If You Give a Girl a Pen... » Marybeth Smith

The Pre-Query Jitters

Marybeth — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:26:35 +0000

It’s kinda like getting ready for the first day of school. You know it’s coming. It could be a week or a month away. Or maybe even a day. But you are super nervous.

Do you have the right outfit?(Aka:Is your query letter up to par?)

Do your shoes match and will anyone have the same pair? (Does the story match the tone of your letter and OMG is it original enough. The last thing we want to do is be Cliche’)

Will the hot popular kids like you? (Can we say Nathan Bransford? And every other agent on your FAVORITES list!)

What if nobody likes you? (Le Sigh…rejections…)

The list goes on and on. But really they are no different. It’s nerve wrecking. It’s terrifying. And more often than not the negative things DO happen.

So what is a writer to do when they are so nervous they are thinking about doing an entire extra round of edits just to postpone the scary hairy rejection scene?

STOP!

You’ve gotten this far have you not?

Have you not worked and toiled and edited and pulled your hair out and cried and laughed and written till your fingers bled and cramped and made everyone you know and their mother read and reread your manuscript and and and and and!?

Take the chance already!!!

If you are worried about agents rejecting, pick a hand full of your not so super duperlicious favorites and query them first. See what happens.

Do they love it? Do they hate it?

Do they all request a full? If so, start querying the big dogs. If not rework your query. Enlist some help! Purchase Elana Johnson’s From the Query to he Call. Do everything you can to make your letter shine.

THEN query a second handful of agents.

Repeat the process until it cannot be repeated. If it gets to the point where you are getting no where then maybe it’s time to rethink your strategy. But don’t give up. And don’t hold back out of fear.

Get your book out there already! And good luck!!!

(Says the pot calling the kettle black! Wait…I kinda want to be the kettle. You can be the pot today!)

Bookmark This

Marybeth is an aspiring novelist currently working on her second novel. For more information visit her website www.marybethsmith.com. She also has a blog Desperately Searching for my Inner Mary Poppins where you can keep up on her moments as mother, wife and writer..

Good to Know You

Marybeth — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:37:24 +0000

My husband wants a dog. I am not what you would call “a dog person”.

I don’t like dogs. Not even a little. They smell bad. They try to lick you. They jump. They bark. The give your legs some pretty awkward hugs, over and over and over and over again. They drool. They are a lot of work! I’m already taking care of three kids and a husband. I really don’t need to add a dog to that.

My kids on the other hand love dogs, as does my husband, so I’m feeling a bit outvoted.

What would your characters do it their significant other brought home a dog they were not expecting? Are they “a dog person”? If not, why? Is it the smell?

Bookmark This

Controversial or Conversational?

Marybeth — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:09:30 +0000

All this talk about banned books … and my newest novel idea … has got me thinking about the subject of controversy. By nature I’m a pretty good girl. I had about one or two years of rebellion, but even that wasn’t too bad. So when it comes to writing a book that may or may not center around that rebellion, I have to admit I’m having a hard time. I’m terrified of being “too controversial”.

But

Is controversial really a bad thing?

Is controversial a mere way of sparking untapped conversation by touching subjects people are too afraid to talk about?

I mean seriously, Dan Brown … Amazing Author! Still ‘The DaVinci Code’ sparked tons of controversy. However, how many books do you think sold merely to find out what the controversy was all about? I know that’s why I ended up reading it. And the conversations that stemmed between my husband and I about what was fact and what was fiction and “Oh my freaking goodness can he ever spin a story like he’s writing a history book!” (Ok I know not everyone agrees with that, but still … you get what I’m saying.)

So how do you feel about controversial subjects? Do you think books are really worth banning just because they crossed a line so many people can only dream about crossing?

Do you think you could write something controversial?

And really, what defines a controversial book?

So many questions … I’d love to hear your answers!

Bookmark This

Who does your writing Influence?

Marybeth — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:28:05 +0000

For many of us unpublished authors it is often easy to feel like we have yet to do anything that anyone actually notices. After piles of rejections and a few ehow.com articles that have earned me less than $1.00, I was beginning to think my writing had little or no meaning.

That’s when my daughter came up to me with a poem she had written me.

I started to consider the 10+ stories and poems she has put together in the last year and it occurred to me. I’m raising a young author! Not only am I able to perfect and hone my skills to be the most awesome writer anyone has ever known…why yes I do tend to think of the glass as half full…but I am also able to pass down everything I have learned to my little aspiring novelist.

I have inspired and influenced her through my writing to want to be just like me. Granted she is merely 8 and in the next 4 years she’s probably not going to want anything to do with me…BUT if I teach her now, we all know “Once a writer, always a writer!”

Conclusion…my writing has great meaning. I may be privy to the next best author of all time!

So who does your writing influence?

Bookmark This

New girl with pen!

Sarah — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:42:47 +0000

Marybeth Smith has agreed to join our blog! We are so excited.

So everyone, please join me in welcoming her.

Bookmark This

Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/