Looking ahead to fall: a contest & a conference

I was ready to post about the annual DFW Writers Conference, October 4-5, when a related post hit my inbox: a contest for a scholarship to the conference.

First, because the scholarship contest deadline is September 1, here's the lowdown about it.

The scholarship is from Dallas Mystery Writers, in memory of LaRee Bryant, a founding member of the group. The scholarship's winner will receive paid-in-full registration for the 2025 DFW Conference, valued at $500, to be awarded at the September 6 meeting of the DMW.

Now for the contest rules:

• No entry fee!
• Open to all fiction genres
• Contestants must be on the Dallas Mystery Writers mailing list. There's no for joining the list. See the site and click on the link "James" -- that's James Gaskin, the group's tech coordinator. Or email him directly at james@gaskin.com
• Contestants cannot have had fiction traditionally or self-published within the last five years. This applies to both short and long-form fiction works.
• Contestants must submit a 1000-1500-word writing sample, along with a bio of not more than 300 words, to include their writing goals.
• Entries must be submitted electronically as Word (docx.) documents, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, in 12-point Times New Roman font.
• Email entries to sandysteenwrites.@gmail.com  

All entries will be judged by the DMW Board of Directors. The deadline, again, is September 1.

LaRee Bryant was involved for more than 34 years with Dallas Mystery Writers. She was also a chapter administrator for both the Harvard Club of Dallas and the Harvard Business School Club of Dallas. See the DMW site for additional information and/or to contribute to the Harvard Clubs GoFundMe campaign to renovate LaRee's homestead.

Now, for some asides.

I'm not eligible to participate in the contest, due to recent short fiction publications. However, I hope my previous experience with this group may be helpful. 

A few years ago, I and several members submitted writing samples for evaluation by the DMW board. My sample was written in present tense. One of the board members insisted--loudly--that she couldn't even read anything written in present tense. Another simply wrote "Present tense. Ick," on my pages. The matter generated a protracted discussion in the group about how many of them detested anything written in present tense.

It's possible the prejudice about tense no longer exists. But you have now been warned. If the winner turns out to be someone who sent an entry in present tense, I'd love to hear from you!

I'm also not sure how the scholarship winner's registration to the DFW Writers Conference will be dealt with if the person had previously registered. That's probably a question to put to the conference organizers themselves.

Image: Pixabay 

So, now to the DFW Conference information.

The conference is a program of the nonprofit DFW Writers Workshop. It will be held at the Hurst, Texas, Conference Center, 1615 Campus Dr. As of this writing, the adjoining Hurst Garden Inn Dallas still has rooms available at conference rates.

 

Regular conference registration for both October 4-5 is $449 through September 21. Regular one-day registration for either day is also available through September 21 for $250. Late registration from September 22-October 2 is $499 (two-day) or $299 (one day only).

Registration includes attendance at craft and business workshops with industry professionals, one complimentary pith/consultation session with a literary agent or editor (with additional pitch sessions available for purchase), lunch with keynote speakers, and more. 

See the site for additional information and a list of agents and editors who have committed. 

The conference also hosts a pre-con workshop, "Finding Your Voice," taught by award-winning, multiply-anthologized author Ari Tiso, a member of the Bribri tribe of Costa Rica.

The pre-conference workshop is October 3, from 12:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. Attendance is $50 for conference attendees, $100 for non-attendees. See the site for additional information and registration.

Surviving DFWCon's 2022 Query Gong Show

Image by Hans from Pixabay

 The DFW Writers Conference was back in person this weekend for the first time since 2019, with a brand-new Query Gong Show. For those new to this site, the Query Gong Show is a riff on the 1970's TV talent show in which contestants performed until judges stopped them by striking gongs. DFWCon's version is less brutal but still not for the fainthearted.

Here are the rules: writers submit their literary queries anonymously to a panel of literary experts who strike table-top gongs to signal the point at which they would stop reading if receiving these queries in their own emails. Writers can get gonged once, twice, without stopping the reading (by DFW's mellifluously voiced George Goldthwaite). But three strikes and they're out!

When DFWCon debuted its Gong Show years ago, no query survived gonging. But over the years, first one query, then more, passed the test.

This year four -- FOUR! -- of the ten entries made it to the finish with no more than one, two, even in a couple of instances, no gongs whatever from the panel comprised of Cate Hart (Harvey Klinger Agency), Terrie Wolf (AKA Literary Management), Sue Arroyo (ComCat Publishing), Amy Collins (Talcott Notch Literary Services), Kevin O'Connor (O'Connor Literary Agency), and Naomi Eisenbeiss (Inkwell Management).

