Valerie Storey: Writing From Dava Books
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Articles
Over the years I've written a number of articles for various writer's magazines and newsletters. The following is a small selection to help you with different aspects of the business and art of writing.
The 10 Most Common Query Letter Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
1. Sending the right letter to the wrong publisher.
No matter how well-written your query letter is, if you don't send it to the right editor or publishing house, you've wasted your time and postage. Before querying, write to publishers for guidelines and sample magazine copies, or read them online. Study the various editions of Writer's Market. Make some phone calls to learn which editors are reading what. And don't forget to keep your marketing files up-to-date by reading writer's magazines. Often they contain news items regarding the latest requirements and editorial changes within the publishing world.
2. Sending the wrong letter to the right publisher.
When you read through marketing directories, make sure you follow the submission policies exactly. If a publishing house or magazine asks for a query letter only, don't include two sample chapters plus biographical material. The idea of the query is to attract the attention of potential publishers as quickly as possible, with a minimum of fuss. If a house wants you to include writing samples plus an outline, those instructions will be printed with the market listing. Otherwise, a one-page letter is all you need.
3. The letter is too long.
Always try to keep your query letter down to one, uncluttered page. Ideally, your query should have four distinct paragraphs: an opening with an attention-getting lead; a brief description of plot and resolution, or theme and subject matter for nonfiction; your reason for writing the proposed book or article; and your closing paragraph with relevant or most recent writing credits. If you are unpublished there is no need to say so. Instead, close with a simple, "Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you."
4. Too many, or irrelevant, publishing credits.
Rarely will you include a separate resume with your query letter unless an agent or publisher's listing specifically asks for one. Even then, you want to include only the publishing credits that relate to your proposed manuscript and not to an entire writing history covering the last thirty years. For instance, if you are submitting a romantic suspense novel, you won't want to go into great detail that your last book was on xeriscape gardening, unless of course that is the profession of your heroine. If you do have an impressive list of credits that you want to share in your letter, simply state in your concluding paragraph, "My previous work has appeared in a wide variety of known scientific and literary journals." Or, "My last three books were published by Starguide Press."
5. No narrative hook.
Your first, or opening paragraph, should be as dynamic and intriguing as the first paragraph of your proposed manuscript. In fact, many writers simply start things off with the same opening as their manuscript. Whatever you do, never waste valuable space or risk boring an editor with a first sentence such as: "I am a new writer seeking publication," or, "I have a manuscript I am trying to sell...." Don't be afraid to jump right into your query with a strong, no-holds-barred approach.
6. No character interest.
Unless you are writing the driest "how to" text, your fiction or nonfiction story, book, or article should revolve around character, and an appealing character can often be enough to attract an editor's attention. Rather than writing, "My book is about young female athletes," bring your characters to life: "Mary Jones is elated to be chosen for the Olympic swim team."
7. No indication of word count, plot, conflict, or resolution.
Always be sure to include the number of words your piece contains, and then go straight into what your main character wants, why that goal seems unattainable, and what your character is going to do about the situation. Returning to Mary Jones, you could write: "Mary Jones is a bright student and a natural born swimmer. More than anything she dreams of being chosen for the Olympics, but her family's poverty coupled with her mother's severe disapproval has kept Mary from the training she needs. Determined to overcome the odds, Mary goes after a scholarship to attend an expensive, private school known to have the best swimming coaches in the country. Once there, she encounters a level of competition and snobbery she never imagined possible. And when she inadvertently reveals the school's high scores have come from illegal means, she loses both the scholarship and her reputation. But Mary knows what she deserves and she will never give up."
8. No indication of writing style.
Serving as both audition and job interview rolled into one, your query letter is a one-time chance to display your best writing skills. Watch grammar and spelling and try to couch your letter in a style similar to that of your proposed story or article. For instance, if you are interested in writing humor or satire, you might want to slip some humor into your letter. If your goal is the romance market, you'll want to avoid sounding as if you'd be happier writing crime noir or picture books.
9. No mention of intended readership or need for the manuscript.
In today's busy (some would say over-full) publishing world, editors need your input regarding who you think will want to buy or read your printed book. Before you query, go to bookstores and libraries, study Subject Guide to Books in Print, read through Amazon.com listings to see if your manuscript fills a gap. If you are writing for magazines, read through a publication's back issues to see if your proposed article "fits." Let an editor know why you believe the market needs your work and back up your opinion with research.
