Entries Tagged 'Writing Tips' ↓

Cheryl Robinson tells us how she went from self-publishing her first two novels to landing book deals with New York publishing houses. She also discusses why she decided to try virtual book touring for her latest title, Sweet Georgia Brown.

Connie Briscoe: You started out as a self-published author. Why was that? Did you try to find an agent or traditional publisher first? Tell us about those early years.

Cheryl Robinson: It took years before I decided to put my first novel to paper. I made a conscious decision when I started writing that I would self-publish because I had heard the horror stories on finding an agent or publishing company. I had also tried in the past to obtain an agent and I did receive my fair share of rejection letters, which discouraged me from pursuing my passion for several years.

So when I did finally sat down in front of my computer and decided to write my first novel, which was Memories of Yesterday, my thought process was that I would publish my first novel myself, and I felt very confident that I would gain the attention of publishers from that point.

CB: How did you finally land a literary agent?

Cheryl Robinson: I self-published Memories of Yesterday and sent it off to Earl Cox in New York who owned a small press and also provided consulting for authors. I was hoping that with his assistance I could take my novel to the next level. He wasn’t interested in my first book so the following year I self-published another novel, When I Get Free. I went all out with my promotional material–with a full-color press kit folder, a catchy title and a nice tagline.

I went back to Earl Cox and this time he was very interested. He received my novel on a day when he was flying to Los Angeles to meet with a literary agent about another one of his clients and he took my book with him, read it, and loved it. He passed my book on to the agent who also loved it. Within 30 days from that point, I had a literary agent.

CB: How is it different working with an agent?

Cheryl Robinson: The agent is the go between you and the publisher. Even if you have been working with the same editor for a while, the proper protocol is to have your agent pitch your next book deal and of course negotiate the contract. The right agent can make or break your career, I believe. They are very important and they must believe in you as a writer and in your work in order to work out the best possible deal for you.

CB: You are currently on a virtual book tour. Is this your first one and how is it going?

Cheryl Robinson: It is my first one and I am having a lot of fun.

CB: Why did you decide to go on a virtual book tour?

Cheryl Robinson: I needed to save money. I was spending thousands of dollars on marketing my novels, and travel was an enormous expense for me. I also needed to save time and find a smarter way to market my titles. For me, I think the virtual book tour is the best way for now.

CB: So you liked the idea of going on a book tour without ever having to leave home. When and where do you write?

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1) Not critical enough. I’m going to get blunt here. All too often new authors think their work is far better than it really is. With rare exceptions, I don’t read other writers’ manuscripts anymore for a number of reasons that I won’t go into here. But before I got wise, I would sometimes agree to read a new writer’s work if he or she asked me nicely enough. The writer would excitedly fill me with tales about how wonderful the work was and how it was the next Great American Novel. I would read it with eagerness only to end up hugely disappointed within a few pages. People assume this job is easier than it is. That’s because it’s harder to write well than it looks.

Be your own toughest critic. Read the kind of novel you want to write–again and again. Pick up books on how to plot and create characters. Take a course. When you proof your novel, pretend that it was written by someone else. Is it really just as good as the novels in the bookstore?

2) Not enough deep thinking. Can you summarize the theme or topic of your novel in one paragraph? Better yet, can you sum it up in a sentence? If not, you’ve got some deep thinking to do about where you’re going with this, or your novel is likely to go all over the place. And don’t tell me it’s about “life.” Every novel ever written is about life in one way or another. How’s yours different?

3) Writing about unfamiliar subjects or locales. This should be obvious but it isn’t always. There’s a rule that every new author should follow: write about what you know best. This is especially good advice for a first novel, because you’ve got enough to worry about without having to do a lot of extra research. Focus on creating better characters or fleshing out your plot instead. Hone in on your theme. It’s not only that you’re less likely to make errors if you know your subject and location well; you’re also going to be able to provide richer details that will make your work come alive.

4) Grammatical errors. No one is expecting you to be as knowledgeable as an English Ph.D. But your manuscript is expected to follow the basic rules of grammar. If you’re lacking in this area, get a book, take an evening class. A good place to start is The Elements of Style. This is something you can definitely improve if you work at it.

