Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Book VS. Novel
Difference between a book and a novel.
A book can be poetry, nonfiction, fiction, ect.
A novel is just one genre, fiction.
--
Ashley
A book can be poetry, nonfiction, fiction, ect.
A novel is just one genre, fiction.
--
Ashley
Writing Two Complicated Words...The End
I hate it when I finish writing a novel, but I also love it :)
I love it because I finished it, and hate it because I'm done writing it. Do you understand? I get butterflies in my stomach when I'm finished with a novel, but then I'm kinda sad that the novel is over. The first book I wrote was part of a trilogy, so when I finished writing the first and second books it wasn't really over. So I didn't really get that feeling. When I finished the first novel I was totally excited that I had actually wrote a book. And then the same day started writing its sequel.
But I just finished a one shot book and I was a little upset that it was over because I really enjoyed writing it. (It's copyrighted now and I'm trying to get it published). And I'm almost finished with another one shot novel (my 5th book) and I'm kinda sad about it too. This one will most likely be self-publishing, so I'll update when it's posted or whatever, but it won't be until late next year or so.
Anyway, since I'm almost finished writing my 5th novel I decided to blog about the ending of your novel. N. O. V. E. L. As in fiction, not nonfiction.
When you are finishing up writing a book that is part of a series you don't want to hurry up and write everything into the last few chapters. You want to leave things for the next book.
You also want to leave the final chapter, the final page, in a cliff hanger. Something that will leave the reader wanting more that moment and hate the fact that they will have to wait a whole year, or a few months, to get its sequel.
When you end a one shot book you want to make sure you went over everything in that book. That everything that that character was experiencing was conveyed clearly so the reader will understand. You also want to make sure you got every secret out. For example, you wrote a novel about a girl that has powers, but she doesn't know what she is. If you are writing a one shot you want to make sure that your character finds out what she is before the book ends.
If you want some examples you should read the first book in a series, then once you've finished that read a one shot. That way you get a good idea of what you should do, and maybe you'll get a great idea how to end your book :)
Good Luck!
--
Ashley
I love it because I finished it, and hate it because I'm done writing it. Do you understand? I get butterflies in my stomach when I'm finished with a novel, but then I'm kinda sad that the novel is over. The first book I wrote was part of a trilogy, so when I finished writing the first and second books it wasn't really over. So I didn't really get that feeling. When I finished the first novel I was totally excited that I had actually wrote a book. And then the same day started writing its sequel.
But I just finished a one shot book and I was a little upset that it was over because I really enjoyed writing it. (It's copyrighted now and I'm trying to get it published). And I'm almost finished with another one shot novel (my 5th book) and I'm kinda sad about it too. This one will most likely be self-publishing, so I'll update when it's posted or whatever, but it won't be until late next year or so.
Anyway, since I'm almost finished writing my 5th novel I decided to blog about the ending of your novel. N. O. V. E. L. As in fiction, not nonfiction.
When you are finishing up writing a book that is part of a series you don't want to hurry up and write everything into the last few chapters. You want to leave things for the next book.
You also want to leave the final chapter, the final page, in a cliff hanger. Something that will leave the reader wanting more that moment and hate the fact that they will have to wait a whole year, or a few months, to get its sequel.
When you end a one shot book you want to make sure you went over everything in that book. That everything that that character was experiencing was conveyed clearly so the reader will understand. You also want to make sure you got every secret out. For example, you wrote a novel about a girl that has powers, but she doesn't know what she is. If you are writing a one shot you want to make sure that your character finds out what she is before the book ends.
If you want some examples you should read the first book in a series, then once you've finished that read a one shot. That way you get a good idea of what you should do, and maybe you'll get a great idea how to end your book :)
Good Luck!
--
Ashley
Chapter Design
In my last post I talked about fonts. I'm sure someone out there didn't use any of the fonts that are suggested, but the fonts I gave were suggestions and most used, as long as you can read the font really easy you won't have a problem. You want it this way so when a literary agent, or editor reads your manuscript they can actually read it.
