Ask Authors!

Access the experience, wisdom, and silliness of over 100 writers! Among us, we have over 50 agented authors, and at least 5 book deals! We ask and answer a big question each week, and we'll answer questions from visitors all the time. Ask us anything!

[askauthors]

Hi, I'm writing a steampunk story and have been trying to find some information on what exactly makes steampunk, but the problem is, everywhere I look it seems to be set in the Victorian era where as mine is set in the western era with sheriffs and gunslingers. It also plays along the line of anthropomorphic animals and humans are an endangered species. So could all this fit in steampunk?

Stephanie O’Neil: Part of Steampunks history actually includes the Western. It was a very American take. Basically there were these penny(?) novels and stories or whatever set in the West and mad scientists in mechanical ostriches. It was a precursor to steampunk as we know it, but set in the west and usually pretty racist. Steampunk developed with intentionally progressive politics and turned this American genre on its head while still taking a lot of influence from early science fiction and cyberpunk. The steampunk bible has a ton of great history and reading lists for understanding the history of the genre. I'm in the middle of moving, so can't look up the exact details... Thats what I remember from the top of my head. This is all to say that I don't think a western setting for steampunk is weird at all. (Also genre studies are my favorite, and I'm a big believer in knowing the history and development of your genre.)

Michael Mammay: I would recommend reading The Heart of Veridon by Tim Akers. (Truth in lending, we share an agency.) Western feel steampunk.

Krista Anderson: Steampunk is first and foremost an aesthetic. It is not a genre. So a steampunk western is completely doable. A personal pet peeve is when people think they can put gears or cogs on it and that makes it steampunk. Make sure the technology is logical and consistent.

Caitlan Zilligan: Steampunk is as much about the clockwork/steam tech as it is Victorian London. Western + steampunk definitely works if it keeps the feel of it if that makes sense? A good example is weirdly enough the movie "Wild Wild West' with Will Smith - it's basically old west steampunk throughout that entire film

[askauthors]

Is 6% of the total income gained by a book that is published online a fair deal?

Ashley MacKenzie: Six percent of total income, or of total net profit? Is it an e-book only offer? The lack of details makes this difficult to answer.

Michael Mammay: That's a ridiculously low amount if you wrote the book. If you're a short story in an anthology, that's much more reasonable. E book only rates range from 25% of receipts (big-5) to 50% (some small presses) to 70% (Self-pubbed on Amazon with a price of $1.99 or higher)

Margaret Owen: Yeah, I agree, and the way it’s phrased as “total income gained” is also a red flag to me. That seems to leave room for non-standard parts of the calculation — e.g. refusing to pay royalties until the book’s sales pay for its marketing budget. Royalties should be presented as a percentage of sales, end of story.

Jim O'Donnell: Crazy. Amazon gives 70 or 75% of digital sales and the lowest I’ve seen from publishers on digital sales is 25%, and I want to emphasize that is the low end. This questioner dude (ambiguously-gendered-dude) needs to come up with a creative way to say no (dude is a writer, they should be able to come up with something witty) then report the publisher to Predators and Editors.

Elle Jauffret: 1) “Total income” is too vague to answer that question. Royalties should be calculated on gross/net revenues, price per unit, or fixed amount (there can be variations including minimum sale amount, etc...). 2) Is the writer the book’s originator/creator or the book’s ghost writer?3) Was an advance given?4) Best way to know is to check the standard contracts from recognized publishers (when/if available) and/or to talk to an attorney.

Sheena Boekweg: Scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam. Run away.

[askauthors]

How do you build romantic chemistry between two characters without making their relationship seem choppy?

Kat Hinkel: Banter? (Beatrice and Benedick for lifeeeeee) And then perhaps they each surprise the other by going against an assumption they made about each other

Laura Creedle: Banter with surprising arcane knowledge. When you mention something fairly obscure in conversation, and random other not only knows what you are talking about, but is two steps ahead of you—very sexy. Kind of librarian sexy.

Sheena Boekweg: I think the best way to build romantic tension is to create two characters who are perfect for each other (with similarities that set them apart from the rest of the world, plus differences which make them fill each other's needs) and then add a conflict which keeps them apart. Add banter, proximity, and allow the characters to grow.

Rebecca McLaughlin: This is so important! The best way for romantic tension to actually be real tension is to have it at direct odds with the plot/conflict. Who doesn't love banter during a high action scene at the most inconvenient times?

Tracy Gold: One thing I've been working on is remembering that both characters should show attraction to each other. That's a lot easier to do in dual POV projects, but it was a real struggle for me in a single POV project. I am a fan of a POV character noticing body language or a nickname and totally misinterpreting it, leaving the readers going "that other character totally likes the MC!"

Michael Mammay: I can't write it. But my favorite chemistry moments in TV and movies are where there is banter, and also where it's kind of equal. Like both of them get the upper hand at different times.

Alison Rutter Miller: Wow. Tough question! About the best advice I have to offer is to read a lot. Doesn't have to be specifically romance, but I tend to find that the romance I like to read about is the kind I tend to write. 

Kelly Garcia: Lots of questions here... I think the most important moment is the meet-cute. I think the meet-cute is best when there's enough information provided that the reader sees how the hero and heroine would be a good match. Often, this is simply showing these two characters have Xenia (good will) which is more important than six pack abs and a hot, little body. The meet-cute also has to build a set-up (problems, wounds, etc.) that is sufficiently strong and clear to make it seem it is impossible for the couple to get together.