5) Not proofing the work enough. Typos are like cockroaches. They hide and then creep up when and where least expected. Just when you think you’ve squished them all, another one pops up. Still you gotta try your best to exterminate these pests. Proof your manuscript until you can find no more errors and then proof it again.

6) Relying on the judgment of family and friends. Proceed with caution for all sorts of reasons. One, your mom may praise your work because she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. Or two, your girlfriend may be overly critical out of jealousy or for other hidden reasons. People have all kinds of agendas. Three, the person may not know what the heck he or she is talking about or maybe her taste in literature is just different. The list goes on and on. Let others read it if you want, but unless they’re professionals in the business be careful how seriously you take the criticism or praise.

Photo credit: jcarter/iStockphoto

Connie Briscoe Presents

After self-publishing her first two novels, author Cheryl Robinson, whose latest work is Sweet Georgia Brown, landed book deals with New American Library and HarperCollins. This week, Cheryl tells us how she finally landed a literary agent and a New York publisher.

Writing Tips

Also this week, I’ll list the biggest mistakes that aspiring and new authors make and suggest how to correct them.

Even if you’ve written the great American novel, no one is going to bother reading it unless it’s well written. Before my first novel was published, I worked as an editor for more than 10 years, so I have a good idea of what editors expect from authors. Having a good story to tell is a wonderful start, but if your manuscript isn’t well written it will never get read. So before sending anything out, do yourself a favor and polish until it’s the very best you’re capable of.

When I wrote Sisters and Lovers, my first novel, which went on to sell more than three-quarters of a million copies in hardcover and paperback, I spent several weeks editing it and making sure there were no typos or glaring grammatical errors. That was after I had spent nearly a year writing the novel. You’re not expected to turn in a manuscript that exactly follows the publisher’s standards–they have editors for that and each publisher is a little different. But you are expected to submit something that is neat and has consistent punctuation and usage and good grammar. In other words, you should know what a serial comma is and how to use it consistently. If you just thought–HUH?–you got some learning to do. The guides listed below will help get you started.

So polish, polish, polish. Be your own toughest critic!

Must-have Resources for Writers

The Elements of Style, by Strunk, White and Angell. This famous little book has been a handy reference of the basic principles of composition, grammar and word usage for writers since 1957. It was introduced to me when I was studying writing and publishing at George Washington University. Clear and concise. Every author or aspiring author should have one.

A CD-ROM based dictionary. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary both offer CD-ROM versions. I know you can look up words online now, but that never worked for me. It gets cumbersome to open my browser, etc., etc., whenever I need to check a definition or look for synonyms. I much prefer being able to click an icon on the taskbar at the bottom of my screen. I have an ancient version (doesn’t even have Internet terms in it), and it’s always the first software I move whenever I buy a new computer. I can’t live without it and someday I’ll update it to get the latest features such as audio pronunciations and color photos.

And especially for aspiring authors–
One or more of the Writer’s Market guides published by Writer’s Digest Books each year such as 2008 Writer’s Market, 2008 Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market and the 2008 Guide to Literary Agents. The guides list names and contact information on where to send your manuscript once you’ve polished to perfection. They also contain insightful articles about writing and publishing.

If you’ve got suggestions for writing resources you can’t live without, share them with the rest of us.

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant met as plus-size models competing for the same modeling gigs, and now they’re the award-winning authors of six novels–all written together. Here the two tell us how they work so well together and so much more.

Connie Briscoe: When was your first novel published and how many have you written?

DeBerry and Grant: We’ve written six novels all together. Gotta Keep on Tryin’, which is the sequel to Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made, is just out. And right before we left on book tour we finished our sixth book. What Doesn’t Kill You will be out in January ‘09.

The very first novel we wrote together was called Exposures. We wrote it under the name Marie Joyce–a combination of both our names–Donna Marie and Virginia Joyce. It was published as a Warner paperback original in 1990.

The book is somewhat different from our others. It is centered in the fashion business, which is where we met. It is a romance, which is not what we currently write, and the characters are white. The book was an experiment to see if we could write together and get our work published. Despite the obvious differences from our more well-known titles, the themes of friendship, family and dealing with the consequences of our choices were present even back then.

CB: That’s certainly an unusual beginning. Why did you decide to write a novel together in the first place?

