Author Carla Norton's EDGE OF NORMAL Signed by Liza Dawson Associates

Reeve drives north from San Francisco to the rugged town of Jefferson, where she meets Tilly’s family and establishes an instant bond. But gaining the girl’s trust has a price. Tilly swears Reeve to secrecy and reveals that the real mastermind of the crime isn't known to the police and is lurking nearby, watching, waiting patiently for Tilly to make a mistake.

   - THE EDGE OF NORMAL by Carla Norton  - Interview on Author Salon
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Once a neophyte in the world of competitive fiction writing, bestselling nonfiction author Carla Norton joined Author Salon and her first writer workshop group, made excellent use of the AS Critique Guide, and together with writers and professional editors in the AS community, honed the many elements of her novel, THE EDGE OF NORMAL, into a competitive manuscript that was just picked up by Liza Dawson Associates. AS is sharing publishing contacts with LDA gained from the Author Salon Literary Showcase, contacts which include acquisition editors from Random House, Harper Collins, and Penguin who asked for fulls and partials.

Carla Norton is a seasoned true crime writer whose nonfiction, PERFECT VICTIM, became a New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Best Seller, spending four months on the list and four weeks in the #1 spot. It was later put on the reading list for the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit. Carla has twice served as a judge for the Edgar Awards and has been a guest speaker at conferences, as well on “Geraldo” and “Larry King Live.” She has an MFA, and this is her first novel.

Author Salon or The Agent Query? Comments and Observations On a Q Letter

While exploring the art of the agent query letter for the purpose of comparing and contrasting the Author Salon approach, we came across this piece. At first glance, the sample query might appear satisfactory to some, but upon close inspection flaws become apparent that must be addressed.

As follows, with comments from Author Salon appearing in brackets [ ... ]:

1. The Hook: This is a 2-3 sentence description of your book. It needs to be catchy, so the agent will read on!   [ here is the place where even a professionally written query letter goes terribly wrong and sinks the writer. There is a real art to writing a suitable log or hook line that will communicate the "hook" or marketable story premise.  Here is an example taken from the Author Salon Profile Guide which covers hook lines in detail (from "The Hand of Fatima"): "In 1564 Grenada, a young half-Christian Moor termed "The Nazarine" faces a life of scorn and torment by Moors and Christians alike until the kidnapping and murder of the woman he loves sets him on a dangerous path to reconcile the two faiths by seeking the God they both share." ]
2. Mini-Synopsis: This is one paragraph that describes the characters and action of the book. It’s supposed to be short and to the point.  [ If you've nailed the hook with your log or hook line, you don't need to include a mini-synopsis in the body of the query. The agent will be persuaded to read your first pages regardless, esp if the query demonstrates you have platform or credentials. Also, unless you are really adept at writing an excellent pitch-synopsis, the act of doing so might well sink your chances. Regardless, assuming you are adept, you would be advised to shorten the query by adding this mini-synopsis, or longer pitch, as an attachment to the query, not to exceed 150 words or so. See the "Hand of Fatima" pitch-synopsis using the link above.  ]
3. Biography: Describe the writer(s) and their background.  [ That's fine, but do we have platform and/or credentials in this query that matter to an agent? ]

That’s it, simple and to the point. So, we have written and re-written ours a bunch of times already. We have sent out 30 queries in the last two days and have actually received one request for sample chapters already. [ Is this agent query ratio a good sign? ] I am going to share our query letter in it’s current form. Please share any feedback or suggestions you have, we really want to make this letter sing!

Dear Prospective Agent,

[ Big mistake: name the agent, Mr. or Ms. ____ ]

Set in the Detroit of the near future, several people have mysteriously died in their sleep while using a new gaming system that allows them to experience designer dreams. After the death of his godson, Harry Anderson discovers just how dangerous the combination of popular technology and corporate greed can really be.

