Fiction Workbench

Awhile back, I received some questions on what should be included in a fiction book proposal. My responses are below, but it’s important to keep in mind that often a fiction proposal will include nothing more than a synopsis and 3 sample chapters. However, in the event that you are asked to provide a full proposal, here are a couple tips.

1. Marketing: Should you contact local bookstores and talk to people about possible speaking engagements even though you don’t have a book contract (and may not get one) or simply list what your strategy would be if the agent is able to get you a book contract?

No. It’s not necessary to contact bookstores or make any actual speaking arrangements at this point. In my opinion, it’s better not to, actually.

When it comes to the marketing section of a proposal, it is better to only put in specific, unique elements that YOU can bring to the marketing of this book. Everyone can say “I’ll sign books, and I’ll speak at events.” That’s almost as much of a given as saying “I’ll do whatever you want me to do to help promote the book.” It’s not enlightening to the editor or agent.

It’s better to come up with some unique, specific things that you can do that your potential publisher wouldn’t be able to do. For example, I had a novel come out in April 2010 about adopting from China. I was able to put in my proposal that I have access to two email discussion loops about Chinese adoption that total about 25,000 people who have ALL adopted from China or are in the process of. That’s a unique contribution I can make to marketing my book that my publisher has no access to.

See what unique ties and communities related to your book that you have access to, and put those in your marketing section. That will be the most effective use of that space in your proposal. If you don’t have any particular marketing contributions to make, it would be better to leave that section out entirely rather than broadcast the lack.

2. Comparable Books: How close or similar to yours does the book have to be? How do you look up sales figures for the novels? Do you have to read these books or can you go based on the descriptions from Amazon?

I base my comparisons on two main factors:  subject matter and writing style. Genre plays into both of those as well. I try to choose books that have been published in the last five years, and I aim for books that appear to be at least good sellers.

You don’t need sales numbers for the books, and actually that’s quite difficult for a writer to have access to.

It’s better if you’ve actually read the books, but a “cheat” that I sometimes do–especially if I’m looking for some titles that are stylistically similar to mine–is to read the excerpt from Amazon. That’s usually enough to let you compare writing styles. Otherwise, head to your bookstore and spend a few hours skimming through your target comparisons.

Don’t forget to also include information about how your book fills a current publishing gap. When I did the comparison for Lucky Baby (the adoption novel), I found that there had not been many novels at all–that I could find–that centered around Chinese adoption. The ones I did find approached the subject in a far different way than what I was intending to do. So I make a note of that in the proposal. You don’t want to trash other novels in the proposal, but if you are matter-of-fact and business-like in how you explain how your novel fills a current hole, that is useful information.

If your book is in a well-established genre (like romance for example) you could just as easily cover the comparison briefly in your cover letter by citing similar authors and identifying the sub-genre your book fits into.

But remember, the most important part of the proposal is having an excellent story. All the great marketing ideas in the world won’t help if your manuscript is not ready. (Fortunately, you are reading the blog of a top notch fiction editing service, and we’d love to help you polish your book proposal.)

I’m going to be helping out my good friend and fellow author and writing teacher, Randy Ingermanson, over the coming weeks. He has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to faithful blog readers asking him excellent writing questions over at Advanced Fiction Writing. Because I’m his long-time editing assistant, he has asked me to help him stay on top of these questions and get them answered quickly for his fabulous readers. Since I LOVE answering writing questions, I’m thrilled to be able to help out.

Today’s question is from Will. He’s been looking at Randy’s article summarizing the classic writing teacher Dwight Swain’s concept of scenes and sequels, and how to structure them. It’s a great article that I often recommend to my editing clients called “Writing the Perfect Scene.” If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to check it out before you try to follow my discussion with Will.

Will asks:

I was reading your page on Dwight Swain’s Scenes and Sequels, and I don’t think I agree that every Scene must end in disaster. I can envision a Scene where the protagonist succeeds, but the reader still wants to continue reading.

For example, let’s say the protagonist’s house was broken into and some precious item was stolen. The protagonist may have a Scene where he attempts to figure out how his house was broken into. He can succeed in figuring it out, but then perhaps in doing so realizes that it was a family member who broke into his house. So he’s succeeded in his scene, there’s no disaster, but the reader still wants to continue reading to figure out which family member was the culprit and why.