10. Trying to sell too many ideas or stories in one letter.
One idea or story per query, please! If you have an idea for a great story on corporate management techniques, let an editor be the one to decide whether variations of that story will be continued in the next twelve issues of her magazine. And while you know your science fiction epic can go for at least five volumes, concentrate on selling that first book first. Presenting long-term plans in a query letter can give an editor burnout before she's even read your manuscript. You also want to avoid telling editors that your books can be turned into a blockbuster film, T-shirt line, and/or audio CD. These are decisions publishers will make after they've been sold on your initial idea and manuscript.
Working with a Writer's Game Plan
As an author and creative writing teacher, I'm constantly asked two questions by would-be writers: "How do I get started and how do I get published?"
My reply never varies: "Practice a daily system that includes the use of genuine desire to succeed (to write and be published), visualization (seeing yourself at your desk and selling books), and commitment (sticking to a writing schedule that produces pages). And put your goals down in (what else?) writing."
One of the best ways to do all of the above is to work with what I call the writer's game plan. Once you get into the habit of filling in the blanks, you'll find that the advantages of using the plan go far beyond making sure you get to your computer or notebook at least once a day. Not only will you have a visible reminder of your work-in-progress goals, you will also have a valuable marketing tool, as much of this information can form the basis of your query letter or book proposal.
1. Working title of manuscript.
Beginning writers tend to get too hung up about their titles before they've written even a single page of text. The fact is, titles don't matter that much, especially when you're still in the draft stage. And when you do come up with what seems the perfect title, your editor will often want to change it. The key is to call your work something that identifies it enough in your mind to believe it's going to turn into a finished
product.
2. Genre or category.
Choosing your genre or subject category right from the start will help you to keep your romance romantic, your mystery full of red herrings and dead bodies, and your biography of Madame de Pompadour lively and accurate. It will also hasten the publication process when you can submit your finished work to an appropriate editor or publishing house, one that specializes in what you have written. Learn what the differences are for both fiction and nonfiction categories by studying library and bookstore shelves and by reading as much as you can in your intended field.
3. Estimated word count and/or page length.
Go through any market directory or publisher's guidelines and you will see firm limits to word lengths. Follow these exactly and plan your finished draft accordingly.
4. One sentence plot description.
Whatever you are writing, you should be able to describe your work in a single, clear sentence. For instance, "My article provides readers with five little known opportunities to travel the world for free or next to nothing." Or, "My novel is about a young woman battling court intrigue and corruption during the Spanish Inquisition when she is wrongfully accused of heresy."
5. Top three publishing choices by house and editor.
Before you write any piece, establish in your mind who you want to sell it to and why. You can avoid a lot of needless rejection if you firmly set your editorial targets and aim to write what the market wants.
6. Favorite titles/authors by these publishers.
Don't just go after publishers because they pay high rates or seem the most prestigious. You really need to like what they produce and have the desire to be on their team. Take a serious look at why you like certain titles or authors so much. Is it because of their literary style, reminiscent of the great classics you loved so much as a child, or is it because they pack a lot of action into just a few paragraphs without too much flowery description? What is the "secret ingredient" that makes a book or series of articles fit into a specific publisher's program? And what can you do to follow suit?
7. Times I have available to write.
Find writing time by eliminating "wasted" time and make a commitment on paper to be there. And don't give up before you've even started by telling yourself that to be a "real" writer you have to carve out huge four-hour stretches every other afternoon. Real writers write whenever and however they can.
8. Times I will commit to writing.
If you only have half an hour before you go to bed, seize it and turn it into writing time.
9. In order to write I will...
What can you give up or change about your daily routine? Even an extra hour a week could make all the difference to finishing another chapter.
10. My weekly page goal is...
Producing pages is a much more effective goal than putting in "desk time." Just make sure you set yourself a goal you can realistically achieve, for example, "seven pages a week" (or a page a day) is far less daunting than, "Fifty or I'll jump out the window!" And if you exceed your quota, this is one case where virtue is not its own reward--go have some fun, buy a fancy new pen or magazine, take a walk and relax.
11. My first draft deadline is...
This is an easy one. Go back to #3, "estimated word count." If you're sticking to your page schedule, you should be able to simply equate pages with days, and then count ahead on a calendar. Make sure you allow yourself some "emergency" time for days when family, work, or other commitments must take priority. What is important is choosing a date and working toward it.
12. My final draft deadline is...
Unlike your first draft, final drafts can take months, in some cases, years to complete. Go easy on yourself. Give yourself plenty of time and space to do your best and most polished work. The key, like the rest of the plan, is to hold a timeframe in mind and then to do everything in your power to go for it.
