The "And then!" Plot

Folks, let's talk plot and how it relates to your query letter, because I've seen a mistake repeated a few times recently and heard other writers complaining about the same thing.

Here's the story. Fred is going to work. He meets Wilma. They have their meet-cute and they both like each other.

AND THEN!!! Fred breaks his foot, and Wilma stops by to loan him her crutches.

AND THEN!!! Wilma runs out of milk and goes to the grocery store where she gets a flat tire, so Fred comes over and changes it.

AND THEN!!! There's a thunderstorm that knocks out power to the city, so they can't charge their phones to text each other.

AND THEN!!! A wormhole opens up and Fred has to go shut it to save civilization.

You get the picture. None of the major plot points are related to each other. It's as though the story itself were a bunch of snapshots. Sure, the main characters keep getting together, and sure, they'll probably have their Happily Ever After at the end, but it's not satisfying because none of the events are related to each other any more than the first pitch ("STRIKE!") is related to the second pitch ("BALL!") and so on.

The solution to this is to figure out how to connect your plot points with "And therefore" instead. Fred and Wilma meet and hit it off, and she loves hiking, so Fred pretends he loves hiking too. They decide to meet for a hike.

AND THEREFORE Fred breaks his foot, because he doesn't know what he's doing.

See how this works? When you're reading it, everything seems to flow naturally one from the next, almost as if the events were inevitable. Of course Fred would want to show off and end up hurting himself. Of course Wilma would respond to that with compassion and just a little mockery. And at the end, of course that thunderstorm would open the wormhole, and of course Fred will be willing to climb the skyscraper and shut the wormhole because he's learned from the foot-breaking incident how to be careful and not show off.

In hindsight, all those things will be perfectly sensible. Of course there are plot twists, but not plot twists like, "Oh, and then they got into a huge car crash and everything changed." Not unless you've shown us ahead of time that your MC is a lousy driver who doesn't pay attention, and therefore was texting while driving and hit a truck.

Readers and editors don't like and-then plots, and therefore neither do agents.

And therefore your query shouldn't look like a string of things that happen to a bunch of interesting people.

One of my ex-agents (we shall not name which) accidentally turned out a pitch like that for one of my stories, and I only realized it when we got back a rejection saying, in effect, there's no causation here. Of course in the story there was lots of causation, but in an attempt to work a complicated plot into a 250-word pitch, the agent had in effect listed a bunch of plot points. And then they do this, and then they go there, and then the antagonist does this other thing, and then they have more problems, and then they pull it together somehow.

So we reworked the pitch until it had that sense of rolling inevitability. This happens and they respond by doing that, which has the unintended side effect of this other thing, which triggers a specific response by the antagonist, which results in the following chaos for the main characters.

See how that works?

Oh, and yes, "and then!!" happens all the time in real life. And then you come home to find a notice from the IRS in your mailbox saying you're getting audited because you reversed two digits on your 2011 tax return. And then your kid falls out of a tree and breaks his arm. And then you get a promotion and will have to move to Pensacola. Keep in mind that life itself doesn't make for good fiction, and that people expect the author of their fiction to craft a story that flows toward a climax and a resolution.

And therefore here is your takeaway: when pitching, set up your characters and their circumstances so that as every piece unfolds, the agent will feel a sense of, oh, I see why that would happen, and then Yes, they'd get into trouble doing that, and then Oh no, they're making their situation worse.

Remember, it's not "AND THEN!!! you get an agent." It's and therefore you got your agent. You crafted a wonderful story with a compelling plot and characters who responded believably to their circumstances, and therefore readers loved it.

Jane Lebak is the author of Honest And For True. She has four kids, eleven books in print, three cats, and one husband. She lives in the Swamp and tries to do one scary thing every day. You can like her on Facebook, or visit her at her website at www.janelebak.com.

Five Ways to Land an Agent

The only way to land an agent is with a manuscript that she falls in love with and she can think of at least five editors who are looking for something like it. But before she gets to that stage, she has to see said manuscript. Here are five ways to achieve this:

Slush Pile

The slush pile is the most common method for getting your manuscript in front of an agent. It simply refers to sending a professionally written query (and sample pages if indicated on the agent’s website) to the agent. You then wait. And wait. And wait. Sometimes you’ll never hear back from an agent. The silent treatment often means a rejection, unless your query was lost in cyberspace or with the mail service. Unfortunately with non-responders, unless their system is set up to acknowledge your query has been received, you won’t know if yours was in the small percentage that was lost in cyberspace. In other cases, you might get a form rejection, a personalized rejection, or a request for additional material. The latter might then lead to a full request, a rejection, or an offer of representation.

