Wherefore Art Thou, Guidelines?

Nothing will get your query, partial, or even full manuscript zipping back to you at warp speed faster than if you send it to the wrong publishing house. You sent a short story to Avon? Zzzzzip. A graphic novel to Berkley? Zzzzzzip. That hot, steamy love story to Steeple Hill Love Inspired? Zzzzzip.

But how do you discover where to send the baby you've slaved over writing, polishing, printing and packaging, without the fear of instant rejection?

In today's world of information literally at your fingertips, your first stop is online. Google is your friend. If you're familiar with the names of publishing houses, do a search for the name. If you don't know the name, why don't you? Check out who published the books you read, whether printed or electronic and start hunting.

What will you find?
Some publishers share detailed information about what sub-genres they publish, word count, type of submission they'll accept (query only, query with synopsis, full manuscript), and how they prefer to receive it, whether electronically or printed and sent through the USPS. You may learn the typical response time. Some list the name or names of the editor(s) it should be sent to. You may also learn the publishing house only accepts submissions from agents. If that's the case, you have work to do on learning about acquiring an agent.

But what if the publisher isn't online or doesn't offer guidelines online?
If you can't find the submission guidelines for a specific publishing house online, check with your local library for a copy of The Writers Market from Writers Digest Books. It comes in full version or there's a Novel and Short Story edition. It's published each year, so is relatively up to date. If the information given doesn't give you what you need to know, you can write or call the publishing house to ask for submission guidelines.

What if I still can't find what I need to know?
Ask a writer friend who you know has some experience with submitting. S/he may have more current information on what a specific house is looking for. Also, many authors offer links to publishing houses on their websites to help new writers.

Don't risk an instant rejection. Do your homework. Even better, do your homework BEFORE you write the book! Target your writing to a specific publisher.

How Long is a Chapter

Well, first, maybe I should ask what is a chapter?

According to Webster, it is a main division of a book, a specified unit, a meeting place of canons or a local branch of an organization.

For my purpose, I’ll talk about a book.

You’ll be happy, but not surprised to learn that there is no rule for how long your chapters should be. I’ve read books in which some chapters were one page or even one paragraph long. I did find that mildly disturbing. I thought, WHY? I’m sure the author had his or her reason, but I didn’t get it.

I can see it if it’s in a different point of view. Reese Mobley’s Make Me Believe, as of yet unpublished romantic fantasy about Santa’s twin sons looking for the perfect next Mrs. Clause, had one page chapters here and there that let us see what Santa and Mrs. Clause were thinking as they watched their boys look for true love. After all, Santa can see if anyone is being naughty or nice so why should his kids be exempt? I think she cut that part but I really liked it.

Books have been published that started with chapter one and that was it. The whole book was chapter one. I even know of one that started with chapter 20 and went backwards. Again, WHY? Who knows?

Me? I like symmetry in my books. I want the chapters to all be about the same length. Turns out that’s kind of how I write. I know the word count for my line is 55,000 to 60,000 words. That’s a ballpark 250 pages, broken evenly into 16 chapters gives me about 15 pages per chapter. I’ve done shorter. I think 9 pages was my shortest and 25 pages my longest chapter. It all depends on what the characters are doing. If they can get it done in 9 pages, that’s all that matters.

Some people use a quote or little poem to start each chapter. Some chapters have titles. I simply number mine.

Tell me how your chapters work themselves out? What suits you best? What’s the oddest or longest or shortest chapter you’ve read or written? And WHY?

Pat

BEGINNING AT THE BEGINNING

Today I’m blogging about the process of starting. You know, the actual sitting down in front of the computer, formatting a page, creating a header and typing CHAPTER ONE kind of starting. What’s that you say? You aren’t sure how to set up your page, paragraphs or create a header. Piece of cake. I promise. Let me be crystal clear before I go any further. This is how I DO IT. This is not the only way to do it. On that note, open your blank WORD document and let’s get busy. If this is your first time then feel free to grab a margarita or your drink of choice or, skip that and head straight for the chocolate.

