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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all
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mary rosenblum
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Welcome to our Tuesday Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me.
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diannalmt
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Hi Mary, how are you today?
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mary rosenblum
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I am in a frenzy of getting
ready to leave well before the crack of dawn tomorrow for Boston and the
world SF confention.
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mary rosenblum
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Uh..convention.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll be gone a full week, but
Programming put me on EXCELLENT panels so I'm very happy.
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mary rosenblum
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Our Friday Forum will be from
Boston...hope I can remember the time change!
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mary rosenblum
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It will be a nonfiction
topic...clip etiquette...what to send, when, and how.
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mary rosenblum
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Result of an email request.
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mary rosenblum
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Today's topic is also the
result of an email request.
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mary rosenblum
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A website regular wanted to
know how to analyze novels for the marketplace...deciding just what you are
writing and who is most likely to publish it.
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mary rosenblum
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And this is a VERY worthwhile
practice.
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mary rosenblum
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For one thing, learning to
look objectively at a story and realize what it's major componenets are
will strengthen your own writing.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, the very first
mystery I wrote is still unsold, because I didn't know what I was doing...
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mary rosenblum
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and inadvertantly straddled
the cozy and harder 'amateur dectective' sub-genres.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll have to go back and make
it fit the amateur detective category before I'll be able to sell it.
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owlybear
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If you forget the time change,
you'll just be a few hours early...lol
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mary rosenblum
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Yep, owly. If I show up here
and the place is empty, it will certainly jog my memory...
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mary rosenblum
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but I can't anyway. I'll be
signing at the Asimov's table at 5 pm -- which is the Pacific Forum time.
:-)
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lbaggins
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Is it true that the only way to
learn how to write Fantasy,
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lbaggins
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Sci Fi etc. is to read
everything that's already been done?
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mary rosenblum
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Wow,I HOPE not! If it IS I
don't know how I've managed it this long! That is a HUGE pair of genres.
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mary rosenblum
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I can't begin to read even
half of what gets published! I"m lucky if I can get the Nebula and
Hugo nominees read!
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mary rosenblum
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NO.
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mary rosenblum
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You do not need to read
EVERYTHING out there...but...
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mary rosenblum
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you will always do better in
any genre if you read regularly within it.
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mary rosenblum
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When someone tries to write
SF, for example, who never reads SF, they tend to 'reinvent the wheel'.
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mary rosenblum
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That is they do a 'gee whiz'
story about some type of tech that has been pretty widely used in SF for a
long time...
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mary rosenblum
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Now there would be nothing
wrong with using that tech in a story...
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mary rosenblum
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but holding it up as 'wow,
ain't this new and wonderful' as the main driving force of the story won't
work.
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lbaggins
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I read that in a book from
Writer's Digest Book Club.
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mary rosenblum
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You can read a lot of 'expert'
opinions, lbaggins.
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mary rosenblum
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But you have to be a bit of a
consumer here. When you hear absolutes like MUST and ALWAYS, EVERYTHING and
the like...
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mary rosenblum
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be a skeptic.
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mary rosenblum
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And find out who wrote that
bit of advice. Bet it wasn't a well known SF writer.
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mary rosenblum
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NEW is not critical at all in
those genres. FRESH is.
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mary rosenblum
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You can tell a story that has
been told a thousand times and if your characters/your setting/ your spin
makes it fresh, it sells.
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mary rosenblum
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Harry Potter is not NEW. There
are already dozens of 'wizards school' books out there in the fantasy
world.
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mary rosenblum
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Rowlings spin on it is what
made it fresh and made it sell.
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mary rosenblum
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Good writing is MUCH more
important than NEW. Always.
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mary rosenblum
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Aha...an absolute. One of the
few I'll utter! LOL
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bravo6
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kind of like a late mnight
infomercial. SOmeone may beleive it, but not me! ;-P
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mary rosenblum
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Well, one thing to keep in
mind is that anyone can claim to be an expert So always check for yourself,
see what works for you, listen to other writers, and THEN make your
decision.
