The Book That Others Will Read

The Book That Others Will Read

by | Jan 18, 2021 | Guest Blog, Writing | 0 comments

The Book That Others Will Read

By Writing Gym Alumnus Brendan Thompson

I first got into writing on the conviction that I am a creative person with stories to tell. I have never surrendered that conviction, but in the thirty years since, I have taken a lot of time to reflect on what kind of stories I have to tell. In that time, I have done quite a bit of living, which has given me a lot more material to work with. I have read some fantastic books, visited some remarkable places, and known some amazing people. The richness of those experiences has continually added to my ideas for stories.

However, it’s not just about having ideas.

Any long time writer will tell you about the book they got halfway through writing, driven by the strength of its unique and compelling idea, only to see the project fizzle out and remain unfinished. No matter how intriguing, compelling, and alluring the idea was, it wasn’t a story.

In order to see the book through to the end, there had to be a story.

Let’s move forward, out of the 1990’s, through the 2010’s ,and up to the present day. I had assembled an oeuvre of around a million words that made up an outsized, grand, opulent, sprawling world of stories. I took my best work, a gunpowder fantasy epic, and walked it over to Annalisa Parent and her program, The Writing Gym.

It’s a scary thing to go from writing for yourself to showing your work to professionals. Often, it’s one thing to put your work in front of friends and family- I had done that. It’s also one thing to engage other writers to trade work, reading each others’ manuscripts in exchange for notes. I had done that, as well.

But to put your work in the hands of a professional writing coach, a literary agent, or an editor, is an experience of an altogether different magnitude.

I will always maintain that a good writer writes first and foremost for themselves. That’s how you get started, moving ideas into stories. However, selling your work requires moving your stories out of your own collection and into a market. You are asking people to pay money to read your stories. There has to be something in it for the reader.

Being a professional, Annalisa spared no time getting me deep, specific feedback that required extensive rewriting of my novel’s first fifty pages. Fantastic. That level of editorial interaction is what I had signed on for.

It was a double edged sword, to be sure.

It’s great to have good notes for rewriting, but it’s not great to have the task of rewriting. It’s great to find solutions to fix underlying problems, but that requires finding underlying problems. And you don’t want to find problems in your manuscript.

It’s natural to recoil in horror at the suggestion that you didn’t craft the best possible story on your first draft.

Professional writers with massive followings still get those notes from editors, and they rewrite their works accordingly.

It’s not a foolproof process, but it is a process that improves the work. Ideas move through the writer into stories, which move back and forth from the writer to the editor, becoming more and more refined, transforming into stories that are more comprehensible, more relatable, more gripping, engaging, and effective.

I found Annalisa asking me, with some reluctance, if I would go back to page one and start the process over. Completely optional, mind you, no pressure, but still her professional recommendation. Would I mind bending the narrative more in the direction she was pushing for, and doing it for the reasons that she had outlined?

And here is what I told her.

I already know the version of this story that is most for me. I had already revised, reordered, and recapitulated the narrative a hundred times, shifting the perspectives of who was telling the story, experimenting with the order of events, who did what to who, and who was the witness to it. A hundred variations on the story I was crafting. Through that, I had a hundred different versions of the story in my head, understanding the possibilities that are so tantalizing and exciting in this world that I have created. However, that is not what I want to publish.

I want to publish traditionally and for a wide audience. That means continuing the revision and the crafting of the story, refining its very carefully calibrated inner workings to find the version that appeals to a target audience, a core of readers who will engage with the book, fall in love with it, and recommend it to their friends.

I want to get beyond the story that is only for me, and get to the story that is for them.

So, write for yourself. That’s the only way to get started. When you are comfortable showing your work to others, go right ahead and do it. You might even get published right away, and if you do, congratulations are in order. For the rest of us, the next thing to do is to write some more. And start revising. Revise everything. Keep writing, and then revise that. As you keep growing, developing, and finding your voice, engage with literary professionals, get their feedback, and put it to use to further grow yourself and improve your writing.

What you will find, whether gradually or suddenly, is that you are no longer dealing in ideas.

