Overview of Online Chat With Scott Edelstein

Last night, AgentQuery Connect hosted Scott Edelstein of HelpingWriters.com. Scott is a former literary agent, editor, columnist, writing instructor, writer, and much, much more. He currently is working as a writing and publishing consultant and spends his free time giving AQ members a good ol’ well-timed kick in the pants. If you want to get your own head a little friendly shake, check out the transcripts.

Here are some highlights and teasers:

“Every book is different. So is the list of best publishers. So are the things necessary to sell and promote it.” And “Getting published is a dance, not a science.”

He distinguishes between self-publishing and vanity presses for the writer considering going it alone.

He’ll teach you how to talk like an insider and think small while thinking big.

He’ll help you decide when to use an agent and when to go straight to a publisher.

He also sheds light on what agents and editors are truly thinking when they send out rejections and says, “They’re not taking their own words that seriously.” As well, he insists that when querying/pitching to keep it simple and uncomplicated or you’ll make the editor or agent’s head explode. (And yes, he is serious. Head exploding isn’t just for writers, anymore.)

If you’ve queried less than 100-120 agents, then honey, you haven’t truly tried.

“Don’t let categories define your book. Call it whatever the agent reps that you can get away with.”

He answers whether query letters and pitch letters differ.

And finally, whatever you do, don’t end your pitch with, “I look forward to hearing from you.”

Fantastic advice. Check it out, it’ll be time well-spent.

Upcoming Chat With Scott Edstein

Scott Edelstein, publishing world guru, of HelpingWriters.com is joining us at AgentQuery Connect for a chat tonight, Tuesday October 20th, at 8p.m. Eastern.

Scott has worked as a professional writer, literary agent, editor, journalist, freelancer, ghostwriter, columnist, writing instructor, and has finally donned the title of publishing/writing consultant. Scott will be discussing: “tips for assessing your own writing, creating a professional book proposal (especially for non-fiction), and how to conduct proper market research for your proposal or novel. He will also be on-hand to answer your questions about everything related to the business side of publishing such as contract negotiation, how to comparing publishers and literary agents, and what it’s really like to sell your book to a commercial publisher..” (AQ Crew over at AQ) and much, much more.

If you have any questions about publishing and writing, drop in and join the chat. It is free, as always and sure to be informative. If you can’t make the chat, the transcripts will be available on the AgentQuery Connect site by Wednesday morning. (You need to be a member of AQ to join this chat, but the membership is free and painless.)

Please join us!

Chat and Critique with Literary Consultant, Jeffrey Moores Tonight

Hear ye, hear ye…

We are going to make you the best darned writer this side of the Mississippi tonight. Yes, that’s right, we’ve got Jeffrey Moores (former literary agent and current literary consultant) coming to chat with us on Agent Query tonight. Not only has he agreed to spend an hour and a half with us, he has 8 passages from our charming, intelligent and good looking AQ members. He will not only juggle these flaming passages, but he will catch them in his teeth, while dazzling us with his jokes.

As we enjoy our second cup of coffee/tea/gin of the morning, he is slaving over these 8 passages. He is editing, critiquing, and writing down comments to share with us tonight. He WILL make us sparkle and shine, folks.

So, what do you have to do to have this knowledge siphoned into your juicy brain? Join us! 8pm Eastern in the AQ chat room. This is the link. Click on it. At 8pm, hit ‘join’. You may have to refresh your browser if you get there before it is open. (You also need to be a member, but that is free and only takes 30 seconds.)

Here’s the plan:

I (the moderator) will introduce Jeff and go over the chat rules, etc. I will then paste one of the eight passages into the chat, followed by Jeff’s edits, comments, etc. Then there will be a chance for comments, questions, etc.. Jeff is willing to answer specific questions in regards to that piece and his comments/edits. Then, we’ll move on to the next passage. At the end of the chat, Jeff will have a general question and answer session. This is where members can ask general questions or specific-to-them questions that don’t have to do with the critiquing of the submitted passages.

Jeff is being very generous with his time and we are very lucky to have him helping us out, giving us that inner sanctum eye and showing us what kind of edits can make our work sing.

See you there!

Please note: Only the pre-selected 8 passages will be critiqued and commented upon during this chat. If you were not selected and would like feedback on your work, please contact Jeff at www.jeffreymoores.com to set up an appointment.

Advice From Literary Agent Sara Megibow

For those of you who missed the chat with Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency last Thursday, I’ve got some of the highlights here. However, if you want it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, you can check out the transcripts here. (You must be an Agent Query member to view them. The good news is, it is free.)

A few highlights:

#1: Having troubles figuring out the genre of your story? Check out the bookstore. Figure out where it would be placed in the store and voila! As well, if your story’s most important aspect and focus is on the romance/relationship between the hero and heroine, it is likely a romance. If you aren’t sure between two genres, say urban fantasy and romance or romance and mystery…read a few books in each genre and see which yours leans towards.

#2: Did you know that some agents, when they get sample pages that they like, they go to Google to check you out? They look for a positive web presence. So don’t go bashing agents, the publishing word or discusses how hard writing is, etc. Make it professional, folks!

#3: Here are a few genres/ideas that are flying over Sara’s desk like mosquitoes in a swamp and may or may not be overdone: vampires, divorced women opening B & Bs, war survivor stories, YA where the hero speaks to the dead or has secret world-saving powers they didn’t know they had and of course, have to save the world. Now, just because these story ideas are common at the moment, it doesn’t mean she’s going to shred your query if your story is based on the above. See #4.

#4: The art of writing is very important. It is more important than the POV (character point of view the story is written from), topic, or even how fresh the story idea happens to be. Fresh, good, strong writing wins. I.e. copycat story ideas can work if the writing is fresh. Although a fresh story idea is always compelling, but it needs good writing to back it up.

#5: Don’t start your novel with one big flashback. Start where the story starts.

#6: If you have quotes in your story, you don’t need the rights to use that quote in a published work at the time of querying–the publishing house will acquire them when the time comes.

#7: Some argue that saying ‘completed’ and giving a word count is redundant when querying. However, if you are querying Sara, do say, “My completed novel X, Y and Z is 100,000 words.” She likes that. Her perfect query would start something like so: “I have a completed 100,000 word romance novel set in regency England.” And then add the pitch paragraph…etc.

For more information on Sara and the agency she works for, be sure to check out the agency website–especially if you are querying.

Online Chat With Literary Agent Michelle Brower

That was a fantastic chat over on Agent Query with literary agent Michelle Brower. It was nice, homey and cozy. As chat moderator there wasn’t any juggling cats, turtles or even anything flaming last night. Just straight forward good ol’ information about queries, genres, young writers, older writers, killer titles and so much more. Yeah, you missed it. But yes, you can check out the transcripts right here.

Half the scoop: Yes, you need to polish your writing before getting it out there. Generally the setting can distinguish the genre, but many some twists on a story such as a story set in elfland, NOT being about elves would be good. (The ideas are endless when you think like that! Wahoo!) Some titles rock more than others and yes, a killer title can help set your query apart. Yes, Michelle likes the one sentence hook, but definitely the story hook to be obvious in your query. There was so much great info, you need to read the transcripts yourself. It won’t take long and I promise you will learn a lot.

And did you know that landing an agent and getting the book sold and printed can be compared to having a baby? I kid you not. (Another reason to check out the transcript–I wouldn’t want to spoil the reason for the comparison for you. It surprised me. It might surprise you too.)

Michelle Brower, literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates.

(A big thanks to Michelle for spending time with us over on AQ.)

Michelle is also blogging over at her agency website. Go check it out.