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mary rosenblum
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If you want to write in a
particular genre, say SF or Thriller, you are going to have to do some
serious research if you don't read in that genre.
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realityczech
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So, using Rowlings as an
example, what about her "spin" or "slant" is it that
sold editors and the rest of the reading universe on her books?
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mary rosenblum
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Reality, it DIDN"T sell
the editors. After many rejections it was purchased, but with a very
lukewarm reception. No real advertising campagn. AS to what make it take
off...dear, if I could answer that question...
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mary rosenblum
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I'd write the 'how to write a
blockbuster' book that worked, and I'd already be a millionaire!
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mary rosenblum
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That is the 'brass ring'
factor.
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mary rosenblum
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Nobody knows ahead of time
when a book will succeed. The authors always claim that they knew
after...but hindsight is always 20-20.
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mary rosenblum
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Nobody yet, including Maas,
has written a book that guarantees you'll have a best seller if you follow
the rules.
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lbaggins
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Could you give me a list on what
books, mags, are best to
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lbaggins
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read in Fantasy, Sci Fi
sometime?
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mary rosenblum
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The best way to find the best
in any genre is to read the trade journal.
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mary rosenblum
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In SF that's Locus Magazine.
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mary rosenblum
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Romantic Times in Romance.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, Locus for Fantasy, too.
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mary rosenblum
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You get reviews, publishing
news.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me.
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roe
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So tell us how to find the right
market for our story
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margieh
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If we're trying to access a
market or publisher is it important to read a number of their books from
cover to cover? What are we looking for?
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mary rosenblum
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These questions and their
answers go hand in hand.
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mary rosenblum
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First you need to decide what
the main elements of your story are.
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mary rosenblum
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Quick! Tell me in three
sentences or less what your story IS.
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mary rosenblum
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Not what it's ABOUT, but what
it IS>
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mary rosenblum
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Confused yet?
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mary rosenblum
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OK...young wizard at school,
and adventure filled romp with lots of characters, interesting supernatural
wildlife, and straightforward plot...
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mary rosenblum
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That's the first couple of HP
books.
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mary rosenblum
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The keywords here are: Lots of
characters. Interesting setting. Plot driven.
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mary rosenblum
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Various imprintes (lines
within a large publisher like Random House) and small press publishers...
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mary rosenblum
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tend to publish similar works.
Baen, for example, tends to publish a lot of military SF and space opera...
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mary rosenblum
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with sprawling plots, lots of
characters, and plot driven.
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mary rosenblum
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If you have a character driven
novel without a lot of shoot-em-up action, this might not be the best first
choice to send your ms to.
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mary rosenblum
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In magazines, Analog is
strongly based on science.
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mary rosenblum
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Asimov's is not.
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mary rosenblum
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If your story is character
driven, and the science is minimal or a real stretch...
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mary rosenblum
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don't send it to Analog.
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mary rosenblum
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IN mystery, Ellery Queen
features straightforward mystery plot along the hard boiled or amateur
detective type. No cozies.
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mary rosenblum
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No supernatural. Go to
Hitchcock for that.
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roe
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So the only way to find this out
would be to read the mags right?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes. At least three issues.
Same as for a nonfiction market survey.
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mary rosenblum
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And make a checklist...check
off categories for each story in the mag:
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mary rosenblum
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BECAUSE...some stories will be
in there because the author is a Big Name and even tho the story isn't
typical for the magazine, the editor knew it would sell copies. l
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mary rosenblum
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So you want an average.
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mary rosenblum
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Checklist: Character Driven?
Plot Driven? Many characters? Single POVs? Style oriented? Minimalist
style? Open ended stories? Strong closures? Three dimensional characters?
Vivid, but shallow characters?
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mary rosenblum
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Narrative POV? First? Third?
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tally
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/ask..what about stephen king?