Have writers learned from the results of previous Gong Shows? Or, as some viewers suggested, is it simply that there's more information online -- and at conferences such as DFW's -- about how to fashion their queries?

To help writers survive query ordeals, here's a rundown of panelists' suggestions:

• Don't be generic. As Wolf, Collins, and Arroyo mentioned at different point, don't use phrases that suggest recent Netflix shows. And Hart gonged for an entry with a stereotypical logline. Don't use cliches -- be specific.
• Exercise sensitivity. Collins gonged two queries for ethnic stereotypes and problematic racial language. Wolf gonged a children's book for its treatment of disability. (That book did escape a dreaded third gong).
• Don't do a gross-out. Although panelists sometimes admitted their lack of familiarity with the genre of a query, a reference to "rotting flesh" stopped O'Connor as it probably would have stopped even agents who were die-hard horror fans.
• Be upfront about your book's genre, theme, and wordcount. Panelists were instructed not to gong simply because they didn't represent a specific genre. But in real life, be sure those match the requirements listed on the website of the agent you're querying.
• Make sure those genres and wordcounts match literary norms. Both Eisenbeiss and Arroyo noted that the wordcount for one entry felt too light for the amount of worldbuilding its genre required.
• Write just enough, but don't forget the important stuff. Multiple agents confessed themselves lost in queries that were overly long and complicated, but in some cases didn't tell them what was actually at stake in the story. Will the world end in ice, fire, or the dreaded meh?
• Don't chase trends. More than one agent also reported receiving queries that involve viruses. (Wonder where that idea came from?)
• Finally, for those writing fiction, finish the book before querying. A query stating that only one chapter had been completed received the dreaded three gongs simultaneously.

That's all for now. But there will be more highlights about the DFWCon in future posts, including -- how to write a query!

Tips direct from the lit conference trenches

 Here I am, in the middle of back-to-back virtual writing conferences with lots of tips from the trenches.  First up, from this past week's Historical Novel Society North America conference, is a discussion by agents Cate Hart and Melissa Danaczko from their master class on navigating past the publishing world's gatekeepers.

Although many smaller publishers are willing to consider unagented manuscripts "most major trade publishers don't have the bandwidth to sort through the tends of thousands of submissions they receive in a year," Danaczko said. Instead, those large publishers rely on gatekeepers -- literary agents -- to do the initial sorting.

I've lost track of the number of times I've heard fellow writers decry agents who reject a manuscript as "unsellable." But agents, legitimate ones at least, only get paid once their clients receive money. They're the ultimate commission sales force. And because of this, they need "a very clear path in our minds as to how we're going to sell the novel," Danaczko said.

Image: Pixabay

Among the questions they ask themselves when considering a manuscript, particularly historical novels, is where it fits in current culture and whether there are connections between the story's past and our present world.

Connection that can pique an agent's -- and a publisher's -- interest include narratives that have been overlooked in the past but are becoming relevant today. Other connections include reimaginings of works coming into the public domain once their copyrights have expired, or anniversaries of significant events.

However, Danaczko warned, "it can be tricky to jump on trends or even to try to predict future trends. And works relying on topics that have become extremely popular may encounter a glut of similar projects in the marketplace.

Cate Hart concurred. "It's hard to follow trends. . . Write what you love, then work with themes of today to see what fits."

Some things we writers have been taught to obsess about may seem surprisingly less important to agents. Among these are the writer's social media presence.

Hart pronounced social media "not a make or break." And as Danaczko noted, "an author's engagement with social media is something you need to think about but only to your (level of) comfort and enjoyment. It doesn't hurt to dip your toes in the the water," but for her, it's what's on the page that counts most in her decision about who to represent.

However, being a follower on social media can provide much needed information about what agents are interested in, what they love, things they notice in popular culture. And as always, check the agent's website.

Danaczko also noted that many pitching events on Twitter, such as the quarterly #PitMad, offer good practice for authors, helping them refine their pitches and drill down on what works.

So ow, say we writers have completed and polished our manuscripts, preferably with the help of beta readers. How do we put the information we've gleaned into our queries?

"Look at book descriptions" on the blurbs for published books and their online sales and review sites. "What is it about the description that entices you?" Danaczko asked. "I need to have a really good sense of what the book is about and what's at stake."

