Ask Daphne!: April 2008 Archives

S.L. asks:

If a writer publishes both fiction and memoir, and wants to publish all of her writing under one name, must she use her own name rather than a pseudonym? Or is it considered acceptable to write "memoir" with a nom de plume?

I'm not sure if there's a hard and fast RULE about this, but I'm sure you've noticed the recent spate of memoirists outed for untruths and outright lies in their books (see: James Frey, Margaret Seltzer). Given this, and the pretty strict language in contracts about non-fiction, I would recommend using your own name for a memoir. Industry newshounds are on high alert about memoirs, and you don't want to give off any scent of impropriety by hiding behind a fake name.

Pen names are more acceptable in fiction, I think, but if you want to write everything under the same name, just use your real name (or some form of it¹) -- it's easier.

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¹By which I mean if your real name is Kate Schafer Testerman, for example, you could publish your memoir as "Kate Schafer" or "Kate Testerman" or pull from your middle, nick or other names and go with "Katie Elizabeth" or "Katie Daniels", etc. (Yes, I have a lot of names.)

Jean writes

I have an email formatting question for your blog. Many agents want writers to send writing samples (synopsis, first few chapters) along with their query. Seeing as there are a variety of different email programs out there that see things like tabs and italics differently, is there a 'standard' or some advice that you can give for those of us who want to have our samples come out looking lovely (and readable) on the agent's end? For example, should I use italics? Should I use tabs at the beginning of my paragraphs, or is there something that I can do that is guaranteed to come out right on the other end, will look good and make sense to the agent?

Jean, I really should turn this question over to Rexroth, who's my go-to guy for technical questions. But as he's temporarily unavailable, I'd say you're safest not using ANY formatting.

Now, this goes for materials included within the email itself, not speaking of attachments. For those, go crazy, go nuts! (Ok, not too nuts.) But within an email, you never known what someone's system is going to do. I use Gmail for most of my emails, and there's a simple button to use "plain formatting" rather than rich text. I think Outlook has something similar.

It won't look as pretty as you might wish, but it won't look bizarre either.

CMG asks

Some writers measure word count based on their computers' word count function. Others (mostly, I think, those in the romance-writing community) measure it based on the formula wherein 12 pt. Courier New + 1-inch margins + double spacing = 250 words/page. The difference in word counts can vary widely, especially in dialogue-heavy books. Which word count should I use when I query agents later this summer? I don't want them to think that I'm inaccurately representing my word count.

Hi CMG! I think that formula worked pretty well when writers were submitting typewritten pages, laboriously copied -- less so with today's technology. Almost every word processing program out there has a simple "Word Count" tool, and that's what I'd advise using.

Also, be aware that most agents don't need to know the exact word count -- 32, 415 words is pretty much 32,000 words, as far as we're concerned. Feel free to round your numbers.

Steph writes,

I'm 14 years old and I'm in the middle of writing a novel. I'm doing everything I can to be an author like going to a good high school with a good writing program. Do you think it's possible to maybe get it published sometime soon? And do you have an age requirement of how old someone has to be to send in one of their stories to you? I'm a huge fan of Alyson Noel and you seem like you're a really great agent. Writing means a lot to me!

First of all, Steph, thanks! Secondly, it really seems like you're on the right track. Unfortunately, there's no easy shortcuts.

At the same time, no, I don't have an age requirement for clients. BUT... I can tell you that I know many authors who are now published as adults, and though they've been writing forever, I can't think of a single one that would be glad to see her teenage writing published.

Now, you may be the exception, but just in case you're in the same majority as the rest of us, I think the thing to do is keep working -- write through that fantastic high school with a top-notch writing program. Find a good college that will help you polish your skills. Live a little. Find something more to write about. Practice, practice, practice.

As you do so, I think you'll also find your earlier work may lack the maturity and polish of your later work. When you truly believe your novel can compete with not just all the other teen novels already out there, but with the countless others also being submitted -- then find an agent, and try to get published.

it's a long road, but the journey is what makes it memorable, not just the final destination.