Every time you sit down to write, you craft a story. You think in terms of story, and you can’t create in any other way. When you revise, you will revise in terms of story, and you won’t have any other way to do a revision.

You will find, as if by magic, nothing you write, no matter how personal, is ever just for you. Not any more. You will be preparing yourself for the life of a professional writer, preparing to write for your readers.

Brendan Thompson is a writer and alumnus of the Writing Gym. His film, Bae Wolf, will be available in March.

Resonate with what Brendan says? I help writers to transition from the art of writing into the business of publishing. This is what I do to help people publish and get the representation they need. If you are ready to accept what the guidelines are and are ready to sell your book, let’s chat.

You Too, Can Get the Attention of a Major Literary Agent with the Right Query

You Too, Can Get the Attention of a Major Literary Agent with the Right Query

by | Nov 12, 2020 | How to Revise a manuscript, Why is publishing so hard?, Writing | 0 comments

You Too Can Get the Attention of a Major Literary Agent with the Right Query

 

 I want to talk about Aaron, a fantastic writer who has done some amazing work in the Writing Gym. He has put together a 90,000 word literary fiction novel that tackles themes such as identity, achievement, attraction, and incest. 

Before joining me, Aaron completed his novel after dedicating six months to it. After completing his novel, he went into the querying process thinking, “Oh, the hard part is over. I’m just going to send out my letter. Who wouldn’t beg to read this?” 

Aaron even had a personal connection to an agent, and sent this agent his first query. The agent responded asking for the manuscript. Aaron sent it, and twenty minutes later, got rejected.

He was shocked.

In hindsight he felt foolish, but at that moment he felt his understanding of the world had completely turned on its head. He set out to research and understand what the issue was, whether it be the substance of his query, improving his network, getting in touch with agents, or figuring out how to access more resources. 

Then he found me. 

 

“I could tell that you care about the writers. It’s really immeasurable and hard to describe, but I felt like that was completely there. You had devised a system where you spent time working with authors, but also spent time networking with agents, which is exactly what I needed.”

Aaron and I began working together right away, and I read his manuscript. I invited him to join small group sessions to think about writing and craft, which he found helpful. 

Afterwards, we started thinking about our marketing strategies. Whom were the agents we were going after? What was it that we were going to use as the hook? How are we going to convey to them in a page that, essentially, this is a story that’s right for them? 

Aaron went into the querying process hesitantly, because of his initial experience with that one agent. He believed agents don’t reply to blind submissions or cold query submissions, because they have enough of a pipeline from their clients or other networks. 

He found that while that belief may be 80% accurate, there are definitely exceptions, and he was one of them.

After working with me, he found a number of letters he sent out received same day responses asking for full manuscripts, and he got positive feedback on the content of the query itself. 

Aaron’s full manuscript requests are huge, because the typical pattern is sending the query, getting the agent’s interest, and then the agent says, “Okay, send me ten or fifty pages.” Oftentimes, the manuscript gets better as the story progresses, so getting a full manuscript request is important.

Not to mention, the content of Aaron’s work and query were both relatively polarizing, but he was met with success, even getting a response in under five minutes.

Eventually, Aaron got in contact with Jeff Kleinman over at Folio Lit, who offered to share the manuscript with his colleagues if he wasn’t interested. Since then, Aaron has been getting requests from high-quality agencies, the “Harvards” of the literary world. 

 

I asked Aaron what he thought about his experiences in the Writing Gym. 

 

“Based on my personal experience, I can’t recommend the Writing Gym enough. It was the kind of catalyst that helped me actualize the potential of my writing.” 

Well, there you have it folks. We’re so proud of Aaron here at the Writing Gym, and look forward to celebrating his future accomplishments.

I help writers transition from the art of writing into the business of publishing. If you are ready to accept the guidelines of publishing and are ready to sell your book, let’s chat.

Until next time. Happy writing.

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

by | Sep 16, 2020 | How to Publish, Uncategorized | 0 comments

How To Fast Track To Publishing With The Writing Gym

 

This week I received a manuscript in the mail from one of our Writing Gym members, Mary, and I’m so excited to take a look over it. Let’s take a moment to congratulate Mary. 

