I thought you’d find it interesting to know that the staff here at MacGregor Literary have a bunch of books on the market. I’ve long said that one of the best things about our agency is that we’re a group of writers — not just editors or dealmakers or marketing types. Writers. That doesn’t make us better than other agencies, but it does make us unique.

Amanda Luedeke is the author of The Extroverted Writer: An Author’s Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform. A lot of writers love Amanda’s wisdom on the topic of marketing on this blog every Thursday, and her book gives authors the tools to develop on online following. It’s very practical and packed with good information.

Holly Lorincz is the author of Smart Mouth, a funny, touching novel about a very shy first-year teacher who is manipulated into coaching the debate team. Think of it as a cross between Glee and Bridget Jones Diary, with great voice, an enduring protagonist, and memories we all have of the horrors of high school.

Marie Prys is the coauthor of Faith of the First Ladies, which simply looks at a bunch of our First Ladies, and how their faith and character has helped shape our country (as well as their families). The First Lady’s role has shifted over time, from “national hostess” to “policy influencer,” and nearly every woman in the role has put her own mark on it.

And yes, I had a new book release last year, with Bethany House. The title is 40 Ways to get Closer to God, and was simply intended as an examination of my spiritual journey. If someone feels a need to draw close to the Almighty, what does he or she do? What are some things that actually move us in that direction? (Hint: The book talks a lot about doing things for other people, rather than focusing on yourself.)

There’s more, of course. Marie and I worked on our “1001 Surprising Things” series, and I have a couple books of card tricks I could share, but for now, these are a good start. Thought you’d appreciate seeing the sort of things we’re creating in our spare time. Literary agents who write… an interesting concept.

(And yes – feel free to purchase a copy of anybody’s book at Amazon or BarnesAndNoble.com!)

Posted in Current Affairs | 2 Comments »

Someone wrote to say, “While perusing Amazon yesterday, I filtered my search by ‘date published’ and noticed several pages of books listed for pre-orders due out in late ’13 or early ’14. Is this a sales strategy? Is it common? Is it effective? And how far out is realistic to get a worthwhile response?”

The practice of directing friend and readers to pre-order your book on Amazon has been popular for several years now. Yes, it’s a sales strategy, and yes, it has become more popular for the savvy author. Here’s why: If you push everyone you know to pre-order your upcoming book, all those orders go into effect THE DAY OF RELEASE. So if you’ve done a lot of groundwork, and really convinced a lot of folks to pre-order your book, then on that first day it looks like a lot of people logged on and ordered your book. The book gets noticed, your title shoots up near the top of the Amazon rankings, and you hope to get some great word-of-mouth buzz going. Maybe it gets some momentum that gets it noticed by other reviewers and readers. The rankings on Amazon are all comparative — that is, the Amazon system is constantly monitoring sales velocity, so if a bunch of orders are triggered at once, it suddenly causes your book to look like a bestseller, even if it’s just briefly.

As for the effectiveness of this system, it seems to work best for authors who really beat the bushes and convince people to pre-order a book (not an easy thing to do in these days of instant gratification). Store orders are great, but a sudden hit of 2000 books on its release day can really grab the attention of people (and of your publisher).

You asked for how far in advance to do this… a tougher question. I see some bestselling authors working as much as six months out, but my guess is that most authors will find this effective in the last couple of months before the book officially releases. In fact, getting people to order in the last 30 days within the book’s release might be your best strategy.

Before signing off for the day, it seems like there’s been too much tragedy in the world lately — the news about good buddy Lee Hough (in my most recent blog post) just adds to the pile. So, if you don’t mind a bit of cheerful news, the fabulous novelist Ginger Garrett sent me something I wanted to share with everyone. First, she received an email from a young fan, who said:

Dear Ginger Garrett,

You are my very favorite author there is. When I read your first book, Dark Hour, it help me get in to all of the books. I loved this book. I was so looking forward to read the second one, I hope it comes out soon. You are a very talented author. Your also my inspiration… You made me want to be an author. I hope and pray one day I’ll be just as good as you are. I thank God for blessing me with this book. I hope to hear from you soon. 

So Ginger wrote back, thanked her, explained that Books 2 and 3 in the series are out (Reign and Desired), and offered to drop a copy of each in the mail to her. And that prompted her young fan to write back with this:

I wonder Miss Garrett if I may bother u once more. I was just think I read Dark Hour, Desired, have both of your Chronicles of the Scribe and Wolves Among Us, and I was just wondering which book is your most favorite. I loved all of them they each taught me a liston, but I can not figure out which one I loved the most. Your really good with bringing your characters alive. Do you know which book is your favorite book you ever written? I believe Dark Hour may be mine. I read it almost three times and cryed each time I read it. Thanks again Miss Garrett God bless you!!! You have became my new very best friend:)))) Love, your greatest fan. 

As Ginger said to me, “Sometimes we get so used to seeing the reviews and the business stuff in publishing, it’s just fun to hear from a young reader who loves the story.” I agree. Grins all around. Thanks for allowing me to share this, Ginger.

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

A dozen years ago, I was working as a literary agent with Alive Communications in Colorado Springs, and we had a great group of people all pitching in. Rick Christian (the boss, and the guy who basically began the notion of a literary agent working in CBA), Greg Johnson (now the President of WordServe), Kathy Helmers (a principal with Creative Trust Agency in Nashville), Andrea Heinecke (then my assistant, now a literary agent in her own right), Alice Crider (who worked as my assistant, then became an editor at Random House), as well as several other good folks. We had hired a new guy, Lee Hough, who’d been working as an editor for a mid-size publishing house, and came in with a great book sense.

Lee had heard this story, about a wealthy art dealer in Houston who had befriended a homeless African-American man while volunteering at a meals program. It was a great human story  – the art dealer’s wife was dying of cancer, the homeless man had lived an incredibly hard life, he would eventually step in and take over the ministry that the art dealer’s wife had started, and somehow the characters all came together to help one another. Lee saw the value in it right away. He thought it was a one-of-a-kind, life-changing story of redemption and change.

Unfortunately, nobody else in publishing seemed to agree. I watched Lee pitch that book to house after house, continually getting turned down, people questioning the facts of the story or the salability of memoir in the Christian market. It seemed like week after week, as we’d gather for our Tuesday morning staff meetings, Lee would say he was still pitching that book, still believed in it, still trying to encourage the author to hang with him. I’m not exaggerating when I say most of us would have given up. (I might have actually said that to Lee, truth be told. There are only so many times you can be told “no thanks” before you have to wonder if you’re wrong and everyone else is right in this business.) Lee was having none of it. He worked on that project for a couple years.