[ A brief opening paragraph re how you found the agent might work better, and "Set in Detroit of the near future" will result a search for the backspace key. Best not attempt to hook an agent in this manner. ]

Set in the Detroit of the near future Harry Anderson, an aging psychology professor with a penchant for whiskey and a dry sense of humor, investigates the sudden and unexplained death of his godson Elliot. Harry soon discovers a series of unexplained deaths in his community all seemingly related to the DreamGate, a new video game device that allows the user to play custom dreams. We soon meet Detroit police detective Susan Boucher, a strong and intelligent woman who finds herself drawn to Harry, despite his age. The two, relying on each other’s strengths, have to navigate the world of cutting-edge technology, corporate greed and the very human need for security.

[ Okay, so we have two characters and a bad guy, but what happens from there is vague. Where is the real cliff-hanger?  Is DreamGate just covering up or something far more sinister?  Would much prefer a tighter hook line wrapping up with something like, " ... determined to expose the deadly truth of DreamGate, only to discover the trail leads to (wherever it leads--NSA? CIA?), and that their own lives are in jeopardy (at least!) ..." etc. ]

Complete at just over 80,000 words, The Sleep of Souls is a quick read that sets the stage for a series of novels based on the adventures of Harry Anderson.

[ Do publishers want a series in the first place that stars an aging psychology prof with a "penchant for whiskey"?  Uncertain.  The odds are not great, especially since the author is not established.  And where is a statement of genre and comparables? It sounds somewhat like a futuristic thriller. That should be stated up front. ]

Husband and wife writing team Jennifer and Kevin Lill bring you The Sleep of Souls. Kevin has been an avid writer since childhood. His boundless imagination and eye for life’s little details are what make The Sleep of Souls come to life on the page.

[ Get the agent out of the agent query letter asap and onto the page where they can judge for themselves whether or not it comes "to life on the page" and so on. Making this statement achieves nothing and might sound amateurish to many agents. An inconvenient and brutal truth! ]

The book’s main character, Harry Anderson, is based on Jennifer’s real-life father who, like Harry, is a genuine character. Working in the field of technology Jennifer’s in-depth research and ability to predict future technology trends are what give The Sleep of Souls its exciting and groundbreaking edge!

Market Analysis
The audience [ readership ] for The Sleep of Souls would be made up of fans of the murder mystery genre. Those who like Dan Brown, Douglas Preston or Patricia Cornwell will love this book. Because it deals with technology and the world of gaming the cross over audience would be gamers and fans of technology-based science fiction.

[ Well, best to go to http://themysteryreader.com and check on this. Murder mystery fans and thriller fans do overlap, but not always. If marketed as a futuristic thriller, SF readers won't really be interested for the most part. And who says "gamers" will want to read about an aging psych prof, i.e., assuming they read at all? But is this a futuristic thriller? Sounds like it. The technology does not exist in the present, and the body count is piling up, dark forces congealing, perhaps bigger stakes, etc. ]

Comparative Analysis
The Sleep of Souls is similar to Snow Crash in the respect that it deals with technology that is right on the cusp of being discovered. This book showcases animated movies whose plot changes in response to the viewer’s bio-electrical feedback, a video game system that allows users to purchase and experience customized dreams and the use of wide-range wireless coverage for spying.

[ "Snow Crash" is huge, and a comparable that is often used. Recommend a rethinking. But the tech concept is interesting. Would prefer it to be included in an attached synopsis/pitch. This doesn't substitute for a single line early on that notes the proper comparables (at least two of them). ]

Marketing Strategy
The Sleep of Souls deals with the very hot topic of technology and privacy. With the focus on issues of online privacy in the news currently, this book will be a perfect sell for those who are concerned with their own privacy!

[ Yes, well, publishers don't have access to figures that equate "the need for privacy" demographic with the purchasing of certain types of novels that touch on privacy issues, so pitching this concept as a marketing strategy has little or no chance of success. ]

Thank you for taking the time to review this letter and consider The Sleep of Souls. The full manuscript is available by request.

