IdeaJones

Tag: writing

  • Into the Twitter(pitch)verse: The Basics

    Into the Twitter(pitch)verse: The Basics

    There are opportunities to get your project in front of agents and editors, and, I’m learning, ways to do it (and not do it).

    An intro to Twitter pitch events for writers.

    Twitter pitch contests — I’m no expert. I’m experimenting and figuring it out. But it’s a chance to get your work in front of agents and editors, so it’s worth exploring. Here’s what I’ve learned so far (my opinion. If you disagree, fine, do what makes sense to you):

    1) How to find them — I searched “Twitter pitch contest” and then did the legwork, reading up on the various pitch contests, who runs them, who participates, articles by writers and agents who’ve participated to find the ones I wanted to participate in. There are contests for novels, scripts, etc. There are contests by genre.

    2) Crafting your pitch… You’re pitching your project in 140-280 characters. It has to be a complete pitch in itself as the agent/editor might not see your other pitches.

    You’ll find articles by agents on what they want to see, and by writers on their experiences pitching, but basically, you include your protagonist, maybe antagonist, and the stakes. I’m still experimenting. Our novel is contemporary fiction (mainstream/women’s fiction), with humor, so the pitches have a humorous tone.

    If you had to boil down your project for its essence, like distilling vanilla beans for extract, what is the essential heart of your story?

    3) Space out your pitches. you’re usually allowed 3-6 pitches across the day. Remember they’re usually EST (not always, so check), so don’t post your last pitch after 3 pm PST.

    4) There are no guarantees. Getting a request depends on the right agent seeing the right tweet at the right time. It’s just an increased chance you’ll be seen. You get between 3-6 tweets across one day.

    I’ve done a couple of them so far. First one? Three chances, zero requests. Second? Six chances, six requests. Don’t think that getting no requests means your project isn’t good — it can just mean the right person didn’t happen to see your pitch.

    5) If you get a request, do your homework on the requester — just like cold querying an agent. There are hoaxsters and even some legit pitch events don’t vet participants. It’s on you to find out if this person seems legit.

    6 If you do get a request? Check out the requester. If s/he seems legit and a good fit, check submission guidelines. Go for it.

    7) If you get no requests? Look over your pitches. Look at other pitches. Which stand out? Which are interesting? Learn from the competition. If your pitches are sound, then maybe your person didn’t see them (there can be a LOT of pitches). Get back to querying and be prepared for the next event. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

    Hope something here is helpful to you. Any legit chance to get your work out there is worth pursuing, in my book. Show the industry you’re trying to get into that you have what it takes!

    #writing #writingcommunity #writingtips

  • Into The Twitter(pitch)verse

    Into The Twitter(pitch)verse

    More on Twitter pitch events… Da Etiquette

    Into the Twitter Pitchverse. An introduction to Twitter pitch events for writers.
    Navigating the world of Twitter pitching.

    I’m not an expert, just another writer trying to navigate the jungle of getting and agent and getting published. In that quest, I’ve been finding my way through Twitter Pitch Valley, and in the interests of #WritingCommunity, I’m offering what I’m figuring out in the hopes it might be helpful to someone else. First, because it’s that important, Da Etiquette.

    As mom used to say, “Manners matter.” There is etiquette to Twitter pitch events. If you don’t follow it, you will probably get chastised, and may find yourself banned, so it’s worth noting.

    1) Be thou not a jerk. Criticize not the pitches of other participants.

    2) Follow thou the rules. If allowed three pitches, confine yourself to three. If allowed six, whoopee! Do six. Not seven. Read Da Rules and follow same.

    3) Seriously, be thou not a jerk. Don’t criticize the worthiness of other participants, or their right to participate.

    For example, one pitchfest for books is #DVpit. For writers from marginalized groups, such as the disabled. It’s on the honor system and if someone cheats they will be found out, but it’s not for you to make that call. If you personally know this participant and have concerns you can politely DM, I suppose, but otherwise? Leave ya nose outta it.

    4) Only “like” a pitch if you are a legit agent or editor and wish to see the manuscript. That’s how this works. If not, some allow you to retweet pitches you like. Some ask you not to. Read and follow Da Rules.

    If allowed to RT pitches you like, it’s a nice way to show support.

    So it follows that you do NOT “like” your own pitches, as you are not an agent looking to see your own manuscript.

