Announcing "The Writer's Tank" Contest!

YES, GUYS, ANOTHER CONTEST!!!!!!

I am very excited for this one because it's based off of one of my favorite shows: Shark Tank!!!!!!!!!

If you don't watch Shark Tank, the show is all about entrepreneurs coming in to pitch their products to multimillionaires and billionaires (the sharks). The sharks can invest in their products or send the entrepreneurs home packing.

The gist of this contest is that the agents will be the sharks (but nice sharks, like Robert) and the contestants will be the people pitching their 'products.'

Preeetttyyy.

The Details:

From a slush pile, I will pick thirty(ish) of the best entries in a variety of genres and try to find something of liking for every agent.  These entries will consist of the query, the first 250, and a 40-word pitch. But the catch is that all of the thirty-to-forty entries will be categorized by category and genre and then listed in a single blog post with their pitch below it. So, it'll look something like this:

YA Science Fiction - FEED

"A teenager goes to the moon to have fun but finds out the moon totally sucks."

YA Contemporary - THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

"Holden Caulfield walks around New York and thinks a lot, basically creating a masterpiece."

Etc.

Clicking on the titles will redirect the agent to a blog post with the query and 250. So the agent won't have to look at the dozens of queries and 250's - they can scan a single blog post and only click on the entries and pitches that look interesting to them.

That's why this is the writer's tank! The pitch is super, super important.

From there, if the agent likes the query and 250, they can place a 'bid' requesting any number of pages. The agent that bids the most for an entry will receive that number of pages and also a 5-day exclusive reading period. During this period, the writer can't send their requested pages to any other shark except the winning shark. (This exclusivity is only for requests from this contest, not for normal querying or other contests.) After the five days, the writer can send out all the remaining requests from this contest. 

Also, it's a first-come first-serve basis - if two agents bid fulls or 50 pages and those end up being the winning bids, the agent that bid first wins.

So. You got the gist of it? I've got agents already on board with the contest and more coming in by the day! It should be a huge success (hopefully)

The Schedule:

I'll open up the submission window twice (to accommodate people in different time zones). One will open on Thursday, April 10th, 3 pm EST, and the other will open Friday, April 11th, 8 pm EST. Both will close when they reach 75 entries (so the max is 150 entries in total) but I doubt we'll reach that number. This isn't Query Kombat, after all. I just want a cap on how many entries I'd have to read, hehe. There will be a confirmation email saying that I received your submission.

Edited to Add: We have a lot of spots open so keep on submitting! There seems to be a problem with Yahoo's email, so make SURE you get a confirmation email within 5 minutes of sending. If not, resend :)

The posts will go up and the agents will participate starting Friday, April 18th (but if I can get them up on Thursday instead, I will). The agents have until Tuesday the 22nd to make their bids.

The Formatting and Submitting:

Send all your submissions to thewriterstank (at) yahoo (dot) com. The emails should be formatted EXACTLY like this:

In the subject line, "TWT: Age category Genre, TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT."

Title: [Title of your book]

Genre: [Age Category AND Genre, so it'll be like YA Fantasy. And make SURE you pick the right genre! That can make-or-break you.]

Word Count: XX,XXX

Pitch: [No more than 40 words!]

Query:

[No tabs, only line breaks. Only include the meat of your query: no personalization, no bio, etc.]

250:

[Your first 250 words here. It's okay if you go a few words over, just make sure not to end in a middle of a sentence!]

Also, all genres and age categories are invited! However, keep in mind that I'll be looking for entries that the agents will want. If there are no agents looking for picture books, I won't be picking any picture books.


The Genres:

(In the comments and on Twitter, I'm seeing some people asking about what genres are going to be represented in the contest, so here's the (growing) list below! These are the genres that the agents participating have an interest in. The agent list is growing, so this list will grow along with it.)

Adult:

• Literary
• Historical
• Commercial
• Mystery
• Thriller
• Women's Fiction
• Cultural
• Romance
• Suspense
• Horror

YA:

• I think it's simplest to say: all genres :D

MG:

• Fantasy
• Contemporary
• Action/Adventure
• Historical

Nonfiction (because I'm not experienced with nonfiction proposals and I wouldn't know how to read or judge them, I have to limit the nonfiction to only the 'story' types. I'm so sorry! I feel bad about this but I honestly would have no clue how to judge proposals):

• Memoirs
• Human-interest

The Quirks:

Some of the agents are looking for some specific things.

SO, if you have

• a novel that's basically a historical fiction but of the vein that it's told by, say, Emily Dickinson's maid, or Abraham Lincoln's gardener...that kind of stuff. 
• food memoir
• a historical romance in the Regency era

make sure you enter this contest! You'll have a good chance of getting in (as long as your entry is sufficiently strong, obviously).

If your genre is not listed (such as NA) SUBMIT ANYWAY. If it's an outstanding entry, I'll pick you and hope the agents love it too.

I'll do a separate post revealing all the agents that'll be participating. So keep an eye out for that.

I am so, so excited for this. But guys, you need to make sure your pitches are fantastic. Don't rely on only your query and 250. You need to get an agent to click on your link, and to do that, your pitch will have to be enticing. Remember: all you're trying to get is an agent to click on your post. That's all. So make the agent desperate to read your query and 250!

If you plan on participating in this contest, make sure you are following this blog as a requirement. Also, we'll be Tweeting as well under the hashtag:

#TheWritersTank

Yes, I know, there's no apostrophe, but adding an apostrophe would split up the hashtag so you wouldn't be able to click on it! We'll let go of this grammar blunder for now. (Please?) You can find me on Twitter over here.

I'm very very excited! Are you guys? GET THOSE PITCHES IN SHAPE, GUYS! And do you have any questions? Ask them in the comments below! And spread the word over Twitter!

ETA:

Pk Hrezo is giving a free pitch critique to one luck emailer! Look below in the comments for details. Hurry before someone snatches this amazing prize!

Redesigned my Blog - Thoughts? Plus, a Self Lovin' Bloghop!

Well, guys, I redesigned my blog!

I thought it was a bit *too* much blue before (I know, I didn't think it was possible either). I still wanted to keep blue as the main color but I wanted a cleaner look to the blog. I also really, really wanted to make the blog feel more homey, inviting, and warm (which is why I tried using brown wherever possible), but it's hard to pull off with blue being the main color. Sigh. So I don't think I succeeded in that. I just want my blog to be a fun, at-home place to be. Also, the top header is blurry because I used a really crappy method to make it. Shout out to Lisa who so amazingly tried to make it look better! I'm still tinkering with it so maybe it'll get better. I also added some more pages to the above bar, such as My Books and Contests, and I really like those :)

Tell me what you think of the redesign!

Also:

The fantastic Tara Watson has created a Self Lovin' Bloghop which I took part in!

Here's the description of the bloghop pulled from her blog post.

The Self Lovin' Bloghop

"Being a writer is hard, and often lonely. And it's far too easy to go through the last scene/chapter we wrote and spy everything that's wrong with it--and then some. There've been plenty of times I've looked something over and thought it was lower than garbage, like that part of my hard drive should be wiped free of its slimy ooze. Even after sharing it with my closest writerly friend who point out it's great stuff and they wouldn't suggest changing much, if anything, I often still can't see what they see.

"But you know what? I believe writers are driven to it for a reason. There's just something inside us that makes it natural for us to write. You may be a hack with grammar but silence crowded parties with your storytelling abilities. Maybe your characters come out looking like Flat Stanley but you can write an epic saga without a single grammar mistake or typo. Perhaps show vs. tell eludes you after years of slapping out words, but your plotting skills are the bomb. Your description is bland but your tension makes even the computer sweat as it waits for you to get to the end of the scene.

"You know the best part? All of the formers can be fixed and made better with time and writing. (Just keep writing, just keep writing...) so you're already half way there! Never give up!

"So please share with us what you're good at. There's something--I know there's something--no matter how small you think it is."

I think that I'm good at capturing emotions and having the reader experience strong emotions as well. I think, in all my history of getting critiques, the best (or at least in the top three) comment I got was, "You're really good at emotions," or something like that. It was a simple comment and all the way from my first horrendous manuscript, but I still remember it. Generating emotion in the reader is so important to me because I'm emotionally affected by my novels. I want readers to be affected as well. And hearing that I can do this seriously makes me so, so, so happy.