DeBerry and Grant: After working on a newsletter and a magazine together, we realized we had a unique ability to work together. Neither of us remember whose idea it was to try writing a novel, but we found it creatively fulfilling and fun too–who can beat that? Somehow the sum of our talents makes for a greater whole. Our backgrounds and perspectives are enough alike to provide common ground but different enough to give us the basis for conflict in our stories. And even after all these years we still have a great time working together.

CB: Who comes up with the story ideas or themes for the novels?

DeBerry and Grant: We both do. We talk all the time about what’s in the news, situations we’ve encountered, pieces of our pasts. When we’re plotting a novel all of that goes in the pot and we spend a lot of time “what if-ing,” until we have cooked up a story.

CB: How do you come up with your characters?

DeBerry and Grant: They are often composites of physical and emotional characteristics we have borrowed from a variety of sources in both of our lives. We do work to make them fully rounded and unique, so that they remind readers of people they know or even themselves. We give our characters complete biographies, often with details that don’t make it into the story, but it’s a way for us to know why they behave the way they do and it allows us to stay true to them.

CB: How do you pull it all together? Do you each take a turn writing chapters or do you each pick your characters and write for those characters?

DeBerry and Grant: It’s really a completely collaborative process. We have spoken to other teams and it seems nobody does it the way we do. We work side by side–literally–in front of the computer. One of us may start a sentence that the other finishes. The keyboard passes back and forth between us. The words are all fair game, so much so that it’s nearly impossible to remember who wrote what by the time we’re done.

Our aim is to have one voice telling the story. If readers can feel the shift between us, it takes them out of the storytelling and we never want to do that. We don’t know why it works, but at this point we don’t question it. It’s a great gift and we’re grateful for it.

CB: It really is a special gift. I’m not sure I could ever pull it off. How much do you draw from your real lives for your novels?

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Author Lolita Files–that’s her real name–has five dogs and one bird. And she loves fried chicken, shoes and the internet. But don’t send her an IM. She can’t stand that. You’ll have much better luck getting a response if you send her a message through e-mail.

Connie Briscoe: How many books have you had published?

Lolita Files: I have six novels, one novella, and three short stories. I’m currently working on my seventh novel.

CB: How do you come up with your story ideas?

Lolita Files: Sometimes the stories just come to me on their own. Other times, I’ll get a spark of an idea from something I read in the news, see on the street, or hear about in pop culture.

CB: This week on my blog I talked about where I write. When and where do you write best?

Lolita Files: Sitting in bed with my laptop–usually during the day and early evening–with the television on the in the background. With the exception of one book, I’ve written everything this way.

CB: Do you outline or write character sketches? If not, how do you organize your writing?

Lolita Files: Historically, I do not outline or write character sketches. I just sit in front of the laptop and wait for the first few words to come–this part can be torture–then I let the characters take over and lead the story.

CB: Those first pages are always the toughest. How much do you draw from your real life for your novels?

Lolita Files: Not as much as readers would think. I may layer in a particular interest I have–travel, pets, food cravings–but beyond minor details, I prefer creating worlds and characters that are unique to the specific story.

CB: How has the publishing market changed since you had your first book published?

Lolita Files: More books by authors of color are available on the market, which is a positive in one regard. Major publishers, however, have attempted to marginalize the types of books that are published by writers of color, focusing heavily on street fiction and erotica-based literature, seriously limiting exposure to the wide range of voices and genres that deserve to be heard.

CB: So true, unfortunately. What can we expect to see from you next?

Lolita Files: I’m doing a sequel to Tastes Like Chicken, which was the last book in the Misty/Reesy series. It ended with a few cliffhangers that I needed to tie up. The book is called Next Day Feathers.

CB: Your books always have such interesting titles. Tell us something about yourself that most of us don’t already know.

Lolita Files: I love snow. I was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, so I never had true winters while growing up. I now live in a place with lots of snow, bitter winds, and freezing temperatures in winter…and I love it!

(Visit Lolita Files at her blog on pop culture–The Lo Zone)

This is a question I’m asked often. Where do you write? The question used to puzzle me to end. It’s something I never gave much thought to when I was planning to write my first novel, Sisters and Lovers. I just sat down at a table and started writing in longhand (after thinking and plotting on paper for many weeks). And yes, it was that long ago. I would write a chapter or two by hand and then type it into the computer. I didn’t start creating straight from the computer until my second novel, Big Girls Don’t Cry.