Anyway, today I wanted to talk about chapter designing (or chapter placing). I have a Mac so I will be giving examples through my computer.
Okay, so since you couldn't use a fun font for the complete writing for your novel why don't you put the fun font in the chapter design? Whenever you finish writing a chapter you always put, Chapter (certain number) at the top of the page, right? But what about the first sentence of that new chapter?
What I do sometimes is highlight the first sentence, or the top row of words, and make them a different font that matches the font I've been using for, Chapter 1, 2, 3, etc.
Example:
Chapter 1
I went to the shelter today and bought a dog. His name is LUI. He is a mutt. He chases his tail, plays with his toys, and sleeps in his bed. He has big ears that stick up on the top of his head and a tail that curves and is furry.
Me again
That was an example of how you could place your chapter. But see how the CHAPTER 1 has the same font as the first sentence? You want the chapter placing to look nice so that the literary agent, or publisher, editor, that you sent it to will take you seriously, and think that you are a professional. You want that WOW factor when someone looks at your manuscript and sees what a nice job you've done on it. (You would not be rejected because you did a bad job or whatever on designing your chapter placing. If you are rejected it is because they didn't get hooked in the sample pages you sent them, or your manuscript doesn't go with what they're looking for. There are a lot of reasons why a literary agent, or editor would reject your manuscript, but it would not be because your chapters don't look right).
If you want more examples and ideas on how you should place your chapter you can open a book on your bookshelf, or go to a bookstore, open to a chapter and look at how this author designed their chapters. You can go basic, or all out and make it look really cool :)
Another thing you could do is use a Drop Cap.
--
Ashley
Anyway, today I wanted to talk about chapter designing (or chapter placing). I have a Mac so I will be giving examples through my computer.
Okay, so since you couldn't use a fun font for the complete writing for your novel why don't you put the fun font in the chapter design? Whenever you finish writing a chapter you always put, Chapter (certain number) at the top of the page, right? But what about the first sentence of that new chapter?
What I do sometimes is highlight the first sentence, or the top row of words, and make them a different font that matches the font I've been using for, Chapter 1, 2, 3, etc.
Example:
Chapter 1
I went to the shelter today and bought a dog. His name is LUI. He is a mutt. He chases his tail, plays with his toys, and sleeps in his bed. He has big ears that stick up on the top of his head and a tail that curves and is furry.
Me again
That was an example of how you could place your chapter. But see how the CHAPTER 1 has the same font as the first sentence? You want the chapter placing to look nice so that the literary agent, or publisher, editor, that you sent it to will take you seriously, and think that you are a professional. You want that WOW factor when someone looks at your manuscript and sees what a nice job you've done on it. (You would not be rejected because you did a bad job or whatever on designing your chapter placing. If you are rejected it is because they didn't get hooked in the sample pages you sent them, or your manuscript doesn't go with what they're looking for. There are a lot of reasons why a literary agent, or editor would reject your manuscript, but it would not be because your chapters don't look right).
If you want more examples and ideas on how you should place your chapter you can open a book on your bookshelf, or go to a bookstore, open to a chapter and look at how this author designed their chapters. You can go basic, or all out and make it look really cool :)
Another thing you could do is use a Drop Cap.
--
Ashley
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Fonts
Happy Thanksgiving! :)
Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. Stuffs been goin' on and I haven't been able to get on, that and I had to figure out what I was going to post next.
I decided to talk about fonts (or the style of your letters).
The size of your font should be 12.
And your choices of fonts are:
Century Expanded
Times Roman
&
Baskerville
The reason why it has to be this size is so the literary agent, editor, and reader can read it clearly. And literary agents and editors hate it when they are trying to read and the text is a weird font.
--
Ashley
Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. Stuffs been goin' on and I haven't been able to get on, that and I had to figure out what I was going to post next.
I decided to talk about fonts (or the style of your letters).