Also, I think I've grown in my prose! My first manuscript was horrible. I mean, horrible. The prose was disgusting. But I think it was partially because I hadn't found the genre my writing style was suited to, and partially because I just didn't write enough. I think my prose and writing have gotten much better and I'm really proud of that.

*pats self on back*

There! I self loved :) It's actually harder than you think! But I think it's truly important to do this once in a while - concentrate on your strengths. Tara, your bloghop is crucial for so many writers. Too often we get bogged down in what we can't do. We feel ashamed or arrogant for being proud of what areas we excel in. We don't tell people about it. We shout out our weaknesses but keep our strengths to ourselves. It's just what writers are supposed to do. Concentrating on your weaknesses is important. But, for sanity's sake, don't ignore your strengths.

Thank you so much Tara for doing this! I know I'm going to sleep smiling, now, because of it.

What are your thoughts on my blog's redesign? Do you feel self loving is important? (And how about this first day of spring. Here, near Chicago, it snowed. Yes, it snowed. And four hours later it was sunny and spring-like. The next day, it's sixty degrees. WHAT.)

The Secret to an Amazing Plot Twist

I haven't done a "Secret" post in a while, so I thought it was time to remedy that.

This post was inspired by my fantastically-talented CP, Lanette Kauten, and her manuscript, CASSIA. I was critiquing it for her when I predicted a plot twist due to a clue she left before. Every other person she showed the manuscript to did not predict the plot twist and they were shocked when it occurred. Everyone, that is, but me (call me Detective SC from now on, I won't mind).

Now, there will probably always be someone who figures out the plot twists in your novel (I say 'probably' because JK Rowling had millions of people trying to figure out her ingeniously-planted twists and I don't think anyone predicted every single one). The question is, how do you keep the suspense and tension strong even when the reader correctly predicts the plot twist?

If the twist is way too obvious or if your novel is a mystery novel, sure, make it harder to figure it out. But we're assuming that the twist is sufficiently hard to figure out. Even so, there will always be that one reader who guesses correctly. The secret is not to try making the plot twist even harder to figure out because someone will figure it out. Accept that fact. The secret is to make the story full of suspense even if the reader finds out the twist. And that's hard.

The Secret to an Amazing Plot Twist

Make the story interesting and full of tension even if a reader figures out the plot twist. Basically, accommodate the readers that are detectives.

The trick to writing a bad plot twist is to rely on the 'big reveal' to be the only driving force of tension in your novel. A Detective Reader (that's what we'll call them from now on) will figure it out and then there'll be no point in reading anymore. It'll be boring.

I'm going to give you the two best options as to what you can do:

I do not own this picture; all rights go to their
respective owners.

1. You can go "The Cuckoo's Calling" route and make so many freaking red herrings that even if the reader guesses correctly, the reader will second-guess themselves later on. (I actually thought this to be a flaw in "The Cuckoo's Calling" because it got so difficult to keep track of the details, I basically just gave up trying to solve the mystery and just went along on the ride. The ride was fun, though, so I'm not really complaining. And that conclusion, holy crap. I did NOT see that coming!) *This tactic works best for mysteries.*

2. You can make the journey, not the destination, the interesting part. This is what is most commonly employed in writing. Just think: how many times have you figured out who the bad guy is (most of the Dan Brown novels, anyone?) but you keep reading because you want to know how the main character will figure it out? A love for the main character (or a love for the journey and secrets, in Dan Brown's case) is what drives this strategy. You've got to make your main character engrossing, and you've got to make the reader care for him/her.

Personally, I think option two is much more viable because option one lends itself best to mystery novels or subplots that involve a mystery. Not every novel has that. Option two, however, is fantastic for almost every novel. Think about how even if you know how a movie or book ends, you still watch/read it because you want to experience the journey. That was the movie "Philomena," for me. (Good gosh that movie was incredible.) In fact, I think making the journey engrossing is a crucial aspect to almost any novel.

A note: I've been thirsting to finish Lanette Kauten's book because of option number 2. I love the characters in her novel. Her book is a good example of how to keep tension strong without relying only on the plot twist!

So, if you ever want to write a truly amazing plot twist, use one of the two options above - and never, ever (this is one of the only times I've said 'never'!) grossly underestimate your reader!

Do you guys have anything to add? What are your techniques to writing awesome plot twists? Which option is your personal favorite?

The Truth About Book Prices

I had this myth engrained into me that books cost a lot of money. Maybe it's just a byproduct of my parents' upbringing. They wanted me to be careful with what I spent money on, but they almost never said no to books; my parents were and are some of the most supportive parents ever, I bet.

It's not to say that I don't buy books. In fact, I think I'm nearing 700 books in my collection I have at least 400-500 but my books are so disorganized and so scattered around, I really don't know how many I have (maybe cataloging everything can be my summer project!). So money is being spent on books, no doubt about that.

A sampling of what my nightstand used to look like (I've cleaned
up since then!).

But I went to Barnes and Noble for Black Friday (for Discovery Friday) and I was bubbly and slightly nervous about walking out with three books in a 3 for 2 special. Holy crap, I just spent a lot of money (it was like a little over twenty or thirty bucks, which is like nothing for three books in total). And I felt guilty.

I don't know why. I think much of it lies in the fact that I rarely finish any book I start nowadays. It's actually become a problem for me and I'm worried that it's going to become a habit. I keep spending money on books that I don't read or finish. My being-read pile is over twenty books long (all of which I've started reading but stopped). Is that where my problem with book prices stems from?

I get nervous about forking over twenty bucks for a hardcover. I spend so much freaking time bickering over which book to buy, this one or that one, like it's some end-all-be-all and I'm making a decision I'll regret for the rest of my life if I buy the wrong book. Why is it so hard for me?

One tweet I read a few days ago (maybe a few weeks ago) changed everything for me. It's changed my perspective on it all.

It was about e-books. So many people cry about e-book prices or make such a big deal about buying a book like their life depends on it. Usually, they don't buy at all because they're so indecisive. I was one of those people (although I don't have an e-reader). Until I read the tweet. I don't remember the exact words, but it went like this:

An average-to-high priced e-book is $2.99. That's less than your morning latte.

Or coffee, or Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts, whatever is your pick.

Just ponder that for a bit. And then, tell me what you think in the comments below.

Aimee Hyndman - NoQS SUCCESS STORY!!!!!

AND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love success stories :) Take it away, Aimee! She was a Minion in Nightmare on Query Street.

I've wanted to write a story like this for some time. Mostly because 'How I Got the Call' posts were always really inspiring to me. Every time a rejection got me down, I read a success story and I felt a little better. And I thought maybe, just maybe, I might get to write a post like this someday. 

Well, here we are, and as I sit here typing this, I am floating in surreal clouds of happiness. 

I was a sophomore in high school when I finished my first book and decided to get it published. Not that I had any knowledge of what publishing entailed. For all I knew, the magic book fairies came by and *poof* a book was made. But, just in case book fairies didn't exist, I plunged into research. I wanted to educate myself before sending my query into the great unknown. I wanted to find the best agents for me, write the best query, and have the very best book. So when I finally sent off my query, I was sure I would get a positive response. After all, I'd done everything, right? I'd done my research and it was going to pay off. 

Well, I didn't get any bites. Because no matter how much research I did, my first book really wasn't ready. It belonged to a saturated genre and the pacing wasn't where it needed to be. In the end I got two partial requests in all: one from the slush pile and one from a contest. But both partials were rejected because, honestly, the writing wasn't ready. No matter how many stories I heard about failed manuscripts from other querying writers, I never considered that mine might also fail. I thought I had done everything. I had gone through all the motions. But it didn't matter. I still needed practice. I loved my first book but in the end I set it aside, deciding to work on other projects before I took it back to the editing stage. 

I wrote HOUR OF MISCHIEF, the YA Steampunk Fantasy that would eventually be my winning manuscript, for fun in the fall of my senior year of high school. I expanded it off of a short story I had written at a writing camp and planned to expand later on. I started typing and before the month ended, the manuscript stood completed at just over 60,000 words. I edited the novel over the summer, but I hadn't really considered querying it any time soon as I wasn't sure I wanted to jump into the fray again. After all, it was my freshman year of college and I had a lot to focus on, so querying would just cause undue stress and-- 

Yeah, that lasted about two weeks. And within those two weeks I stumbled across #pitmad, a twitter pitch contest. Without giving myself much time to think about it, I cast my story to the wind. Just like that, I was back in the trenches. 

