Before You Hit Send...

You've been working on your manuscript for weeks... months... maybe years. You've gone through bags of Godiva chocolate and endless Frappuccinos. You've dreamed about these characters, argued with these characters, and maybe even talked with these characters (while no one else was around, that is).

Photo by  Ambro, from freedigitalphotos.net

And so, it's only natural to say you're desperately ready to send these characters off into the world. Whether that world be your agent, or a potential agent, or your editor, or a potential editor-- you're dying to know what other people think of these world you've been hanging out in. And, let's be honest, you're also ready to sell this story!

So, you hit "Send" while you still have the courage, right?

Wrong.

Bad idea. Trust me. Bad idea.

Sit back down, do some laundry or watch a rom com movie, and give your brain a little break from thinking about this book. I promise you, within a few hours, new ideas for revisions will flood in. And if you're already sent your book off into the world... well, that's the best it'll ever be.

This week, I sent my new manuscript to my agent after taking a loooooonnng stinkin' time to work on it. With every book, I've always spent time editing at least several drafts. But this one is my heart book. This one really matters to me. So I wanted it to be as strong as possible, even before sending it to Karen. I want to know that every fiber of what I'm capable of is coming out in this manuscript.

You'll hear people say that you want to get a submission in to an agent or editor as soon as possible if they request it. And yes, in part, that's true, because you don't want them to forget you. But quality always trumps quickness.

Consider this. You've (usually) only got one chance to capture your reader with this story, whether your reader is an agent, editor, or actual regular reader. One chance! And once that chance is gone... well... it's gone for good, unfortunately.

So with that in mind, here are a few things to ask yourself before hitting "Send."

1) Have other people read this story and given me feedback? Don't send your story to fifteen people and ask for their thoughts. Trust me. Too many irons in the kettle. But do find one, two, maybe three people whom you really trust, and ask for their feedback. A good critique partner can spot plot weaknesses you never would've noticed.

2) Have I let my book just sit for at least a few days? See what thoughts come to you after the initial adrenaline of I-just-finished-my-book-and-ate-a-pint-of-gelato-to-celebrate wears off. You'll be surprised by how much you come up with!

3) Have I done my research about this agent/editor? Have you met this person at a conference, or do you frequent his/her blog? How can you best prepare yourself to pitch this story? Do you know what particular genres this agent/editor is looking for?

4) Have I read other books in this genre? All too often, we get caught up so much in our own story that we forget the value of reading others'. Reading not only broadens your creativity and sharpens your mind, but it also works as market research. You need to be conversant about other books in your genre. It's okay if you don't have time to read twenty books a year, but you should at least know about a few books that are similar in style so that if you're asked by an agent/editor, or just another writer, what you write, you have something to compare your story to.

5) Do any of the scenes in this book give me pause? You know, this happens to all of us. At least, I like to pretend it happens to all of us, because it certainly happens to me. I'll be going along my merry-editing way, when I stumble across a scene that is just... well, not good. It's like a tofu scene. Nothing is really happening. Or maybe something is happening, and it's just not working with the surrounding scenes. These scenes are PAINFUL to delete/edit, because doing so sometimes means huge revisions. But just imagine how much more painful they will be if your book DOES get published, and you have to look at that scene every time you open your book. Don't leave anything in there that you aren't proud of.

6) Have I done a spell check, as well as searched for key pet phrases? I can't tell you how many times my characters cross their arms, run their hands through their hair, and smile. While editing, I always try to be aware of phrases I use repetitively, and then do a phrase search (which is so easy to do in Word!) for those particular words. It's oh-so-easy to replace them with more vivid descriptors, and it makes a huge difference for your writing.

7) Have I let the writing "gel" enough to see similarities through the book? After spending enough time with your characters, they would have personal habits, traits, and quirks. Maybe your character loves popcorn or hates country music. Be consistent in these behaviors/preferences, and develop them so that characters seem life-like to readers.

Your turn! What questions would you add to this list? What do you always check for before hitting "Send"?

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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.

HUNTING for Your Agent~ A Guest Post with Jaime Wright

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Acquiring an agent is like hunting. Minus the weapon—unless you consider your manuscript a weapon, but then slamming an agent upside the head probably won’t make the best first impression, however lasting it might be. No. I’ve learned a lot this past year as my husband took it upon himself to teach me how to bow hunt. Enter Katniss, Hunger Games, and all those wise cracks—I’m used to it—but I’m not shooting people. FYI.

Hunting is an art. Learning wind direction so a deer can’t smell your apparently crazy repugnant scent. Showering in scentless soap, using scentless deodorant, wearing clothes left hanging outside so you smell like the wind (yeah that’s warm clothing to crawl into, I’m tellin’ ya), and so on and so forth. Whether you like hunting, think it’s inhumane, or are just plain not interested, if you’re looking for an agent…we learn to hunt.

I’ve been writing since I was 13. That a mere 10 years ago. (That’s a lie, but I’m allowed one for 2014 so I’ve been told and I just used it up). Now that I’m 23 (wink), it’s been an awfully long journey. If you’re a regular agent-hunter, you’ll already know you need to study what you’re going for. The agency—its credibility, the agent—their clientele, the published books they rep—prolific and widespread or obscure paperbacks. Once you pick your favorite, you print out their picture and hang it on your fridge, stare at it every day until it fades after years of staring back and your quest to find that perfect agent becomes a hobby with slim rewards. But as every good hunter knows … you Never. Give. Up.

