TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow

TIPS FROM THE SLUSH PILE by Sara Megibow

Happy Almost-Spring!

We've hired a new Literary Assistant here at the Nelson Literary Agency! Her name is Anita Mumm, and she is wonderful and talented. You will all be hearing from her in the coming months. It's been exciting teaching her how to manage the infamous query inbox. Because reviewing that inbox is a difficult task (so many queries and not enough time), all well-written queries really get noticed. As writers, the importance of a well-constructed query letter should really be at the top of your list.

So, in going back to basics while training, here are three pointers that I am teaching Anita. Hopefully these thoughts will help you writers in navigating the waters of the query slush pile.

1. What is the defining event that occurs in the first 30 pages of your story which propels the novel forward? In HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford, it's a press conference given by the owner of the Panama Hotel. She has discovered the belongings of 30 Japanese families interred during WWII. When she unfurls a Japanese parasol during the press conference, Henry realizes it belongs to his first love, Keiko. He is then propelled on a journey to find her. Without this moment, there would be no story. It's the plot catalyst. Make sure you include your book's defining moment as part of your pitch in the query letter!

2. Make it short. Yes, you've heard it before and it's true - a well-written query letter catches our attention on its own. We don't need headshots, sample pages, weblinks, sample pages, synopses, quotes, marketing schematics, etc. to encourage us to read more of your work. A short intro, a well-written pitch paragraph and one or two sentences about your previous publishing history (if any) is all you need.

3. Get your genre right. Imagine walking in to a bookstore. Where would one find your book? In the romance section? Then, label it "romance." In the literature section? Label it "commercial fiction." There is no such thing as fictional non-fiction. Also, remember - we don't represent mysteries, horror, thriller, suspense, self help books, picture books, etc. If you are unsure of your work's genre, don't guess because naming the wrong genre can be detrimental. As a last resort, simply say, "this is a completed work of fiction" -- we can figure it out from there.

I hope these tips help! Happy writing!

Sincerely,

Sara Megibow

Associate Literary Agent


(Thanks Sara for allowing me to forward your tips to writers...)

Dawn Chartier

SOLA WRITERS APRIL MEEETING - AGENT PAM AHERN

SOLA'S APRIL MEETING PRESENTER IS "PAM AHERN" WITH THE AHERN AGENCY.
MORE INFO TO COME LATER.....


Dawn Chartier
www.solawriters.org
www.dawnchartier.com

Tips on Promotion "Hot Topics"

Writers,

I keep hearing certain things over and over again when it comes to promotion.
Lots to do with "hot topics" that are in the media's eye, and finding out if your book has those topics in it. So, I researched a few of those "hot topics" in my lastest MS, and looky here. I do have some of them. They say editors/agents would take more interest in it. (not sure about that) And I also hear that I need to come up with a great tag line. I'm sure I could do that. (we will touch that subject in another post)

Overall, I believe if the writer doesn't know how to capture your interest (at least for me) right away, then I tend to put the book down. No matter how much you push your book on people, will they ever want to buy another one if it isn't good? Would they suggest a friend buy it? No. Probably not. So my advice to myself and to others is to write the best you can. Make it interesting right up front. Draw me in. Keep me in. Then when it's over, make me want to buy the next book. That to me is the best promotion there is.

As for as the media hype, it's good to have that too....For example: My romantic suspense novel I'm polishing contains hot topics such as: Flawed politicians, Economic recovery (more specifically, recovery in a battered Louisiana) and add to it a female contractor who is having a hard time in a man's industy, then a murder to solve, a ghost to put to rest, and a love interest who is her client and is off limits....okay, you get the picture.... You can see how the hot topics in this story can be played up...

So what was my tip? haha...Don't try and rush a product out there because it is a hot topic, but find the hidden hot topic in your ms, and try to promote from different angles. But most important, revise your ms until it is the best it can be...then send it out....(don't be shy, go ahead and send it!)

Just my thoughts...

Dawn Chartier
Not An Angel, (soon to get a release date, I hope!)

A KEWL DAY WITH CELEBRITIES!

Well, I know this blog is about the writing life, but today I rubbed elbows with a few guys who act in movies.. Two authors wrote the books which turned into movies they act in..So that counts right?

Middle pic is Saints players Hartley and Arrington. (okay, so they aren't in movies, but they are the biggest Star's in Louisiana "Superbowl Champs!"

Bottom is Alex Meraz "Paul" and Chaske Spencer "Sam" from New Moon and Eclipse from Twilight.

Top is Lafayette "Nelsan Ellis" from TrueBlood. (I lovvvveeee Lafayette!!!!! I hugged him and told him so too! haha)

Where do you ask I met all these guys? At Vampire Baseball (Louisiana) of course!

What a great anniversary celebration! Thanks hubby!!!