    5) Be not a daft twit. Check Da Rules. If it’s a genre thing, be sure you legit fit somewhere in that genre before you participate. If you don’t know what the genres are and where you fit, for crying out loud, do some research.

    If it’s for left-handed writers and you can’t even brush your hair left-handed, stay out of it. If it’s for Women’s Fiction and your book is about a guy who hates women and kills people with a dinner fork, stay out of it.

    6) Time marches on — and you need to know which way. Most of those I’ve seen are Eastern Standard Time. If you live otherwhere than the east coast of the United States, plan accordingly. If it ends at 8 pm EST and you post your pitch at 8 pm PST, It’s 11 pm where the organizers are and nobody will see your post.

    7) Don’t take any of this too seriously. Just seriously enough. Do your homework. Follow the rules. Set up your pitch event calendar so you don’t forget when the next one is coming. Get your pitches ready and polished. Be ready to tweet when the time comes… then relax. You may or may not get requests. The requests may or may not pan out. It’s a chance, not a guarantee. You can still query agents traditionally whether they request you through the event or not. Enjoy life. Don’t let your happiness hang on this. Take the chance because it’s a chance, then take the next one, until one pans out.

    Good luck!

    #writing #writingcommunity #writingtips #writerlife

  • Love Letter 101

    Love Letter 101

    How do I love thee? Um, y’know…

    It’s that time of year again!

    Anyone can write a good love letter.

    If you want to make points with a good love letter, here are a few tips to get you started.

    1. it’s not about you. It’s about the person you’re sending it to. Here’s your chance to show you are (or still are) paying attention. Everyone wants to be noticed, seen, and loved for themselves.
    2. Make it relationship-appropriate. Don’t get into body comments or sexual stuff unless you are in a relationship and already know s/he wants to hear what you think of his/her butt/chest/etc. Leave out what you want to do with said body parts unless you know for sure s/he wants to hear it. For sure. Don’t guess here.
    3. Short, simple, and sincere. A short letter that shows you really have been noticing, listening, seeing beats a long, flowery, generic letter that doesn’t sound like you.
    4. Still stumped? Pick something you love about that person, for example, the way s/he smiles. They way s/he treats people. How does that make you feel?
    5. “Dear (name): when you smile at me, my heart feels like a balloon about to rise into the sky. You are so kind to people around you and make them feel important. Just by being you, you add something wonderful to the world.” Say something you honestly feel, specific about that person, that you admire.

    Remember — love letters aren’t just for romantic love. Your mother, grandfather, friend, etc. also want to feel appreciated. That teacher who went out of his or her way to help you would probably love a note saying thanks for teaching you the mysteries of algebra or the difference between “it’s” and “its.”

    When you express love, you get to feel it yourself. It’s good for you and for the person who receives your note. Don’t be afraid to tell people you care about what it is about them you appreciate. Happy Valentine’s Day!

  • A Cinematic Book

    A Cinematic Book

    We made the quarterfinals of the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition! (Update… we made the semifinals!)

    Just got the word that we made the semifinals of ScreenCraft’s competition for “cinematic” books, which means script readers could see this as a movie.

    There are a lot of great books that wouldn’t make good movies. To be made into a movie, a book needs a visual language. Long ago, we took a series of classes from Dale Wasserman, who wrote the play “Man of La Mancha.” He wrote the “book” of the play (as opposed to the music and lyrics — although he maintained some of the lyrics were lifted from his text). He also wrote for film and tv as well as theater.

    He said that books are the most literate art form, then plays, then film, then tv. It wasn’t an insult — it’s just that film and tv are more dependent on visuals than language. Language matters in film and tv, but first, you have to have pictures.

    Mark and I have placed in screenwriting contests, and Mark writes in pictures. He’s good about prodding me to look at what I’m writing and think about what it looks like. “It’s a movie in the reader’s head,” he told me one time. “When I read, I see it and hear it.” Plus, he trained me in producing for radio, where creating mental pictures is what it’s all about. It’s something I still work on… as you can tell, I tend to be verbal.

    Lots of writing is you alone with your thoughts and your computer (or notebook, or…). I talk to myself when I’m writing, wondering if anyone but me will understand what I’m trying to convey. There’s no way to tell until someone reads it. First we had beta readers, then did live readings, then got feedback from a reviewer, and at every stage, examined what was working and what wasn’t. Every time a reader says they enjoyed it, and tells me what connected with them, I want to cheer. Now we’re querying it. It’s a terrifying process.

