Submissions - Page 5

Submitting a Memior that “Doesn’t Conform”

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Dear Editor…

I’ve finished my manuscript. It’s about all the drunks, nuts, and abnormal individuals I worked with during thirty years at the Postal Service. Since it doesn’t conform to traditional topics of manuscripts, who do I submit it to?

Sincerely,

Lenny

Dear Lenny…

Well that’s certainly a hook. Here’s what you do: Identify other off-center memoirs and see who publishes them, then search those publishers’ online catalogs to see if your non-conformer would fit in. Knee-jerk comparative titles: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max or Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater by Frank Bruni. But even more specifically you put me in mind of the UK bestseller Tunnel Visions: Journeys of an Underground Philosopher by Christopher Ross, who wrote this fascinating Underground/coworker/human nature expose after working in the London Underground for sixteen months. You might say that book was about “all the drunks, nuts, and abnormal individuals” who work in and ride the Underground. You’ll find leads on similar books by looking for these titles on store or library shelves and then examining the titles surrounding them, and also by typing these titles into Amazon and scrolling down to the “Customers Who Bought This Also Bought” feature. One title will lead you to another, to another, to another…. Soon you’ll have a list of publishers to submit to.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Is My MG Manuscript Too Wordy?

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Dear Editor…

Is a 50,000-word MG novel too long? If I send a query to an agent with the word-count, will they be likely to dismiss it based on the word count?

Thanks!

Heather

Dear Heather…

That’s not an alarming word count. Middle grade fiction typically falls between 25,000 – 45,000 words, leaning toward the smaller end of the spectrum more often than not. But there are no set numbers. Consider this: Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice is a slim one at 22,000 words (about 122 printed pages, depending on the edition in your hand). Christopher Paul Curtis’s Bud, Not Buddy, comes in at about 52,000 words (245 book pages, again depending on how your edition has been designed). There you have it, two Newbery Medal books that show the word count spectrum can be stretched either way for great stories.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Happy writing!

The Editor

But Aren’t Proposals for NON-Fiction?

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Dear Editor…

Please settle a point for me: Don’t proposals only apply to non-fiction? Thanks.

Sincerely,

Robyn

Dear Robyn…

There’s a time and place for everything—even proposals for fiction submissions. Two such scenarios: 1) You’re previously published, proving you’ve got the stick-to-itiveness to finish what you start and the skills to realize what you promise; it helps if you come with confidence-inspiring credentials like significant awards, a solid platform, and strong sales. 2) Your proposal offers something irresistible enough to make the editors take a chance on something that’s not yet written, such as with a celebrity connection or a hot, timely topic. Generally, though, fiction editors require query letters instead of proposals, and they expect to buy completed manuscripts.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Integrating the POV and Narrative

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Dear Editor…

Please explain this comment from an agent on my midgrade historical fiction ms told in first person: “your POV and narrative are not integrated enough.”

Thank you,

Carrie

Dear Carrie…

Sure, I’ll take a stab at translating. Two guesses, which aren’t mutually exclusive:  1) The agent thinks the narrative voice sounds too old for a story told by a tween. Perhaps the words are too fancy for a kid, or the sentence structure too complex, or the insights too sophisticated. Give each of those a look. 2) The agent thinks some of the things mentioned in the narrative were things that your POV character could not know. Make sure your first person narrator only mentions things she can know first-hand.

Happy writing!

The Editor

Can You Really Land an Agent at a Conference?

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Dear Editor…

At most writers’ conferences, there’s at least one editor and one agent who review first pages and queries and share critiques, so I’m curious: What is the percentage of published writers who were “discovered” at a conference? Thanks for even an estimate.

Sincerely,

Kate

Dear Kate…

I’m not a prestidigitator by nature, so I can’t pull any numbers out of my hat for you, but I can tell you this: At the La Jolla Writers Conference this past weekend, I clapped along with several hundred attendees when an agent and author who’d met at last year’s conference announced that they’d sold the writer’s debut novel to a top publisher, to pub Spring ‘11. It happens.

Happy writing!

The Editor

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