tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post7749036051096174954..comments2024-03-26T18:28:06.391-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 970Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-11847536404592654992011-11-19T12:48:46.420-05:002011-11-19T12:48:46.420-05:00Author,
I LOVE the idea of a princess reading boo...Author, <br />I LOVE the idea of a princess reading books to a dragon. Fabulous mental image. I would read this book just for that.PLaFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-76067989873665279222011-11-19T10:56:55.511-05:002011-11-19T10:56:55.511-05:00The Author already replied, but I can't help b...The Author already replied, but I can't help but chime in that the idea of "giving too much away" in a query letter is silly. It's a sales pitch. Writing about the basic set-up and deliberately withholding details is like putting an ad up to the effect of: "I'm selling my chair. It's brown and has four legs." Actually, it's an antique passed down by my great-grandmother from Germany and has intricate ornamentation worth thousands, but I don't to <i>give that away</i>. It's a surprise for when someone asks to see it!Tamara Marnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10684310618617404985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-75931159891864060252011-11-19T10:36:23.186-05:002011-11-19T10:36:23.186-05:00The editor is the one who considers buying a story...The editor is the one who considers buying a story.<br /><br />An agent considers selling it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-39538339801789632212011-11-19T04:56:41.739-05:002011-11-19T04:56:41.739-05:00I'm guessing this is a fun story that could do...I'm guessing this is a fun story that could do well once the author gets the query knocked.<br /><br />There's a slight tendency to repetition in the query that needs to be knocked on the head. You only have so many words so use them wisely.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-25404265024248563262011-11-19T00:24:20.302-05:002011-11-19T00:24:20.302-05:00Yes, you do have to give some stuff away, or the a...Yes, you do have to give some stuff away, or the agent will think this is your whole story. Don't be afraid of giving anything away in a query letter. The agent isn't a reader who doesn't want any spoilers. He or she is a bussiness person who wants to know about the product they are considering buying.<br /><br />Your query letter is like the label of a food product. If the label doesn't contain all the ingredients, I'll be suspicious of the product. And, of course, the label should make the product seem interesting and make it stand out from the other products.St0n3hengehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08504412781917592790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-28147040450991533382011-11-18T18:07:47.472-05:002011-11-18T18:07:47.472-05:00I'm looking forward to the rewrite, for what i...I'm looking forward to the rewrite, for what it's worth, Author.150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-90879686654128549382011-11-18T16:25:45.436-05:002011-11-18T16:25:45.436-05:00I dunno. There's something appealing about the...I dunno. There's something appealing about the girl watching gallant young men riding to her rescue, only to be eaten by the dragon. I see her at the window, forlorn, and when the latest would-be rescuer falls, sighing and making another tally mark on the dragon's scoreboard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-46614882640327422912011-11-18T15:04:26.610-05:002011-11-18T15:04:26.610-05:00Dear Author, I do think you want to tell a publish...Dear Author, I do think you want to tell a publisher or an agent what the plot is. <br /><br />You wrote a query to sell one-third of your book. <br /><br />This is where the query needs to start:<br /><br />Princess S., locked in a tower for 12 years and after witnessing umpteen failed rescue attempts, puts her big girl panties on and takes matters into her own hands. <br /><br />She escapes by:<br /><br />She recaptures her kingdom by: finds her lost mother by:<br />and un-bewitches her father by:vkwnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-27321994680254309382011-11-18T13:59:49.351-05:002011-11-18T13:59:49.351-05:00Every now and then people show up at writers' ...Every now and then people show up at writers' groups etc with anti-plot stories, which what this appears to be. They are rebelling against the idea that things, big things, must happen in order to make the story a hit. <br /><br />Rent yourself a copy of the movie ADAPTATION, a movie about a man failing in his quest to write a movie about swamp flowers. Mostly he lounges around talking to himself and imaging stuff, like your passive Princess. But in then in Act 3 he blunders into the bad-guy secrets of the secondary characters and must cope with illicit sex drugs car chases gunfights and murder. Also, a man-eating alligator.<br /><br />As described here, you're still at the place where McKee tells Kaufman: that's not a movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-58498059879754672011-11-18T13:31:57.949-05:002011-11-18T13:31:57.949-05:00Thanks for the help, Evil Editor. She does get out...Thanks for the help, Evil Editor. She does get out and a good section of the book is her escaping and taking back the kingdom. I just didn't want to give too much away but I see now that it's definitely better to give something away rather than implying there's no plot or she's completely helpless and just sitting there. Thanks for the advice!Authornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-58399242784385208992011-11-18T11:29:39.499-05:002011-11-18T11:29:39.499-05:00Oh nooo, haha. Is there plot? Characters taking ac...Oh nooo, haha. Is there plot? Characters taking action to resolve external and internal conflict? As described, this is a kid laying on her stomach in bed writing in a diary, for 75,000 words.150noreply@blogger.com