December 2008 – Becky Levine

Social Networking: GoodReads

Posted on 28 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

Last month, I put up a post about various links to people “talking” about social networking. Included in the list was Martha Engber’s post about GoodReads, which included a brief discussion on how authors can use the site to market their books.

Right after I blogged about this, I signed up for GoodReads. (You can see the button to my GoodReads page over there on the right–it took me WAY longer to add that button than to complete my GR profile, BTW!) I admit, signing up was, for me, sort of an exploratory mission. I’ve never been one to catalog my books in any ways, and I was just stepping out of a review job and was looking forward to NOT writing up my opinions for a while.

Well, of course, I found myself having fun. I do like listing the books I’m reading, and I like checking out the updates I get about my Friends. I haven’t started using the site as a source for my own to-read list, but that may be because I’m knee shoulder deep in reading research books for The Critiquer’s Survival Guide right now.

The other thing I haven’t yet dug into is the marketing/promotion aspects of the site that Martha talks about. I’m curious, though, so I spent a little time today browsing the web to see what other people think about GoodReads. The overall consensus seems to be that it’s a wonderful sort-of online book group, but there isn’t that much talk out there about using it as an author, not just a reader.

I did find a few links, in addition to Martha’s, for you to check out.

Scott Gilbertson gives a nice description of the overall site:
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/09/goodreads-flick.html
Emilee Newman Bowles at Ink & Paper Group gives a brief summary of features for authors:
http://inkandpapergroup.com/2008/07/goodreads-for-savvy-authors/
This review by Lisa Ruefenacht probably goes into the most detail about how an author can use the site:
http://www.smartdevicecentral.com/article/Site+of+the+Week+Goodreads/210703_1.aspx

I also took a first step and browsed the GoodReads Help pages for info about the author’s program. The best thing I saw is that, yes, it’s free to set up your own page, if you’re a published author. Always a nice feature. You can list all your books (or just the ONE that’s coming out next fall!), put up an excerpt of your writing, add y our schedule of events, and run book giveaways.

Here are a few links to GoodReads information about how authors can use their site:

The Author Program
http://www.goodreads.com/author/program
First Reads: The Book Giveaway program
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway
Interviews with GoodReads authors:
http://www.goodreads.com/interviews
Q&A sessions with GoodReads authors:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/featured_groups

Finally, just so you can take a look at a “final” product, here’s the GoodReads Author page of one of my favorite mystery writers, Dana Stabenow.

Are you on GoodReads? How do you use it–for fun as a reader, or promotion as a writer? (Or both?) Or do you belong to one of the other book-based social networking sites–LibraryThing or Shelfari? What do you think of them? I’d love to hear your take on these sites in the comments!

Uncategorized

Happy Holidays

Posted on 24 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Happy Hanukkah to those of you who are already in the middle of it. And a wonderful relaxing time of school and work to everybody!

Here’s what I’m doing today.

Getting over my cold
Baking a Lemon Sponge Pie and a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (With four people for Xmas dinner this could be considered overkill, but variety and leftovers are never a bad thing!)
Tidying my desk (maybe)
Reading Girl, Hero by Carrie Jones and loving it
Wrapping one more present
Thinking about stocking candy
Laundry
Relaxing

Here’s what I’m NOT doing

Writing (except for my blogs)
Worrying about not writing (okay, maybe only a little bit)
Nagging at any of you to write (I don’t want your brains to implode)

But, boy do I plan on coming back refreshed, OVER this cold, and ready to dig back in.

How about you?

Agents, Query Letters, The Pitch Paragraph

Go Pitch Your Pitch

Posted on 19 Dec 200819 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

I’ll be a little less present from the blog in the next couple of weeks, for obvious festive, celebratory, fudge-laden reasons. I’ll try to check in once a week at least, but even if you don’t hear from me for a while, know I’m out here and wishing everybody a wonderful break and a happy holiday.

As a special treat, I wanted to link you over to a very special Christmas gift to which you can treat yourself.

I got incredibly lucky this year. Not only did I get a chance to write The Critiquer’s Survival Guide for Writer’s Digest, but Jessica Faust of Bookends Literary agency agreed to represent the book for me. Jessica is also the agent for my friend (and great mystery writer) Terri Thayer, so I knew Jessica was trustworthy, direct, and very sharp–all the things I want in an agent.

She’s also incredibly hard-working. As evidence, see her offer to do pitch critiques over the holidays. I’ve watched her do this before, and I can tell you that when Jessica says she’ll do “anywhere from three to three hundred” pitches, well…it won’t be three.