After—ok, let’s be real—24 years of writing, looking, learning, going to conferences, a few pathetic excuses for queries, I was ready to pitch the crazies at ACFW 2013. And I did. I landed 4 pitch sessions. I mailed in my full manuscript to two of them, and a proposal to the others. Within a week, my email blinked. And I quote:

• “Your hero is incredible awkward” (well, I wrote him to be that way, but—whatever)
• “Your heroine is boring” (also wrote her to be a bit dull and plain—success?)
• “You’re not ready for the big time”

…and wait for it …

• “But keep it up, you have potential”

Joyful. I have potential. With a capital P. Yeah. *Jaime bangs head against wall

My crit partner told me not to let it drag me down. It did. For five minutes. But, I’m like that. I poured myself a cup of coffee and then took a scentless shower and went hunting. For real.

Can I give you some sage advice? When you finally get THE email—you know, the one that says “I loved your story! I’d like to talk to you about representation”—don’t be deer hunting, twenty feet off the ground, in 20F weather, with a face mask on and the inability to scream let alone make a peep. Especially, when your insanely die hard, hottie, bow-hunting husband is not too far away and will probably shoot his arrow in your direction to get you to be quiet.

Yes. It happened. To me. The email from my agent, Mary Keeley, of Books and Such Literary Agency, blinked across my smart phone while I was perched in a tree. The only thing I could do was feverishly text my husband “I GOT AN AGENT” (well not quite, but it was coming), then hop on FB Messenger and tell one my besties to scream for me since I couldn’t. Which she did, and scared the diaper off her baby girl. And my husband’s delightful response via text? “Cool.” He’s not prolific—which is why he married me.

The grand point in all of this…don’t discount what God can do. In the end, I hunted, I planned, I coerced, I planned, and I targeted the agent who deemed my hero incredibly awkward. But my agent? Our Spiritual connection is out of this world. God aligned it for us to meet…why?...outside of another three blogs worth of “happenstance”, her son had just texted a picture of him, you guessed it, bow hunting. Now THAT is not a coincidence. God will bring you, in HIS time, to the agent HE has meant you for. In the meantime, don’t just “keep it up” as if you have somewhere you’re supposed to be. KNOW that you ARE where you are supposed to be as you seek His will and His perfect timing.

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Preparing for Conference Season

While most of the country is reaching for lemonade and ice cream in these super hot temperatures (welcome to summer in Florida, by the way-bleh!) fall is around the corner. I promise. And that not only means cute sweaters and pumpkins, but also conference season! Huzzah!

If you're planning to attend the ACFW conference this year, did you realize it is almost exactly two months away? Is it just me, or is that really hard to believe?

So today I wanted to put together a list of some things you can do now to start preparing for the conference, and to keep you the dreaded panic that comes from waiting until the last minute.

• Research, research, research. Sometimes people spend a lot of money to attend conferences but not much time preparing. If you are going to meet with an editor or an agent, please take the time to find out what that person represents. If you write historical, you don't want to wind up pitching to someone who's only looking for YA, or vice versa. Many publishing houses have a very specific vibe that they specialize in. Take time to read books by prospective publishing houses, and see who's publishing work like yours. Then target those people. Impress editors and agents by being able to converse about their current authors. You'd be surprised by how few people do this, and it will give you the edge up.

• Start working on that one sheet. Don't wait until the last minute to get your materials ready. The sooner you get started, the more time you'll have to tweak. Your one sheet should give your title, your hook, a blurb about your story that leaves the editor/agent wanting to see more, and a bio about yourself. Our own Alley Cat Angie Dicken is offering an amazing deal on one sheet designs (only $40 per one sheet!) if you haven't already heard. You can see some examples of her work at this link: http://supamomthoughts.blogspot.com/p/cba-one-sheet-design-service.html

• Get that book ready! To pitch a project, it needs to be at least mostly done. With two months to go, you still have plenty of time to get it ready, but time's a 'ticken, so be sure you get serious about putting in that consistent word count so your project is pitch-worthy.

• Pray, pray, pray. Pray for God's favor, His appointments, His vision, and for Him to use you to minister to others. Pray for the editors and the agents and the publishing houses and the future of CBA. We 

We so desperately need to stand up as the body of Christ--and especially as Christian writers--to pray for the future of Christian fiction. If we, who are already so passionate about this field, fail to seek God's council and favor, who will? God wants to do incredible things through all of us, and I have personally seen and experienced His presence in a deep way at the ACFW conference. 

Think of it this way. Imagine if you had a relative or friend who wanted to give you something valuable, but they were waiting until you were ready, and until they could give it to you in person. They needed to know you were engaged, and that the moment was right. What if you never spoke to that person? What if you knew that gift was yours, and yet you never claimed it?

I wonder how often God is holding the gift-wrapped box out to us, hands outstretched, and waiting. How often His heart must be grieved when we close our fists and turn away.

Don't turn away. Believe He has great things for you, and seek His face until you find them.

• Leave your nerves behind. When we begin to prepare for something big in our lives, it's natural to start getting more and more nervous as the excitement builds. Everyone feels a little scared to get on that plane and take the next step. Don't let anxiety keep you from your dreams. Keep in nerves your check by reminding yourself of the vision God has cast in your life and your writing. And at the ACFW Conference in particular, people are so friendly. You'll feel like you belong there the moment you put on that ACFW lanyard and the front desk workers ask if you're a writer.

• Get those first three chapters polished! You may have a few people ask to see a writing sample if they like your story, so be sure your first three chapters are sparkling and ready to go. No time like the present to start passing those around to critique partners, moms, and best friends. Make them as good as they can be! You want to put forward the best possible reflection of yourself.

Hope this list gives you a good idea of ways you can start preparing for conference season. Are you attending any conferences this year? Do you have any tips to add to the list?

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Ashley Clark writes romantic comedy with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.