I prefer it when the wall between the couple is so great, the couple doesn't recognize they make a good match. I agree to a degree with some of the comments about banter, but I think for a romance to work, an author needs to use it sparingly, especially at first. If not, it's like hitting the reader over the head the couple is supposed to be together and then there's no tension. It has to be sprinkled in with internal thoughts and chaos from the outside world.

Which authors write the best meet-cutes? There are so many fantastic ones, but I think one of the reasons Jane Austen has persisted for hundreds of years is she was a master of meet-cute and of creating two characters who are 1) meant to be together, but 2) can only be together if they can overcome enormous internal and external impossible odds. I also love almost everything in Susan Elizabeth Phillip's Chicago Stars series, and S.E.P.'s Aint She Sweet.

Lisa Schunemann: I find having equal moments of conflict and understanding is important - I'm likely not to believe a relationship if the characters are falling for each other at first sight. I want to see how, despite their differences and similarities, their feelings evolve and change. So that could mean internal conflict or external conflict in their paths.

[askauthors]

What does it mean when agents and mentors want 'voice'?

Lyndsay Ely: A clear, distinct perception of who or what your character or world is via the prose. The opening of GOSSIP GIRL doesn’t read like the opening of THE HUNGER GAMES. Within a few paragraphs in both novels you know exactly what kind of characters you’re following, in what kind of world.

Jo Hathaway: Your writing voice is your own personal style and flavor, though that can be a bit vague to pinpoint. Often, voice is used to describe the unique tone given to individual characters in the story. For example, if you change perspective between multiple characters, you want to make sure they don’t sound the same. Make each “voice” authentic to their backstory, upbringing, social class etc. You can play with a lot when discovering a character’s voice!

Heidi Stallman: I’ve heard voice described many ways but the way that stuck with me is to think of a 1st person character’s POV. What does that character notice? How does she put words together to describe things? What is her unique perception of the world and how does she “speak” about it. Read the first few pages of a 1st person novel of your choice out loud – can you imagine that character sitting there telling you their story? Can you imagine how she’d tell you about a rock concert or basketball game or fishing at a lake. Her voice, her words, her way of seeing the world is unique and it has to come out on the page.

Let me add that I write MG, and with MG it’s all about the character’s voice. You, as an author, have to get out of the way with your adult way of thinking and talking and viewing the world. If you write for adults, then it become more of a dance between author’s voice and character’s voice.

Becky Dean: I’ve heard it used to describe both character and author. Your character should sound unique and authentic, but your books should also sound like you. If someone who knew you read your book, would they clearly be able to hear your voice speaking the words on the page. Or if someone read your books and then met you for the first time, would they recognize your voice from your writing. It’s a combination of word choice, syntax, tone, subject matter, world view, how you use dialogue and description. Telling your stories in a unique, identifiable way.

Jenny Ferguson: It’s how you sound different than other writers. It’s everything (characters’ thought pattern, sentence structure, cadence, style, word choice, etc.—and the narrator’s if 3rd person) coming together to form “voice”.

Lisa Schunemann: I think this is dead on.

Lisa Schunemann: I really still have no idea. It can be another totally subjective thing in the publishing/literary world, if you think about it. I know there are some author “voices” who I just don’t resonate with, even though others definitely do. Mentors talk about voice because they’re looking for someone with a strong ability to write words that come alive on pages, and show the author’s personality through their writing/characters.

Mike Mammay: For me it’s the picture of your characters I form in my head simply from how they express themselves.L

Laura Creedle: MG is about voice, but so is YA. Because YA can be more causal than literary, it’s really important to read your work out loud. If it feels awkward or stilted, or in you go down a rabbit hole of flowery descriptions of someone’s eyes, it will sound ridiculous out loud. I writer 1st and I take voice very literally.

Ashley Martin: For me, it’s all about character voice. When I read, I want to see and hear the character’s personality. Are they reserved or outgoing? Serious or witty? Confident or hesitant? How does that affect what they do, the choices they make, how they interact with others? It’s also about your character’s literal voice. A princess from a royal family in a European country is going to speak differently and choose different words and phrases than a small-town, southern tomboy. It’s about painting a picture in your reader’s mind beyond simply telling them what your MC looks like, what they’re wearing, and where they live.

Rebecca McLaughlin: Voice is hearing the story without it being told it’s a story. If a story has good voice, you hear the character, feel the world, and move through the plot without being distracted by the fact that it’s a story. Basically, you want to hear the story’s characters and not the author.

Ashley Martin: Yes! It’s all part of the ever-so-important showing, not telling.

Relly Annet-Baker: You know the person in your office/class/sports club who could take the most boring anecdote and some how make it sing? It’s because of the way they tell it—the language, the pace, the quirks that reflect *how they feel about what they are recounting*. That’s voice, whether author voice, or character narrator voice, and all the best books thrum with it.

Isabel Andrew Davis: It’s how you make each of your characters shine. It’s the worldview and perspective you give them. Think of a popular story—let’s take Harry Potter. Picture Hermione, Ron and Harry. Can you “hear” each character? They are distinct. They each shine because JK Rowling, through her writing, through her words, gave them each a distinct voice. The three never sound the same. That’s voice and it’s up to the writer to pick and choose how to construct each sentence to better serve each character.

[askauthors]

Hi there ! So i have a textbook where i write scenarios, dialogues, ideas of superpowers and pretty much anything related to the story and the characters. But everything's messy and not too pleasant to look at. It doesn't motivate me to continue my work and i have no idea how to organize it. Any tips to help me ?

Leigh Mar: BULLET JOURNALING — It’s great, because it’s both organized AND chaos. it’s okay to have disconnected sections that you thread together in your Index (more info here). I’m low-key obsessed.