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mary rosenblum
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What about him, Tally? He's
another brass ring phenomenon.
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realityczech
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Is there a trade magazine for
middle Grade/YA?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm sure there is, reality. I
don't know what it is, though.
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patchworkcat
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Exactly what is a cozy mystery?
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mary rosenblum
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A subgenre where the villain
is local, not an outsider, violence and sex are offstage, and the story is
set in a local context. Think Miss Marple by Agatha Christie.
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deb1234
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How do you know the difference
between the name selling the story and the story selling itself?
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mary rosenblum
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The name only sells the story
if the name is huge. If King has a story in a horror mag, it could be
awful. The editor probably won't turn it down...
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mary rosenblum
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although an editor friend of
mine, Kris Rusch, DID turn down a story by Ray Bradbury when she was editor
of Fantasy and SF...so it DOES happen!
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mary rosenblum
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Most of the time, the story
sells itself.
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diannalmt
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so where do we look for things
like romatic fantasy or adventure sci-fi?
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diannalmt
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things that may cross genres,
etc...
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curseofthe44
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Mary, do you have any
suggestions for mags that are spec fiction or "unusual" stories?
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bravo6
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What would be a good list for
current mags/publishers that buy SciFi short stories. Where would be a good
place to look for just that spcific arena (Besides the internet)?
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mary rosenblum
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From the research I have done,
the internet is the best place to find markets at the moment, short of
going to conferences and schmoozing with published writers to find out who
is buying...
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mary rosenblum
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and to hunt for open
anthologies.
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mary rosenblum
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There are quite a few VERY
thorough 'writers market' websites out there in all genres. Do some
googling and you'll find 'em.
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realityczech
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Are we talking strictly short
story here--journal-wise? Because the children's magazine market is a LOT
different from the novel market, as far as the types of stories go. Much
more conservative!
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mary rosenblum
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Locus covers both, and yes,
they are different, but not nearly as different as the childrens market.
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mary rosenblum
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I don't know if there are
different journals for those markets, but a half hour in the internet
should tell you. :-)
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margieh
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Do the same things apply when
you're looking at markets for book length work or do you approach it
differently?
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mary rosenblum
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Same idea, margieh.
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mary rosenblum
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Start with your story here.
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mary rosenblum
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Again, quick.. tell me what
your book IS!
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mary rosenblum
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A local mystery in a cool
setting?
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mary rosenblum
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space opera with a strong
romance at the heart?
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mary rosenblum
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A romance with a twenty year
old in NYC?
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mary rosenblum
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A near miss with a tailored
virus that escapes the lab?
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mary rosenblum
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Each of these fits a different
genre...which is merely a marketing issue, by the way.
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mary rosenblum
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It tells the bookstore where
to shelve your book.
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mary rosenblum
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But what YOU need to do is hit
your local library or your Barnes and Noble or your used bookstore.
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mary rosenblum
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One caveat about used and
library books. Fads shift and publishers change with 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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If you are looking at books
published ten or even five years ago...
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mary rosenblum
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that may not be an accurate
representation of what a publisher is now publishing.
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mary rosenblum
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You can start at the library
(cheap!) and check your results at Barnse and NOble. Is this imprint STILL
space opera? is this imprint STILL romantic mystery?
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mary rosenblum
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You have decided what the
strong points of your book are:
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mary rosenblum
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coming of age story in the
south...
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mary rosenblum
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No fantasy/horror/mystery
elements so you look in mainstream.
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mary rosenblum
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Start browsing. when you find
a story that seems to be 'coming of age' in nature, not the imprint on the
spine..
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mary rosenblum
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Yearling, Dell, Bantam, Penguin,
whatever...
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mary rosenblum
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Look for more books with the
same imprint, published recently. Again, do a mental or on paper checklist.
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mary rosenblum
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What are you finding?
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mary rosenblum
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Lots of women protagonist
facing life changes?
