Pub Rants

Category: Publishing Industry General

Home From Dallas

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: This time I arrived in Dallas on time. I’ll take it. Several years ago for the Dallas RWA, my plane was supposed to arrive by 4 in the afternoon. I reached the hotel at 1 in the morning.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? DOWNTOWN TRAIN by Rod Stewart (and yes I know that Tom Waits is the original songwriter)

Tomorrow the conference really gets started with the literacy signing. If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to seek out a few of my wonderful writers. The Autograph session begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regence, downtown Dallas.

RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU
By Jana DeLeon



‘SCUSE ME WHILE I KILL THIS GUY

by Leslie Langtry

MOONGAZER
Marianne Mancusi

PRIME TIME
By Hank Phillippi Ryan

GAMES OF COMMAND
Linnea Sinclair

DAMSEL UNDER STRESS
By Shanna Swendson

Got Conflict? My Author Linnea Sinclair Gives The Scoop

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Doing great! It’s too early in the day to be anything but. I’m off a little early to attend the LightHouse Writers Festival here in Denver. They are having an evening welcome party to kick-off the weekend. Can’t miss that!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE SIDEWINDER SLEEPS TONITE by R.E.M

NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I’VE SEEN
(thoughts on Conflict in writing)

Kristin asked me a week or so ago if I’d guest blog on Conflict. She credits my Denver workshop for an “a-hah!” moment she had on the matter (Conflict vs Complication), and even though I assured her I was not the source for that particular tidbit of writerly wisdom, she was unmoved. So here I am, a guest in my illustrious agent’s (cyber) house, feeling as if I’d better be on my best behavior and knowing I also have to be instructive, witty and insightful.

Good thing I’m on my second cup of coffee.

So let’s start talking about conflict (in commercial genre fiction, okay? Not literary or experimental fiction) by starting off saying that it’s honestly impossible to talk about just conflict. It’s honestly impossible to talk about any ONE facet of writing. You can’t fully understand conflict without considering characterization, and you can’t work with characterization without looking at word choice, and you can’t… well, you get the idea. Crafting a novel is like dealing with a can of worms. Conflict is just one of those slithery things you have to understand.

One of the most critical issues about conflict (in writing commercial genre fiction) that I’ve learned is that for conflict to work, it must be personal. That is, it must relate directly to the character and/or an aspect of the story line. Overlarge, impersonal conflict is a guarantee of a cartoonish novel. It will eventually fail to draw in the reader (or agent or editor) because it doesn’t answer one of the most critical needs of the reader: “Why should I give a shit?”

And yes, that’s an exact quote from an editor I interviewed a few years back on the subject of what makes a book work (or not). The “Why should I give a shit?” factor is huge when it comes to making a novel grip the reader. It also relates to two things I learned from Dwight Swain’s TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER: 1. Readers read to experience tension, and 2. It’s the author’s job to manipulate the emotions of the reader.

But we’re talking about conflict, you wail.
Yes, we are. We’re talking about the thing that is the engine of the story (thank you, Jacqueline Lichtenberg), the thing that keeps the story moving forward, the thing that keeps the reader turning pages.

Conflict happening to characters about whom the reader/agent/editor gives a…damn. (I’ll try to keep it cleaner for my genteel Midwestern agent.)

Impersonal conflict—which can sometimes appear as complication—doesn’t light the “give a damn” fire and get the story wheels turning as much as personal(ized) conflict.

Let me give you an example: Alphonse is strolling down the street and a dog runs out of a yard and bites him. Police/EMT’s arrive, report is filed, Alphonse is patched up. End of scene. Okay, nasty thing to happen, but where do we go from there (story-wise) and how? And moreover, why should we?

Re-roll the video tape: Alphonse is strolling down the street and a dog runs out of a yard and bites him. Police arrive and find out the dog belongs to Alphonse’s ex-wife who has also mailed death threats to his house and left a headless chicken on his doorstep. Police seek out Alphonse’s ex but she’s not to be found. Suddenly, the story gets a whole lot more interesting.