C. L. McCollum: I keep meaning to try this, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Leigh: I love it! Everything in one place, organization set up based on what actually works for me!

Becky Dean: I do like hand-writing notes, but I find electronic documents easier for organizing this type of information. I can label each folder and file with specifics by project and type of info (characters, magic system, settings, photos, etc.), and it’s easier to find things than if it were all mixed together in an actual notebook. If you want to stick with handwritten, maybe use colored tabs or highlighters to mark pages based on the type of information they contain, so if you know you’re looking for snatches of dialogue, you look for the purple, something like that.

Tracy Gold: I like to use Scrivener to keep all my notes in one place.

Kat Hinkel: This!

Julie Artz: Agreed.

Leigh Mar: Oooh, I do this for specific books too!

Rebecca McLaughlin: For me, I sometimes have to look at my mess, and start writing NEW notes that are neater and more organized. Organizing what’s already there just won’t work. But sometimes it’s enough to just put all of my open-ended questions/plot-holes on a single piece of paper! Plus, writing it out again will bring it fresh to your mind! I have quotes on sticky notes up on my wall, a binder filled with unanswered questions, and a cork board covered in ideas/scenes!

[askauthors]

How should you query an agent with an offer of publication?

M. Bridges: You shouldn’t. It’s a general rule to not query publishers and agents at the same time, especially if you’re already considering an offer. From an agent’s perspective, finding the right publisher is their job and you’ve already done it. On the publisher’s side, it can be frustrating to offer publication to an author, only to be told they will actually be negotiating with an agent. If it’s the negotiations piece you’re wanting help with, seeing as you’ve already sought out the publisher on your own, you can alway look to a contract attorney for help. If you choose to send a query, make sure you are very clear that you already have an offer on the table and who it’s from, so the agent has all the info upfront.

Rebecca McLaughlin: It’ll be tough, because it’s uncommon and not really recommended to go this route. One option is to go ahead with publishing and then query agents for your next book. Then you’ll have a book under your belt (which could be good or bad, depending on how it sold, etc.) Or, if you’ve made a tragic miscalculation and you don’t want to sign an offer without an agent, you could pull out of the publishing offer and seek an agent instead. That damages your future chances with that publisher, though.

Michael Mammay: If you have an offer of publication and want to approach agents, you should email them with the subject line OFFER OF PUBLICATION. Then, in the email, explain the publishing situation (Name of the publisher, type of offer) and include a brief pitch of your book.

[askauthors]

Hello all! I have a question regarding age ranges. As someone who's about to hit their early twenties, I've been itching for books with MC's that are the same age. So I started writing one myself. I'm a long ways from being finished, but I've been thinking about genre (broadly science fiction) and have seen that New Adult is dead. Is it still acceptable to have MC's that are in their early twenties (like 22-24) and just market it as science fiction? Thank you all very much!

Isabel Andrew Davis: Yes, I think so!!

Amanda Searcy: Absolutely. There are a lot of adult books with MCs in their early 20s across all genres.

Jim O'Donnell: The category of new adult is dead, but the age range is actually doing better than you'd think. It's just adult now instead of new adult

Michael Mammay: Yes. It's just science fiction. Absolutely.

Rebecca McLaughlin: I’d say to write what inspires you, and worry about marketability either during revisions or with an agent--because they're the ones who will know about trends :) If by “market”, you just mean when you’re querying, then go for it! 20s is totally legit for adult. But whether it sells in that category or not will be a marketing decision made later, probably with the editor/publisher.

[askauthors]

My English teacher has mentioned an author who doesnt edit his work and doesn't write a word down until it's perfected in his mind. I can't remember the name of the author though and was wondering if you had any idea who it might be? Thank you!!!

Jenny Ferguson: Haha. I want to say, I've heard of this mystical person too. But of course, cannot remember their name either. And yes, I think they are a myth, whoever they are.

Steph O'Neil: Why would your English teacher tell you that? (I ask this as an English teacher.) Maybe it works for this one author, but please don't aspire to that. Make mistakes, and learn from them.L

Jenny Ferguson: This is the answer I would give if I taught k-12. In university, I just mock things... mock those mythical creatures who do things us mere mortals cannot reach with our mere mortal hands and feetsies.

Rebecca McLaughlin: Curse those mythical creatures who do a perfect first draft!

Jenny: Curse them to non-ironic laughter forever and ever!

Rebecca McLaughlin: Since I don't know the answer to this question, I'll just offer some dubious advice. Those types of people exist, but they are 1000% the exception to the rule. There will always by mythical humans who break every statistic: a perfect first drafter, someone who nails their revisions on the first go, an author who sells their debut novel for a million dollars, someone who has never had a bad hair day, etc...

Best advice is to a-little-bit-hate those people for their perfection, but really do admire them of course. Then buckle down to do your best and make your best better than before.

Michael Mammay: Whoever he is, I hate him.

Ashley MacKenzie: Don't quote me on this, but I've heard this rumour about John Green. No idea of the percentage of fact vs. Bullshit.

Steph O'Neil: I feel like I've heard him talk about revision before and praise his editor for helping him reach his vision or something?

Ashley MacKenzie: Which makes sense. But it's definitely an urban legend.

Steph O'Neil: However... John Corey Whaley has stated he doesn't really revise. Heard that with my own ears.

Amanda Rawson Hill: A liar.

[askauthors]

When starting a new project, and you're hit with new ideas but get roadblocks on the current one, how do you know which idea to pursue? I keep abandoning projects and starting fresh. When do you know the difference between when it's time to let go of an idea, and when you need to stick with it and not give up?

