How Does a Writer Find an Agent? from James W. Ziskin

How does a writer find an agent? Give us your thoughts.

Over the past thirty years, I’ve managed to find representation from three different agents. The first was back in 1992. When she said yes to my snail mail submission, I was sure publication, financial independence, and fame were just around the corner. 

They weren’t

Two books later, there were no offers from publishers.

My first experience with an agent was unsatisfying, and not just because she didn’t sell my books. We never gelled. In fact, she made me feel that I was working for her, not the other way around. She was put out when I inquired—via mail—if there was any news on the submission front. This was after several months had gone by. She replied asking me to check back by phone in two weeks, which I dutifully did. At that point she sounded annoyed and told me there was no use in bothering her for news. She’d let me know immediately if there was anything to report. That stung.

And it was my cue to move on

Terry wrote earlier this week about choosing the right agent, and I couldn’t agree more. The wrong agent is worse than no agent at all. My first agent and I weren’t a good match, but I had been so grateful someone had agreed to represent me I went along. That was a mistake. So we parted ways. I had no worries. I was certain I’d find another agent in no time with the third book I’d written.

And then it took me fifteen years to land my second agent

Yes, I was fully involved in my career and had put my writing aspirations on the back burner, but fifteen years was still a long time. I finally decided that if I ever wanted to make it as a writer, I had to act. So I wrote another book and began querying again. This was 2009. I sent out a few rounds of query letters via e-mail and snail mail. Believe it or not, many agents still wanted snail mail submissions back then. I had several requests for partials and even some complete manuscripts, but nothing panned out. Some teased me with tantalizingly encouraging responses, only to ghost me later on. But the thirty-ninth query hit.

Unlike the experience with my first agent, my second was very positive. He was approachable, kind, and willing to update me whenever I wanted information. He told me right off the bat the squeaky wheel got the oil. I didn’t take advantage of his availability, however, and left him to do his job while I did mine. Still, after two years, he was unable to sell the book I’d sent him. I followed that up with two more, which had some nice “declinations,” as he called them, from good publishers. Finally, a month before he was to go into semi-retirement—and therefore have to drop me as a client—he sold my first Ellie Stone book, Styx & Stone. He kept me on after that and sold six more Ellie Stones.

I credit Bill—first name only—with getting me into print, and I will be forever grateful to him. The publisher was small but they put out an excellent product. In fact, several of the most decorated and admired crime writers out there today were discovered by that publisher’s editorial director, Dan Mayer.

After seven Ellie Stone books, the publisher was sold to a new house, and both the new owner and I thought it was time to move on. Small houses don’t always generate the sales to justify continuing a series, and that was my case.

I wanted a new start, and my agent and I agreed that the best strategy would be to go our separate ways. It was a mutual decision and the most amicable split I could have imagined. I even wrote a warm acknowledgment to him and the agency in my latest book, Bombay Monsoon, which they hadn’t even sold. I will always be grateful to John Hawkins and Associates, a wonderful literary agency with a long, distinguished history.

Which leads me to my current agent…

and my answer to this week’s question. 

How does one go about securing a literary agent?

Okay, I shouldn’t need to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. First, you’ve got to write a really good book that’s ready. I’ve heard stories of people who queried agents before their book was finished. Don’t do that. Revise and revise and revise your book before even thinking of contacting an agent. Then revise it again. Get input from beta readers who aren’t related to you. 

Then write a compelling, individualized query letter and follow the agents’ instructions from their submission policies. (Do yourself a favor and check out Janet Reid’s Query Shark site https://queryshark.blogspot.com/. On second thought, don’t just check it out, devour it. Read the entire archive. Twice. Janet provides this valuable service for free, though really she could charge for it. And it would be worth the price. She gives tough love, but if you want to find an agent you should listen to Janet and listen good.)

So those are the things that I shouldn’t need to say. Once you’ve got those worked out, here’s a slightly easier road.