Author Salon Attracts Major Agents and Publishers

Author Salon is working with writers onsite to successfully pitch and position over four dozen novel and nonfiction projects in various genres, thereby securing requests, via Author Salon promotion, for fulls and partials from leading publishers and literary agencies, including Random House, Grand Central, Dijkstra Literary, Kimberley Cameron Associates, AEI Films, Rights Factory, and many more.

Upmarket novels such as THROUGH CHAGALL'S WINDOW by Katherine Cox and HALF OF NO by Kari Pilgrim, and genre novels such as THE FIVE PENS OF JOHANNES by Richard Hacker and DEMONS DON'T DO LOVE by Heather Jackson, are attracting lots of attention due to the high concept nature of the projects, as well as the credentials of the writers.

According to an Author Salon site admin, Rebecca Kaplan, "We're succeeding in our goal to discover and nurture the best projects and writers we possibly can. With such a goal in mind, how can we fail to secure as many contracts as humanly possible? We wish to become a major player in the business."



 

Author Salon "Art of Fiction" Part I (A)

Pragmatism, The Art, and Publication

What is the Pedagogical Strategy Here?

This is the beginning of an Author Salon "model-and-context method" workshop, i.e., students create new works-in-progress in the context of the lesson environment, employing specific craft techniques and structure learned from a wide variety of accomplished writers. The goal of the workshop is to create work that will get published. The workshop drums the "art of fiction" (as defined in this workshop) and its relationship to pragmatic fiction-writing, until finally, at the conclusion, the ostensible madness of the assignments will suddenly transfigure into sound method and wisdom, the considerable lecturing acting as catalyst to produce not only a new sense of confidence on the part of each student, but a collection of fiction waiting to be published.

The "Art of Fiction" and Why You MUST Respect It

When Flannery O'Connor was asked whether or not she believed college MFA programs actually suppress young writers, she replied, "Not nearly enough of them." Course, this is humorous, especially to a crowd of crusty editors swapping anecdotes at happy hour, but what are the implications of Flannery's statement? What was her point? Simply this: the earth is populated with way waaayyy too many "writers" sans the necessary vision and skills to write decently. And these days, due to the proliferation of writer magazines, groups, conferences, etc., this is even more true. Imagine those thousands upon thousands of would-be fiction writers expending enough energy every day to light several cities from dusk to dawn. How many will actually publish? Or should I say, how many will actually find their work in credible publications some day?

No matter, it's depressing.

However, you are now a student in the Author Salon "Art of Fiction" workshop, and not just anyone at any old conference or network literary party hoping to snag the ear of a well-known published writer who will not think twice about ignoring you for the rest of your life. You're here because on some level you believe the axiom that "you must write well if you are to publish." It all comes down to that.

Simple? ... And what does "well" mean? It means, for our purposes, well enough to get published.

An irritating response, yes? It will have to do for now. For a new writer, getting published is perhaps (or possibly should be) the ultimate test of "writing well". And how are you going to arrive to bask in this state of transcendence? ... You are going to start by satisfying the art of fiction ... Yes. Starting now. Imagine it as an arrogant water buffalo who demands a scrubbing before he'll plough you through the rice paddie.

The water buffalo rules. You begin to lather.

You satisfy this demanding creature by using the pragmatic approach of deciding WHAT TO SAY AND HOW BEST TO SAY IT IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR OWN ABILITIES AS A WRITER. In other words, you do what works for you, choose an intelligent approach that enables you to become published.

Regardless, the accomplishment of this pragmatic approach can never be a totally selfish exercise. It requires you recognize you are writing for a reader, and it demands you have RESPECT for that reader. It also requires you possess eclectic SKILLS, endurance, and above all, IMAGINATION. It means you must come to a clear COGNIZANCE of your individual strengths and current weaknesses as a writer, accept them (even if it means taming your ego with self-imposed therapy), and vow to do whatever necessary to exploit the former and compensate for the latter. And not least, satisfying the art of fiction also requires KNOWLEDGE, i.e., you must be very familiar with your genre (literary,
mainstream, SF, mystery, etc.). This is necessary in order to assure good original fiction-telling (after all, you might not have a "story," not in the usual sense) and avoid lapsing into the worst sin of all: hackneyed and/or dull writing.