I eventually left, after a bunch of good years, in order to become a publisher with the old Time Warner Book Group. And one day, as I was catching up with old friends, somebody told me that Lee had finally sold that book. The story I heard at the time was that, after a dozen revisions, Lee had finally strong-armed the folks at Thomas Nelson to give it a shot. It wasn’t a sure thing. It certainly wasn’t a huge deal. But it was a wonderful story, my longtime buddy Lynn Vincent had stepped in to write it, and they were going to try and make it work.

Good call. Same Kind of Different As Me released in 2006, and has rarely left the bestseller list since. It hit #1 on the CBA list. It made the New York Times list. It got the authors into every major media market. I don’t know how many copies it’s sold — the number must be in the hundreds of thousands by now — but it’s still out there, selling, and I just noticed yesterday it’s back on the bestseller list again. And it’s all because an insightful guy, and a bulldog of an agent, saw the value and decided he had to keep pushing to get that book published.

Lee is one of those guys who had a couple jobs, but really found himself when he became a literary agent. He was good at it — diligent, competent, caring, friendly. He knew books and words, told the truth, and was fair with everyone. More than that, he was a good guy. I don’t know anyone who dislikes Lee — and, um, that’s saying something for a big-time agent. (That said, he was NOT much of a party guy. I once took him to 99-cent margarita night… and he ordered iced tea.) But he has a great smile, always loved his kids (we both have a Molly), fell head over heels when he met Paula, and worked as hard as anyone at this business to achieve success as an agent.

I’m thinking of this because I just got word that today is Lee Hough’s last day as an agent. His cancer is back, so he’s going to give it up and let somebody else read the manuscripts and fight over contracts. He’s fought off his brain tumor for a couple years, but the doctors say there isn’t much fighting left to do. (You can read all about his situation at Caring Bridge — just type in his name, and you can also leave him a note of encouragement.) Rick tells me Lee wanted to call everybody and tell them, but that’s not possible. And I didn’t want him leaving the industry without everybody taking a minute to appreciate the good work he has done for authors and publishers and friends.

So, on his last day, I want to say thanks, Lee. Thanks for being one of the good guys. Thanks for setting a good example. Thanks for reminding us all it’s possible to be both a good agent and a good human being. I’m going to encourage everyone who reads this blog to pray for Lee and Paula, as they move forward. Love you, my friend. I’m going to go hoist a margarita in your honor (though I think we’ve both moved past the 99-cent versions), and remember the good times we had together. You’ve made a difference in the industry, and you’ll be missed.

Posted in Current Affairs | 43 Comments »

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Wow, it feels like it’s been forever since I last posted here! As always, we’re going to talk marketing and platform-buidling, but since we haven’t done so in awhile, let’s ease into things with a fun post.

Have you ever thought that you’re doing the marketing thing right only to find out that your sales pitches and strategies are falling on deaf ears?

Have you ever been convinced that so-and-so was CERTAIN to buy your book only to discover that they walked away empty-handed?

Have you ever felt that people are lying to your face, acting interested when you tell them about your book but then completely forgetting it exists when you leave the room?

Have you ever wondered why no one retweets or shares your statuses with others?

If so, you may suffer from Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome. Here are its symptoms:

- Conversation domination. Test for this symptom by interacting with a potential reader, and then when finished ask yourself what you know about them. If you come away only knowing their name and where they’re from, chances are, you suffer from this symptom.

- Social media saturation. Test for this by looking at your recent Tweets, personal Facebook status updates, and blog posts. If multiple times per day your updates and Tweets focus on your book and/or career, chances are you’re either in the middle of a book release or you suffer from this symptom.

- Solitary administration. Test for this by looking through your correspondence for times in which fans, bloggers, friends and family have come to you, seeing how they can help. If you have very few instances in recent months in which others have taken the initiative or the lead…heck, if you feel alone in most of your marketing endeavors, you may suffer from this symptom.

- Unbalanced application. Test for this by noting the time you spend with family, the time you spend with yourself, and the time you spend with work/marketing your book. If you’re spending more time on your book than in the other areas of life, chances are you’re either in the middle of a book release, or you suffer from this symptom.

If any of the above symptoms fit you, you may have Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome.

If two of the above symptoms fit you, you definitely have Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome.

If three or more of the above symptoms fit you, stop. Stop now and seek help. You’re annoying people to death.

How do you treat these symptoms and find a cure for Overly Aggressive Marketing Syndrome? Stay tuned. The doctor will be in next Thursday.

We’ve all known an aggressive marketer or two…so what other symptoms have you noticed that are tied to this disease? I want to know!

Posted in Marketing and Platforms | 15 Comments »

Today we have a guest blog, from Claire Morgan at OEDB…

It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or a professional writer: there’s always something new to learn and ways to make your writing more refined, better researched, and more effective. Writing is essential for students who want to succeed, whether they’re enrolled in one of the top online colleges or an Ivy League university. As essential as it is, learning to write well isn’t easy. The best practices for writing and research can sometimes be subjective, and the finer points of syntax and style often take a backseat to looming deadlines and strict citation guidelines.

Luckily, there are many helpful resources that make it easier to build on your existing skills while
learning new ones. We’ve compiled links to sites dedicated to helping students, bloggers, and professional writers improve their techniques while also becoming better editors and researchers. Browse through the following list or focus on categories you need most. It’s organized by subject and resources are listed alphabetically within. With more than 150 resources to chose from, you’re bound to find something that can make your writing life a little easier.

Blogs

These blogs can help you learn more about the profession of writing, brush up your skills, and even see what it takes to get a book published.

1. Copyblogger: On Copyblogger, Brian Clark offers tips on how to improve the content, marketing, and business of a blog. A must for any writer hoping to gain readership in the digital sphere.
2. The Creative Penn: Joanna Penn offers up her insights on writing, publishing, and book marketing on this useful blog.
3. Evil Editor: Learn what not to do when submitting your work to an editor through this entertaining blog.
4. Fiction Writing: This About.com blog is a great place to get some basics insights on how to write better fiction.
5. Harriet the Blog: The Poetry Foundation maintains this blog, full of great reviews, news, and information about the poetic community.
6. Jeff Goins Writer: Check out Jeff Goins’ regularly updated blog or download his free ebook, The Writer’s Manifesto, on this site.
7. Problogger: If you’re looking to turn blogging into a career, this blog is a must-read, offering advice on everything from branding to building better content.
8. Write to Done: This blog is home to hundreds of articles, all on writing, that can help you improve your skills at things like comedic writing, finding inspiration, and more.
9. Writer Unboxed: Focusing on the craft and business of fiction, Writer Unboxed features numerous monthly contributors who share their own insights to the professional field.
10. The Writers Alley: Lacking in inspiration? Pay this site a visit for a little lift, helping you stay on track with whatever you’re working on.
11. Writer’s Digest: Learn how to improve your writing, find and agent, and even get published with the help of the varied blogs on this site.