The size of your font should be 12.
And your choices of fonts are:
Century Expanded
Times Roman
&
Baskerville
The reason why it has to be this size is so the literary agent, editor, and reader can read it clearly. And literary agents and editors hate it when they are trying to read and the text is a weird font.
--
Ashley
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Another book recommendation
How to Write a Great Query Letter -- by -- Noah Lukeman
It's free on your Nook, Kindle, and iPad if you go to iBooks.
It's free on your Nook, Kindle, and iPad if you go to iBooks.
Emails = Excitement
Okay, this morning I got an Email from Entanlged publishing:
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for querying Entangled Publishing. While we liked your idea, I'm afraid those all-important first pages didn’t grab us as much as we’d hoped. Some of your dialogue seemed a bit stilted, and maybe you could steer clear of using dialogue as exposition. When a parent says “Mr Jack, one of your school teachers,” it flags that you are using dialogue to impart knowledge to the reader, rather than write realistic dialogue. A real parent wouldn’t have to tell their kid that Mr Jack is one of their school teachers, because they would already know that :)
Having said that, publishing is a very subjective business, so while (title of my novel) is not a good fit for us, it may be perfect for another editor. Best of luck finding the right home for your manuscript, and may there be many successes in your career!
Best wishes,
Sue Winegardner
Assistant Editor for Senior Editor, Heather Howland
Entangled Publishing
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/
So I sent back that I was thinking . . . oh I'll just post it.
Thank you for the tip :) I really appreciate it. I was thinking of rewriting this novel, it was my first novel after all and I know it will need a bit of touching up as far as the writing and emotions. But I wanted to get a response from your company before I made my decision. Would you be interested in taking another look at it sometime next year?
--
Ashley
And I checked my Email about 10 minutes ago and saw that she had replied.
Sure we would :)
From your query, I would think that the life changing event for your main character would be that teenagers are disappearing from her school. All the bits before (background, set up etc) are probably unnecessary, and the important bits can be woven into the story. For example, all of the exposition you put up front could be condensed into something like, (cannot show. My book is copyrighted but don't want to give ANYTHING away) The rest of the information (is her best friend a witch etc) can be woven in to give depth. Just a suggestion :)
Before you start you re-write, I strongly recommend getting your hands on a book called Save The Cat (it’s a paperback and ebook on Amazon and B&N). It’s a fast, fun read and will give you hints on where to start the story and how to plot a really compelling story. I use it all the time. It’s designed for screenwriters, but all the lessons apply to novel writers too.
Good luck with the editing (and dialogue ;-) ) and we look forward to seeing it again next year!
Sue Winegardner
Assistant Editor for Senior Editor, Heather Howland
Entangled Publishing
I'm totally excited! Though I am working on writing my 5th novel now I will be reading the book she suggested as soon as possible. I hope to be finished reading it by the time I complete my 5th novel, so then I can immediately get started on rewriting my first novel. Just wanted to share! :) thanks for reading and (maybe) sharing my excitement!
If you look at her signature you will see her info. Website, and name, and who she works for. I highly recommend you trying her out with your query letter! She writes long Emails herself (I say this because a lot of people send the same Emails to the people they want to reject) and they are long and helpful!
Good luck on your journey!
PLEASE COMMENT! <3
--
Ashley :)
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for querying Entangled Publishing. While we liked your idea, I'm afraid those all-important first pages didn’t grab us as much as we’d hoped. Some of your dialogue seemed a bit stilted, and maybe you could steer clear of using dialogue as exposition. When a parent says “Mr Jack, one of your school teachers,” it flags that you are using dialogue to impart knowledge to the reader, rather than write realistic dialogue. A real parent wouldn’t have to tell their kid that Mr Jack is one of their school teachers, because they would already know that :)
Having said that, publishing is a very subjective business, so while (title of my novel) is not a good fit for us, it may be perfect for another editor. Best of luck finding the right home for your manuscript, and may there be many successes in your career!