This is a great opportunity. Jessica doesn’t pull punches, thank goodness, and if she critiques your pitch you will know both what DOES and what DOESN’T work in it. You’ll be able to take her feedback and do some serious revision work, in preparation for submitting that paragraph to your list of agents, whether Jessica’s on that list or not.

This is the hardest part of the query to write. You have to SELL your book, in a way that totally hooks the agent and convinces them they MUST read pages from it. You have to tell the story of a 200+-page project, in a few short, concise, evocative paragraphs.

Go. Write. Copy the paragraph into the Comments section at Jessica’s blog. Then, as Radar on M*A*S*H always said, “Wait for it.”

Critique Groups, Query Letters, Revising, The Writing Path

When to Query

Posted on 16 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

This week, I’m sending out some queries. I’m as sure as I can be that these are queries I need to send, and that my project is where it needs to be to show to an agent. I know, though, that this is a big question I hear lots of writers asking–when is the right time to send that letter?

The answer is, I believe, not until your book is done. Or, if you’re writing an nonfiction book proposal, not until the proposal is done.

There are two things about this answer–first, it might seem obvious. Actually, though, I hear a lot of writers talking about sending queries out before they’ve finished revising their projects. I think they figure that there will be time, while their letter is making its way to the top of the slush pile, for them to finish that revision. Alert: I sent one email query out at 3:00 in the afternoon and got my reply back at 6:00 that evening. No, it wasn’t a request for more pages, but I’d have been ready if it was.

Why set an agent up to want your book, if you aren’t ready to show them the whole thing? Why risk frustrating them, because you queried too soon? Wait until the book is done.

Which takes us to the second thing about my answer–another question. How do you know when your book is done. Completely done. Beautifully done. Seamlessly done.

You’re never 100% sure. At least I’m not. But you can go through a basic checklist and test your gut reaction to the questions on it. Here we go:

Have you written the book from beginning to end?
Have you rewritten that book several times?
Have your revision passes made substantial changes to plot, character, voice…all the biggies?
Have you shown your book to other people, preferably a well-read, deep-reading, serious critique group? More than once?
Have you incorporated the feedback of those people into you book? Yes, again, more than once?
When you read your project, does it feel cohesive, a complete, seamless entity? Does it feel like…a book?
Are you not avoiding thinking about a passage, a scene, or a chapter that jumps out at you as not fitting? Denial about not needing that next piece of chocolate is okay. Denial about fixing your project is not.

Yes, this is a lot of work. And it takes a lot of time. There is no way, though, that this time and energy is a waste. Nothing that makes your book more ready to hook an agent could be.

Critique Groups, First Drafts

Critique Groups: Knowing You Have Readers

Posted on 11 Dec 200811 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

This week, as I continue drafting The Critiquer’s Survival Guide, I’ve been grateful–again–for my critique group. I’ve been working on a few chapters that have less of a “template” to them than some of the earlier ones. I hit some frustration points, some places where I had to slow down, take a few steps back, revisualize what I was doing, then dig in again. As of today, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got. I think it’s good.

But here’s reason 6,381 why I love my critique group. At this point in the process, I don’t have to know for sure. Because of my critique group, the chapters will have a trial run.

I’ve done a lot of different jobs that revolved around words, and I’ve never underestimated the value of having some kind of editor look at my work. When I did closed-captioning for television, it was a relief to know that somebody would review my captions, significantly reducing my odds of sending some stupid mistake out over the airwaves. As a technical writer, I loved knowing that there were a copy editor and a proofreader standing sitting ready at their spots on the production line. And now, as I write fiction and nonfiction, I am thrilled that I can send chapters along to my critique group, knowing they’ll tell me what they love and what…well, not so much.

This probably sounds like I’m lazy. And I definitely am–about things like housecleaning and gardening and laundry. About my writing? No. It’s not laziness to want a few pairs of fresh eyes to read your work. It’s not laziness to let my writing flow quickly and freely, to slam the door on that inner editor, to trust that the rough drafting I do will take me somewhere strong. It’s not laziness. It’s appreciation.

Because all this is what my critique group gives me.

We’ve all heard, or experienced, horror stories about critiquers who trash an author’s writing, then proceed to dicate the book that author “should” be writing. Yes, when you step out to share your writing, you face this risk. I think, though, that it’s a small one, compared to the huge benefits a strong, supportive group can give you. And, if you’re considering publication at all–now or in the future– it’s a risk you’re going to have to take someday.