Or as Hart put it, in a formula she loves, the query needs to have a "hook, a book, and a cook." 

The hook is the elevator pitch such as "X meets Y." (And yes, she loved "Pride and Prejudice with zombies"!)

The book part of the formula is two or three paragraphs, including the inciting incident, highlighting major plot points (but not the ending), and what's at stake if the main character does -- or does not -- accomplish their goal.

This is also where the often-dreaded topic of "comp" (comparative) titles appears.

Although Danaczko admitted sometimes requesting manuscripts even if the query listed no comp titles, these can be a useful shorthand for the book's themes, plot or characters. It's best to avoid mentioning as comps books that either not sell well or, conversely, were massive best sellers.

She suggested such formulas as "for readers of X type of book" or "with the feel of Y book."

"Comp titles work better for high concept/commercial books," Hart said. "But if your book is quieter, comps are less helpful." And although writers are often advised to use only the most current books as comps, "sometimes something older works, if it's culturally on people's minds."

The cook is us, the authors, the reason why we're the one destined to write this story. We often fret if we have no previous publishing experience but both Hart and Danaczko say not to worry. Everybody is unpublished at sometime. Instead, consider whether there are relevant family connections or research specialties, but stay as relevant as possible. 

Surprisingly to me, another often-touted must have -- professional editing -- was less important to the agents. Both Hart and Danaczko noted that although editors can be helpful, too much reliance on external help can be a sign that the writer's own toolbox of techniques may be skimpy. The manuscript should be as polished as the author can make it but "editors are not going to guarantee representation down the line. Take it as far as you can on your own."

After all that, did they have any major turnoffs about queries?

For Danaczko:

• When I can't locate quickly what the book is about
• Queries that promise things nobody can guarantee, such as sales comparisons
• Verbatim repeating of the agent's bio in the query

All of the above, Hart said, adding:

• Pasting parts of the book in the query -- "I still don't know what the book is about" 
• Not a genre I represent
• When requesting a synopsis, "I get two paragraphs when what I need is a beat by beat version"

    ***

 Still to come: what to ask an agent who offers representation? How to know if they're right for you? And what the heck do they actually do?

Writers conferences show the love, virtual or not

Will writers let a pandemic stand in their way? No way! Although many 2021 literary conferences are still treading water, sometimes pushing their events late into fall to allow in-person attendance, others brave the virtual waters. I’m presenting a selection of these – with emphasis on my own North Texas area – as well as tantalizing bits from further afield. Because, in the virtual world there are no boundaries. All times are in Central Time unless otherwise noted.

Now – March 13: The San Miguel Writers’ Conference continues a virtual season on Zoom. Still to come – Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) February 13 at 6 p.m., Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) March 7 at 6 p.m., and Jorge F. Hernandez and Margo Glantz on the Mexican tradition in literature March 13 at 6 p.m., more. Monthly passes $125, individual events generally $25. See the site for details and to register.

February 25: The Highland Park Literary Festival presents New York Times bestseller and multiple award-winning author Téa Obreht as keynote speaker at 7p.m. The event is free and open to the public but viewers must register. Obreht became the youngest recipient of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2011 for her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife. In 2019, Barack Obama named her second novel, Inland, as one of his favorite books of the year, unfolding in the drought-ridden Arizona Territory in 1893 and recreating the myth of the American West. To buy Obreht’s books and help support the HP LitFest, please visit the Interabang Books LitFest page.

March 5-6: North Texas Teen Book Festival 2021 now coming to you on YouTube! More details to come, but at this point, more than 80 middle grade and young adult authors, graphic novelists and YouTube celebrities are scheduled to appear. These include John Green (Fault in Our Stars), Taina Telgemeier (Guts), Ransom Riggs (Miss Peregrine series) and of course, more! Keynote speakers include Chelsea Clinton and Newbery Medal winner Katherine Applegate. Free. I’ll post more as information becomes available.

Image: Pixabay

June 21-27: Historical Novel Society North America’s 2021 conference will be virtual. Early-bird registration opens February 15-March, at $219 for HNS members, $249 for nonmembers. This year’s guest of honor is Lisa See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and more), with special presenters Libbie Hawker and Jane Friedman and master classes with Hawker, Friedman, Alma Katsu, Gillian Bagwell, Melissa Danaczko and Cate Harte.