Business and Legal Matters

These tools can help you to create a freelance writing business, get you through assignments in the best online business programs, or just protect yourself should you decide to publish.

12. Copyscape: Use this free service to learn if anyone has plagiarized your work.
13. Creative Commons: Creative Commons provides free tools that let you easily mark your creative work with the freedoms you want it to carry.
14. Intellectual Property Law: This list for online resources that focus on intellectual property will keep you busy for weeks. Some items focus on Canada, some on the U.S., and some on international law.
15. Legal Guide for Bloggers: Here, The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides a summary of U.S. copyright laws as they apply to blogging.
16. Performancing: This blog provides information that can help turn your blog into the prime marketing tool you need for your writing business.
17. Preditors and Editors: Save time and money by avoiding the common publishing scams featured on this site.
18. U.S. Copyright Office: Your writing is copyrighted the minute you’ve put it in a tangible form, but if you want further protection for your work you can register it here for a fee. The FAQ is free, however, and it’s the best tutorial around on copyright.
19. Writers & Artists: This “insider guide to the media” offers industry advice for writers and articles through articles, interviews, competitions, and in an online community.

Citation and Style Guides

These guides will help ensure you stick to certain styles when writing and correctly cite your sources.

20. APA Style: On the APA Style blog, you can get access to the fundamentals of American Psychological Association style, updates on specific style elements, and find loads of other reference material.
21. Associated Press Style: If you’re working on a journalistic piece, you’ll need to use AP style. Learn the fundamentals from this guidebook on OWL.
22. Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications: This guide provides examples of the most common government document citations. These examples are based on the Chicago/Turabian standard bibliographic style.
23. The Chicago Manual of Style Online: The Chicago Manual of Style’s website includes an online forum, guidelines for basic rules, and even creates quick citations.
24. Citing Sources: Learn how and why to cite your sources in this helpful guide from Duke University Library.
25. Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide: The serious scholarly analysis of comic art needs an equally serious way to cite that material. This is the scholar’s pop art guide to citation.
26. The Economist Style Guide: Want to write for The Economist? Whether you do or not, these are some solid style rules for any journalistic writing.
27. The Elements of Style: This classic book by Strunk and White is offered up in its entirety on Bartleby.com so you can improve your writing without spending a dime.
28. Footnote and Citation Style Guides: You’ll find a vast array of citation styles for business, education, engineering, science, and social science from this useful resource compiled by Lehigh University.
29. How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: This site will help you compile a bibliography when you’re ready to pull all those citations together.
30. MLA Style: Not sure how to cite something correctly in MLA style? Use this online handbook to get started on doing things the right way.
31. Turabian Quick Guide: Essentially the same as Chicago Style, this documentation system does have a few differences which you can learn about here.

English Language Skills

Everyone, even seasoned writers, can use a little help with their writing and language skills. The following links can help you write anything from a term paper to an article for The New York Times.

32. Common Errors in English Usage: Confused about whether to use lie or lay? Use this site as a guide to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes in English usage.
33. English Practice: This site can help you practice English grammar and writing, even if you’re a native speaker.
34. Grammar Girl: Grammar Girl is one of the most popular grammar sites on the web and is a great place to look for answers to all of your burning questions about proper usage.
35. Grammar Handbook: The Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana offers access to this incredibly useful grammar handbook that can ensure you’re getting things right in your writing.
36. Guide to Grammar and Style: Written by Jack Lynch, this site provides grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage that Lynch put together for his classes.
37. Guide to Grammar and Writing: Choose from several modules that will help you to determine how to structure your writing with this tool created by the Capital Community College Foundation.
38. How to Use English Punctuation Correctly: Punctuation can be confusing but on this site you’ll find a cheat sheet that can ensure you use your commas, semicolons, and quotes correctly every time.
39. HyperGrammar: The University of Ottawa offers up a one-stop guide for proper spelling, structure, and punctuation on this site.
40. The Tongue Untied: Head to this site to find basic instruction on grammar, sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation.

Genres

These resources can help those who write in certain genres ó from fantasy to technical writing ó find support, help, and ideas for writing.

41. The Basics of Technical Writing: MIT professor Nicole Kelley offers students guidelines on how to create technical writing on science and technology topics.
42. Children’s Literature Web Guide: David K. Brown from the University of Calgary maintains this list of resources for writers who prefer to pen children’s literature.
43. Essays on the Craft of Dramatic Writing: Learn about the craft of writing a novel, screenplay, or play through reviews of popular stories.
44. Fasntasy-Writers.org: With news, a directory, writing challenges, and more, this site is a great resource for those who love to craft works of fantasy.
45. Poetry.com: Share your poems, get reviews, and win prizes on this fun poetic site.
46. Screenwriting.info: This site is an amazing collection of information on screenwriting. It offers up tips on how to write every element of screenplays, information about conferences, courses, and events, and much more.
47. Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers: Need some basic tips on keeping your stories short but sweet? This guide from Jerz’s Literacy Weblog can be a big help with step-by-step instructions on the process.
48. Textetc.com: Learn more about all forms of poetry, theory, and criticism on this simple but informative site.

Information and Data

These resources can help you to better research a story, offering access to a wide range of data, information, and primary resources.

49. Answers.com: Answers.com is an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, and almanac rolled into one.
50. Blackfacts.com: Here, writers can find a searchable database of facts related to black history that can be used to start research on a story.
51. ePodunk: ePodunk provides in-depth information about more than 46,000 communities in the U.S. through maps, cemetery listings, and even local newspapers.
52. FedStats: If you need government stats, this site is a smart place to look. It brings together data from more than 100 government agencies in one easily searchable site.
53. GeoHive: For global statistics, consider using this site.
54. InfoPlease: InfoPlease combines an encyclopedia, almanac, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and biography reference.
55. Internet Public Library: This online library is full of resources that are free for anyone to use, from newspaper and magazine articles to special collections.
56. The Library of Congress: If you’re looking for primary documents and information, the Library of Congress is a great place to start. It has millions of items in its archives, many of which are accessible right from the website.
57. NACo: If the information you’re looking for is at the county level, this website is one of the easiest places to begin looking for it, with information on everything from county representatives to local events.
58. The Old Farmer’s Almanac: This classic almanac offers yearly information on astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.
59. RefDesk: Run a quick fact-check using the reference materials found on this useful all-in-one site.
60. State Health Facts: Kaiser Family Foundation provides this database, full of health facts on a state-by-state basis that address everything from medicare to women’s health.
61. U.S. Census Bureau: Learn more about the trends and demographics of America with information drawn from the Census Bureau’s online site.
62. Wikipedia: While you probably shouldn’t use it as your sole source, Wikipedia can be a great way to get basic information and find out where to look for additional references.

