Maintaining Balance

I don't know if everyone realizes how equally-brained a writer has to be. I should rephrase that. A writer doesn't necessarily have to be equally-brained, but one who intends on (or does) sell their work needs to have both left brain and right brain working together. This is not easily achieved for some people. Here let me give you a visual aid.

See that left brain working away? Being logical, serious and business-like? Then there's the right brain playing, relaxing, being creative. Writing uses both sides, but mostly the right. Sure the left side has to remind you that the comma goes before the conjunction, and the period goes inside the quotation marks, but for the most part that side goes into autopilot and lets the right side do its thing. At least that's how it works for this writer. But, there comes a time when you have to allow only the left side to work on your book, and that's where I've been for the last few days.

But this has been great! My left brain found things my right brain missed. For instance, upon re-reading the submission requirements for my target agent, I found that he doesn't actually specify a 1-2 page synopsis. The exact word he uses is "brief." Well my synopsis comes out at just over 3 pages (double spaced) and I think that is brief.

I'll no doubt be dedicating an entire blog (maybe 2) to the subject of synopses, but let me just say, "It ain't easy squeezing 420 pages into 3." And, "It's darn near impossible making those 3 pages sound interesting." Which is why I am so glad the agent I'm shooting for also asks for a sample chapter. In this case, I'll be giving him my Prologue. It's only five pages, but I feel like it is a great example of my writing style and one of the most interesting chapters in the book. I might be taking a chance by sending it to him because it doesn't reveal any of the plot, but the synopsis (however boring) should cover that.

So my query package includes the query letter, the BRIEF synopsis, and my prologue. Doesn't sound like much, but... I don't even feel the need to finish that sentence because this stage in the process has been harder than writing the novel itself. Anyway, I revised the prologue one more time while I had the left brain here and there were a few minor changes, but nothing huge or noticeable really.

One thing I've learned from all of this is that you can edit the book 100 times and when you pick it up for revision number 101, you're still going to find something to change. That's because of 2 main reasons. The first is that you are learning and growing in your writing everyday whether you realize it or not. Your subconscious is secretly picking up all kinds of great things which makes you a better writer.

The second reason is that you start playing the semantics game with yourself. You start to wonder if a better word could be used in this sentence, or if you should flip the order of that sentence. Usually your first instinct about words is the way to go, but sometimes this little game can be helpful. It can also be destructive though, so be careful. You might tear your book to pieces and end up worse off than you were before. You just have to find the right balance.

Think about this: if you spend all your time editing, when are you going to write the next book? Look at what we'd be missing out on if Anne Rice, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz were all still at their desks editing their first book. That's what editors are for. Revising is a very important step in the writing process, but it comes down to finding the right balance.

Hook: not just a Pirate's accessory!

Today, I'm working on my query letter (the letter you send to agents whom you'd like to represent you). I've been working on it for a few months now. I started out by researching query letters (always a good idea). Different agents ask for different stuff and you want to make sure you give them exactly what they ask for.

For instance, the agent I have in mind asks for a 1-2 page synopsis and the first 5-10 pages (or first chapter) of the manuscript along with the query letter. Some ask for outlines, some don't want any of the manuscript, some are okay with a longer synopsis, some only accept queries by snail-mail and some prefer email queries. The point is KNOW WHAT THE AGENT WANTS, AND GIVE IT TO THEM. If you have an agent in mind, read their company profile, query requirements, and blogs. Most of them have blogs that describe best and worst queries ever received (or something equivalent to that). Also, there are some "fake" agents out there who ask for money up front to read your manuscript, or have no qualms about stealing your work. If the agent is part of a reputable company and you've researched them, your chances of not getting screwed over are way better.

Now, I've had my agent picked out for a while. He represents one of my favorite writers, and she has great things to say about him. But, he's a busy guy (as 99.9% of agents are), so my biggest concern has become getting his attention from the hundreds of other writers who query him every week. This requires a hook. Basically, a few sentences that describe your book by emphasizing the parts of the plot that make your book stand out.

This is a daunting task to say the least. You've written a 400-ish page manuscript and edited it so much that it becomes this one entity in your mind. It's impossible to think of one part without touching on the rest. The result is a well thought out, but semi-boring paragraph that barely holds your own interest.

I wish I could put an example up for people to see. I'm someone who learns by example better than spoken directions, but I would hate to post a failed example. Instead, I'll give you the link that a good friend gave me: http://www.deadlinedames.com/?p=416

Also, if my query letter gets the attention of my desired agent, I'll be glad to post it then... but not until then.