Pitching at Conferences

Writer conferences often have the opportunity for pitching to agents. This is your chance to meet with the agent face-to-face and discuss your project. Some writers love doing this. Others would prefer to email a query. It could also be that you’re interested in an agent who is closed to queries but loves to request manuscripts at conferences. This is your chance to let her know about your project. The advantage of pitching directly to the agent is that you can see if she is someone you would like to work with. If the person is rude or is too busy texting to listen to you, then you might not want to sign with her should she offer.

Typically, you’ll prepare a short explanation about your book that tells the agent who your characters are, what the story problem is, and the major conflict. This doesn’t mean memorize your query pitch. You want to keep it brief so the agent has time to ask questions. The best way to prepare for the questions is to know your book inside and out. If you haven’t read it in a few months, chances are good you’ll struggle with the questions—and that will make you more nervous. But don’t worry if you are nervous. Agents are used to writers who are one step away from being a basket case because of nerves. The best way to lessen them is to be well prepared. And practice, practice, practice your pitch so that you don’t stumble your way through it. Also, bring your pitch with you on an index card. If you get so nervous that you forget what you want to say, you’ll be able to refer to the card. Most agents are fine with that.

Remember, you want to make a memorable impression. This means being professional at all times. This does not mean dressing up as a Viking. It might be memorable, but it won’t leave the agent with the impression you were hoping for. And one final point, don’t pitch a project if it isn’t close to being completed. If the agent (or editor) requests the manuscript, it’s because she wants to read it now, not in eight months. It’s not fair to the agent and it’s not far to a writer who has finished editing his manuscript but was unable to book a spot to see the agent.

Meeting Agents at Conferences

In addition to pitch events (which you have to book ahead of time), you might have the opportunity to mention your book if you end up talking to an agent at a conference. For this situation, you want to be prepared with an elevator pitch (also known as a one-line pitch) in case the agent asks you want you’re writing. If you hook her with your strong pitch, she’ll want to know more about your project. What you don’t want to do is follow her into the bathroom and pass the manuscript under the stall door, or pitch to her while she’s in the stall or washing her hands. If she’s busy talking to someone, don’t interrupt the conversation just so you can spam pitch her. This won’t get you anywhere. The best thing to do when you go to a conference is to not expect to discuss your project with an agent (or editor). That’s not the purpose of conferences. They are organized so that writers can network with other writers and learn more about various topics through the offered workshops. If you keep this in mind, the conference will be less stressful because you won’t be trying to stalk agents. Stalk them on Twitter. Don’t stalk them at conferences—unless you want to come off as creepy.

Contests

Some agents enjoy participating in contests as a way to find new clients. Before you enter one, make sure the agents are looking for your genre. And if they aren’t, don’t lie about your genre in hopes that they will request your novel and fall in love with it anyway. They won’t appreciate it, and you will have taken a spot that someone else rightly deserved.

When you enter, make sure you have read and paid attention to the rules. If the rules state that the excerpt can be only one hundred words, your entry will be rejected if you send in a 150-word sample. Contests of often bombarded with entries, and the easiest way to narrow the numbers down is to delete those that ignore the rules. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your pitch and sample might be, it will be excluded. Worse yet, you won’t know that and will assume the agent wasn’t interested in your entry. This means you won’t query her and might miss out on her offering representation.

Referrals

One way to jump ahead in the slushpile is with a referral. If you have a friend who is a client of the agent you want to query, she might refer you, though not all agents accept referrals. However, it is better that she offers to refer you than for you to ask for a referral and put her on the spot. Please don’t contact someone you haven’t talked to in a while and ask for a referral. Chances are good she’ll say no. Most people don’t like being put on the spot like that, and most clients prefer to have read the manuscript first so that they know it is well written. However, this doesn’t mean you should send your manuscript to the writer in hopes that she will refer you. The other thing you want to avoid is pretending that one of the agent’s clients, who doesn’t even know you, referred you. The agent will check and you’ve just guaranteed yourself a rejection.

Which of the above have you done or will be doing in the near future?

Stina Lindenblatt @StinaLL writes New Adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and can be found at her blog/website.  She is represented by Marisa Corvisiero, and finds it weird talking about herself in third person. Her debut New Adult contemporary romance TELL ME WHEN (Carina Press, HQN) is now available. LET ME KNOW (Carina Press) will be available Sept 1st, 2014.