News Digests

Why visit a single news source when you can save time by gleaning current stories from digests and news roundups? Here are a few worth visiting for a great breaking news fix.

63. Alltop: Alltop aggregates news and blog posts from hundreds of sites. To narrow things down, you can pick a topic and get updates catered towards a specific area of interest.
64. Free Press: Free Press is a national nonpartisan organization that provides news about the media from a “democratic” perspective.
65. Memeorandum: This site aggregates top news stories in politics and related issues as they happen.
66. Popurls: Head to Popurls to get links to some of the day’s most popular news stories.
67. TechMeme: Get frequent updates on the latest stories in technology with the help of this site.
68. WeSmirch.com: Even gossip writers need a good place to find out about the latest dirt. This site is a great place to start.

Media Resources

These resources can help you learn more about what being an journalist in the modern age means, with some even focusing specifically on new media research and writing.

69. The Center for Public Integrity: Founded in 1989, this organization aims to reveal abuses of power, corruption, and betrayals of trust by politicians and private entities. Their website is a great place to keep up with some of the best investigative journalism.
70. CyberJournalist.net: If you’re drawn towards writing for the web, then make sure to bookmark this site to learn more about how to stay on top of innovations in media.
71. Investigative Reporters & Editors: Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. provides educational services to reporters, editors and others interested in investigative journalism and works to maintain high professional standards.
72. Journalism.org: The Project for Excellence in Journalism is a research organization that specializes in using empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press.
73. NAA.org: The Newspaper Association of America is a good place to look for more information about the current status of print journalism in the U.S., and to see a glimpse as where media is headed in the future.
74. The Readership Institute: A division of the Media Management Center at Northwestern, The Readership Institute addresses research on how media can build readership, improve training for writers, and develop best practices for the journalism industry.
75. State of the News Media: The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism releases a new report on American journalism each year. Check out last year’s edition for insights into the future of the field and innovations that are changing it today.

Organization

One of the best ways to supercharge your writing is to stay organized. These tools, most of them free, let you do that with ease.

76. A.nnotate: This helpful tool allows you to leave notes for yourself about a resource online, so you’ll see them each time you return to the site.
77. Bubbl.us: A great mind-mapping tool, Bubbl.us can give you a leg up on organizing your thoughts and laying out a story.
78. Central Desktop: Central Desktop provides simple project collaboration tools for business teams so they can organize and share information efficiently, communicate with others, and collaborate on projects.
79. Dropbox: Store and share your writing online so that it will be accessible to you from anywhere, even on your phone or mobile device.
80. Evernote: Evernote lets you capture photos, articles, and even music you like, storing it and organizing it for you so you can easily reference it later.
81. Google Drive: Google has created a tool that makes it easy to keep your documents, spreadsheets, and other materials stored and organized online.
82. Memonic: With Memonic, you can take notes and clip web content, take this data with you or print it out, and share it with others who might find it interesting as well.
83. MindMeister: Another mind mapping tool, MindMeister makes it easier to see just where your story is headed.
84. Zoho Creator: If you’re doing intensive research for a project, creating a database can be immensely useful. ZohoCreator lets you do just that, with an easy drag-and-drop interface.
85. Zotero: Collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources right on your browser with Zotero.

Professional Organizations

Whether you’re a professional writer or a student planning to be one, professional organizations can provide useful resources, support, and information that can make you a better, more successful writer.

86. ASNE: The American Society of Newspaper Editors is a membership organization for editors and those who work with editors, but any writer, aspiring editor, or others interested in what they do can get in touch for help, guidance or information.
87. American Society for the History of Rhetoric: Founded in 1877, this group helps to foster the study of rhetoric throughout history, both in America and abroad.
88. The Authors Guild: All writers should consider joining this professional guild focused on helping authors get copyright protection, fair contracts, and the right to free expression.
89. Mystery Writers of America: MWA is a great organization for crime writers, fans of the genre, and aspiring writers alike.
90. National Writers Union: The NWU is the trade union for freelance and contract writers, journalists, book authors, business and technical writers, web content providers, and poets.
91. Online News Association: Founded in 1999, this organization is open to any journalist who produces news on the internet or in a digital platform.
92. Romance Writers of America: Those with a passion for romance writing should seriously consider looking to this group for resources, advocacy, and professional networking.
93. Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America: Likewise, those who focus on the science fiction and fantasy genre will benefit from connecting with SFWA’s more than 1,500 members.
94. Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators: If you write, illustrate, or have an interest in children’s literature, this is the place to turn for help and services related to your work.
95. Society for Technical Communication: Technical writers will appreciate the professional resources offered by this organization, from recent publications to jobs to courses.

Rhetoric

Solid rhetoric and persuasive writing skills can help any kind of writing be more effective. Here are just a few resources that can help you build your abilities.

96. American Rhetoric: Hear some of the most memorable and celebrated example of public speaking in history though the online speech bank on this site.
97. Bibliographies in Rhetorical Theory and Criticism: If you’re looking for some great reads on rhetoric, look no further than this list of bibliographies on the subject.
98. Read Write Think: Persuasive Writing: Here, you’ll get access to a strategy guide that can help you become a more persuasive writer.
99. The Forest of Rhetoric: Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University provides this guide to terms from Classical and Renaissance rhetoric.
100. Rhetorica: Visit this blog for analysis and commentary on the modern rhetoric found in journalism, politics, and culture at large.
101. Rhetoic: A Timeline: Confused about which, Aristotle or Cicero, came first? Don’t know if Augustine is considered part of Antiquity or the Middle Ages? Fear no more – this timeline will answer your questions.
102. Rhetoric and Composition: This site is loaded with rhetoric resources, including bibliographies, journals, reference material, and blogs.
103. Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques: You can go wrong when you use any of the classic persuasive writing techniques laid out in this Copyblogger post.

Tools

The following tools include everything from word counters to image databases and can help improve the speed and content of your writing.

