Nitpicky question

CaroGirl said:

I'm sending a cover letter, with my request for a partial, which includes a short bio. If I mention my novel more than once, and if I mention a second novel I'm currently working on, should I capitalize both those instances? Or should I capitalize only the first instance of the novel I'm submitting and italicize the second mention and other novel title? Thanks!

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I'm not sure why you're muddying the waters by mentioning a second work. As for title formatting, I'd use italicized Title Case, as The Impressionable Works of Johnathan.

I agree, italicized title is the way to go.
Is the 2nd novel a sequel?

Don't mention the second novel, unless it's in a general way, e.g., "FIRST BOOK has series potential." Even "I'm hard at work on the next book" is better than being specific, but it's unnecessary, b/c the default is to be working on the next book, so you're only stating the obvious.

Focus on the first one. Never give the agent/editor a reason to reject you, and suggesting the possibility of two books gives the option of choosing the second instead of the first.

JD

CaroGirl said:

It's not a sequel at all, and in no way do I imply such in the letter. It's a mini-bio, in which I state that I've written a number of short stories, this novel, and am a third of the way through my second novel, BLAH. No? Not a good approach?

ETA: Now I'm worried. How would saying that be an invitation to reject me?

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I guess I'm still a little confuzzled. Your OP said, in part,

CaroGirl said:

I'm sending a cover letter, with my request for a partial, which includes a short bio.

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To me, 'cover letter' and 'request for a partial' indicate that you are sending requested material as a follow up. At that point a cover letter says, essentially, "Here's the stuff you asked for. See attachment at Tab A."

From your later post, it's looking more like a query letter, with a bio (or cirriculum vitae), a short synopsis (who, what, where, when, why, and how), and an attachment of three to five pages as a writing sample. In that case as well, I'd only mention a second work in progress as simply that, a work in progress. "I'm shopping around my recently completed 500,000 word chick lit novel And How Do We Feel Today. I love puppies, I've been published before (cite1, cite2, cite3), and I'm working on other pieces even as you read."

Please note that I am neither an agent, a publisher, or anyone who has ever submitted a written work to either of those beings.

It's a bio for a partial. In your bio, do mention your current work to show that you're not a one book wonder. Agents would like to see what else you're working on, too, in addition to the ms. you're sending him.

Just don't sell him anything like: "You should read my second novel, too." That's a no-no.

My bio said: "...currently working on his new novel, tentatively entitled A Long Way From Here."

The editor/agent is interested in the story you queried. Period. Nothing extra (in progress) is going to tweak the interest of that editor/agent except the chapters you just put in the envelope (and a synopsis if that was requested as well). The advice I was given--make the transmittal letter short and sweet--enclosed please find the first xx chapters of my novel XXXXX as requested in your letter/e-mail of 4/13/07. Include any other requested materials, but keep them short and sweet as well. Thank the person for their interest and for taking the time to evaluate your writing. In the author bio, do not include in-progress works with writing credits even if some of those works are being considered by editors/agents. A writing credit is something that has been published or is under contract or otherwise spoken for by a publisher (meaning contract forthcoming). An author bio is not the same as a statement in a query letter, so I wouldn't put in anything about in-progress works unless it is very brief and well separated from any writing credits.

If anyone has received differing advice, or differing experiences, please speak up.

I agree if it's just a cover letter - short and to the point. But I think she's talking about a bio.

I addressed the bio as well in that post. Again, the advice I was given (which is nothing more than advice, and is not absolute) is to convey two important things in the bio, in addition to contact information: 1) your writing-related or academic training, and 2) your writing accomplishments (including academic accomplishments if they bear on writing). An in-progress work is not yet a writing accomplishment (it certainly is a personal one, though), even if it is complete and being evaluated by an agent or editor. Granted, the advice I received was for a tight, non-nonsense bio, and may be extreme. I was also advised against any reference to how many, and the types of pets that reside in my house.

If an agent requests material and more info about you, it's perfectly appropriate to mention your new WIP.

Good luck, Caro!

CaroGirl, we all want to help you with this, but your post is more than a little murky. How 'bout laying this out for us, point by point, and in actual sequence?

Fizz, as I understand, the bio in a query is different than an "author bio" in a partial or full submission. When an agent requests a separate author's bio, it's perfectly okay to list more than just writing credits. My understanding is that it's a good idea to tell the agent that you're working on something else -- gives them an idea that you see writing as a career. No agent is going to reject you because of that. If the ms. sucks, on the other hand....

Just my $0.02. I included that info in my bio -- didn't seem to have hurt me.

p.s. An author's bio is usually written in third person: "Ray is the author of .... Currently he is working on his new novel...."

Bio

If the agent likes this novel, mentioning a second isn't going to matter. If the agent doesn't like this novel, she won't care about the second, anyway.

The first novel is the one you have to sell.

I think you are more right than I am, Ray, but only if there is a distinct separation between the writing credits and the WIP statement. I think I shoulder up to the more restrictive view because of the rules for listing of professional publications on an academic resume. It is an absolute no-no to include any "in preparation" or "submitted to XXX journal" as part of that list. The only legit publications are those that are published or formally accepted for publication--in which case "XXXX journal, in press" is written where the volume and page numbers would go. Under a totally separate sub-heading, a person may list "submitted" or "in preparation" papers, but they are typically disregarded because there is no way to verify they are in preparation (or how far along they are), or if submitted, if they will be accepted for publication.

In fiction, I can write:
Toby crapped his pants.

Now, I can list that as my current WIP.

If I now understand your original post correctly, I don't see any benefit in exceeding your agent's request by including anything beyond what was asked for. However, it certainly isn't going to hurt you. But, like someone implied, it probably ain't gonna help either.

Where I've found this "additional work" issue to be of huge importance is when we get to the publisher level. The first thing I remember being asked by an ex-editor, after she become a publisher, was what else did I have in the hopper. Her next comment was that publishers like prolific writers, and this is something I've always taken to heart.

On the other issue of capitalizing a book's title, I always do it out of respect for the work. Some do other things, like italics or first letter cap's, but I think any published work deserves all the respect it can get. I think capitalizing the entire title shows this. No agent or editor has ever indicated otherwise to me.

NeuroFizz said:

I think you are more right than I am, Ray, but only if there is a distinct separation between the writing credits and the WIP statement.

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No argument there. I didn't say "mention WIP in lieu of writing credits." If you're say "I'm in the process of submitting..." as part of your writing credit, then that's just poor etiquette. If you have no writing credits at all and end with "I'm working on my second novel" that's just silly. Other than that, it's not going to hurt if the agent reads the bio that says, "JK Rowling is the author of A, B and C, and has a column in thirty-six newspapers including X, Y, and Z. Currently she's working on the seventh book of her series."

Yes, the agent only cares about this ms. right now, but there's a reason they ask for a bio at this stage; otherwise, why bother -- just read the damn ms. already. The purpose of the bio is to see not only if the writer has any credits, but also maybe if the writer has a career aspiration beyond this book. So all things combined, saying you're working on your new novel may put together the total picture of who you are as a writer.

Again, to answer CaroGirl's question -- no, it won't hurt.