This time, I was met with different results. Agents actually requested partials and fulls, a phenomenon which I hadn't been expecting at all. I mean, HOUR OF MISCHIEF was something I wrote for fun because I liked the characters. I didn't consider the possibility of it being my winning manuscript. 

I guess that shows you what I knew. 

The surprises continued with one too-good-to-be-true event after another. I entered in the Nightmare on Query Street contest, hosted right here on this blog. Again, I expected nothing. Again I was surprised. Michelle selected me for her group of minions. The contest was better than I'd ever hoped for and I walked away with several requests. And the same weekend I got a full request from another agent with my partial. I didn't even know how to handle myself. 

I didn't know it at the time, but my road to an agent started with that weekend. As the end of the year hit and things slowed down, I tried to distract myself from the waiting game with homework and more writing. But a few agents had had my manuscript for longer than their stated response time so I figured I should nudge. I'm so glad I did. The agent who requested my full during the weekend of the contest had never gotten my email. In fact, I had email problems with this same agent, with my initial submission back in the fall. Apparently our emails didn't want her to see my MS. From the get go, this agent was super helpful and communicative. When I nudged her about the full, she told me that her email had eaten it. And, even more excitingly, that she had been thinking about my MS the other day, wondering why she rejected it. 

Wait really? Thinking about my manuscript? Really? 

I was over the moon as I resent the full MS to her and she promised to get back to me quickly. My mind flip flopped endlessly between 'maybe this is the one' and 'maybe it isn't'. A few weeks later, I woke up to an email asking to schedule a call. Perhaps THE call. I recall rolling out of my bed, crawling over to my roommate's bed and poking her until she woke up so I could scream about it with her. Then I breathed and tried to keep a level head (which worked for two seconds), and emailed back to schedule a time. Then I waited for the call, trying to convince myself that I shouldn't get my hopes up and this was probably a revise and resubmit at best. 

I was surprisingly coherent for the call. I didn't black out which I think was a good sign. Not even when she offered me representation, though I came close to swooning at that point. I certainly started belting Let it Go at the top of my lungs as soon as I hung up (As that is the only proper expression of happiness).

In the end, this agent did up being the one. I only received one offer but several congratulatory step asides. And I was fine with that. Because my now agent, Laura Zats of Red Sofa Literary, was the perfect fit for HOUR OF MISCHIEF. 

When I look back on my querying process, I realize that ALL of my major success came from contests. Laura found me through #pitmad and most of my partial requests came from Nightmare on Query Street. I got a few bites from the slushpile but not nearly as many as I got from contests. My point is: enter in contests. They help you stand out from the pack and they help you connect with other writers. They're subjective of course (I entered into several contests with HOUR OF MISCHIEF and only got in one/ THANKS MICHELLE!) but they can really pay off. Take a risk and enter. You might find the beginning of your own success story. 

And now what everyone wants: 

Query Stats- 

Books queried: 2 

Books picked up: 1 

Queries Sent: 52 (27 for first book, 25 for second book. I am not a mass querier) 

Contests Entered: 6 (2 for first book, 4 for second book) 

Contests Accepted into: 2 (1 for first book, 1 for second book) 

Partial Requests: 12 (2 from first book, 10 from second book) 

Full Requests: 4 (0 from first book, 4 from book second book) 

Offers of Rep: 1 

Offers Accepted: 1 

Aimee picked up a pencil as soon as her toddler fingers could and started writing stories in the underappreciated language of gibberish scribbles when she was four years old. Since then, she has always known she wanted to create, and whether on stage, in video editing software or on a blank word document, she has done just that. 

Aimee is currently a freshman at Coe College, attempting a triple major in Creative Writing, English, and Film Studies because, according to friends, she is crazy. She is also an intern to the Kimberley Cameron Agency and enjoys reading the work of other aspiring writers every day. She is now, of course, represented by Laura Zats and crossing her fingers for good things in the future. 

Now, go congratulate her on Twitter, find her on Pintrest, and on her website!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats Aimee!!! Thank you so much for sharing. If any of you readers have a success story to share with us from being part of a contest we hosted, please share! Shoot me an email (check out my spiffy new 'Contact Me' page!) and we'll handle it from there.

Congrats again, Aimee!

Pretty Much, I Just Can't Stand Snakes

I was reading Wendy's blog post and I came across this.

I'M CRINGING AND FREAKING OUT AS I WRITE THIS, GUYS.

I don't know why I have such a fear of snakes. I've never had a snake-trauma experience, a snake never lunged at me, the two snakes that I've ever come in close contact to were immobile. BUT I'M SO FREAKING SCARED OF SNAKES, GUYS.

I'm getting chills on my arms and I'm shuddering as I think of it.

I can't handle snakes. I just can't handle them.

ANYWAY

I heard about this snake-eating-a-crocodile story a few times before Wendy's blog post, and I've always been meaning to look at the picture because of that weird, messed up thing where you're kind of attracted towards things that freak you out so much. Like when you keep poking at a scab even though you know it hurts. So I was all like, "Yeah, I'm going to see the pictures!"

THIS SNAKE WAS FREAKING HUGE, GUYS. I MEAN HUGE. AGHAOSGHDSAHDFALSD.

F*&#&!!!

I just Googled "snake eats crocodile" to get a picture of it and I had so many scary images pop up. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, I'm freaked out so badly. Here's the picture that I went through a mild form of hell to get for your viewing pleasure (you're welcome):

I do not own this picture. Source

This picture scared me the most because HOW CAN SOMETHING'S BODY COIL AROUND SO MUCH LIKE THAT. THAT'S NASTY. THAT'S DISGUSTING. ARGHSADKGAOIGE.

Anyway, now you know one of my biggest fears. I'm freaked out, scared, and slightly confused as to why I wrote this post but I guess I just wanted to share my freaking-out emotion with you guys, maybe. I don't know.

ASDHNGASDJFL.

I can't STAND snakes. Urghh, I just shuddered!!!

What are you guys scared of? Spiders? (I'm not really scared of spiders. For some reason, they just don't scare me.)

On Technology in Reading - the Sprintz App

It's a well-known truth that times will change and technology will advance. Technology has crawled into basically every nook and cranny of our lives - from leisure time, working time, eating, even sleeping. Imagine our world without technology. It's crazy to think about it.

Recently, I learned of a new app on the market. An app called Spritz will allow you to read Harry Potter in 77 minutes. It's not a gimmick, it's not a "Get Abs without Working Out or Dieting!" type of trick. It's legitimate.

The actual technology behind it is incredibly fascinating, so you all should click here and learn about this app.

Now, with all this advancement, the main thing (obviously) that is being pushed aside is the benefits of patience.

Do you honestly think that a person who reads Harry Potter in under two hours will truly absorb or understand the novel? Take a click on this link and see how the app actually works. It's incredibly interesting...but is it worthwhile?

While I think this app would be fantastic for college students needing to cram for a test or for someone needing to catch up on a report, I don't think I'll ever use this app to read a novel. There literally is (as far as I know) no easy and efficient way to go back and reread something. There's no way to flip back a page to see if you really read something correctly. Pausing to look up from the page - such as if your friend says hi - would involve pausing the screen. And heaven forbid that you instinctively look away, such as if you trip or if a fly buzzes near you! Then you'll have to rewind (is there a rewind button?) to find the individual word you left off on.

Reading will no longer be a pleasurable activity, but a race. Just try to truly understand the meanings of these sentences going as fast as they are. Are you not more concerned with reading fast, instead of understanding it? And it's not speed reading; people can read fast and still understand the content. It's skimming. You can't really comprehend individual words. It's best if you see the words around it, the context, and then form a picture from the sentence as a whole. Everything mixes together.

This kind of stuff scares me because this app is being hyped as being able to revolutionize reading. It's incredibly technology and science, for sure. But it's not incredible art, and reading is art. Reading is understanding. If this really will be present in all forms of reading (such as on phones and tablets) I'm going to get pretty annoyed pretty fast.