Dawn Chartier

Not An Angel, coming soon from The Wild Rose Press

http://www.dawnchartier.com/

Diana Rowland's latest book release....

This is straight from Diana Rowland's blog - A contest to win goodies and books....(I'm sure she doesn't mind me passing this info around - Blood of the Demon is released....)....

Diana says,

So, most (normal) authors do a big promotional push for the release week of their book. This makes sense, see, because those first week numbers are considered super-important blah blah blah… And, for Mark of the Demon I did do a big push during the run-up to the release and the release week itself.

But, as you’ve all no doubt figured out by now, I’m not normal. Or sane, or sensible, (or organized), or anything else that could possibly make this whole Profeshunal Riter thing easier. (Plus, I was busy finishing up Secrets of the Demon before its deadline, which conflicted beautifully with the release week of Blood of the Demon.)

So, I’m officially embarking on a WEEK FOUR DEMONTASTIC PUSH TO HELL! (See what I did there? Normally it might be “from hell”, but since I write about demons I thought it would be funny to say “to hell” even though that really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense since the demons in my book aren’t from hell anyway, but I’m on a bunch of bronchitis meds and steroids and crap, so right now it’s TOTALLY HYSTERICAL. To me, at least.)

Anyway. Here’s the deal. I’m going to run a Big Neato Demontastic Contest To Hell! (Hence the title of this post.) Here are the prizes so far (and more may be added as the week progresses):

14 runner-ups will be chosen and be placed in random order to choose from–

An autographed copy of Mind Games by Carolyn Crane
An autographed copy of Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy
An autographed copy of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler
TEN autographed copies of Mark of the Demon or Blood of the Demon (winners’ choice)
A $10 Barnes & Noble gift card contributed by Michele Bardsley

And TWO AWESOMELY GRAND PRIZE WINNERS will receive New Orleans-y gift baskets with all sorts of cool New Orleans goodies, both books, along with a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card each.

Now, to be entered into the Demontastic Contest To Hell, all you have to do is:

1) Take a picture of yourself/someone else/a random sculpture/your pet/anything else with either Mark of the Demon or Blood of the Demon. And, because I don’t want to make it so that you have to buy a copy of the book to enter (I don’t want this to be something where you have to pay to participate) it can be a borrowed book, an e-book, a library book, or–if all else fails–a picture of the cover of the book.

2) Post said picture on your blog, or your twitter, or your facebook, or an online photo-sharing site (flickr or that sort of thing. Most are free and easy to use.) along with a link back to my website.

3) Come back and comment here with the link to where you posted the pic. I’ll be collecting all the winning pics and putting them on a page for all to see. (By posting your pic and commenting here with the link, you are giving me permission to repost said pic on the winners page. ‘Kay?)

4) PLEASE please please do NOT email me pics or files or anything like that. I’m super nervous about opening files from people I don’t know, and I’d rather not lose my work due to a virus. Thanks.:-)

Winners will be chosen by a panel of untrustworthy judges. Completely arbitrary and subjective points will be awarded for coolness, creativity, and WOW factor. Contest will close this Sunday, March 21st at midnight Louisiana time. Winners will be announced within the following week.

Go wild!!

P.S. Feel free to spread the word about the contest.

Again this is taken from Diana Rowland's blog (and see the last sentence says to pass it around)..

Dawn Chartier

Not An Angel, coming soon TWRP

www.dawnchartier.com

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - BARBARA VEY'S BLOG

READERS AND WRITERS:

Anyone who is a fan of Barbara Vey with Publishers Weekly, drop by her blog, she is throwing a 3rd year anniversary party (ALL WEEK), and is giving away a bunch of books, including my soon to be released, Not An Angel...

They have food, drinks, lots of sexy men and a great castle to throw the party in....you should see this place..(and the men)..Join lots of authors in wishing Barbara a happy anniversary and win some great books too!

Barbara is such a terrific lady, and I'm so glad she's had 3 wonderful years with Publishers Weekly! Here's to many more years.......Cheers to you Barbara!! (Hugs)

www.publishersweekly.com (Barbara Vey's blog)

Dawn Chartier
NOT AN ANGEL, coming soon from THE WILD ROSE PRESS

Jubilee Jambalaya Writers' Conference - Houma, LA

On April 10th (Happy Birthday, sis!) at the Terrebonne Parish Library is the 7th Annual NSU Jubilee Jambalaya Writers' Conference and Book Fair: A Gumbo for Writers....

If you are serious about writing and live near Houma, or even a few hours away - you should attend this conference. You will meet AUTHORS, AGENTS AND EDITORS.

This is a fairly small conference so you won't get lost in the overwhelming crowd. They have tons of craft writing presentations. There is a first page workshop. (that's where you turn in your first page and they read it - you can't put your name on it, so no one knows who wrote it. I love doing that...) Then there is a Book signing (Bent Pages sets this up) and a sunset social gathering. (Basically wine and cheese) But the library can't say that....