She has written so many pages with us in the Writing Gym, and has entered the next stage of the process by joining the Publishing Mastermind.

People ask me all the time, “How is it that you work with authors?” “What is it that you do?”

Once someone joins the Publishing Mastermind, I begin to lay down the foundations for you to become a published author.

For example, Mary is about to enter the Publishing Mastermind’s reading period. During the reading period, I read her entire manuscript not once, not twice, but several times. In addition to reading her manuscript, I’ll help Mary tell the best story she can while maintaining her voice and integrity as an author. But, I’ll also be looking at her manuscript from an industry perspective. 

 

What exactly does the industry perspective entail?

Well, it includes what types of books are selling now, and what kinds of conversations I’m having with publishing house editors, acquisitions editors, and agents. 

When a manuscript is ready, I pick up the phone and start calling agents I know are interested in this kind of thing.

Let’s use Mary’s work as an example, as I happen to know it’s historical fiction set during World War 2. I’m going to start calling agents I know are interested in historical fiction and say, “Hey, I’ve got this manuscript set in World War 2. Here are some things that Mary’s doing. What are your thoughts on that? What are you seeing in terms of what is being acquired right now, and how can we position this?”

What happens with these conversations is those agents become interested in that novel once we’re finished revising it.

We set up a system where Mary will get to the front of the line with her manuscript, because of the conversations with agents and the foundation I’m lay for her.

Once I finish reading the manuscript, I begin working with Mary in the revision phase, and finally, we can pitch it to the industry.

Mary has gotten the attention of an agent, and has gotten to the front of the line because of the conversations I’ve been having with industry professionals on her behalf. 

There’s no shortcut to publishing, but there is an accelerated way.

And that’s what we do over in the Writing Gym: getting you connections based on a quality manuscript that publishing houses and literary agents are looking for.

 

Do you want to accelerate your progress?

Are you tired of getting rejection letters from agents?

Are you unsure if it’s your query, your manuscript or synopsis holding you back?

Are you ready to do something that works? 

 

If that sounds like you, I’d love to chat with you.

I’ve made some time in my schedule next week to chat with writers who are serious about getting traditionally published. Let’s chat.

Until next time. Happy writing.

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

by | May 26, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Publish, Writing | 0 comments

What are Literary Agents REALLY Looking for in a Manuscript?

 

 One of the questions I frequently get asked, whether on social media or when I’m speaking at a conference, is:

“What are agents really looking for? What is it that they want? Why do I keep getting rejected?”

So, what are agents looking for?

If you’ve watched any of my videos in the Facebook group, you know I’m on the phone with agents every day, asking questions about the industry. I ask agents what they’re looking for, but another question I ask is, “What trends are you seeing in the marketplace?”

Like any marketplace, the publishing industry is volatile. Things change from day to day, right?

There was a book, “American Dirt,” that came out about a month ago, and really influenced publishing industry trends. The London Book Fair was cancelled because of this virus that we’re all dealing with. There are countless other examples.

Things are always changing in the industry, and knowing what the trends are, what’s impacting the industry, and what kind of books are getting published is key.

I recently had a conversation with an agent friend, and one of the interesting things we talked about was a recent trend in the publishing industry. Changes are taking place, and there is a shift from looking at the book as the product to looking at the author as the product.

What does that mean for you?

It means you better know how to create a product that is viable in the traditional publishing marketplace, and that’s exactly why we do things the way that we do them in the Writing Gym.

First and foremost: we get our information straight from the horse’s mouth.

I’m meeting with industry professionals every single week so I can bring that information to the writers in the Writing Gym.

I’m able to say: “Okay, here are the things that we want to target. How does your book fit into that?”

The second thing is that the Writing Gym is a comprehensive program.

If you got an MFA (a Master’s in Fine Arts), you might learn how to write, which is pretty important.

But that’s about all you’d learn. In the Writing Gym VIP Program, we start by teaching you to write a quality draft that is movable quickly into revision for publication.