Julie Artz: The shiny new idea never stops being tempting, so it's important to learn the difference between a project that's stalling due to its being a non-viable story and a project stalling because you're bored and/or writing is hard. Sometimes writing IS hard, especially when you're in the murky middle of a new draft. But if you're doing this over & over again, maybe stick with the next one and push through to the end no matter what. Even if it ends up being one of those non viable stories, you'll learn a lot about your own process.

Heather Murphy Capps: What she said. For me, while shiny new ideas are legit and exciting, they're also a form of procrastination. I jot down the idea, but then I force myself to keep slogging through.

Mike Mammay: If you figure out the answer to this, please share it with me. You're not alone.

Amanda Rawson Hill: If I get past 15k on a project, I must finish it. That's my rule. If I get stuck before then, I'm free to abandon.

Tracy Gold: I don't think I've ever truly "abandoned" a novel project I actually started writing. I have one with a few k done that I want to write eventually...but there's another idea that feels more urgent right now. Once I'm in the thick of a novel, I get pretty single-minded toward finishing it. However...all five novels I've gotten into the thick of have started as ideas that I've lived with for quite some time before writing (three novels have drafts finished, one is in progress now, and one will be returned to eventually...I think). Perhaps the issue here is that you need to let yourself live in the ideas longer? Research, do character outlines, plot? Then you'll have more confidence/exigency for writing.

Courtney Leigh: Put this song on and mull it over. Much like Roxette, I believe deep consideration should be given before abandoning a project but then again, sometimes that is the right choice. Just gotta listen to the old thumper. (PS: Jot down your shiny new ideas. Sometimes if I just know they're around, that frees me up to keep working on the current WIP.)

Amanda Rawson Hill: Yep, I got a shiny new idea a year ago in the middle of drafting. Now I'm drafting that shiny idea. It's still a good idea even a year later.

Rebecca McLaughlin: I like to run ideas past family, and eventually there'll be an idea that they glom onto, like "that one, write that one!"

Danielle Rebisz Fifer: Well, now I feel stupid for playing "eenie-meenie-miney-moe" each time a new idea strikes.

[askauthors]

I have a question about the "ownvoices" concept. I am a thirty-something female American writer of Filipino descent. My next YA novel is about a Filipino-American male teenager. Can I still call this "ownvoices" or am I not allowed to because I am from the opposite sex?

Rebecca McLaughlin: Own voices can be about anything—from race to culture to sexuality to disability. The main character doesn't have to be YOU by any means. If the character—or even just the story, I'd argue—represents unique characteristics about you, your life, your culture, and your experiences, then I'd say it is invariably your "own voice." The parts of the story that shine have to be those individual elements, though.

There will people that disagree, but that’s because the topic of identity and ownership of our identities is a complicated, nuanced topic. Some things we have control over and some we don't. Do what feels right. Own voices shouldn't be restricted to making the MC a carbon copy of yourself. Artistic license is a thing.

Michael Mammay: That is the most legit ownvoices question I've ever heard. I bet I could get a whole bunch of people to argue about it on twitter.

Sean Grigsby: That wouldn't take much work.

Lyndsay Ely: You could get people to argue about "is water wet?" on Twitter.

Joan He: Nuanced question with no right answer. Personally I would say yes, considering that many female writers write from the POV of males, and no issues of representation have been brought to light. This may just be an error of the times though, and might change if YA ever reaches more male readers.

*Unless*, from your knowledge, the experience of an Filipino American girl would differ in significant ways from that of a Filipino American boy.

Amanda Rawson Hill: I'm a white lady, but I say yes.

Michael Mammay: I talked to my friends who are ownvoices authors, and active in that community. They're pretty solidly of the opinion that this is ownvoices.

Heather Murphy Capps: I consider myself an #ownvoices writer, and I write both male and female mixed-race and upper middle class African American.

That said, I write MG and I don't include romantic elements.

Kyle W. Kerr: #OwnVoices isn't about VOICE, it's about EXPERIENCE. It's culture, it's ethnicity, it's sexuality, it's gender identity, it's disability... These things that, try as other people might, they can never truly understand. But YOU DO. That is what is important about this movement. Own your voice.

Heather Murphy Capps: Well said, Kyle. Yes.

David Gillon: By that argument no author could claim own voices when writing about the opposite sex. Actually that needs clarification. You shouldn't be claiming #ownvoices if you're writing about the gender specific effects of sexism and the like and aren't in the position of having experienced it, but if you are writing about non-gender specific stuff then #ownvoices is entirely appropriate.

#Ownvoices originated with Corinne Duyvis, who is an autistic Dutch woman. One of the two protagonists of her first novel was male, American and an amputee (+some story related stuff). But there's a commonality of experience about being disabled and the way that people relate to us that completely crosses the gender (and national) boundary.

Heidi Stallman: I think you can call this own voices. For me, what's important is that you have a strong identity with the character whose POV you are writing. This can be cultural, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation -- whatever. Obviously you understand the cultural experience of being a Filipino American teen. Do you think you understand the male teen experience enough? Do you have a brother or other role models in the community where you've observed their teen actions and lives within this culture? If so, then you probably can write this POV with the authenticity it deserves. You might want to find sensitivity readers just to be sure though.

[askauthors]

I'm currently writing a book. Just some quick info: I'm 17, I've never finished writing a novel, I'm currently ~30,000 words into this novel. The book I'm writing follows a emotionally-inept pyromaniac 16 year old and I need an author's advice on whether I should purse an idea. 1) The character has some similar tendencies to that of Dexter Morgan and I had a thought that in the novel I should perhaps mention it somehow. e.g. His girlfriend says something like 'Oh, so a little like Dexter'

Amanda Rawson Hill: Sure. You could do that.