Why not do it now?

Blogging, Promotion, The Writing Path

Why Blog?

Posted on 8 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

Last week, around the time that Martha Alderson guest-posted over here, she and I were talking about blogging in general–why to do it, how to do it “right,” how to make your blog useful, to its readers and to yourself.

So I thought I’d talk about it a bit here. Just a bit, and then I’m going to give you some links to other people’s take on it.

I first started blogging for fun and to connect with other kids’ writers. I still have this other blog, where I talk more about my own projects–the ups and downs–and just silly life stuff. This blog totally met its objectives–I’ve “met” such wonderful writers there (and even met some of them in person, too). I get support and education about writing for kids. And, honestly, I just have fun blogging.

Then I got the contract with Writer’s Digest to write The Critiquer’s Survival Guide, and I started thinking about promotion. Frankly, it’s a bit tough to think about blogging to promote your book, or yourself, but—equally frankly, it’s the smart thing to do. In my first blog entry here, I talked about what I wanted to do with this new blog. My overall goal is to provide truly helpful, supportive information about writing, marketing, and–yes–critiquing. I hope the blog becomes something just as important for my readers as it is for me.

And, yes, I want to keep having fun with both blogs.

I browsed around the web and found out a bit more about blogging–different reasons for doing it and some good ways to make your blog helpful. Take a look & see what these people have to say.

And let me (and everyone else!) hear from you. Do you blog? Why? What’s the best tip you’ve ever received about how to blog? Feel free to drop the URL to your blog in with your comment!

Books, Publishing, Somebody Else Says, The Writing Path, Writing Books, Writing Goals

Somebody Else Says: Jane Lindskold

Posted on 7 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

I was going to put up this great, maybe-even-profound blog about…blogging first thing this week. Then I read this post by Jane Lindskold at Tor.com and thought it was a good one to share. We can all use more info about What Happens After the Book is Written. Hop over and have a read.

Thanks to Nathan Bransford for the link.

See you in a few days for that brilliantpost on blogs!

Books

Guest Post: Mine!

Posted on 5 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

Today, I’m guest blogging over at Killer Hobbies, for my friend Terri Thayer. I’m talking about some good books to buy your teens these holidays.

Take a look.

Guest Blogger, NaNoWriMo, Plot, Revising, The Writing Path

Guest Blogger: Martha Alderson

Posted on 3 Dec 20083 Dec 2008 by beckylevine

Martha Alderson is a friend, a critique partner, and a wonderful teacher of plot. Her blog, The Plot Whisperer, is a font of information about crafting your fiction, and you can buy Martha’s book and other plot tools at her website, Blockbuster Plots. To celebrate the end of NaNoWriMo, Martha has declared December National Plot Month and is giving daily tips at her blog to help you get started on revising that manuscript.

I asked Martha to stop by and give us just a taste of this next stage, how to look at those tens of thousands of words you just produced and figure out what you’re supposed to do with them.

Welcome, Martha!

Thank you, Becky, for inviting me to guest blog “about the kind of plotting a writer can do when they’ve FINISHED NaNoWriMo.” I agree with you that this is a crucial time–because, as you say–“it’s the first time (if the writers have done such a fast first draft) that they start shaping the story.”

The craft of writing involves taking what the muse has offered during the first draft and shaping the words into a coherent story. This step involves more than rewriting. The craft of writing requires a revisioning of the overall story.

The first draft is all about getting the words on the page.

Now it is time to forget the words.

Instead, stand back and analyze the story as a whole.

Consider the overall structure, how the characters develop and transform, where the gaps and holes appear, how the dramatic action rises and falls, the flow, the pace, the voice, what themes are introduced, and the overall meaning of the story itself.

Plot Tricks & Tips to Prepare for Draft Two

Do not read your manuscript for at least a week, preferably longer.
Do not show your first draft to others.
No editing. (Editing keeps you at the word level. Now is the time to consider the story as a whole.)
Break the story into the Beginning, Middle, and End. Each part has specific parameters and is easier to manage that takes place in each section.
List the main events that take place in each section.
Plot out step-by-step what happens to the main character in each of the three parts, both in terms of the action and in terms of their own individual growth, based on the action.

If you have a draft of a novel, memoir, or screenplay and are at a loss as to how to take your writing to the next level, join me throughout the month of December. I’ll take you through the process of crafting your first draft into a viable story.