Why? It’s personal to Alphonse (and therefore, also to the reader because reading is a vicarious experience, right?). It’s personal because this isn’t a random act that might not be repeated. This is a plot. A plan. Against Alphonse (reader). You—author—have just started the “waiting for the other shoe to drop” syndrome in the story. Because there’s a salient, logical (albeit crazy) reason for these things to happen to Alphonse. His ex is pissed off. The reader then rightfully expects further trouble. Oh, joy!

Now please, don’t point out to me that there have been X number of highly successful novels in which the reader didn’t know who was behind the dead-chicken-on-the-doorstep until the final page. Of course there are. I’m being simplistic here to make a point. Plus, in the novels where the antagonist is theoretically unknown until page whatever, the skilled novelist still drops in clues, red herrings and hints which tug—and sometimes lash out—at the reader’s emotions. Thereby manipulating the reader by making the conflict that happens to the protagonist feel personal.

Alphonse is now scared and therefore, so is the reader. Alphonse is scared because he knows this problem is not going to stop. The biting dog was not some random coincidence that most likely will never happen again. SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. And it ain’t a matter of if…

Noted SF author Jacqueline Lichtenberg states in the World Crafters Guild on her site that conflict is “an urgent and undeniable MUST prevented from materializing by an equally formidable CAN’T.” Complication and random conflict can be amusing and even annoy the characters in your novel, but they don’t qualify as being FORMIDABLE. They can go away. An antagonist hell-bent on making your protagonist fail will not go away, and the reader—if you’ve structured your plot, pacing, characterization, word choice and conflict properly—knows this too. Well-written conflict is an undeniable I MUST slammed flat up against an equally formidable YOU CAN’T.

If nobody knows the trouble you’ve seen—or intend to bestow on your protagonist—then you’re not building tension, excitement and anticipation by the best method: conflict that is personal to the characters and the plot. Keep conflict real, keep it personal, and keep it coming.

~Linnea Sinclair

RITA© Award Winning SF Romance
Bantam Spectra 2005: FINDERS KEEPERS, GABRIEL’S GHOST, AN ACCIDENTAL GODDESS

2007: GAMES OF COMMAND, CHASIDAH’S CHOICE, THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES

Other Links:

Sim Gen School
Conflict Integration Workshop
Conflict & Motivation
Conflict & Story

On Publishing—Michael Cader Style

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Tired and ready for bed. Pardon any typos. I’ll proofread and fix tomorrow.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME by Jewel

Today I was at the Backspace conference—which was a blast. Michael Cader of Publishers Marketplace did the keynote and I have to say that I felt like leaping out of my chair at several points in the speech just to say “Amen” but thought that might sound too much like a revival meeting.

Let’s just say he was singing my song. Preaching to the choir. Well, you get the picture.

So here are some of my notes on some of the great points he made today (and these are just quick paraphrases since I wrote in shorthand and even I can’t read my own handwriting sometimes).

The keynote was entitled “Things No one Understands About Publishing, and the Internet, Featuring the Most Important Thing No One Ever Tells Authors, and The Most Important Thing Publishers Don’t Know.”

In short, Mr. Cader discussed what he felt where principles that the publishing world has been reluctant to embrace because of being entrenched in the old way of doing things.

1. Even if you never self-publish, have no intention to, and pursue traditional publishing venues, go forward and market your book as if it was self published and getting the marketing and the distribution was all on you.

2. You know your material and you know your readership and how best to reach them. Don’t think of readers as only a dollar sign (as in they are there to buy your book and that’s there only purpose). What is important to you as a reader? Answer that question. You have to think about what’s going to grab attention. What’s compelling? What’s passionate about your work? What ignites reader imagination? That’s how you sell your book.

3. You can create readership outside of your book. Internet is the great equalizer. Readers don’t want to be told what to get excited about and it drives marketers crazy. Word of mouth is simply readers talking about what they are passionate about and that’s the most trusted way to create buzz about a book. (And ultimately, that does lead to dollar signs). But that’s not the trade publishing model. They always begin a book campaign by thinking about how to get readers to part with their money rather than how to give readers what content they have to have. Blogs work because they are intimate and personal. Corporate blogs don’t because they can’t capture that authentic and personal feel because it’s about marketing and the bottom line.