Michael Mammay: It's a common enough reference. But will get dated soon

Sarah Madsen: I'm always wary of specific pop culture references because I don't want it to miss the mark or become outdated quickly, but do what works for you and your book!

Rebecca McLaughlin: It might be a bit better to have a sly reference, one that won't make readers feel like they're missing a joke if they don't understand. Like if the MC has a character named Dexter or something instead of a straight out joke.

David Gillon: Or that works on multiple levels. "When I kill someone, I feel like the Right Hand of God" (playing on the Latin meaning of Dexter)

Sheena Dabel Boekweg: Dear seventeen year-old writer. You are freaking amazing. I'm so impressed that you are 30k into this novel, and it sounds like you have others as well. My advice for you is to ignore your revising brain, and finish the draft. Every book starts with an imperfect draft, so don't worry about the details yet. But you learn the story by writing to the end of it. Once you have a completed draft, that's when you unleash your revising brain, which is sounds like you have a very strong one if it stops you from finishing. That's such a strength, it just needs to be leashed for a little while. As to the question, you don't have to reference your inspiration. People who love Dexter will love your story for the similarities without it being spelled out. People who don't know Dexter will be charmed by the same things that charmed you enough to write a story about it. I love the idea of a cat named Dexter, but it's not necessary. So go finish! Than you can worry about the details.

Rebecca: YES. THIS.

[askauthors]

When an author sells a FICTION book/series on proposal. What does the proposal look like? Length? content? Anyone know?

The reason this question specifies a FICTION book is because it's quite common for NON-FICTION books to be sold on proposal, but much LESS common for FICTION books.

it’s important to note that it is EXTREMELY rare for a debut author to sell on proposal. Extremely rare. If that DOES happen, it’s likely because the author is well-reputed in another field, has a personal relationship with the agent, or the editor has zero doubt the author will be able to produce.

When this happens, it is most often in the form of an author who has already published at least one book. In these cases, the author’s reputation precedes their work. The author has basically “proven” themselves, and the publishers are confident that no matter WHAT that author creates, it’ll sell.

As you’d expect, selling on proposal often only happens for well-established authors.

What a proposal can consist of:

Typically a proposal like this will consist of any number of the following:

A detailed synopsis (sometimes up to 50 pages in length!)

The equivalent of a query letter that summarizes the premise, characters, conflict, and stakes. Basically, you have to pitch the story to editors and sell it to them right off the bat.

Sample pages — Often this comes in the form of the first chapters, potentially includes scenes or excerpts from later in the story.

Selling on proposal is a conversation you’ll have with your agent before you do it, because you’ll want to make sure you and your agent are 100% on the same page. Your agent has to have confidence in you and then also have confidence that they can sell the idea to an editor without having the book written.

Proposals with your Agent:

In some cases, selling on proposal to editors could be unsuccessful, and you’ll have to revert to writing the whole book first. But if you’re at this point (and you already have an agent), chances are that you’ll be pitching “proposals” of your next projects to your agent before you write them.

You’ll have a conversation with your agent about what genre/age category you’ll write in next. This is so that you can work on projects that both you and your agent will love and that will build your audience.

So even if you don’t end up selling a book on proposal, you will likely become familiar with them with your agent!

[askauthors]

How do you decide if you've done *enough* research for your book? Is there a limit? (Of course this is subjective, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.) Thanks you! :)

Steph O'Neil: This is such a hard question because you really have to know yourself more than anything else to answer it. For me, I'm always inpatient to write, so when I think I've done enough research, it means I haven't.

Which I understand is completely unhelpful. But, truly, its trial and error.

Tracy Gold: I actually like to do as little research as possible while drafting (but I write contemporary so I can get away with that). I'll even put in [research this later] brackets. It's hard to know what you even need to research until you know where your character and plot will take you. Then, after my first draft, I have an idea of all the things I need to know more about. That's when I spend my time researching!

Oh! And getting sensitivity/expert readers is an important part of research. That could be for characters outside of your life experience or for subject matters you don't know much about. I'll get these reads after I've done a rudimentary first research pass.

Rebecca McLaughlin: Research comes at different stages. Early research = what's possible for this world/character/technology/etc.?

Later research = Did I do those things justice? Did I make any basic assumptions?

Don't second guess yourself into oblivion, but letting others who have knowledge in the areas where you've made assumptions is a great way to smooth out any anachronisms or inaccuracies. I'd say that when your book reads and nothing sticks out as false, that's a good point to move forward.Don't spend more time researching than writing.

Michael Mammay: I write Sci Fi. What you call research, I call “making stuff up.” Although I do try to make up stuff that stays consistent throughout. And occasionally I research things like 'what kind of planets could this kind of star support.' But I think this questions is all about your book, and your genre. For example if you write historical fiction, you're going to have to look a lot of stuff up, because there's a demand to get it right. My real answer: As little as possible. I like to get readers who know things about the subjects—that way, if they point out errors, I can do more research as needed.

Lisa Schunemann: I'm definitely an over-researcher. I have a problem with it meaning that, like Pinterest, I can get online and suddenly 9 hours has gone by and I've three pages of typed notes... or 250 new pins. There is a point in the beginning where you've just got to stop and write, trusting that you've done enough on a base level to get the story on the page. Then there's research after revisions, when you have a list of items that need to be addressed - more 'research' can come in there. Basically, research to infinity.