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mary rosenblum
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Midlife crises with male POVs
in interesting and foreign settings?
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mary rosenblum
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Stories of foreigners making
it in the US?
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mary rosenblum
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Plot driven stories of
overcoming physical hazards or obstacles?
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mary rosenblum
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Kind of keep a running
tally...
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mary rosenblum
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If you find that a particular
imprint has several recent 'coming of age' books and seems to feature a lot
of plots...
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mary rosenblum
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set strongly in regional
settings... SF, New Orleans, Los Angeles...
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mary rosenblum
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and your story is set in St.
Augustine and has a lot of rich local color, is coming of age in nature...
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mary rosenblum
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maybe that imprint is a good
place to start.
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realityczech
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What do you do when you find the
ideal imprint and the publisher doesn't take unsolicted manuscripts
anymore?
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mary rosenblum
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Aha...good next question,
reality, becauase that's where I'm going next...
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me.
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mary rosenblum
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VERY few publishers take 'over
the transom', ie unsolicited ms any more.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...knowing which imprint is
publishing similar books will help you in one of a couple of ways.
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mary rosenblum
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When you query an agent, you
include in your query letter the information that Imprint is publishing a
lot of coming of age stories set in rich local settings, and list a couple
of titles.
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mary rosenblum
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The fact that you have done
this much homework will impress the potential agent who doesn't really want
any unpublished new clients because they are a LOT Of work...
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mary rosenblum
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and may just get you a 'send
it to me' reply.
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mary rosenblum
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It also points the agent to
that publisher, if it's not a publisher the agent is a regular with.
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mary rosenblum
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Second possibility...if you
can attend a writers conference...
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mary rosenblum
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you now know which editors to
look for.
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mary rosenblum
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Go to the panels where editors
appear, read the schedule and bios that most conferences give you when you
buy your membership..
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mary rosenblum
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Is there an editor for that
imprint here?
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mary rosenblum
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GREAT!
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mary rosenblum
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Go chat with him or her.
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mary rosenblum
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Do NOT offer your ms right
there. BIG no no.
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mary rosenblum
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But ASK what that editor needs
right now. What is selling?
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mary rosenblum
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If it seems in any way to
resemble YOUR book, you say, Gee, I have something like that. It's set in
St. Augustine....
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mary rosenblum
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And with any luck, the editor
will tell you to send it to her directly...which gets you past the 'agent'
door-guard! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Editors are HAPPY to talk
about what they publish. That may save them from having to handle YOUR ms
if it doesn't fit what they want.
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mary rosenblum
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They will not look at a ms at
a conference and they certainly don't want to lug it back to New York and
risk losing it, so don't even ASK.
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mary rosenblum
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The additional benefit to this
'homework' is that the more you know about what sells where in your genre
of choice...
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mary rosenblum
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the more you will be able to
see what you are doing in your own work.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm not saying that you should
write for the market, necessarily.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you have a minor
subplot in a story that is probably going to be a problem in your
particular genre of choice...say YA...
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mary rosenblum
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it might not be a problem at
all to leave it out or alter it.
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tally
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/ask...when do the new
directories usually come out?
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mary rosenblum
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Tally, published directories
come out once a year...usually early in the calendar year.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember that the major ones
like Writers Market are available in your local library.
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mary rosenblum
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Our branch has eight or ten on
the reference shelf: Poet's Market, Illustrators Market, Nonfiction Writers
Market, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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MUCH cheaper than buying that
new copy every year !
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realityczech
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What about the paid chapter
reviews that some editors offer at conference, are they worth the money?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, that CAN be worth it,
reality, if YOU are prepared. It gives you a chance to talk to the editor
and find out what he/she is looking for. But if you are going to spend the
money for it...
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mary rosenblum
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don't waste it. Write up a
really GOOD synopsis so that readers are drooling to read the book.
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mary rosenblum
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This is NOT a time to be
modest at all.