People who go from the VIP into the Publishing Mastermind—those who are accepted—are doing the market research. We’re talking about what agents are looking for, and our writers have gone to presentations where I presented an agent to them, had a publicist from a publishing house ask them questions, and allowed them to ask their questions in real time and get them answered.

Our writers are gaining an understanding of the industry, which is very important.

During that time, I’m also reading their manuscript, not once but twice, sometimes three times, and I’m getting on the phone to agents to say: “Hey, I’ve got this manuscript about, say, cows. What do you think?”

Frequently, that conversation leads to: “Hey, when it’s done I want to see it.” 

wWe go from writing the novel in the VIP to doing market research in the Publishing Mastermind. This creates the foundation for their platform.

Next, we move into the revision phase.

This is important, because they’re getting the right kind of feedback, learning who they are as writers, gaining confidence, and revising a novel to publishable. They move on to the Publishing Bootcamp, where they submit  their manuscripts and I make introductions to editors, publishers, and agents on their behalf.

Here’s the part I want to talk about today.

There are two ending programs that happen after the book is finished: Paths to Pulitzer, where writers are improving their craft; and Novel Selling U, where they’re creating their author platform.

 

If the product isn’t just the book, but also the author, then it’s awfully important to know how to package yourself.

I’m sorry to put it that way, but publishing is a business, and if you don’t know how to address it as a business, if you’re thinking of your book as an art and you as an artist, then you’re missing out on what what can happen and the potential of what your book can become.

This is what agents are looking for.

They may love your book and writing.

They may love your concept and your protagonist.

But if they don’t have a package that they can pitch to the Publishing House, you aren’t getting any further. That was the confirmation I got this week in a conversation with my agent friend.

With the emergence of audiobooks, Alexa devices, and all of the changes we see in the publishing industry, we’re at a turning point now.

If you don’t know how to market yourself or how to package yourself, you’re going to be lost. It’s no longer about writing a good book, it’s also about knowing how to place yourself in the market.

If you’re ready for real results, I would love to chat with you.

This isn’t for everybody. It’s for people who are serious about having a publishing career.

This isn’t something that happens in a week or a month or even sometimes six months.

This is a long-term process to build a career, because that’s what we’re doing over in the Writing Gym.

If that sounds like something that you want, and you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and to get real results, I’d love to talk with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there. You can put yourself right into my calendar and we can chat sometime in the next week or so.

Until next time, Happy Writing!

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents?

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents?

by | May 26, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Publish, Uncategorized, Writing | 0 comments

Want to Get Rid of the “Not for me, thanks” Type of Responses from Agents? 

 

One of the most common problems people come to me with at writers’ conferences and events is: “How do I find an agent? Why is finding an agent so hard? I’m getting a lot of rejection, I’m not sure why. Is the publishing industry like all other industries out there in that it’s all about who you know?”

These are questions that I get asked a lot. One of the things writers complain about when it comes to agents is the lack of response, or the brevity of the response.

They keep getting the typical four-word email: “Not for me. Thanks.” You may have seen some of those in your inbox as you’ve been querying agents. The problem with such a brief response—and this is something that writers talk about a lot—is you’re wondering, “Was it my query? Was it my manuscript? Was it my synopsis? Was it my hair?” You don’t really know.

There’s no feedback to help you try to improve or to change, and that’s frustrating for a lot of writers because they don’t have the connections.

They can’t call up an agent and say “Hey, what was wrong with my submission?” And I understand this is frustrating.

 

But the real problem here is that so many writers treat publication like a do-it-yourself project. Basically, writers who do this are trying to play in the major leagues with little league equipment.

You wouldn’t try to be an NBA basketball player and show up wearing tennis shoes. You wouldn’t show up to an NHL tryout wearing figure skates, right? You don’t have the right equipment. You don’t have the means to play at that high of a level if you’ve got the wrong equipment.

Maybe you think you can get by with those figure skates, or any kind of sneaker. But the professionals, the coaches and the players, they know what the right equipment is. You’re not going to fool them by showing up with the wrong equipment and trying to fake it.

Writers who think that publishing is a do-it-yourself project are showing up without the right equipment, and I can tell you right now that the professionals are not fooled, the agents are not fooled.

