The Scenic Route to Publication

"Not all who wander are lost." ~ Tolkien

Every writer's path to publication wanders over unique ground. Some make use of an agent. Some enter contests that result in a publishing contract. Some writers pitch their story to an editor at a writer's conference and are invited to submit the material. Today, fantasy author Helen Johannes shares the story of the road she meandered along till she saw her work in print. Take it away, Helen.

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“Write what you love to read and write with the market in mind.” Good advice, right?

My school friends lured me beyond the BLACK STALLION novels into THE LORD OF THE RINGS and Ayn Rand’s ATLAS SHRUGGED. I was so caught up in their complex worlds and plots, I had to start my own quest tale, THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. College intervened, but the story never left me. I dreamed of my hero and heroine and how I could possibly bring them together when I had set up so many obstacles to their love.

Years later, I discovered category romances at rummage sales, devoured them, and decided I could write romantic suspense. I liked my characters, but the stories didn’t engage me as deeply as the one I’d left behind. Meanwhile, I broke into publication with short stories and articles for writers’ magazines, plus I’d garnered contest wins, so now I had “publishing credits.” My query letters were getting requests for partials, but no contract. Because my children were starting to write stories too, I wrote them a short fantasy. The pleasure that gave me brought me back to my roots, and I dug out my handwritten manuscript. From my now “experienced” perspective, I deemed it worthy of completion.

Boy, was I naïve. I had three main characters, an adverbial overload, and so many subordinate characters I couldn’t keep track of them. I had a 15,000 word digression mid-story and no talisman to symbolize the quest. Plus, unlike Bilbo’s journey “there and back again” in THE HOBBIT, I had no “back again.”

What I did have was a love triangle, heroes I was in love with, plenty of conflict, and three lands that had once been one kingdom. That kingdom had been broken by a long ago act of theft—one brother stealing the throne from the rightful heir and the third brother refusing to choose sides. When I nailed down that concept and came up with a long-lost crown to symbolize the quest, that piece of history/legend began to shape everything in the story. It drives the Prince on his quest to reunite the kingdom, and that forces every character to decide where his or her loyalties—and heart—truly lie.

What I finished, however, didn’t fit publishers’ pigeonholes. I had blithely written the book of my heart, and like all choices of the heart, there were consequences. It took a few more years of queries, pitches, and partials before THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE found a home at The Wild Rose Press.

Back to that good advice: While you can write what you love to read, and you can try to write with the market in mind, sometimes you just have to write what your heart wants.

Prince Arn has a destiny--an ancient throne--but he’s not waiting for fate to deliver when he can act now, before his enemies organize against him. The healer Aerid longs for her barely remembered homeland. Marked out by her gift and her foreign looks, she insists she is no witch. The swordsman Naed hopes to honorably defend his uncle’s holding, but he harbors a secret fascination for the exotic healer. Prince Arn’s campaign against Aerid’s homeland throws them into a triangle of forbidden love, betrayal, and heartbreak. Only when they realize love is blood-kin to friendship, and neither is possible without risk, can they forge a new alliance and restore a kingdom.

THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE is available from:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

HELEN'S BIO:
An Army brat with a yen for travel and a fascination for history, I majored in German and English and earned a Master’s degree in teaching English--specifically, all kinds of writing--and have taught creative writing for years. I love to travel, read all kinds of fiction, and hang out with romance writers.

My WEBSITE is www.helendjohannes.com
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Thanks for sharing with us today, Helen. Now it's your turn. If you're a writer, where are you on the path to publication? If you're not a writer, you still have goals you're striving for. What helps you along the way?

PS. I tried to fulfill #4 on my 9 Month Personal Bucket List over the weekend. To quote Robert Burns, "The best laid plans of mice and men oftimes gang agley." Find out what happened at www.miamarlowe.blogspot.com.

New release ~ New website!

Last week I was in San Francisco for RWA Nationals. I had a ball and especially enjoyed rooming with my critique partner, Darcy. She ripped my old website to shreds and started me down a path to designing a new one. Check out the results at www.emilybryan.com First person to spot a fixable error (spelling, non-working link, missing picture, etc.) and drop me a note using the Contact Em form, will receive their choice from my backlist. The number of winners is limited to the number of errors. (So I could be in real trouble here!) Have fun!