4. If you want readers, what do you give away for free? There is the idea that if you give away too much for free, readers won’t buy the printed copy but that hasn’t proven to be true.

5. Genuine interest drives bloggers and they know when they are being marketed to and thus they ignore you. When you participate in the blog world, it’s because you have a genuine interest to make connections—not unlike how we develop relationships with people. It’s non-marketing.

6. Publishing often has it backward. They keep a big book a secret until the release day and then there is a big publicity push. But that’s not how the internet works effectively. The internet is a slow build. Buzz over time. People talking about what interests them about a topic or a book. The internet values what’s old, what can be found in a search, what is repeated over time.

Deal Lunch Blurbs Take Two

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It was such a gorgeous day in Denver, one can’t help but smile despite being a little tired. I stayed up late last night to read a requested full manuscript that I just couldn’t put down. I literally finished reading around midnight and thought, “it’s not too late to call the author and offer representation, is it?” Ultimately I decided that midnight was a little late to be calling and waited until first thing this morning.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? IT MUST BE HIM by Vicki Carr

So I was thinking some more about this exercise and I can’t stress enough how nailing your deal lunch blurb can really help you to crystallize your story line for your query pitch.

Interesting that folks commented that the deal lunch blurb didn’t grab their attention as much as the longer blurb (and of course the longer blurb is going to be way better—that’s why I used it for the pitch to editors). Don’t forget. You do have a whole paragraph (or even two) to nail your story concept in your query letter. You don’t just have to use one sentence. The point of the exercise is to simply boil your story down to the main conflict and that’s what really struck me about what some of the comments posted.

If I had simply focused on Angel’s struggle of non-acceptance in the art world, I wouldn’t have highlighted a driving conflict that’s moving the story forward. It’s that simple. These two boys both accept her and her art but they represent two opposite art extremes and ultimately she must decide for herself what she wants her art to be (and in doing so, discovers herself). Conflict.
So keep that in mind when you are tackling this exercise.

Here’s another good example. This novel, by Boston’s Channel 7 Investigative Reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan, will hit shelves in about 3 weeks. Here’s the longish pitch blurb I used in my email letters to editors.

PRIME TIME by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Think that annoying SPAM clogging your computer is just so much cyber-junk? Top-notch TV reporter Charlotte McNally suspects some of it may be much more than that–in fact, she’s certain it carries secret big-money messages to a powerful inner circle of executives who possess the key to its code.

Turns out–as Charlie discovers–the last outsider who deciphered the SPAM’s hidden clues now resides in the local morgue. Was his car crash really an accident? Charlie’s spidey-sense for news may have put her on the trail of the biggest story of her life or the one that may end it.

PRIME TIME, a Lady Lit mystery, introduces Charlotte “Charlie” McNally, a hip and attractive late forty-something journalist who’s facing some life-changing challenges. Charlie’s smart, successful and devoted to Italian clothing designers–but she’s worried her news director is about to replace her with a younger model. Even though she’s won a row of Emmys for her investigative reporting, she’s convinced that unless she digs up another blockbuster in time for the next November ratings book, she may be fired from the job she loves.

Charlie’s got too many pairs of shoes, too many graying hairs, and even a hot flash or two—but she puts her life, and her heart, on the line for a story and readers will never look at SPAM the same way again.

I just loved so many elements of the story, I didn’t want to shorten it. I wanted the editors to get the real feel of the manuscript which I think the blurb captures.

And yes I’m wordy. I HATE boiling things down to one sentence so I feel your pain. Now time for the Deal Lunch Blurb. To me, the conflict is that Charlie needs to land a scoop, solve a murder, and not be replaced by a younger model so that’s what I highlighted.

FICTION: MYSTERY
Emmy award-winning reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan’s PRIME TIME, the first in her series featuring 40-something TV reporter Charlie McNally who discovers a link between a suspicious car accident and hidden messages in SPAM emails while juggling an on-camera world that values beauty more than journalism, to Ann Leslie Tuttle at Harlequin NEXT, by Kristin Nelson at the Nelson Literary Agency (world).