How to Score Big in Pitch Contests: Guest Post

Pitch contests are fast becoming a viable option for connecting authors with agents and publishers.

With more and more authors being signed via competitions rather than slush, your chances of gaining representation could be higher through a pitch contest than with traditional querying methods.

An advantage in entering pitch contests is you don’t have to play a guessing game on which agent to query at an agency. Your pitch is on display for agents to peruse, and if an agent doesn’t request your work, you can still query a different agent at that agency. A cheeky way to double dip without breaking submission guidelines.

The contests can vary for how to enter. The main styles include:

Open to all in a set time period.

Open to a limited number of entries with the cut off determined by when critical mass is reached.

Open to all in a set time period, however entries go through a screening process before making the final round.

If you are planning to enter pitch contests, here’s some tips to stand out from the competition (in a good way):

Be selective on which contests you enter. The publishing industry is smaller than you’d think. Not all agents participate in pitch competitions, which means that some agents participate in multiple contests. And many pitch contests hosts help out with multiple competitions. You don’t want your pitch dangled out in front of the same agents continuously. And you risk missing out of final rounds if those screening the contest have seen your pitch multiple times before.

Adhere to the rules. Don’t ‘bend’ the rules.

• Make sure that your manuscript matches the requirements of the contest – the right category and the right genre.

• Stick to the word limit for your pitch.

• DON’T pitch a manuscript that isn’t ready. You’re wasting your time, the agents time, and taking away an opportunity from someone who is ready.

Edit your pitch. Pitches and queries need drafting, just like your manuscript. Often bloggers will hold pitch critiques on behalf of the contest hosts to help writers hone their entry.

Don’t be vague or cliché. Don’t use phrases like “world turned upside down”, “everything changes”, “there’ll be dire consequences”. Be specific and clear on what happens in the story.

Show your voice. Pitches for contests are often shorter than what you put in a query. You need to be able to set the tone for the story, the category, and the genre in just a few sentences, or 140 characters for Twitter pitch contests, as well as capturing your main character’s voice. This is where getting critiques on your query can help.

Highlight your point of difference. What makes your story unique? How will it stand out on the bookstore shelf? You need to hook the contest hosts, agents and editors.

Be clear of the conflict and stakes. These are what make the story interesting. A story about an ordinary person, having an ordinary life with nothing happening may have worked as a pitch for Seinfeld, but it won’t cut it in a query contest.

Polish your first 250 words. Make sure that you have gone over your first 250 words with a fine toothcomb if the contest includes an excerpt. An agent won’t expect absolute perfection on the whole, but they will for your opening. It should be perfect.

Make sure your word count is right. A lot of pitches get passed on because of extremely high, or low, word counts for their category and genre. Look at the industry standards and if your manuscript doesn’t match up then you will likely be passed on, especially if there’s limited positions in the contest.

Get it right before you enter. You need to have every aspect of your entry perfect before you send it off: all your details, the pitch and the excerpt. Pitch Contests can attract hundreds of entries and expecting organizers to wade through these entries to find your mistake is less than ideal.

These steps will improve your changes of getting selected for the final round of a contest and getting requests from a contest. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get an offer of rep. That’s up to you to make sure that you have an amazing manuscript that’s masterfully written and highly marketable.

Sharon Johnston is an author, public relations specialist, a regular pitch contest host and a collector of shoes and cat clothing. Her debut novel Sleeper is out in December 2013. Follow her on Twitter at @S_M_Johnston

The Publishing Pulse: June 28, 2013

Now that it’s summer, the publishing industry has sllloooowwwwed down. This means a number of agents are closed to queries. Before you send any out, make sure to double check the agents’ websites, blogs, tweets to see if they’re currently accepting queries. And if they are, be prepared for a long wait.

Around the Web

This week a self-published author was ousted on a blog after it was discovered she copied paragraphs from two bestselling New Adult novels (Easy by Tammara Weber and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Mcquire), and pretended they were original material. Her original material. She tweaked a word here and there, but it was obvious the excerpts came from those two novels. The writer could be facing legal ramifications. Stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, if you feel the temptation to steal from the work of others: DON’T.

Along with plagiarizing, piracy is another form of thief that authors have to deal with. Here are some suggestions on how to avoid it.

