tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post115280570147003871..comments2024-03-26T18:28:06.391-04:00Comments on Evil Editor: Face-Lift 115Evil Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152905506668575312006-07-14T15:31:00.000-04:002006-07-14T15:31:00.000-04:00'Ariel Microscopic'!EE, you are wicked!'Ariel Microscopic'!<BR/><BR/>EE, you are wicked!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152899008908800182006-07-14T13:43:00.000-04:002006-07-14T13:43:00.000-04:00All of them on one page? Really??What size paper?I...<I>All of them on one page? Really??<BR/><BR/>What size paper?</I><BR/><BR/>It's not the paper, it's the font: Ariel Microscopic.Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152881006389179082006-07-14T08:43:00.000-04:002006-07-14T08:43:00.000-04:00Hmm... I can imagine each one can fit on one page,...Hmm... I can imagine each one can fit on one page, but <I>all</I> of them on one page? Really??<BR/><BR/>What size paper?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152885128802025052006-07-14T09:52:00.000-04:002006-07-14T09:52:00.000-04:00Fellow Portal Fan: Tell me you wrote this up? 'Cau...Fellow Portal Fan: <I>Tell me you wrote this up? 'Cause I would read it.</I><BR/><BR/>While we're waiting for Martha (and cat) to finish their book...<BR/><BR/>Have you read the Jack Chalker series that starts with "Midnight at the Well of Souls"? It's got lots of portals, with portal police to process all the new arrivals.<BR/><BR/>Farmer's "World of Tiers" series is also loaded with portals, but new arrivals are pretty much left to sink-or-swim...Mazementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582737613375371386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152881101776115342006-07-14T08:45:00.000-04:002006-07-14T08:45:00.000-04:00re: Fellow Portal Fan said...*looks embarrassed* Y...re: Fellow Portal Fan said...<BR/><BR/>*looks embarrassed* Yeah, actually Avenshark and the Shepherds are one of the 'verses I'm trying to hammer something publishable out of. Sadly, I don't think the Evil Editor takes short story queries, so until I have enough to make a book out of, I don't think it will be turning up here anytime soon. ^_^;; <-(sheepish look) ((baa!))<BR/><BR/>But I may try to NaNoWriMo it this year, so you never know. ^_^Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152860934071566112006-07-14T03:08:00.000-04:002006-07-14T03:08:00.000-04:00Foolish of me to question the Evil Editor without ...Foolish of me to question the Evil Editor without actually having carefully checked the facts! But that's why I'm just a minion. :D<BR/><BR/>Now I know what I need to do. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152855964279207562006-07-14T01:46:00.000-04:002006-07-14T01:46:00.000-04:00Yet every query letter I see goes on for two or th...<I>Yet every query letter I see goes on for two or three pages (even the ones EE rewrites).</I><BR/><BR/>Evil Editor always makes a copy of the revised queries in Times New Roman, 1-inch margins. They've ALL fit on one page. You must be double spacing.Evil Editorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03879826770199639420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152855044453260542006-07-14T01:30:00.000-04:002006-07-14T01:30:00.000-04:00Thanks for your comments, gang. I know portals are...Thanks for your comments, gang. I know portals are cliched, but they're also classic. And I wanted to write a classic epic-sized adventure.<BR/><BR/>My role-model is Dave Duncan: if you've read his stuff, you've seen how an author can take the most hackneyed plots and premises and breath amazing fresh air into them. Color me ambitious, if nothing else...<BR/><BR/>For instance, my engineer hero immediately becomes a priest. I'd like to think that makes for an interesting juxtaposition. I should probably mention it in the blurb, shouldn't I. I can see that my blurb has been shortened to the point of unintelligibility.<BR/><BR/>Every guideline I have seen swears your query letter should be one page; your blurb should be three sentences. Yet every query letter I see goes on for two or three pages (even the ones EE rewrites). I was hoping EE would lay down the law and tell me just how many words are allowed.<BR/><BR/>200K words has been mentioned by a number of people as a problem (not yet by any agents/publishers, just by mortal people). I thought the length would be an asset for the Fantasy genre. I've seen plenty of 700 page paperbacks in Fantasy.<BR/><BR/>Do you think it would help if I mentioned in my query that I could make the book a 2-parter?