SueHarrison.com

“Hey, Sue, wot up?”

Well, you’re not exactly saying it in those words, but I’m catching some curiosity about what I’m currently writing. Thank you so much for that! Your support gives me courage and energy, two very important commodities.

As I have explained in various posts, emails and author lectures, the market for novels set in prehistoric times is very soft. That means I don’t have a publisher interested in my next prehistoric.  Unfortunately – and fortunately – I love to write.  Specifically, I love to write novels, so I’m venturing into a new-to-me genre, which is a combination of romance (not X-rated) and mystery.

Last year, I completed my first attempt at this genre, sent it to an agent and received some very valuable advice about how to make the manuscript more readable and more marketable. Since February I have been working on those suggested changes. They are extensive and require quite a bit of new material, and I have absolutely loved doing this rewrite!  I am now within a few weeks of completion. After, I will chart the plot and make sure I’ve woven in all the loose ends. Then I’ll do another quick reread and, if the manuscript meets my expectations, I’ll resubmit.

Then I’ll be working on another manuscript in the same genre AND working on my patience.  Agents are incredibly busy people and a reading often takes a long time. No writer wants to bother an agent so much that he or she turns you down, not because your manuscript is lacking, but because you appear to be a spoiled brat: Read mine!  Read mine!  Read mine!  So . . . here’s to patience and UNbratiness!

How do you deal with the waiting times in your lives? I could use some pointers!

Blessings!

Sue

Your Question – Justin Knabe asks: Do you write what you are passionate about or what is selling?  I have a lot of great ideas, but that is as far as it goes.

Sue’s reply:   I am currently trying to jump-start my career after a hiatus due to family caregiving needs and also after the bottom fell out of the market for books set in prehistoric times.  Six of my seven published books were of this “prehistoric” genre, so it has been a matter of testing the waters and regenerating my passion for other genres.   I am currently writing in a genre that is selling (mystery).  I weave each novel around characters that I care passionately about.  That passion is  the often overlooked secret to a successful book.

Concerning your own ideas for books or stories, Justin, my advice would be to center a character within the framework of an idea that really sparks your enthusiasm.  Before you write even a page, get to know that character like a best friend.  Not just what the person looks like, sounds like, walks like, but what makes him or her tick.  What is the most important thing in that character’s life?  What gives him or her self-esteem, a feeling of self-worth?  Then within the framework of your idea (which should be something that is currently marketable), take that inner joy away from your character.  It’s gone; it’s kaput; it’s lost.  The rest of your story or novel will be about how your character, through toughness and ingenuity, reinvents his or her life, or wins back what is lost or (often in the case of a literary novel – which usually isn’t quite as marketable) gives up and self-destructs.

A couple days ago, I received a great email from a reader, Ada Jarvis, who beautifully summed up what reading books and stories is all about.  With Ada’s permission, I append her quote.  ”I want my children to love and appreciate the things in life that I feel should not be taken for granted.  Reading is one of those gifts I value most of all.  I want them to grow up understanding that just because this is the age of technology, that doesn’t mean that every adventure should be watched on a television screen.  I want them to have the same excitement as I did growing up, living adventures through books.  To me, imagination is everything.”

There you have it.  Imagination.  Excitement.  Passion.  In readers and in writers.  And that’s what books are all about.  Using imagination to feed the passion, and then sharing our excitement with others!

Blessings,

Sue Harrison

Your Question: Milly Balzarini asks,”The Lost Road Home” became a book because my husband suffers from PTSD due to combat in Vietnam. Writing the book was easy compared to selling it. I am not a salesman and I need some help marketing this book . Any suggestions would be helpful to me. Thank you!

Sue’s Reply: First of all, Milly, I’ve checked out your website (www.thelostroadhome.com).  It’s great, and a terrific start.  (It convinced me to order a book!)  Plus I see that THE LOST ROAD HOME is available through Amazon.  You’ve taken some very positive steps.  So some of what I say here will not really apply to you, but maybe it will help others with the same question. 

I remember being totally blown away when I realized that I had to be a salesperson for my first book (and all books after!). For crying out loud, wasn’t writing it enough!  Nope.  And that was in the good old days when publishers allotted more for book promotion than they do now.

So whether you self-publish or even if a large house brings out your book, once that book has covers and an ISBN, You the Author suddenly have to morph into You the Salesperson, You the PR Guy and You the Marketing Maven.

The good news is that there are so many more resources out there now, and a lot of them are free.

1. The first step is to convince yourself all over again that your book deserves an audience.  

2. Second, in the case of non-fiction, as Milly’s book is, the author must have a platform - a legitimate connection to and knowledge about the subject. 

3. Third get very brave.  Ask for airtime, for presentation opportunities, for book table space.  The worst that can happen is a “No”, “No thank you”, or a door slammed in your face.  None of that is fatal.

Go out there and volunteer your time and speaking abilities to libraries, focus groups and volunteer organizations. Tell them you’ll speak for free, but would like to bring books to sell. Be alert for any programs on radio or television that are currently hosting discussions or programs that highlight your subject.