June 28-July 10:  Thrillerfest XVI. Registration for this virtual conference is open although the website is still a little wonky. Options include master class ($399), consulting ($75) and pitching ($50) sessions and more, including a free “Best First Sentence Contest.” Deadline for registration by mail as well as entries for the Best First Sentence Contest is June 15. 

***

Meanwhile, some conferences normally scheduled for early summer have pushed their dates into late summer and fall in hopes of once again operating in-person. These include the DFW Writers Workshop Conference and the Writers’ League of Texas conference.

August 25-29:  Bouchercon, the world mystery conference, plans to hold its 2021 conference in-person in New Orleans. Registration is $195, with hotel registrations also available. See the site for schedules and guests of honor.

September 17-19: The Writers’ League of Texas conference in Austin is now scheduled for September 17-19. I will update as more information becomes available.

September 17-19: These are also the dates of FenCon, the Dallas-area science fiction/fantasy convention. More information to come.

October: The DFW Writers Workshop conference, as I learned at a recent meeting for members, is scheduled, probably for mid-October, although the conference website still shows the June 2021 dates originally posted with the 2020 conference was cancelled. Again, more information to come.

What’s still up in the air? Writefest in Houston, normally a week-long, late spring event, hopes to go in-person in the fall, but no dates are available as of this posting.

I don’t have any information about the fate of WORDfest, usually held in March. In 2020, this big-tent 'all-you-can-meet' literary event brought over 20 North Texas writers’ organizations and more than 300 writers together virtually last August. Still waiting to see if it will happen again.

Thrillerfest bites: plotting, villains, research & more

Here I am, about to wrap up my first-ever Thrillerfest, which I could only afford because like so many events this year it was online. My ticket entitled me to videos of 58 internationally known thriller writers who would normally have gathered for their annual conference in New York. I’ve watched fewer than a dozen because I can’t sit still more than an hour or two before my dogs demand to be let out (and back into the fortunately air-conditioned house because Texas is damned hot in July). Still, it seemed unfair to make readers wait until I’ve seen everything – which will be online until next year – before sharing, including that there’s more than one way, maybe more than a dozen, to become a famous author in my favorite genre.

To plot or not

Most of those I’ve seen interviewed raised their hands as devotees of outlines. A few, not surprisingly to those who’ve read their books, did not. And then there was the author who outlined after the fact and had a good reason for it.

l-r, Ryan Steck & C. J. Box

“I start out with a couple of topics, items of interest to me,” said writer of the Joe Pickett Wyoming game warden series, C.J. Box, “then usually an idea or two from the wider world.” At this point, although some of his books are unplanned, Box typically begins an outline, which can run up to 40 pages, and which after 20 Joe Pickett books can be helpful in keeping track of characters and events.

“Does anything ever blow up the outline,” interviewer Ryan Steck asked. “Totally!” Box said. “Sometimes something happen in the middle. Sometimes it’s just throwing a curve.”

“I create a lot of outlines,” said Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code among other thrillers featuring the professorial Robert Langdon. “I usually write the last scene first so that I know where I’m going – though it will probably change.”

“I like to set the story evolve organically,” Sandra Brown said. “The first draft is the rough one. The next draft is the crafting one, making sure I’ve milked everything I can out of every scene.”

Diana Gabaldon also famously writes outline-free, having started her first book, Outlander, with a single image – “a man in a kilt” – from an episode of Doctor Who set in 18^th century Scotland. After writing for about three days, she “came upon an Englishwoman (character) who wouldn’t shut up,” and incorporated the story’s time travel element (again, probably thanks to the good Doctor).

On the other hand, for lawyer turned author John Grisham. “Everything starts with a plot. . . I don’t think I’ve started with a character. I know the last scene before I write the first page.”

“I always have a grand plan,” thriller/historical writer Ken Follett said. His special take on plotting/outlining is – making lists. “I do that all the time. It’s great because it gives me a perspective I wouldn’t have if I just wrote sentence by sentence.”

And then there’s the unique take of Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan “Bones” series for adults as well as the Virals young adult series co-written with her son Brendan Reichs. “I don’t do a lot of outlines,” Reichs said, “(but) my son is a fanatic about it! I outline maybe six to seven chapters and then write the rest.” Her twist is to outline retroactively, to remember where to find something she wrote earlier. “So, I end up with an outline, even I didn’t start with one.”