Use your connections if you’ve got ’em

Your chances of getting a yes from agents increase dramatically if you’ve been recommended by one of their clients. That’s how I signed on with my current agent. It didn’t hurt that she already knew me from conferences and—cough, cough—a few awards I’d won. I asked a fellow author for an e-mail intro, and the rest went off without a hitch. My new agent sold Bombay Monsoon in a few months. I’m very happy with our relationship. She’s always available for a call, always cheerful and encouraging. And always working.

Remember it’s better to have no agent at all than the wrong one

I found two agents the old-fashioned way: query letters and over the transom submissions. Then I found one using something of a shortcut. Don’t underestimate the power of a recommendation. It’s no guarantee, but it’s a leg up. That’s why networking and building your brand are so important. We may not like that side of the writing business, but it’s essential these days. Use your connections. But be prepared to pay it forward. 

No matter how you choose to approach an agent, there’s one sine qua non: 

You have to write a fine book first 

Then again, I shouldn’t need to say that.

Going from memory, adding a dash of imagination

by Dietrich

Since I don’t have an agent, I’m going to skip this question, and go back to one from the past week: Please describe a scene from your latest novel that you’re particularly proud of. Or better yet, why not share it?

So the scene below is from The Get. It’s an introduction to one of the key characters, where we learn much about who he is and what he’s after. But, what inspired the setting for the book was Toronto’s Kensington Market area the way I remember it from when I was growing up there in the sixties. 

My folks took me there on shopping outings, and I’d never seen anything like the place in my life: this mix of cultures and different ethnic foods, hearing people speaking many different languages. There were crates of live chickens lining the sidewalks, plucked and unplucked carcasses hanging in windows, goats, ducks, long links of sausages, boxes and baskets of vegetables like I’d never seen at our local Loblaws. It was quite an experience, one that has stayed with me. And I wanted to capture the mood of that time and place for this story.

On a recent trip back to Toronto, I went to the Kensington Market area again after having been away from it for many years. And it struck me that so much of that same vibe lived on. There are market stalls, and goods for sale lining the sidewalks, painted murals on walls, buskers, cars lining the streets, a lot of foot traffic, and many of the rickety old buildings are still standing, kind of defying all the gentrification going on all around it.

So, here’s the scene that takes place in Kensington Market when Gabe Zoller, one of the collector’s, goes into one of the shops, picking up the protection money for the week.

“You oughta be shamefaced, what you do to your

people.” The tiny man looked at him, wiping his

hands on the dirty apron stained with grime and poverty.

But wiping wasn’t doing much good. 1965: combat troops

setting foot in Vietnam, Watts going up in flames, dead

cosmonauts orbiting the Earth, and these people were living

on sawdust floors, no heat and no hot water.

“Think you’re my people, huh?” Gabe Zoller stepped out

of the sun and into the doorway, letting his eyes and nose

adjust to what lay inside — more a shack than a shop, not a

wall that looked like he couldn’t push a hand through it —

swatting at the bottle flies buzzing around on account of the

chickens and capons hanging in the front window. Its striped

awning supposed to keep the light off the poultry. Live ones

in crates clucking over by the chopping table, a tip of a cleaver

sunk in the stained wooden top. One of the birds flapped,

sending dust and feathers up into the thin stream of sunlight

coming past the door. Gabe thinking the smell of the place

belonged in a barn. More crates were lined and stacked out

front. This guy whose name Gabe didn’t remember, Kohn or

Kahn or something, calling Gabe his people.

Collecting for Ernie Zimm, same way he did at the beginning

of every month. This tiny man acting like he didn’t know

why Gabe was here, giving him the same hard-luck story about

mouths to feed, showing the height of his kids with his hands,

both children needing shoes. The guy’s “oy oy oy” supposed to

show the hardship. Three oys being a pretty bad week.

“We all got shit to schlep, man.”

“God knows you and sees what you do.” Kohn or Kahn

pointed a knotted finger.