They know what they’re looking for. They know what it means to play at the professional level.

And the result is that you look foolish when you submit like that. You exasperate the agents, and your submission goes straight over to the slush pile, rejected.

I don’t know what your profession is, but if a bunch of people were submitting subpar materials to you—if they showed up to NHL tryouts wearing figure skates— you might start to send these “Not for me, thanks” emails.

So, what’s different about the Writing Gym? Well, over in the Writing Gym we believe in real solutions and we’re getting real results. How do we get to the front of the line over in the Writing Gym? Well, I can tell you that just this last week and agent called me and she said, “Annalisa, I’ve got to tell you this is the best query letter I have ever received.”

Best query letter I’ve ever received. From one of our clients over in the Writing Gym! Can you imagine that?

Another Writing Gym member received a full manuscript request within five minutes of sending the query! If you ever queried, you know how rare it is to receive a full manuscript request. Last week, another member got a full manuscript request within 20 minutes. We’ve had many full manuscript requests. I don’t know how many—I’ve lost count just this year—over in the Writing Gym.

These are the kind of results that we’re getting, and it’s because we’re all about real solutions and real results. We’re about knowing what the market is and knowing what an agent is looking for, and we are delivering.

Now, before you go getting any big ideas, the Writing Gym isn’t for everyone. This level of success is a process. It doesn’t just magically happen; it’s a process.

If you’re tired of dead ends and rejections with no cause mentioned whatsoever, and you’re willing to put in the work to go through the process that creates publishable manuscripts, let’s chat. Just click here, and you can drop yourself directly into my team’s calendar and you’ll get on the phone for about an hour and talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.

Until next time, Happy Writing

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

by | May 16, 2020 | How to Find a Literary Agent, Writing | 0 comments

The Quickest and Easiest Way to get a Literary Agent even during COVID-19

 

People in other writing groups on Facebook ask: “What are agents doing these days?”

And, like most writers’ groups, people who have never actually met an agent in their lives are weighing in with conjecture. Well, I talk to a lot of agents every day, and I’m here to tell you what’s actually happening in the publishing industry while we’re shut down, so to speak.

Many of us are stuck at home. What are the agents doing? Well, many are taking advantage of the opportunity to read more. A lot of the agents I talk to are thinking, “This is great! I’ve got more time to read!”

The other thing I’ve been seeing is an increase in contract offers. They’ve got more time to read and make offers. Many of them are working from home. They’re getting on the phone with authors and holding interviews. Did you know that that happens?

Before you get offered a contract, you get interviewed to see if you’re a really good fit. There have been a lot of those happening, and I’ve seen numerous contracts coming through in my circle , in my sphere of writers, and others that I know.

Recently, I was talking with Jeff Kleinman. You may have heard of him. He’s a co-founder over at Folio Lit, an agency every author would love to have represent them. Jeff himself has multiple New York Times best sellers on his list.

Here’s what happened during that conversation: one of our Writing Gym members, Aaron, has this great literary piece he’s put together. So right there, on the spot, I was able to tell Jeff about Aaron’s work. And Jeff said, “Great. Send me the first 50 pages.”

Are agents still looking for high quality manuscripts? Are they still making offers?

Absolutely.

Are publishing houses still making deals?

Absolutely.

I can tell you what happened for Aaron. Like most agents, Jeff Kleinman has one of those submission forms where you put your query, or whatever it is that they’re looking for, in and eventually you hear back. Aaron hadn’t heard anything in a while. Since I know Jeff, I was able to call him up and check in with him about the status of Aaron’s materials. It turns out that he wasn’t able to receive Aaron’s materials.

But guess what I can do? I can send the materials straight his way. And I did.

I reached out to Aaron, got a copy of his query that he had sent to Jeff, zipped it over to Jeff and, like, quite literally 19 seconds later — if it was even that long — he got a request for the first 50 pages!

So, that’s the power of the Writing Gym.

That’s the kind of thing we’re doing for our writers.

If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and not getting any results and being frustrated and wondering how you can get an agent, let’s chat. You can drop yourself right into my calendar and we’ll talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.

Until next time: Happy writing!

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