Deal Lunch Blurbs As A Writing Exercise

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It was an incredibly busy Monday. I’m a little stunned that it’s 5 p.m. already. But it’s not too late to hop on over to Brenda Novak’s website and participate in the Diabetes auction she has going for the month of May. Thank goodness somebody has a bid in for more than $2.00 for my read and critique (on page 3 of Writers section). I’d feel silly if nobody placed a bid or if it didn’t raise any money for Brenda!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT by Rolling Stones

Miss Snark and Rachel Vater are always doing pitch workshops over on their blogs and no, don’t get excited. I’m not about to do one over here at Pubrants. It has “rants” in the title for a reason.

But I did have a good idea that I wanted to share with my blog readers. I just concluded two deals recently for Kelly Parra and Jennifer O’Connell and by their request, posted those sales on Publishers Marketplace for Deal Lunch. And that got me thinking. It’s a great writing exercise to boil down a project to a one sentence concept in order to post the deal.

Trust me, this isn’t always easy but if you can somehow grab the core of your story in one or two sentences, you’ll know what’s at the heart of your work. That heart should form the main crux of your pitch paragraph that you then build into a solid paragraph or two for your query letter.

So in short, if you can nail your deal lunch blurb, you’ll nail your pitch paragraph.

Of course I won’t leave you hanging; I’ll give you an example.

Here’s my story pitch for a title that just hit shelves this week–GRAFFITI GIRL by Kelly Parra. When on submission, this longish blurb was included in the emails that went out to editors. Notice there are a lot of details included to give a sense of the story, the plot, the conflict, and the main character Angel.

GRAFFITI GIRL by Kelly Parra

How far would a bad girl go to find her rightful place in the art world?

Sixteen-years-old and third-generation Mexican-American, Angel Rodriguez struggles for artistic acceptance among her peers until she begins to explore the underground lifestyle of graffiti art—a place where her Mexican-themed artwork is finally embraced.

The graffiti lifestyle, however, may be more than Angel bargained for.

As she learns new skills with a spray can, she crosses lines she never considered by breaking laws to prove her dedication to the graffiti crew and drifting farther away from her supportive family. All the while exploring new relationships between two Latino boys–one with a beautiful eye for detail and an upscale street address and the other who lives in her neighborhood and who uses the streets as his canvas.

Soon she becomes torn between obligations of family, friendships, and her passion for art. Angel realizes her newfound artistic acceptance may have come with too high a price.

About the Author
Kelly Parra is the daughter of a Mexican-Filipino dad with a comedic streak and a strong-willed Mexican-Italian mom. Her parents, each raised with twelve siblings, filled her head with interesting tales of their childhood, launching Kelly’s love of a good story.

However, when it came time to do the Deal Lunch blurb, I had to just highlight the heart of it. Michael Cader doesn’t like agents being wordy (and trust me, we like to be wordy because we are excited about the book and we want the whole world to know ALL the details). For Cader, the deal lunch blurb can only be about 5 typed lines long—and that has to include all the sale/editor/agent info. That’s short.

To get that, I have to boil down the above 2 paragraphs into one sentence. No dilly-dallying. No long plot outline. I have to focus only on the HEART of the story.

So for me, the real story is about a young Latina who is torn between two boys who represent for her the polar opposite extremes in the art world and where she fits in that world.

Hence, the deal lunch blurb below:

FICTION: YOUNG ADULT
Kelly Parra’s YA debut GRAFFITI GIRL, a struggling young Latina artist looking for acceptance is torn between two Latino boys—one with a beautiful eye for detail and an upscale street address and the other who lives in her neighborhood and who uses the streets as his canvas, to Lauren McKenna and Jen Heddle at MTV/Pocket Books, in a nice deal, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency (NA).

Glitch!