104. Autocrit: AutoCrit automatically identifies weak words and structures in your writing so you can clean it up.
105. Creativity Portal Prompts: Can’t think of anything to write about? This site provides useful prompts that can help get your creative juices flowing.
106. JournalistExpress: If you can’t remember the name of a specific newspaper or the name of a site you need, head to Journalist Express to get help with the answer.
107. MorgueFile: If you’re looking for a free image to use with an article or a blog post, look to this site for photography that’s free to use, with attribution to the artist, of course.
108. Resources for Technical Writers: Those pursuing a career in technical writing can find all kinds of useful resources and tools for both writing and career building here.
109. Statistics Every Writer Should Know: This site is billed as, “A simple guide to understanding basic statistics, for journalists and other writers who might not know math.”
110. Unstuck: Writer’s block can really destroy your productivity. Battle through it with this downloadable app that will help you get past any problem you’re facing.
111. Wordcounter: This program is much more than a basic word counter. Instead of just counting the number of words, it also pulls out words that you’re using too frequently, helping you add variety and interest to your work. Try running things through Cliche Finder, too, to weed out any other phrases you might want to avoid.
112. Writing Room: Get support from writers, writing guides, expert advice, and more on this great community site for writers.

Word References

Thinking of a word but can’t pinpoint what it is? These resources offer help with spelling, definitions, synonyms, rhyming, and more.

113. Acronym Finder: With more than 565,000 human-edited entries, Acronym Finder is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initials.
114. Arts & Humanities Dictionary: Through this dictionary, you can find the definition of hundreds of terms related to the arts and humanities.
115. Dictionary.com: Use a dictionary or thesaurus, translate words, or look up quotes and other information on this multi-purpose site.
116. Glossary of Poetic Terms: If you’re ever unclear on the meaning of a poetic term, head to this glossary from McGraw-Hill for some illumination.
117. MediLexicon: MediLexicon is a comprehensive dictionary of medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care abbreviations and acronyms.
118. OneLook Dictionary: More than 5 million words in more than 900 online dictionaries are indexed by the OneLook search engine so you can find, define, and translate words all at one site.
119. RhymeZone: Whether you’re writing poetry, songs, or something else entirely, you can get help rhyming words with this site.
120. Symbols.com: Want to use symbolism in your writing or analyze it in a famous work? Symbols.com can help, with more than 1,600 articles about thousands of signs from Western cultural history.
121. TechTerms.com: If you’re not a tech professional, chances are that you might find yourself more than a little confused about certain terms. Don’t be. Just look them up in this dictionary.
122. Urban Dictionary: Keep up with the latest slang with Urban Dictionary, where you can look up the meaning of hundreds of words you won’t find in the regular dictionary.
123. Your Dictionary Your Dictionary provides access to a dictionary, thesaurus, word etymology and much more.

Writing Services

If you need a little help with editing and revising your work, consider these sources for some perspective and guidance.

124. Academic Edit: Academic Edit specializes in editing scholarly documents such as theses, dissertations, and Ph.D. statements, but they also branch out into resumes and technical reports.
125. EditAvenue: At EditAvenue, you can choose an editor to look over your work based on a wide range of criteria.
126. Editing and Writing Services: The name says it all. This company can help you refine your work, especially if its for business or online.
127. Editor World: Get help turning a rough draft into a finished product from this professional proofreading and editing service.
128. Editorial Freelancers Association: Those in the market for an editor should check out this organization for freelance editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, publishers, and translators. You can even post your job on the site to find help.
129. FirstWriter.com: This site offers a wide range of services from editing work to getting in touch with literary agents.
130. The Penn Group: Whether you’re looking for a complete rewrite or just a little perspective on your draft, this writing service has resources to help.

Writing Skills Help

Whether you’re writing a term paper or a book, these links can help you streamline and improve your research and writing.

131. 50 Tools to Increase Your Writing Skills: You’ll find some amazingly useful links here that can ensure you’re writing to your full potential.
132. Final Year Projects: Mike Hart’s site offers practical sources of advice to help students successfully write a final year project, dissertation, or thesis.
133. A Guide to Writing Well: Joshua Sowin offers a great guide to writing well distilled from the information in The Elements of Style.
134. How to Organize Your Thesis: Professor John Chinneck from Carleton University explains how to properly organize a graduate thesis from start to finish.
135. How to Write a Better Weblog: Written by Dennis A. Mahoney for A List Apart, this article explains some of the things you should and shouldn’t do if you want to write a great blog.
136. Poynter Online Courses: Poynter offers some great online courses that writers, especially journalists, can use to hone their craft.
137. Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Online Writing Guide offered by Purdue University is home to handouts and exercises on topics like effective writing, revising, editing, and proofreading, as well as other genre-specific resources.
138. Mind Tools Writing Skills: This basic review of what makes for good writing can be a great reminder to those who are caught up in the process.

Writing Software

These tools can help writers pen their latest work from almost anywhere, with some boasting features that make it easier to concentrate, organize ideas, and share work as well.

139. Blogger: This popular Google-owned site is a great place to start your own blog for free.
140. Scrivener: This popular, feature-rich program is great for organizing research, planning drafts, and writing novels, articles, short stories, and even screenplays.
141. The Literary Machine: This free software allows writers to compile research and writing modules that makes it easier to draw on information collected during research to write an outline or a final draft.
142. New Novelist: Created for Windows users, this program is specifically designed to meet the needs of novelists, making it possible to juggle ideas, notes, and more in one place.
143. Open Office: Why pay for Microsoft products when you can create free documents with Open Office? This open source software provides similar tools to the Microsoft Office Suite, including spreadsheets, a word processor, the ability to create multimedia presentations, and more.
144. Script Frenzy: Scriptwriters will appreciate this software. It offers an easy layout that helps outline plots as well as providing storyboard features, index cards, and even sound and photo integration.
145. Storybook: This open source software can make it easier to manage your plotlines, characters, data, and other critical information while penning a novel.
146. TreePad Lite: The free version of this software keeps the writing process simple, ensuring that information stay organized and your story stays on track.
147. WordPress: WordPress is another popular and free choice for starting a blog (or two).
148. Writer’s Cafe: Get creative with writing fiction with this easy-to-use software. Designed by a writer, it features a notebook, journal, organizer, writing tips, and even an e-book all about writing.
149. yWriter5: Another word processor for writers, yWriter5 helps break down a novel into chapters and scenes to make everything a little more manageable.
150. ZohoDocs: Zoho is another free word processing suite, and like Google Drive, it allows you to write and access your work from any computer with an Internet connection.