Agent Rachelle Gardner has some creative suggestions for pitching your project at a conference. Notice she doesn’t say anything about cornering your dream agent in the bathroom. That’s because it is a big mistake to do so as it leaves the wrong impression. As does stalking the agent during the conference.

If you’ve always wanted to participate in NaNoMoWri during November but the timing wasn’t right, next week is your chance to join thousands of writers with Camp NaNoMoWri. It’s not too late to sign up, and the word count is more flexible that the 50,000 words in November.

And finally, here are ten things you do not want in your novel and how to deconstruct the editorial letter.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Stina Lindenblatt @StinaLL writes Young Adult and New Adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer, a blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog (when she isn’t writing).  She is represented by Marisa Corvisiero, and finds it weird talking about herself in third person.

Learning to Love the Pitch

By Sarah Pinneo | @SarahPinneo

I have often pondered the question of why QueryTracker is so effective at bringing writers together as a community. My favorite theory is that the querying process is a career bottleneck which forces everyone to learn a new and uncomfortable skill. When I recommend QueryTracker to people I meet, I often refer to it as a friendly "writers' ghetto." It's a place where whining about the query process is accepted, even encouraged. We encourage each other, we share information, we comfort those who hit road blocks. We gently steer first draft queries toward greatness, and we pass out tissues to those who bemoan the impossibility of compressing the nuance and greatness of their work into two solid paragraphs.

And while everyone deserves an occasional wallow, my opinion about the painfulness of query writing has evolved. A few years ago, as I strolled up a New York City avenue with my dear friend Abbey, she gave me a crumb of advice she’d once received during her formative years as an actress. And Abbey’s wisdom entirely changed my opinion about querying.

“Listen, kid,” she had been told. “If you want to be an actor, you’d better love auditioning. Because that’s what 90% of successful working actors do with most of their days—they audition. They wait in line. And then they get up in front of strangers and perform with a smile, and then they do it again the next day.”

The truth of it hit me like a wobbly stack of unsold manuscripts. Authors are in precisely the same boat. Pitching is a part of every writer’s life. And it doesn't go away once you land an agent.

Eventually I got my wish. By querying (and querying, and querying) I landed a terrific agent who sold my debut novel. Cue the champagne and streamers. But then last year we agonized together over the catalog copy. Later, the back cover copy. Then, I pitched other authors for blurbs to bedeck my shiny new cover. I pitched book bloggers who agreed to review it. And then? I wrote to every bookseller I've ever known, I pitched media outlets who might cover me.

I’m sure you've spotted the theme by now. The querying never stops. But—and it was a big surprise—I finally began to enjoy it.

Perhaps I shouldn't mention that I also enjoy preparing my own taxes. But my reasoning is the same. Who wouldn't want to devote a little extra time to really getting that right? In the same way that an accountant couldn't possibly care as much as I do about my bottom line, nobody knows my work as well as I do.

Which is just as well, because the pitching never ends. Having one success doesn't mean you’ll never write another pitch. If your agent believes your next book could be part of a two or three book deal, you’re going to have to write a few punchy paragraphs about the next books in the series.

Pitching, like taxes, is part of (the publishing) life. This is something your agent understands too. The first time your agent reads your pitch, she’s also writing her own in her head. Ditto your editor--she's going to have to sell your book to the acquisition meeting, and then later to her sales force. Agents and Editors are query writing professionals. If they can do it, so can you.

So we might as well stop hating pitching, and start to see it for the lifeblood that it is. A query, like an audition, is not an obligation, it's a chance to impress. So step up on that stage and give them your best Hamlet. To read or not to read. That is the question.

Sarah Pinneo  is a novelist, food writer and book publicity specialist. Her most recent book is Julia’s Child. Follow her on twitter at @SarahPinneo.

Writing Killer Loglines

                                                                           source

Whether you write short stories, novellas, novels, or screenplays, loglines are an important part of the process. If someone asks you what your story is about, you aren’t reduced to the incoherent word ‘um’. Or better yet, you won’t ramble on, leaving the poor listener wishing he hadn’t asked.

If you attend a conference and have the chance to say ‘hi’ to an agent or editor (or if you’ve signed up for a pitch session), you have a quick way to let them know about your book. If the individual is interested, she might ask to see your manuscript (or portion of it). Many blog contests require a logline (psst, look at the side bar for an upcoming contest). 

When you write a logline, you want to keep the following questions in mind:

1.      What genre is the book? If your logline is for a children’s book, the protagonist’s age will indicate this. It isn’t necessary though, as you will see in the following example.

