by Pat Marcello on February 7, 2011
I remember when my job was editing. It’s not a simple job. You’re not 100% certain how your audience will react to certain pieces that you approve for publishing or how many people will buy a book you recommended be published. You just have to listen to your marketing team, first, these days. Or, go by an editorial calendar. Publishers aren’t about “great art” as much as they’re about the money it will make their company. Publishing is a business just like any other. Books are usually a committee process because they’re so expensive, but articles are often approved by single, overworked, and generally underpaid editors.
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So, how do they pick and choose? They work from their gut feelings.
Sure, it’s easy to see when you’ve got a good writer. You throw as much at them as you can or you buy everything they send forth. But what about the beginners and the strangers that editors haven’t encountered before? How do they decide who gets published and who doesn’t?
Simple. They start with a query letter — a one page synopsis of what the piece is about, who will write it and in what time span. It saves tons of time and they don’t have to have a stack of full manuscripts on their desks, floors, and all over the place. It helps them to weed out people who want to write and aren’t remotely ready. That may seem harsh, but let’s face it, writing professionally takes time to learn how.
If you want to be a writer, the best thing for you to do is to start by learning. Don’t just type up an article, single-spaced, without proper headers and expect that your manuscript will be accepted because it won’t. Learn not only HOW to write, but the business of writing. That’s very, very important.
And learn to write a great query letter. [click to continue…]
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by Pat Marcello on February 6, 2011
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In everything you do, there’s a slow way and a fast way. Personally, I’m a preparer. I like to figure out what I’m going to do and then, execute my plan. That’s what writing great query letters is all about. So, in case you’re the methodical type, let me give you a step by step checklist to follow:
1) Study the business of writing. Figure out how to find a proper magazine or book publisher and target them precisely.
2) Study form. All correspondence from the query letter to the cover letter to the actual manuscript have a precise methodology. Find out what that is and follow it. Editors see that as professional, and if you don’t do your homework about the simplest things… They won’t want to work with you.
3) Prepare your topic. Is it age appropriate for the kids or adults you’re writing for? Is it appropriate to the gender(s)?
4) What are some interesting facts you can include in your pitch? Have you gathered those and learned enough about your topic to write an intelligent article? If not, your lack of understanding will show through in your query letter. [click to continue…]
by Pat Marcello on February 5, 2011
New writers tend to cringe when they hear about query letters. They seem so “non-creative,” and so business-y and lacking in entertainment value.
But lemme tell ya… Writing query letters can be a blast!
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At least, they are for me. You see, I’m a researcher at heart. If someone offered me a researching job today, paying me just a little more than I’m making now, I’d jump at the opportunity. Searching for information about something, whether it’s within my realm of expertise or interest or not, is like an adventure for me. You see, I always want to find that one amusing factoid that nobody else (much) knows that I can add to my work.
Query letters that have something amazing in them are often the most enjoyment an editor gets all day. I know. I did a stint as an editor for a couple of years, and let me tell you that reading through a slush pile or line editing can be tedious work. I realize that some pubs have editors for each thing, but I was an all-purpose editor. LOL I did it all — assigning stories, editing, creating subheads, and on and on. Whatever the publisher needed, I did. It was fun for a while, but yikes! It gets boring after a while.
So, in your query letter… If you give them something amazing, they’re going to sit up and take notice. I’m always on the lookout for a cool fact or statistic that I can include for that very reason.
For example, it’s a little-known fact that… [click to continue…]
by Pat Marcello on February 4, 2011
That’s never been a problem for me, and query letters, but selling work before it’s done does scare some people. You can always create an outline of your idea first, if that makes you feel more secure. But let me tell you… Once you start writing every day and writing professionally, you’ll be able to write any time of the day or night, on command, about anything you’ve already researched.
Image by patm7 via Flickr
But let’s talk about writing a query letter that will get your idea noticed and have the editor thinking that it’s better than any he or she has seen that day.
First, research your market. We’ve talked about this before. If a magazine has done an article on the five reasons why teens can’t get along, you don’t want to send them anything remotely similar. Think of something new or find a non-competing magazine and send it there.
Then, when you’ve found the ideal magazine for your work, write your query letter. Here are the parameters: [click to continue…]
by Pat Marcello on February 3, 2011
Oh, yeah… I’m not really the touchy-feely type, but when it comes to art, that’s what happens. When you’re looking at a painting, you’re seeing color, subject, and design, and the combination of all of those will evoke an emotional response when the painting is really good.
Image by oddsock via Flickr
Let’s take a familiar example — Edvard Munch‘s The Scream. It’s rather simple, isn’t it? Blocks of color all swirled about and one ghostly figure in the forefront just standing there with its mouth open. Unless it hit some emotional chord in so many, the painting would be rather mundane. But the combination of color, subject, and design has made it very popular over the centuries, as it was painted in 1893!
So, let’s apply that to a novel. Same thing. People relate to good fiction writing because of the writing color, the subject matter, and the author’s design. A LOT of feeling goes into writing a novel, and if it’s really good, that emotion transfers to many people.
How do you convey feeling? [click to continue…]