Jim O'Donnell: Research until your writing is accurate. You don't need to be a subject matter expert in every aspect of your writing, but if you're writing about a space ship and you say the ship was propelled by slowly expressed elderberries, I'm probably going to stop reading.

Michael Mammay: I, on the other hand, support elderberry propulsion. Which would scientifically work in space, as anything expelled in a direction would move your ship in the opposite direction in a vacuum. But that's probably not the point...

Jim O'Donnell: Elderberries are too dense to be realistic. The fuel needed to get them up there would be too cumbersome. I'd go with grapes, which have far less mass per volume. And that's why you need to research shit.

Heidi Stallman: It depends a lot on your genre and how much you already know about your characters' interests, the setting, the time period etc. My last two ms were a MG contemporary and a MG historical fantasy. I spent a full month researching the historical time period for the historical fantasy before I dove into that one, and did more research during the writing. I'm still not sure I got it all right, but I'm at the "close enough stage." For my contemporary I did very little research, as in less than 20 minutes. But now I'm thinking I should have looked up one aspect of a secondary characters hobby/interest because it's become a strong thread in the ms and I'm not sure its accurate and I'm a little terrified I'll have to redo it.

[askauthors]

Q23: Do you ever read the ending of a book first?

Michael Mammay: I never had until this week. Ever. But to go through submissions for Pitch Wars, I had to read synopses for the first time.

M. K. England: Ditto. I now understand why agents ask for synopses. Completely invaluable.

Kristen Lepionka: Me too. I had no idea why synopses were so important until reading Pitch Wars submissions.

Stacey Goldstein: All. The. Time. I HAVE to know what happens so I can slow down and enjoy the book rather than race through it.

Rebecca McLaughlin: I do it as an exercise sometimes. If I know how it ends, I can pay attention to how the author gets us there. It's a good form of study!

Kyle W. Kerr: Absolutely never. One of my biggest pet peeves in the world is spoilers. I like the journey as much as the destination.

Leigh Mar: When reading for pleasure? Nope! When interning and reading Pitch Wars subs.... sometimes!

Steph O'Neil: Yes! Not all the time and not as a rule, but sometimes, when the tension is too high, I'll read the last sentence and then it lowers my stress because I spend the whole time trying to figure out how the story gets to that point.

Heather Murphy Capps: Mostly not except for high tension moments like Steph said. When I need to get to sleep but can't until I know how it ends. Then I can wake up next day and savor.

Steph O'Neil: Yes, this is why it's so important to master comedy, even in serious writing. It allows you to amp up tensions higher than you would have if you didn't give a little release every once in a while. Think about how the best horror movies always release suspense with comedy and then it builds even higher or gets the element of surprise when what you're stressed about finally happens. (I am totally paraphrasing a screenwriting teacher from college, Jeff Rush, whose book, Alternative Scriptwriting, is pretty good.)

Katniss Hinkel: Nope nope nope. Never. But I do like to reread books sometimes once I know the ending... gives everything a different meaning

Krista Merle Anderson: Hell. No.

Sean Easley: Often. I like seeing a book as a whole. I typically won't do it until at least 50 pages in though, just in case it's one I want to savor or be surprised by.

Relly Anett-Baker: Sometimes, if the book is lagging a bit and I want to see if it's worth the effort.

Amanda Rawson Hill: Heck no. I'm pretty sure that's against one of the ten commandments. You can go to hell for that.

Stacey Goldstein: [image of devil engulfed in flames] That's supposed to be me in Hell screaming for help. I can't stop!

[askauthors]

Q22: What do you do when you disagree with someone's advice about your story/book?

Sarah Madsen: It depends on who they are. Trusted friend or critique partner? Family member? Random Joe off the street? If it's someone who's advice and opinion I hold in high esteem ( (specifically when it comes to writing), I'll consider it—and the reasons I disagree with it—for a while before making a decision. But at the end of the day, the book is mine and no one else's, and I have to be happy with the direction I take with it.

Lyndsay Ely: Seek out more opinions. If one or two people say something, go with your gut. If three or more say something, it's time to give it some consideration.

Michael Mammay: Release the bees. The first thing I do is sit on it for a day or two. A lot of times, after I consider it and the emotion dies down, I see it better. Next, I consider why I asked that person to read. I pick my readers with care, and they all do some things better than I do. I give what they say more weight based on who it is. Third, I look for what they're really saying. For example, I had a CP tell me to cut a bunch of scenes for pace. But I needed those scenes. She was wrong about cutting them. But she was *right* about the pace. So I trimmed the scenes down as much as I could, and tried to add elements that helped pick the pace up in those parts of the book (if you increase tension, sometimes you can add pace even without cutting words).

Sean Easley: This.

Julie Artz: This. The advice that makes me bristle on first read (because it's HARD and NOT FAIR and WRONG, WRONG, WRONG) often sounds pretty smart a few days later when I can put my ego aside and come back to it.

Sean Easley: Try to understand the core of what's bothering them. Often their advice is wrong, but the fact that something didn't quite work is still useful information. If they're thinking too much about a piece that doesn't matter, it's possible that piece doesn't need to be in there at all. Or if they don't like the direction a conflict is heading, they may not have been made to care enough about it.

The fact that something isn't working is always something to pay attention to, but readers often don't have the right explanation for what it is. It's our job to read between the lines and figure out how wrong feedback can still improve our work.L

Kristen Lepionka: Yes, this. In the wise words of Neil Gaiman, “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”

Priscilla Mizell: Great quote. I hadn't read that before.