Anyway, I think I have my hook written. The reason I say "I think" is because I need to send it to a friend or two to get their opinions. True friends will be totally forthcoming with you and won't sugar-coat their thoughts no matter how much it hurts your feelings. If you don't have any friends like that... get some! It's only because of those friends that I've gotten as far as I have (which might not seem far, but that's not the point). Without those friends, I wouldn't have made it past writer's-block, confidence depravation, or self-esteem plummet. Without those friends, I won't make it past my first rejection letter, and I certainly won't make it far enough to write another book.

So, I'm off to email these friends the query letter I've composed. Once, I have their thoughts, I will edit accordingly and send the letter off. I'll let you know how it goes.

Introductions:

Hello Blogger, Reader, Writer, Agent, Editor and anyone else fortunate enough to stumble upon my blithering,

First, I would like to point out that this blog has nothing to do with either real estate, or real estate so wonderfully amazing it can only be referred to as unreal estate. The title of my blog was inspired by Stephen King. In his book On Writing, Mr. King refers to a manuscript as the "unreal estate that took up three hours of your every morning or afternoon for a period of three or five or seven months." (p. 213)

I would highly recommend this book to any and all authors, but especially anyone in the process of writing a novel. Just pick up a copy and you'll see why.

This blog is intended for people who share my situation... having written a novel and beginning the esteem-crushing process of trying to get it published.

Here, I plan to track my progress, or lack there of, and even go back and explain my writing experiences from the beginning.

There are a number of reasons for this progress report. First, I am someone who has done a large amount of research on this process, and most of my information either came from authors who have been through all of this, or agents and editors that blog about what they want to see from up-and-coming authors. Maybe I didn't google the right keywords, but there were very few sources of information that included other people in my "stage." Honestly, I can see why. I've heard people say that getting your foot in the door as a writer usually requires hell freezing over, farm animals other than pigs sprouting wings and flying, and all the planets and stars aligning. It stands to reason that someone would want to keep all of their successful aspects of this process to themselves until they're nice and secure in a three book contract with a prestigious publishing house. By then, they're too busy writing three books to help other people go through what they remember as the most excruciating stage of their career. So, I intend for this blog to be like a step by step guide. Simply find your corresponding stage of the process, and follow along. I apologize to anyone who may have to wait for me to catch up to them. Bear with me here.

And, here's my second reason for writing this Blog. What I lack in confidence, I make up for in optimism. I am convinced that I will get my foot in the door, that I will have a book published, that there will be many more books to follow, and that writing will be my career for the rest of my life. Therefore, I want to have this blog handy when I start making lists of Frequently Asked Questions and many of those questions are, "How do I write a novel?" or, "How do I write a query letter?" or "How do I write a synopsis?"

Disclaimer: Please don't think by my level of optimism that I'm not tough-skinned enough to handle the rejections that are undoubtedly on the way. Trust me, I can handle it. I don't see why I have to be negative while waiting for those letters, or even after receiving the first, tenth, or hundredth letter. It's not in my nature.

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Courtney Odell, I'm 27 and live in Central Louisiana with my husband and (nearly) 3 year old son. Before and after our son was born, my husband and I worked together. We ran a restaurant and made our own schedules so it was possible for one of us to always be home with our baby. Without getting into too much detail, the restaurant closed down when our son wasn't even a year. We were both out of a job. My husband had more experience, so we decided he would be the one to find a job and I would become a stay-at-home mom because child care would cost the same amount as any paycheck I could earn.

I've always been independent and have had a job since I was 16. While raising our son IS a job, I still felt useless. I wasn't providing any income and therefore felt like I wasn't contributing. It was hard, and just before I sank into depression, I turned to books for escapism. After reading 9 books within a month I decided I could write one. Writing was something I really enjoyed in school, but I never dreamed I would make a career out of it.

I started 2 different books that still remain unfinished to this day. The third book I started took me about three months to finish. It's almost been a year since I finished it. I waited a couple months before starting the editing process. Editing went slower than writing mainly because life interrupted more times than not. I also found myself waiting for other people to finish reading it and give me their opinion. It's not their fault, they all have lives and full-time jobs.

I'm sure I can (and most likely will) dedicate entire blogs to these issues. Therefore, I don't want to wear out my welcome with you, the nice soul reading this blog, so I'm going to stop here. I hope you'll leave comments and questions for me, and revisit my blog again soon.