In other words, you understand right from the start exactly what you must do in order to create your own personalized brand of narrative and story élan sufficient to create good fiction, to compel the reader to finish what you started long before.

By the way, "story élan" is the key here--core to understanding what the art of fiction is all about. Once you've made a realistic assessment of your abilities as a writer, you not only choose specific craft technique to improve your story, you also choose original subject matter that maximizes your skills as a writer, i.e., if you're not a masterful prose stylist like William Gass or Jayne Anne Phillips (and how many of us are?), you'll compensate with a crisp voice that tells a provocative or absorbing story. Your models will be writers the likes of Carson McCullers, Saroyan, and Carver.

Your fiction structure and narrative will contain the requisite amount of polish, tension, and interest to create a condition of "story élan," the end result of a synergy of elements working to make the story a successful one.

Have we left out anything?

________________________

Author Salon Tests for Thin Skins

Author Salon has recently developed a questionnaire for writers to help determine whether or not they have sufficiently thick skin to take the type of critique they need to grow into publishable authors.

As follows:

• Do you sense that writers who unfavorably critique your work are "loading the gun" and taking aim?
  
  
• Has any writer ever prefaced their critique of your work by first saying to you, "Don't hate me, please?"
  
  
• Do you rush to defend your work when a reader gives you criticism rather than absorb and weigh it carefully?
  
  
• Do you feel a need to say unkind things about a writer's work if you perceive she or he was unkind to you first?
  
  
• Have you ever chastised any writer in front of other writers for what you consider to be improper or incorrect critique of your work?
  
  
• Have you ever been in a workshop with other writers and reacted to criticism of your writing or story by demanding the other writer defend their decision in such detail that it served your purpose of making certain they never gave you unfavorable critique again?
  
  
• Do you receive critique you oppose in good humor, but routinely seek the negation of it from those you know will agree with your version of reality?
  

Author Salon Looking for Thick Skins on YouTube

Author Salon has just posted a slide-show vid telling the world about epiphany and frustration, and the pain of agent rejection. It also details what kind of writers we are looking for--not the thin skins, but the thick skins.

Approaching the Troll Trope - The Importance of Using Tropes Wisely in Fantasy Fiction

Author Salon stresses high concept stories (insofar as humanly or inhumanly possible) and the ability to view your work or the work of others with the eyes of a professional in the business--in other words, would you put your career on the line for that novel in an editorial meeting surrounded by senior editors, your bosses and the always bitching marketing department who demand great marketing hooks? Let's see one example of the contrast that becomes apparent at such time the brain of a hypothetical neophyte fantasy writer is compared with that of a veteran literary agent.

Through the eyes of the writer penning a story about a prophesied dragon-riding princess known as "The Chosen One" who wields a flaming sword of power while on her way, together with her favorite faerie, Glynfee, to visit the Wizard Crumgar at Hell's Keep and enlist his aid in finding a team of elves and dwarves to help her defeat evil and thus fulfill the prophecy:

I've seen dragons and prophecies, wizards and such, and I love Tolkien and Ann and Robert and all the movies with these creatures in them ... they're everywhere, others love them, and this tells me such things are what people will always wish to read about.

In other words, the fact of reading and seeing overused tropes done so many times by great authors, or in films, or in the Halloween costume store, leads to the assumption that because they are ubiquitous or prevalent they are somehow immortal, never to be overlooked or overdone.

A novel-dooming assumption if there ever was one.

Can you imagine the hundreds, perhaps thousands of manuscripts like the one above that don't stand a chance? Or do they? Let's see the same manuscript or story concept through the eyes of a veteran fantasy agent:

Oh my God, another dragon-riding princess out to fulfill a prophecy ... And let's see, some elves and faeries, of course, what else? A flaming sword? Argh! I'm getting two hundred of these a week. Can't anyone write anything that sounds original? I'm suffering an existential crisis ...