Sheena Boekweg: I ask myself if I am wrong. I try to imagine the story with the change added. What is added? How would the character react? What can I use of this idea?

I usually don't just blindly follow every bit of advice. But I will play with the idea, and see what I can learn, and it always adds a flavor that wasn't there before.

Laura Creedle: You know—one person is an outlier. Three people who say the same thing are generally right. Ask for another opinion

J.R. Yates: I yell and scream and generally have a giant tantrum.

Rebecca McLaughlin: Think about if their *advice* is really them identifying a problem. You might not like their suggested solution, but the problem might be all too real.

J.R. Yates: Exactly

J.R. Yates: I try to hear what they're saying and think about where it's coming from (e.g., non romance reader commenting on romance, or expert in neuro commenting on neuro stuff). If I'm unsure, I'll check with someone else.

Amanda Rawson Hill: I can count on one hand (with fingers left over) the number of times I've not listened to revision advice and still come out with a good ms without addressing said advice eventually. And I'm not published yet, so that number could still decrease. What I'm saying is, there is always room for improvement. Listen.

Brian Palmer: I don't sweat it, and I thank them profusely for giving me their opinion even though I don't agree with it. I do all all I can to understand where they are coming from and why they are suggesting what they are suggesting, and then I let them know why I prefer my original comment. I've never had anyone take issue with this, so I think is stands to reason that, as in all things, if you are kind and considerate to the other person, you can still disagree with their advice and not have this cause any problems so long as you do so respectfully and intelligently while letting them know you appreciate what they had to say.

Anna Carew-Miller: While it's true that a reader may just not "get" your story, I've found I really need to sit on advice and feedback for a while. For me, sometimes the advice that rankles the most is asking me to do the most deep thinking/work in revising. I've actually gone back to feedback I ignored and realized--three drafts later—it was spot on; addressing it in the later draft made my story stronger.

[askauthors]

Q20: What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?

Kyle W. Kerr: Writing. Seriously. Finding the time. The motivation. Struggling with self-doubt. Feeling like a failure when you get rejected. Feeling like a fraud when you get praise. All of that kind of coalesces into a fear of just sitting down to WRITE. Find your happy place and get your butt in that chair. I still struggle with this, but I think everyone does to a certain extent.

Steph O'Neil: Time management, especially during periods of self-doubt. A subset of this struggle is figuring out the best way to allocate my time: which projects are best to draft, revise, attempt to move forward.

Julie Artz: The business side is the hardest part for me. If I could just write and read every day and not worry about pitches and submissions and rejections, I'd be a lot happier. But alas, I want someone to read all these words I'm writing ;)

Michael Mammay: This.

Leigh Mar: Drafting is my nemesis. Working on becoming more of a plotter to hopefully move our relationship more toward "frenemy" territory.

Rebecca McLaughlin: The wild oscillation between self-doubt and ego. You need both, but finding a balance is key.

Anonymous:  It’s incredibly tough to balance others’ expectations and your reality. People think you’re the next JK Rowling or a starving artist. They expect it to be fast, easy, a mad-dash of brilliance, and everyone everyone wants to be personally involved and thanked in the acknowledgments. Or people viewing your success/failures as a foil for their own, which is frustrating.

Jessica Bloczynski: Self confidence, hands down.

Lyndsay Ely: Finding the patience to revise... and revise... and revise again the same thing you've read and revised twelve million times, when all you want is to be able to pop out a new finished manuscript every week.

Kat Hinkel: Balancing writing time with everything else I want to do with my life. Becoming okay with very rough drafting. Not losing hope when in the middle of a big revision. (that's 3 things, sorry)

Lisa Schunemann: Battling with the evil inner voice of self-doubt. I literally think that everything I write is crap, in the moment of writing. That makes me really hard on myself sometimes. Also telling myself its okay to not know this plot perfectly, to the T, because really, who does? All that comes down the road when you revise.

Phil Hickes: Revision.

Michael Mammay: Drafting something new after something you like. All of a sudden your words look like crap, because they're first draft, and in fact, they ARE crap. But so was your last book, until you revised it.

Heidi Stallman: Giving myself permission to write crap as long as I am writing.

Michael Mammay: I need that skill so bad.

Kat Hinkel: THIS!

[askauthors]

This is for the 2016 Pitch Wars mentees. What is the agent round like? What should we know to prepare ourselves now?

Two things covered in this post:

What you can do now in preparation for the Agent Round?

And what to do during the Agent Round?

What You Can Do Now

Amanda Rawson Hill: The agent round is just sprinkles. Don’t put too much weight on it. How many requests you get means nothing about your future as a writer. In the canon of Pitch Wars history there are people who got zero requests who went on to get an agent or book deal. There are people who got tons of request but never got an agent for that ms. It says nothing about your worth or the quality of your ms.

Rebecca McLaughlin: It’s never too soon to start preparing your pitch. To make a good pitch, evaluate your query (a sort of pitch) and see what sentences catch your eye. Maybe ask your mentor or CPs what caught their attention from get-go.

Michael Mammay: If I tell you not to worry about it too much, are you going to listen? No? Yeah, I didn’t either. But seriously—it’s just one piece of your overall strategy after you revise. It’s the first step in a bigger plan to get your work out to agents. Worry about the whole plan, not just this one piece.

Relly Anett-Baker: Worry about it 7 weeks in. Right now, it’s the oasis in the desert.

Leigh Mar: Seconded. Focus on the MS now, no matter what happens in the Agent Round, you want to have your absolute best possible MS ready to either fulfill agent reqs or dive into the query trenches (or some sort of combo). You could “win” the Agent Round but it won’t get you far if your actual MS doesn’t impress the requesting agents.