It's not to say that I don't like this app, don't get me wrong. I love science and technology, and I think this app can be used very well in situations where speed is key. But speed is not key in hobbies where one desires to have fun and relax. I rush and rush through much of my day; reading is supposed to be fun. If I rush through my hobbies...honestly, I'll probably puke. It's too much rushing and I'm sick of it.

What I am really scared of is that this app will actually hinder reading. People won't want to read novels as much because it's just not fun anymore. It's a race. And although they'll think it's cool to read one novel on the Sprintz, do you think they'll want to read another? Five? Ten? Instead of helping reading, this app might actually discourage it (which is incredibly dangerous for any society).

Maybe if I just put the speed of the program on really slow, I'll be fine. But if I do that, then heck, why do I need the app in the first place? I'll just become a CEO or politician or college student and then I'll find a good use for this app :D

How do you guys feel about this new app?

P.S. Last night was a big night for me. 11:21 p.m. was when I finished editing the book that I've taken 1.5 years to write!!!! AAAHHH!!!!!!!!!! XD Now, off to beta readers!! I am very, very excited! WOO!

If JK Rowling Cares About Writing, She Should Keep Doing It

(Sorry for all those who've seen this post already. Partially because, for some reason, posts posted on Mondays get more views, but mostly because I watched the Oscars last night and I'm way too tired to come up with a coherent, good blog post, I'm republishing this one! Enjoy! (AND HOW ABOUT THEM OSCARS?!)

JK Rowling at the opening of the Anne Rowling Clinic
I do not own this picture, all rights belong to respective owners.

Recently, there was an article about how JK Rowling should stop writing if she cared about it. It's a pretty famous article which caused a lot of chaos...to say the least.

But I'm here to beg Jo Rowling to keep writing. Adult fiction, I mean (the very genre the article wants her to stop writing).  

Jo is a writer and a human, and like any human, such an article would without a doubt elicit feelings of remorse, anger, confusion, and guilt. Even though the article was wrong and got a lot of angry reactions, the article is still, well, famous. And it's getting attention.

You guys know how I feel about her "The Casual Vacancy." Frankly, I think it's the best Adult Contemporary of our time. A masterpiece only hindered by the expectations of Harry Potter and magic wands. I'm seriously in love with her adult fiction. I honestly don't know how to convey this to you guys, BUT HER ADULT NOVELS ARE SO INCREDIBLY GOOD. Please, please, keep writing them, Jo!

One of the reasons I thought I should address this article is because - other than the fact that this blog has 'Harry Potter' on its heading (maybe I should change it to JK Rowling?) - some of that article's words seem, well, painfully true. In the back of many of our minds, there's a little devil saying, 'Maybe the article is right.' (The general idea of the article, I mean.) Because if one starts reading it, they know it's, well...not credible. But the general idea that successful writers are making it hard to be published is a well-known mentality.

"Aw, man, agents are so busy with their own clients, they don't have time to read queries and offer me representation!"

"Aw, man, that big book company gives all its big advances to its big authors and doesn't give any money to the smaller authors, man!"

But let me show you a graph:

I do not own this picture, it came from here.

(I couldn't find the real graph, so this'll have to do. The shape is all that matters. If you can find the real graph, I'd love for you to comment a link to it below!)

Let's pretend A stands for money made by the authors of a single publisher, and B stands for authors that a single publisher publishes. The most successful authors are near the left, the least near the right of the graph.

Now, see how a very small portion of all the authors are generating the most profits for the publisher? The rest of the 'smaller' authors all together combine to generate about the same revenue as the big authors.

This is what it means:

Publishers basically live off of their big authors. The big authors are the 'safe bets'. They're guaranteed sellers, and publishers give them big advances in order to keep them happy. They make money, no questions asked. Very little to no risk. And this in turn helps the smaller authors because publishers have a good enough buffer to take risks. Debut authors are risks. Without the safe buffer of the big authors, publishers would be incredibly wary to take on any new author. They simply wouldn't be able to afford a loss, especially since the majority of books don't earn back their advances.

Simply put, because of the big authors, we authors desiring to be published stand a chance to fulfill our dreams. So, thank you JK Rowling.

But that's the technical side. The mathematical side. The, "Well, there's an increased probability that debut authors will be published due to the profits made by big authors." But how about the emotional side?

Do you know how big an impact Jo Rowling has had on reading? On writing? On me?

I remember that for about a year or more, all I would ever do is read and reread the Harry Potter novels over and over. When I tried reading something different, most of the time I'd read a page, growl, and put it down. It wasn't as good as Harry Potter, dang it. But once that stage of my life past, I wrote. I wrote, I wrote, I wrote.

Jo Rowling is the reason I write novels. I wrote poetry and short stories and random stuff before (and a lot of it) but I picked up novel-writing as a result of a very conscious decision. I was going through a tough time and needed an outlet. And because of Jo, I thought that writing could be that outlet. And here I am now, hosting a blog in one of the best online communities out there. I love writing.

Partially because of Jo Rowling, I became someone who wants to be published. Jo Rowling has created writers. (Which is a good thing. Being a writer is a good thing. Not a frustrating, anxiety-causing, probably-hopeless-by-all-accounts, why-are-we-even-doing-this-in-the-first-place, thing. (I've almost come to the point where if someone tells me they're a writer, I  put my hand on their shoulder and say, "I am so, so sorry.") In the end, we do love it, though.)

From JK Rowling, I've learned more about characterization, plot, and world building than any other novel (probably because I reread Harry Potter so many dang times and that series is a masterpiece in all three of those categories). She's made me a better writer.

And she's made me a better person. She knows when to act, she's compassionate and caring, and she's down-to-earth. She's my role model.

JK Rowling has contributed SO FREAKING MUCH to writing. If she truly cares about it, she should keep doing it.

(While we're at it, the author of the article has gotten a lot of backlash. It's honestly too much. It's simply one person with one opinion. Although we don't have to agree with it, we don't have to destroy her entire career over one article. What she says at its basest is true: it is very hard to get published. But debuts have been published for centuries, and it'll keep happening. In trying to defend Rowling, let's not destroy another writer.)

So keep on writing, Jo. (And please, please, can you write something like "The Casual Vacancy"? That novel has given me an addiction for good adult contemporaries, but just like in my Harry Potter stage, I can't find anything published in this century nearly as good as "The Casual Vacancy". I might have to go for (another) reread.)

How do you feel about this?

Your Book's Theme Song

Ever thought about what song would be the theme to your book? What if I told you that those thoughts will help your book become even better?

I love music so this post came sort of easily to me. For me, the themes song to my book (I'll tell you what it is later) came silently. I wasn't searching for a theme song. I was just listening to music on my laptop. I've heard that song over and over for a long time before (because I love the artist) but the thought of it being connected to my book never came to me. Not until I started diving further into my books and its themes.

As of now (because who knows what other music I'll be introduced to?) my novel's theme song is "Hometown Glory" by Adele (the full version, not the shorter one). The song's message about one's hometown, its memories, its people, really fits incredibly well with my novel and my main character's character arc.

Finding out my novel's theme song has helped in strengthening various points of that specific theme in my novel. You know how sometimes you know your novel needs a little something, but you don't know what? Listening to "Hometown Glory" helped in finding out those spots which could be strengthened to create a strong, solid narrative arc.

And it's not only for theme songs. For example, listening to this amazing version of this amazing song (I love that song a lot) inspired me to push one scene in my novel to a higher dimension, something I know will help take the story to an epic-er (?) plane.

If you're having trouble finding your novel's theme song, don't go searching for one. Let it come to you. And think: "If my novel was made into a movie, what song would be playing in the end credits?" Usually, that'll be your novel's theme song :)

NOW GO OFF AND FIND YOUR THEME SONG!

Have you already found it? What songs do you think fit your novel well?

The JK Rowling Excuse - the Danger of Success Stories

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel this way before. I'm a writer. Heck, I live for fantasies.

Back when I was querying my YA Epic Fantasy (since then, I've put that manuscript aside), I was absolutely torn apart with all these fantasies I had for my work.

It was, originally, about 40k words over the standard limit for the genre. Also, it had not one, but two prologues (both of which, as I later understood, weren't working). But the thing was, for months, I just wouldn't believe that it'd hinder me from getting published.