PAGE SETUP:
1) left click on the File tab at the top of the page
2) left click on Page Setup
margins – top 1.4" bottom 0.9"
left 1" right 1"
gutter 0" gutter position left
3) click OK

FORMATING A PARAGRAPH:
1) left click on the FORMAT tab at the top of the page
2) left click on paragraph
alignment left outline level – body text
indentation left 0" right 0" special none
spacing before 0" after 0" line spacing – exactly at – 25 pt
3) click OK

CREATING A HEADER:
1) left click the VIEW tab at the top of the page
2) left click Header/Footer and an outlined box will magically appear at the top of the page. In the upper left part of the box type the title of your current wip (work-in-process) in capital letters. Without a space type a simple slash /. Next to it type your name. Now, while the header box is still open you need to add a page number.

PAGE NUMBERS:
1) left click the INSERT tab at the top of the page
2) left click on page number. Another box will pop up with a few more options. Hang on, we’re almost done.
3) under the drop box for Position select top of page
under alignment, choose right
4)click OK and the box disappears
Your header is now finished and you can close out of it.

Type CHAPTER ONE in caps and CENTER it on the page about one third of the way down. I align it with the 2 on the ruler to the left of my page. That way every chapter begins the same way. Double space down. Click on the ALIGN LEFT option and you're ready to begin.

Whew. Doesn’t that feel good? You have something on paper. A real bona-fide start to the Great American Novel. You’re on your way, baby. Now its time to kick it in gear. Strike while the imagination iron is hot. Tell yourself, you are smokin’ and get those fingers flying over the keyboard. Every journey begins with a single step and you’ve just taken the first one.

Hugs,
Reese

PREPARE IN ADVANCE???

Before I became acquainted with WARA I had already written one and a half books. However, since joining WARA, I have discovered that I’ve done a lot of things backwards or not at all. So that “one and a half” books has become one and a half stories, with books to be forthcoming. As a friend of mine used to say, “Who’d a thunk it?”

I certainly never imagined that there were rules to be followed if you hoped to publish a book. Which necessated changes in how one wrote it. I only thought they were good or bad; either well written or indecipherable. I knew nothing about writing terms, policies, procedures or preparation. I just sat down one day and started putting my stories to paper, which I now know, makes me a pantster! Some of the things my fellow bloggers have, and will be talking about, I ended up doing out of necessity, like research. I had to delve into the facts and figure department in order to not have my characters look and sound stupid to those who knew better. I had to start charting my characters; their age, name, birth date and part in my productions. I began to keep a calendar so that the time would flow realistically, and I could keep track of it throughout the story. And since these will eventually be a trilogy, I had to figure out how to chart everything over the span of three books. (No point in doing things the easy way!)

I started making lists to go back and check this or that detail, or to fix something that I discovered didn’t quite "jive" with the overall picture I wanted to paint. I learned to keep a list of each chapter and a brief sentence of what was in it, so that I could go where I needed to much quicker. I had to brush up on my punctuation and grammar skills, (say aackk), and how to format my writing in order to somewhat resemble a book.

If I had done all these things from the get go, life would have been so much smoother and quicker. So take it from someone who learned to do things the hard way, and now has to pretty much do them all over again. Join a writer’s group, learn the craft first, and save yourself a few headaches along the way.

How Is Word Count Calculated? (Penny Rader)

Did I pick a fun topic or what?

While researching the market you want to write for, you’ve probably noticed that the publishers' guidelines include word count. What is word count, you ask? It's the maximum (and sometimes the minimum) number of words the publisher will accept for a specific line.

How do you know how many pages equal how many words? Easy. Each page equals 250 words. That’s 25 lines at 10 words per line (using 12 pt. Courier New). Even if you have short lines of dialogue, one page still equals 250 words. The first page of chapters that begin 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down the page? Yep. 250 words.

