This Week's Clash Winner

Hear ye, hear ye!  Clash of the Titles has just crowned Delia Latham CHAMPION!

For her excerpt from Destiny's Dream, Delia Latham received the cyber-laurel in a Clash against fellow contender Tracy Kraus for best Conversion Scene.  In an impressive display of sportsmanship, both Tracy and Delia praised each other's work and assure us that both books-- Destiny's Dream and My Mother the Man Eater-- are worth a read.

Of her experience on COTT, Delia says: These competitions are wonderful - I love participating, and they're a lot of fun. But at the end of the day, it's PEOPLE that matter.

And it's clear that she means that.  With praise for fellow authors and a winning scene depicting the redemption of a lost soul, Delia is not shy about delivering what people need most- the gospel.  In her interview with COTT Senior Editor April Gardner, Delia says: I do feel that call. I consider my writing a ministry, and every book seems to come with some kind of gospel message, though not always one of a call to salvation. Many times it’s a nudge to greater faith and trust, or forgiveness. Why? God gave me the talent for writing. In my mind, that’s a clear call to write for HIM. 

Visit Clash of the Titles to read her full interview here

About her book:

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DESTINY’S DREAM:

Is a little respect too much to ask at a funeral? Apparently it is for Destiny May. Clay Gallagher is built like a small mountain and far more vocal than is fitting when he shows up late to her mother's "going away party." When it turns out he's not even at the right funeral, Destiny demands retribution in the form of an escape from the day's dreary proceedings. Spending time with a handsome stranger who makes her laugh is more therapeutic than fighting with her overbearing family. Clay finds Destiny beautiful, charming...and intelligent. So why is she stubbornly determined to open a Christian dating service? Clay has little respect for such a frivolous profession, and doesn't think the small, conservative town of Castle Creek will welcome such a progressive business. But when Destiny is threatened by an anonymous caller who deeply resents her and what she does for a living, Clay makes it his business to keep the saucy redhead out of harm's way. Trouble is, spending time in her company weakens his defenses, and Destiny may be the one thing Clay can't escape... if he even wants to.

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Delia is partnering with the John 3:16 Marketing Network to host an Amazon book launch for Destiny's Dream on Tuesday, Jan. 18th.  More information regarding the launch can be accessed through her website: www.delialatham.net

COTT's next Clash begins Monday with excerpts for the Most Gut-Wrenching scene.  Make sure you stop by and vote- and don't forget the tissues!

Disappointment

Disappointment barely touches my feelings today finding out that I am not one of the 10 semi-finalists in the Operation First Novel contest.  I tried to prepare for it, but it still stings.  I must admit a few tears slipped out and I spent the afternoon recovering at Golden Spoon and Payless Shoesource with my homeschooled daughter. 

I promised to take you on this ride with me, good or bad, so I had to come here and show my sleeves- emotions and all.  It's not that I had any delusions of grandeur, but I have to confess that I harbored dreams of adding "OFN semi-finalist" to my one-sheet, even dreams of winning.  Those dreams have kept me company for so many months now that their disappearance feels awkward and unfamiliar and I grieve the loss of them.  But disappointment is part of the journey.  I know this.  I also know that tomorrow or the next day I'll get to that place where I bolster my resolve and start gearing up to wow everybody at the conference.  I'll pull out my manuscript and comb over it again.  I'll tweak my synopsis till my brain hurts.  I'll memorize my elevator-pitch. I'll tell myself that for all I know, I was number 11. I'll smack myself around a bit and then press forward.  I always knew this wasn't my one and only shot. 

But still...

Query Letters

Two words that can reduce a valiant warrior into a blob of jello. Query letter writing is the bane of the pre-agented author and it's almost as painful to talk about as to write them. But I'm going to give it a try.

Alright, so I'm no expert.

And I hate them.

BUT- I've gleaned a bit of helpful information which I will attempt to regurgitate for you now. Ahem.

First, a definition. A query letter is a single-page business letter introducing your novel (and yourself) to an agent or editor. It must sum up your story in one sentence plus one paragraph. (Explanation below).

Basics: Query letters are always written in 3rd person, present-tense POV. Always. Do not be "clever" by writing as the character or any such gimmick. In fact, leave all gimmicks at home. No colored paper, no perfume, no bribes or flattery.  Do mention if you follow their blog or something, but don't blow smoke. Include the title, genre, and word-count of your manuscript. Address the agent by name, not "To whom it may concern".

Moving on now to the nitty gritty.

Query letters generally will always follow the accepted format of: Hook, Mini-synopsis, Bio.

Hook: An engaging one-sentence summary of your story. A sales handle. A promo sentence. A great tagline for your book. Call it what you will, it must "catch" the reader's attention and draw them further in to your letter, to the...

Mini-synopsis: In about 100 words you must summarize and sell your story. Sound hard? Of course it is. But 100 words or so is a whole lot more than you had to work with in the hook, so be grateful! Great writing is the most important thing here, this is your first impression.

Strong voice, show don't tell, all that jazz.

Important point! Query letters have to tell what your PLOT is. Not just describe your setting and characters. You must, must, must tell the agent what happens in your story. Include setting and characters of course, but action is most important. This is a common problem, as surprising as it sounds. So often queries go something like this:

In this really really cool Location, there are these amazing characters that came from This Place. He has never met someone like Her. She is really really funny and He is a hunk. When they meet, sparks fly. Wait till you read it! It's such a great story! Won't you be my agent?