“God, huh?” Gabe let his eyes go around the place, saying,

“You ask me, there’s only you and me and the chickens.” It

pissed him off, this guy bringing God into it, telling him

how it was. “Oughta take a hard look, and ask what God’s

done for you lately.” Be doing a favor if He threw fire and

brimstone down on this whole fucking ward. Burn it to the

ground, as far as Gabe was concerned. A front room used as

a store with a couple more rooms in back, one claptrap wall

holding up the next. Gabe guessing the wife and kids were

huddling back there, hearing through the thin walls, and

staying out of sight.

Into The Void

 

Terry here, answering the burning question that plagues new writers: How does a writer find an agent? 

     First, you need to decide if you need an agent. The answer is generally yes, if you can get one. But if you are publishing independently, then you probably don’t need an agent. (Discuss). If that's the case, read only through #3 below, because that's for everyone, even if you don't think you need an agent. 

     I’ve been writing for a long time, and I remember when getting an agent was easy. The hard part was for the agent to get a deal for you. That’s because publishers had acquiring editors who did all the hard work of vetting the manuscript. The agent’s job was to find something that sounded interesting and then turn it over to an editor who thought he or she could whip it into shape.

    When I got my first few agents, they didn’t offer any suggestions for changing my manuscript—they just started sending it out. Really all you had to do in those days was send them a decent manuscript and they’d snap it up. But as I said, getting a publisher was the hard part. And it took years before I found an agent who could do that. 

     Gradually things changed. Now agents are the first line of defense in vetting a manuscript. They won’t send the manuscript out to editors at publishing houses unless they’re pretty sure it will be accepted. And that means they read the manuscript with a critical eye and send notes, just like editors do. 

    So, that being the case, in order to interest an agent, you have to 

1) Have a fresh book, something that doesn’t sound like tired old tropes with protagonists we’ve read too many times. A book with a fresh voice and a fresh point of view.

2) Have it read by beta readers/critique groups to make sure it’s well-written. 

3) Make sure it’s free of typos and grammatical errors 

4) Be sure the agent you send it to represents the kind of book you’ve written. 

5) Write a dynamite query letter. 

6) Be prepared to hear a lot of “nos” before you hear a yes. 

7) Get the "right" agent.

     To do all those things, you have to do your homework. Writing a fresh, new book sounds wonderful in theory, but in practice it’s hard. Read widely in your sub-genre to learn what has already been done.

 This doesn’t mean you can’t use an old plot—there are only so many plots to go around. But it does mean you need to have a new slant on it. 

     Then, you need to find astute readers either to give you advice while the book is in progress or to give a critical review after you’ve polished it. You have to decide whether you’ll benefit most from a good writer’s group, beta readers, and/or professional editors. It’s also helpful to attend workshops, join a writer’s organization like Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and take advantage of the programs they offer. There are people willing to exchange manuscripts for critiques, who are willing to mentor new writers, and to be beta reads. Remember, “good enough” is not good enough. It has to be absolutely the best manuscript you can write.

    Once you think it’s as good as it can be, you’ll be ready to tackle #3, finding an agent who represents what you’ve written. Here are some ways to find them: 

1) If you’ve joined MWA or SINC, you can get advice from fellow-members. 

2) Consult Publishers’ Marketplace https://literary-agents.com/directory-literary-agents/publishers-marketplace/. It’s a comprehensive reference for literary agents. 

3) Look at the “Acknowledgements” from authors whose books you think are like yours. Authors frequently thank their agents by name. 

4) Talk to other authors. The mystery writing community is very generous! Writers are happy to share their war stories, about agents they think might work for you and those to steer clear of. 

    As for #4 under how to interest an agent by writing a good query, everyone knows writing a good query letter is almost as hard as writing the book!

I won’t go into the details here, because there are plenty of references, but my one piece of advice is to try to let your voice shine through in the query letter. A stiff, formal letter isn’t a deal-breaker, but a friendly voice gives you a leg up. 

