StorytimeWednesday

  Can you send query letters to multiple agents or publishers? Of course, you can send out multiple query letters to as many agents and publishers as you like. However, I’d caution you to be very careful in doing this because you don’t want to send the same letter to various agents or publishers only to realize that you’ve written a mystery novel and you’re about to send a package off to an agent or publisher that primarily specializes in sci-fi or romance novels.  Be sure to research who you are going to send a query letter to before you do anything. Prepare a list of agents or publishers that you want to query and be sure that they accept unsolicited query letters before you send anything to them. Know their stable of authors and books also. Revise your query letter to cater to their stable of authors and their likes. The last thing you want to do is send a letter to someone who hates mystery novels and who will take your letter and pitch it in the trash. This will not only ...

  I’m always asked how to write a query letter to a potential agent or publisher. It’s simple, It’s a letter that checks all the boxes and is especially unique to your manuscript and to the genre to which the agent or publisher specializes. Don’t send a query letter to an agent or publisher that doesn’t specialize in your genre. For example, if you’re writing a mystery novel that is filled with blood guts and gore don’t send your query letter to an agent or publisher that specializes in romance or sci-fi stories, your letter will never be read. Start your letter off with a quick paragraph that introduces you, and your work to the person the letter is addressed to. For example, start the letter off with this line: I’m writing to you in the hopes of obtaining representation for “The Name of your work”, a 90,000-word adult mystery novel that is the first in a future series called “Blank Series”.  Include your hook line in this paragraph. Then in the next paragraph, describe the m...

  How to Write a Synopsis for a book or screenplay! A synopsis is basically a summary of not only the plot but the storyline of any book or screenplay. Not only should your summary be intriguing to the point where the reader doesn’t want to put it down. The first paragraph should have a line that is your hook. Your hook plus summary should entice your reader to want to read your entire manuscript even though the summary will give them all the twists and turns of the actual storyline. Three things should be included in your summary, your hook, your main plot, and your arc. It should also include the conclusion of the story tying the entire story up in a nice bow for the reader. Before I write any book, storyline, or screenplay, I always write the synopsis because It’s my blueprint for my project and helps me stay on point for the story. Once the synopsis is written I begin writing the screenplay, just so I can get the story out of my head along with who is in each scene and the ...

  When you are done writing your book or screenplay you begin to start looking for an agent. So why do you need an agent? An Agent has the contacts within the publishing or movie industry to help make your work go public by advertising it worldwide, making it get in front of movie producers looking for a fresh new story to produce, so you have to have your ducks in a row so that you make a good first impression. First off you need to create what is called a query letter. However, before you produce that query letter you will need to compile and create your synopsis and decide on sample chapters of your book. That’s if you are looking to get a book published by a famous publishing house.   Your synopsis is a mini version of your book or screenplay, that lays out the storyline providing any twists and turns the agent would find in the book. In other words, you are creating a buzz in your synopsis that builds up the tension to your story so that the agent is intrigued enough to w...

  Finding an agent is not rocket science, but it does take a lot of work, research, and the perfect package that will attract the right agent to handle your book and work for you. You want an agent that knows the market to which your book is aligned in your genre. They must have the right connections within the industry and know who to approach to help sell your book. Knows and understands contracts and the negotiations of those contracts. Understand the rights of writers when it comes to publishing, film rights, and knowing that they can be sold separately and not together to broker a deal. Unless you know how to read a contract your publisher will own the rights to your book if it's approached by a film production company and you'll be cut out of a real deal. The agent you choose should also know how to deal with media for interviews, and how to write press articles regarding your book and you. If an agent asks for more than a 10-15% fee on selling your book to a publisher or...

  Identifying your genre Identifying your genre for your book is usually very easily done. It’s either mystery, science fiction, historical, crime, romance, or nonfiction. If you can’t identify your genre, trust me when I say this, your publisher, or agent will do it for you, and you might not like it. So be ready to identify it yourself. After all, the book is yours so own it and be in control of it from the beginning. Your genre is part of your sales tools because as you go after your audience your genre identity will help sell that book to your target audience. One thing you never want to do is second guess your target market. Don’t write a book based on what is popular if you aren’t interested in that market, because you won’t produce a viable product to sell to an agent or publisher and your work will be for nothing because no one will read it. 

  Today is the anniversary of the day 2 August 2009, when the Navy reported that Lt Commander Michael Scott Speicher's remains were found in Iraq by  United States Marines  from the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. His jawbone was used to identify him after study at the  Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs  at  Dover Air Force Base . According to local civilians, Speicher was buried by  Bedouins  after his plane was shot down.  Senator Nelson attributed the delayed finding to the culture of the locality: "These Bedouins roam around in the desert, they don't stay in one place, and it just took this time to find the specific site." Speicher's family expressed gratitude that the Defense Department had stayed with the case and that closure was now available.  The Christian Science Monitor  termed the case "a veritable saga punctuated with hope, uncertainty, and despair for the past 18 years." May you rest in peace Lt. Command...