Writer's Fallout Shelter

Hiyas!

I've spent the last couple of hours critiquing some "private" requests, and reading the threads on themes and characterizations.

Before I jump in on the current thread, I want to share a couple of observations regarding critiques.

Several writers have asked for critiques via private e-mail. All but one ended the request with the following (paraphrased): "Please don't point out errors in spelling or grammar. I only want feedback on my story."

Don't ask me to do that. Please. Grammar and spelling form the foundation by which we build the written word into coherent, seemless prose. If you want to totally obscure a Hemingway-esque sentence, forget a period. If you want to destroy the continuity of a Faulknerian paragraph, go comma-crazy. Substitute "defiled" for the intended "defied" or "quesy" for "query" and see what it gets you.

If you write for your own pleasure with no intentions of pursuing a career, spelling and grammar are still important. Prose is incomplete without the former and latter. Period.

I'm a multitasker. Habitual, even. And for the most part, I can function at a high level...until you ask me to type and talk at the same time. For reasons I can only attribute to mental hardwiring, my fingers always override my brain.My poor old noodle is thinking one thing, but my fingers suddenly become semi-sentient and willfully type anything that comes to them. To complicate matters, I was a lazy proofreader. I can thank Jessie for a turnaround in my attitude for proofing some years ago. I still make errors as Lori will gleefully attest, but I'm much more careful before sending out pieces for critiques.

There's another reason for taking great care with mistakes, especially for those with professional goals. We all know typos and grammatical errors make into print. To that, I can only say you should have seen the manuscript BEFORE it was edited. Publishing is a crap shoot. There are millions of aspiring writers on planet earth, each hoping to make a living as an author. Millions. The US is the major publishing market on Planet Earth, and this year 170,000 books will find a home. This means the odds are against the average writer. (The AVERAGE writer.)

So how do writers get the vaunted "break" into the business? Do they all have great stories? Nay. Browse your local bookstore for evidence of this. Do they all have a magnetic gift for attracting readers, thus making publishers scads of $$$? Nay. Choose any ten books from a shelf at Borders, then check the sales status at Amazon.com. (Amazon isn't the final authority on sales figures, but it's pretty darned close) You'll be amazed at how many of those books currently taking up valuable shelf space rank in the millions in terms of sales. And that's not millions of dollars. That's "This book is ranked #2,743,000 in terms of sales today." Not exactly a best seller is it? But at least it's on the shelf and has a chance to find a readership at some future point.

Okay, so how did those authors get the break? I confess, it's a combination of factors, BUT the first and foremost is that they caught the eye of an agent of acquisition editor. So, how did they do that, you may ask. (and even if you didn't, I'm going to tell you.) Secret #1- Divinity resides in attetion to detail.

In most cases, an agents first exposure to you and your work is in the form of a query letter. There's a trick to writing queries. While there's a boiler plate template for queries, not all are exactly alike. There are, however, some common denominators that distinguish successful queries. The first distinguishing characteristic is your grammar and spelling. Look at it from the agent's viewpoint. If I can't utilize proper grammar in a simple query letter, what makes you think I can write an entire, coherent novel? Why even take a chance when other writers have queried you with flawless letters of introductions? An agent has two things to offer his client. Time and business connections. That time doesn't include editing an error-filled manuscript.

Now to the publishers. I don't care if it's an e-zine, hardcopy magazine, or TOR Books, time is money. Publications are deadline-driven. An editor only has so much time to clean up your draft and get your piece ready for release. Now, as most novels never earn out, (make a profit) time spent editing is at a loss to the publisher. A certain amount of loss is calculated and expected. All it takes is one sleeper to turn into a blockbuster and the publisher is happy. That doesn't, however, mean he'll give you a second chance with book #2 if he has to put in overtime to make book #1 market-ready. (Earn-out is another topic for another day. We'll come back to this.)

There are several things that generally disqualify writers from consideration. The following are among the most common.

1. Failure to comply with publishing guidelines for submissions. Sounds silly, uh? Maybe it is, but I know this: If a St. Martin's editor tells me to submit a manuscript in 12 point Times New Roman font, and I use Arial bceasue I think it's prettier, I deserve what I get...which is no deal. And according to the editors I'ver talked to, this is the number one deal killer and it happens all the time.

2. Typing/spelling errors in the query or synopsis, grammatical errors, improper syntax. Again, publishing is an investment in the book and the author's ability to produce that book. If the publisher can't trust me to take the time to write a neat, coherent, error-free query, why should he trust me to write a market-ready novel?

3. No talent for writing fiction.

Okay, that's three elements that can make or break a deal for a new writer. We obviously can't do much about the last. However, we can do MUCH about the first two. And according to agents and editors, attention to those two elements alone will put you in the top 50 percentile of all submitting writers.

Next:
Passive sentences.














For more "stuff" visit:
http://LiamJackson.com
http://fallout-shelter.blogspot.com/

"Have you ever been caught hiding bodies in your closet? No? Good place to hide them, uh?"

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