Oddball characters

C. J. Box’s first agent (in New York) told him he couldn’t sell his book because “who wants to read about a game warden in some place nobody’s ever heard of?” Box deliberately set out to make Pickett “a state employee, a Dudley Do-right, who doesn’t make much money and dotes on his wife and family. Wouldn’t that be unusual? . . .I’m proud to say 51 percent of my readers are women. I think it’s the family relationships between Joe’s wife and daughters.”

If a game warden seems like a strange protagonist for a thriller, how about a college professor like Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon? In Brown’s case, it was a case of writing what he knew, he said. Having grown up in an academic environment, why not have an art history professor as the hero – although he admits Langdon’s specialty of “symbology” is completely fictional.

Villains

“It’s all about point of view,” Box said. “Once we know what drives (villains), even it’s despicable reasons, readers can understand them.”

The attraction of villains, for Dan Brown is, “the ambiguity, that is, a villain who does the wrong things for the right reasons. . . (and) finding an argument I can argue from both sides.”

What is it about bad characters that readers like, interviewer Jeff Ayers asked Grisham. “Most lawyers are good, hardworking people who make much money,” he replied. “Nobody wants to read about that!”

Follett’s take on a great villain is, “You have to hate him but (not) in the way you do COVID-19. He has to be a person. He must be a bully but he must have people around him. I don’t think it has to depend on violence. We can hate him for just being nasty.”

Series vs. standalone books

“Standalones are the harder to write,” Box said, although after 20 Joe Pickett books, he finds himself walking “a fine line between introducing (backstory) to new readers without boring longtime readers. I try to sum it up in a sentence or two for new readers so they don’t fee lost.”

Grisham, on the other hand, prefers standalones. “Once I’ve finished a book, I’m done. You can’t do that with a series.” Although, he’ll never say never, having written a middle-grade thriller series, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, and his Camino Island mystery is threatening to morph into a series with its follow-up, Camino Winds.

Author branding vs. genre jumping

“I had written 40 series romances before I wrote my first crossover (into suspense),” Sandra Brown said. “It was freeing but terrifying. My publisher said, ‘Do we sell you as a romance writer or a suspense writer? You’re sending mixed signals.’”

“After ten legal thrillers, I asked myself about writing other types of books, Grisham said. “(My mystery) Camino Winds, for instance doesn’t have a single lawyer!”

Follett’s take on switching from his original, trademark thrillers to historical novels with the crossover historical fiction of The Pillars of the Earth, is there was a common thread tying all of them together. “Two things that appeal to me enormously are writing about people in love and people in danger. So long as I have those very basic human (issues) there was a continuity between my books.”

Research

“I always go (to sites),” Box said, “if I’m going to someplace other than the mythical Saddlestring, Wyoming,” which is Joe Pickett’s home. “I put on my old reporter hat.” Visits to settings can turn up unexpected insights – such as how much wind turbines can sway -- and conduct interviews. “Even though there might be some hesitancy at first, everybody I’ve talked to has been incredibly forthcoming – sometimes more than I anticipate. Just like cops, people love to talk about their professions.”

“I read a lot and go to locations,” said Dan Brown, for whom location is character. “I also interview a lot of people, but before I can talk to specialists, I have to know something.”

Gabaldon had, again famously, ever been to Scotland before selling her first novel, which made enough money to finance a trip to the country for her and her husband (who, not incidentally, is tall and redhaired like her book’s hero). “I don’t do any (research) before I start,” Gabaldon said, “because the research is concurrent with the writing. I just trip over stuff as I go along.” She reads primarily for “atmosphere,” she said, while using the Internet for particulars.

***

That’s all for now but with a year until the 2021 Thrillerfest to finish watching all the author interviews, I’m sure to be posting more advice here from time to time. Stay tuned!

Every cover tells a story – world’s worst cover art & more

Because we really do judge books by their covers, author Russell C. Connor’s “Cover to Cover” workshop at this year's DFW Writers Conference  – make that, show and tell for indie published-authors promised to reveal “the worst book cover . . . in the world!” But fear not, he learned better. Maybe a million times better.

“One million – that’s the number of books published in a year in the U.S. More than half are self-published. Four – that the number of books the average person reads in a year. You have to be sure your book is one of those four!

“How to do that? I don’t know. But I can tell you from experience what doesn’t work, and that’s a bad book cover!”

Connor admittedly picked a difficult kind of book to sell – horror. But things started to look up when he got an offer from a small publisher. “They gave me two covers to choose from.” 