    And one last thing, take note of what the agent you are querying asks an author to send with the letter. Some want only a query; others want a chapter, a synopsis, or both. Don’t fudge. Do as they ask. You are asking for their interest, and it’s best to play by their rules. Oh, yeah, and be sure you don’t send out an email blast! Make the letters individual. I know it’s tedious, but agents are people, too, and they won’t be excited to read: Dear Agent, I’ve got a great book…. 

     When you finally start sending out your queries, be prepared for a long, tedious process. I’ve heard people complain when they have sent out ten queries and didn’t get a yes. At ten, you’re just scratching the surface. Some agents take a long time to reply. Be aware that some agents will never reply. It’s a sad situation, but it’s reality. And of those who do reply, you'll hear a lot of nos.

 Good agents get hundreds of query letters, and they are swamped. It’s okay to write a “reminder” after a few months, but if there has been no interest shown, it’s probably a waste of time. But if an agent asks for chapters or the whole manuscript, it’s legitimate to inquire after a reasonable time. 

     When I wrote my first Samuel Craddock book, it took me 75 queries, and almost a year, before I found an agent. And then three agents replied all at the same time. Go figure! 

    And last, but certainly not least, if you get an offer of representation, be sure the agent is a good fit for you. Ask questions (Who else do you represent? How long have you been in the business? How do you communicate with your authors—by phone? By email?) There are lots of questions. These are only a sample. Don’t be afraid to ask those questions. It pegs you as a serious author. 

Good luck!

Agents, Agents Everywhere but Not a One to be Had...

 How does a writer find an agent? Give us your thoughts.

Brenda here.

I believe that I am entirely the wrong writer to answer this question, because while I've dabbled in seeking out an agent, I've only ever landed one, and she retired a year after signing me.

My books have mainly been published by small- to mid-size Canadian publishers. I discussed acquiring an agent with my first publisher, who became a mentor and friends. She suggested that I didn't need an agent since this would take up a percentage of my royalties and they were already publishing my work. I realize this also helped the publisher since nobody was negotiating contracts on my behalf, a significant reason to have an agent in one's corner.

I kept writing without an agent, but every so often, I'd write a query letter, research agents, and send out some feelers. Once in a while, I'd get a nibble, but nothing that ever turned into an offer to represent. I'd turn my attention to something else and stop my search, such as it was. While not having an agent didn't prevent me from being published, I often wish I had an agent/author relationship such as I hear about from other writers. It would be lovely to have someone in my court, pitching my work, and yes, negotiating those contracts. Some authors even thank their agents for reworking their manuscripts into bestsellers -- who wouldn't want that?

So, how does one go about finding an agent? I'm going to be very interested in what my fellow bloggers have to say about this as the week progresses. From my research, a lot appears to rest with having a dynamite query letter and a polished manuscript before querying. One's track record also comes into play. Perhaps you had a book published that didn't sell all that well. An agent will check out your past books and sales, and this could become a deciding factor.

Sometimes finding an agent appears to be a matter of luck. The agent doesn't have someone like you on their roster, or a spot just came free, or a strong wind blew away all the submissions except yours ... who honestly can say? Stories abound with authors who query 97 agents and get picked up by the 98th. And then, the agent has to try to place the author's manuscript, which can take a few more years to publication ... but I digress.

I've sat in on webinars (via Zoom) with agent panels, and have found myself impressed by more than one agent, but haven't ever approached any. This might be a place to start though. Another option would be to ask author friends to introduce you to their agent if you feel comfortable asking. Research is key though. Just as all people in (insert any profession) are not created equal, neither are all agents.

So, wrapping up my ambiguous answer to this agent question, keep checking back to the blog this week to see what words of wisdom and advice my fellow authors have to impart. I know I'll be reading each day with interest!

Website:  www.brendachapman.ca

Facebook, & Instagram: BrendaChapmanAuthor

Twitter: brendaAchapman

Tell the Fucking Truth, by Josh Stallings

Give us your writer’s manifesto.

Ok…

Fiction is the lie I use to tell the truth. 