I kept thinking that I'd be like JK Rowling. I'd been reading (and I still do read) success stories of authors like Rowling, like Tolkien, like Margaret Mitchell.

Rowling: published an over-long children's novel which became the best selling series of all time. Tolkien: originally, his trilogy was a single, 500k novel which his publishers split up. Mitchell: her novel, deemed to be so freaking good (and also a debut novel), was overpriced simply because the publisher believed if it was that good, it'd sell.

I'd been drinking in all the exceptions to the rules of publishing. I thirsted for them, searched for them, and I think it was because I wanted some sort of validation that my two prologues and over-long book had a chance. That everyone (everyone) that gave me smart advice were wrong, that I'd prove them all wrong.

Well, I got 67 query rejections in a row. Not a single request. (And appropriately so).

You see, as hard as it might seem to take the hard advice, it'll probably help you more than any other advice. It's weird but it's true: the advice that hurts the most, the advice that makes you search for articles online to prove it wrong, the advice that makes you sad...that's the advice you probably need to follow. That's my acid test as to whether a harsh criticism has merit or not.

(Another way, possibly the best way to tell whether you are the exception or not, is to get trusted and honest critique partners to give you feedback. They'll tell you if your rule-breaking is working or not.)

Deep down, we all know the truth of our own novels. We know how successful they can be and we know what possibly can burden its potential. But we don't want to go through the work of lifting those burdens. Writing a book, polishing it, revising it...that's all hard enough. Why go through more work?

And because of that attitude, we refuse to cut out that scene we love so much because JK Rowling had a similar scene in her novel. We refuse to cut our words because Tolkien wrote such a long masterpiece and his was a debut. We refuse. How many times do we hear, "But JK Rowling did it!!! She did it, and sold so many books, so if I do it, I'll sell a ton as well! You all just don't understand."

But very few of us are at the level that Rowling and Tolkien are/were. (If you want to talk about how 'lucky' Rowling was, know that she spent almost a decade before publishing the first Harry Potter simply building up the world, plotting, and working hard on the novels. Almost a decade. And still, due to her editor, she had to cut many scenes from her first novel to make it more of a 'publishable' length.) Those that are on that level know who they are. Those that think they are at that level, frankly, probably are very, very far away. I think the best place is to be in the middle: confident about our abilities, but not foolish enough to believe that publishing doesn't have rules and that our 700k literary fiction debut will ever be picked up.

I write this knowing that if someone read this, then went out and sold their 700k lit fic debut, they might think about this post and snicker. And, frankly, I feel foolish writing this post just thinking about that! But for every one person that will sell a 700k, there are hundreds of others that'll have to deal with not being the exception to the rule. The sad thing is, many, many people think they are the exception, and thus they don't take critiques to heart, they don't heed advice, and they query with a bad manuscript foolishly hoping that they'll be a NYT bestseller. There is probably nothing that has helped me more in my quest for publication than the feedback of my writing friends.

I'm one of those hundreds that have to deal with not being a major exception (I add 'major' because simply finishing a book is an exception as well). After all, we can't all be exceptions.

You know what they say: you got to learn (and live by) the rules before you can break them. And realizing that we all can't be exceptions can help us get past our own insecurities and (possibly) become the exception and break the rules.

Do you think 'The JK Rowling Excuse' is dangerous?

NEW Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) Novel! "The Silkworm," out in June

YOU GUYS, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HERE'S THE INFO ABOUT THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE CORMORAN STRIKE SERIES:

I do not own this photo. Cool cover though!

Summary from the publisher's website:

"Private investigator Cormoran Strike returns in a new mystery from Robert Galbraith, author of the #1 international bestseller The Cuckoo's Calling.

"When novelist Owen Quine goes missing, his wife calls in private detective Cormoran Strike. At first, Mrs. Quine just thinks her husband has gone off by himself for a few days--as he has done before--and she wants Strike to find him and bring him home.

"But as Strike investigates, it becomes clear that there is more to Quine's disappearance than his wife realizes. The novelist has just completed a manuscript featuring poisonous pen-portraits of almost everyone he knows. If the novel were to be published, it would ruin lives--meaning that there are a lot of people who might want him silenced.

"When Quine is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, it becomes a race against time to understand the motivation of a ruthless killer, a killer unlike any Strike has encountered before...

"A compulsively readable crime novel with twists at every turn, THE SILKWORM is the second in the highly acclaimed series featuring Cormoran Strike and his determined young assistant, Robin Ellacott."

Read that description. THE DEAD GUY IS A NOVELIST!!! I don't know why but as a novelist, I feel very happy :) I don't know why but I kind of like when characters in books are writers (yet sometimes, this let's-make-the-main-character-a-writer ploy turns out horribly). Maybe we'll get more insight into Rowling's writing philosophy and techniques through reading about this (dead) writer? Who knows?

The book is to be released June 24, 2014!!! I know I'll be in the bookstores that day. I really enjoyed reading the first novel (Cormoran and Robin were fantastic and I want to read more about them; I love them both so much, especially Robin :D).

WOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you guys excited?!?!?!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Sharing the Writerly Love

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!
(I wonder how this pink looks against the blue background. I bet it looks horrible).

Basically, I love all of you guys. Joining the writing community has been one of the best, most rewarding experiences of my life. I owe so, SO much to you guys! I love visiting blogs, I love connecting on Twitter, I love your heartfelt thoughts and comments to my posts, and I love the amazing support you give. It means a ton, and I just wanted to tell you guys that. I almost never dwell in 100%s  but I know without a doubt that without this community, I would not have grown as I did in my writing. I don't know how I could have gone on this journey alone, and for that, I thank you :) You all are among the best friends a writer can ask for. Our community truly is amazin.

Woah, this post can get mushy really fast, but I NEEDED TO LET IT ALL OUT! And today, I thought, was a good opportunity for it :) (And how awesome is it that this year, Valentine's Day falls on a Friday?!)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY AGAIN!! WOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is your Valentine's Day shout-out? 

Interview with Tiffanie Lynn - Become an Agent WINNER!

I've got an awesome interview up for you guys to read today! It's with Tiffanie, the one who on the recent 'Become an Agent' contest with her entry, TAINTED LOVE.

But, before that: TO EVERY ENTRANT: I WANT TO HEAR ANY/ALL SUCCESS STORIES YOU GET. Email me at SC_Author (at) yahoo (dot) com and SEND ME THE SUCCESS STORIES WHEN YOU GET THEM! It can be getting a publication deal, getting an agent, or heck, even getting a full request. But success stories seriously are amongst my jewels on this blog. I love them, and I love hearing about them. SO SHARE!

ON TO THE INTERVIEW! (I do 7-question interviews as much as I can, because 7 is the Harry Potter lucky number!)

1. Fun facts about you: name three!

Hmm… I always forget facts about me when asked a question like this. Well, I can think of one you’ll love, SC. Despite being in the right age group, I’ve never read a single word of the Harry Potter series. (GASP.) I know. Blasphemy! I figure I’ll read them one day. Maybe in German…

That can be my second fact! I decided to learn German and hope to one day travel to Germany. I’m still far from being fluent. Actually, the only thing I can think of to say is “nicht gut” (“not good”), which pretty much describes my fluency.

My third fact is kind of sad. I wasn’t first inspired to write by JK Rowling, like most my age, but instead by Stephenie Meyer. Eck! I was around sixteen at the time and decided I wanted to be a published author. Luckily for me, it was a choice that stuck because I love stories.

2. Tell us about your writing/publication experience. How did the drafting go? How do you cope in the querying process?

I started writing my first real book (a YA Fantasy) in November 2010 and finished the rough draft in January 2012. I sent out the first batch of queries five months later in June. But the query was a disaster and the book wasn’t ready. I joined some sites like Absolute Write and AgentQuery Connect, but lost hope around October and didn’t look at my writing again until January 2013.

Up until November 2013, I was still working on Book #1 (which had become a NA Fantasy), trying to write a coherent query and fix problems throughout the manuscript. But it occurred to me that I’d never find an agent with Book #1 because the concept was too hard to sell. So I’ve put it away with plans to rewrite it as a futuristic high fantasy.

I’m currently on the first draft of Tainted Love. I hate first drafts. I love the planning stage (I’m a plotter) and anything second draft or above. First drafts just take so long for me to finish. But my goal is to be query-ready by the start of August 2014.