M. K. England: What can you do NOW? Focus on your revisions and write the best book you possibly can. Nothing will get you a great agent like having a great MS. Talk openly and honestly with your mentors and absorb all you can. You’ll have plenty of time to query and respond to agent requests later. You only have two months for pitch wars itself. Make use of it, enjoy it.

(But since I know you won’t accept that answer [I sure didn’t]: Make sure your short pitch is rock solid. A really compelling hook can capture an agent’s imagination and get them excited. Your pitch should hit whatever is shiny and different in your manuscript.)

Elizabeth Leis-Newman: Create a Pitch Wars Agent Round soundtrack of songs that make you feel tougher. Suggestions include: Nicki Minaj’s rap in Monster, Kayne West’s Stronger or most of the Hamilton soundtrack.

Lyndsay Ely: If you can find the time, research the PW agents in advance. Remember, you’re not required to send to an agent just because they make a request, if you don’t think they’re the right fit for you. (At the same time, be open to considering agents you might not normally have—you might find the right fit in an unexpected place.)

What To Do During

Here are our overall rules for what to do during the Agent Round if you’re part of the mentee group:

Your feelings are valid, whatever they are.

We celebrate together. We hurt together.

Rebecca McLaughlin: The Agent Round is basically All of the Anxiety. But it’s great fun (did I say fun? I meant stress). Get your refresh-button ready, because that’s basically all you’ll do for the entire time. Make sure you’re okay with best case AND worst case scenario, because there’s no telling what will happen.

Julie Artz: Managing your emotions during the Agent Round is really tough, even if you get a lot of requests. It’s hard not to obsessively refresh the page looking for new comments on your entry, or to question every word or punctuation mark in your entry and wonder if you should have done one more polish. I recommend planning something to keep you busy during as much of the Agent Round as possible, or perhaps even asking a friend to check for you periodically throughout the day. Because if you sit there online staring at your entry for three solid days (which I did), you will create a lot of emotional churn that does zero to help you on your path to being a better writer and could potentially put you in a tail spin that will last long after the Agent Round is over.

Tracy Gold: Yes. This. It was so hard. I was glad I ended up substitute teaching for a friend on top of my classes that week, but I was still a nervous wreck. Build up your stress coping mechanisms now, because you will need them!

Michael Mammay: Being happy for other people and sad for yourself at the same time (or vice versa) is challenging. And the agent round is the first time where that really hits you in the face. It’s hard. But you have to figure it out, because it’s pretty much going to continue as long as you stay around writers. 

Phil Hickes: It’s either the best bit or the worst bit, depending on whether you get requests or not.

Sean Easley: Amen.

Elizabeth Leis-Newman: Set a timer that allows you to look every hour. If at all possible, go see a movie, get a massage, or basically anything that allows you to not constantly look. Set up a query list so you can start sending those queries out as soon as Brenda gives the okay - you will be antsy and want to do something proactive.

Steph O'Neil: Celebrate the success of others more than your own success (or failure). I think that is the only way to make it through.

Amanda Rawson Hill: This is so, so important. Such a good point. It’s so much more fun when you feel invested in more than just yourself.

Sean Easley: Even if you get ZERO requests in the agent round, you might still get an agent in the next year, and have your book scheduled for release the following year, with offers ready to go on your next series. The Agent Round is NOT a direct reflection of you.

Leigh Mar: I was straight up ZRC. No reqs, no ninja reqs, nada. My Pitch Wars MS still got multiple offers of rep and I signed with my agent in early February. There are members in our group who got reqs and are still pursuing rep or found rep with a new MS after PW. Enjoy the agent round for the possibilities it offers, but it’s, as Amanda said, “just sprinkles.”

Terry Bell: I’m not going to sugarcoat this: it’s rough if you aren’t getting requests. It’s rough when agents you’re hoping to interest announce they’re heading into the entries, but your requests don’t budge. For me, I felt like I let down my mentor and my fellow mentees, and wasted the last two months of everyone’s time. And I also stressed that this would be a black mark on my record—a sign that my writing wasn’t marketable.

And then I got a request, and IMMEDIATELY FORGOT LITERALLY ALL OF THE ABOVE. Others have talked about how requests =\= book deals or agents, and you should listen to them because they’re right. But it’s normal to feel panic, embarrassment, worry, etc. if your entry isn’t blowing up. There isn’t much you can prep for. But your mentee group will be there to help you get through it. ❤️

Heidi Stallman: In retrospect, the agent round meant very little for my career and success. My mentor helped me identify the last few story-telling and craft-skills I needed to get an agent’s attention. She also helped me through querying and “the call” from my agent. The support, knowledge and friendships I’m building with other mentees through the private FB group has also helped immensely with querying, “the call,” agent revisions, and numerous other things. But I didn’t know or didn’t think about this during the agent round.

I got caught up in the excitement and frenzy and committed the worse self-sabotage a writer can commit—comparing myself to others. I so wanted to do well in the agent round and get lots of requests like some of the other mentees and I didn’t. I got one. It was brutal emotionally. I still shudder at the bad place I went to. But then I pulled myself up and sent out a very conservative 10 queries and waited. And waited. And waited. And still didn’t get any requests at which time my mentor and I revisited my query (pretty good) and my first chapter (loved by some, hated by others). I wrote a new first chapter, and after that my request rate hit about 35%. YAY! So the lack of requests in the agent round was useful, but man it hurt at the time.

Lyndsay Ely: If an agent doesn’t request during the agent round, you can still query them after PW. Many requests have been had this way!