The literary agent, on the look for high concept stories, something unique she can sell a publisher, is going mad after reading query letters about novels that all begin to sound the same. Can you sympathize with her? Isn't she more likely to focus on a story that doesn't sound like all the rest? Isn't she/he? Isn't THAT the story you should be writing, aspiring fantasy author? Shouldn't you try to stand out from that Montana-sized slush mob from archetypal flaming-sword hell?

Author Salon Pioneers "Writing the Six Act Two-Goal Novel"

Author Salon has recently pioneered a unique Six Act Two-Goal novel structure for writers of book-length fiction and nonfiction. They expect further refinements to the outline below, but the point here is to understand and utilize a tightly plotted act structure, similar to that used by screenplay writers, to effectively brainstorm and outline a very competitive and suspenseful plot for the genre novel, i.e., fantasy, SF, YA/MG, mystery, and so forth. Upmarket or literary fiction with a strong plot also benefits.

As follows (the work in progress):

ACT ZERO

The backstory necessary to set up the first act or story opening, but does not directly appear in the story except by use of flashback and other methods to deliver exposition. Writers set up the disaster that is coming in the story. Forces need to already be in motion before the story begins in order to create conflict for the characters. Usually the emphasis for the backstory will be on the antagonist or villain, but even protagonists carry baggage into the story. Years and years of planning might have gone into planning the collision course in the story.

____

ACT ONE (Page 1 - 30+)

The conflict begins. Establishes the physical location and time period of the story and creates an immediate hook. IN MEDIA RES may be employed here ("beginning in the middle"). Regardless, something bad happens (Chief Bromden gets EST in the Cuckoo's Nest or alien life forms emerge and heat-ray Los Angeles) or has just happened (murder victim found in the mayor's plum tree). The protagonist and his or her cadre, and the villain and his or her flying monkey minions, are introduced to a meaningful degree.

The primary antagonist might remain a mystery (Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter), or be introduced first (the Big Nurse in Cuckoo's Nest or the Opus Dei albino in Da Vinci Code) to produce dramatic concern for protagonist later. Character sympathy factors in the first 20 pages critical for connecting with the reader. While the development happens, events propel the characters towards the next act in the story. Foreshadowing elements are employed by writer.

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ACT TWO (Page 10+ - 50+)

The first MAJOR PLOT POINT. The protagonist commits to the first goal (McMurphy decides to shake up The Big Nurse or Brenna begins her odyssey to find dad before the Mafia does). She or he may go willingly into the situation because the alternative is worse, or to help an apparent victim. Under involuntary conditions, someone may push the protagonist into situation, either for malicious reasons or for the character's own good. The RISING ACTION of the story truly begins.

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ACT THREE (Page 50+ - 250+)

The dramatic pursuit of the goal evolves. Minor reversals take place. The protagonist(s) struggle, perhaps score small victories of one sort or another, but these are usually reversed. After crisis point or the MAJOR PLOT REVERSAL (e.g., in Stephen King's MISERY when the author has his knees sledgehammered by Kathy Bates--Ouch!), the protagonist realizes she or he is pursuing the wrong goal. This act is where the complications of the plot pile up.

Backstory issues, mysterious strangers, twists and turns, and events; all point out that the protagonist is on the wrong track, and the villain is winning (the Big Nurse is slowly tightening a noose around McMurphy's neck). This act ends when the protagonist realizes he is going after the wrong goal, usually at the villain's peak in the story.

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ACT FOUR (Page 250+ - 375+)

Opens with the SECOND MAJOR PLOT POINT as protagonist pursues the new and truly productive goal (the author of MISERY decides to write the novel Kathy wants in order to enact his new scheme to escape). The characters get that final clue, the missing piece to the puzzle, which allows them to make the necessary changes to successfully complete the plot line. This builds to CLIMAX, and the protagonist will usually win out over the villain, but victory or success must come at a price (such as the death of a favorite character--the sheriff in MISERY is killed by Kathy just before climax).