I've been to this conference going on three years (I think?) and each time I've met some terrific people. (Kathy Love, Erin McCarthy, F. Paul Wilson, Heather Graham, Alex Sokoloff, Cherry Adair, and many more) This year they have a new line up, along with some of the people I mentioned above.

If you are looking to learn more on the craft, network or just see what it's about, come on down to Houma, LA.

You can find info at http://www.jubileewritersconference.org/ or http://www.mytpl.org/

I'll be doing a presentation with Traci Hall. Not sure of the specifics yet. Sorry.

I believe the conference starts at 8:00 am and ends at 6:00pm on April 10th Saturday....



Keep on Writing! And Reading!
Dawn Chartier
NOT AN ANGEL, coming soon from The Wild Rose Press

EPICON New Orleans Conference 2010

Last Friday was EPICON conference in New Orleans, and I attended several classes.
I want to share a few things that I learned at this conference to help aspiring writers.
First, thing I learned is don't forget to claim your writing expenses on your taxes, even if you are not published yet...you can claim expenses....

Second, if you write historicals a good place to find out information is on the Census website. (sorry, I don't have the website address, but I'm sure it's not hard to find.)

On to Marketing...Deidre Knight suggested aspiring authors/authors do a monthly newsletter, do contests, twitter, and when you have signings make sure to have a sign up sheet to get email addresses for give aways...she also said you should have a theme...I'm working on mine right now...she also said to "give away" books....lots of them if you can...get your name out there....

Debra LeBlanc suggested to meet Book store managers, give them gifts (book markers, etc.)...oh and put the blurb on back of your book marker, I forgot to do this one...blah... Book plates are great LeBlanc said...also don't just promote yourself, do for others...go beyond yourself....but don't waste a ton of money...try to do something on-line that is free...

Another thing I learned is to make goals and write them down....Enjoy the journey, not just the sale....be in charge of your journey, get rid of limitations...

Sara Thacker talked about sub-text. What is being said but not spoken...this was a great class...It was about what lies beneath the surface...use lots of body language...

I also learned at this conference that no book video is better than a bad one....so if you do one make sure it is good. Reflect the mood of the book, give enough info to entice the reader but don't give away the ending, blend literature, music and art and put it all together so that it flows nicely...not to much "wording"...short sentences....

Okay, I'll do a Part II on what I learned at the conference later...these are just small caps on what I remembered most.......(please excuse any typo's, I'm really tired....night!)

Good luck on writing,
Dawn Chartier
NOT AN ANGEL, coming soon from TWRP

Sola Writers - March Presentation by Mary Lou Widmer "Researching The Historical Romance"

Speaker for Sola-Writers March 20th meeting is Mary Lou Widmer.....

Mary Lou Widmer is a native of New Orleans, a former teacher, historian, and twelve-times published author. She taught in the high schools of New Orleans for 16 years and worked in the business world before retiring to devote herself to writing.
Her first romantic historical novel,Night Jasmine, published by Dell in 1980, is still popular today. It has been on summer reading lists of several girls high schools for years. Her screenplay of this novel has twice been optioned for movie rights and is presently under consideration by a local producer.
Taking a course at UNO in the history of New Orleans, she met and formed a partnership with the teacher Joan Garvey, with whom she co-authored Beautiful Crescent, A History of New Orleans,
an ongoing best-seller in bookstores for 25 years, a textbook in local Metro Colleges and the Cabildo tour guide classes. The two teacher/historians also co-authored Louisiana, the First 300 Years.
In 1985, Berkley published her second romantic historical novel, Lace Curtain, about the Irish coming to New Orleans to dig a six-mile canal, 20, 000 of whom perished with Yellow Fever.
In 1989, Widmer wrote a hard-cover illustrated coffee-table book entitled New Orleans in the Thirties. Pelican released it and asked her to write a second nostalgia book about the Forties, then the Fifties, and thus a retrospective series was born. In the six-book series, the reader finds a panoramic view of life in New Orleans in the 20th century.
Widmer’s latest release is a hard-cover historical romance called The View from Rampart Street set in New Orleans in the 1840s, dealing with a system called placage, in which beautiful young quadroons were trained all their lives to be mistresses to white Creole gentlemen. It is presently available at bookstores, on Amazon.com. and on her web.
Widmer, an avid genealogist, has traced her ancestry back to a soldier who fought in the Battle of New Orleans. She is a member of The Daughters of 1812 and the Louisiana Colonials. She is also a former president of SOLA.
Mary Lou lives in the Lakeview section of New Orleans with her husband Al. She is the mother of two and the grandmother of four.

We hope to see you there,
Dawn Chartier