I said I'd post a sample query letter, so here it is: (Of course, you use the standard business style for the letter with your address and contact info, then the editor's address before you launch into the body. The names have been changed to protect the guilty!)


Dear Ms. Editor's last name; (or Mr. Editor's last name. Be certain of the spelling!)

I enjoyed meeting you at the AnyoneCanWrite Conference last week. Enclosed please find the synopsis and manuscript (or partial if that's what they ask for--always send exactly what they request.) of HUSH, the 90,000 word romantic suspense, you requested. (I've reminded the editor of the request and exactly what type story I offer, and yes, they want a word count.)

In the stillness, evil waits. Megan Kelley can’t hear him coming, but she knows he is there. Set in Boston where politics have always been a blood sport, HUSH is a tale of ballot corruption and organized crime, of honor lost. And rebuilt.

A bout with meningitis left Megan with only 60% of normal hearing. When she practices her speechreading and ends up ‘eavesdropping’ on a murder-for-hire contract, she becomes a target herself. In a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, Megan must discover why an MIT professor was murdered before his killer catches up to her.

She’s forced to rely on the cop who’s her unfaithful ex-husband and the new man in her life, a former Navy Seal with some dark secrets. Megan must find the courage to trust again to find closure not only for the murder case, but for her heart as well. (This was my blurb-style pitch. It might be a tad long, but I wanted to show I've balanced the suspense and the romantic elements of the story.)

I currently write historical romances for Leisure Books as both Diana Groe and Emily Bryan. Since May 2006, I've had 5 books published to critical acclaim, and am under contract for a 6th title and novella for 2009. I love writing historical romances and plan to continue, but will not be violating my contract with Leisure when I branch into romantic suspense with a different publishing house. (These are my publishing credentials. If you're not published, include contest wins here. I'm letting them know I'm still writing for Leisure and also signalling that there will be no legal trouble if they pick me up in a different sub-genre.)

I hope you enjoy HUSH. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Diana Groe (I sign with my legal name, not my pen name)

And that's it. There may be a better way to query out there. This is what I do.

Don't forget to check out my new website. www.emilybryan.com There are several pages just for aspiring writers under WRITE STUFF.

Enjoy!

Writing a 'Grab 'em by the throat Query Letter'

Being a selling writer means acquiring several skill sets. One is the craft required to put together a compelling story for 400 pages. The other is to market it effective to the people who might be interested in publishing or representing it. The first step is an engaging query letter.

Let’s start at the top. I’m assuming you’ve done your homework and know that the particular editor or agent you’re targeting edits/represents work similar to yours or is actively looking for it. You can find this information on agency or publisher websites, through networking with published authors, reading trade magazines or the acknowledgement page of their authors’ latest release. Make sure you have the editor/agent’s name spelled correctly. And be certain of their gender. Chris Keeslar, senior editor at Dorchester, tells of queries he’s received that start “Dear Ms. Keeslar,” and then the writer proceeds to ‘remind’ him of when the writer supposedly met ‘her.’ Guess what happens to those queries.

Start with a brief reminder of how you met the editor/agent only if you have. Writers’ conferences are invaluable for this sort of networking. If you haven’t, you might give them a short and sincere compliment about their other clients’ work. Don’t fake it. Don’t say you’ve read something if you haven’t.

Then launch into your sharpest blurb-style pitch of your work. Only tout one manuscript per query unless you’re pitching a series.

Tell the editor the word count and sub-genre of your completed manuscript (oh, yes, it must be finished before you submit.) In the final paragraph, list your publishing credits. Here’s where you put your contest wins or short stories you’ve had published. If you don’t have any publishing credits, just let them know how they can contact you to request the full manuscript.

Don’t say your mother likes your manuscript. Don’t tell them you’re the next Nora Roberts or JK Rowling. Keep the query short. Absolutely no longer than one page. Remember agents and editors read constantly. Use 12pt or larger Courier New or Times New Roman font. Smaller font equals eye strain, which equals fussy editor, which equals rejection. Be professional. Be patient.

And start writing your next story. Because if the editor/agent wants this one, their first question will be “What else have you got?”

Good luck!
www.emilybryan.com