As you establish your goals and discover more about who you are as a writer, remember to be adaptable. This is your game plan.
1. Sending the right letter to the wrong publisher.
No matter how well-written your query letter is, if you don't send it to the right editor or publishing house, you've wasted your time and postage. Before querying, write to publishers for guidelines and sample magazine copies, or read them online. Study the various editions of Writer's Market. Make some phone calls to learn which editors are reading what. And don't forget to keep your marketing files up-to-date by reading writer's magazines. Often they contain news items regarding the latest requirements and editorial changes within the publishing world.
2. Sending the wrong letter to the right publisher.
When you read through marketing directories, make sure you follow the submission policies exactly. If a publishing house or magazine asks for a query letter only, don't include two sample chapters plus biographical material. The idea of the query is to attract the attention of potential publishers as quickly as possible, with a minimum of fuss. If a house wants you to include writing samples plus an outline, those instructions will be printed with the market listing. Otherwise, a one-page letter is all you need.
3. The letter is too long.
Always try to keep your query letter down to one, uncluttered page. Ideally, your query should have four distinct paragraphs: an opening with an attention-getting lead; a brief description of plot and resolution, or theme and subject matter for nonfiction; your reason for writing the proposed book or article; and your closing paragraph with relevant or most recent writing credits. If you are unpublished there is no need to say so. Instead, close with a simple, "Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you."
4. Too many, or irrelevant, publishing credits.
Rarely will you include a separate resume with your query letter unless an agent or publisher's listing specifically asks for one. Even then, you want to include only the publishing credits that relate to your proposed manuscript and not to an entire writing history covering the last thirty years. For instance, if you are submitting a romantic suspense novel, you won't want to go into great detail that your last book was on xeriscape gardening, unless of course that is the profession of your heroine. If you do have an impressive list of credits that you want to share in your letter, simply state in your concluding paragraph, "My previous work has appeared in a wide variety of known scientific and literary journals." Or, "My last three books were published by Starguide Press."
5. No narrative hook.
Your first, or opening paragraph, should be as dynamic and intriguing as the first paragraph of your proposed manuscript. In fact, many writers simply start things off with the same opening as their manuscript. Whatever you do, never waste valuable space or risk boring an editor with a first sentence such as: "I am a new writer seeking publication," or, "I have a manuscript I am trying to sell...." Don't be afraid to jump right into your query with a strong, no-holds-barred approach.
6. No character interest.
Unless you are writing the driest "how to" text, your fiction or nonfiction story, book, or article should revolve around character, and an appealing character can often be enough to attract an editor's attention. Rather than writing, "My book is about young female athletes," bring your characters to life: "Mary Jones is elated to be chosen for the Olympic swim team."
7. No indication of word count, plot, conflict, or resolution.
Always be sure to include the number of words your piece contains, and then go straight into what your main character wants, why that goal seems unattainable, and what your character is going to do about the situation. Returning to Mary Jones, you could write: "Mary Jones is a bright student and a natural born swimmer. More than anything she dreams of being chosen for the Olympics, but her family's poverty coupled with her mother's severe disapproval has kept Mary from the training she needs. Determined to overcome the odds, Mary goes after a scholarship to attend an expensive, private school known to have the best swimming coaches in the country. Once there, she encounters a level of competition and snobbery she never imagined possible. And when she inadvertently reveals the school's high scores have come from illegal means, she loses both the scholarship and her reputation. But Mary knows what she deserves and she will never give up."
8. No indication of writing style.
Serving as both audition and job interview rolled into one, your query letter is a one-time chance to display your best writing skills. Watch grammar and spelling and try to couch your letter in a style similar to that of your proposed story or article. For instance, if you are interested in writing humor or satire, you might want to slip some humor into your letter. If your goal is the romance market, you'll want to avoid sounding as if you'd be happier writing crime noir or picture books.
9. No mention of intended readership or need for the manuscript.
In today's busy (some would say over-full) publishing world, editors need your input regarding who you think will want to buy or read your printed book. Before you query, go to bookstores and libraries, study Subject Guide to Books in Print, read through Amazon.com listings to see if your manuscript fills a gap. If you are writing for magazines, read through a publication's back issues to see if your proposed article "fits." Let an editor know why you believe the market needs your work and back up your opinion with research.