The one on the left in the illustration for today’s post was his choice. Although the less awful of the two offered by the publisher, he still hated it. 

“It took me a long time to realize why I disliked it: it doesn’t tell a story.” 

(The illustration on the right represents his own attempt at cover art after regaining rights from the original publisher. Better, but see his page at amazon.com for the final, knock it out of the ballpark version.)

World's worst cover -- but improving

However, he learned the ropes of publishing from his small press experience and decided to try it on his own. Which mean starting totally fresh with cover art – from talking a friend into designing covers (and inadvertently choosing “the most overused font in the world”), he talked his boss at his day job into letting him take classes in Photoshop and End Design and took a shot at cover design on his own. (Something he now says authors should never do.)

He kept his publishing business afloat by producing books for other authors, but several self-published books into his career, he finally decided to hire a professional artist. It increased his publishing costs by 400 percent, “but, it started to get interest.”

He also continued to refine the font he used. At last with a sympathetic cover artist, he has persuaded increasing numbers of readers to give his words a look, garnering awards as readers’ favorites and from the Independent Book Publishers Association. 

“Take those covers really seriously!” 

***

It didn’t feel like a good day to pitch a novel to agent Kristin Nelson. An unforeseen family obligation had already forced me to miss the first half of her two-day master class, “Write the Perfect Query Letter for Your Novel” at this year's DFW Writers Conference. More unforeseen circumstances, this time at the conference’s end moved my pitch session from mid-morning to early morning. And after carefully plotting the route from my house to the conference venue in a neighboring city, I found the highway closed for construction.

Kristen recognized flustration when she saw it and coached me through the pitch. “You’ve got the character, the setting, the goal,” she said. Then, before I could beam, she asked, “but what are the stakes?”

Stakes. The terrible stuff that will happen if the character doesn’t achieve her goal. If she can’t find a way through the unexpected construction in time to make her appointed meeting with a literary agent. Or fails to impress said agent because leaving out a story’s stakes is like getting dolled-up for a red-carpet event but forgetting your shoes.

And no, it’s not obvious to an agent – or readers – that the character will die a painful death if she fails in her goal. As far as they know, Ms. Character will say, “stakes, shmakes,” saunter over to the hotel restaurant and happily chow down an order of blueberry pancakes. 

This time, though, Kristen gave me her card and asked for the first 30 pages of my manuscript. Which I silently vowed not to send until I had thoroughly revised my query. And attended the second half of Kristen’s master class on query letters that afternoon. 

Helpfully, she did a quick recap. Her preferred format (but check individual agents for their preference) is for a subject line that includes QUERY: Title; an opening paragraph on how you know/know about her; the genre and word count and the pitch. 

As Kristen read a random dozen or so sample queries – written after the previous day’s workshop – it was a relief (or not) to hear that some of my mistakes had been repeated. 

“Get to your inciting incident quick! Your real estate is expensive, so don’t waste it.” And of course, “What is at stake? Make it personal.”

As with all writing, Kristen advocates reading the query letter aloud. She needs for the story to show up in the query (major plot elements only – her recommendation is nine sentences at most). 

“Don’t get so enthralled with the fabulousness of your world that you (miss) the story.”

Given that she gets 100-200 queries daily, “if I can’t figure out where the story is going, it’ll get a pass.”

***

Malaga Baldi opened her workshop on “How to Land a Literary Agent” with the disclaimer that as a New Yorker being depressed is her default mode. Lucky for her, her sidekick was the irrepressible North Texas writer A. Lee Martinez, who if he is ever depressed at least hides it behind hilarity. 

“For me, the query letter is very important. I probably get one really wonderful query letter maybe every 11 months that makes me want to stop everything and ask for the manuscript,” Baldi said. Before audience members could faint, she added, “I get other queries that I respond to.”

In fact, despite being “really important, “the query is only 10 percent of the total. . . most important is writing a really good manuscript, clean, lean and mean! Workshop it. But if your mother says it’s great, forget it!”

What’s less important to her? Titles. Do you want to see the book’s title, an audience member asked.

“Yes. It has an immediate impact but prepare not to be wedded to it. And if you don’t have a title in mind, that will work out. If I sell it, the title will change for marketing anyway.”

How about length, another audience member asked. “When I mention 200,000 words, I hear deafening silence. Is that a death knell?”

