I'm Going to be Published!

Well... sort of. As I mentioned last week, I do have some big news for you. No, I don't have a book deal, or even an agent, but I have taken another step along the writing pathway. I am now a regular columnist for the Divine Debutantes magazine!

Let me tell you how it happened. I had never heard of Divine Debutantes (a Christian girls club) or their magazine, since the club exists mainly in the US. When I received an email on Tuesday from the magazine's editor, I very nearly deleted it thinking that it was either spam, or an author newsletter that I had signed up for but wasn't actually interested in reading. However, I did actually open the email, and I was shocked to find an offer to write for a Christian girl's magazine! Apparently the editor read my blog and liked how I wrote my book reviews from a Christian perspective.

Now, for each issue of the quarterly magazine, I'll write a book review on one recent YA novel. This won't be a huge time commitment, but I'll be seeing my work in print regularly. Also, I'll be reaching out to a whole new audience and helping them find good books to read. I've been doing this for a year on my blog, and now I'm excited to take it to a whole new level.

Perhaps what I love most about this new opportunity is the fact that it came to me; I didn't search it out. I've considered contacting magazines and asking to write for them, but in this case the magazine contacted me. This proves firstly that I do have an effective online presence. People can find my blog, and they're reading it. As a blogger, it's sometimes hard to know if I am reaching and engaging my audience; this offer proves that I am. As an author, it's wonderful to have an audience interested in my work.

Also, (to head off on a more philosophical/religious tangent) I've recently been going through a What-In-The-World-Am-I-Supposed-To-Do-With-My-Life phase. Frankly, I have so many open paths, and I'm not sure which one God wants me to be on. Then, last Tuesday, I get this opportunity in the world of books, and I got back my university marks (which were mostly better than I expected). It's never a good idea to read too much into these things, but I'll take these successes as a sign that I am where God wants me to be.

Find the Right Agent

 I know that one thing you should never, ever do on your blog is talk about your dream agent. After all, what happens if you query an agent other than her, who then reads your blog and realizes that you’d actually much rather have someone else? For that reason, I’m not going to talk about dream agents. I just want to talk about agents in general to get at the big question: what do you look for in an agent?

I know for unagented authors, sometimes it can seem like just getting any agent at all is a huge thing, so you don’t really care which one. Some days I feel like this: I just really want an agent. But on other days, when I’m being sensible, I realize that I’m young, and finding the right agent who’ll work with me for the rest of my career is going to be really important.

Here are a couple things that I really want in an agent:

- They should be hands-on. I want an editorial agent. I want them to care about helping me make my book as good as it can possibly be.

- They should share my values. This means that I don’t want an agent who reps erotica, or who mainly reps paranormal, or who wants me to amp up the sexual content in my stories. They don’t need to be Christian, but I want them to accept the religious views in my stories.

- I want to get to know their other clients. I want some of their other clients to be ones who I respect; I’ve read their stories and I’ll be proud to be connected to them through the agency.

- They should sell to big presses. Now, I don’t mean exclusively or anything, but it’s my dream to sell to one of the big six, so even if I don’t get there right away, I want that possibility.

Those are all of them that I can think of off the top of my head. Now, how do I find out whether an agent fits these criteria?

- Follow them on twitter. If an agent is hands-on, they’ll mention stuff about editing client manuscripts, or they might outright call themselves editorial in a twitter chat.

- Follow their blog. Their values will come out that way; I probably don’t want an agent who swears a lot. Also, someone who has a lot of sketchy book covers at the side of their page… nuh uh.

- Read the acknowledgements sections of my favourite books and see who their agents are. Look at the lists of authors on the website; if I don’t recognize any, I’ll normally forget about the agency.

- Go to their website and look at the list of books to see if I recognize any (I mainly read books from big presses). Check out their recent sales and look up the books to find a publisher.

These four suggestions are great ways to get to know agents to see if you really want them to represent you. There are lots of great agents out there who are amazing at what they do, but just not right for me. I’m not saying you should be too choosy, but it does pay to do your research.

Over to you, my readers. How is your Great Agent Hunt going? Any tips for finding agents to query? What do you look for in an agent? 

How to Get Published 5: Selling Your Story

Step five in my really quick guide to getting published is titled ‘The Agent Sells Your Book.’ This seems to be a pretty straightforward step where you need to do virtually nothing. From what I’ve heard, this is where the agent really steps in and the author takes a breather. However, this doesn’t mean it’s easy for the author.