<BR/><BR/>In any case, I thought that after "Wheel of Time," publishers would salivate over a 600,000 word trilogy. However they wound up printing it.<BR/><BR/>Some specific answers:<BR/><BR/>[u]Eating the Young:[/u] Not all of the young. That would be silly. Just half of them.<BR/><BR/>[u]Starting at the Bottom:[/u] The hero starts out as a beggar, dressed in rags, and armed with a stick. It's not even a pointy stick.<BR/><BR/>[u]The Title:[/u] Correct me if I'm wrong, but Conscription/Revolution/Liberation just sucks compared to Priest/Prophet/Patriarch. <BR/><BR/>[u]World of Prime Rib:[/u] I called it "World of Prime" for branding reasons, but I suppose that can wait until a tad bit later in the publishing process.<BR/><BR/>[u]Really Long Rambling:[/u] That line is just a placeholder for where I say, "This is why I approached your agency/house." I'll change it for each target.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152853698079656102006-07-14T01:08:00.000-04:002006-07-14T01:08:00.000-04:00390 BC Gauls sack Rome. Hmm. Someone's been Googl...390 BC Gauls sack Rome. Hmm. Someone's been Googling...ssashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527483283426518167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152853096769700562006-07-14T00:58:00.000-04:002006-07-14T00:58:00.000-04:00The kingdom had formed a police force that does no...<I>The kingdom had formed a police force that does nothing but round up the 'arrivals' and teach them how to fit into normal society.</I><BR/><BR/>Tell me you wrote this up? 'Cause I would read it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152848551619885992006-07-13T23:42:00.000-04:002006-07-13T23:42:00.000-04:00Did you just describe George Clooney as a god? Hav...Did you just describe George Clooney as a god? Have you caught the feared snarkitis?Sponge Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16611765425641311798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152845104067555902006-07-13T22:45:00.000-04:002006-07-13T22:45:00.000-04:00*grins* I love portals! ^_^ Back in junior high I...*grins* I love portals! ^_^ Back in junior high I actually created a world where random portals are the everyday norm. The kingdom had formed a police force that does nothing but round up the 'arrivals' and teach them how to fit into normal society.<BR/><BR/>One portal? Pshaw! ^_~<BR/><BR/>Still, I'm an addict of the 'normal people fall through portals' genre, so I pick those up regardless. It has to have <I>really</I> horrid cover-blurb before I put it back on the shelf. This one would have hooked me just over the curiosity factor in ‘trade kids for magic.’Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152837490670402362006-07-13T20:38:00.000-04:002006-07-13T20:38:00.000-04:00MY NAME IS NOT 'caastril'!!!!!Best not anger me, o...MY NAME IS NOT 'caastril'!!!!!<BR/><BR/>Best not anger me, or I'll... I'll... write a love poem, or something!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152832658400778592006-07-13T19:17:00.000-04:002006-07-13T19:17:00.000-04:00"Wow, my word verification has outdone it self wit...<I>"Wow, my word verification has outdone it self with 'caastril'. Sounds like a cure for that constipation, doesn't it."</I><BR/><BR/>I think we've just found the name of the brutal eunuch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152833784019331312006-07-13T19:36:00.000-04:002006-07-13T19:36:00.000-04:00I don't have a problem with magical portals, per s...I don't have a problem with magical portals, per se, but they are used so frequently that they don't work as the primary hook of a piece. Perhaps the portal in this book is not intended as such, but since the query lacked specificity (possibly because the author was planning to attach a synopsis, as EE said) the portal, by being specifically mentioned, takes on added significance and feels like it is filling that role.<BR/><BR/>So keep the portal, but add something unique to hook the reader.Lightsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00396366702192330680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152833306505892102006-07-13T19:28:00.000-04:002006-07-13T19:28:00.000-04:00Interesting concept, but the length...Suggestion 1...Interesting concept, but the length...<BR/><BR/>Suggestion 1: Cut it down to 120K words. This is the upper limit for most publishers, and they will toss it aside with that length.<BR/><BR/>Suggestion 2: Cut it up into 2 or more and rewrite each section into a novel. With the length that you have, this could be a trilogy easily. It's also emotionally easier to add than it is to subtract.