Starting a new chapter, turning over a new leaf, beginning another tale...

I have recently been enjoying an internship with Peachtree Publishers in Atlanta, GA. There is a link on the left side of my page if you wish to check them out, whether that be for their publications-- just about exclusively in the children's to middle-grade age range, including picture and chapter books-- or their experience opportunities. Anyone desiring to learn more about the publishing business, or even the editing business, should definitely look here. They even have a Marketing internship. And trust me, all of it is very hands-on. You will not be making copies, unless it's to restock the pile of form rejection letters that you send out to those authors deemed not ready in the massive slush pile of hopefuls read on a daily basis. No, you'll work in the warehouse, evaluate and judge manuscripts of an unsolicited or suggested sort, and dodge the office cat. I have no idea what his name is, so I just call him "gravity-cat" or "cat" for short. Seeing as how he spends much of his time sprawled out in the middle of the hallway, surveying his domain, gravity has a stronger hold on him than normal. He suffers with a silent dignity.

I will not relate the sordid details of some of the more savory and intriguing slush manuscripts recieved on a daily basis (at least, if I did, I'd have to kill you) but you can't even imagine. I certainly had no idea. There is never a dull moment. But it's not all prone to cynicism and wonderment at the thousandth ABC book recieved that week. While the mediocre far outweigh the hilariously or horrifically bad, and even further outstrip the good, those that are considered good and make it through the hierarchy of critical eyes are gems that sit with you.

Besides, when at the end of the day I can say, "Oh, I spent the day reading children's books," I can quite confidently assert that I love my job.

Anyway, to the point of this prelude: while interning there I was able to converse with a published author (I only realized this tidbit after the fact) who I discovered, after discussing publishing and authorship and future goals and the like, is basically living my dream. She was published first at the age of 23 and has four books already published with another coming out this fall. Her genre is young adult fantasy and she started out writing a high-fantasy quest novel. Now for those of you who have read my book, the one I am currently trying to publish, that's the description of it to a 'T'. Unfortunately the industry is glutted with such tales, and it'll be very hard for me to publish my first novel, my brain child. I know this, and I won't give up.

But, this author did give me some great advice and even evaluated the synopsis of my manuscript. One of her suggestions was, after I do a final little polish of my manuscript and send it off once more, to leave it alone and do something new (I've got an idea floating around in my brain, and no I won't tell you what it is...). That's what worked for her, and the book she wrote after leaving her first piece alone was what got published. In any case, before I get to my new project, she gave me suggestions on how to polish up my novel, change names and titles to make it scream less "FANTASY" to a potential editor, even change the age it represents. Apparently my book is not 'young-adult' but 'adult'. I can see that, and if changing the age-range makes it easier (or at least less impossible) to market to an agent, I'm all for it.

She also sent me a lump of gold more valuable to me than any book or article I've ever read before on how to publish one's novel. A friend of hers wrote an article on how to write a query letter. Anyone who has ever tried to get anything published before will hear those words and shudder. Query letters are my own personal arch-nemesis. The drafts I have used for submission purposes in the past have taken me months to construct, agonizing over every word and sentence, going through dozens of edits and editors and opinions until I was finally so sick of it all that I'd pick a final draft in surrender and send it off.

Using this article (Query Letter Guide), it took me three hours...and, amazement abounds, I may actually like the finished product. Hm.

Now, this article may not work for everyone. But I think it really addresses many things that authors have a hard time with. When anyone ever asked me what my book was about, I'd stammer and struggle, because, well, there's so much to it. How can you summarize something that takes up 300+ pages? However, that's what the query letter does, and if you can't confidently tell someone what your book is about in three sentences or less, you're going to have trouble. Better to even narrow that down to one sentence. If you can describe your book in one sentence, then you'll be alright.

The author of this article cuts down to the heart of what the letter should be-- an advertisement. You're trying to get your agent or publisher to crave more, to ask for the full manuscript, and be so wildly enthusiastic about your book that they can't stand to do anything else but publish it immediately and find a way to get you a movie contract to boot with merchandise and action figures and lunch boxes (ok, well, that may be a dramatization). Authors get so caught up in the details that they forget what the heart of their book is. Get simple. Who are you talking about? What do they do? What's the problem? And what's the hook? You don't ever want to give away the answer, because then all the editor has to do is put down the letter, bored or satisfied, and move on to the next piece that may capture their attention before the noon lunch hour.

From my own personal experience, your package needs to be really tight. Everyone tells you it has to be the best thing you've ever written. Of course, grammatical errors and spelling mistakes will only make you look like a fool. But concentrate less on those and more on making an impression. When I read slush at the publishing company, I rarely read the query letter word for word. I glimpse over it, get an idea of what I'll be looking at, and that's all I need. Because if it's really bad or mediocre, I know immediately. If it's going to be really good, I can usually tell. But the real juice comes from the chapter samples that are sent. The point of the query letter, then, is to make them want to get to those chapter letters. Quickly. Put down their can of soda or cup of coffee and read.

And if those first couple of sentences aren't the best sentences you've ever written, forget about it. Because that's where we cut off. If you catch my attention beyond that point, I'll read another paragraph, another chapter maybe. If I read the whole thing then you've got something. It has to build and build and keep drawing me in. Don't count on me getting to the second paragraph where things really get good. If it's not really good to start with, I won't get there.

Of course, I'm preaching to myself here, too. Working in the publishing industry directly and pouring through dozens and dozens of manuscript hopefuls every day has given me an inordinant amount of perspective, invaluable perspective. If you want to work in editing and publishing, intern with a publishing company. If you want to be an author, intern with a publishing company, especially the editorial department. It will not only make you feel a little bit better about yourself but also make you increasingly aware of how small you are in all of it. Perspective. Stay humble, stay persistent. And always have a good helping of audacity ready.

Read the article, even if you've got nothing to publish. It's sole point is brevity, and as such, it's a rather short piece. Because even if you've got nothing to publish now, chances are you'll have the need to represent yourself creatively and effectively in some way some day. These suggestions are universal at their core, even if they are literary in rainment.