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: Friday and it’s really freezing in Denver.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? TRULY MADLY DEEPLY by Savage Garden

It was simply a matter of time before problems with the new electronic submission database reared their ugly little heads. Don’t fret though. We are committed to fixing all the problems. Just be sure to email us with a heads up that the error is occurring for you if you can’t upload the sample pages.

So far the culprits seem to be one of two things: 1) the firewall connected with the writer’s ISP and 2) an issue with the uploader’s internet browser.

Thanks for your patience as we work on the glitches.

Not A Lick Of Work

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: I’m pretty excited because the Nelson Agency is launching our brand spanking new e-Newsletter starting next week. It’s going to include all kinds of special info that won’t be divulged on the blog. So if you are interested, you might want to sign up so you don’t miss the inaugural issue.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? WAR The Cardigans

Today was a complete wash, work-wise, because I answered my summons for jury duty. Now I’ve been called in the past but I’ve basically sat in a big room for a whole morning without my number being called. I got to leave by noon.

Not today. This morning I was actually selected to sit through the juror selection process. A criminal assault case (third degree) no less (but don’t worry, the judge clearly said there was no gag order and we were welcome to discuss it freely).

Law & Order it’s not.

Twelve prospective jurors sat in the jury box to start the process (10 alternates sat off to the side and observed). The attorney for the prosecution began the questioning with the defense attorney allowed her turn afterwards. Initial question period was 15 minutes each.

I’m not sure what I expected but here were the two questions I personally received:

1. Has anyone ever made me angry enough that I was provoked to violence?

Answer is no by the way.

2. Could I maintain the presumption of innocence even if the defendant chose not to testify or explain his actions in the alleged assault?

I answered yes.

The attorney also questioned whether the race of the defendant (African American) and the race of the person pressing charges (Latino) would be a factor. We all answered NO. It would be interesting to know how that eventually played into who stayed on the jury and who were dismissed. I’m sure our individual races as jury members were factors in the selection.

I was also surprised by how much the defense attorney was allowed to lead the questioning in the jury selection process. She asked whether we could believe in a self-defense argument if the defendant was larger than the complainant.

Gee, I wonder where that question was leading to.

I didn’t get to find out because I was dismissed as well as a white male corporate attorney, a white male airline pilot, an older white woman of Southern origins who described herself as a housewife, a Latina woman whose English, by her own admission was only so-so, a white cocktail waitress who had mentioned the at she had been moved to violence several times, a Puerto Rican man who admitted that he would need the defendant to testify to understand the case, and a retired Latino gentleman who seemed pretty neutral to me.

Those who remained were a white stay-at-home mom, two Latina grandmothers (one retired and the other worked line-assembly for machinery), a Latino 18-year old high school student (no kidding, he was going to have to take off from school to sit on the jury), an older white woman who managed contracts for an oil/petroleum company, and a serious African American gentleman who looked to be in his 30s and who was an alternate to sit on the jury when a young woman asked to be excused because she was dealing with the recent death of her daughter (that startled the jury panel). I can’t remember his profession but it was pretty late in the day by then (and that was another interesting tidbit because we all had to state our name, profession, marital status, and some hobbies).

All in all, the whole day was fascinating. On one hand, I was relieved to be dismissed so I wouldn’t miss another day of work. On the other hand, it could be really educational and interesting to see the trial unfold.

But the end result was the same. Not a lick of work got done today.

Kickstart the New Year

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: The new year is off to a roaring start. The first day back in the office is always chaos but today I got lots of exciting news. My author Ally Carter is going to be a spotlight author at Book Expo 2007 and audio rights just sold for the second book in her series. Then an editor called to express excitement for a project that went on submission right before the holidays. Now that’s a first day back in the office. Can’t get much better—unless, of course, an editor had called to actually offer.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE BED’S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU by The Police

Did you guys miss knowing what was playing on the iPod for the last two weeks? Seriously, I needed some new downloads for Christmas. It’s one of those things that I do when I have time and I should have had plenty of time over the holidays while being trapped in Denver with about 4 feet of snow. But did I? No. Must have been all the eggnog I drank instead.

I am glad to be back although I really enjoyed my blog break. Consequently, these blogging muscles feel a little rusty but lucky for you it’s a two-fer.

