Standing Out

Ruth Katcher, Editor at Egmont USA, told one of the WIFYR classes today about recieving a live lobster with a submission. Can you imagine? She never really told us what she did with the lobster, but it must have been a shock when it arrived.

What are editors and agents looking for? Not lobsters or any other exotic gift. Something much more subtle and obvious. A well-crafted submission.

John Cusick, Agent at S©ott Treimel, NY added to this idea in a later session today, by saying, "You stand out by being good and by being yourself."

But how do you polish a manuscript to that point of "being good by being yourself"?  Listed below are some favorite answers to this question.

• Read, read and read some more
• Write, write and ...you get the idea...write some more.
• Finish the novel. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that in the past two days at WIFYR. sometimes we get stuck on the first few chapters and never finish.
• Find a critique group. Critique groups give you the opportunity to improve your own work, as well as developing editorial skills in a friendly environment.
• Put it aside and come back to it later. You'll see it more clearly.

 

Lost Generation is Finished

It's finished.

Like a wonderful puzzle that I've poured my soul into, the pieces have all fit together into a novel.

Lost Generation is finished.

I never anticipated what it would be like to say those words.

Ann Dee Ellis compared writing a novel to running a marathon at WIFYR two years ago. I've never run a marathon, but it sounds like a good comparirison to me. I picture training, day in and day out for the big race and then it arrives. You run. You finish. Then what?

You get ready for another race.

I guess writing is like that, because the thing I want to do most is start a new novel.