    I overwrite, then have to cut like the villain in a slasher film. There’s always a struggle to cut what is “extra” without taking all the juice out of it.

    To know that the ScreenCraft readers, who have never met me and don’t know what I sound like, “hear” and “see” this novel is a joy. Congratulations to my fellow semifinalists, and to everyone who completed a novel they were proud enough of to enter it in a competition — that’s a big achievement right there.

  • Goodbye, 2018!

    Goodbye, 2018!

    This has been a year, hasn’t it? I mean, they all are, of course, but this one seems to have had more than 12 months in it.

    We had to spend the first eight months fighting to protect our little family. Someone got it into her head to try to take our puppy away from us. Lots of drama, strangers being sent to our door, the police sent to our house (first time that’s happened), going to court… in the end, Good won, Evil lost, and Gingeroo is right where she belongs — with us.

    It chewed up months of our lives. Our birthdays, our anniversary, everything got swallowed by The Battle For Gingeroo. But in the end, we found out we have a few really good, true friends who were willing to help us, we met an absolutely genius lawyer, and we reaffirmed that Good can triumph, if it’s willing to keep fighting and take good advice.

    We finished our novel, and saw it getting favorited on Amazon’s new book program, so much so that it made the “hot list” several times — but then Amazon ended the program. Oops! Back to square one, so we’re shopping for an agent, while writing three new books. Meanwhile, the first novel has done well with beta readers and in live readings, in addition to the love it got during the Amazon program, and a great review. So we know there’s an audience and just have to keep plugging away.

    During the process, we’re learning a lot about querying, social media, all the stuff that comes with being an author. We’ve been writers (magazines, newspapers, radio), but now we’re becoming a brand. Which feels odd. And requires learning lots of new skills, which is actually more fun than I thought it’d be.

    We lost two of our friends at the same time, people who had never met but who both left our lives at almost the same moment. This is an experience I’ve had before — my mother and grandmother died 30 days apart — but is also one for which you can’t prepare. We’ve lost people slowly, and lost them quickly, and there is no “better” way. You’re never ready to lose someone you’re fond of. It still doesn’t seem quite real that both John and Kathleen are gone.

    But we’re taking what they’ve taught us into the world. Kathleen was an enthusiastic, generous person. She loved to shop. I’m not much of a shopper, so I don’t have the skills a talented shopper has. Kathleen was great about sharing tips and tricks. I recently used some things she taught me to score something Mark and I wanted, on clearance, free shipping… Kathleen would have understood why I was trying to “high five” myself (for the record, I still haven’t found a way to do it that doesn’t feel lame).

    John was a singer/songwriter, a musician and music producer. Music was his life, and he was really good at it. He was also funny, generous and kind. Even when illness was bringing him to his knees, he played benefit concerts. If he couldn’t play, he sang. Every holiday season, we would visit and join John and his wife (a lovely, fierce, wonderful lady who hadn’t planned to be a public person but fell in love with John, so I won’t put her name here) for dinner. Mark and John usually talked shop — music, audio, recording. They agreed about a lot, but had some things they didn’t agree on that became running gags.

    His wife and I would catch up on family and friends, and just, y’know, chat, the way you do with a friend. Mark and I would get tickets for the benefit John was sure to be playing, and the shows were always great, but the best memories are of the four of us around a table, eating and talking.

    One time, we went to Barton G’s in Hollywood. It was hilarious. They brought out the food with props. Popcorn shrimp in a big popcorn machine. Sushi with a sword stuck into the platter. The best were the desserts. John and his wife ordered an ice cream sundae that came in a pirate’s treasure chest (a big one), surrounded by edible gold nuggets, graham cracker crumb “sand.” John looked at the shovel sticking out of the sundae, started laughing, and said, “Do we eat the shovel? I can’t tell what’s food and what isn’t!”

    Our dessert had a cotton candy bouffant hairdo on a wig head, with candy stuck all over it. The four of us found ourselves acting like sharks, nibbling random things just to see if they were edible.

    Before we left, they invited us over and we met the sister of John’s wife, who was charming. John played tracks of songs he was working on and told scandalous stories, and we all just relaxed.

    Thinking about all of this has me more than usually aware that I need to be fully present when I’m with a friend. Not distracted by things I want to get done, or things I think I should be doing. Someone once said, “If you ain’t where you is, you ain’t nowhere.” I’m going to try to be where I am in the new year.

    I hope wherever you are, your “where” is good to you. Happy New Year!