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ACT FIVE (Page 375+ - 400+)

Denouement wherein all loose ends resolved, a final surprise perhaps, hint of the sequel perhaps, but readers on their way with the emotions the writer wants them to feel (Fitzgerald actually saved final exposition regarding Gatsby for the denouement following Gatsby's death).

Cary Tennis of Salon.Com Joins Author Salon as Writer and Faculty

Cary Tennis, writer-chief of Salon.Com's famous SINCE YOU ASKED advice column which boasts a readership of over half a million readers per month, has joined the faculty at Author Salon.

The fiction side of Cary attended the masters program in creative writing at SF State and is currently working on an upmarket novel entitled BURNING THE RAIN GIRL. He runs fiction writer workshops in Point Reyes employing The Amherst Writers and Artists workshop method.

BURNING THE RAIN GIRL is a featured profile on Author Salon, a comic up-market novel about a glamorous sitcom star named Lydia Favors who quits her hit show, "Mamacita," and leaves Hollywood to found a regional theater in her Northern California hometown. Determined not to lose their bankable star, her business partners follow her to the small, formerly industrial port town to keep tabs on her and profit from her celebrity. Murder, mayhem and hilarity ensue as they hatch various madcap schemes, including the world's first topless dry cleaning dance musical, a new line of pre-destroyed rock and roll clothing, and discovery of a 5,000-year-old bong and evidence of a previously unknown settlement of Mesopotamian potheads in the Sacramento River Valley.

Random House Senior Editor Joins Author Salon Faculty

Caitlin Alexander has recently joined the Author Salon faculty. She will advise AS and AS will advise her on potential commercial projects onsite. Caitlin is a senior editor at the Random House Publishing Group, where she acquires and edits a variety of fiction and nonfiction. Her authors include New York Times bestsellers Michelle Richmond (THE YEAR OF FOG), David Gibbins (THE LOST TOMB), Andy McDermott (THE HUNT FOR ATLANTIS), and Gwen Cooper (HOMER'S ODYSSEY); Angela Davis-Gardner (PLUM WINE), and International Thriller Writers Award winner Tom Piccirilli (SHADOW SEASON).

PRNewswire News Release : Author Salon Positions Itself to Become Major Player

NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/

Author Salon is a Place Where Writers Become Authors The Old Fashioned Way. They Earn It.

Author Salon, a new literary community website and 24/7 wr iters conference designed to serve the needs of aspiring authors as well as agents and e ditors in the book publishing business, is currently mentoring a senior class of nonfiction and fiction writers in all genres who have the chops to become successfully published in a commercial market. For writers looking to self-publish, Author Salon enables them to write the best novel or nonfiction they possibly can. For writers who wish to engage in the productive evolution of their projects, as well as their skills and technique, Author Salon's unique peer-pro review system rigorously winnows serious writers from the hobbyists while also creating a strong but fair system of checks and balances to assure business professionals that the best projects will take center stage.

According to Author Salon member, Alon Shalev, author of The Accidental Activist, and creator of Left Coast Voices ... [more]

Elaine's Seven Reasons to Join Author Salon - or At Least Peruse It

Have you ever had so many writing-related questions you just didn’t know where to turn?  Either as a writer or as an editor or even an agent? Well I have.  Finding Author Salon and working on my profile for the last month has helped me immensely to reshape my novel. This site is expressly for helping writers find markets, and agents, editors and producers find properties. Any member can sign in and peruse the projects listed there.

Here are  7  Reasons Why I’ve spent so much time at this.

1. Amazing, helpful and erudite videos are there for the viewing. What could be better than seeing and hearing successful writers explain their craft?  They have years of experience out there and we writers can borrow on it very easily when we belong to Author Salon.

2. Writers will benefit from the how-to-pitch videos on the site. I have just begun to watch these and am excited about the possibilities awaiting.

3. There is a large group of talented people overseeing this project. People who have been in the writing business, from writers to agents to editors, have incredible experience to share.

4. Lots of other writers live there. We writers can help each other and commiserate with a fresh pair of eyes when the muse forsakes one of us.  Invaluable.

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