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mary rosenblum
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While you shouldn't be
rediculously over the top either (this is the GREATEST book since the
Bible!!!!)...
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mary rosenblum
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neither should you bow and
scrape and wait for the editor to tell you that this is priceless and he
wants it!
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mary rosenblum
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come prepared to tell him why
it will sell, who will read it, and why the market is ready for it...
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realityczech
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Do you have an example of a
"good synopsis" on the website somewhere?
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mary rosenblum
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I've got a couple, including a
synopsis for a novel that Irene Radford sold. It's for a series book, but
it gives the idea.
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gail
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What about those stories that seem
to defy current markets? Dig further? Or, reserve the story until a market
presents itself?
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mary rosenblum
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I would try them, Gail.
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mary rosenblum
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Editors ARE looking for the
Next Big THIng all the time.
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mary rosenblum
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And it's a subjective search.
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mary rosenblum
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You will probably get a LOT of
rejections, but remember, you only have to sell ONE edtior on it...
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mary rosenblum
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and we are all VERY different
in what we think is excellent. There is NO standard.
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mary rosenblum
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So in this case, you have a
book that will be hard to sell, but if you persevere you will probably sell
it eventually.
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lbaggins
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I'm having trouble locating your
Submissions 101 on LRWG
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mary rosenblum
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I'm sorry, laura. I need to
update the index and will do so as soon as I'm done here.
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mary rosenblum
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I had to take that one down,
because it contradicted the format prescribed by the LR course and it was
confusing students.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll put up a slightly altered
version later this week.
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mary rosenblum
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Format discrepancies aren't
going to keep anyone from selling their book!
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mary rosenblum
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The main criteria is that the
ms has to be easily readable and identifiable.
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mary rosenblum
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And by the way, I just posted
an article by Jodie Ball on E-submissions in Writing Craft: Business of
Writing
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realityczech
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Ahhh, so it wasn't just Gremlins
this time!
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mary rosenblum
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Nope...just timing. I need to
refresh the index!
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mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or
the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen,
or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular
'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question
to reach me.
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mary rosenblum
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If you are writing Romance it
is VERY important to analyze the imprints.
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mary rosenblum
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They are highly formulaic and
you must fit within the confines of that formula in order to be considered.
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mary rosenblum
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It is VERY easy to straddle
imprints.
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mary rosenblum
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If you have a romance in
progress, read several of the various imprints that seem to fit your story.
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mary rosenblum
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The Harlequin/Sillhouette
website offers some good general guidelines for each imprint, but I would
read and analyze several books anyway.
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mary rosenblum
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Guidelines are too general to
really tell you what you need to know, for the most part.
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realityczech
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I like your suggestion of a
market analysis checklist. Do you have a full version of that on the LRWG
site?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't. I should create one
and post it. :-) I'll put that on my 'topic' list.
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lbaggins
|
What Exactly is an Imprint?
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mary rosenblum
|
Laura there are really only a
very few major publishers...we're talking traditional publishers, not small
press.
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mary rosenblum
|
Each of these BIG houses, like
Random House or Penguin/Putnam...
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mary rosenblum
|
publishes a lot of books of
different sort.
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mary rosenblum
|
Dell publishes YA in the
Yearling series.
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mary rosenblum
|
Random House publishes SF as
Del Rey.
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mary rosenblum
|
Penguin/Putnam publishes one
mystery series as Berkeley Prime Crime...
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mary rosenblum
|
and has others.
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mary rosenblum
|
You will deal with the editors
who are employed to edit that imprint...
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mary rosenblum
|
usually there is more than
one.
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mary rosenblum
|
But the books within that
imprint will be sort of similar...
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mary rosenblum
|
while 'Random House' books
will vary from text books to nonfiction to fiction...
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mary rosenblum
|
Random House has dozens and
dozens of imprints.
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mary rosenblum
|
So there is no point in
talking about what Random House wants!
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mary rosenblum
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That is why you don't send
your ms to Random House.