One that comes to mind right at the moment regarding Milly’s subject matter (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is the new season of Kiefer Sutherland’s television hit “24″. One of the main characters (a woman) is dealing with PTSD. It’s time to call a few radio stations and even television stations and pitch your book. FOX affiliated station managers can be reminded that one of their prime time action dramas is all about PTSD, and you can explain to an audience what that’s all about.

Google author events in your own and adjoining states, and in any state you happen to be visiting, and invite yourself along.  Many of my relatives and friends have opened doors for me where they live (and provided me free room and board for a couple of days) for library presentations and bookstore and media events.

Here are a couple of websites of interest, but remember that the folks at these sites are trying to sell something in addition to giving away free information. Buyer beware! With that in mind, check out John Kremer’s site and his book “1001 Ways to Market Your Book”. Check out www.WritersServices.com. Again, they have free stuff, but also services for sale. Don’t buy anything unless you’re absolutely sure you are willing and able to make this investment EVEN IF IT GIVES YOU NO RETURN! (Personally, I’ll stick with the free stuff, other than an occasional purchase of a how-to book.)

Marketing is hard work, but it’s something that every author has to do.  As you know, Milly, it’s part of the package.  Good luck!

Blessings, Sue

Your question: Lynn Emerick asks – Is editing – reshaping a book – the job of an agent or an editor at a publishing company?

Answer from Sue: Reshaping a manuscript is ultimately the author’s job, but, in the case of a manuscript being readied for publication, both agents and editors are highly involved.

I have worked with two agents (not including agents in Europe and Asia). One gave me very specific changes that needed to be made. The other was more idea/plot/characterization oriented. That experience (plus what I have read and heard from other authors) leads me to believe that an agent’s approach to editing is dictated by his or her personality and whether or not they enjoy – or at least can tolerate – the process of editing. I also suspect that the best agents are also very good editors.  Whatever editorial changes an agent recommends, it is still the author’s duty to make the changes and do most of the problem-solving involved in making those changes.

Good agents are about the busiest people out there (and if your agent is NOT busy, you need to find someone else to market your work). Most agents are handling multiple projects, as well as sifting through large quantities of queries, reading manuscripts for their clients and for each of us who dream of becoming a client, and are doing all this while running a business (taxes, forms, contracts, filing, all that fun stuff.) If an agent comes across a manuscript that has promise but needs major editing to be marketable, that agent is probably too busy to take it on, although the agent may make suggestions and ask for a re-submission.

An editor who works for a publishing house knows that the manuscript in his or her hands is already considered to be highly marketable. Otherwise the editor’s company would not have purchased it in the first place. The editor wants to improve that marketability even further.

In the case of fiction, the editor will make suggestions, often very detailed suggestions, about plot, characterization, back story, and even check into your background research. In the case of nonfiction, your editor will check your sources and facts and, of course, your presentation.

Whatever changes an editor decides are necessary will be made by the author, not the editor.  It’s like making a movie (well, sort of).  The editor directs; the author acts.  

If the author’s corrections are acceptable to the editor, the editor will pass the manuscript to a line editor, who will edit concerning word choices, small inconsistences and so forth. Then the manuscript will be vetted by a copy editor, who checks for grammar, spelling errors and typos.  After these two edits, the manuscript goes back to the author who okays or nixes the suggested changes. 

Anyone who edits a manuscript, including your pre-submission readers, is doing the author a huge favor. It’s a lot of work to read a manuscript and even more work to make editing comments or suggestions.

Check out these great Blog posts about editing:
Rachelle Gardner’s CBA-Ramblings.blogspot.com ”10 Things to Expect from an Agent” (on the sidebar on the right of the Blog); also check out “Editing,” particularly the first Post by Terry Brennan.

Bookends, LLC  Blog, “Stages of Editing.”   I’m sorry, but I can’t get a direct link to Bookends (a literary agency), but you can access them from the Rachelle Gardner site.   Just check out her “A Few of My Agent Friends” sidebar. 

I look forward to hearing your suggestions and questions on this Post. What are your experiences with editors? Anybody out there ever hire a freelance editor?

Blessings, Sue

The snow is blowing in hard across the bay. It cuts the face, burns the eyes, numbs the toes, but I absolutely love January, February and March.  Am I nuts?

Nope. Winter is the time I hide away and write. Instead of only an early morning stint at the computer, I have long lovely days to spend with words. How rare, how joyous!

During my career as a novelist, I have had the privilege of working with big houses (Doubleday, William Morrow, HarperCollins), a small commercial publisher (Thunder Bay), and agents and publishers on four continents. I’ve waded through sixteen-page, multi-title contracts, foreign contracts, and royalty statements. I’ve been fortunate enough to be successful, and I’ve been dumb enough to get burned.

I have a whole lot yet to learn. So why don’t we help each other?

I’m currently working on a new manuscript. Maybe you are, too. I’m currently trying to find a new agent. Maybe you’re looking for an agent, too. Or maybe you’re a reader, and you’d like to know a bit more about the business that brings us the books. 

So let’s talk about it. Let’s help each other figure things out.  Honest questions and helpful answers.

And to add a little sweetener to the mix, anyone who posts a question or an answer will be in the drawing for our February 2010 book. It’s a great one (in size and content) –  Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents 2010.  Check my next post for details.

Blessings, Sue Harrison