You can visit Claire’s blog at http://oedb.org/library/features/150-writing-resources/

Posted in Career, Resources for Writing, The Writing Craft | 14 Comments »

Related to the recent posts about CBA and the general market, someone sent this: “I’m a writer who hasn’t been able to find success in the traditional CBA markets. I was told my book is ‘too message oriented for most Christian publishers.’ One house told me they want ‘values fiction, not message fiction.’ Is this a real trend? What is values fiction? How does it differ from message fiction?”

It’s a real trend. “Message fiction” is a story that gets weighed down by the author trying to deliver some sort of obvious, heavy-handed message. An example? Christian writers who want to send me their novel about the naughty 15-year-old girl who fools around, gets pregnant, then has to show me her struggle about whether to get an abortion or not, complete with angst and tears while the author hammers me with the message that “Abortion Is Bad.” WAY too heavy handed, and I see it frequenlty.

Look… I’m pro-life. But the author in that situation isn’t really trying to tell me a story — she’s trying to present me with a Major Life Message. And that’s boring. Who buys fiction to be preached life messages? Nobody. Pro-choice people won’t touch the book, and pro-life people don’t need to read it because they’re already convinced. If I want political messages, I’ll turn on MSNBC or Fox News (depending on your political leanings). If I feel a need for entertaining liberal messages, I’ll listen to NPR. But I buy a novel for the STORY. (And this isn’t limited to abortion books — there’s also the “We’re Destroying The Planet” books, the “Capitalism Is Evil” books, the “Obama Is The AntiChrist” books, and the “You Need To Fall On Your Knees And Accept Jesus Because You’re Going To Hell” books. They are all boring. Nobody wants them And they don’t work. So if you’re writing a book to share a message like that, publishers are probably going to ignore you.)

“Values fiction” is a story that reveals inherent beliefs within the context of the novel. Your values as an author are evident in the words you put on the page.  Take Huckleberry Finn as an example. There are some solid American values in that text — including some that were a bit shocking to readers of that period. Mark Twain has his protagonist decide to support a runaway slave, a black man, even though Huck believes it means he’s going to go to hell for doing so. Let me tell you, THAT opened some eyes in Twain’s day. But nobody would argue Huckleberry Finn is a “message” novel. It’s not a book with the Major Life Message that “White People Need To Be More Fair To Blacks.” It’s a story about a runaway kid and the adventures he gets into… but within the context of the story, Twain reveals some great values about race and freedom and how we should all treat each other. You see the difference?

Or have a look at a contemporary literary novelist — let’s take Lisa Samson as an example. Her books reveal some strong values — the there are different ways we can live out our faith. That we need to be accepting of other people in the church, including those who are different from us, those who are in pain, those of another race or socio-economic status, and those who are gay. She never comes out and holds up a sign that reads, “You need to embrace the poor or you’re a bigot.” Instead, she just tells a good story, with values, that reveals her worldview. Good values fiction does that without screaming or condemning or pointing to too-obvious references. It respects the reader to have enough brains to figure out what the values are inherent in the story. 

So if you set out to write a novel that will help people understand some Important Life Message, you’re probably starting off on the wrong foot. Instead, tell a good story. Let your characters and story reveal what you believe to be true. Entertain people along the way. That’s how you influence lives anyway.

Posted in Current Affairs, The Writing Craft | 14 Comments »

In light of the last couple posts, some wrote this: “For the uneducated among us, what exactly does a literary agent do in CBA, and why is one even necessary in Christian publishing?”

A good literary agent will help an author focus an idea, respond to the writing, perhaps offer thoughts to give shape to the manuscript, assist in the creation of a strong proposal, know who will be interested in the project, have the relationships to get it in front of publishing decision-makers, solicit offers, walk the author through the decision-making process, negotiate the deal, and ensure contract compliance. Depending on the relationship the author and agent have, the literary agent may very well serve as encourager, timekeeper, counselor, career guidance officer, and sounding board to the author. Or the agent may serve as a business manager, helping the author map out the details of making a life in the arts.

Why is an agent necessary? Because most authors don’t necessarily know how to do all of those things, and need a specialist to assist them. And because a good agent brings access through his or her relationships in the industry. AND because publishers long ago realized the value of agents, and generally won’t look at unsolicited manuscripts, but ask that all proposals come through a legitimate agent. Think about selling your home — you can do it on your own (my wife and I have sold houses “by owner”), but it ain’t easy. You’ve got to educate yourself in order to make sure it’s all legal and that the deal is done appropriately and fairly. And if you own an expensive home, it’s awfully tough to sell it yourself — buyers want the professionalism that comes from having the assistance of a good realtor overseeing the sale. Similarly, when you sign a book contract, you’re agreeing to a series of legal clauses that will govern your book for as long as it’s in print. Having somebody help you through the process is always nice, and often necessary. Having someone assist you with the long-term view of a writing career is usually deemed important by most career authors.

I realize there’s an argument that “if we’re all nice Christians, we shouldn’t need an agent, but I haven’t found that to be true. Take a look at the guys who created the novel THE SHACK, then pushed it onto the bestseller lists. I know the authors made a big deal about three participants not having an agent, that they did the whole deal on a handshake, that they trusted each other and were all Christians and they didn’t need anyone digging into their business and taking a percentage. Sounded great… until the book went nuts, the authors were looking at splitting a huge pile of money, and they all started suing one another. It got ugly, the whole partnership dissolved, and I notice nobody is now talking about how brilliant they all were to just shake hands and be buddies. The fact is, a good agent would have had things in place, in writing, to cover things like author credit and royalty splits.

So now I can finally get to the person who wrote to ask, “How can you have a ‘Christian’ agency and still work in the general market?”

My faith doesn’t stop me from doing my job. I know plenty of good people who are agents and authors and editors, and who work in the general market. None of us find it incongruent to have faith and also work in the general market. (On the other hand, I think it’s very difficult for a non-religious agent to work with CBA publishers. They don’t have the contacts, they can’t speak the language, and the Christian publishers simply don’t trust them.) So I routinely get people asking, “Do you only work with religious books?” After answering the question a thousand times, I’m used to it. The answer? No. I work with religious books as well as books that have no religion in them. I’m a person of faith, I’m open about that, and that infuses the books I like best. It helps shape some of the choices I make with books, but it does NOT keep me from representing a book just because the characters aren’t all shiny, or the language is bad, or the climax doesn’t end with a salvation prayer. My faith is endemic to who I am, and it certainly influences who I represent and which books I shop. (For example, I don’t do porn, even though there’s money in it, because I believe, ultimately, porn is destructive and evil.) But I don’t believe everyone I represent has to have the same faith I do, or share every point of doctrine with me. Nor do I believe all the books I represent have to have a faith element, nor that they all need to be set in a Christian world and populated with Christian characters.  (This is what sometimes gets me into trouble with evangelicals. Too many believe we can’t just share the faith — we need to share the EXACT faith, and not be “incorrect” in any doctrinal points, or they’ll question if that individual is really part of their exclusive club. It’s the thing that drives me crazy about the hard-right evangelical world, quite frankly.) The fact is, I believe in the value of words, and my faith is broad enough to allow others to differ with me. Working in the general market isn’t a capitulation or compromise, at least for me. I hope that helps. 