3. What/Who keeps you going on this quest for publication, especially if you feel like giving up some times?

Well, I did give up once. But creating other worlds and spending time in them is what I love to do. I’ll always be a writer. And since it’s what I love, it only makes sense to try to pursue it as a career. When that’s not enough motivation (like when the query rejections start pouring in), I try to think how happy I’ll be the day I get to hold my own book. I don’t look at it like a dream that may never come true. I tell myself it will happen. If not with the current book, maybe with the one after it. Or the one after that. But one day I will be published. If I doubted that, I’d probably give up for good. (Same here.)

4. What is your favorite book? Genre? Author? Also, what writer would you most love to be compared to?

My favorite genre is fantasy. But favorite book and author? Ahh… I don’t know if I really have one. I’ve read Katie MacAlister’s and Karen Chance’s fantasy series multiple times. They’d probably top the list of my favorite authors.  My favorite book changes. Right now it’s Chloe Neill’s Biting Bad, the eighth book in the Chicagoland Vampires series. The ninth just came out a few days ago and I plan to devour it the moment I get my hands on a copy.

5. What are your long-term and short-term goals, writing-wise?

Ha. They’re both the same right now: get published and get published. I guess my short-term goal is a little more specific. I hope to get Tainted Love published.

6. How was your experience in Become an Agent? Anything to tell the other entrants?

I got the most yeses, so there’s that. But what was more important to me was discovering what worked and what didn’t work in my query and first 250. The most common criticism was to remove the clichéd “world stands still” line. I purposefully meant it to be clichéd (Ya know, true love at first sight) but I’ll have to rewrite it somehow so an agent doesn’t reject my query based on it.

To the other entrants: “Everybody has won and all must have prizes.” This contest wasn't about who had the most amazing query and first 250, but about getting constructive feedback to make your work the most amazing it could be. I read and critiqued every entry and all had potential. Some just were closer to being query-ready than others. (YES. YES YES YES!!)

7. What would be a dream review for any of your books? Meaning, what would you LOVE for someone to say about your writing/stories?

My favorite novels are ones that stay with me for days after being read. Having someone say they’re still thinking about my book, and all the twists and turns it took, a week after finishing would be the greatest compliment I could receive. It would probably make me cry.

Thanks again, SC, for hosting this contest. And I wish all the other entrants (and any aspiring writer reading this) the best of luck in their publishing journey! I can’t wait to see your books on shelves :D

NOW. YOU ALL MUST GO and Follow/Tweet her on Twitter, check out her website AND her blog! Go do it! Go do it now!!!!

Hope you all enjoyed the interview! Congrats again, Tiffanie! Best of luck with you and your journey (and be sure to tell us any new successes!).

Why This Query and 250 Won the Contest

The 'Become an Agent' Contest has ended, and Tiffanie Lynn won it! Her entry got the most 'Yes' votes in answer to the question, 'If you were an agent and received this query and 250, would you request more pages?' The writers went around giving out Yes or No votes, and Tiffanie's got the most Yes's. Below is her query and 250, below that is the version with my comments in bold are as to what made her entry so great.

Enjoy!

Original, uncommented version. Read it before you read my comments so you can make your own judgement! Remember, I'm not always right. Feel free to disagree with my comments.

Title: TAINTED LOVE

Genre: High Fantasy
Word Count: Work In Progress

Dear Agent:

In Mithos, where white magic is fueled by purity and black magic by passion, True Love is known as the Intolerable Sin. It’s the darkest, most corrupt source of magic in the world. The punishment: a quick death.

Martia is a Love Child, born out of True Love. She spent her entire life in the Academy, isolated from regular society. But now that she’s graduated, Martia is out in the real world, doing what the Academy trained her to do: assassinate those who’ve committed the Intolerable Sin.

Then Martia meets Narin, the oldest son of Mithos’s empress. The beautiful, courteous man draws her attention like no other—and when their eyes meet, the world stands still. Martia refuses to commit the Intolerable Sin. True Love’s Kiss alone could level an army. But as Martia draws closer to Narin, her choice must be made—kill Narin as she was trained to do, or give into the black magic and risk everything.

Complete at XXX, TAINTED LOVE is a stand-alone high fantasy with strong romantic elements. I have included the XXX in the body of this email.

First 250:

The streets of Yuin are no place for love.

I creep through the shadows, the clack of my boots muffled and unheard. I wear all black in a city of tan stone, bright glass murals and strips of crimson fabric. Even at night, Yuin is never dark.

A giggling couple stumble into the alley. The man leans toward the woman, his voice low and teasing. Her giggles grow to a squealing chuckle. She clutches her sides, bunching up the flowing layers of orange, pink and purple that makes up her long pleated dress. The man’s grin is wide enough to crack his face. She reaches for his hand—

She sees me.

Her laughter cuts off and fear streaks through her wine-glazed eyes. She tries to stand straight, but wobbles. The man frowns at her. She grasps his hand and leans close.

“It’s one of Them.”

The man turns and freezes when he sees me. For a moment, all is still and silent, except for the distant music of viheulas and bongo drums.

The couple is attractive with dark hair and honey-colored skin. Mithoian by birth, then. To an ordinary person, they’d look like two drunk lovers, returning from a late night street festival. But I see differently. Surrounding them is a twisting maroon aura, tinted with gray edges. Black magic.

I step forward with an easy smile.

The woman whimpers. “Please don’t kill us.”


The version with my comments on it!

Title: TAINTED LOVE

Genre: High Fantasy
Word Count: Work In Progress (Not a problem because my contest allowed WIPs.)

Dear Agent:

In Mithos, where white magic is fueled by purity and black magic by passion, True Love is known as the Intolerable Sin. See how she capitalized 'True Love' and 'Intolerable Sin.' This is a way to add world-building easily without overcrowding the query, something I see SO MUCH in queries for fantasies (especially high fantasy). The writer (including me, back when I was querying a high fantasy) thinks he/she has to include so many details about their world, but in doing so, only convoluted the query and confuses the reader. With Tiffanie's capitalization, the reader or agent can infer that in this world, it's not good-old-normal true love, it's True Love, the Intolerable Sin. And she did that all in just one sentence. It’s the darkest, most corrupt source of magic in the world. The punishment: a quick death.

The entire hook is a beautiful way to incorporate a lot of world-building without making it convoluted. It's a lot, lot, lot harder than it looks. The only reason it seems easy is because Tiffanie spent a lot of time on it (I think) trying to make it read smoothly. Clarity is important even in non-fantasy queries. Ever had the character soup, where John's uncle Bob and his sister Sarah has a daughter named Marta who's in love with Christopher but there's Mark coming  in the way? Yea. Hard to keep track of. Keep the details simple and focus on your query's flow.

Martia is a Love Child, born out of True Love. Tiffanie's hook set up this sentence perfectly. We're scared for Martia because we know how dangerous True Love is in this world. And now we're wondering, 'How'd she get born in secrecy? What'll happen to her?' She spent her entire life in the Academy, isolated from regular society. But now that she’s graduated, Martia is out in the real world, doing what the Academy trained her to do: assassinate those who’ve committed the Intolerable Sin.

Here, Tiffanie sets up Martia's character arc. She's killing people like her own parents. Think that won't set up any problems later on? Think again. Without Tiffanie telling us, we know that there are problems coming up - and we want to be there to witness them unfold. (Mostly, I want to witness her getting a taste of her own medicine when she realizes she's killing people like her own parents!)

Then Martia meets Narin, the oldest son of Mithos’s empress. The beautiful, courteous man draws her attention like no other—and when their eyes meet, the world stands still. Normally, this cliche wouldn't work well. I'm not sure if it does even right now, but it's acceptable simply because the entire book's premise is based around a cliche: True Love. This novel is a twist on the notion of True Love. In this world, this cliche is acceptable. In fact, it's funny that Martia fell victim to it :) I'm liking Martia more and more! She's very well developed in the query. Martia refuses to commit the Intolerable Sin. True Love’s Kiss alone could level an army. But as Martia draws closer to Narin, her choice must be made—kill Narin as she was trained to do, or give into the black magic and risk everything.

