#ask bookishdiplodocus

[bookishdiplodocus]

Would you recommend querying for a duology by pitching the two books together or just for the first book "with potential/plans for a duology/sequel?"

If the former, would I be correct in assuming the expectation would still be to have the first book's manuscript completed & preview chapters taken from that, rather than to have both manuscripts complete?

How to query a duology or a sequel

The answer really depends on whether it is a duology or a sequel.

A duology consists of two books that each have their own finished storyline AND share one overarching storyline. You can't leave book two unpublished without making readers unhappy. Narratively, a duology is two elements, together forming one bigger element.

A sequel is something completely different. A sequel takes (elements of) the storyline, or the universe, or (a) character(s) from a/the previous book and starts a new story.

For example: look at the Hunger Games series. Book one is a standalone, book two is a sequel and forms a duology with book three. You can stop reading after book one and feel narrative closure, but you won't feel closure between book two and three.

Btw, this is not a duology: The storyline is not finished after book one. The book was getting really big though, so you decided to cut your 130k fic in two books.

--> If it's a duology:

Having both manuscripts finished and polished before you query vastly increases your odds, because the publisher is buying both books at once and needs to see if you can perform.

--> If book one is a standalone and book two is the sequel:

The publisher will want to decide to take his chances with book one first and base his decision about publishing book two on how book one performed. Query book one separately, and mention the killer outline and killer pitch you prepared for the sequel.

*

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing!

Follow me for more writing advice, or check out my other writing tips here. New topics to write advice about are also always appreciated.

[bookishdiplodocus]

Hello, I've been reading your blogs and they all seem super detailed and helpful. So I'm an aspiring writer (quite literally) as I've been wanting to write for years (since I was a teen and now I'm almost 20) . The problem is - I'm pretty fickle, impressionable and easily influenced by what I'm reading and I'm an avid reader. But because of how inconsistent and fickle I am and because how my *reading preferences change daily* I'm having trouble with focusing on one project at a stretch; Thus I lose interest and passion for the idea once a new idea sparks at the plotting phase (Because my plotting phase takes TOO LONG ugh) and this is pretty much a vicious cycle. Most of my stories get lost in my head and never get written because of the *prolonged planning/plotting* and *changing reading preferences from where I get inspiration* . I regret all the time I've lost and I've got my college entrance exams coming up (which makes it nearly impossible to write atm) but I want to work on it afterwards and change for the better. What kind of plotting/writing approach do you think should I take to get over this problem? P.S.- I'm sorry for turning this too personal. I'm just really helpless and want to get a heads up on this stagnation real bad. I've been asking around a few people about this but none of the advices seem to be effective in my case. Please help me out? Much love ❤

Problem: you never reach the stage where you actually start to write

Don't think that you don't improve as a writer unless you finish a perfect story. Every thing you write advances you on your learning curve. You'll learn more from writing 300 unfinished stories than from not writing anything because you keep plotting.

If you keep writing and reading, you'll keep improving. And who knows where those unfinished stories end up in.

As a direct answer to your problem: I plot my books in one to three evenings, and then I'll start writing. Some famous prolific writers take a week, some only need an hour or two. In any case, know that the plotting stage should be short, so set yourself a deadline, and start writing.

If plotting is too daunting for you, start by writing a short story, maybe a few pages long. It'll also teach you a thing or two about story structure, setting a scene, writing dialogs, defining a character etc.

[bookishdiplodocus]

How does one... write verbal arguments? It's something I'm really stuck on. I tried drawing from life, but when someone strikes up an argument with me, I get an Intense panic response and just shut down. How do normal people argue?

How to write verbal arguments

Hi Nonny,

My go-to tip is to include reactions, both internal and external, in between the dialogue. Not only does it keep the scene dynamic, it also makes the reader Feel. And that's what makes the fight effective.

Internal reactions, a few examples:

Thoughts like: "How DARE you mention my sister!"

Feeling their heart beat in their throat

Feeling the adrenaline course through their body: fight, flight or freeze reaction

Not being able to think straight

External reactions, a few examples:

Not being able to keep the volume of their voice down

Suddenly hitting a wall (implying that the other person ought to be happy they hit a wall and not them)

Throwing or kicking things

Narrowing their eyes, mouth slightly open

Slamming doors (which is not necessarily the end of the fight: They can come back immediately, yelling: "Oh and don't even THINK that you can--". Or the other person can follow them and continue the fight, which immediately changes the social dynamics of the fight into a dominant chaser and a cornered chasee who thought they could end the conversation by slamming the door.)

I hope this helps! Don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

Happy writing!

[bookishdiplodocus]

What if your publisher asks for a complete rewrite?

I got an ask from an anon: “I’ve heard a lot of writers hoping to get published have to do complete rewrites of their work and that kinda scares me honestly, any help as to how to cope with that?”

That’s a good question.

Remember that I’m both a writer and a professional editor, so I will look at it from both sides.

First this: rewrites and changes are normal in traditional publishing. I’ve NEVER, not once, 0%, have heard of a book that was published as it first arrived in the editor’s inbox.

The essence is: if I ask for a rewrite, we see potential, but we can’t publish it as it is.

As an editor, I have the best interests of the book in mind. I genuinely believe that my suggestions will turn the book into its best self. Often a writer can’t look objectively at their story after spending so much time with it. I will bring experience and fresh eyes.

There are several reasons why I will ask for a rewrite instead of turning you down. I will give a few examples, but this is no extensive list.

Your idea is good and I can tell you’re a good writer, but there is a problem with your pacing, your perspective, a major character or your outline. It just doesn’t work as it is.