This is one of those questions that have no right or wrong answer. Some authors work in an office in their homes. Some even lease office space outside the home. They say it forces them to be more disciplined about their writing schedules if they have to get up and go to an office everyday. And if you’re having trouble with discipline–not all that unusual when you have no boss standing over your head–by all means try something like this. I’ve heard of writers renting hotel rooms to get away from noisy houses, an idea that’s come to me on occasion. Others authors write in bed, on the floor, or at the kitchen table with their laptops.

As for me, I usually write at my desk in my home office. But I’ve written in a lot of other places, especially if a deadline is fast approaching, including on the train, on road trips in the car and in-flight. This writing on the fly usually works better when I’m revising or rewriting rather than for the original.

The really fun part of writing fiction is thinking–some call it daydreaming– and I can do that all over the place. A favorite spot–if I can’t get to a beautiful beach or other faraway place–is a really comfy armchair in my office. It’s upholstered in a blue and white pattern that I picked out because I find it soothing to my senses. The only problem with that chair is that it’s so darn comfortable I sometimes doze off.

I also do some great thinking in my car when driving alone. There’s something about the rhythm of the road that relaxes me and stirs my creative juices. Sometimes if I’m stuck in my writing–some call this writer’s block–I’ll hop in my car and hit the road.

So try a few different spots and see where you’re most comfortable and creative. Once you zero in on the right place, you’ll find yourself returning there again and again without giving it much thought.

There really are no rules or standards here. You’re the best judge of where you should write.

Bestselling author Anita Bunkley has written nine fiction books, two romance novels, three novellas, and one work of nonfiction. She was rejected 32 times before finding her first publisher and has gone on to write for Signet, HarperCollins, Kimani, Dafina and others. Bunkley also mentors aspiring authors.

Connie Briscoe: I read somewhere that you faced 32 rejections before your first novel was published. How did you find the strength to keep on trying?

Anita Bunkley: I loved my story! If you love what you write, the chances are good that others will love it, too. I believed in my material, so I just kept pushing ahead.

CB: How do you come up with your characters?

Anita Bunkley: I try to visualize the people who will be walking across the pages, and I work hard to make them so interesting that readers will believe they are real. I also tear pages out of magazines when I see an interesting face and use these as inspiration.

CB: That’s a great tip! Do you outline? If so, can you tell us how you go about it?

Anita Bunkley: Yes. I outline. I spend a good deal of time setting the parameters of the story. I nail down the central conflict, the main characters, the climax and the resolution. It always changes as I write the novel, but it serves as a road map to keep me from going too far away from the heart of my story–it is soooo easy to wander!

CB: I can’t help but laugh because I know how true that is. Do you write the first page first or last?

Anita Bunkley: I start at the beginning and write to the end. If a scene pops into my mind that I plan to use later, I might stop and write it but not often.

CB: How many times do you rewrite your novels?

Anita Bunkley: An outline and two drafts before my agent gets it. Then another pass after we’ve talked about it and then off to my editor. The editor may send it back for revisions then there is copyediting. So the novel gets four to five edits before it is printed.

CB: Do you feel pressure to write more frequent or more intense sex scenes in your novels these days?

Anita Bunkley: It is necessary to keep up with the market and the demands of the readers. Since I began writing seventeen years ago things have changed a lot. Sex in mainstream women’s fiction and romance has evolved, becoming more open and explicit. I strive to write sex scenes that are realistic expressions of the storyline and not sex for the sake of sex.

CB: Good points. How much do you draw from your real life for your novels?

Anita Bunkley: Very little. I do travel a lot and incorporate locations I have visited.

CB: Tell us something personal about yourself that most of your readers don’t know.

Anita Bunkley: I love to invent things and hold a US Patent and three Trademarks. My Read-EZ!Ô Reading pillow–seen on my website– www.anitabunkley.com–has become a very poplar item among serious readers.

(You can join Anita Bunkley for a live chat on February 19, 2008, at 8:00 CST. Register today at www.niapresentsanita.com/register.html)

In an earlier post I suggested that fiction writers find a book agent before submitting to publishers. Naturally someone asked the logical question: OK, so how do I find a book agent? I’ll try to answer that here. Of course there are many ways to go about this, and I’m not saying that this is the only way or even the best way for everyone. But it is my way.