Whaaaa...?

What's the plot, what actually happens? Your query letter should jump right into the action from the get-go. A good formula to follow is:

When ____ happens, main character must ____ in order to ____ . But ____ will pose an obstacle. Character must choose to either ____ or ____ .

This is obviously not a fill-in-the-blank kind of thing.  But you should get the idea.  Start with the conflict, show what the character's goal is, what the obstacle is, what choice they have to make. 

Conflict, Goal, Obstacle, Choice.  Use your pretty words to beautify it, and off you go!

There are so many nuances to writing this part of your query, they could fill books- and they have! It's something you have to practice, and hone, and spend a myriad of time studying. Even then, it won't come easy. I've provided some excellent links for further study at the end of this article. Check them out when you have a decade to spare.  Just kidding.  But there is enough here to keep you busy for a long, long time.

Moving on...

Bio: OK, this should be easier than the last part but still not as much a cinch as you think.  You have to be careful what you choose to include.  You want to sound interesting, but don't drone on about yourchildhood in the 'hood, or brag about your multiple PhD's.  Unless your novel takes place in the 'hood or your plot hinges on the latest bio-molecular-whatever-you-got-your-degree-in... leave it out.  You can mention your love of animals but don't name each of your 20 guppies.  Make sense?  Bottom line, agents don't care about where you went to school or where you live or anything unless it has to do with your story. If you have previous writing credits, this obviously should be included.  If you don't, just hush up.  Don't announce that you're a noob.

One last thing.  If you are submitting to multiple agents at the same time, you should mention that it is a simultaneous query.

So that's it in a nutshell.  A small netshell.  Like... a pistachio, not a walnut.  There are tons of great resources out there to sift through, and lots more in-depth articles.  Here are a few really good ones:

CBA Ramblings- How To Write A Query Letter(Rachel Gardner)
AgentQuery.com- How to Write a Query
Editorial Anonymous- Tips on Your Bio
Janet Reid- Effective Query Class
Nathan Bransford- The Anatomy of a Good Query Letter I
Nathan Bransford- The Anatomy of a Good Query Letter II
Nathan Bransford- The Basic Query Letter Formula
Public Query Slushpile (Have your query ripped to shreds for you)
Query Shark (More ripping and shredding)
 
**Feel free to jump in with further comments and points I failed to make, anecdotes, or just thank me for wonderful regurgitation.  Mmm, yummy. =)

Conference Essentials

The countdown to the Writing For The Soul conference has begun in earnest.  In five short weeks I will be in chilly Denver, CO- butterflies in my tummy and adreneline in my veins.  I am so not prepared.  But I will be.  I'm trusting the Lord to put His words in my mouth at the appointed time, and to go before me to every appointment and every class. 

Today I started work on my pitch sheet or one-sheet, a flyer encapsulating the essence of my book and my author bio, which I'll be leaving with the agents and editors I meet with. This is the fun stuff if you ask me!  The hard part is combing over my elevator pitch, my synopsis, my query letter, my sales handle, my promo sentence, my marketing strategy, my comparable books... you get the picture.

But since I have to get moving on these things-- like, NOW-- I decided to include you.  And so begins a series of posts about each of these important items, what they are, and how I bumble along through them.

So let's start with that one-sheet I mentioned. You can do one-sheets focused on yourself as an author, or on the specific manuscript you are pitching.  I'm assuming the latter for this discussion.

What should be included?  

• Book Title (obviously)
• Short synopsis (word count might vary but I like query letter length.)
• Your contact info: email, web address, mailing address, phone number(s)
• Professional headshot of yourself (if you have one)
• Author Bio
• An image or two if appropriate, to add interest and color 

Some comments on the above:

Synopsis: Remember, regardless of the POV your book is written in, the synopsis should be in third person present tense. E.g: "After his wife and daughter are killed in a fire, John abandons his faith in the God who betrayed him."

Author photo and bio: I don't recommend putting a snapshot from your recent trip to Disneyworld on your one-sheet.  If you don't have a professional-looking photo, leave it out. Your bio should be written in third person and include relevant info with brief touches of personality. In other words, mentioning you love horses is fine.  Naming all the animals living under your roof and their favorite toys and food is not. Focus on writing credits or anything that gives you credence as an author.

Making it look good: What about making it stand out with bright-colored text or neon-green paper?  Nuh-uh, that's a no-no.  Do that and you'll look like a noob.  Stick with white paper and black text for the body of your information and eye candy with an image or two and/or with splashes of background color.  Save colored fonts for headlines and other bits that are not the main body text.

Creating your pitch sheet can be a fun experience and energize you with the enthusiasm you'll want to bring with you to your appointments.  If you're like me, nerves can sometimes steal that enthusiasm, so arming yourself with a shiny new one-sheet is just the thing.  For more information on creating these marketing tools, visit these links:

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-writers-onesheet-a22295
http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/one-sheets-can-market-your-book-and-build-your-brand/

Have you made a one-sheet?  How did it go over, what can you share?

 

Keep an eye out for my next post regarding conference essentials.