2.      Who is the main character?

3.      What makes her unique?

4.      What is the inciting incident?

5.      What is your main character’s goal?

6.      What is the major conflict your character will face? Unlike in the query, you only have room for one conflict in the logline.

7.      What is the consequence if the main character fails?

This sounds like a lot to get into a single sentence, but it isn’t. At least it isn’t after you rework your logline. 

Example

The Hunger Games (The following is from the logline created for the upcoming movie.)

1.      What genre is the book? Young adult dystopian

2.      Who is the main character? Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen

3.      What makes her unique? She is willing to sacrifice her life to save her young sister, who is selected to participate in The Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place.

4.      What is the inciting incident? Katniss’s young sister is selected by the Capital to fight to the death on live television. (Even the contestants on Survivor had it easier than this.)

5.      What is your main character’s goal? To survive the fight to death on the reality TV show.

6.      What is the major conflict your character will face? Katniss isn’t the only contestant who wants to win. Only one contestant gets to live.

7.      What is the consequence if the main character fails? Katniss dies. It goes further than that, but this is enough for the logline.

Now rewrite the information into one sentence:

Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.

Do you notice something else about the logline? It hints at the emotion of the story. This is live television, where the audience gets to watch their loved ones or friends die. And what if the boy and girl from the district are friends or are in love? That ups the stakes and the emotional conflict of the story. You don’t know which is true from reading the logline, though you might be compelled to read the book (or see the movie) to see what happens.

Additional Tips

• If you’re participating in a contest, check the rules. Some allow for longer loglines. This could be two or three sentences instead of just one. Make sure you follow the rules or else your entry will be disqualified.

• At a conference, you might have a ten-minute pitch session scheduled. If the pitch is brief, it gives the agent or editor a chance to ask YOU questions. An engaged agent or editor is more likely to request material. A bored agent or editor is more likely to pass.

• Try out the logline on people who have read the book and those who haven’t. This way you can make sure the important parts of the book are included and that it makes sense to everyone.

• Avoid writing long, convoluted sentences. Too often writers try to squeeze in as much information as possible while abusing punctuation. The sentence is confusing and doesn’t compel the agent or editor to want to read the book. Worse yet, the agent or editor might believe this is the typical sentence structure in your novel.

• If you struggle answering the above questions, it might not be the logline that is the issue. It might be your book.

Here are three more loglines from current or upcoming movies for you to analyze. The more you analyze, the easier it will be to create one for your story.

Hugo

Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.

The Descendants

A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.

For more movie loglines, check out The Internet Movie Database.

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative.  

Publishing Pulse: 8/02/2011

Querying

Now that September is upon us, many of the agents who closed their office to queries during the summer are now accepting them again. But please double check before sending yours. Not all have opened their doors yet.

Agent Natalie Fischer explained the role of an agent. For the sake of your writing career, please keep this in mind when determining which agents to target.

Agent Janet Reid shared the difference between a pitch and a query.

Here are some simple steps to help you pitch anything to anyone. 

Around the Internet

Social media has become vital if you want to be a successful author. But it’s also great for helping you become a better writer.

Agent Rachelle Gardner blogged about how much to share online.

Author Nathan Bransford talked about the internet and your brand. 

Miscellaneous

Agent Mary Kole discussed overwriting and the two signs to watch out for.

Here’s some advice to avoid nasty surprises in your publishing workflow.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Stina Lindenblatt writes young adult novels. In her spare time, she’s a photographer and blogging addict, and can be found hanging out on her blog, Seeing Creative. 

Publishing Pulse: 7/15/2011

With the advent of Google+, along with Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and other social networking sites, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Author Jonathan Fields discusses technology and the death of creativity.

Agent Jessica Faust discusses re-querying and what to do when you have an offer.

Agent Rachelle Gardner shares some secrets for great pitches as well as explaining why agents don't explain why they say no.

On Agent Mary Kole's blog, she has a guest post discussing alternative plot types.

Editor Alan Rinzler talks about trusting your reader and gives some tips on strategic tweeting for authors.

Have a great weekend!

Danyelle writes MG and YA fantasy. In her spare time, she collects dragons, talking frogs, and fairy godmothers. She can be found discussing the art of turning one's characters into various animals, painting with words, and the best ways to avoid getting eaten by dragons on her blog. Her serial novel THE FAIRY GODMOTHER DILEMMA can be found here.