Ask Daphne!: July 2008 Archives

Did you know that Van Gogh painted shoes? Apparently he did! So for Bill, who calls me the "Shoe Queen", a classic pair. Bill asks:

How many unanswered or rejected queries should it take before a writer should assume the story ideal is not publishable?

First of all, on behalf of my profession, I'm sorry about the unanswered queries. I try to get to every email I can, though I know many agents you tell me about often don't respond at all. As to how that relates to your question, I'm not sure you can take anything from an unanswered query, or a plethora thereof. Unless it's that you should double check your spam folder or consider using a different email addresses.

As for when those rejections start pouring in, that's a little tougher. If you're only getting form letters in response, I think that says more about your query than your manuscript. Try rewriting your letter, paying attention to the hook, and really trying to grab your reader's attention. Make sure you're not doing any of the Don'ts. If, however, you're getting more personalized rejections, you have to hope that the rejections contain something you can take away from it. Some note about story, or plot, or voice, or theme. And when you can look at a large number (yes, I know that this was the crux of your question, but there is no one number that's a tipping point) of rejections that are all saying the same thing -- the plot is trite or overdone or "familiar", or the voice is unremarkable, flat, or inappropriate -- that's when you should take a good hard look at your material, see if you agree with the comments, and commit to either revising, or working on your next project.

Hope that helps, Bill!

Some vintage shoes for Rich, who writes:

I am having trouble thinking of how to craft my synopsis. The problem is that the story jumps from present day of the narrator to back when he was in high school. I'm not sure how to incorporate these flashbacks into the synopsis but I really have to because they contribute most to the overall meaning of the story. The narrator uses these flashbacks (almost funny short stories really) to give more meaning to what is going on in his life as he tells the whole story. I feel that if I include these flashbacks in the synopsis it will be confusing and not convey what they are supposed to but it also can't do without. Do you have any advice for time jumps in a synopsis?

Rich, I can think of a couple of different ways to work with this, but you have to pick the one that works best for you. You could tell the straightforward story of your narrator's present-day adventures, and use phrases like "a memory of high school helps him" blah blah blah move the story forward. This would probably work best in a short synopsis of one or two pages.

If you're writing a longer synopsis, you can go into more detail, recapping his high school memories as they apply to the present day story.

But ultimately, you need to convey the outline of your novel. If these flashbacks form a good chunk of the narrative and illuminate the plot, they need to be mentioned. Use as straightforward a method as possible to keep confusion to a minimum, and try phrases he "back in high school" or "when he was a teenager" to help the reader understand this next section will be a flashback.

Writing a synopsis isn't an exact science, I'm afraid, but there's some great general advice on them out there that you can apply to your specific situation. Like this, for example.

(Funny side note about that link. I entered "writing a synopsis" in my google search, and the page automatically came up. "That's too easy," I thought, and went back to searching through Rexroth's blog archives, looking for when he wrote about writing a synopsis. The link he posted? Yeah, it was the same one.)

Good luck!

I'm running around like a crazy Daphne this morning, trying to get stuff done before my flight to NYC. Contracts to mail, manuscripts to upload to my Kindle, emails to answer, and blogs to post! So please forgive this bare bones list of links, and I promise I'll be better soon.

• Alyson Noel's Kiss And Blog is going back to press!
• Ask Daphne is being reprinted in the Children's Book Insider, and will have a quarterly column as of October.
• Registration for the 2nd Annual Kidlit Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon is now open. Rexroth and I will be there. Will you?
• And... um... The first act of Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog is now up! Act II follows tomorrow, Act III on Saturday, and by Sunday it will be gone. Watch now!

Ok, that's all I have time for this morning. Keep those questions coming for Ask An Editor!

So I'm heading off to the New York office later this week, taking a couple of days off to be with the Unfeasible Clan, and then spending next week running around between meetings with editors and scouts. I've got tons of things to talk to them about, but in case the well runs dry, and to prove that I am nothing if not service-oriented, I'm throwing open the floor to questions.

I will take the three best questions left in the comments below from now until next Monday morning, and I will Ask An Editor (like this). I might not ask every editor I meet all three questions, but I'll do my best to ask each of them at least one, and I will get back to you with their answers.

So there you go! The comments are open!

Friday hit me like a ton of bricks, and I apologize for not getting a blog post out. To make it up to you: Double the Daphne! First question. Erin asks

I was wondering, if an author has written a manuscript which they plan to write a sequel to, when is a good time to tell the agent they're querying that they plan for the book to have a companion? Should this be stated in their query letter?

I wouldn't, Erin, and here's why. You have to sell this book first, or else what good is the sequel? Now, you may have the sequel all sketched out in your mind, but unless you mean to trick your readers with an unfinished book one, you still need to have a conclusion. And that's the book you have to pitch me on in the query, sell me on in your opening chapters, and reel me in with the complete manuscript. Once I love that, then we'll have a phone conversation and ask what else you're working on, and THEN you can tell me about the brilliant sequel you've plotted out. D'accord?

Next question! Kris writes

I'm a fashion writer/blogger, was featured in VOGUE.fr and WWD, and mentioned in NYTimes.com and Forbes.com, and I'm moving into fiction. When I mentioned this to a friend in TV (which may explain his advice), he said I should get an agent as soon as possible. What do you think? Is it premature to find an agent to submit fiction to glossies like Esquire, or I should find a great rep right away? I'm also working on my first novel. And I'm also really hot and young. And, almost as importantly, I'm very talented. Check out some of my writing. There's a photo of me in the header.

Wow. So you're hot AND young? Let me just rush to sign you as a client!!

Sorry, Kris, but literary agents don't work the same way Hollywood agents do, and you're right to mistrust your friend's advice. Most agents want to see your completed novel before they consider signing you on, and most (I know I'm generalizing, but if any of my agent friends work otherwise, please let me know!) don't represent magazine submissions until you're a published novelist. Even then, unless you're Tom Wolfe, they may leave the magazine submissions to you.

So, bully for you for being young and hot, but until your novel is hot, then just keep writing.

Good morning, readers! Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend, enjoyed some fireworks, and got in some relaxation and/or reading. Rexroth and I certainly did, along with some great time spent with friends. But on to business! Handmade shoes for J.P., who writes:

What do you think about Self-Publishing venues like Createspace.com (Amazon's Self-Publishing branch)? Do you think they would hurt the chances for a prospective agent for a writer or help?

Well, J.P. I don't know Createspace personally, but I know other self-publishing venues like Xlibris pretty well, and I will tell you my impression of them -- they're a fallback. Can't get an agent or a publishing deal for the book you're certain is a bestseller? Self-publish it, and you can prove all those naysayers WRONG!

Except the thing is, a vast percentage of the books that are self-published never do end up proving anyone wrong. They sell a few copies to friends or family members, and take up space on your bookshelves with amateur-looking covers and design that will never truly hold a candle to a book published by a mainstream publisher.

But say you went the self-published route for some other reason other than as a last resort, and now you're submitted your book in its self-published form to agents and editors. Does it do you any good?

Again, no. It doesn't count as a publishing credit, because there's no editorial process involved in being self-published -- all it takes is money. And most agents don't want to receive a bound book to consider -- we want your first 5 chapters, or fifty pages, and if you send them to me as a book, I will tell you in all honesty that it will go to the very very bottom of my reading pile.

So, JP, there you are. If this publishing thing is just to get your words out there to a small group, and you're so sure they're perfect you can't imagine anyone could improve them, and you have the money to burn -- sure, go ahead and self-publish. But if you have greater aspirations for success as a writer, and know that you have a long road to travel, keep submitting your work the traditional way. And good luck.