Miscellany

Alternative Title: Why Aren’t You Reading Query Shark?

Query writing is hard – that’s why our SYW forum for queries is lovingly titled “Query Letter Hell.” But I think writers (myself included) get so wrapped up in writing 1 to 3 perfect paragraphs that capture our novels in the prettiest nutshell possible that we lose sight of how important it is get the right query (and the right flavor of query) onto the right desk.

Some agencies, like the Waxman Agency, make it easier on us by posting brief agent biographies, and listing the books they’ve represented right on the front page. One agent there, Holly Root, is described as actively seeking Urban Fantasy. That’s amazingly interesting to me, since it’s my genre, but my next step is not to roll my query off the press and fire it into her inbox. I might as well flip a coin if I do that.

Agents Tweet. They’re on Facebook. They blog. More importantly, they go to conferences and sit on panels, which are often recorded in some fashion, and they freely express opinions all over the internet. When an agent says something that rings true in your heart, that’s someone you want behind your novel. That’s who you query.

But you can’t use that in your query if you don’t look for it.

Search terms to increase your Google-Fu:

Agent’s Name + panel + 2011 (or 2010, 2009, etc.)

Agent’s Name + spotlight

Agent’s Name + interview

Agent’s Name + Name of novel they represented (See what, if anything, they’ve said about what they represent)

We’re looking for a few great (short) stories from AWers:

We will pay 2¢ per word for accepted stories. We ask for one-time rights to simultaneously produce an e-book version and a print version.

You may submit your story (in standard manuscript format) in as an .rtf email attachment to: submissions@absolutewrite.com.

Submissions close September 1, 2011!

Proposed date of publication of the anthology is January 2012.

If you have questions, by all means ask. Send a PM with your question to the moderator of the genre SF/F forum (that’s Pthom, otherwise known as Peter).

We’ve lost some data, and some new member registrations. Feel free to contact me if you’re having problems with your registration.

And welcome back!

It’s looking like  the AW forums are going to be down overnight, at least, folks. Sorry about the inconvenience — we’ve got some fairly crunched up database stuff to sort out — but don’t panic.

Better yet – go write something! We can all compare notes as soon as we’re up and running again.

Feel free to share this information or a link to this post, if you have AW buddies who are fretting.

Even if the very worst comes down to worse yet, we have backups, so we can reconstruct the whole darned thing with less than 24 hours data loss.

Breathe deeply, enjoy the summer day, and we’ll see you all soon.

AW has a new advertiser, (see the Buzzy Magazine ad, above) and they’re a paying market, looking for fiction!

You might remember this contest from last year, AWers. It’s that time again!

I think the world of Ms. Hemingway, and I’m enthusiastic about this contest for developing new writers. I asked Lorian to write something about the contest and her involvement that I could share with all of you. She replied:

The pure joy that comes from reading the stories submitted to the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition has not abated one iota in over three decades. Our competition throws out the rule book, the “shoulds” and should nots”, when it comes to writing. We look for fresh voices, that original voice that comes to all writers in time. Often people say that our competition is “out of their league”, or that they would not stand a chance. Not so. This is why we  implemented the qualification that all who submit cannot have been published in print medium with a circulation of greater than 5,000. We were beginning to receive stories from well-established writers, and we wanted a level playing field for those who have yet to be well-established.

Our competition is about writers who work alone with great commitment, with hope ever alive in their hearts, and with a dedication to their own original voice. This is when the magic of writing happens, this is when craft becomes art. This is when the stories that fill my nights with unparalleled reading pleasure are born. It is you, the writer, who shows me all aspects of the human condition, and so often in its most raw and heartbreaking form. And I thank you.

– Lorian Hemingway

This is a terrific contest with a long and reputable history, well worth considering.

Here are the guidelines.

Note that, this year, they’ll be accepting online submissions.