What I Need When I’m Editing

I think an important part of editing (and writing for that matter) is having a space that is yours. It can be your favorite comfy chair, your desk, your home office, but you need to make sure the conditions work for you.

I can write/edit with music blaring, my boyfriend yelling at a football game, the phone ringing, dogs barking…noise just doesn’t bother me. I’m able to tune all that out, but I do need easy access to snacks. It’s sad, but no matter where I’m writing, I have a glass of water to my right and a bag of twizzlers (or other candy) to my left. I know this sounds crazy (and I don’t always eat the candy…okay, who am I kidding, I do) but just having these things around makes me able to focus on the task at hand.

I have a laptop and I work better on the couch then at my desk. I like to be comfortable so I can “zone into” my work. I think a big part of buckling down and writing or getting around to that edit is making yourself happy in the space that you have.

Tomorrow – Tips on Self Editing

Edit, Edit, Edit

I just emailed my edited manuscript to my agent, so the next few posts are all going to be about editing. I can only talk about what works for me…so if you have your own way, super awesome.

The first thing I want to address is something every writer faces…self doubt. It’s not unusual, when you send your work out into the world, to be a little touchy about it. It’s your baby, something you poured your heart and soul into. You want everyone to love it as much as you do, just as it is. Okay, now get over that and become a writer.

No one writes a masterpiece on the first go. Writing is editing. The thing is, you have to be able to take a critique and pull out the things that will strengthen your writing. You have to shift through a lot of subjective crap, people’s preferences and pet-peeves, to distill the helpful comments.

Go with your gut. If someone hates a part you love, leave it be…if five people hate a part you love, ask yourself why. You may have to cut something you thought was fantastic, or rewrite something you believed to be perfect, but in the end, your book will be better. No one gets it right the first time.

Books Make the Best Presents

Here are some of the Books I got for Christmas!

Zombies vs. Unicorns – Holly Black

I already know I’m a zombie girl.

The Ring of Solomon – Jonathan Stroud

I’m super psyched to read this fourth book in the Bartemaeis Series.

The Lazarus Project – Aleksandar Hemon

My boyfriend got this for me because it was the only “grown-up” book on my Amazon wishlist…he can be such a snob! J

What books did you all get?

One Month Blog-iversary

Hi everyone. I’ve been blogging for exactly one month. I started when I decided on an agent and thought, “I should start a blog to promote my writing.” I’ve learned a ton in the past month and made great contacts with other writers, all in various stages of their careers.

What I didn’t expect was how addictive blogging is. Not just writing one, but reading what other people have to say and commenting. I follow a gazillion blogs now, mostly YA related, although I do follow other random people who are just really interesting.

As a new blogger, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for making my blogging experience so great…and eventually I’ll be an old blogger.

So I’m off to edit my manuscript now for submission…I won’t be back until Monday, but that’s what I’ll be talking about next week. Edit. Edit. Edit. See you next week.

Now What? - Informing the Other Agents

So you wrote your novel, queried like crazy, talked to agents, received multiple offers of representation, and chose your agent…what do you do now? While some of you may still be in the querying process, and are hoping for even one agent to make an offer, it’s always good to prepare for the best.  Eventually you’ll need to know what to say to an agent when you’ve gone with someone else.

It’s a strange feeling, having the balance of power shift slightly. Only you can decide who is best for you…so take a couple of weeks. It’s a big decision and you don’t want to rush it. After you decide, inform the agent you want first…and make sure they get back to you, before you inform the others. Maybe I’m just super cautious, but I wanted to make sure my agent knew I wanted them before I started turning other people down.

Next, send out a quick email. Yes, email is perfectly acceptable. We’ve all gotten enough rejection letters to be familiar with the content. Mine went something like this:

Dear agent so and so,

Thank you so much for the great talk, but unfortunately I have chosen to go with another agent. Thank you for your time.

Me.

Short and sweet. A couple of agents emailed me back, asking who I decided on, so I told them. There’s no reason not to. That email looked something like this:

I've decided on an agent named Katherine Boyle at Veritas Literary. Even though you have a million things going for you, I really connected with Katherine. Her editorial advice was spot on, and I kind of wanted to go with a smaller agency. This was seriously the toughest decision; I think it was easier to decide what college I wanted to go to! I think no matter what agent I chose, I will always be thinking, "what if?" but I had to go with my gut. Thanks again.

Okay, so with this one I prattled on a bit…but you get the idea. Always be polite and tell them why you went with the agent you chose, not why you didn’t go with them. Also thank them…everyone appreciates a thank you.

Next time – Advice on editing…which is what I’m doing now!

Why I Chose My Agent

As I mentioned earlier, I spoke with several agents this time around. (This was quite a bit better than my last attempt at finding an agent, which resulted in me speaking with a whopping zero.) Although they all seemed great, I really clicked with the last agent I spoke with, after I’d already thought my mind was made up. Here’s why…

1)      She was enthusiastic about my novel. I think this one is a no brainer; any agent who wants to represent your work needs to be enthusiastic.

2)      I thought her editorial comments were spot-on. You know that one critique partner who gets what you’re trying to do and makes insightful suggestions to make your work better? Yeah, that was her. One other agent I spoke with wanted to change things too much and another thought it could be sent out as it was...but I wanted to make my work the best I could keeping with my original vision.

3)       She took the time to explain the process to me. We spoke for over an hour and she went through what would happen next step by step. She explained how advances work and how much say I would probably have over my cover. She also told me what would happen if we don’t sell this particular book. I felt like she was open and honest and not just trying to woo me.

4)      She sounded excited about what I’m writing now. Now only did she suggest making In the After into a series, she made it clear that she wanted to represent me, not just my book.

5)      We just clicked. Sometimes you have a connection with someone and you want that with your agent. One agent I spoke with seemed a bit awkward on the phone…and if she was awkward with me, I wondered how she’d be with publishers.

In addition, she’s been an agent for a while and has her own, long established agency. I could go on, but you get the idea. Hopefully this is helpful when you all choose your agent.

Tomorrow – After you choose, what do you say to the other agents that didn’t make the cut?

The Call - Part Two - What to Ask

When I talked to the first agent who offered representation, I had a list of questions I got from the internet…which was basically a bust. I asked if she had publishers in mind already (of course she did, or she wouldn’t want to represent my book.) The following are the questions I thought were most important:

1)      What do you think is the strongest thing about my manuscript?

2)      What do you think is the weakest thing about my manuscript?

3)      How much editing do you think it needs? A few tweaks, or a complete overhaul?

4)      What are some of your favorite books?

5)      What happens next?

6)      Will you help me with a blog/website?

7)      Will you go to New York to pitch my project? (If they aren’t already in NY)

As you can see, I was mostly interested in editorial suggestions and ended up picking the agent I thought had the best insight into my manuscript. You may think other things are more important, like being NY based or belonging to a large agency.

The main thing to look for is if you click. Over the course of your conversation, you'll get a feel for the agent and can see if you're on the same page. There is no perfect agent, only the perfect agent for you. With that cliché, I’ll leave you to it.

Next week…more on choosing an agent.