This has been my motto since I started writing. I thought it was wise and therefore by discovering it I by extension must be wise. Then the internet came along with is damn fact checking. And I discovered this statement about truth has many variations and has been around a long time. 

In1923 Pablo Picasso said to a reporter, “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand.” That’s smart, I like that he includes that the artist can only pass on what they understand to be true. 

In 1926 Jean Cocteau wrote, “I am a lie that always tells the truth.” That’s also pretty good. There is plenty more evidence of the non-uniqueness of my motto but none that make it less true so I’m keeping it.

Before continuing I need to lay out some definition of what I mean when I say “truth.”

I am not concerned with the mathematically provable facts, they remain in the realm of non-fiction. I look for the amorphous feelings, the emotional historical ephemera. In that context “the truth” is personal and is fixed in a particular moment. As solid as it feels, it is also changeable. The longer I live the more I understand this. As a young man I was so sure that everything I felt was a fact. And they were, until they weren’t anymore.

I was afraid when I got sober it would kill my ability to write. For me, getting sober and staying sober is a lifetime practice of rigorous honesty. To be honest, means to continually be discovering what my truth is. When I was still drinking I wrote with a very judgy specter over my shoulder. I was afraid that if I let too much of myself slip on to the page the world would hate me. Villagers would gather pitchforks and that would be it. Part of getting sober was to write out every despicable thing I’d done — scary proposition— and then to read it to my sponsor. I was sure when I was done he would agree I was an incurable monster, and dump me. What he said was, “Sounds a lot like my story. You’ve got more guns, I’ve got more knives, but the feelings are the same.” That moment was the beginning of my journey to becoming a sober writer.

Truth is personal. Truth is changeable. Truth is the only reason to pick up a pen or keyboard.  

Question everything.

 

Certainty is wasted on youth. Wisdom is recognizing the ever growing sea of things I don’t know. My father saw the artist’s place in the village was to go out into the darkness, the realm of spirits and sprites and hunt for the unknown. He saw us as kindred to shamans. We go where others fear to and bring back artifacts, paintings, poems, stories.

For us to do this vital task, we need to stop letting Google and newspaper reporters do our research for us. Question what they say. You hear there’s a homeless problem and want to write about it? Then go out and meet some homeless people. Do it for real and you’ll discover there is no such thing as homeless people, there are just people with different levels of roof and wall security. Make new friends. 

“We don’t have a housing problem, we have a mental health problem.” I read that in a respected newspaper, has to be correct, right? Bullshit. Spend a week on the street and I guarantee you will be clinically mentally ill. The big masthead paper got the cause and effect backwards. Does it matter? Yes. If mental illness causes homelessness then we can blame the homeless for not getting help. If being unhoused causes mental illness then our capitalist free-market take everything pirate ship of an economy is to blame. 

Don’t base your work on other writer’s work. Even the best authors only give you their truth. We already have their books, we need yours. Think before you write. Talk to real humans. Recognize we all have agendas. Listen with an open mind and a cynical eye. Check on your own biases and privileges, particularly when writing about people that aren’t you.  

Question everything, and discover your truth in the matter, then write it. 

Live your life.

Socrates by way of Plato's Apology said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” 

I say, “the un-lived life isn’t worth examining.” Life is messy and can be scary but if you want to write about it, you need to get out and live it.

Be motherfucking fearless.

Write what scares you. Write honestly. Write too close to the bone. This is hard to remember when faced with selling your work. What I need to write may not be what the market wants, or it may be exactly what the market wants. The market isn’t a monolithic beast, it’s people. It is also irrelevant to what I need to write. I’m not taking a tough guy write only nihilistic noir stance. Sometimes an idea that scares me is comic or joyous. In this cynical world the bravest move can be to write sincere hopeful truth. 

Do what scares you. Let your pounding pulse be your guide. Life is too short to spend a minute writing things that don’t matter to you.