Posted in Agents, CBA, Current Affairs, Questions from Beginners | 2 Comments »

Our discussion yesterday about CBA and the general market lead to several questions, including someone asking, “So what are the differences between CBA and ABA books?”

There are many similarities between the religious market and the general market. Both markets want to offer good books. (I’ve never met the guy who wanted to produce or sell a bad book.) Both want to entertain in some way. Both intend to have most of their books foster some sort of understanding.

Yet there are real differences. Many people writing in CBA are largely doing so because they feel they have a “message” they want to pass along. I meet these folks at conferences all the time – in their way of thinking, God has given them this great story, and they must be obedient and tell it to others. They have “Truth” that must be communicated. Sure, they want to be successful in the market, but even more important is the promulgation of the Gospel, and the notion of being obedient to share that message. Perhaps we could say “effective ministry” supplants “making money” in the hearts of many religious authors (not all, but many). And, of course, one could argue that there are certainly plenty of people in the general market who believe strongly in their own message, and feel that same need to share it, whether it be “how to lose weight” or “how to save the planet” or “why we shouldn’t go to war.” The notion of “calling” is a bit ephemeral — one author can be totally committed to a cause, and another can be totally committed to the opposite cause. In publishing, we understand the importance of exchanging ideas, of making a case, or saying it well. That’s the author’s job, no matter what market you’re in.

However, I think it’s safe to say that, if faith-based authors are often driven to share some sort of message, the general market is basically motivated to (1) make money, (2) entertain, (3) share something positive or persuasive that will improve you and your life and our world, and (4) make more money. So yes, there’s a difference between the two markets, though I don’t find the differences all that great. The CBA publisher who says he doesn’t want to make money isn’t telling the truth; the general market author who says she doesn’t write from a particular worldview is fooling herself.

Recently I’ve read a couple discussions exploring the integration of CBA and ABA, and they often say something about “the terrible state of Christian books.” Whenever I hear that sort of thing, I roll my eyes. Look, Christian fiction was the largest growth category in all of publishing in the first decade of this new century. And the quality has improved tremendously — anybody who says all religious fiction is weak just hasn’t taken the time to read some of the great Christian novels that have been done over the past few years. And the argument that they are “too safe” or “not realistic” is  simply not being honest about the market. Sure, there are shallow, simplistic Christian books printed — but how is that different from the general market? There are also edgy, thoughtful Christian novels releasing. That’s the way of all art — some people want deep, others want shallow. Some want to hear a symphony, others want to hear Justin Bieber. CBA is providing both types of novels these days.

The fact remains, the religious market is healthy and vibrant — as much as 20% of the overall book market, according to some studies.  I would argue that the faith-based book publishing market is still growing, which is why in recent years Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster have all started or purchased Christian imprints. There is money to be made in books aimed at CBA, there’s an audience for Christian books, and faith-infused books have become an important part of most large publishers’ portfolios. 

Continuing that school of thought, I also received this interesting question that relates to the issue: “What do you do with a book that challenges your view of faith?”

I take each on a case-by-case basis. I really don’t mind my faith being challenged. Again, I don’t have to share the same theology with every author I represent. I’m not a conservative evangelical, so I’m not exactly the perfect fit for every CBA author. But I’m one of those who believes in a big tent, so that’s why I represent a broad variety of faith-based writers. If somebody comes in and wants to do a book that doesn’t easily fit my theology, I suppose I have to mull it over. Is the idea salable? Is the writing strong? Does the author make a solid case? Does the author have the platform and ability to support the book? Do I believe in the book enough to want to shop it? Those are the questions I go through — pretty much the same questions every agent goes through, I think. 

There are plenty of books I wouldn’t choose to represent — I wouldn’t represent a book that rejects the deity of Christ, and I find prosperity theology heretical — but fortunately there are plenty of agents, and perhaps someone else will see value in those books and take them on. I started my agency with the phrase “Books that make a difference,” and I still aim to have that as the goal with every book we choose to represent. 

Posted in CBA, Current Affairs | 12 Comments »

Just back from a fabulous BEA convention, where the mood was upbeat, nobody was whining about the future of books, and everyone involved (authors, publishers, agents, sales people, marketing folks) seemed excited about the future of the industry. Loved being back in New York and seeing all the great titles coming out. I like to watch trends, and noticed several at the show (which I’ll talk more about in future posts), including the changes to faith-based publishing. So while I was at the show, someone sent this: “You seem to be one of the few literary agents who works in the general market (what a lot of people call the ABA) as well as working in the Christian market (the CBA). I’ve published two books in CBA, but think my next book fits more of a general market audience. My question: is ‘crossing over’ from CBA to ABA a reality?”

Okay, if you’re not terribly religious, stay with me for a minute…. I think this stuff is interesting to talk about. First, for those not in the know, CBA is the Christian Booksellers Association, and it’s the realm of all things faith-based in publishing. ABA is the American Booksellers Association, and it’s sometimes used (though less and less) as a descriptor for the general, non-religious world of publishing. Now, if you’ll indulge me, let me offer a theological reflection that speaks to this issue of CBA and ABA books: Christianity teaches that when you meet God, you are changed. (I don’t care if you believe that or not, just hear the argument.) A Christian would argue that everything about you is different, because you’ve been exposed to God. So, from a theologian’s perspective, a Christian probably won’t be completely understood by those who are not Christians. He or she is speaking a different language. And any cultural anthropologist till tell you that the longer you’re a Christian, the fewer non-Christian friends you have, and therefore the less you have in common. So you’ll have a tough time communicating with non-Christians in language they’ll understand.