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mary rosenblum
|
YOu send it to the editor at
whichever imprint your book fits...
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mary rosenblum
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and yes, the contact info is
listed in the writers guides.
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twhorn
|
There is a web site that is
offering a program that provides wizards to format MS for word. cost about
85.. formating wizrds, would this be a worth while investment?
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mary rosenblum
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Goodness no!
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mary rosenblum
|
Why pay 85 for something that
will do a job that should take you ONE TIME a handful of minutes?
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mary rosenblum
|
Now if it is a screenplay
program that is different. Screenplays are formatted very specifically and
it is a pain to set up the tabs, bullets, etc...
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mary rosenblum
|
so there, a formatting wizard
is worth the money if you plan to do screenplays a lot.
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mary rosenblum
|
But even if you have to fumble
around with your help screen a lot, you only have to format the ms once!
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mary rosenblum
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Then you same that format as
'ms template'
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mary rosenblum
|
Next time you start a story,
call up the template and save it to a new name. Your formatting is all in
place.
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mary rosenblum
|
I have a SF story template, a
mystery story template, a general ms template, a chapter template a title
page template...
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mary rosenblum
|
never mind the various letter
templates!
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lbaggins
|
Do you reccommend any writing
software, such as Storyboard?
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mary rosenblum
|
I don't. I have a scene
template on the website that Bravo created, if you want to set up a
storyboard type page.
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mary rosenblum
|
I make my living writing
words. I don't have a lot of disposable income, and I don't spend it on
tools I don't really need.
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mary rosenblum
|
A roll of white freezer paper
makes a great 'storyline'...I can pin it up on my walls and scrawl all over
it in magic marker if I want!
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twhorn
|
Are the template you mentioned
available from the LR website to download?
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mary rosenblum
|
Yes, it is.
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mary rosenblum
|
It involves some set up but
the instructions are there, and once you have set it up, save it as a
template.
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mary rosenblum
|
storyboard
for chapters
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mary rosenblum
|
That's the link to the storyboard
template.
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mary rosenblum
|
He uses it for chapter, but
you could use it for scenes in a story, just as well.
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tally
|
/ask...can't we just make our
own on word?
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mary rosenblum
|
That's what I do, tally.
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mary rosenblum
|
But mine are much simpler than
his, and generally, I do a lot of it on paper with a pencil as thoughts
come to me during other activities.
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curseofthe44
|
I read that when formatting a MS
for Word, you need to turn off all of the paragraph line and page breaks,
pagination stuff. This is so the word count is accurate for editors. This
does make the pages equal at the bottom. I did a count and it was more
accurate. But I have never seen this explained except in a couple of
places. What is your opinion?
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mary rosenblum
|
Don't worry about the word
count, curse. Either the editor will accept yours or she will have her own
formula for figuring it.
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mary rosenblum
|
If you get MORE words doing it
that way, then do it if you're getting paid by the word.
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mary rosenblum
|
But don't feel you HAVE to do
it. You don'tl.
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mary rosenblum
|
Editors are not dumb. If you
send in a story to a mag that has a 7000 word limit and your story is 50
pages long, double spaced...
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mary rosenblum
|
the editor isn't gonna believe
your 7000 words for a second!
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curseofthe44
|
So I should leave the pagination
alone?
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mary rosenblum
|
Unless you're submitting
online. You might read Jodie Ball's tips for that.
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lbaggins
|
There is a mysterious difference
between Writing on paper
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lbaggins
|
Writing by typing; do you have
any idea what this could be?
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mary rosenblum
|
Yes, there is, and for
editing, too, and nobody really knows why.
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mary rosenblum
|
With the advent of easy MRI
technology, we'll probably find out that different areas of the brain are
involved, but why? Who knows.
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mary rosenblum
|
While I know many writers,
myself included, who no longer create ms by hand, I don't know any who
don't edit at least one draft on the hardcopy page.
