Plot Monkeys

From Novice to Professional
Winning the First Sale War in 10 Strategic Steps

From the workshop Carly Phillips, Lori & Tony Karayianni aka Tori Carrington, and Harlequin Editor, Brenda Chin presented at the Romance Writers of America Conference, Chicago, 1999

Please note this workshop was presented when Harlequin Temptation was still being published (I wish it still was!) I’ve gone through to update but if I missed anything, that’s why. At the time, I’d sold in 1998 so this was when my first book, BRAZEN had just recently hit bookshelves. Also, this was written with series books in mind, but as I read through, the advice applies to single title as well.

This is for ASPIRING WRITERS – and remember if you want to write, you are an aspiring writer. All you need to do is believe in yourself, hold your head up high, and insist those around you believe in you too. Even if they don’t, as long as you protect your writing (I read this somewhere in a blog this week and can’t remember where, YOU ARE A WRITER!)

SO without further ado … PART 1.
(Part 2 will be next Saturday! I’ve asked Tony and Lori to stop by so if we’re lucky, they’ll be around to answer comments too. I’m out all day but I promise to come back late Sat. night and Sunday to answer questions!)

1. BASIC TRAINING… Fall in, aspiring writers! Oh, no, we’re not talking physically. We’re talking brain here, not brawn, a kind of boot camp for the mind—though we do recommend regular stretching of all muscles. As the paragraph title implies, this is where you need to brush up on the basics. Not sure if you remember the difference between a comma, a semi-colon or colon? Just what is an infinitive and why shouldn’t you split it? Do you think POV means privately-owned-vehicle? Is there a character in your head but you don’t know how to get him out? Does the word “synopsis” sound like little more than a fatal disease to you? (Okay, we can’t tell you learning how to write one will erase this gut reaction, but the effort will make hand-to-hand combat with one easier.) Must-read books that will help you answer these questions are: Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style; Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer; Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey; Debra Dixon’s GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict; and Elizabeth Sinclair’s The Dreaded Synopsis: A Writing and Plotting Guide. Read them.

2. GEAR UP... This is where you prove you’re serious. To yourself. Any good soldier needs barracks and suitable supplies. No, we’re not talking a pickle suit or literal artillery here. You need a special place that’s yours and yours alone where you can nurture your artistic self. No matter if it’s a corner in your bedroom, attic, or even basement, or a cushy room with a view, set up a desk. Buy a secondhand or top-of-the-line computer and printer or typewriter (no dot matrix here, boys and girls). Invest in and learn that word processing program that will spit out format perfect material (1″ margins all the way around, with simple headers listing book title, author name and page number in the upper left hand corner, and easily readable print with approximately 25 lines per page). Invest in your own dictionary-of-choice, thesaurus, copies of the already mentioned books and put them where they’re within reach. Now comes the fun part. Go ahead, make your local office supply store your new best friend. Buy that multi-pack of yellow notepads you could never justify buying before. Choose those colorful paperclips. Invest in those cute post-it notes—you’ll need them. Stock your special place with all those supplies that will make concentrating strictly on writing easier. And just like any good soldier needs care packages, keep a stash of feel-good food (i.e. chocolate) where only you can find it.

3. RECON (NAISSANCE)… Okay, you’re getting into fighting shape, but you’re not there yet. Now it’s time to scout out territory you’d like to conquer. Which publisher do you want to write for? Which series? Go out and buy books from that publisher. Revisit any “keepers” you have and analyze why they earned precious shelf space. Give due respect to established authors—in our own home line, … because it’s from us and them you’ll see what the publisher is buying from new authors now. Note which themes are especially popular. Attend conferences, listen to and meet with editors to learn what they’re looking for. Visit blogs and see what authors you enjoy are saying about what they write, how they write, Then remember everybody’s process is different. Create your own.

4. ARM YOURSELF… Right about now you feel you’ll choke if made to swallow one more style rule, or piece of advice on how to write your book . Now it’s time to arm yourself. No, no, no, we’re not talking actual implements of war here. Your most effective weapon in this battle is your work. Push your research books aside and give yourself over completely to the process of writing. Completely. Do your character sketches. Outline your plot. Set a schedule for yourself, whether it be an hour or two before the kids get up, or the entire day, write, write, write. No weekend warriors allowed here. Devote every moment you can to writing that book through to the end. Trust that everything you’ve studied is there, in your subconscious, guiding you, and ignore the internal editor for the time being. Pound out the first draft till the very end. Call this battle “the book attack,” holding no prisoners, allowing for no excuses. This is where you prove you’re capable of finishing a book. Everyone works differently, so this exercise is not to compare yourself to others. No, it’s a process to get to know yourself as a writer. Only when you’ve finished can you go back and revise, revise, revise, polishing your baby until it coos and shines, tempting an editor to pick it up.

5. CHARGE… You’ve given it your absolute best—nothing less will do—to prepare your book for outside eyes. Send it out. With a self-addressed, stamped envelope. To an editor. If you’re so moved, also enter a contest(s)——but the ultimate test of any manuscript is with an editor. Do your research, find out who the best editor is to approach, know what they want to see (do they want a query letter, sample chapters, synopsis?) then mail the same to her attention, addressing her by name. Include a self-addressed stamped postcard so the editor can let you know she’s received the material, and, worse case scenario, return your manuscript (dealing with a Canadian publisher? Send a check to cover return postage). Now, settle back in your foxhole to wait. That wait could take a year, or ten, and include countless manuscripts. In our case, it took twenty full manuscripts, five partials, and fifteen—yes I said fifteen—years before we could proudly walk out of that foxhole and call ourselves published authors.

6. BATTLE PLANS… Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept it: Now, to train you to how to break free from the ranks of the unpublished and let your work shine in front of your superiors. Like any good soldier, by this time you’ve followed the commands and have a completed manuscript to show for your trouble. Don’t scratch your head and wonder what comes next. The answer is simple. SUBMIT.

Now that your submission is out there, in the hands of the brass. What do you do next? Retreat to your bunker. Hole up, sit yourself down in front of the computer and start over. Another manuscript, another story. Why, you ask? Why bother when you’ll hear in a few weeks time and be on your way to the New York Times Bestseller list? You really are green, aren’t you? Publishing houses are backlogged, editors are inundated. Not only with manuscripts from the unpublished ranks, but with work from within the ranks as well.. If a publishing houses guidelines offer a three month response time, figure six and use the lag time productively. Finish another book.

Why? Because … and this is my most important piece of advice—GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE. At this point you know the market. But does the market know you? Editors admire persistence, and after awhile they’ll begin to remember your name. The only way to make that first sale is to complete manuscript after manuscript until that call comes. With each rejection an editor remembers you. You move closer to being published. And it’s a real morale booster to have more than one submission with a different publisher. If one incoming is rejected, it helps to know there’s another one waiting to sell. So keep writing, and finishing. As an unpublished author, you can’t sell a manuscript unless it’s complete.

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Don’t forget to check back next Saturday for PART 2!
More writing articles for you at Carly’s Writer’s Nook!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the mini-workshop on Getting Published - We’re trying to give you new and fun things for your Saturdays. If you aren’t an aspiring writer, don’t worry. We’ll be bouncing back and forth with new things often!