*** 

After thought: I realize I don’t really know what a manifesto is. I was going to title this piece “Requiem for a Unabomber” because that was the only manifesto I could think of. I know what the dictionary calls a manifesto, but I keep seeing it as a notebook scribbled in blood and madness. If you have a favorite manifesto, drop me a note, I’m always game to learn.  

Happy Birthday! by Catriona

I'm going off piste today, ignoring the question and choosing instead to say a slightly belated happy birthday to a dear old friend. The NHS, Britain's health service, was 75 yesterday.

Now, it's not as strange as it might seem for me to be celebrating a government welfare programme. For one thing, I'm a raging pinko (like that's breaking news). Also five of my family are or were NHS medical professionals. Not to mention the fact that the NHS - in the form of the doctor's surgery and pharmaceutical dispensary five minutes down the road - make it a lot less scary to live seven thousand miles from my parents as they head for ninety. 

(Recently one of them woke up not feeling well, phoned the doc at 8am, opened the door for his home visit at 9.30, and got their free prescription for a wonder drug, which one of the practice nurses delivered on her coffee break since it was raining. Just saying. (And if anyone in . . .  oh, let's say the US . . . wants to argue that this is paid for by high taxes - Call for the smelling salts! - here are some facts: a worker's contribution to the NHS is a smaller percentage of their income than the corresponding contribution to Medicare, Medicaid and OSHA. (And then there's your health insurance. And then you pay the doctor.)))

Give me a minute to climb down off my soap box.

Where were we? Oh yeah. But most of all, I'm celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NHS because I wrote a novel IN PLACE OF FEAR, that's set at its birth. The 5th of July 1948, sees my heroine, Helen Crowther, shaking in her boots as she prepares to go to her first day at her new job, working as an almoner for the NHS.

An almoner - or medical welfare officer (eventually medical social worker) - was a great job to write for a lazy researcher like me. There was a lot of mother-and-baby groups and as well as bonkers contraception, stringent hygiene practices (also slightly bonkers), WWII-inflected nutrition advice (Who needs oranges when we've got rosehips?) and endless new wheelchairs, dentures and spectacles as far as the eye could see. BUT - crucially - no actual medical stuff to make myself learn and then get wrong anyway.

And if there's a more entertaining / toe-curling scene to be written (also, fingers crossed, read) than a shy-ish working-class girl having to talk to a strait-laced young man about fertility issues in 1948, I've never written it.

It was also one of my less torturous title-finding exercises, this book. I called it THE UPSTART, but that didn't say "crime". So then I floated FROM THE CRADLE, which is the first half of the original NHS motto: From the cradle to the grave. But that was too similar to another recent book. So I tried TO THE GRAVE, but that would have been my third recent grave-based title. I idly checked out IN PLACE OF FEAR, on Amazon. And couldn't believe it had never been used for a crime novel.  It was sitting right there, waiting: the very title of Aneurin Bevan's (father of the NHS) monograph on the welfare state, published in 1952. Whoopeee! 

Which of these is more important? The one on the left. Which of these is a better read? I couldn't possibly comment.  But, as IN PLACE OF FEAR comes out in paperback, and I immerse myself in planning the second of Helen's Edinburgh adventures - in which a man dies of unknown causes in the Fountainbridge public baths - I can't put my sentiments about the NHS any better than I set them out in the acknowledgements two years ago:  

    "Last but immensely not least I would like to thank the National Health Service: cleaners, porters,        orderlies, auxiliaries, therapists, administrators, technicians, paramedics, nurses, doctors, volunteers,     and of course medical social workers. I dreamed this book up in 2019. I wrote it in 2020. Getting to        compose a love-letter to the NHS was one of the few bright bits in that dreadful year."

Since it's not just a paperback launch (but also an anniversary) and I'm right here in the UK, I'm having an event. I'll be at one of my favourite independent bookshops - Atkinson Pryce in Biggar - on the evening of the 10th of August saying three cheers for the NHS and gaun yersel, Helen.  Details here

AP didn't redecorate for the book but look at what a happy accident their livery and my jacket are:

 Cx

No,no,no...yes! by Cathy Ace

Give us your writer’s manifesto.

