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.

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.

We Need Volunteers For Writing Critique!

Spread the word! There is another chat coming up right away over on Agent Query. Wednesday night we’ve got Jeffrey Moores, former literary agent and now literary consultant coming to chat and critique. He’s already given me some great writing tips, just discussing what we’re going to chat about! Holy smokes! You don’t want to miss this one.

If you are a writer and you would like to throw a couple of paragraphs in the hat for a critique, please log on to Agent Query’s online community and put your name in the hat. It’s all 100% free.

Here is the lowdown, straight from AQ:

You need to bring your armored writers skin for this. On the bright side, despite the slings and arrows, you may receive advice that brings you to the next level, or at least helps you see the window you need to climb through to reach the next level.

What’s going to happen is this: AQ members who have nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon, are going to throw their name in the hat, here in this thread. I’m going to randomly draw 10 names tonight around 9 PM Eastern. Within 24 hours, those 10 people will provide about 100 words from one of their manuscripts (completed or in progress) and I will pass it on to Jeff. Jeff will then take a look over the work he gets and make notes, critique or possibly edit the short bit. During the Wednesday night chat, I will paste the original as well as Jeff’s comments/what have you all into the chat room so everyone in the chat can see it. Then Jeff will open the critique up for discussion. In other words, anyone in the chat can comment or ask questions.

By tossing your name in the hat, you are agreeing to have your work sliced and diced as well as commented upon. You are putting yourself out there and willing to face what may roll down the pipe. You don’t have to agree with the comments, but a professional attitude is always appreciated. You are also agreeing to have this piece available as part of the online chat transcripts for any AQ members to see, now or in the future.

What we are looking for are approx. 100 words in the following areas:

Narration: A place in your story where you (the author) are telling us what is happening in the story. This can also be a place in the story where the POV character is reiterating for the reader. For example it could be something like: They ran through the thicket, the sound of heavy footsteps gaining on them. Damp branches swiped at their raw skin. Blah, blah, blah.

Description: A character description, or a place description.

Random: A paragraph or two where you want thoughts from an expert. It can be something that doesn’t feel quite right to you, you have been debating with your critique partners, or even a paragraph you feel is so beautiful, it could make the Dali Lama weep.

* We are NOT looking for dialogue at this time. The goal of this chat is to help writers improve the way they tell their story. They way they set a scene, tell the read what is going on, etc. Dialogue is a whole other ballgame.

Please note that due to time constraints in the chat, there is a possibility that even if your name is chosen and work submitted, it may not be included in the chat.

If you have a paragraph or two that you would like to toss in the hat, please post your name in this thread. If you want to paste your piece here, now, in case your name is drawn, that is fine too.

Best of luck everyone! And a thanks in advance to any volunteers. I’m sure this will be a most-excellent learning adventure for all.

Jeffrey Moores Gives the Scoop on Query Hooks…and More

During last week’s Tuesday night chat, literary consultant and editor (and also former literary agent), Jeffrey Moores dropped the bomb. Agents are sick and tired of the query letter hook–avoid it at all costs. Here’s the 411 straight from the chat:

Yvonnetherese asked: How do you feel about starting the query letter with a hook sentence vs. genre, word count, etc. up front?

Jeffrey Moores replied: AVOID THE HOOK! It’s annoying. An agent instead wants simple reality: I am seeking representation for my YA novel about vampires and teenage werewolves. Put what you want up front. Be very simple.

I asked: Do many agents feel this way, Jeff?

He replied: As far as I know, all of them do. It’s very tiresome to read, over and over again, things like: “Imagine yourself in a world where…” An agent isn’t like a normal reader. They’ve got a lot more analytical wheels turning, and are more interested in your book’s place within the market and your ability to write. The actual details of your plot are only as important as your ability to frame your book within the query letter.

Well, I tell you, after cleaning all the grey matter  that had splattered all over the chat room walls during the chat, I went away and thought about what Jeffrey had said. I decided I needed a bit more info on the topic and so the next night (he did two chats for us over on AQ.) I asked for a bit of clarification. Here’s the scoop:

My question: Jeffrey, in regards to your surprising advice in regards to queries (“AVOID THE HOOK”) I got to wondering, how do YOU define a hook? Could you give us some specifics in terms of what to avoid?

Jeffrey Moores: I think that the typical “hook”, wherein a writer tries to hook an agent with a taste of the plot right away, often comes across as false and forced. Such as: “Imagine a town where nothing quite feels like it should…”

Instead, agents want to hear something like this: “My novel is a comedy-of-manners that skewers the reality of a strange town whose inhabitants seem to have no clue about the rest of the world…” or something similar. This is a more abstracted and contextualized description of your novel, and is more effective than assuming that an agent is sitting at her desk waiting to be entertained the same way she is when she’s picking a novel off of a book shelf at home.