“Not necessarily,” Baldi said. “I sold a 300,000-word novel for a person who was able to cut 40,000 (words). It only sold for $2,000, but it won a best book award.”

What does she really look for in a query? “Voice. The voice that makes me empathize, that really speaks to me. (Also) enough foreshadowing in your letter to provoke me.”

Holiday gifts for writers, would-be writers, and you

It’s only the first day of Hanukkah – not too late to pick gifts for the writers in our lives! Options are available in all price ranges and the good news is – there’s no need to worry about sizes. Or favorite colors. Or whether they already have too many. Maybe we can even pick up a few ideas for ourselves. . . 

image: pixabay

Classes: There’s never no such thing as too much knowledge. Whether deep into the writing biz or just dipping a toe into the pool of the process, there’s a class to fit. For those unsure whether writing is their calling, start with basic creative writing classes, whose cost is low, both in dollars and commitment. with a low cost in dollars and commitment. As always, I focus on opportunities in Texas, and especially my area on the north side of the Lone Star State, such as. . . 

WORD (Writers Organizations ‘Round Dallas), now with more than 20 member groups, several offering classes in writing fiction, nonfiction, screenplays and poetry, at a variety of prices, and choices of in-person or online classes. Check out Writing Workshops Dallas at its free cocktail hour meet and greet tomorrow (Wednesday, December 13). 

I got a first taste of creative writing at the Dallas Writers Garret, with its cozy atmosphere and chances to check out the community through no-pain critique groups in both prose and poetry.

And yes, there are also purely online groups such as Master Class, with access to internationally-known writers as well as online communities.

Memberships: When you find a place you like, why not join? WORD groups can also be your writing tribe. Check out the map, remembering that a number of organizations offer multiple benefits, critique groups, classes, and presentations by local authors and experts. Groups can focus on mystery, romance, science fiction, screenwriting or more general literary genres. 

A few groups offer major conferences, with classes, presentations and access to literary agents and editors. Although available to the general public, group members enjoy discounted prices for conferences. Conference-sponsoring organizations include the DFW Writers Workshop, the Writers League of Texas and the Houston Writers Guild.

Subscriptions: Want the latest stories to feed our writerly brains? The latest information about writing craft or writing business? For a gift that keeps giving all year, whether by snail mail or email, give a journal subscription. Suggestions range from basic (Writer’s Digest) to literary (Poets & Writers . And don’t forget the purely fun – from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction  to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

Gift certificates: Still unsure about the preferences of the writers in our lives? Consider gift certificates such as those currently offered by the Writers League of Texas, which can be applied in any way a writer chooses. And don’t forget gift certificates to a book source. Where would writers be without books? Speaking of which. . . 

Books: Whether a new or long-experienced writer, there’s always more to learn. Classic, can’t go wrong options for writing craft include Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, Stephen King’s On Writing, David Corbett’s The Art of Character, James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure, and Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. Available wherever books are sold, online or down the street.

What’s so hard about book 2: sequels, series and spin-offs

While pitching to an agent at the 2017 DFW Writers Conference, I got a question I’d never heard before: do you think this book has series potential?

Luckily, like any good fiction writer, I answered yes (the answer to pretty much any question about writing). Equally luckily, a fellow critique member had already told me my book had series potential.

Laura Maisano

Luckiest of all, I’d attended editor/author Laura Maisano’s class on “Sequels, Series and Spin-offs, Oh My!” earlier that day, where she asked, “What is so hard about book two?”

Before those of us in her audience could say anything stupid, like, I blew everything in the first book! she walked us through what sequels and/or subsequent books in a series, can – and can’t – do.

“It’s not just another chapter, not just a ‘middle,’” she told us.

Like book one, a subsequent book needs not only to continue the overall story arc, but also to be complete in itself, with its own internal arc and a satisfying ending. It’s not a matter of writing a single long book and chopping it arbitrarily into parts. Neither can an author assume that readers have read the earlier book or books before they open the covers of the subsequent volumes.

But she also can’t afford to bore readers who have read the earlier books and, like a group she called “super fans,” remembers every word. That said, Maisano delineated three basic types of reader whose unique needs must be taken into account by sequel writers:

·         The super fan: OMG, I read your book a millisecond ago!

·         The ideal reader: I read the previous book when it came out about a year ago.

·         The random reader: Hey, it’s a neat cover!

To take care of each of these types of readers, sprinkle required knowledge – anything the reader must know now for the story to make sense – into the early chapters, roughly chapters one through six (or thereabouts).