First off, you have to realize that even if you get an agent, your first book might not sell. No matter how much an agent loves it, a publisher just might not. Kiersten White, author of the bestselling Paranormalcy, snagged her agent with a totally different story which never sold. While she was on sub (the term for her manuscript being out with editors) she wrote Paranormalcy just for fun. This is good advice for anyone; when you’ve got your agent don’t just sit back and relax. Keep writing. Even supposing your book does sell, what about sequels? Or a new series?

Most of the time, however, your book will sell. Agents don’t take on new clients unless they’re pretty certain. I’d love to give you an average time period between signing with an agent and getting an editor, but the truth is… there isn’t one. Some books can sell within a week. Others may take months. It all depends.

A quick sneak peak into what your agent does: They send your book off to editors, just like you when you queried the agent. Agents will have contacts with editors at publishing houses, so they’ll know who to contact, how to contact them and what they’re looking for at the time. This all sounds like something you could do yourself, since it’s basically just a repeat of the query process, but the publishing industry is all about who you know, and an agent will know many more editors than you do.

At last publishing houses will start offering, and you (with the help of your agent) will choose which one to accept. You could take the one that offers the most money, or the one whose editor you would prefer to work with. After all, this is just like choosing an agent; an editor is another partner for life. This is also the person you’re going to spend the next months with, slaving over your story and perfecting it. Then ARCs will start coming out, and the reviews will start rolling in… and you’ll start working on your next book, if you haven’t already.

This is the end of my How-To-Get-Published Series, and I hope it shed some light on the process for you guys. Please note that I have no personal experience with any of this; I just read a lot of blogs. If there’s anything you’d like me to clear up, then just ask. What do you think my new series should be on?

How to Get Published

Now that I'm immersed in blogging and tweeting and chatting with authors on inkpop and all that stuff that authors do, it's hard to remember a time when I didn't know any of this. Just five years ago, I had no idea how to get published. It almost seems laughable now, but I didn’t know what an agent was, or how to query, or what an ARC was, or pretty much anything about publishing. The thing is, all this information is hidden away on book blogs or in sneaky places on publisher’s websites. 12-year-old me was absolutely clueless.

I remember asking my mom how to get published and she went and asked on a Yahoo group. I excitedly waited for their answers, but when the responses came in, they were all the same: ‘It’s hard.’

That was all. There was no information about how to get published (other than the suggestion that I should try to get short stories published in magazines first). They only told me it was hard.

True. Getting published is hard. It’s been five years since I decided I wanted to get published, and I’m just as un-published as I ever was. The only thing that’s changed is that now I do know how to get published. Now, this information I’m going to share is fairly basic so most of you will already know it all, but in each case I’ll share a couple links to helpful websites so you can go farther than just my blogposts.

Step to getting published:

1.       Write a REALLY good story

2.       Get feedback
3.    Revisions

4.       Query Agents

5.       The Agent sells your book

For the next three weeks I’ll concentrate on steps 2-5. As for step one… I’ll spend a little bit more time on that. According to the poll in the sidebar, writing tips were the favourite kind of post on this blog, so they’ll be a lot more of those coming up. Any post on writing is going to have something to do with step one: Write a REALLY good story. That can’t be emphasized enough. Without a good story, you’ll never receive helpful feedback. No matter how good your query, you’ll never get an agent. Even supposing you got an agent, it won’t sell to publishers.

For next week, let’s assume you’ve already got a fairly good story. Then you need to get your story out there, and be willing to accept feedback. 

Author Interview: Leigh Fallon

Leigh Fallon, author of The Carrier of the Mark, is the first author to be published through inkpop. Leigh describes herself as 'a South African born, Irish writer, living between the US and Ireland... interesting!' For a synopsis of Carrier look here, then scroll down and read this exclusive interview with the author. 




What was your inspiration for Carrier?
I was sitting in my jeep outside of my daughters’ ballet school [in Ireland]. My twin babies were in the car bawling their eyes out with boredom. I was looking for a way to escape it all for a few moments when something my dad said popped into my head, ‘everyone has a book in them’. So taking these pearls of wisdom, I picked up some scraps of paper and started jotting down notes about a story that was stirring in my head. Each of the characters became very clear almost immediately and the magical element was at the forefront. The inspiration for it? Well probably the town of Kinsale, the old buildings, the eclectic mix of people, the beautiful views. But the story went from inspiration to the makings of a book in less than 30 mins on the backs of receipts and napkins.

How has your life changed since getting the publishing deal?
Well, since I got my publishing deal I’ve moved to the US. Getting the publishing didn’t make me move to the US, but it coincided with the move, so things have changed greatly. I’m also super busy. I spend so much time answering emails, tweets, Facebook messages, and interview requests, it’s bizarre. I’m still getting used to all the attention, but it’s great, I’m really enjoying it. I’m also writing full time now -Yay.

