Writing Secrets by Dyanne Davis

Hello RAW family,

Hopefully you know me well enough by now to know I’m pulling your leg. If not I hope you know the publishing business well enough to know there are NO secrets, just timing, luck good writing and perseverance.  That said I will give you some tips that I have received from interviewing authors, agents and editors.  Most recently, I interviewed the managing editor of Red Sage for my cable television show.  I tried to ask her questions I thought you’d want the answers to. As soon as it’s edited I plan to put a clip on youtube.

As for the tips below, just remember I’m not saying these are the only things that work, just some.

1.  Never, ever, ever send in a rough draft to an agent, editor, or contest. Once you’ve written The End to your manuscript it simply means you’re done with your rough draft. You have to leave it alone for a time (a month works for me) then go back to it and do clean up.

2. Learn how to write a good synopsis. Think of it as a tool.  An editor uses it to see if you the author told the complete story. They are not judging your story on the synopsis alone.  (At least not your voice.)

3. Editors will buy a story that is not perfect, but that they see the potential in. A good story can be fixed.  They will also not buy stories that are written perfectly.  I was told they’re looking for substance and magic over perfection.  (I kept trying to get the answer to what is magic and even with the explanation I still have no idea what that is.  I think it’s an elusive something that speaks to the particular editor or agent reading your work. That may also be the reason why when an agent sa work by an author that they love it’s rejected.  The work spoke to the agent, but not to the editor.  (I hope that helps)

4. Do not get upset from form rejections.  There are many reasons why your work could have been rejected and some of it does not involve your writing.  I specifically asked this of Theresa she said, sometimes the story is 90% there and fixable. But they have learned from past dealings with authors that they tend to not take any kind of constructive criticism or become defensive and angry or try to establish personal relationships with the editors in hope of having their work accepted. To deter this, editors sometimes will not comment even when they want to.  Just continue to send your work out.

5. Learn to write a good query. Your query is intended to give the editor or agent information about you and your qualifications to do the story you’ve written.  Give them your publishing credits if you have them. Tell of contest wins and affiliations with any professional organizations.  Talk about one book in your query.  Make sure you give the word count and tell if the book is finished.  (It should be)

6. Because industry people do read your blogs and such, try and limit your personal attacks. (None would be nice.) Also you might want to avoid putting up entire stories for free reads if you intend to try later to sell them.

7. Figure out what your strengths are and use them. Never lose them.
(Anytime someone in a contest or critique mentions something you do well, hang on to that.   Hold onto the knowledge that you do have power and skill and make use of those skills).

8. Figure out what your weaknesses are and improve them.

9. Learn the difference between conflict and arguments. Learn the difference between internal and external conflict.  All stories need conflict. The genre you’re writing in doesn’t matter.

10. Make your first sentence count. You want to grab the attention of the editor immediately. Get to the heart of the story (the focus of the story) and stay there.  When you start wandering away, you lose the reader.  Sure you know what you’re talking about, but the reader needs to know also.

11. Decide if you’re writing a plot or character driven book. Ask yourself why the reader should like your characters and then make sure those reasons show up on the page.

12. Don’t let your secondary characters take over your book, even if they are fun to write. (I’ve made that mistake but I gave the secondary characters their own book.  You can too.)

13. There must be a change in your characters from the beginning to the end. Otherwise, why write the book? It matters.  Your character may start out whiny, unlikable or too rough.  In the end your readers have to like or understand them. (Personally, I like writing real characters, people whom you may never like. But I have to force myself to remember I’m writing for the reader so I have to have them change also.

14. When writing a synopsis, get to the heart of things right away. Make sure it’s clear what your hooks are (and by hooks I simply mean anything that sets your book apart from the rest and makes the reader pick it up).  Make sure your conflict is clear and that it’s obvious that your characters are compelling.  If possible, I would try to get those elements in somewhere in the first half page of the synopsis or at least by the end of the first page (but that might just be my way, so take that however you will).

15. Make sure you hit the ground running when the book opens.

16. Become a student of the market and use your knowledge. Know what’s selling and why.

While getting this article ready I read an interview with Jayne Ann Krentz. She spoke of the many times her career tanked and the reason for adding a pen name. She kept up with the market and made adjustments by studying her own writing style and writing a book that would fit in with the market versus what she really wanted to do.

Okay, stop throwing things at me and cursing.  I’m not telling you to follow the market trends.  I’m saying know what’s selling.  See if with a bit of tweaking if your work could fit another niche.  Just give yourself and your work every opportunity to get published.  Leave no stone unturned.

17. Be professional at all times. (Complaining is for your friends or family).  Editors and agents really do appreciate an author who realizes that publishing is a team experience, who appreciates her aid and expertise and who recognizes that she has the same ultimate goal (a winning book) as you do.  Please remember your agent does not have the power to force an editor to buy your book.  They want you to make a sale.  They work for months and sometimes years on your behalf without seeing a dime.  Know this and appreciate them and their time. You’re not their only client. They have a life. And above all, as long as they submit your work that is about all that they can do until someone says, “Yes, I want to buy your client’s work.

18. Develop coping strategies for the difficult times (exercising, shopping, yelling at the mirror, crying in the shower, watching sad movies, whatever works for you). Give yourself some time to deal with rejections, revisions or disappointments.   (Personally, I give myself no more than three days. And that has to be for something really big. I’ve found if you’re always working on something you don’t really have a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself. You just keep working, keep trying and thinking positively.

19. Learn to be brutal with the red pen. Write tight.  (This one may make some people cringe, so take it with a grain of salt.  I love seeing red on the page—at least, when I’m the one who has been wielding the pen—because it feels like progress to me.  I’m getting rid of extraneous or repetitive words and phrases, improving the flow and heightening the emotion and the tension).  I try really hard to find my own holes before my editor does.  Her red ink is not as pleasing as my own. (smile)

20. Recognize that you will have some bad habits that you can’t seem to get rid of…but still, never stop trying to change those habits. (One of mine is overuse of well.)

21. Be kind to yourself. You are, after all, the only one who can write your book.  Your manuscript needs you, so don’t beat up on yourself.  We’re all still learning, every one of us.

22. Figure out what writing/editing techniques work for you and don’t let anyone tell you that your way is the wrong way (because theirs is the right way). (If you need to write all your books in the bathtub using markers on a white board while you wear your special favorite hat, go for it).

23. Give yourself breathing room, family time and play time.  Engage in new hobbies. Never stop learning about things other than writing.  All of this will add to that well we all draw from.  Furthermore, knowing that you don’t have to live the book twenty-four hours a day will help you stay fresh and focused when you are writing.  Enjoy!