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

Social Networking for Writers

Marybeth — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:32:12 +0000

I recently decided to make the most insane decision ever.

I gave up Twitter and Facebook for Lent.

*taking a deep breath and wiping sweat from my brow*

When I told my husband he had an interesting reaction. He said, “Aren’t you just going to be hurting your platform by doing that instead of helping?”

To which I said, “I don’t think so. I’ll still be blogging.”

Bu then I sat back and thought about all the tweeting I do with agents and other authors and began to wonder, am I hurting myself more than helping?

Well regardless the choice has been made and I intend to stick with it.

Do you think taking a break from social networking would hinder your career as a writer? Would you be able to give it up for a full 40 days and 40 nights?

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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..

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!)

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In the Land of Edits

Marybeth — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:52:38 +0000

Once upon a time, in a land far away, when a girl couldn’t catch a break or a snow day, a book was completed and editing had began everywhere. The characters grew nervous, afraid to be cut. The plot bit it’s fingers, desperately hoping it’s holes would not be seen. After all, how embarrassing is it to be filled with gaping holes and missing moments? But the worst off in the land was the author. She had sent off the entire manuscript to be critiqued for the first time. She knew the characters well and she felt dearly close to the plot. The moment the hit send and her characters were gone her stomach filled with butterflies and a wave of nausea hit her from behind. It was pure agony. She would now have to sit back like a mom who had just sent her baby to school for the first time and wait for her characters and plot to return. She hoped they would not get beaten up or mocked. She longed for them to be well received and loved. After all, she had crafted them so gently.

So she sat and she waited, and waited, and waited….

To be continued…

P.S. I’m the author! Waiting is the name of the game and I’m STILL nauseous. How did you feel the first time you first sent your manuscript off to be critiqued?

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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?

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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!

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Hidden tips that your book MIGHT need some work…

Marybeth — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:32:03 +0000

The best way to get objective, honest feedback no doubt comes from a professional editor. But let me tell ya, I checked into that. Editors are expensive!

Sometimes we are blessed to find a great critique group or friend to help us edit. If we are REALLY lucky we get someone who will tell us how it is, without having to pay for it! But let’s be honest, not all of us are lucky enough to find someone in the industry that gives the right kind of feedback.

Although friends and family are GREAT to boost your ego and tell you how wonderful your book is and how every little edit has made the book a sure fire seller, they aren’t the best people to take advice from.

So what’s a writer to do? How can we tell if our book is really ready or worthy to get published?

Here are some good indicators that your book may need some help…

1. You’ve found a few beta readers who are also writers. They were super excited to read your novel, but two chapters in…they stop reading and suddenly you aren’t hearing from them. It’s possible your book may need some help. If they aren’t begging for more, chances are, you’re not hooking them enough.

2. You’ve broken down and sent out tons of query letters. You’ve been reassured that your query is flawless, but you are still getting form rejections. It’s a good indication that your book may need some help. If your first chapters are not able to get you any type of feedback, chances are, you’re not hooking them enough.

3. Your friends and family aren’t too excited to keep up with your changes, updates and edits. In short, they are bored. Friends and family are usually our BEST critics, if we can’t hook them our book DEFINITELY needs help!

If you have experienced any of these my best advice is to work on the beginning of your story. Make it full of hooks and impossible to set down. Just like Julie Andrews said, “Lets start at the very beginning, a very good place to start!” (Oh how I love The Sound of Music!)

Have you ran into any other signs that make you sit back and think, “Maybe my book needs a little more help?”

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Who Influences You?

Marybeth — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:49:38 +0000

On my last post I commented on how I was unintentionally and indirectly influencing my daughter with my writing. Without knowing it, I had been providing her with a dream to one day become a writer herself. What a wonderful gift! Then a few days later I started thinking about who influences me indirectly and unintentionally.

I’m sure the first thing that comes to your mind when the question “Who Influences You?” is asked are gobs of writers and people you admire. We all write about them in our biographies and list them on our facebook pages. But when I ask that question, I’m asking about everybody BUT those individuals. Who in your real everyday (in my case uninteresting and filled with children’s screaming and never ending driving around) influences you without intending to, and often without you even noticing?

I say this because I realized my husband, although I may not necessarily want it, has often influenced who or what I am writing about. But let me point out the key phrase in this sentence “although I may not necessarily want it.” Have I confused you yet? Perfect!

Sometimes we let the wrong influence show in our writing. Where most influence by our heroes and favorite writers can be beneficial, sometimes the unintentional and indirect influence can be bad.

I love my husband (99% of the time) and he is absolutely wonderful (99.5% of the time) but his ideas about my writing … not so wonderful. Unfortunately I’m not interested in adding an evil plot for my character to take over the world and it had not once crossed my mind to put in group of ninjas in my 10th chapter just to bring in some “action”. Still … after he said it … I briefly considered it. GASP!

It doesn’t matter who it is or what they are suggesting, sometimes I can’t help but wonder if I need to bring in every little idea that people suggest. Our friends, our family, our critique groups all have their own ideas about where our books should go. And I don’t know about you, but often times I feel the need to please them all.

There’s one word to answer that … Impossible!

Ok ok…I know you are probably saying, “Where the heck is she going with this?”

What I’m trying to say is this … be careful about who influences you, and don’t let them influence TOO much. Be true to who you are. Even though they may not realize they have influenced your decision of whether or not grandma should be wearing a red dress or a purple dress when she comes back to Susie through a dream, they have. But we need to be careful that we aren’t changing our stories to please other people, we should only change things when it makes US happy.

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