Another quick example is if the protagonist must achieve 5 goals in order to succeed in the book. Just because he’s accomplished goal 1 of 5 in a Scene doesn’t mean the reader will stop reading, because there’s still 4 left to go.

So I agree that every Scene must end with some reason to compel the reader to continue reading, but that doesn’t have to be a disaster, or a failure of the protagonist reaching a goal. What are your thoughts? Do you still think every Scene must end in disaster?

Meredith says:

I think it’s important to understand what is meant by “disaster” in this context. Some people might term it a “hook” at the end of the scene or the climax of the scene. It’s the point to which the entire scene is headed. Too many scenes look like a prairie–flat and nothing to break up the sameness of it (I should know, I live on one). We want scenes to be more like driving in the mountains–twisting, turning, going up-up-up until suddenly this vista opens in front of us (or we end up teetering half over a cliff). That is what is meant by “disaster” in the context of a scene in fiction.

So in Will’s example of the break-in at the protagonist’s house, I would argue that he has instinctively created a “disaster”: the protagonist discovers that a member of her own family broke into the house. That realization is the climactic moment of the scene and it certainly is a hook, and it is–in its own personal way–a definite disaster for the protagonist’s relationship with her family.

Disasters can also be something GOOD that happens, but it must pose a greater challenge or risk to the character. For example, getting a call from your agent that he just sold your first novel is a GREAT thing–but it opens up a whole new world of uncertainties and difficulties as well. So from that aspect, it could be called a “disaster”–if we make sure to bring out those new challenges in the scene.

As far as goals go, every scene needs a Scene Goal. What is it that the POV character is trying to achieve, do, figure out, resolve, discover, avoid, etc.? When we talk about “disasters” on a scene level and not reaching a goal, we’re usually referring to the Scene Goal, not an overall Story Goal (though eventually those overlap in the course of the story).

Having your character achieve her Scene Goal in the scene is not so interesting…unless there are consequences to her success. To go back to Will’s excellent example of the break-in at Protag’s house, if Protag’s Scene Goal is “to find out who broke into my house” and then she DOES discover it–that it was a family member–she may have achieved the Scene Goal, but at the cost of her trust in her family, which is now shattered. There needs to be a cost to success to have success be interesting.

What this is all ultimately about is TENSION. When the level of tension increases in a story, the reader’s interest is more engaged. When the tension decreases, so does the reader’s interest level. We describe it in different ways and use different analogies, but basically you just need to remember to keep ratcheting up the tension if you want readers to keep flipping pages.

So yes, to answer your question, Will, every scene DOES need a “disaster” or whatever you want to call it, because it’s the tension of it that keeps the reader hooked on the story.

Thanks for letting me answer your question!

Do you have a question? Ask it on the Advanced Fiction Writing Blog question page!

At Randy Ingermanson’s Advanced Fiction Writing Blog, he’s answering an interesting question today from Jacob, from the Netherlands. You can read his entire question and Randy’s reply on his blog, but I wanted to have a go at it as well–because it’s an excellent question and one that most fiction writers must deal with at one point or another.

Jacob writes:

How do I create Evil? (not an evil character, but just “evil”) Pure evil is a powerfull symbol, but how to give it body.

Randy points out that it’s incredibly difficult to address evil as a noun in a novel. It’s much easier, and perhaps more effective, to deal with it as an adjective–as a descriptor for what characters do. I tend to agree with that. Jacob is concerned that the portrayal of evil not be one-dimensional. He wants a fully-rounded portrayal of it in his novel. The problem is that evil by definition is one-dimensional. In order for something to be multi-dimensional and feel fully real in a novel, it has to have contradictions and contrasts and levels. That’s what makes a character feel “real.” In that sense, having only evil is–of necessity–one-dimensional. There are no contrasts or contradictions.

So, to get more practical about it, the best choice a writer can make with any aspect of a novel is to humanize it. Whether it’s a god, a supernatural force, an alien, or the Ultimate Evil–the only way readers will really relate to it is through their own human experience.

How do humans experience and express evil? They do “bad” things–lie, murder, cheat, steal, etc. But what makes it feel EVIL and not just a “poor choice” is the motive behind it. And ironically, the more understandable and laudable that motive, the more evil it becomes.