Pick a starting point where there’s room for this – a big emotional point, or action scene, or major plot point, and don’t be afraid to define things. Just don’t try to cram everything into the very beginning.

Among those need-to-know essentials are the same issues addressed in book one: the main character, with an idea of his/her personality; the story’s setting; and the main character’s personal goal as well as at least hints of the overall story goal. And of course, the hook – for the book, or at least the first plot point (the significant event that moves the story’s action).

But won’t subsequent books have to contain a lot of backstory?

Yes, but. . . “Sprinkle the information in as needed. The biggest thing is to sprinkle it without disturbing the current story. You can put in hints, but delay explanations for later paragraphs – or later chapters.”

Is there anything special about dealing with longer works – series, or even spin-offs?

One of Maisano’s suggestions goes against frequently-quoted writing advice, but remember, she’s speaking as an editor whose clients’ previous works have indicated enough reader interest to make sequels worthwhile. And that is, use a preface.

This is especially helpful to deal with world building (an issue for genres such as fantasy), and to keep track of what happened in the continuing story of the main character.

Even with a preface, don’t expect random readers to grasp much of the more subtle plot issues, but do include plenty of hints and Easter eggs to keep super fans (and even the ideal reader) satisfied.

The ideal goal is convert even the random reader into a super reader!

For more about what Maisano likes, see her page at Manuscript Wish List.

(Tomorrow: I close a week of posts about the 2017 DFW Writers Conference with author/blogger Annie Neugebauer’s tips on the multiple uses of a query pitch.)

Wordcraft -- Feast of book fests

While writing round-up posts last year about writing conferences, I also found many conferences geared to readers and fans. And since writers are also readers, I’m dedicating this first Wordcraft post of 2013 to events for readers. Most are in North Texas, but some are further afield within the state. Since this is only a sampling, feel free to add your own favorites.

January 17 - June 4 -- Arts and Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art. Presentations by authors, actors, illustrators, musicians and more. Speakers include former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout (Olive Ketteridge), Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood, and scientist Temple Grandin. Locations vary. See http://dallasmuseumofart.org/.

February 15-17 -- ConDFW XII, literary science fiction and fantasy event, Crowne Plaza Dallas, 14315 Midway Road, in Dallas suburb of Addison. Panels, readings and author signings. Also includes short story contest, with entries due January 27. For details, see www.condfw.org/.

February 21 -- Highland Park Literary Festival. At its heart are the workshops for Highland Park High School students, but keynote address by author Markus Zusak (The Book Thief) is free and open to the public. Highland Park High School, 4220 Emerson, University Park. See www.hplitfest.org/.

March 20-23 -- SMU LitFest -- Southern Methodist University’s revived literary festival, on the Dallas campus. A schedule of individual events will be posted later in January at http://smulitfest.wordpress.com.

April -- The Big Read Dallas -- series of events based on the late Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, although the April 19 reading at the Dallas Museum of Art is sold out. For updates on events, see http://bigreaddallas.org/.

August 29-September 2 -- World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). It’s in Texas this year, at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, 200 East Market St. It’s been in Melbourne, Yokahama, and Glasgow. This year, it’s in our state! Worldcon is where reader-favorite Hugo Awards for best science fiction and fantasy are presented each year. Hugo nominations are open through March 10. See
www.lonestarcon3.org/.

September -- Richardson Reads One Book, Richardson High School, 1250 West Beltline Road, Richardson. Speaker and date TBA. For updates, check www.cor.net/ .

October 4-6 -- FenCon X, a conference for fans of science fiction/fantasy/horror, Crowne Plaza Dallas, 14315 Midway Road (Dallas suburb of Addison). I’ll discuss the writing workshop and short story contest in more detail in next Monday’s roundup of writing conferences. Also see the link on its site for related conferences, including comics, www.fencon.org/.

October 24-26 -- National Black Book Festival, Fallbrook Church, 12512 Walters Rd., Houston. Hundreds of authors, free to the public. See www.nationalblackbookfestival.com/.

October 26-27 -- Texas Book Festival -- the big one! Free to the public, at the Texas state capitol, 1200 Congress, Austin. More than 200 Texas and nationally-known authors, with readings, discussions, book signings, and music. See
www.texasbookfestival.org/.

November 8-10 -- Readers & ‘ritas conference for romance authors and readers. Site TBA. See http://2013readers.eventbrite.com/.