Things to Ask When Choosing An Agent

• Does the agent charge a standard 15% commission for domestic sales?
• Are there any hidden charges and fees?
• Does the contract protect both you and their interests?
• Will the agent send your manuscript to more than one publisher at a time?
• Is the agent a member of the  Association of Agents Representatives (AAR)?
• Are they familiar with and skilled at the auction process?
• Will they send you copies of all rejection letters?
• Do they have a huge client list? Will you get lost in the crowd?
• What is their track record? Have they sold books to established publishers?

10 Things to Ask About My Story

1. Do I have the right narrator?
2. Is there inner monologue? Too much? Too little? Is it in character?
3. Oh my world, where did all these characters come from? Do I have too many or too few minor characters?
4. What might add more texture?  Allusions? Metaphors?
5. What is my character's motivation? Is it enough?
6. Is my dialogue dead? How can it be made more lively?
7. Do I include enough trivia information?
8. Is this scene wrong? Does it reveal things about my character? Does it advance my plot? What, if anything, does it say about my theme?
9. Does it need a new beginning?
10. Will letters or lyrics add interest?

Chris

I have mentioned that I am writing a novel for young adults. This morning, I thought that I would take a moment to introduce the novel’s main character.

Chris is a nine year old orphan living on the streets of Afghanistan. This is no ordinary orphan. She is an American citizen. Oh, and obviously, she is female pretending to be a boy.. During the last three years since her mother was murdered, Chris has been developing the skills to survive in Afghanistan. Her mentor, Benyamin  - a Mossad agent- has helped hone her language and fighting skills. However, one day, Chris has to choose whether to risk her safety to rescue an American male being held hostage or to maintain her anonymity. No matter what she decides life as she knows it will change.

Writing Emotions

Excitement radiates from me when I discuss my newest writing project. Chris, the main character, tells me her story as I dream. I never envisioned myself writing fiction, especially not a novel.

I hesitated to share my work in progress with anyone. Would they laugh at my feeble attempts? Was it a good idea poorly executed?

I cautiously began to share Chris’s story, the adventures of an orphaned nine year girl living on the streets of Afghanistan. It could have been the tale of any street child except this exceptionable girl is an American citizen.

Soon, I had a rough draft other’s showed interest in. My largest test was to send it to my father. He has always been honest about my writing efforts. If he thought it showed any promise, I would polish the story. Trembling hands sealed that first draft in an envelope and placed it in the post.

Somewhere along this path of self-discovery, my dream became a reality. People were interested in publishing Chris’s Story. But they wanted it re-written for a younger audience.

Fear and self-doubt surfaced. I have never written for children or young adults, Not only did they change the age of my audience, but they would like to explore a Hi-Lo options. High interest – Low Reading sounds like a specialized area. How do I approach this new audience?

Despite fear, self-doubt, and caution, it is excitement that constantly accompanies my thoughts and words about Chris.

The Challenge

Can I take a novel written for adults and rewrite it for Young Adults? My response: Sure! Why not? Then I asked the important question …What does Young Adult mean? Hey, I am nothing if not daring.

Then came the challenge…Could I take that same novel and write it for both Young Adults and a Hi-Lo audience? Here, I wised up. Completely bewildered, I had to ask what a Hi-Lo book was.

Hi-Lo books are high interest – low reading level books. Basically, stories written to encourage the struggling or reluctant reader to read. In other words, age appropriate material written at a lower reading level.

It is an interesting challenge. I can’t say that I out right accepted. But, rather, I would see what I could do.

My younger nephew is a reluctant reader. For him, it isn’t a matter of reading ability. He just prefers to be active.  My mission in life has been to get him to enjoy reading. Buying him a Kindle began him on this path. He reads more now, but still has a long way to go.

He is my inspiration for attempting this challenge. Just maybe, if I am really lucky, I could write a book he falls in love with.

Hard Choices

I sit here debating which of three poems best conveys my message. 

The first was an assignment on the Color of Nature.  It had to be a rhyming poem. I quickly set out to meet the given criteria.  The resulting poem is light and pretty. While it softly addresses my message that being kind is not always easy, verses lack emotion.

My second attempt goes into more depth. I abandoned the assignment and strayed from end rhymes. It better conveys my message. But, it lacks a poetic feel.

Edgier was my third attempt. It is not pretty. Rather, it expresses more raw emotion. This poem lacks extra words, maybe even important connecting words. It is grittier than the other two.

Three poems with the same message. Interestingly, the concept got riskier with each attempt. But, as I stand before a microphone, which will I be most confident reading? I didn’t know, so I asked others.

Four people consulted. The results…a tie. Two people think the softer poem is the best of the three. It is definitely the most traditional. The other two prefer the edge of the last poem.

One person explained. She, a senior citizen, thought the first poem was the prettiest. However, it was the raw emotion of the third that drew her interest. It best revealed the poet.

I have gathered all three poems. It will be interesting to see which one I am brave enough to read this evening. Do I go with safe or expose myself to the audience?

Oh, just an interesting side note: the youngest and the oldest (both females) of my four people preferred the edgier piece. The two middle aged males liked the softer rhyming piece. My risk taker thought the rhyming piece was best. Although he never said it was good, just better than the others.

Opps...crazy lady

Today, I got stuck writing. Often, when frustration hits, I decide to take a walk. Since it was close to lunch time, I decided to make the mile hike down Main St. to a local diner. My New Year resolutions include being more productive and procrastinating less. In an effort to stay on task, I grabbed my voice recorder and headed out the door.

About half way to the diner, I was deep into fixing my problem. Talking out a particularly daunting (for me) piece of dialog, my hands were waving wilding. I looked up and saw a nicely dressed mother approaching with her two young children. Her son, about 3, was pointing at me.
In a flash, the mother grabbed the kids' hands and crossed the street. Now, my town has a really nice Main Street. It is divided with a beautifully landscaped grassy mall down the middle. This mall is wide enough to sport memorials to various war vets and a winding walk way. Anyway, this young woman crossed not to the winding path down the mall, but rather she crossed to the far side of the road. Then she proceeded to walk to the end of the block, well past me, before returning back to my side of the street. I only noticed this because I stopped to talk to a local police officer signed up for next week's CPR class.

As we talked I pointed out the lady's actions. The officer smiled as he shook his head. Suddenly, I stopped to think about how I must have looked...mumbling to myself, carrying on a conversation with invisible people, and talking with my hands. Yep, crazy women. Yikes, all of sudden I could not remember if I had combed my hair before I left the house. My final shock was when I realized in my haste to dash out the door, I had put on one hot pink Converse hightop and one orange one.

I think it is official...I am the new town crazy.