For example, I have a WIP (“work in progress”, for the newbies among us) that has a queen who loves her country and her people and hates to see them being oppressed by a neighboring nation. That’s admirable, right? But taken to an extreme, she becomes so obsessed with saving the country and bringing down the enemy that she becomes willing to sacrifice even her closest supporters and commit unspeakable atrocities in order to reach that goal. That’s evil. And it’s even more so because it starts as something “good” and goes to an extreme.

I think even the ultimate Bad Guy–Hitler–may have started out with “good” motives. The German economy was tanked, the people were suffering. Is it possible he started out with laudable intentions, and took them way too far? That’s Evil. And it’s chilling because we can relate to it. We all have good, noble motives–or at least motives that are understandable. And we all know what it’s like to cross the Line from acceptable pursuit of a goal to a corrupt, harmful obsession with it.

The best portrayal of evil in a novel will force the reader to look Evil in the face and acknowledge that they, too, possess the potential to embrace the darkness. It makes us re-evaluate what Evil is, what it looks like, how it behaves. And we have to face the fact that its true colors are more likely to be shades of gray than stark black.

So for Jacob, and any other fiction writer working through a similar issue, I would suggest personalizing your Evil Force. Give it a face. Make it influence someone we care about. Nobody is chilled by Tolkien’s Sauron. The chilling moment is when dear, sweet Frodo can’t destroy the Ring–because we know then that if Frodo can become dark, so can we. And that is when Evil becomes the darkest and most insidious. That is when it becomes the absence of Hope.

Every year, the mystery writers organization, Murderati, interviews a publishing professional about the state of the publishing industry. This year, their guest was Neil Nyren, senior VP and publisher/editor-in-chief of Penguin Putnam.

You can read the entire interview at Murderati’s site, where he talks everything from e-books to zombies. I want to highlight what he had to say about the editing process–the role of the in-house editor (as opposed to freelance editing like FFS does). I think it’s very important for writers to understand how publishers and editors work and to appreciate the way they make our writing better:

In my experience, many readers (ones who don’t write books) don’t understand the vital role editors play in a novel, hence the self-published industry growth. Two parter – what does an editor do? And will that need ever be supplanted?

Oh, man, an editor does everything. His first job, of course, is to find the book, and then make it the best book it can be. That means finding out what the book wants to be, and helping it get there – and that could mean anything from reshaping the whole text to just line-editing to, in rare cases, nothing at all. The editor is the crucial professional outside eye. Everybody needs one of those, no matter what you’ve written or in what format you’re publishing it.

But after the book is done – polished and perfect and glowing like a little gem – that’s when his job really begins. Because the book has to be published successfully, and every editor has to be a mini-publisher.  He has to be aware of every aspect of its publication and what every department in the house needs to know and needs to do to make that book successful – and that’s true no matter what level of sales you’re aiming at. The editor is the liaison between all the departments in the house – publicity, sub rights, production, everything. He always has to be thinking: what does the publicity department need to do something with this book? Is there a particular hook, is there something that can get the author media, does the author have contacts to draw upon to give us quotes, write an article, set up an autographing, buy quantities – anything to help things along? What’s the author’s track record? Sales has go to know. Has he published in magazines or newspapers? Sub rights has got to know. Is there any particular look for the jacket that might help? The art department has got to know. The editor has to think about all this, in conjunction with the other departments, and act as the conduit between those departments and the author.

So will the need for all that ever be supplanted? For the editorial, never. For the other parts, we all know examples of self-published authors who have been such dynamos that their books have gone on to significant and well-earned success. That’ll continue to be the case, whether we’re talking about paper books or ebooks. But being that dynamo requires a lot more time, energy and talent than most people have, which is why (among other reasons) most self-published books don’t have that kind of success. And that’ll continue to be the case, too.

Again, I’d encourage you to check out the entire interview because it’s really great!

In the emerging world of e-books, many consumers assume it is only logical that publishers are saving vast amounts by not having to print or distribute paper books, leaving room to pass along those savings to their customers.

What is the real story? Find out from this fascinating NY Times article: “Math of Publishing Meets The E-Book“.

Question: What do I do if I feel afraid or anxious about writing my novel?

Answer:

An author friend of mine and I were talking about the new fiction projects we both are working on. She commented that she wished she could jump into a new story as easily as I do, but that she often feels afraid to write.