Still with me? Okay (done with the theology lesson), from an agent’s perspective, many faith-based writers simply don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to writing for non-Christian readers. They aren’t part of the non-fatih world, they don’t hang out with non-Christian people, they don’t watch non-religious TV or listen to radio programming that’s antithetical to their beliefs. In essence, they CAN’T speak to that group, because they don’t know the language. Picture this for a minute — imagine a Moslem, who had been raised in an Islamic home, who lives his entire life surrounded with Islamic influences, suddenly announcing he wants to write a book that appeals to a Christian audience, since there seem to be so many Christians who need to hear the message of Islam. Or imagine a novelist who has never been a church-goer, who doesn’t know the first thing about organized religion, suddenly being asked to write a novel about the pastor of a small-town congregation. 

See the problem? It’s hard to cross cultural lines. I was in a meeting a few years ago with a well-known Christian personality who wanted to “write a book for the general market.” She was big news, so we were all excited… until we saw her idea. It was basically an outline drawn from the book of James, with verses to support every point. When I tried to explain to her why that book would NEVER be picked up by the general public, she didn’t understand me. “But it’s TRUTH,” she argued. “It’s GOD’S truth, and people will see that if they would pick it up and read it!” You see, she just didn’t grasp the fact that the majority of readers won’t listen to that argument (just as she wouldn’t listen if the moslem author wrote a book explaining why Mohammed was God’s prophet). The general book culture isn’t interested in books from a strict evangelical viewpoint. Other Christians are, but the general reading public are not. And that’s an issue I face regularly with faith-based authors. 

So no, for most religious writers, “crossing over” is a very, very difficult task. Sure, it happens occasionally. But rarely by design. Nobody really thought “Left Behind” or “The Purpose Driven Life” were going to sell millions of copies to non-religious readers. They did, but I know the publishers didn’t have any clue that was going to happen when they contracted those books. Maybe (if you’re a Christian) that’s the sovereignty of God at work. Maybe (if you’re not a Christian) that was end times lunacy and dumb luck. “90 Minutes in Heaven” has sold 4 million copies to people who are interested in the concept of an afterlife, but I happen to know the publisher was shocked at the public’s embracing of that book. “The Shack” has sold 6 million copies or so, to Christians as well as non-Christians who were interested in spiritual things. It happens occasionally. But, generally speaking, the Christian writers who are read by a non-religious audience [a list that would include CS Lewis, L'Engle, LaMott, O'Connor, Percy, Sayers, Tolkein, Wangerin, et al] are not writing “Christian” books. They’re simply writing great stories.

Nobody thought the Harry Potter books were going to have such a wide appeal to adults, or that a YA novel like “The Hunger Games” would break out to such an extent. But that’s the beauty of publishing. You write your best book, aim it at your audience, and sometimes you get surprised. In my view you don’t really design a book to sell to both the religion and the non-religious market. 

Posted in CBA, Current Affairs, Trends | 45 Comments »

While our hardworking agents are winding down from BEA this past weekend in New York, another author is filling in with a guest post. Enjoy!

Tina Bustamante is a writer, passionate reader, wife, mom, friend, and traveler. A world traveler who hails from the Pacific Northwest, she studied Theology at Northwest University and considers the craft of writing a journey that is sometimes bumpy and downright rough, but always worth continuing. Currently, she speaks when invited and writes fiction during the day. She is married to Rodrigo Bustamante and they have two lovely children named Emma and Lucas.

Seven years ago, I completed my first novel. I considered it a brilliant piece of work, worthy of a great publishing contract. I had worked hard on the manuscript–putting my soul, my mind, and all my attention into crafting a great story full of adventure.

I decided to take a risk and give it to a few friends, who read it and encouraged me to send it out. So, feeling like I might be the next Madeleine L’Engle, I sent it to another author who agreed to help me.

About three weeks later, I received an email from him letting me know I was not ready for prime time. My work was not good enough. He tried to encourage me, told me I had talent, but that he didn’t think The Secret of the Keys was going to make it into the publishing world. He suggested I write my next novel, which I thought rude. In hindsight, I wasn’t looking for critical feedback. I wanted someone to tell me my work was great. I wanted a quick contract and easy fame.

I cried. For three days. Then, with ever-increasing arrogance, I decided he had no idea what he was talking about. I would send it out to other agents and someone was bound to love my book. They didn’t. It got one rejection after another. He was right.

After dozens of rejections and dead ends, I decided to go over his letter one more time. I chose to listen to his advice and write my next novel–the YA book I’d been thinking about, the one I wasn’t sure I had the courage to write. I spent the next three months pounding that book out and when I was done with the first draft, I knew it was different and had come from a deeper place inside me than even I knew I possessed.

I edited and revised it. I paid a professional editor to edit it, which I highly recommend. You can’t expect other people to pay to read your work if you aren’t willing to pay someone to make it better. Then, I started to query agents.

This is when my writing journey took a turn for the better, and also brought me deeper into reality. The reality that writing is hard work and we don’t arrive at greatness on accident. I got dozens of rejections. Dozens. But, after a while, an agent asked to read a partial. Huge step. She rejected it.

Then another agent wanted to read the entire manuscript. Huge Step. She rejected it too. But, any time an agent asks to read a partial or the full–you’re moving towards your goal. Your work is being taken seriously and you’re getting feedback. And here is where I began to learn an important lesson. Every rejection can serve as a building block to move you in the right direction.

I started learning how to read my rejection letters with a critical eye and grow from their critique rather than wallow in the shame of it. Each agent had something to offer me. Every critical comment had something to teach me and move me closer towards the end result: publication.

As Waters Gone By has been a five year project, honed and shaped, refined and edited dozens and dozens of times. Through rejection I’ve gained stamina, self-confidence, courage, and a stalwart, unwavering commitment to the written word and to my own calling as a writer.

Writing is a craft and a great privilege. Words have the potential to outlive you. Just because you have something to say doesn’t mean you know how to say it yet, and rejection is a tool to prove whether you have the courage and tenacity to keep going, to learn, to refine, and cultivate your craft.

Along with listening to rejections and learning from them, I want to offer a few other suggestions:

• Find a critique partner/mentor who is better than you. Someone who knows his/her stuff and can tell it like it is. Learn from them. Grow tough skin and have the courage to cut hundreds of pages and rewrite so many times the book makes you want to puke. If you aren’t at a place where you’re sick of your book – then you haven’t edited it enough.
• Read Read Read. Here is a list of my favorite books on writing. On Writing by Stephen King, Write Away by Elizabeth George, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle, The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, On Writing by Sol Stein.
• Spend the money and go to a writing conference, submit your work, and listen to what the agents and editors have to say. Then do what they tell you.

Tina Bustamante lives in southern Chile. Her novel As Waters Gone By comes out in September with Leap Books: www.leapbks.com. She writes about her life in Temuco Chile at www.tinabustamante.com

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »