Time to Write

If your writing seems to be moving in slow-motion, read this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Louis Stevenson offered that advice. It's good to remember on those days, weeks, or months when you feel frustrated.

Maybe the words--or at least the right words--aren't coming fast enough.

Maybe agents or publishers are making you wait forever to hear whether they are interested.

Maybe that self-published book of yours doesn't seem to be catching fire despite the fact that you're working hard to market it.

Stay with it. Looking forward, everything seems slow. Looking back, it seems as though it all went by in an instant.

Set yourself a schedule that's ambitious but realistic and stick with it.

On days you begin to doubt whether you're on the right track, keep going.

If that keeps up too long, take a little break, but schedule the resumption of your writing on your calendar. 

Even if the "planting" doesn't pay off in a trip up the best-seller list you may find that you've gained in ways you never imagined.

(If you'd like to learn to write from the best, get a copy of my new book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass." It features writing advice from more than 100 classic and modern writers, plus my guidance on how to apply that advice to you want to write. It's published by Nicholas Brealey and you can get it from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.)

 

Want to get published but have no connections? Here's how to make some.

You've heard it before: in the writing game, it's who you know that counts! That's not entirely true, but it's not entirely false, either. It certainly helps to have an insider on your side. If you don't, however, all is not lost. 

On my scriptwriting blog (http://www.ScreenwritingSuccess.com) I posted about a group of recent USC film school grads and the artist's collective they have formed. Some are writers, some want to he directors, others producers, etc. The idea is that whenever one of them gets a job on a film or TV show, he or she will try to make an opportunity for others in the group as well. 

Doing this as prose writers is a bit different. It could be made up of writers anywhere, using the internet. It would be more about sharing information that can help you open doors. The kinds of information you could share could be about:

* writing contests

* writing conferences, especially ones where you can meet agents and publishers. If one of the members attends, he or she can send the others notes, or record the lectures if that's allowed, etc.

* new literary agencies being set up, or news about an agent moving to a different agency, which is the time when they are likely to be most receptive to taking on additional clients

* publishing opportunities

* publishers to avoid because they don't pay or are in danger of going bust

Members could decide to specialize in any of these, therefore dividing up work that would be difficult for any one writer to to. For instance, one might be the "Agent Information Officer," and do daily or weekly searches for news regarding agents and agencies. Another member might monitor the writing contest scene. The updates can be posted to a private joint blog or website.

Aren't writers competitors, though? In a way, yes, so perhaps I wouldn't have the whole group made up of writers who all work in the same genre. But if one of you writes sci-fi, another writes mysteries, another writes non-fiction, for instance, the overlap in the jobs or even the agencies you would be going for would be minimal. 

The connections can come when one member signs with an agent and after a time asks whether that agent would consider the work of another member. Or when one member finds a publisher for his science fiction novel and mentions to his editor that he knows of a terrific mystery writer and asks whether the editor would pass it along to the colleague in charge of mysteries.

Connections and opportunities--if nobody hands them to you, create them!

(For ideas on how to market yourself and your work without spending a fortune, take inspiration from my book, "Do Somethign Different," published by Virgin Books with a foreword by Sir Richard Branson. Also see the chapters on book marketing in "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey. Both are available from Amazon and other book sellers.)

Why writers need productive paranoia and to listen to one expert only

Some people say that writers and others should always focus on the positive. If you think about failure, you attract it. On the other hand, the book 'Great by Choice' says that one of the important characteristics of companies that thrive during tough times is "productive paranoia."

They recognise that "it's what they do before the storm comes that matters most."

Some people would consider it negative thinking to consider what might go wrong. 

Some even are disturbed by the suggestion to think about what did go wrong, what was responsible, and how to do it better next time. 

I had an item about that in my November Brainstorm & Focus ebulletin. I received an email from a subscriber saying this approach is what keeps her from taking risks and that my suggestion had dashed her hopes.

Of course anything I say on this blog or in my bulletin or in my books is just a suggestion. It will work for some people, maybe most people. But nothing I say has the power to dash anybody's hopes--or at least they shouldn't give it that power. 

My advice: expect the best, prepare for the worst.

Should you listen to me? 

THE ONLY EXPERT

When I first went to Hollywood with the intention of breaking into writing scripts, I had lots of "helpful" advice:

* "It's too competitive. You'll run out of money before you break in." 

* "It's all about who you know. If you don't have any contacts [and I didn't], you don't stand a chance."

* "If you give up your safe job now, there's no guarantee you'll be able to get it back. It's too risky, stay put."

Those came from friends and relatives wanting to help me avoid disappointment. Of course at the same time they would have helped me avoid success.

They weren't entirely wrong. It was very competitive, people with contacts did have an advantage, and there was no guarantee that my old job would still be there if I failed. 

They were all people with no experience of what I hoped to do so it was not so hard to ignore their advice. However, once I got to Los Angeles even people working in show business gave conflicting advice:

* Focus on writing TV / focus on writing movies.

* Write a spec (sample) script for a TV series that exists already / write a script for an original idea.

* Try to get an agent with a large agency that has more power / try to get an agent with a smaller agency where you'll get more attention.

I flailed around for a while but eventually I figured out which advice suited me, based on my strengths and weaknesses as well as what was most in demand.

Sometimes I encounter people who have stopped themselves from writing or pursuing some other dream because of the advice they got. Maybe it's a self-selecting process: those who want something badly enough will ignore all the potential roadblocks and go for it. Yes,some will fail but I wonder whether even they feel better knowing they gave it their best shot.

You are the only expert on yourself. 

Some of us will offer suggestions and advice based on our experience. 

Only you can decide whether to take it. 

A 15-minute prescription for writers who lack confidence

We writers have a lot to be insecure about: possible rejection by agents and publishers, harsh reviews, unpredictable income… It’s no wonder that when we have a chance to meet with people who might have a strong influence on our writing future we may be nervous. That behaviour can work against us.

A study reported in “Psychological Science” says that a simple procedure can help boost confidence almost instantly.

Here’s part of the Abstract of the study: 

“Chronically insecure individuals often behave in ways that result in the very social rejection that they most fear. We predicted that this typical self-fulfilling prophecy is not immutable...

In a longitudinal experiment, a 15-min self-affirmation improved both the relational security and experimenter-rated social behavior of insecure participants up to 4 weeks after the initial intervention.

Psyblog described the experiment in more down to earth language: the participants were measured for social confidence. Then half of them were given a list of 11 values like creativity, personal attractiveness, spontaneity, friends and family, etc. They ranked them in order of importance and wrote a short description of why the one they ranked as highest is so important.

This fifteen minute exercise boosted their self-confidence with results lasting for weeks afterward.

My guess is that we rank the highest the quality that we believe we have the most of and reminding ourselves that we exemplify it gives us great confidence.

If you’re nervous about a meeting, or even about sitting down to write something new, do try this at home. Make a list of the qualities you value, rank them, and write a couple of paragraphs about why your number one is important. 

(One way to gain confidence is to get the support of an expert and your peers. That's exactly what you get in my Writing Breakthrough Strategy program. The next session starts in mid-January, but the best time to sign up is now, because there are great bonuses for early birds. It will also help you to plan ahead and create the conditions under which you'll achievey your writing goal. For more information, go to www.WritingBreakthroughStrategy.com. If you have quesitons, email me at jurgenwolff@gmail.com.)

 

What writers should include in a query letter to publishers or agents

In the previous post I shared with you some things writers should not put into a query letter to an agent or publisher. Now let's look at what you should include:

1. An intriguing but not overly gimmicky first line or two that include the title of your book, its genre and something about the basic idea or plot. Example: "My thriller novel, Dead at Birth, is the story of how things go dangerously wrong when a adopted young woman goes in search of her birth mother."

2. A brief synoposis. Since you're going for a one page letter (or equivalent length email) there's no way you can tell the whole story in any detail. Try to let the tone of the synopsis match the tone of the book. If it's a comic novel, make your letter amusing. If it's a thriller, make it sound thrilling. However, don't use a lot of adjectives to just affirm the qualitites of the story (e.g., "in a hilarious confrontation," or "in a thrilling and suspenceful encounter").  

3. No more than one or two character names. For the example above, you might write, "The young woman, Caroline Maddux, begins her search the day after she turns 21." For the rest of the characters referenced, it would be best to stay with descriptors like "her birth mother," "her adoptive mother," and so on. If you give them all names it can be confusing to remember who's who.

4. The ending--although opinons on this differ. I think most agents want to know at least in a general sense how the story ends. For instance, you might write, "Caroline risks her life to get evidence of her half-brother's crimes by breaking into his house. Unknown to her, he's hiding there and they have a final showdown that ends in his death." 

5. Only the relevant information about your life. For example, if Caroline was raised in a Quaker family and one of the story elements is that she has to choose between her beliefs and the need to defend herself, then the fact that you grew up as a Quaker would be germane. 

6. Credits or awards if they're impressive enough. If your short story won first place in a national short story contest, mention it. If it got honorable mention from your writer's circle annual competition, probably not.

7. An offer to send either the full manuscript or the first few chapters.

It's not easy to fit all that into one page, but this could be the most important page you write. If it intrigues agents or publishers they will want to see more and the process continues.

(Do you want guidance for writing or marketing your book? The Writing Breakthrough Strategy program could be your answer. You'll get online lessons and resources, bi-weekly group coaching calls, and much more-plus you get a total guarantee. Get more details now at http://www.writingbreakthroughstrategy.com. 

 

(For more tips, see "Your Writing Coach," published by Nichoals Brealey and available from Amazon and other booksellers. 

 

What writers shouldn't write to agents or publishers

The other week I attended a workshop on getting published and I want to share with you a few tips that came up about what not to write in your query letter to an agent or publisher.

In case you're not familiar with the term, a query letter is simply a brief letter that tells the agent or publisher what your book or screenplay is about. It's the first step and you hope that they will be sufficiently intrigued to request your complete manuscript or some sample chapters. 

Before you send a query letter, check out the recipient's web site. Look for pages labeled "submissions" or "submission guidelines" or the "contact" page. Most of the time the site will tell you what they are willing to look at in the first instance and whether they prefer it to come in an email or by mail. 

The site will also tell you to whom to direct your query--be sure you send it to the right person and that you've spelled their name correctly. 

The agent said all of the following are things she's actually seen in real query letters--and doesn't want to see again:

1. How much your family or friends liked your manuscript. They're not considered unbiased judges of material.

2. How much better it is than the current best-seller in your genre. Or, possibly even worse, how much better it is than a book this agent represents. 

3. That you're unworthy. She said overconfidence tends to be a trait of U.S. writers, lack of confidence a trait of U.K. writers.

3. How rich the agent will get by selling your book or that they will regret it if they pass up the opportunity to sign you. 

4. That this isn't the final draft but it's good enough for them to look at. They don't want it until you're sure it's as good as you can make it.

5. That you have another ten or twelve other projects ready to ship them. It's OK to mention one other project in passing when you write to an agent, but no more. 

6. That you'd be happy to make your male protagonist a woman or vice-versa, or to change key aspects of the plot. It's a given that you're willing to make some changes if a publisher asks you to, but show confidence in your choices.

7. References to the agents' personal lives, how many kids they have, or that you know where they live.

That's the negatives out of the way. In the next post we'll look at what should be in a query letter.

(There's lots more guidance on how to market your book, in "Your Writing Coach," available from Amazon and other booksellers.)

 

 

Writing and publishing opportunities are knocking--are you listening?

Writers sometimes ask me whether I have any tips for how to find a publisher or an agent, beyond the usual (looking at the annual Writer’s Market or Writer’s Yearbook, etc.).

My number one answer is: keep your eyes open to see where things are changing.

For instance, here’s a little item I saw recently in the Shelf Awareness newsletter:

“Prometheus Books has founded a new mystery and thriller imprint called Seventh Street Books that will begin issuing its first titles in a year. Dan Mayer, former mystery buyer for Barnes & Noble, has joined the imprint as editorial director.”

If I had a mystery or thriller that I was hoping to place with a publisher, this would send me into action. First, I’d look up the Prometheus Books web site to see whether it has any further information about this new imprint, especially about whether or not they are considering submissions and any guidelines.

If they were, I’d send Mr. Mayer a query letter right away. If not, I might send him one anyway—nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Whenever a publisher starts a new imprint, a new agency opens up, or an agent goes from one agency to another—these are the prime times for you to approach them.

I know this works. When I read that Pearson was starting a new personal development imprint, I contacted the editor by email and very briefly pitched a book idea in line with their category.

She asked for more information about what I had in mind.

I sent a proposal, she gave me feedback on how to make the intended book fit their needs better, and it ended in a deal for my book, “Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done.”

It has gone into two editions, multiple foreign editions, and I think total sales are around 50,000. (The related website is www.FocusQuick.com.)

Based on that, they asked me to do another book—this time the idea came from them—which was “Marketing for Entrepreneurs.” They also asked me to be series editor for the other five books in the “for Entrepreneurs” series and I also illustrated four of them. (The associated website is www.forentrepreneursbooks.com)

Then I pitched “Creativity Now!” which comes out in a second, expanded edition next year. (If you go to www.jurgenwolff.com and click on the Creativity Now book cover, you’ll see the bonuses that go with the book.)

It all started when I spotted that opportunity and followed it up. Does it work out every time? Of course not. I’ve also made lots of inquiries that led nowhere. But as you can see, the right one can pay off handsomely. 

(There are many more tips on how to market your writing in my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey. You can get it now from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

How AIDA can help you with writing a book, a query letter, and pitching

If you’ve ever read any books on copywriting you may have come across AIDA—not the opera, but an acronym that stands for:

 

Attention

Interest

Desire

Action

It can help you if you’re writing fiction, too (you could argue that most copywriting is fiction as well, but let’s focus). 

 Using AIDA in writing

Attention – obviously you have to get the reader’s attention in order to get them to read your book. One key element is the title, although some books with terrible titles do break through. Test your title—you may be so used to a working title that it feels like the obvious best choice, but ask a few people what they think of it. Better yet, give them a few choices. If you have a mailing list of people you can create a short survey using SurveyMonkey.com (it’s free).

Interest – A title can make people curious but then you capture their interest. When people are browsing, typically they look first at the title and the cover image, then they turn over the book to read the blurb on the back, then they turn to the first page.

While the blurb on the back cover usually is created by the publisher, with your input, the all-important first paragraph is down to you. It should raise a question in the mind of the reader.

The next time you’re in a book store, check out the first paragraphs of a bunch of books in your genre. Notice which ones grab you and figure out why. You can also do this using the “look inside” feature on Amazon.

Desire and Action --  The desire in this context is the desire to know more, the action is to keep reading. This means you have to continue to pique people’s interest throughout the entire book.

With many books and films there’s a lull in the middle. This is when people’s attention wanders and they may put your book aside and never come back to it. I think the key is to introduce new information and new conflicts but make sure they’re foreshadowed in the first third of the story.

Another element of desire and action can be to create a book series featuring the same protagonist. This is done most commonly in crime fiction and also in Young Adult novels like the Harry Potter or Twilight series. The advantage is that you don’t need to win the reader’s attention and interest all over again. Not every genre or story lends itself to a series but it’s worth consideration.

Using AIDA in query letters 

Attention: In a query letter the opening paragraph should arouse their curiosity without being too cute or gimmicky.

Avoid starting with boring statements like “I am a writer based in London and I have finished a fiction manuscript I would like to have you read in order to consider representing me.”

Instead, get right to your project. It could be something like, “A terrorist who has infiltrated the highest ranks of the CIA is the target of a manhunt—but the search turns dangerous when chief investigator Matt Conrad finds out the mole has knowledge that could bring down the President. That’s the plot of my thriller, ‘The Deadly Truth’…”

Interest: A sexy hook is not so hard to create. Sustaining a story at a high level of interest is more difficult. The rest of your summary of your plot has to suggest that you’ll keep ramping up the interest level for the reader.

Desire: Assuming that the recipient finds your story interesting, you need to increase their desire to work with you. This is where you give relevant information about yourself and your author platform—for instance, a popular blog. I emphasize “relevant”: mention only the things that establish your credibility or that would help a publisher market your book.

Action: Most of the time this is clear, but you can mention it in a final sentence along the lines of, “If you’re interested, I’d be happy to send you the complete manuscript,” because that’s the next step you want them to take.

Using AIDA in pitching

A good pitch basically follows the same pattern as a strong query letter. If it’s an “elevator pitch,” that is a few minutes to tell someone the story, you may not get into much more detail than you do in a query letter.

If it’s a formal pitch, which is more typical for a screenplay, the producer or studio executive will expect you to tell the entire plot, including the ending, in about ten to fifteen minutes.

In a pitch a lot of the interest will come from how you tell the story as well as the content. The key is enthusiasm in whatever form is natural to you. There’s no right or wrong way. Some writers are great performers who are happy to jump up and act out a key scene. Others are more reserved but still get across their passion for the story. If you’re very shy, take an acting or public speaking class to gain confidence, or join your local chapter of Toastmasters.

Finally, if the action you wanted isn’t the one the listener is taking, have a fallback in mind. For instance, if a producer likes your idea but feels the protagonist is weak, thank them for that useful input, say you’re going to take a crack at solving it, and would it be OK to come back when you’ve done that? Or if they reject an idea because it’s too similar to something they’re already doing, mention that you’re working on another project and ask whether you can come back when it’s ready to present.  Most of the time the answer will be yes. Don’t take too long to take advantage of that open door.

(More helpful guidance is in my book, Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)

 

Another agency for writers to beware

Writer Beware Blogs does an estimable job of keeping track of dodgy agencies and publishers. The latest addition to the list is an agency calling itself Clark, Mendelson, and Scott.

 This appears to be the latest effort of a convicted forger named Samuel Asinugo. He has left behind him a long string of complaints and has several times changed the name of the agency. They charge $150 for submitting your script to publishers ($250 if you want to include foreign publishers) and give no specifics about Clark, Mendelson, or Scott—assuming they exist at all, of course. 

 My advice: stay away! You should never have to pay an agent to submit your work. Their fee is a percentage (usually 15% these days) of what you get. That's true whether you're a new writer or an old hand.

 

Why every writer needs a story (in addition to the one they're telling)

More and more businesses are recognizing the importance of having an appealing story. On his Influential Marketing Blog, Rohit Bhargava looked at the ways the website Gilt.com has become successful (it offers luxury goods at a discount). One element they highlighted is that Gilt.com actually has a section of each product page called "Backstory." Here's what iMediaConnection said about this:

 "Every product sold on Gilt.com has a backstory which is almost as important as the product itself. Why? Because when it comes to many luxury products, there is an inherent need from the customers to have a shareable story that they can tell to others along with the products they purchase. It is not about buying a blender. It is about buying a blender from a Belgian company that has been making them since 1930, and that you cannot find in any retail store near you."

It can be very useful for writers to have their owns stories--personal ones, I mean, that will help the media pigeon-hole you.

Yes, that's right--I'm suggesting you cooperate in having the media put you into a box. If you don't, they won't bother with you and your work will not get the attention it deserves.

Here are some examples:

J. K. Rowling - single mother struggling to get her book written early mornings in a cafe with her pram next to her. Before "Harry Potter" really took off and became the story itself, this was a hook that appealed to the media.

Carl Hiaasen - reporter who puts his eco-values into hilarious crime novels--all set in Florida, the state whose destruction he laments.

 Jackie Collins - glamourous writer who lives the trashy Hollywood lifestyle she writes about.

 Notice that these are all (more or less) true stories. It's not about faking something--you'll be found out and be discredited (which can also become a story and some people come back from that one, too). But ideally it's about looking carefully at your background and experience and teasing out the elements that make a good authentic story.

 My example: the story behind a lot of my goal-related activities, like the Writing Breakthrough Strategy Program (see www.jurgenwolff.com), stem from the fact that some years ago my house burned down and shortly thereafter I landed in the hospital with a potentially life-threatening condition (blood clot). That caused me to reassess my life and make some big changes. It also led me to do that reassessment every couple of years without needing a catastrophe to prod me, and to helping others decide what's really important to them and going for it. (I haven't really used that story much in my marketing--like many writers, I'm shy about trading on stuff like that...but we have to get over it!).

 If your story is directly relevant to what you've written, so much the better--for instance, my friend Janice Day wrote a book called "Getting It Off My Chest" about how her experience of breast cancer led her to change her life. 

 If you don't have a story, you can create one--again, authentically, not by pretending something's happened that didn't. For instance, somebody was the first person to Twitter an entire novel, sentence by sentence--that became the story. 

 Right about now you may be thinking, "Wait a minute, shouldn't the real story be the merits of the book? Shouldn't good writing get attention without the need for stunts or stories about the author's life?"

 I agree, and when you find a door to that world, let me know and I'll join you. For now, we're stuck in the real world. Here, a story draws attention to your writing--and THEN it can rise or fall based on the reactions of people who read it. 

 So....what's YOUR story?

(PS: I'm writing this on Christmas Day...do you think maybe Christianity has lasted this long because--whether or not you believe it to be literally true--it has a great story?)