National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

In less than a week thousands will be sitting down to write a novel. Challenged by Chris Baty, the wonderbrain behind this mad adventure, writers of all types and around the world are spirited along to write fifty-thousand --that's right, 50,000-- words in thirty days. And if you've been so inspired to do this that you actually churn out a book (which are typically another 40-50K more words depending on your genre), literary agent Colleen Lindsay doesn't want you trying to pitch it to her. But don't let her stop you from pitching it to others. Just be sure it's worthy of the agent's time and not just sent out to a pool of agents on December first. Not cool.

Last year, Chico Writers Group hosted a number of write-ins as several took the challenge. This year, however, we won't be hosting write-ins. We will most likely continue holding our write-ins at the library on Wednesdays between 9:30 and 11:30 am, except we might be moving to the inside portion at the back of the reference area where it might be a tad warmer (see diagram below). If you plan on coming and haven't been before, you might want to stop off at the comment section and give us a holler so we know to be looking for you -- and that you'll be looking for us. If you have a laptop you'll be using and require power during the two hours, we suggest you bring a suitable extension cord as the number of open and available outlets is limited. There are some nearby our location, but for some, it might be a stretch.

Click on the picture above to enlarge.

If write-ins are your thing, one of our members will be working with the Chico NaNo liaison, Lynn, and hosting write-ins at her offices on Rio Lindo Avenue after 5:00 p.m. Want more information? Go to NaNoWriMo.org and register. Once you're done, edit your profile and select Chico, California as your region and be sure to sign up to allow the liaison to send messages to you. Still need more or can't figure that out? Hit that comment box and let us know. Just be sure to use a valid email address so someone can respond.

How NOT to be targeted by the evil #queryfail

Thursday, March 6, 2009

Yesterday various agents and editors got together on Twitter and posted a wild rash of reasons they will reject a query letter. If you haven't read the 140 or less character tweets we collected, now would be a really good time.

How do you write a winning query letter that won't be labeled "fail" by these editors, agents and interns working in publishing houses? We've collected a few really good articles that will help you get your foot in the door. Take a gander: (hint: click the links as they'll take you directly to the article we're referencing.)

• Mystery author, S. W. Hubbard, has a great article here: www.swhubbard.com
• Ester Heller, Editor-in-Chief, Targum Press posted the following guidelines Nov. 2008: http://blogs.targum.com
• A summation of yesterday's #queryfail experiment and lessons learned can be found here at the Belletrinsic blog: http://belletrinsic.blogspot.com
• Tara Lazar did a summation, too, that's worth perusing and can be found here: http://taralazar.blogspot.com
• Colleen Lindsay, the literary agent (FinePrint Literary Management) responsible for yesterday's #queryfail, has a site crammed full of useful information to pick through. Start here: http://theswivet.blogspot.com and be sure to look around the site, it's very useful!
• Jill Corcoran has a very well put together "how to write a query letter" post that's very timely, too, as it was published on March 1st, 2009: http://jillcorcoran.blogspot.com Be sure to check out the posts she links to as well (run your cursor over the page to find the links which aren't underlined). Bookmark the post as it is a great resource!

Still need more? Want a template of sorts? Short of sending out the monkeys to write it for you (and no, we won't do that -- didn't you read yesterday's capture of the #queryfail tweets?), Nathan Bransford with Curtis Brown LTD provides you with a great "Mad Lib" style query letter. Just be sure to change it up a bit so it's more personalized! Go check it out at: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/03/query-letter-mad-lib.html

If you have your own tips, winning recipe, experience to share, by all means, leave a comment! Good luck, too!

#Queryfail on Twitter

Agents and editors are posting snippets of what makes a query fail.  Searching Twitter using the #queryfail tag, you can see all of these tweets.  This has been a very educational, if not funny, experience. 

Here are some of the pass/fail, along with sage advice, query tweets (taken verbatim)

"dear editor, hello! I would like to thank you for taking the time to read the first 3 chapters..." Absolutely no need, seriously	fail
"The purpose of this letter is not earth shaking, so, if it will be ignored, and I'm sure it will" Yeah.  Now it will.	fail
"Allow me the privilege of publishing it through your company, so I can be the best selling author I know I am meant to be."	fail
The Artichoke and the Onion: A Love Story (in which artichoke peels away layers to reval its "secret hidden place inside")	fail
Here are synopsis for fifteen completely different projects I've completed.  I am currently working on these 5 additional novels.	fail
Greetings from Sweden.  We hardly have any agents.  So I sent my query directly to the publisher.  Book'll be out this spring.	fail
"P.S. I collect stamps.  Should you have any stamp... that is destined for the trash can, [please] stuff them in the enclosed SASE.	fail
Page numbers, no. Chapter heading, no. ANY sort of header, no. #queryfail, yes	fail
Dear XX Publishing, I guess I am unable to write a synposis that is short and reflects my manuscript so..."	fail
"Have u ever lost yr partner in the fringes of a war u didn't approve of which subjecting him to an unsubstantiated war?" Grammar	fail
I'M TYPING MY QUERY IN ALL CAPS SO YOU WILL BE SURE TO NOTICE IT.  Okay, now that my pupils have stopped burning	fail
"This is a very exciting narrative which relates how I was attacked by a whore house" Exciting in what sense?	fail
"[TITLE redacted] contains sexually graphic descriptions, a violent rape scene [...] and mayhem. On the bright side..." No.	fail
It is unnecessary (and $$$) to fed-ex queries, it ends up in the same stack.	advice
"enclosed is a sample of my book XX. It is incomplete but there is enough for you to get an idea of the content." Errr....	fail
Creepy query = having your character send the query	fail
My favorite query typo from past: She mustard her power	fail
A classic: don't use a spokesperson, ok? Don't let your dad/lawyer/wife/brother query on your behalf	advice
If your spam blocker has to authorize my response to your query, I probably won't resent - approve agent emails ahead of time	advice
FedExing with signature required a query letter?	advice
not using contractions in your character dialogue/narrative... (unless it's time period appropriate)	advice
Don't send me your manuscript and tell me to start reading at page 312 because that's "where it gets good"	fail
It isn't a #queryfail, but you should know that unnecessary pen names do make me wonder about you	advice
These words are the kiss of death: "first book in a [multi]-book series	fail
People, query one book at a time please	advice
Handwritten query on scrap paper w/ eyeblass ad/7th bday party cloud paper/label peel saying "Sorry about the paper, we recycle"	fail
You want to write a nonfiction book but you have no impressive credentials or platform? This is a huge issue, folks	advice
Sentence fragments, which are not used for effect	fail
"This novel is very similar to The Da Vinci Code but much more plausible and better written."	fail
"I read about ur interest in poetry so Im querying U" Really?  Where?  You mean in my gidelines whre it says I dont accept poetry?	fail
"I have covered my sexual exploits with literally hundreds of women, mostly exotic dancers" - sorry, yuck	fail
Authors, PLEASE use a tracking system and don't query the same agent multiple times with an already-rejected book!	advice
Writing back to my form rejection for me to recommend another agent at my 2 person agency.	advice
Tight first paragraph, references, a recent relevant blog post of mine, awesome hook, good pages. Query WIN!	pass
One line hook, wordcount, genre, short blurb, short paragraph of writing background and polite closing. Query win	pass
tells me you read interview with me re: your genre, tells me what you learned from interview, & how your book is a fit. Win.	pass
Top reasons I don't read further: overwriting, info dumping and starting the story in the wrong place (often relates to info dump)	advice

If you'd like more information, please leave a comment and be sure to include a working email address (will not be published but necessary for a response.)

Happy query writing!