Now, I don’t know all the reasons for her fears. But I do know that anxiety seems to be a fairly common experience among fiction writers. Contrary to my friend’s compliment, I also sometimes feel afraid or anxious about my writing. Here are some reasons why we writers may feel anxious or fearful about beginning a new fiction manuscript:

1. Writing a novel is a huge undertaking that may require months or years to finish. What if I get stuck and run out of energy? What if I lose interest half-way through? What if I can’t think of anything to write? What does that say of me, to fail in that way?
2. Writing a novel requires a lot of emotional energy. It may require the fiction writer to confront unpleasant memories or draw on painful experiences. Conversely, it might make the fiction writer face the reality that her real life doesn’t measure up to the fictional world she has created. Even if emotional pain isn’t involved, creating authentic character emotions requires a lot of energy and effort from the fiction writer. Sometimes we just don’t feel up to the task.
3. Writing a novel requires ongoing and daily commitment. It takes a good bite of time from your day. Many fiction writers feel overwhelmed at trying to fit one more task into their daily schedules.
4. Writing a novel may involve tasks that the fiction writer finds unpleasant, such as research, plotting, revisions, or even just the writing itself. Even though we writers love to write, sometimes we hate it, too.
5. Writing a novel and finishing it means that then we must either work on submitting it to editors or agents, or–if it is already under contract–going through the process of revision, and then promotion. This can be an intimidating process

The most effective way I’ve found to deal with these writing fears is to face them head-on. Reflect on how you are feeling. Why are you afraid or anxious? List out the reasons.

Next, write out the worst-case scenario for each fear. What is the worst that could happen if that fear comes true? What will the consequences be? Usually, when we do this, we see that what we fear really holds no true threat for us. This can help us overcome that fear or anxiety.

If we still fear failure or are struggling with anxiety, maybe it’s time to talk to a creativity coach. This is what I recommended to my friend, because I have benefited from it myself. A coach can help us deal with, and then move beyond, our writing fears or anxieties.

There’s no shame in feeling afraid to write–many fiction writers feel this way. But don’t let it keep you from doing what you love or reaching your fiction writing goals.

This morning, I read an article posted on Huffington Post yesterday by bestselling thriller novelist Jason Pinter. He gives an impressive list of reasons why readers (and, by extension, writers) should be encouraged by the various recent developments in publishing–ebooks, e-readers (Kindles, Nooks, IPad, etc.), the dust-up between Amazon and Macmillan…you know, all those events that create scary, doom-ridden headlines and give us writers indigestion. He sees things differently, and I was encouraged. Go check it out and be encouraged, too!

Is This The Most Exciting Time Ever For Book Lovers?

My Writing Notes Before Power Structure:

Imagine a 30-50 page document full of bits and pieces, a brainstorm here, an idea there, a few lines down maybe some links to some research sites. Add to it a stack of printed out character charts scribbled and crossed out as I kept changing my mind. And then throw in sticky notes, additional files, a few index cards, and a little notebook in my purse. A mess? Yes!

After redoing my protagonist’s Goal, Motivation, and Conflict THREE times because I kept losing it in the abyss that was my writing notes, I realized something had to be done–or else I was going to go crazy and end up curled in a corner gnawing my laptop and singing “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”

Power Structure To The Rescue:

Power Structure is a writing organization and planning program designed by published novelists and screen writers to help fiction writers structure their stories and keep their information organized and filed all in one place.

With Power Structure, I can create individual articles about my story premise, pitch, timeline, backstory, and any other foundational topic for the story that I need. Then I can choose a story structure (my favorite is the Heroine’s Journey–a template I designed myself based on the Hero’s Journey), and plot out my entire book, down to each scene, if I want.

There are detailed frameworks for every character, including their personality, back story, personal info, character arc, strengths, weaknesses, etc. And then I can pull those characters into the scene view and even color code the scene descriptions based on which character’s story line is affected.

The software is laid out in a graphic format, including virtual index cards for each scene that can be rearranged on screen. Or there is the gestalt view that allows me to view everything from the act structure all the way to an individual scene description all in one glance.

What I like best about it is that all of this is completely customizable. I can add, rename, delete, and create almost any space for any information I need. And then I save it all, and it’s there, in one tidy, well-organized file.

Even for people who hate outlining and prefer to write on the fly, it is a good program to use to keep track of what you’ve already done, what characters you just created, or what plot twist you just threw in. The program helps you analyze the conflict and tension levels scene-by-scene so you can see where the flat places are in your story.