Best wishes,
Sue Winegardner
Assistant Editor for Senior Editor, Heather Howland
Entangled Publishing
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/
So I sent back that I was thinking . . . oh I'll just post it.
Thank you for the tip :) I really appreciate it. I was thinking of rewriting this novel, it was my first novel after all and I know it will need a bit of touching up as far as the writing and emotions. But I wanted to get a response from your company before I made my decision. Would you be interested in taking another look at it sometime next year?
--
Ashley
And I checked my Email about 10 minutes ago and saw that she had replied.
Sure we would :)
From your query, I would think that the life changing event for your main character would be that teenagers are disappearing from her school. All the bits before (background, set up etc) are probably unnecessary, and the important bits can be woven into the story. For example, all of the exposition you put up front could be condensed into something like, (cannot show. My book is copyrighted but don't want to give ANYTHING away) The rest of the information (is her best friend a witch etc) can be woven in to give depth. Just a suggestion :)
Before you start you re-write, I strongly recommend getting your hands on a book called Save The Cat (it’s a paperback and ebook on Amazon and B&N). It’s a fast, fun read and will give you hints on where to start the story and how to plot a really compelling story. I use it all the time. It’s designed for screenwriters, but all the lessons apply to novel writers too.
Good luck with the editing (and dialogue ;-) ) and we look forward to seeing it again next year!
Sue Winegardner
Assistant Editor for Senior Editor, Heather Howland
Entangled Publishing
I'm totally excited! Though I am working on writing my 5th novel now I will be reading the book she suggested as soon as possible. I hope to be finished reading it by the time I complete my 5th novel, so then I can immediately get started on rewriting my first novel. Just wanted to share! :) thanks for reading and (maybe) sharing my excitement!
If you look at her signature you will see her info. Website, and name, and who she works for. I highly recommend you trying her out with your query letter! She writes long Emails herself (I say this because a lot of people send the same Emails to the people they want to reject) and they are long and helpful!
Good luck on your journey!
PLEASE COMMENT! <3
--
Ashley :)
Friday, November 9, 2012
Literary Agencies
A few days ago I Googled YA (Young Adult) literary agents and an editor's blog pulled up and she had posted tons of literary agencies that accept YA novels. Some of the pages don't work anymore, either because they changed their website address or because they are no longer in business.
On the right side shows literary agents that are accepting YA submissions, and the left, the agencies they work for.
Good luck! I hope you find your agent!
P.S.
These agencies don't only represent YA fiction, they represent more genres.
On the right side shows literary agents that are accepting YA submissions, and the left, the agencies they work for.
Good luck! I hope you find your agent!
P.S.
These agencies don't only represent YA fiction, they represent more genres.
AGENCY AGENT
A+B Works Amy
Alicka Pistek Literary Alicka
Andrea Brown Lit Caryn Wiseman
Donald Maass Multiple agents
Eden Street LLC Liza P-Voges
Ethan Ellenberg Multiple agents
Fineprint Literary Mgmt Multiple agents
Folio Lit. A Multiple agents
Foundry Media Multiple agents
Full Circle Literary Dominguez
Harvey Klinger Multiple agents
Inkwell Mgmt. Multiple agents
International Creative Mgmt. Multiple agents
Jane Rotrosen J. R.
Jean V Naggar Lit Multiple agents
Joelle Delbourgo & Asso J. D.
L. Perkins Agency Multiple agents
Liza Dawson Associates Multiple agents
Marianne Strong M. S.
Movable Type Lit. Group Multiple agents
Nancy Coffey Multiple agents
Nancy Gallt Nancy
Red Sofa Dawn Frederick
Scott Treimel NY Scott
Serendipity Multiple agents
Spectrum Agency Multiple agents
Stuart Krischenvsky Shana Cohen
The Karen Grencik lit Karen
The knight agency Multiple agents
Waxman Literary Multiple agents
Writer House Multiple agents
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