Can you share any details of your query letters?
I could, but I’m not going to because my query litter sucked! Seriously, it would benefit no one. LOL. When I think back to that letter I cringe, it was so amateurish. I guess it wasn’t my fault; I was new to the publishing world and didn’t really know what was expected of a query letter. It’s amazing what you learn in a few months when mixing with your writing peers. My advice to anyone embarking on the search for an agent… Stop! Wait! Read agent blogs. Get on twitter and follow the good agents. Read their tweets religiously, listen to what they are saying. They are very honest. They’ll tell the twitter world what they are looking for at the moment, what they are NOT looking for. They also tweet about things that irritate them or things that are the pet peeves. Get to know the agent BEFORE you send in that query letter. You only get one shot at it, so make a good impression. Your manuscript could be amazing, but if you press the wrong buttons in your query, the agent won’t even get as far as your signature at the end of the page before they toss it in the shredder.

How many books will there be in the Carrier series?
I’d originally planned for three books in the series, I’m still aiming off for that, but it might end up being four. But (and there is always a but), I’m only under contract to write one book in this series, HarperTeen do get first pass on the second, but there are no guarantees. So I need The Carrier of the Mark to do VERY well if I am to secure a future for the rest of the series. So we have to get the word out there. Please… buy the book!

What makes Carrier unique?
The Carrier of the Mark is a totally different spin on Paranormal. It delves into the ancient world of Irish history and folklore. The story is set in places that actually exist. Every monument, castle, or building mentioned in the book is there for all to visit. The core of the paranormal element, is one that is deep rooted in Celtic tales, symbols, and structures and I’ve built the story around the very fabric of those stories, intertwining history, folklore and magic to make it that little bit more real.

Is there anything you’d like to say to aspiring YA authors?
The publishing industry is a tough nut to crack, but stay with it, don’t get disillusioned. The way to success is through persistence. Grow yourself very thick skin, and stick your neck out. Get out there. Join writers’ forums, start networking, and reach out to people. There is an amazing, diverse group of exceptionally friendly and supportive people out there who will help guide you towards your goals.


I'd like to thank Leigh for doing this interview. Anyone who thinks Carrier sounds interesting (and who wouldn't? Irish folklore is the best!) should check out some of the important links below. Leigh's ramblings on 
her blog or Facebook will help pass the time until the release date: October 4th. 



Important Links:


Amazon.ca
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Leigh's Blog
Leigh's Facebook Page

Boring Main Characters: The Problem

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fairly active member of the site inkpop.com, a writing website for teens run by HarperCollins. The site has around 40,000 projects and hundreds more added every week. I have two stories up, one of which has reached top five and been reviewed by a HarperCollins editor, the other is around rank 100 right now.

One thing that I’ve done a lot of on inkpop is critique other people’s stories. I’ve read and commented on at least 400 projects in my inkpop career, so I have a fairly good grasp of the problems that plague teen’s writing. On the blog I will address these problems in mini-series coming each Thursday. Something I’ve noticed that is a major problem on inkpop is that Main Characters (MC) tend to be boring, all the same. For this reason, I’m writing a six part series on what to do to make your MC unique.

The Problem

The vast majority of you have heard of Twilight. A lot of you have probably read it. I’m personally not a fan, but I read the first two and a half books simply to see what all the fuss was about. Half way through the third book I got too bored, so I stopped.

Whether you hate the books or if you’re one that really enjoys them, you have to admit that Bella is a pretty ordinary person. She, by her own admission, is boring. We’re told that she has hobbies, but we never see her doing anything interesting. She’s not particularly good, or bad, at anything in school. Her emotions are all pretty basic, and her responses are quite predictable.

You might say that Bella is an ordinary teenager. I’d say that she’s not. What’s my reason for saying this? There is no such thing as an ordinary teenager.

Think about yourself. Think about anyone you know. Everyone is unique. Everyone is interesting in some way. Everyone has a favourite book, a specific personality, a different way of viewing the world.

Bella doesn’t. And, unfortunately, many of the MCs I’ve read about on inkpop don’t either. I once read ten stories in a row that all had a MC who could be exactly the same person. These are the characters who walk to school, snooze in the back row, and go back home. They wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. Maybe they’re a bit snarky or they’re shy, they could be popular or not, but somehow the writer has only told us that they’re different, they never actually showed us what makes the MC interesting.

Good stories aren’t written about boring people. Editors right now are desperate for new novels with ‘fresh’ voices. They want unique MCs, perhaps more than anything else. A ‘Mary Sue’ won’t get you anywhere.

So, what are you going to do? Next Thursday I’ll have another post on what not to do.