All of us are actively looking for new talent (when we’re open to submissions, that is), and work with our authors to make sure that a project is up to scratch before going out on submission to editors. You can find out more about us here: http://www.bookends-inc.com/about_us.html.

Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

It sounds cliché, but I have honestly loved reading for longer than I can remember. When I was a very small child (too young to read by myself), my mom bought me picture books that had audio cassettes included. I would listen to them until I had them memorized perfectly, and then I would pretend to read them by reciting the story outloud. I think the person who really got me into reading avidly was JK Rowling and the Harry Potter series. The books started becoming very popular when I was eight years old, so I picked the first one up and devoured it. I’ve been a devoted genre reader ever since, and I still have a very strong preference for fantasy and YA.

My youngest son learned to read because of the Harry Potter books! For authors or prospective authors: what influences your decision to read a submission: the query letter, synopsis, etc.

Absolutely the query letter. Unless we request additional materials, my agency has a query-only submission policy, so queries are constantly flooding my inbox. I read at least ten a day to keep on top of submission, and after a while they tend to blend together. Queries that have a great voice really jump out at me, sometimes even more so than the premise of the manuscript. Writing query letters can be extremely difficult, and when an author manages describe their story while showcasing their voice, it speaks well of their talent as a writer.

A great tip! What do you see ahead in your career?

I’m currently working as a literary assistant to the BookEnds agents. I have a couple of clients, and I’m heading a number of projects, but I’d like to make the transition to full literary agent some time within the next several years. In the more immediate future, I’m really looking forward to signing my first fiction author. I’m working on non-fiction manuscripts at the moment—and I quite enjoy it!—but fiction is my passion. I’m really hoping for a great urban fantasy, YA, sci-fi, or women’s fiction author some time soon.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 

To authors who are struggling to find an agent or get published, the most important thing I can say is: don’t forget why you love to write. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir when I say that rejections are really hard, especially when you’ve been receiving them for a good long while. It’s easy to become disenchanted or insecure, so it’s crucial to remember and experience love for your craft during this time period. When you’re querying one project, start working on your next. Keep improving yourself, fall in love with writing all over again, and query new manuscripts if you become tired of the old ones. And as long as getting published is what you really want to do, don’t give up. We’re all readers in this business, and the books we like, represent, and acquire depend greatly on personal taste (and timing). All it takes is one well-written query to the right person. That person can just be hard to find, sometimes.

Beth Campbell’s Bio:

After an undergraduate career of interning for a variety of publishing companies, Beth joined BookEnds as a full-time literary assistant in September 2012. While holding intern positions with BookEnds and Entangled Publishing, she worked extensively with romance, mystery, YA, fantasy, and women's fiction novels. During her semesters away from the publishing industry, Beth worked as an editor for two literary publications based on her college campus: Dickinson's student-run literary magazine, and Sirena, an international literary journal managed by the college's professors.

Beth graduated from Dickinson College in May 2012 with a BA and honors in English Literature. She is happy to be back in her native New Jersey and thrilled to be working in an industry she loves. She is an avid reader of fantasy and YA novels and also enjoys drawing, cooking, and spending far too much time on the Internet. Beth currently lives with her family and four cats.

Beth Campbell was interviewed for the Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Blog by Nancy Lee Badger

May the SWOT Be with You by Leslie Dow

May the SWOT be with you? Ok, I agree that is a pretty awful title but using SWOT to analyze characters and plots can move your story along and help you figure out tough plot problems. Never heard of SWOT analyses? I’m not all that surprised. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. It’s a tool used by businesses to figure out the best strategy to move forward or get the business out of a jam. It’s a tool also used by people to figure out what they should do next, career-wise.

Simply put, you look at the internal realities and the external situations:

• Are you strong where you need to be to win at the opportunity you have? Excellent!

• Are you weak where your threats are greatest? Uh oh!

 

At least that’s what you do if you want to succeed in business. You make sure you are strong enough to meet your greatest threat and win your best opportunity.

What if you want to write a compelling character in an engaging story? Well, matching up a character’s greatest strength against a threat handily defeated by wielding that strength makes for a pretty uninteresting story. Nope, we want a heroine whose greatest weakness is matched against her enemy’s greatest strength. We want to watch her grow and struggle and strive to gain the internal guts and know-how to meet that threat. Now that sounds like fun! I want to read that one!

So lets look at an example we all know:

 

Luke Skywalker must trust himself (and his control of the Force) to defeat the Empire’s Deathstar.

*click on the blue box to enlarge

Ahhh! Now, it’s beginning to sound like a writing tool, right? Exactly!

 

We all know that our characters innate weaknesses and strengths drive the best plots. Really great stories track the arc of the characters’ greatest weaknesses as they play out against their adversary’s greatest strengths. We love to see heroes and heroines win against the greatest odds and the most terrible foes.

In SWOT Analysis for Writers, my two week workshop beginning April 15, we’ll investigate how to use this business tool to write stronger plots, concoct more dangerous threats and insert key weaknesses in our heroes and heroines. In week one, we’ll analyze characters with SWOT tools from stories we all know and love, and learn how to apply this fun and visual technique to known plots and characters. Then in week two, we’ll take your stories and characters and SWOT them around, producing stronger heroes and more compelling plots in the process.  

author Leslie Dow, PhD

 

Bio: Leslie Dow, PhD

My friends say I discovered DNA, cured cancer (all kinds) and then sequenced the Human Genome. They’re pleasantly deluded and like to have people buy them martinis in trendy bars. 

 

Actually, I help businesses make better stuff or wheedle moody software engineers (If you must..Leslie on LinkedIn). And I write, oh yeah, I do that, too. 

 

I am the current Workshop Coordinator and WebElf the for the RWA’s Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter. I’m a past editor of the RWA’s Silicon Valley Chapter and have done some other stuff involving the web and newsletters. I am also the Director of the most amazing writer’s community in the known Universe: SavvyAuthors. You should join, really.  

 

 

I’m in the process of editing my first SOLD novel a category-length romance On the Wings of Love. to Entangled Publishing. YAY! I live on a small La Honda homestead in the Santa Cruz Mountains just up from the Silicon Valley where I am managed by 12 14 indignant chickens, 2 not-so-feral-supposed-to-be-outdoor kitties, 1 neurotic cattle dog, and a Nelson’s Albino Milksnake named Audrey Lou.

Connect with me on:

http://www.fabchicks.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliedow

https://www.facebook.com/leslie.dow

https://twitter.com/lesliedow

 

Join me for a fun and interesting two weeks

 

SWOT Analysis for Writers

hosted by FF&P

This 2 week course starts April 15th

Sign up HERE