Have a Happy 4th!

We'll be closed at BookEnds Saturday through Tuesday to celebrate the 4th of July.

Have a great holiday, and we'll see you when we resume posting on July 5th.

—Jessica, Jacky, and Kim

Rejection Road

I was snooping around the Web, spying on my clients, when I came across this great series of articles on rejection, and what some of our own mystery authors faced (and still face) on that road: http://cozychicks.blogspot.com.

—Jessica

Stop the Scammers

Ann Crispin and Writers Beware are working hard to stop agent scammers. I recently came across this post from Ann and thought I would help get the word out.

If you have had a problem with any of the following literary agencies or related companies, all of which are owned and operated by Robert Fletcher, please send me an email. My address is: anncrispin@aol.com

The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:

Children's Literary Agency
Christian Literary Agency
New York Literary Agency
Poets Literary Agency
The Screenplay Agency
Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency, formerly Sydra-Techniques)
Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)

We all know AOL can be temperamental, so if by chance you get a bounce when emailing to my address, please re-send your email to Writer Beware's address, which is: beware@sfwa.org

The reason for this request is that I have some information for you that may help you out.

Thanks very much for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Ann C. Crispin
Chair, Writer Beware
anncrispin@aol.com
www.writerbeware.com

Networking

"I'll pat your back, if you pat mine." For some reason, those words can make us cringe the tiniest bit. They sound so selfish, so self-serving. And yet a lot of times this is how good business happens. Networking is all about patting backs, shaking hands, and doing favors. There's no shame in that, is there? It's no accident that some of the more outgoing, gregarious writers are the more successful ones. Wait a second! "Outgoing" and "writer" in the same sentence? Isn't an author supposed to lead a reclusive life, sleeping next to his/her manual typewriter and twenty cats every night? That's old-fashioned thinking, people! In this day and age it's all about who you know—and not just in the corporate world. Networking is the foundation for some terrific writers' organizations, like Romance Writers of America. If you're just using your memberships with these groups to get a free magazine every so often, then you're not getting your money's worth. Don't be shy!

Without networking, I wouldn't even have this job. Lucky for me, I'd worked with both Jessica and Jacky before and we'd kept in touch over the years. That's how opportunity knocked. It's all who you know. . . . My good friend Jeff Pearlman quoted me and BookEnds author Maggie Sefton in a recent article he wrote for Newsday. Free publicity! Here's a link to the article: www.newsday.com/features/booksmags/ny-etlede4761613may29,0,7463216.story. And to "pat" him back, I'll ask you to go out and buy his book about Barry Bonds titled Love Me, Hate Me. He's one of the best writers I know . . . almost as good as our clients. ;)

—Kim

The Art of Pornography

If you've paid attention to the book market at all recently then you should know that erotica, erotic romance, romantica (whatever you wish to call it) is the hottest (yes, I know that's a pun) genre going. As an agent I feel very lucky to represent a number of amazing writers in this area. The stories are wonderfully written, passionate, exciting, and yes, they are hot. So here's my beef. Over the past few months I've heard this genre and these books repeatedly referred to as pornography, and I have to tell you, this really peaves me off.

I'm sure most of my authors, many who have been writing for years, have been dealing with this for a lot longer than I have, but I feel I need to say something and explain something. My first step in understanding where this is coming from (although I think I already have a pretty good idea) and having solid facts to back up my argument is to go to the dictionary.

pornography

1. Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
2. The presentation or production of this material.
3. Lurid or sensational material

erotica

Literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire.

And therein lies my problem. Pornography is simply described as writing whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal, whereas erotica is literature or art intended to cause desire. Even the words used in the definitions make erotica sound lovely, sophisticated, and acceptable, while pornography sounds dirty and cheap. As an agent I like to think that what my authors are writing is lovely and sophisticated. They work hard to create strong stories, passionate characters, and to develop a readership who wants to come back for more. Pornographers, on the other hand (and this is my interpretation of the definition), aren't as concerned about plot or characterization. Their primary purpose is to titillate and sensationalize.

So, what I have determined (like I needed a study to figure this out) is that those who refer to this wonderful new genre as pornography are clearly offended by the work these terrific authors and artists are doing. By describing these books as pornography they make them sound dirty and sinful and are (in my mind) making an attempt to cheapen the work these authors have done.

Offended or not, I think that as writers, artists, authors, and publishing professionals we need to give everyone the respect they deserve for the hard work they do and the hard road they've climbed to get where they are. I don't agree with calling romance novels (of which erotica is considered a sub-genre) trash, and I don't agree with calling erotica pornography. Ironically, the genres that receive the most criticism and snobbery are those that are the most successful. Hmmm, could this be the cause?

