tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post211776658102362826..comments2024-02-21T05:25:03.233-05:00Comments on Adventures in YA Publishing: So You're Desperate to Get an Agent? Here's What I Learned Before I Got Mine and Got a Book DealMartina Boonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-49169727039764694262014-06-18T09:13:57.382-04:002014-06-18T09:13:57.382-04:00Your turn is coming soon, Carol!Your turn is coming soon, Carol!Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-56047319360527678132014-06-18T09:13:41.519-04:002014-06-18T09:13:41.519-04:00Yes. It's as hard and simple as that--and I wi...Yes. It's as hard and simple as that--and I wish I could say this was a lesson we have to learn only once. I know I somehow felt like this second book should have been easier, but it comes back to basics and hard work. :D<br />Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-86382906259314473452014-06-17T13:09:47.870-04:002014-06-17T13:09:47.870-04:00thanks for all the info. Will save when it's m...thanks for all the info. Will save when it's my turn… and then follow your advice carefully!Carol Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10444182118975929045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-34836861111731077652014-06-16T21:16:08.925-04:002014-06-16T21:16:08.925-04:00A great reminder! Thanks for sharing your agent ex...A great reminder! Thanks for sharing your agent experience with us. It really does all come down to the writing, doesn't it. :)Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10680066584646789184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-16155135231919728972014-06-16T09:16:47.701-04:002014-06-16T09:16:47.701-04:00Unless they happen to have got it right in the fir...Unless they happen to have got it right in the first place. And truthfully, I think that's possible. Knowing the craft, nailing the opening, and knowing what your book is about and making it sound appealing so someone would want to read it -- but in a way that shows and doesn't tell -- isn't that much to ask for on the part of agents and publishers who are going to invest a lot of time and money into getting that book into the hands of readers. For us writers, when we are just starting out, it seems like an impossible task. <br /><br />Remember, though, that we are all (or most of us, including me!) still learning. Violinists will practice for hours a day and take several lessons a week for years before they can play with a professional orchestra. Doctors go first to college, then medical school, then have to complete a residency and take their exams before they are licensed to practice medicine without supervision. Yet we writers think we can learn our craft by going out an writing a single book, or two, or three. We think because we read that we can write. That's like saying that because someone has seen every episode of HOUSE they should be able to go out and work in an emergency room. :D. So give yourself a break. Consider every one of those darts a week of medical school and maybe it won't seem so bad!Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-38712807673537529772014-06-16T08:49:35.270-04:002014-06-16T08:49:35.270-04:00I'm glad to know it's a game that can be w...I'm glad to know it's a game that can be won. Reminds me of a dart board with a too small bulls eye. First throw - rewrite your opening. Second throw - rewrite your query. Third throw – a few requests. Writers need to be prepared to have a lot of darts. Greg Pattridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761872776035591138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-73639317559130753262014-06-14T11:36:21.453-04:002014-06-14T11:36:21.453-04:00I'm glad to hear that, Sue! Thanks for taking ...I'm glad to hear that, Sue! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. :)Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-13089081167881214532014-06-14T11:35:29.376-04:002014-06-14T11:35:29.376-04:00Thanks, Rosi! Hope you are doing well!Thanks, Rosi! Hope you are doing well!Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-15110508427727222282014-06-14T10:09:08.746-04:002014-06-14T10:09:08.746-04:00Thanks for sharing your insights - this is helpful...Thanks for sharing your insights - this is helpful...Sue Heavenrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00550259613381458435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-20075644829165087662014-06-14T01:35:39.028-04:002014-06-14T01:35:39.028-04:00Great post, Martina. I will be linking this on my ...Great post, Martina. I will be linking this on my blog. Thanks!Rosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01294774973863802821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-71939759020522211502014-06-13T23:52:29.921-04:002014-06-13T23:52:29.921-04:00There are! And I feet for them. Like I said, I'...There are! And I feet for them. Like I said, I've been there. But desperation won't sell books.<br /><br />One guy actually had a great pitch--I mean, I seriously would have read his book. But the other guy just kept saying his book was going to be the biggest blockbuster of our generation, or words to that effect. Um? No. Of course, I've heard the stories about agents getting passed manuscript under the walls of bathroom stalls, but I'd never actually seen this stuff in action. Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-56439034048100891762014-06-13T23:48:42.300-04:002014-06-13T23:48:42.300-04:00Yep. Great tip, Julie. I actually did that too! : ...Yep. Great tip, Julie. I actually did that too! : ) But ultimately, it was hard to come up with the right one line pitch, so I went with the tagline option that I'd had suggested in a workshop with Marietta Zacker and Dorian Cirrone. It really worked more easily for me in summing up the book. That tagline "Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse." is actually getting moved to the cover now. <br /><br />We forget that all of this stuff ties together, but it really, really does. When we, as authors, can sum up our books, it makes it a whole lot easier to write them, sell them to publishers, and sell them to readers. : )<br /><br />I didn't remember that from Plot & Structure, but I literally just downloaded his Writing from the Middle book based on recommendations from Angela Ackerman and Stina Lindenblatt. So excited to read it. (As soon as Book 2 is off to my editor! :D)Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-59843385854328949852014-06-13T23:44:55.126-04:002014-06-13T23:44:55.126-04:00Wow, so they interrupted you and your agent while ...Wow, so they interrupted you and your agent while having coffee. Even when I've been to conferences in the past, I can't recall wanting to interrupt an agent while they were in the middle of conversation with someone else lol!! i suppose there's a lot people will do to bring their dreams to fruition.Angela Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03324366495151363782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-26083878362257498682014-06-13T23:43:00.658-04:002014-06-13T23:43:00.658-04:00Hi Stephanie,
I'm so sorry that you're f...Hi Stephanie, <br /><br />I'm so sorry that you're frustrated. World building is one of the things that's hard to get right in terms of balance. But you may just need to weave the world building into the scene. A great example of that is Black Juice by Margo Lanagan. Look at Singing My Sister Down, it's seamless. The world building unfolds with the story and it's just so much a part of the action that the reader doesn't question it for a second. <br /><br />One of the most frustrating things about world building is that it's hard to divorce yourself, as the author, from what you know thoroughly enough to know what the reader doesn't know. One tip I can suggest is that you try getting a fresh reader to help you. Ask them to read a scene and then describe the world to you based on what they've just read. If their description doesn't match what's in your head, you know where to add additional details and information.<br /><br />Good luck! And hang in there.Martina Boonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358736828122139189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-6600283583801695682014-06-13T20:31:01.117-04:002014-06-13T20:31:01.117-04:00Ugh. I needed this today after another pass on a p...Ugh. I needed this today after another pass on a partial. Ive queried 44 agents. One said my start was too slow and to get to scene x right away- so I cut those chapters and did what she said. Agent two said there was a lack of world building (which was in the chapters I'd cut for agent 1) I'm so frustrated and I know my books is good but it's like you said- I need to be on the right place at the right time with the right person. It's just a matter of WHEN. Stephanie https://www.blogger.com/profile/11135131231969141136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005062827798430682.post-91787284051600717672014-06-13T19:53:11.927-04:002014-06-13T19:53:11.927-04:00Martina, I agree with you on writing the query bef...Martina, I agree with you on writing the query before writing the book. That's one of the tips in James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure. I even like to write the one line pitch, something that could fit in a tweet. That keeps me focused!Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.com