Easy: I don’t have one. (At least, I didn’t have one until I wrote this blog post! Be sure to read to the end…)

In 1999, with Mum and Dad, when I was made a 
Freeman of the City of London, 
in recognition of my services to marketing

Why? My pre-fiction-writing background is in management and marketing, where my life was full of helping clients craft their corporate mission statements, so I now absolutely avoid anything of the sort.

Again, why? I found that most mission statements were developed to appease various stakeholders and then became an albatross (which is possibly unfair to albatrosses)…so, no, not for me.

Thus, I’m going to answer this question instead: why do I write, and what do I hope to gain and give by it? (Which is exactly what a manifesto is, but if I don’t call it that it doesn’t count, right?)

The simple truth is that I love to tell stories: throughout the non-academic part of my pre-fiction-writing life I told stories that were crafted in such a way that they, essentially, helped non marketing managers to become marketing managers; then, during the academic portion of my life I told stories to university students to help them prepare for the world of marketing and communications when they left the comforting confines of academia; now I tell stories to entertain those who enjoy a bit of murder and mystery when they’re relaxing. And…because I love to tell stories – I write stories; no longer do I write textbooks for managers or students, now I write novels for “readers like me”.

Thus, I gain the satisfaction of being able to spin a yarn to entangle then release my readers, which is the best feeling in the world…so it’s both a get and a give for me, simultaneously, and I currently apply that to two series of books.

If I were advising myself, as a client, I would suggest this:

“Cathy Ace is an author who seeks to create relatable characters and spin yarns to entangle, entertain, and satisfy readers who enjoy a puzzling murder mystery that’s thought-provoking and has depth, but not too much grit.”

Rats! I ended up with a manifesto after all.

PS: if you fancy reading a book by the author with the abovementioned manifesto, check out her website for full details of all her books: https://www.cathyace.com/ 

COMING ON 24th JULY

Wild Horses by Gabriel Valjan

 

Q: Give us your writing manifesto.

 

The idea of declaring a manifesto brings to mind the image of some huckster in a public square politicking, kissing babies, and glad-handling the constituency for a vote on Election Day. Writing is a such a solitary act, the odds of recognition slim, and the tastes of the reading public fickle as to induce despair. Too much time alone, the self-talk can invite delusions of grandeur and self-importance. I’m a bit of a curmudgeon so I’m quick to restore humility and perspective.

I write for the joy and pleasure that writing brings to me. I hold no illusions about my importance in the great scheme and swell that we call the universe and humanity. Writing is a choice, my choice, and I decided upon certain principles that guide the creative act. I do my best to adhere to Keep It Simple, Stupid method.

One could argue that writing is a series of ethical decisions, in the choices of this word to that one, or to inhabit this genre instead of that one. The same could be said about profanity, sex, and violence within story on the page. I throw all of this to the roadside because I am an entertainer, first and foremost. That said, the KISS Method is simple, and it isn’t.

I don’t see myself as an intellectual, as in my ideas will not ignite a fire in this world, but the worlds I have created are warmed by the fires of friendships, of a close group of friends, bound by love and trust, who navigate difficult and dangerous circumstances.

Therefore, if pressed to voice my beliefs, I hereby declare these tenets:

RESPECT YOUR READER.

They are intelligent individuals who have decided to spend precious time and money with you. Give them value, respect and gratitude. Stay until the last book is signed.

IF YOU WRITE DARK, OFFER LIGHT.

I maintain it takes less imagination to write dark and depressing fiction. I don’t read to arrive at the last page feeling more cynical about humanity. No one individual is all good or all bad, so show a glimmer of hope, light, and decency.

IF YOU OFFER THE GOOD, SHOW THE GRAY.

This is a subtle variation on the previous statement. Seldom is anything in life gift-wrapped with a cutesy bow. Ambiguity is the norm. Dichotomous thinking—the Either/Or mindset—is what makes people dangerous in real life, and marks the writer as unrealistic and playing it safe.