Say what you will about someone else's book or the genre in which someone else writes, but the truth is that we are all in this business of publishing together, and whether or not we like what someone else has done we all should like the fact that there are still readers and book buyers out there.

Variety is the spice of life. If you don't like something, don't read it. But don't criticize what you don't know.

—Jessica

Query Letter Critique Groups

Now that you've read the good, the bad, and the ugly of queries, I have one last suggestion . . . query critique groups.

I've made this suggestion at numerous writers' conferences and I will bet that no one has ever followed through on it (if you have, please let me know, I'm curious how it works). Just as everyone has a critique group or critique partner, every single one of you should have a query critique group. This group needs to be completely separate from the one you use to read your book and needs to be made up of people who have never read your book. The idea is that when you read each other's queries, you aren't looking as much for grammatical errors as you are to see if your letter really grabs someone and makes them want to read your book—in the same way book cover copy should grab your attention and make you want to buy the book. This is much easier to do when the person doing the critique doesn't already know the ins and outs of your book.

Having a query critique group will help you narrow down your book description to one paragraph—the one that needs to be exciting, eye-catching, and make an agent want to drop everything and read!

—Jessica

Question of the Month

We haven't yet received any questions and are getting ready to answer our question of the month (hard without a question). Please let us know if there are any questions you have for us, and don't be shy. Is there anything you want to know about BookEnds, literary agents, publishing. . . ? We'll read all of your comments and answer one now, more later.

—Jessica

Query Letters, Part 5—The Ugly

And yes, all of these letters really did come into this office. . . .

Author Author
phone
e-mail

July 13, 2001

BookEnds:

I am seeking an open-minded literary agent that is looking for fresh, new material.

I am an unpublished author that has written numerous books - all that are different from anything that you have read or that is on the market. My genres include humor, a romance, short-stories, & science fiction; and a children's book.

I am currently working on a mystery novel that is completely different from any mystery on the market.

Writing is my passion and I have been doing it for four years.

Should you require additional information, please call me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Author Author

Hooking Them In

This week's Publishers Weekly had a very interesting piece entitled “How They Do Debbie,” an article about the success of romance author Debbie Macomber. One of the things that really struck me about this article was the mention of Debbie's book The Shop on Blossom Street. After Blossom hit the bestseller list, Harlequin commissioned a reader survey to discover why this particular book struck such a chord. Do you know what they discovered? They learned the same thing our own Maggie Sefton has learned, that people love knitting, and this particular theme (this hook) was not only attractive to Debbie's romance readers but also had appeal to the ever-growing community of knitters. It wasn't her writing or her growing romance audience alone that made her book a New York Times bestseller; it was the fact that she had written a book that appealed to a niche audience of readers who may never before have picked up her book. This audience was (and is) so dedicated to their craft that they were looking for anything that had to do with their love of knitting.

Maggie Sefton has learned this firsthand with her Knitting Mystery series. Maggie, like the rest of the mystery world, knows the importance of a hook. Dan Brown had the Da Vinci Code and our own mystery authors have everything from gardening, scuba diving, and wine to collecting, baking, and dolls (just to name a few). When selling books to publishers, readers, and even friends and family, we aren't describing the mystery or the romance (since they are all basically the same story); we are describing the hook. It's that one special thing that brings us to the book.

To build on the success of The Shop on Blossom Street, Harlequin and Debbie Macomber did what any smart publishing team would do: they established a major publicity campaign around knitting—not around book readers. Not only did they market the book to knitters, but they created an entire series of romances surrounding this hook.

When selling your book to an agent, publisher, or reader, you need to capitalize on your hook. You need to focus on that one big thing that makes your book not only different from everything else but marketable as well. Maggie Sefton has had great success with her Knitting Mystery series by meeting with knitting shop owners, knitting circles, and knitters all over the country. Debbie Macomber did the same. So what is your hook? And how are you, the author, going to market your book outside of the natural audience, beyond just romance or mystery readers?

—Jessica

Query Letters, Part 4—The Bad

I hope this letter speaks for itself, and tune in tomorrow because, believe it or not, it gets worse. . . .

July 13, 2001

Since I was a child my dream was to be a writer. Finally at 55, the kids have grown and gone and I have had the time to pursue that dream. Never have I wanted anything so badly as to be able to walk into a bookstore and see my name among so many others.

With great pride I send you a book filled with my blood, sweat and tears. Family and friends who have read it have been duly impressed and see no reason why it won’t be published.

My phone number is 555-555-5555. I look forward to hearing from you.