The book is good, but it doesn’t fit our “brand”. Or, it fits our brand so well that it’s actually too similar to another book we published or have in the pipeline. We don’t want your book to be competition for another book of ours, so we make it different enough that they can be popular at the same time.

Your book features vampires/zombies/teens struggling with cancer and that’s soooo last year, but if you replace them with werewolves/teens struggling with their sexuality/..., it will be soooo now.

I guessed correctly that it was indeed the butler who killed the countess and I made suggestions of how you can fix that and mislead the reader for longer.

All these have been reasons why we turned manuscripts down before, so try to see the question for a rewrite as a second chance.

Usually, the editor will suggest what to change and how. If they don’t, ask. They shouldn’t throw you into the deep.

On the other hand, I assume there must be publishers who don’t have the best of their writers in mind, so always follow your gut feeling. Investigate your feelings honestly. If your editor has asked you to do a major rewrite, did your heart sink because you thought you were done and you’re dreading this much work? Or did your heart sink because you feel like it won’t be your story anymore after all those changes? Or do they suggest to change things that are important for you, for example make a gay character straight because they say it will appeal to a broader audience? If so, maybe it’s time to look for a different publisher, or to look into self-publishing. If you don’t agree with the editor’s diagnosis of the weak points, maybe your book and the publisher/editor are not a match. It happens.

A good rule of thumb is: my writers usually feel I’m right when I point out weaknesses and suggest solutions. I want you to feel like this as well. Of course they would like me to say it’s perfect and they are done writing ^-^, but if the story isn’t perfect, they want to fix it before the big public reads the book. And of course, you don’t want to do all this work for the book to flop.

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing!

Follow me for more writing advice, or check out my other writing advice here. New topics to write advice about are also always welcome.

[bookishdiplodocus]

Tips on writing siblings, sibling bonds, and just how a sibling dynamic is supposed to be in general? Love your blog btw!

Awww, thank you!

Ahh, siblings, probably the most complicated relationship you’ll have in your life. Often, sibling relationships can be described in terms of conflicts. A few examples: (not from my life btw)

Yes, I bitch about my sibling all the time, but if you bitch about them, I’ll be fiercely protective.

One moment I scream that I hate them, fifteen minutes later I ask if they are hungry, because I’m gonna get some food and do they need anything?

As young children and teens, a sibling typically is someone you subconciously practice social relationships on. You can do and say things to your siblings, on purpose or by accident, that you would never say to a friend without losing them. But your sibling stays your sibling. You can’t “unsister” someone if you’re living in the same house.

Don’t forget the parents, because they can have an influence on the relationship between the siblings if they don’t treat their children equally.

That’s all from the top of my mind. I hope this helps, and happy writing!

[bookishdiplodocus]

i love your post about the outline but i was wondering how you would apply it on a series rather than a one book story? do you divide each book into their own outline, or do you make one for the story as a whole?

When plotting a series, do you outline the series or the books?

Both. You use it both on the overarching series storyline and on each individual book storyline.

If you only use it for the series, you’ll face a sagging middle, because the first book ends with the thrilling inciting incident, and the third book leads to the climax. If it doesn’t have a storyline on its own, the second book has too few thrilling plot points. Readers often feel cheated if they notice an installment of a series doesn’t have a finished substory. It feels as if the story ends randomly at that point.

If you only create an outline for each individual book, you’ll have difficulties tieing your stories together in a meaningful way that makes your reader want to read on. I just quit reading a series with interesting individual books, but the series wasn’t going anywhere. Readers need more than a cliffhanger in the last chapter to want to buy and read an entire next book.

[bookishdiplodocus]

How do you pick a story back up after someone you trust tore it to pieces? I let a friend read my first draft of three chapters and she covered the thing in red ink and ridiculed everything when they said all they would do is ask questions to make 2nd draft easier. I let other friends read as I wrote because they were encouraging. I've felt so discouraged since, but they insist they can't wait for more. I love this story but I just can't get up the courage to keep on with it after that...

Hi Nonny,

I’m sorry this happened to you. My advice to you would be to take some time, some emotional distance. Sometimes feedback needs a bit of time to hurt less.

Then take a good look at her feedback. You can ignore the remarks about typos and rewritings, because it’s a first draft, obviously it’s not perfect yet, but she shouldn’t have expected perfection.

What kind of feedback is left? Is it something you can use in your second draft? Try to turn this negative experience into a positive one.

And... I think I would never let this particular friend read another first draft again, or only when I have the guts to tell her how much it hurt. Or say you only want positive feedback to keep you going.

Hope this helps!

[bookishdiplodocus]

Hey there!!! I love this blog. Wondering if you had any tips for “middle of the book” writing? (More specifically a script, but I write prose too, so). Like, I know exactly who my characters are and everything about them, I have a gorgeous beginning and an amazing climax that’s very powerful and,,,,climactic? But it’s very hard me to think the audience will get anything out of it, because I don’t think I’ve developed the characters enough TO THEM (IE: stuff in the middle). Any helping thoughts?

Hi! Thank you for your question.

In short: you raise the stakes. If you made it hard for your characters in the beginning, make it even harder.

If you’re a planner or a plantser, these posts might help you: How I turned an idea into an outline (about brainstorming for your storyline), and How I never have to face an empty page when I write (about brainstorming for a scene, but it works for storylines as well)

If you’re a pantser, the rule of three can help you. The characters want something. Let them try to get it and fail two times, before reaching it on the third attempt. If they get it the first time, there’s no plot, no conflict. If they get it the second time, the success might have been a fluke. But if they fail two times, you confirm that it’s hard to succeed and the success gets more weight. Try to tie the storylines of the characters to each other’s for a richer story.

I hope this is helpful! (Sorry for the late answer.) I wish you happy writing!