DON’T PLAY IT SAFE.

This is the ethical decision that separates good writers from great writers. The good writer knows the expectations of genres, and woe to the writer who ignores them because they are the rules of the road. Hone your craft. The great writer isn’t afraid to violate conventions, take chances, and…this is very important…risk offending readers. I’m not advocating to shock readers for its own sake, but to provoke them to think deeper on volatile issues.

People are complex and three-dimensional. They likely began cute and cuddly and vulnerable as babies, but this thing we call Life plus their choices created the saint or sinner.

Awful people do good things, and good people do terrible things.

The 1970s in my Shane Cleary series was not the “good old days.” In fiction that is true to life (and don’t call it nonfiction because that genre is dependent on historical facts), I write characters who are killers, who are prejudiced, holding beliefs that are offensive to some or most, but they are authentic. It’s called authenticity, integrity, and fidelity to person, time, and place.

Remember Puck’s closing speech? ‘If we shadows have offended.’

If I wrote something and it has offended, it may not have been my intention, BUT what I wrote was necessary for the scene, the plot, or character arc.

HAVE FUN.

I’m impatient with the lamentations about how hard writing is. Living is harder than dying. If writing isn’t fun, then stop. Don’t torment others with your complaints. Direct your energy elsewhere. We are all food for worms, so help, uplift, and do what you can to make Life bearable for yourself and those around you.

DON’T TAKE YOURSELF SERIOUSLY.

There’ll always be someone better at writing than you.

This or That is in vogue. You can’t control any of it. Write what you want.

Entertain. Tell a story, and do it your way (Sinatra song not intended).

OWN WHAT YOU DO AND GET BETTER WITH TIME.

I’m harder on myself than any critic will ever be because I know the cost, in terms of blood and sweat per sentence. Resolve to be better tomorrow. Whether your work is a winner or a loser (hat tip to Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb), they’re your horses.

Thinking about why I do what I do

 Q: Give us your writing manifesto.

 

-from Susan

 

“Manifesto: a public declaration of policy and aims.”

 

 

(Who asks a question like that?) For writers, I guess it means what we’re committed to in our work and how we aim to achieve it? In an effort not to sound pompous or self-aggrandizing, I guess what I want is to put on paper the kinds of stories about people that show them in three dimensions, often under stress. 

 

We are all so complex, a mix of high and less high ideals, strong and weak in our ability to face life, variable in our ability to love or to hate. We are sometimes tragic, other times funny, albeit usually unintentionally. I try hard to build characters readers will feel they’ve met, some that they will love as I do, others that I hope I lead them to see in the harsh light they earn in my stories. One of my chief habits is to observe real people, then take small and large parts of them and transform them into fictional beings, not unlike the writer at the heart of MISS BUNKLE’S BOOK, by DE Stevenson, 1934 (Persephone Books) * huge shout out to Catriona, who gave the book to me and turned me on to Persephone.

 

I’m committed to keep learning so I can write books that I’m proud of, taking my readers seriously, hoping to entertain and reward them. I’m committed to creating plots that don’t insult people’s intelligence, don’t rely on tired tropes, and maybe include a bit of information about places, people, history, cultures that might surprise them. Selfishly, I’m committed to writing books I hope will sell, even if only enough to pay for my writing and promotion costs and a bit of bread and moldy cheese.

I aim to surprise and delight, to write well enough to pull readers into the environments I’ve tried to bring to life, and to leave them wanting more. 

 

That’s a lot, and even having the opportunity to try - I have six published books so far and a new one in process, all since I quit my day job and began this thing in earnest - has been a thrilling ride.

 

 

P.S. Re-release of the 3-book Dani O’Rourke series is coming out later this summer. Great new covers (cover release soon) that I hope will attract new crime fiction fans. People haven’t been able to get them recently and I’ve thought about writing a fourth one for the readers who’ve asked. That’s fun when you liked the characters you created so much you want to go back and find out what they’ve been up to!