Tag: finding an agent

A Lesson from My Computer

Posted C. LaVielle7 CommentsPosted in Getting Published, Writing

If you want to make even the most seasoned writer tremble whisper the words “query letter” in his ear. The dreaded query letter is the inescapable bane of every writer’s existence—at least every writer that is looking for an agent. There are blogs with ominous names like Query Shark whose sole purpose is to help writers navigate these dangerous waters. Not only is the required format rigidly precise, it is also subject to change at a moment’s notice. Author Sean M. Chandler comments that he knows several agents who won’t read a query letter if the writer’s contact information appears at the start of the query. According to some agents, it’s now supposed to appear at the end of the letter below the closing. I was also told several years ago that in a pitch or query the writer should always reveal how the story ends. Now we’re supposed to keep the agent guessing. The list of conflicting information goes on and on, but the… Read More »

Wish Me Luck!

Posted C. LaVielle6 CommentsPosted in Getting Published, Synchronicity, Young Adult Fantasy

The rewrite of the first few chapters is complete. After several back and forth e-mails of suggestions on her part and revisions on mine, Jessica, my editor, says it’s “in good shape.” She wanted me to tighten it a bit more, and I tried, I really did, but I was only able to pare it down by a sentence here and there. She doesn’t like the title either. She says it needs to be more active and let the reader know that this is a fantasy. I’ve thought about shortening it to The Remaking, or possibly Forging the Blade. I also had Kris, a friend who teaches English and Writing at a community college, take a look at it. She critiqued the manuscript in a totally different way than Jessica. As an English teacher, she mostly looked at sentence structure and length and word usage. And because she’s only read the first three chapters she was able to give me a viewpoint of someone who’s… Read More »

The 2010 Willamette Writers Conference

Posted C. LaVielle8 CommentsPosted in Getting Published

The Willamette Writers Conference is a smorgasbord with enough fabulous offerings to tempt even the most fastidious author. First and foremost, there are hundreds of other writers wandering around. The ones I got to talk to were more than happy to tell me what they were writing about. I heard one amazing tale after another, told by the very person that dreamed it up—the best entertainment in the world. For example, Dylan Romero is writing a book about his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, one of the top three Christian spiritual journeys. He came to the conference in a pair of rock climbing slippers with a compartment for each toe, the very shoes he wore as he hiked over the Pyrenees Mountains and through the northern Spanish plains. He isn’t Catholic or even particularly spiritual. He didn’t have any epiphanies. But the simple act of getting up and walking everyday healed his soul. I hope he writes it like the amazing Hero’s Journey that it… Read More »

Four Steps to Finding an Agent for THE REMAKING OF MOLLY ADAIR

Posted C. LaVielle9 CommentsPosted in Getting Published

1: Pitch to Agents and Send out Query Letters. I attended the 2008 and 2009 Willamette Writer’s Conferences and pitched to several agents. Five of them asked to see the first few chapters of the manuscript and all of them rejected it. I’ve also sent out about 15 query letters—all of which were rejected. 2: Rewrite! Rewrite! Rewrite! After much soul searching and many sleepless nights, I decided that it was possible that all those agents weren’t pretentious Neanderthals. Maybe my precious manuscript that I’d rewritten and revised so many times still needed work. So, with the help of a merciless editor, Jessica Morrell, and a marvelous writer’s group, I rewrote the manuscript a few more times. Their sort-of-gentle criticism, insights, and encouragement transformed me into a better writer and The Remaking of Molly Adair into a vastly improved story. Since lots of beginning writers make the same mistakes that I did, it might be useful for me to confess my literary sins.  I… Read More »