It is still VERY IMPORTANT to “hook” an agent, but it is MORE IMPORTANT to do this through concise and effective presentation of your book’s specific themes and its place in the market, rather than drafting a sort of plot description or synopsis. Often, writers go on and on after their “hook” but fail to mention anywhere in the query WHAT TYPE OF BOOK THEY’VE WRITTEN. novel, YA, fantasy, mainstream, etc.

*******

He also mentioned to be confident in your proposal when writing nonfiction. The more confident you are, the more likely it will get picked up. As well, fiction writers should step out when writing their queries and “approach the query in a more nonfiction way”. That means, make your fiction query more about where your story fits into the market, who its audience is–that sort of thing. Which makes sense. It is a business letter. He also mentions to compare your letter to other books that are similar. Just make sure it is selling well! He provided pointers on how to pick the selling well books to compare yours to:

Very simply — go to your local bookstore and browse. Notice which books have prominent placement in the stores (front tables, end caps, facing OUT on the shelves, rather than their binding facing out). Publishers have paid for these privileges and it means that they’ve invested extra money in hopes that these books will sell well. Or, it means the book has already begun to sell well so they are pushing it further. Also, check out Amazon’s book rankings, reviews, and blurbs by other authors for that book — if five well-known authors have blurbed a given book, it’s safe to assume is better-known than a book with a blurb by only one lesser-known writer.

Both chats with Jeffrey where informative with lots of great tidbits you won’t find elsewhere. If you missed the chats, you can read the transcripts over on AgentQuery.

Blown Mind

Last night’s online chat with Jeffrey Moores (literary consultant and editor) over at Agent Query was mind-blowing to say the least. Seriously, it was like that Pizza Pop commercial (or is it Pizza Pockets?) and everyone was a little pizza pocket and then Jeff came along and *splat*! I will be sponging grey matter off the chat room walls all day! But it was sooo worth it.  ‘Its got more stuff’ could apply to Jeff in last night’s chat.

Here’s a taste of some of the advice he handed out to members: cut all your adverbs. Do NOT put a hook in your query letter. Yes, “AVOID THE HOOK”. And I quote.

It was a great chat with all sorts of great advice that will keep us writers thinking for days to come. If you want to check out the chat transcripts, click here. (You need to be a member. If you aren’t a member, simply sign up. No cost.)

Don’t forget, Jeff is doing a double hitter. That means another chat tonight! Don’t miss out. Join us. He’ll be critiquing 5 lucky AQ members’ work. Woo! (If you entered the ‘draw’, check out the thread on AQ to see if you ‘won’.)

Enjoy!

Literary Consultant Chat: Victims Needed

Agent Query has a chat coming up tomorrow night (Tuesday April 28, 9pm Eastern) with literary consultant, Jeffrey Moores. And as an added bonus, there is a second chat on Wednesday night (9pm Eastern, April 29). It is for the second chat that we need our victims. Oops. I mean, volunteers.

About Tuesday night’s chat: It will be a regular publishing industry chat with Jeff who will fill member’s brains with useful industry insider tidbits not normally found while sitting at one’s writing chair. How can I make such a bold claim? Well, let me tell you a bit about Jeff. Recently he began his own business as an editor and literary consultant (that means he helps people who need writing help/advice–read more on his website) after leaving his job as a literary agent at Dunow, Carlson and Lerner in New York. Yes, a former literary agent and student of literature is going to deliver the goods! That’s how I can make such bold claims.

Now, Wednesday night we’re throwing AQ chat tradition to the wind…and we need victims. I mean volunteers. See, Jeff has very graciously offered to do a live critique on 5 first paragraphs whether they be from someone’s query or manuscript. What you need to do is jump over to AQ (finish reading this first) and check out this thread where I explain everything. If you aren’t a member of AQ, become one. It’s free. Really. No strings attached. Okay, I lied. The community will make you a better writer–not a bad ‘string’, eh? Once you are a member, bravely toss your name in the hat. On Wednesday, I will have the sorting hat pick a few sacrificial lambs for Wednesday’s chat. We need a variety, so come one, come all. And if the hat doesn’t pick you, no worries, you can still join in the chat and learn a ton. So come on, put down the remote, get in your writing chair and help out your writing career.

As usual, I will be there moderating the chat, so come out and join us! It is sure to be a blast.