Category Archives: publishing

How to Hypnotize an Editor-6 Tips for Getting Published

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How to Hypnotize an Editor-6 Tips for Getting Published

Getting published is not the easiest feat, and it helps to wiggle your fingers, empower your words and send an editor into a literary trance. Not easy, but doable. Continue reading to learn how…

1. Woo with originality: There’s nothing new under the sun—or so the old saying goes. But, there’s always a fresh slant to a worn topic. Find ways of tapping into your “otherness” and pouring that into your writing. “Girl meets boy” was the underlying subject of author Jessica Brody’s short story “Hu-Man Resources,” but the subject did not stop there. Imagine a group of men-deprived girls plotting a scheme to use their positions in personnel as a dating service. Now that’s a story! And a hilarious one at that.

2. Seduce with your opening: There’s nothing wrong with a tease. Captain Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last—the opening sentence of the best-selling novel Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund—bewitches readers. Hummm…we all know the memorable character of Moby Dick and wonder what shenanigans lies within his home front. And the bit about multiple husbands before and after Ahab entices…

3. Befriend the spell/grammar check: Nothing is a larger turn-off than seeing a writer’s work riddled with errors. Remember, an editor’s interview with a writer isn’t with the writer herself but with her writing. Make sure you flaunt quality writing. One of my favorite resources for a spell check/thesaurus is dictionary.com. General use is free, but you can also upgrade to premium service which provides ad-free use, audio word pronunciations, word games, and more.

4. Incite gossip: Ms. Missy next door may give you something to talk about, but you want to prattle on about your work. The internet is a great resource for getting talk and feedback about your writing. Don’t under estimate internet “gossip”!!! Author Karen P. Fowler knows the power of internet gossip well. In her article, “Workshopping Your Fiction,” (http://writingfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/workshopping_your_fiction) she describes her experience in using peer review websites. Another great thing about internet gossip, is that word spreads fast. If your work is good, gabby mouths flap. Let them!

5. Read great works: The literary canon is great for example and inspiration, but don’t forget other great works (and the ones that’ll help you get published) such as writer’s guidelines and works published already with the editor. If writer’s want to know what I like to see, I say please read a few of the work we’ve already published. I get tons of submissions where it’s obvious that the writer didn’t bother doing her homework. It is worth the time and effort to read a publication’s submissions policy and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Nothing creates a worse impression than when a writer asks a question that has already been answered in the guidelines or FAQs. Do diligence, as with job interviews, is just as important when you want to sell your work.

6. Flattery…will get you everywhere: Delivering roses isn’t necessary, but a kind (and sincere) word about the publication would not hurt. Caroline See in her book, Making a Literary Life talks about “charming notes” to editors, as a means to getting “face time” (a book, by the way which is a must read for writers). Editors receive hundreds of submissions from virtual strangers wanting to be featured in their publication. A nice note to the editor could help in the long run and perhaps establish a rapport. You’d be a familiar name in a sea of submissions.

As editor for The Chick Lit Review (http://www.chicklitreview.org), Iris Green receives hundreds of submissions, from professional and not-as-polished writers and writers in-between. She has a BA and MA in English and is currently working on her Masters of Business Administration. With a background in both technical and fiction writing, she feels fluent in both worlds. This article is free for republishing, as the author provides blanket approval, as long as its content remains unchanged and the credits and bio remain intact.

Google Wave and The Future of Publishing

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While those in the writing world have been focusing on BEA in New York this weekend, the Google I/O Developer Conference was taking place on the opposite end of the country in San Francisco. These are rather unrelated events, unless you pay attention to what Google Wave will offer when it is released later this year.

“What is Google Wave?”, you ask. I’ll let their own presentation speak for itself. See below, but heed the warning, it’s 1 hour and 20 minutes long. There’s also a great post over at Mashable that’s worth reading.

If you’re not likely to watch the whole thing, let me give you some highlights.

  1. Live translation in 40 languages, as you type.
  2. Search, including Twitter search
  3. Document Sharing/Word processing
  4. E-mail
  5. Instant messaging
  6. Twitter
  7. Embedding into blogs
  8. Social Networks (i.e. Facebook)

It’s basically a conglomeration of all of your favorite web applications, but on steroids.

So what does this translate to for the publishing industry?

This is where it gets interesting.

Wave will allow people (authors) to collaborate on documents/emails/blogs/microblogging and keep it organized. You break it apart, mash it with other waves, and readers can replay the course of events if they’ve come in late in the game and want to see what has occurred over time. With the move to an electronic medium for books, novels can now become living documents that authors can update at will.

So what would this book look like?

In electronic form, it could do the following

  • It gives authors and readers a direct line of communication. Readers can give feedback/comments on any part of the book. Do they want to know more about a character? Do they absolutely hate how that character died?
  • Authors can comment on particular sections and/or links/content of interest. And {gasp} authors could make changes to the novel.
  • Imagine downloading a Wave-based novel onto your Sony Reader or your Kindle (or any other device) and instantly getting those comments/changes seamlessly. NOTE: this also integrates with Android, Google’s operating system for mobile devices. And imagine providing your own comments as you read. (Just think of what reviewers and editors could do with this.)
  • You can insert elements into the Wave. For nonfiction, this has huge implications since authors can update their books as new information/research becomes available. For fiction works, you can draw the readers in with images, videos, links, or for those SF/F fans, games! As an author, if you sell the gaming rights later, you can insert the links or the games themselves into the Wave at a later date without having to be concerned.
  • Imagine opening yourself up, as a writer, to writing/editing LIVE! an hour a week for your readers to see the process. And you can let them give you feedback as you do it.
Does this seem a little overwhelming? Perhaps there will be a new role for publishers as the Digital Concierge for authors, so they can focus on content.

I don’t know about you, but I believe there are big changes coming for publishing. I watched a video of Mike Shatzkin speaking at BEA 2009 and I think the man is brilliant and bang on.

So brace yourself, the Wave is coming. It’s going to bring together two worlds that I love in new and exciting ways: books and technology. And I intend to surf it for all it’s worth.

Danger Wil Robinson…

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There’s a relatively new imprint at HarperCollins that I’m very excited about. I just learned about them today, actually. Angry Robot Books. They look really intriguing and I look forward to the titles they are going to be releasing. I love that they acquire, as they so aptly put it, SF/F/WTF?! (I think mine falls into the latter category.) They’ve even been requesting feedback from the public on the pricing of e-books, which I think is brilliant!

Check them out!

List of Publishers…started…

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I managed to add a list of publishers and imprints on the Publishers page, although this isn’t complete. I still have to add Abrams, Bloomsbury, Harlequin, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Kensington Books, and Disney. And this list is very “North American-UK centric”, so there’s lots of room for improvement. I’m also looking at adding some indie pubs, smaller houses and e-pubs as well. If you have thoughts, feel free to let me know.