Here, at the end, Tiffanie lays out the theme of the entire novel: love, and its sacrifices. But she does not over-explain things that don't need any more explaining. For example, the reader can infer that falling in True Love with the empress's son will lead to a lot of trouble. 

This is a very thin line of which Tiffanie is on the right side of. Normally, it's way too hard to find out what stuff to leave out and what stuff to include in the query. What's the line between teasing and annoying? Confusion and desire to read? I struggle to find this balance. But I think Tiffanie found it by focusing on one thread during her entire query: Martia's character arc. We see the beginning of it (her assassin side), the pivoting moment (falling in True Love), and we get a glimpse at where it can go from there (falling in Love or killing her love). This thread alone is enough to carry the query (as it does), but either by accident or on purpose, by drawing in concepts and details from her world, Tiffanie hints at so many other avenues where the story might go. It's not the annoying type of teasing. It's the skillful type.

And also: think about the clarity of this query. So easily read, so easily understood. That's rare. Very rare. It's not easy to make a query sound fresh! 

Complete at XXX, TAINTED LOVE is a stand-alone high fantasy with strong romantic elements. I have included the XXX in the body of this email.

First 250:

The streets of Yuin are no place for love.

I creep through the shadows, the clack of my boots muffled and unheard. I wear all black in a city of tan stone, bright glass murals and strips of crimson fabric. Even at night, Yuin is never dark.

A giggling couple stumble into the alley. The contrast between the suffocating city and dark colors of the above lines and this happy, giggling couple lend to a creepy, awesome mood. The man leans toward the woman, his voice low and teasing. Her giggles grow to a squealing chuckle. She clutches her sides, bunching up the flowing layers of orange, pink and purple that makes up her long pleated dress. The man’s grin is wide enough to crack his face. She reaches for his hand— Look how easily this is read. It's usually very hard to dive right into the 250. Writing isn't always as clean and smooth as it is here.

She sees me.

Her laughter cuts off and fear streaks through her wine-glazed eyes. She tries to stand straight, but wobbles. The man frowns at her. She grasps his hand and leans close. Showing, not telling. This is good.

“It’s one of Them.” I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK HOW SHE CAPITALIZED 'THEM'. Not only does this show us how alien Martia is to the 'normal' world (how stigmatized she must feel and how the 'normal' people hate her kind), it gives us an insight as to the dynamics of this world.

The man turns and freezes when he sees me. For a moment, all is still and silent, except for the distant music of viheulas and bongo drums.

The couple is attractive with dark hair and honey-colored skin. Mithoian by birth, then. To an ordinary person, they’d look like two drunk lovers, returning from a late night street festival. But I see differently. Surrounding them is a twisting maroon aura, tinted with gray edges. Black magic. That's frankly really cool. I'd read on just to find out why/how True Love is linked with black magic.

I step forward with an easy smile.

The woman whimpers. “Please don’t kill us.”

Holy crap. That last line.... I LOVE IT. IT'S INCREDIBLE.

It seems so easily written because we can read it so quickly and smoothly. But don't be fooled! This type of writing is very hard to do.

Tiffanie also dropped us right into the action. Martia is on her assassin streak and she's about to claim another victim; how much more action do you need? And it's not the confusing action where the reader doesn't know what's going on. The reader is firmly in Martia's head before the action and drama and tension starts. It's not disorienting. It's fluid. And that's incredible.

Also, overall, think about how amazing this premise is. But more importantly, think about how wonderfully it's executed. Great premises are all around us. It's the sad truth. What matters is the execution of said premise. A story centered around True Love could become corny very quickly, but what Tiffanie showed us in her query and 250 is that this is anything but a sappy love story! It's pretty darn awesome, that's what. 

What I think made her entry win is: her amazing premise, her execution of the premise, and her solid skills at writing fluid and clean prose. I truly think clean, easy-to-read prose is what distinguishes publishable material from nonpublishable ones. Tiffanie is a testament to that belief :)


So, there you go. That's what I think made her (very unassuming entry) so great, and why she won the contest (congrats!!!). Hope you guys liked it! Also, stay tuned for an interview with Tiffanie coming up Monday morning.

(Woah, it hit me really hard! The 'Become an Agent' contest and all it's post-contest festivities will be over on Monday! Back to regular blogging after that. Wow. That's a weirrddd feeling.)

Do you have anything to add about Tiffanie's entry? 

'Become an Agent' Winner and Revision Opportunity!

Become an Agent 2014 has officially ended!!!!!!

The votes have been tallied (by me, thank you, thank you) and the winner is TAINTED LOVE by Tiffanie Lynn! I'll be posting an interview with her this Monday, and tomorrow (Friday) I'll do a detailed analysis on why her entry won the contest. Basically, what made her query and 250 so good?

So until then, KEEP AN EYE ON THIS BLOG!

More on that later!

Everyone that participated in the contest (even Tiffanie) has the opportunity to submit a revised version of their query and 250. The revisions will come from the feedback gotten from this contest.

All you have to do is open your own entry post. Then, in a comment, post your revised query and 250. I'll be tracking the comments. Those that have posted revisions, I'll list below. (I'll try to do it as fast as possible; if I'm really slow, just comment on this blog post giving me a heads up with your post number :D)

Those with Revisions

#4 GLASS HAND
#5 NIGHT WITCH
#6 RUST&BLUE
#7 TAINTED
#10 ALL IS DARK
#11 WRAPPED IN DARKNESS
#12 CAPTAIN
#17 DREAM CRASHER
#18 REMEMBER
#19 THE FLAME WARS
#20 EXQUISITE SENSES

Same rules apply for voting etiquette, except now you can give as many Yes's as you want (way too hard to track with a changing number of revisions). As always, be constructive. Don't be brutally harsh. There's a smaller number of entries now so take your time to tell them what they did right in their query and 250 as well :) I feel that it's almost as important knowing what's working as knowing what's not working.

Be sure to return the favor if your revision gets a critique! If you have posted a revision and are critiquing someone else's revision, make sure to include your post number in your critique so the writer has an easier time finding your post.

I AM EXCITED.

Now that the contest is over, it's the time for feedback for me. In the end, all I want to know is: How was the contest? Any suggestions for the next time? Be as honest as you need to be.

CONGRATS TIFFANIE!!! And congrats everyone else for taking so much time to critique the other entries and being so amazingly thoughtful in your critiques :)

Go congratulate Tiffanie on Twitter!

On Receiving - and Handling - 'Harsh' Critiques

Getting critiques on your work is tough. Grueling. It almost physically hurts. The query, the 250, the manuscript, the synopsis, etc. that you spend so. much. time. on is now torn apart by someone who read it in a few minutes. Now, your work starts all over again.

But there is one thing I'll always maintain: as long as you're really passionate about writing, getting harsh critiques is a lot LOT better than getting no critiques.

This has been inspired by my 'Become an Agent' contest currently going on right now (by the way, entrants, deadline to submit your votes is Wednesday night 9 p.m. EST!). No, it's not just one person who informed me that the feedback they received was a bit on the tough side. I've had multiple people tell me this. Last year, I think I had only one. That's why, frankly, I'm a bit shocked and even puzzled as to why this problem has sprung up. And that's why I'm writing this post right now.

The responsibility of the critiquer is to be clear and precise in their feedback so their advice isn't hard to understand. They also have a responsibility, not to baby the writer, but to critique with the writer's best interest at heart.

The thing is, as far as I've seen, basically every entrant in this contest gave this type of feedback.

It hurts to get 'harsh' critiques. It hurt for me, too, when I entered the Authoress's Public Slushpile contest (very much like this contest) and got the results.

I'm going to show you guys something that I'm almost embarrassed of. I really, really don't like showing people this but I think it's important for everyone still hurting from a critique to know this story.

Almost two years ago, I entered the Public Slushpile contest thinking my query would get tons and tons of Yes's. And, behold, out of 49 votes, I got only 4 Yes's (and I'm fairly sure those were sympathy Yes's because there were no limits to how many Yes's someone could give out). You want to see the entry? Sure you do. Here it is. I won't even tell you not to cringe.

I'm almost embarrassed by that query but in no way would I ever go back to the future and take it down from the public's eyes. I don't even want to take it down now. I had entered that query after getting over a dozen different eyes on it: finally, critique after critique, getting something I thought was a solid query. I was going to send that query out to agents, for Pete's sake. Read the query. Just read it. It is HORRIBLE.