I’ve been using Power Structure for over a year now, and I’m very pleased with how easy it is to learn and how well it has functioned. I even switched from a PC to a Mac, and the program made the switch perfectly. I called customer service to make sure it would be okay, and I spoke with a real person who was kind and helpful.

If there’s one feature I wish it had, it would be the ability to import photos or other files or videos into the Power Structure file. I like to find stock photos that look like my characters, or photos or videos of the story’s setting. Even documents and PDF files of various research sites would be great. If we could upload these supporting files into Power Structure, it would be a completely self-contained file of all the material for my book.

But I can manage keeping track of photos. I highly recommend Power Structure to any writer who wants to become more organized. Check out the Power Structure website here.

Question: Is it okay to put my phone number or address on my writing business cards? What about a photo?

Meredith’s Answer:

I would strongly recommend NOT putting your home phone/address on it. You don’t want to compromise your privacy that way. People are sometimes weird about writers–especially once you get published, you’re sort of a semi-celebrity once people realize you are a published author. You want to protect your private information.

If you’re giving out cards to editors or agents, your email address will be plenty for them to contact you, and your mailing address should be on every page of your book proposals anyway, so you don’t need to put it on the card.

A picture is fine, but only if it’s a professional-looking publicity type photo. No snapshots. Otherwise, keep it simple and just have your name and website and email address on it.

I would also recommend spending the money to have it professionally printed. I use gotprint.com and love it. You can even have it designed for you or choose a design off the website. It really is so much nicer looking than printing it yourself.

Good luck!

Question: At a writer’s conference, how do we know when it is okay to pitch our fiction manuscript to an editor or agent? Is the “elevator pitch” really okay to use in an elevator, for example?

Meredith’s Answer:

I think the best thing we all can do for the editors and agents at a conference is to treat them with respect and compassion. Too often, in our enthusiasm, we treat them like prey that we hunt down for our own success.

They are people, and as much as we all want something from them, I really believe that we should see them as valuable human beings first. We shouldn’t use them for our own advancement.

So what this means for a conference setting is that we need to stop and think before we pounce. What is the setting? An elevator is a transition place between the public spaces of a conference and the private spaces of other parts of the hotel. So these folks may be half-way to “off duty.” The publishing professional may be worn out or simply tired of so much human contact. So the best way to treat them is the way you’d treat any other person you have compassion on. Do they look like they want to talk? If so, ask them how their day is going. Be others-centered and not focused on your own wants or needs. If they don’t look like they want to talk, then leave them alone.

A lot of times, if you reach out and show that you can see who they are beyond the tag that says “agent” or “editor,” they will often respond in kind and ask YOU about what you write. This is when that elevator pitch comes in useful. But keep it low key–most of the time they are asking you out of politeness only and are hoping you don’t go crazy on them.

The term “elevator pitch” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s to be used specifically in places like elevators or on the way to the lobby or in other semi-off-duty places. It actually means being able to explain your story in the amount of time it takes for an elevator to go from one stop to the next.

I think if you want to approach an editor or agent between workshops or after a meal, it’s usually okay, but you have to really pay attention to what else is going on for that person. You don’t want to put them in a position where they have to be rude to you because they’re about to be late for a workshop. If it looks like they do have a minute, say, “Do you have a few minutes sometime when I could meet with you?” They will either say yes, and you can work out a good time. Or they will say no, in which case, thank them and be gracious. Or they might say “No, but let’s talk right now.” THAT’s when you give them the “elevator” pitch. That way, you’ve been assertive, but without being pushy or walking all over them. You’ve given them space to say no, and they’ll appreciate that.

The thing is, whether or not they want to hear more or want to meet with you or whatever, a key to this whole publishing experience is relationship. Maybe you won’t get to do a full pitch, but I guarantee if you are kind to the faculty and pub professionals you meet, if you take an interest in them because they are valuable human beings, you will reap the reward of expanding your network and your friendships in the publishing world. And eventually, this might lead to the opportunity to pitch your book.

Even if it doesn’t though, what has more significance in the long run–a book contract or a friendship? (I know you already know the answer, but it makes a great closing question!)

Want to learn more about how to get the most out of a writers conference? Take a look at the Writers Conference Survival Guide!