10. Trying to sell too many ideas or stories in one letter.
One idea or story per query, please! If you have an idea for a great story on corporate management techniques, let an editor be the one to decide whether variations of that story will be continued in the next twelve issues of her magazine. And while you know your science fiction epic can go for at least five volumes, concentrate on selling that first book first. Presenting long-term plans in a query letter can give an editor burnout before she's even read your manuscript. You also want to avoid telling editors that your books can be turned into a blockbuster film, T-shirt line, and/or audio CD. These are decisions publishers will make after they've been sold on your initial idea and manuscript.
Working with a Writer's Game Plan
As an author and creative writing teacher, I'm constantly asked two questions by would-be writers: "How do I get started and how do I get published?"
My reply never varies: "Practice a daily system that includes the use of genuine desire to succeed (to write and be published), visualization (seeing yourself at your desk and selling books), and commitment (sticking to a writing schedule that produces pages). And put your goals down in (what else?) writing."
One of the best ways to do all of the above is to work with what I call the writer's game plan. Once you get into the habit of filling in the blanks, you'll find that the advantages of using the plan go far beyond making sure you get to your computer or notebook at least once a day. Not only will you have a visible reminder of your work-in-progress goals, you will also have a valuable marketing tool, as much of this information can form the basis of your query letter or book proposal.
1. Working title of manuscript.
Beginning writers tend to get too hung up about their titles before they've written even a single page of text. The fact is, titles don't matter that much, especially when you're still in the draft stage. And when you do come up with what seems the perfect title, your editor will often want to change it. The key is to call your work something that identifies it enough in your mind to believe it's going to turn into a finished
product.
2. Genre or category.
Choosing your genre or subject category right from the start will help you to keep your romance romantic, your mystery full of red herrings and dead bodies, and your biography of Madame de Pompadour lively and accurate. It will also hasten the publication process when you can submit your finished work to an appropriate editor or publishing house, one that specializes in what you have written. Learn what the differences are for both fiction and nonfiction categories by studying library and bookstore shelves and by reading as much as you can in your intended field.
3. Estimated word count and/or page length.
Go through any market directory or publisher's guidelines and you will see firm limits to word lengths. Follow these exactly and plan your finished draft accordingly.
4. One sentence plot description.
Whatever you are writing, you should be able to describe your work in a single, clear sentence. For instance, "My article provides readers with five little known opportunities to travel the world for free or next to nothing." Or, "My novel is about a young woman battling court intrigue and corruption during the Spanish Inquisition when she is wrongfully accused of heresy."
5. Top three publishing choices by house and editor.
Before you write any piece, establish in your mind who you want to sell it to and why. You can avoid a lot of needless rejection if you firmly set your editorial targets and aim to write what the market wants.
6. Favorite titles/authors by these publishers.
Don't just go after publishers because they pay high rates or seem the most prestigious. You really need to like what they produce and have the desire to be on their team. Take a serious look at why you like certain titles or authors so much. Is it because of their literary style, reminiscent of the great classics you loved so much as a child, or is it because they pack a lot of action into just a few paragraphs without too much flowery description? What is the "secret ingredient" that makes a book or series of articles fit into a specific publisher's program? And what can you do to follow suit?
7. Times I have available to write.
Find writing time by eliminating "wasted" time and make a commitment on paper to be there. And don't give up before you've even started by telling yourself that to be a "real" writer you have to carve out huge four-hour stretches every other afternoon. Real writers write whenever and however they can.
8. Times I will commit to writing.
If you only have half an hour before you go to bed, seize it and turn it into writing time.
9. In order to write I will...
What can you give up or change about your daily routine? Even an extra hour a week could make all the difference to finishing another chapter.
10. My weekly page goal is...
Producing pages is a much more effective goal than putting in "desk time." Just make sure you set yourself a goal you can realistically achieve, for example, "seven pages a week" (or a page a day) is far less daunting than, "Fifty or I'll jump out the window!" And if you exceed your quota, this is one case where virtue is not its own reward--go have some fun, buy a fancy new pen or magazine, take a walk and relax.
11. My first draft deadline is...
This is an easy one. Go back to #3, "estimated word count." If you're sticking to your page schedule, you should be able to simply equate pages with days, and then count ahead on a calendar. Make sure you allow yourself some "emergency" time for days when family, work, or other commitments must take priority. What is important is choosing a date and working toward it.
12. My final draft deadline is...
Unlike your first draft, final drafts can take months, in some cases, years to complete. Go easy on yourself. Give yourself plenty of time and space to do your best and most polished work. The key, like the rest of the plan, is to hold a timeframe in mind and then to do everything in your power to go for it.
As you establish your goals and discover more about who you are as a writer, remember to be adaptable. This is your game plan.