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tally
|
/ask...are more editors asking
for hard copy now?
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mary rosenblum
|
Right now, most editors of
print magazines still want a hardcopy submission, although nearly all will
also want a disk if they buy the ms.
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mary rosenblum
|
Some are taking submissions
online, and of course, the Ezines all do.
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mary rosenblum
|
Here's another rare absolute
for you : ALWAYS read the submission guidelines.
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mary rosenblum
|
Editors have NO patience with
people who don't follow the guidelines and return or 'round file' offender.
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lbaggins
|
I admit I'm afraid of Writing by
typing, I still use pen
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lbaggins
|
and paper. I do I overcome this?
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mary rosenblum
|
You don't have to. Lots of
writers do that. It was VERY hard for me to create on the screen at
first...
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mary rosenblum
|
just FELT wrong. But I was a
single mom with two young kids and time was precious...
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mary rosenblum
|
and it was a lot faster to
create on screen and edit than to create on paper, transcribe, and edit.
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mary rosenblum
|
Now, of course, I do it all
the time, and to be honest, I find I do better first drafts on screen.
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tally
|
/ask...should you have hard copy
and paper available?
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mary rosenblum
|
Depends on what the guidelines
ask for, tally.
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mary rosenblum
|
It IS a good idea to back up
your work two ways:
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mary rosenblum
|
On a floppy or CD AND on
paper.
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mary rosenblum
|
In the worst case scenario,
where you find that your hard drive has crashed and your save media is
corrupted, or lost, you STILL have that paper copy.
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lbaggins
|
The typing isn't a problem, it's
the actual process of
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|
lbaggins
|
writing by typing for me.
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mary rosenblum
|
It was for me, too, at first.
I coudln't create on screen, but made myself do it becauese I HAD to.
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mary rosenblum
|
IF you don't have to and you
don't want to, don't.
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mary rosenblum
|
Well, to sum up...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
learn how to identify what
your story or novel does.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Is it character driven? Is it
plot driven?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Is there a lot of onstage sex
or violence?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Is there a romantic element?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
A fantasy element?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
A supernatural Element?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Lots of action?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Not much action and lots of
character interaction?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Then go looking for books that
fit the same checklist and see who is publishing 'em.
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|
speckledorf
|
Hey...what is the trade market
for mystery genre?
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|
mary rosenblum
|
There is a magazine that calls
itself the 'trade journal'..I was thinking of subscribing to it. I can't
remember the name, right now, speck. I'll check in my next MWA bulletin.
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mary rosenblum
|
And by the way..
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
you can subscribe to the SFWA
and MWA newsletters even if you don't qualify to join as a pro member.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
You can become as 'associate
member' without the full privileges, but if you write in that genre, it's
worth the money.
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realityczech
|
Do you have any last minute tips
for how to avoid getting so caught up in the story you are analyzing that
you forget to analyze it? LOL
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|
mary rosenblum
|
That's a skill that is hard to
learn and very good for you as a writer, reality.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Start by analyzing other
books!
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|
mary rosenblum
|
MUCH easier than analyzing
your own!
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Asyou get better at seeing
what elements make up other books, you'll begin to see them in your own
work.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
It's a matter of perspective.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Just as a casual passer by
looks at a bunch of dogs in the show ring and sees a bunch of dogs...
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|
mary rosenblum
|
but the judge sees a weak loin
here, turned out feet there, a really nice topline there, and a great head
there...
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|
mary rosenblum
|
you begin to see what makes up
'dog'. Or Story, as the case may be.
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|
mary rosenblum
|
WEll, next time I talk to you
it will be from Boston!
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I should get some good
speakers for next year. I want some agents!
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|
mary rosenblum
|
And a couple of New York
editors!
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|
mary rosenblum
|
I'll see who I can pin down.
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tally
|
/ask...have a great trip
mary..thanks for today
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Thanks tally. And thanks for
coming all! Off to pack!!!
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