That contest and the critiques I got left me hurting. I was in shock, I couldn't believe it. I was angry, frustrated, because I had worked so hard on the query. But a few days after I realized just how right everyone of those No's were.

Yes, that contest bruised my ego (more like snapped it in half and threw it in the trash). But because of that contest, I revised and revamped my query into something much, much better (but, eventually, I never sent it out because I started work on a new novel - the one I'm revising right now!). Because of that contest, I realized how stupid I was in thinking I had a good query. I would have gotten dozens of rejections and missed my chance with amazing agents.

Because of what I learned from that contest, I created 'Become an Agent' to give other writers a chance at the same experience I had. I do not exaggerate: that contest may be the most powerful contest I've ever been in (another one would be the Writer's Voice, solely because it's because of that contest that I created this blog in the first place). I desperately wanted to give other writers the same experience I had.

So sure, you may have gotten all No's in this contest, or your query or 250 or manuscript is being torn apart by your critique partners. But if you really, really think about it, would you rather get these critiques and feel bad for a few days, or would you rather be ignorantly happy while sending out horrible queries to agents, getting rejections, and never knowing why?

There's an odd rule: the more a critique seems to hurt, the higher the chance that the critique is spot-on. Don't react to a critique right away; give it at least a day for you to relax and think about it.

This is really tough love on my part, but I say it because critiques might be the only way for you to become the very best writer you can. Don't let your emotions or short-term feelings of happiness come in the way of your talent. I want you to succeed. It's why I made this contest in the first place, for Pete's sake.

But success doesn't mean winning this contest. Success means short-term sadness but long-term success. Be happy you got all No's or mostly No's. Swallow your anger and funnel it towards making your query even stronger. In fact, I think the person who gets the least from this contest is the one who gets all Yes's, which is why I'm (if I get permission) doing an interview with the winner (so the winner gets something). That's why I've been saying over and over that winning isn't the point of this contest (although, by calling it a contest - for lack of a better word - I guess I've invited it upon myself).

This contest is a tough one, I've said it when it started. But, hopefully, it will be a contest you'll remember - and cherish - for a long while to come. All you have to do is forget about trying to win. Try to grow instead. And I do hope you won't hate me or hate my blog after reading this post because I'm not writing this out of spite! (Good gosh, I just realized I have a big fear of people hating me. That's not good for a writer, is it?)

Entrants have until Wednesday 9 p.m. EST to finish up votes!

ALSO: To all entrants!!! If you want to submit a REVISED version of your query and 250, simply include them in a comment to your original post any time after Wednesday 9 p.m. EST. I'll write up a blog post for Thursday putting up a list of all the posts that have revised entries (so people can easily find them). Anyone who wants to can critique the revisions by replying to the comment! Most likely, you'll have to return the favor (so include your post number at the end of your critique).

For entrants: how do you feel about the contest so far? Anything to improve on for next year? How has the feedback been?

For everyone: How do you feel about getting harsh critiques or reviews?

'Become an Agent' Critiquing Guidelines!

Read this before you start critiquing or voting!!

New rule: even if you give a 'No', explain what you DID like about the entry. Knowing what works is almost as important as knowing what doesn't. (Why else do writers read good books?) The rule starts from now; doesn't apply to votes already cast.

We are #BecomeAnAgent on Twitter :)

The posts are up! They're up! All 20 of them!!!!!

 Read this for full details on this contest because I kind of suck at summing things up. Basically, the entrants will vote on other entrants' entries (woah, say that 1304983 times fast) and say Yes or No based on the question: "If I was an agent, would I request more pages?"

Non-entrants can participate in this contest too!!!

Here are the voting guidelines for the entrants (those who are in the contest) AND the audience.

For the entrants

• Entrants will have to critique a minimum of seven other queries and can vote Yes on two out of those seven. They MUST  critique at least seven and give a however-brief explanation as to why they voted Yes or No. Read on to see what are acceptable Yes's and No's.
• Entrants must critique the seven queries which have higher numbers than their post (each post will have a post number). So, if you have post #9, you critique #2 through #8. But, say, if you have #3, you critique numbers 2, 1, then start from the other end, 20, 19, 18, 17, and 16.
• At the end of each critique, entrants, please put down your own post number so I can tally how many critiques each entrant did.
• If entrants finish critiquing their seven queries and so amazingly want to critique more, then they have two choices:

1. Give a Yes or No for seven other queries. Two Yes's for the batch. If they critique ALL 20, then they'll have six Yes's to give out all together! (But you can only give out 6 Yes's if you've given out 14 No's as well.)

For the audience

• Audience members have only three Yes votes for the whole lot. (With no need to give/explain No's.) However, if the awesome audience does decide to give/explain No's, then just follow the same rules for the entrants.
• The only difference between the audience and the entrant voting procedures is that entrants are required to give a minimum of seven critiques, and explain Yes or No for each one. Audience can give three (or even less) Yes's to whichever queries they want without explanation (but, really, explanations would be best).

There is no need for an elaborate explanation for each vote! You can say, "Yes, loved the premise." or "No, didn't like the character. Make us connect more emotionally to them." Pretend you are agents and are sifting through your slush pile. Will you give an in depth critique for all of them? No. But do mention the reasons you voted Yes or No! And explain them enough so the writer can use the feedback to improve. If you want to give an in depth critique, please, do so. That'd be awesome :D

Since there is a maximum amount of Yes's, you can say in explanation of a No: "I would have given this a Yes, but I liked query #89234234 better. Sorry!" But keep these types of No's to a minimum. This query is about feedback and helping writers make better queries. This type of critique won't help them improve.

And don't vote No just because you don't like the genre. (Hopefully) the writer will only query agents interested in their genre. So read each query pretending that you like that genre. Exceptions are for hard-to-sell genres like paranormal or dystopian. In those cases, the genre is a hugely significant factor in determining why agents say no. Be honest with the writers here and tell them if it's their genre that's holding them back.

The only types of unacceptable No's will be:

1. Genre-based No's. (See above paragraph for explanation and exceptions.)
2. Cruel, spiteful No's.
3. No's with little-to-no explanation. Be specific! (But no need to do a whole line-by-line critique).
4. There is absolutely NO tolerance for No's that stem from prejudice or for a personal dislike of a subject matter. There are no exceptions to this rule. Please please please try being objective!

The only types of unacceptable Yes's will be:

1. Yes's obviously based on friendship ("Oh, she's my friend, so I have to give her a yes.") If you are friends with the writer and you truly love their query, then go ahead and vote Yes. This is on the honor system. We're all adults and I trust you guys.
2. Yes's with little-to-no explanation.

Also, if you see that there is a entry or a few entries that aren't getting many comments (maybe the posts lower down on the blog's page that sometimes get hidden from view) please try giving them votes to make the number of critiques mostly equal throughout the 20. That's why I made the whole 'critique the 7 above you' so the votes would be fairly equal in number. I'll be Tweeting links to posts that don't get much feedback so follow me on Twitter.

Please try not to share what post is yours over Twitter. Doing so might inadvertently get you some 'Yes's' from friends that other entrants who aren't on Twitter don't have the chance to receive. But feel free to Tweet about the contest! Twitter is awesome :) 

One more thing

Don't expect all Yes's. DON'T. Because I'm almost guaranteeing it, you won't get it. This isn't a contest where the goal is to win. It's to grow. Because, for many of you, this contest will be brutal. But it'll be brutal in a good way; I know from experience in one of the Authoress's critique contests! Hopefully, you entered this contest to fix your query/250 and grow. It'll be a brutal few days of voting but, hopefully, in the end, the feedback will be worth it all :D

Phew. That's it!! Go go go!!!!!!!!!

The deadline to finish up all critiques is Wednesday 9 p.m. EST. On Friday, I'll announce the winner - the one with the most Yes's - and (if they permit me) do a mini-breakdown of their entry totry finding out why the entry won. I'll also set up an interview with the winner and post that on Monday :)

Have fun guys! And be nice! And please, comment on this post, Tweet me, or email me (I rarely check my email though) if you see some mistake in your entry! (Tweeting me would be best; I check Twitter constantly.) I'll fix it ASAP.

GOOD LUCK GUYS! HOPE YOU HAVE FUN!!