For example:

20 pages = 5000 words
100 pages = 25,000 words
200 pages = 50,000 words
240 pages = 60,000 words
280 pages = 70,000 words
300 pages = 75,000 words
320 pages = 80,000 words
360 pages = 90,000 words
400 pages = 100,000 words
500 pages = 125,000 words

For a chart broken down by Courier New and Times New Roman, check out this article on WARA’s website: http://www.warawriters.com/articles/manuscript_word_count.html

Wondering how you get 25 lines to a page? Check out Roxann’s article on templates: http://www.warawriters.com/template.html

Just for fun: Starla Kaye has a nifty link to Word Counter on her website, http://www.starlakayeromance.com/joomla/. It tells you the most frequently used words in a piece of writing. One of my favorite words seems to be “very.”

One thing to watch for: some of the e-publishers are using the computer word count, which in my experience, usually shows fewer words. For example, what is 100,000 words using the above method might be 79,932 words using your computer's word count. (If you’re using Word, you can find Word Count under Tools.) So, check those guidelines to see how the publisher counts the words.

What has your experience been with the Wonderful World of Word Count? Please chime in.

Grammar...Yuck!

I chose the topic of grammar and spelling because I suck at them. Really. I have a mind that often sees what it wants to see, not what is actually on the page. My manuscripts are filled with typos and spelling errors. Anyone who has read one will tell you I speak the truth.

How then, you ask, did I get published? I wonder that myself sometimes.
The truth is that a wonderful friend who was an English major proofread my first manuscripts. With her help, I polished those pieces to within an inch of their lives. I do not believe I would have sold those stories otherwise.

Editors are busy, busy people. It’s their job to make sure a manuscript is clean and ready to be published when it leaves his or her desk for the printers office. Editors don’t want to do extra work. They want the author to make their job easier. Would they pass over your good story because it was full of typos and misspelling? If it was a choice between two good stories and yours was the one with mistakes, they might. Why take that chance?

I still have errors that slip into my work, but my editor knows I’ll fix those when I do revisions. Even with both our eyes on the manuscript, I’ve had a few slip into the actual book.

Do readers notice? YES.
Do they write and point out the page and line? YES.
Do they say they won’t buy another book by you? YES.
Is grammar and spelling important? YES.

Are you uncertain when choosing between "who" and "whom," "affect" and "effect," "lay" and "lie"? Your use of language tells people a great deal about how you think, and how you communicate. Making simple errors in writing can make you seem less sophisticated, even less intelligent, than you are.

So get a friend, co-worker or family member to read your stuff. Two is better than one. They’ll each catch different things.
Invest in a good book on self-editing and grammar and study it.
Polish that story and send it out.
Your dream is waiting to come true.
Pat

Creating A Working Title

You’ve finished your manuscript. Now the thought of that “Just Right Title,” is haunting you. This is where the research begins. Develop a great title if at all possible. An editor might be the first set of eyes to view your query or the manuscript.

The title is like making that first impression. It reflects a promise from the author to the reader. Short catchy titles will be remembered. Titles should be meaningful, giving a hint or clue which threads throughout the story. Lyrics from songs can produce great titles. Piquing the interest of the reader. Plots and subplots throughout your story might be another way of creating that title you are striving for. Characters who have a past make super titles, making it a memorable one. Comedy or funny lighthearted stories have titles with that flare of a twist to touch the funny bone.

Now that I have just said all this, a title must appear at the top of Chapter One of the manuscript for me. It gives my story a sense of purpose. Maybe it’s a mind game. But it works for me. I look at my first outline draft. Thinking of all the possibilities my story could and will develop. I know the title may change, but it helps me to begin typing the story. With excitement flowing from my fingers to the monitor screen.

I asked a few non-writer friends what was the first thing they saw when buying or looking for a book.

* First and most important was the title. With the cover art grabbing them in an emotional or exciting way.

* Blurb on the inside cover caught their eye.

* Enjoyed reading the style of writing on the first three pages.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Never be afraid to ask others. Titles can be just as exciting as the content of the story. Don’t be hesitant to explore the possibilities. Feel free to share your methods on how you create A Working Title.

- Sharon.