Download usq publishing handout

Slushpile to Shelf:
Publishing Workshop. Bookcase USQ JULY 2015
Is Your Manuscript Ready? Quick Tips to make your writing sing:
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Start where the story starts: hook the reader, make them care about the character and want
to see them resolve their dilemma.
Show don’t tell, and avoid doing both. Readers are not idiots.
Kill Your Darlings: if it doesn’t move the story on or show us a different layer of your
character, cut it: see what it looks like without it. When in doubt, leave it out.
Use active language, short sentences/paras. Usually the quickest way to say something is the
best. If you don’t know what a word means, don’t use it.
Remove speech tags where possible, and use only said as the eye skips over it.
Sentences have rhythm: alter word choice to avoid clunks and make it sing. Read aloud.
Prune superfluous words: down, that, there, both…
Your voice is the only thing differentiating you from the pack: be yourself, everyone else is
taken. Leave some personality on the page. Be authentic, not a poor copy of your favourite
author. Write hot. That is when your voice is loudest (edit cold – or when you are not
feeling the muse).
Ready to Submit?
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Leave it in the drawer: let it ferment. Get feedback. Enter Competitions. Take comments
on board. Even if you are sick to death of it, don’t send it anywhere until you are certain
it is the best you can do. You only get one chance at a first impression.
Decide if you want an agent before you submit to publishers. Agents ask around 12.5%
of your commission (usually around 10% for print and 30% for ebook).
Try pitching at bookfests, Queensland Writers Centre – writer’s surgery, Hachette
Manuscript development program (closes 27 July), Brisbane Writer’s Fest (sept).
Australian Writers Marketplace – Book published by QWC .
Formatting: lets your words stand out, not the formatting. Enter comps to practice. Read
online guidelines and stick to them: Penguin and Random still have separate publishing
houses despite merger.
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Penguin – monthly catchup first week of every month.
Random House – send hardcopy of 50 pages, cover letter, 1 page synopsis.
Pan Mac – Manuscript Monday
UQ Press – agent only except certain times of year.
Text Publishing – Melbourne, hardcopy, 1 page synopsis.
Allen and Unwin – Friday pitch – email first chapter and synopsis.
Hachette – 300 word synopsis, first 50 pages, bio,
Simon & Schuster – need an agent.
Many other digital only imprints: destiny, escape, category romance lines,
random romance etc…
Query, Pitch and Synopsis
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Professional but tailored to your writing style.
Start with a shoutline/short blurb to get the publisher interested: if your book was a movie,
what would the line on the poster be? Start with that.
Synopsis: bones of the novel, not the detail. Keep to the style of your story. Avoid dry ‘this
happens, then that happens’ lists of plot turns, but don’t sensationalise the story like a
marketing pitch. Be concise. Use each word sparingly. You have to leave stuff out.
Try a mock pitch with another person to allow yourself to ‘admit’ all the plot points, and get
to the crux of your story. Write your story in a sentence, then a para, then a page. Write
one before you start the book – use it as a map to guide your story. Include character arcs.
Contracts
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Rule of thumb: Money should always flow towards the author (even if in a slow dribble…)
Reversion clauses, world rights, film rights, translation rights – its ok to sign a ‘dodgy’
contract, as long as you understand it and are ok with that. Settle what is negotiable before
you go in, and what is not. If you have no agent, you can hire someone to go into bat for
you or appraise the contract (eg Alex Adsett – alexadset.co.au)
Resources:
www.qwc.asn.au (online courses and resources), Australian Writer’s Marketplace
www.romanceaustralia.com (critique partners and competitions and a supportive group)
www.pred-ed.com, (dodgy contracts etc).
Editing made easy – Bruce Kaplan, and The Writing Book (Kate Grenville).
Don’t forget: There are no rules. There is no ‘right’ way to write a book. Don’t let anyone’s advice
railroad your WIP – most of writing well is gut instinct at the word level.
The only thing you need to do to get published is write a good book. Publishers and readers need
‘good stories, told well’ - so get writing! Even if you haven’t had much luck, sometimes publishers
get it wrong, so as long as you are enjoying yourself, keep writing (and good luck). Private message
me on FB for any further questions or comments!!
www.facebook.com/KylieKadenAuthor
www.kyliekaden.com.au