Here’s how I did it and I see no reason why it can’t work today. It goes without saying–but I’m going to say it anyway–make sure your manuscript is polished to perfection! This is the most important bit of information in this whole article. No method in the world is going to get you a book agent if you don’t have a great book.

1) Write at least the first 50 pages of your novel and a detailed synopsis of the rest of it. If this is a longer novel–say 400 manuscript pages or more–you might want to write up to 100 pages. Rewrite and polish it. I can’t say this enough. I spent almost as much time on the first several chapters of my first novel as I did on the rest of it. I knew that as an unknown, my work had to be fierce to attract an agent.

2) Write a query letter, which should be only one to two pages long, briefly summarizing your novel and the main characters. A lot of books out there will tell you how to write a good query letter. You might want to head to the library or bookstore to check out one or two of them, as this letter is likely the first thing the agent will read. If you don’t impress her or him with the query letter, the rest will never be looked at. If you can’t write a good query letter, why should an agent expect you to be able to write a whole novel?

3) While you’re at the bookstore look for a book that lists literary or book agents and their contact information. The book should also mention the kinds of books the agents will consider. Most book agents specialize in a few or maybe several genres, and it would be a waste of time to send a manuscript for a mystery novel to an agent who will consider only romance novels. And you certainly don’t want to send an idea for a novel to an agent who accepts only nonfiction.

4) Pick three to five agents and send the query letter, sample chapters and synopsis, neatly packaged, out to them. It’s OK to submit to more than one agent at a time as long as you say in your letter that this is a multiple submission and that you’ve sent the same package to a few other agents.

5) Now you wait. Sit back, relax. Go shopping, spend time with your family. Read a good book! I began to hear back from agents within about a week of mailing my packages. It may take longer now. With computers on every desktop (and laptop), far more manuscripts are floating around out there. I would suggest that if you haven’t heard back within about a month that you submit to four or five more agents.

If you’ve followed the above steps two or three times and still haven’t heard anything, you might want to review and rework your submission package. Is the query letter brief, interesting and well written? Does it hook the reader in the first paragraph? Does the synopsis leave the reader wanting more? Do the chapters flow smoothly and are they error proof?

How long should you keep submitting? Only you can answer that. I found my agent with my first submissions. Later this week, we’ll hear from author Anita Bunkley, who got dozens of rejections before she finally found a publisher.

Photo credit: borisyankov/iStockphoto

Francis Ray has written 20 novels and contributed to a dozen anthologies. And she’s still going strong with another novel, Not Even If You Begged, breaking loose this week .

Connie Briscoe: When was your first novel published?

Francis Ray: My first novel published was Fallen Angel in 1992. The book was reissued as Someone to Love Me by St. Martin’s Press in December 2003.

CB: How many novels have you written and why do you think you’re so prolific?

Francis Ray: I have written 20 novels and contributed to 12 anthologies. Two more novels are scheduled. I started out writing romance novels. Writing more than one book a year was expected of the author in that genre so it became a goal that I have always set for myself. Even before a book is finished I’m thinking about the next novel.

CB: Why do you think romance and relationship novels are so popular?

Francis Ray: I think they’re popular because they reaffirm our hopes, desires and dreams that true love is possible. We want that one special person in our life who will be committed to love, honor and cherish us always.

CB: How much do you draw from your real life for your novels?

Francis Ray: My mainstream novels all have been based on real life situations. In The Turning Point (Trouble Don’t Last Always) it was my own brush with blindness and an article I read about Dr. Ben Carson almost being carjacked. Like the First Time came from the downturn in the economy with lay-offs and my daughter’s inability to get a job in her field. A tense situation at work developed into I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. My latest novel, Not Even If You Begged, is a result of the increased number of widows in my neighborhood.

CB: How many times do you rewrite your novels?

Francis Ray: I rewrite as I go. Before I start to write, I reread the last 4-5 pages. I correct scene, sequel, plot errors, get back into the characters. Although the goal is 5-7 pages on weeknights because I work, I might only write a couple of pages because I’m correcting pages already written. When I type “The End” I’m finished.

CB: Going back to reread the pages from the previous writing session sounds familiar. I do something similar.

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