One here and one posted over at Romancing The Blog. I say that’s kickstarting the new year. Just try not to overload.

So today was an attempt to get back in the swing of things. There’s no hard or fast rule but I usually try and wait until tomorrow before I start calling and haranguing all my editors about the status of current submissions, publicity/marketing plans for upcoming books, and whether they are ready to see what I’ve got cooking.

Just like 1000 other agents, I have submissions to send out but waited until after the holidays to do so. Guess what’s happening tomorrow? I’m sure I just made a bunch of editors either cringe or leap with excited anticipation. Maybe both. After all, they probably cleared off their desks and computer desktops before heading out. That lasted about one week.

Happy New Year folks!

Last Blog Of The Year

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: It’s TGIF for the next two weeks!

What’s playing on the iPod right now? CHRISTMAS (BABY PLEASE COME HOME) by U2

Nelson Literary Agency is officially closed until Jan. 2, 2007. But have no fear, there will be new blogs in the new year.

Until then, Happy Holidays! I’ll see you then.

The Hardest Person To Shop For?

by Kristin Nelson

STATUS: What’s there not to like? I’ve been munching on homemade cookies sent by my lovely client Shanna Swendson. It’s perfect nibbling as I try and wrap up queries, partials, and requests for fulls today.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! by Harry Connick, Jr.

Today’s blog is a little smorgasbord of thoughts—not unlike the box of cookies sent my way (and if anyone makes a Forrest Gump reference I’ll scream).

Tis the season for a little inspiration so I wanted to share a tale courtesy of Therese Fowler (and with her permission).

Feel like chucking this whole writing/publication dream? Before you do, check out Therese’s story. A Fairy Tale ending, auction and all but “overnight” success only took five years, nine months, and three manuscripts.

Sometimes writers really need the morale bolster so indulge.

If you’re in the query stage, here’s a thought. Try to refrain from writing that “your work weighs in at…” Chances are good if you feel the need to use that language, your project exceeds the word-length expectation of the genre you’re writing in. In this case, it was for a women’s fiction work that was over 105,000 words. That’s long folks.

And last thought of the day, did you agonize over whether to get your agent a holiday gift or not?

Don’t worry. You weren’t alone. So what’s the answer? (This might open a can of worms because I can just imagine my clients reading this blog and then rushing out to get me something.)

Stop! This is not a guilt-trip inducement because I work for you and honestly, I don’t expect or need anything. A card (if that) is just fine.

But what if you truly want to send something? What to get? Oh please, like I can answer that for every agent living. But I can give some suggestions. For me, if it’s practical or edible, it’s unlikely to go astray. This could work well if you don’t know your agent well.

Who doesn’t like home-baked cookies? (Your diabetic or diet-obssessed agent for one.)

Flowers or a wreath? (Fine unless the agent is traveling for the holidays)

Perfume or scented lotions and soaps? (bummer if your agent is allergic)

Jewelry? (Tastes really vary)

Easy, isn’t it?

I’d go with a gift certificate to a favorite eatery or coffee establishment. It’s hard for that to miss since that will involve choice and the agent can always share with the assistants etc.

Some of my favorite gifts in the past (and they weren’t necessarily holiday-oriented):

Ally Carter gave me a rare orchid when I sold her YA. Thing was huge though and my hubby has it at his office because our Downtown condo is square foot challenged. It still blooms every year and it’s amazing.

One year Jennifer O’Connell sent me a variety of breads and exquisite cheeses. That was yum.

Flowers truly are lovely if I’m going to be around so they won’t die while away. Cheryl Sawyer has sent bouquets and she lives in Australia (power of the internet!)

Becky Motew gave me a wonderful necklace—a chick lit blue handbag with a little diamond (or similar rhinestone).

Hank Ryan gave me a designer pen that I didn’t recognize but when I whipped it out during an editor meeting in New York, there was much fawning over it. I suspect that it was from Tiffany’s…

And there have been many more (so sorry if I didn’t mention yours). Maybe I should keep a list…