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152831159532316562006-07-13T18:52:00.000-04:002006-07-13T18:52:00.000-04:00I read "Cloud Atlas" not long ago so I was hoping ...I read "Cloud Atlas" not long ago so I was hoping the book would have all six plots written as interlocking short stories. Oh, well.<BR/><BR/>I like the title "Expatriate" better than "World of Prime", and I think the progression "Conscript, Priest, Patriarch" works better than "Priest, Prophet, Patriarch". If you're accidentally transported to an alternate universe then you should have to start at the bottom.<BR/><BR/><I>Traveling through a portal into a magical dimension has been done many times before.</I><BR/><BR/>The problem is that fantasy worlds are all different so you need a lot of exposition. There are really only three ways to do it:<BR/><BR/>1) Main character arrived through a magic portal and needs to have everything explained to him.<BR/>2) Main character is a farmboy from out in the middle of nowhere and needs to have everything explained to him.<BR/>3) It's narrated by a storytelling voice who periodically drops in large chunks of exposition.<BR/><BR/>Just about everybody uses either 1 or 2, because 3 is so hard to pull off. Terry Pratchett gets a gold star for putting the chunks of exposition in humorous footnotes.Mazementhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05582737613375371386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152829355505383492006-07-13T18:22:00.000-04:002006-07-13T18:22:00.000-04:00200,000 words! So, are you submitting one book or...200,000 words! <BR/>So, are you submitting one book or three?<BR/><BR/>In order to get rid of the phrase, "magic and adventure," you might describe the plainer circumstances in which he lives, in order to contrast it to where he's going. <BR/><BR/>And why does he 'unwittingly' go through a portal? Does this mean it was all an accident? What would happen if it was his choice to go? Would this add more heft to his character, rather than having the hapless absent-minded engineer? In other words, what compells him to go, and what makes him want to go back to his wife? <BR/><BR/>I'd dispose of the pat term, "world of magic and adventure." Try to tell me what's in that world, what makes it fascinating, and I think there must be something at stake in this world that will afffect him back in his 'real world,' other than just wanting to get home to the wife, kids, and a membership at Costco.<BR/><BR/>I'm a little leery when it comes to monsters. Are the monsters sinister? In what ways do they challenge your protagonist, and what sort of science does he have to use? (Science is so broad --it could be anything from geology to nuclear physics.<BR/><BR/>Good luck!Kananihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08317494343177263398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152826802346470982006-07-13T17:40:00.000-04:002006-07-13T17:40:00.000-04:00The premise of the book sounds generic to me. Trav...The premise of the book sounds generic to me. Traveling through a portal into a magical dimension has been done many times before. The book needs a fresh angle.<BR/><BR/>Interestingly, several of the fake plots feel more specific than the actual query, despite being only one or two sentences long.Lightsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00396366702192330680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152822325230830912006-07-13T16:25:00.000-04:002006-07-13T16:25:00.000-04:00200k? Holy crap, I thought I was pushing it with 1...200k? Holy crap, I thought I was pushing it with 150k! Of course, I have <I>no</I> credits, so, um...<BR/><BR/>I read the guess the plots and when I came to the portal one, I thought, nooo, it can't be <I>that</I> one, cause I've been reading on various agent blogs and elsewhere that portals are as dead as dwarfs. I've also read that elves and orcs and goblins and dragons and wizards and prophecies are stale, stale, stale. <BR/><BR/>But then I went and read tons of sample chapters of recently published stuff, and a lot of it is the same old same-old. Phew! Cause yanno, I have elf- and orc-like beings in my WIP, and a bit about dragons. (No portals, tho.)<BR/><BR/>Good luck! If this gets picked up, let us know. It warms my heart that the BFF is truly not dead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152817001436462872006-07-13T14:56:00.000-04:002006-07-13T14:56:00.000-04:00Author, 'really long fantasy novels you publish' m...Author, 'really long fantasy novels you publish' may not ring the right bell with the editor. It's like 'in the tradition of your rambling, I will ramble back to you'. You might wanna skip that line, or redo it.<BR/><BR/>Of course, what do I know, I'm just a plant... Wow, my word verification has outdone it self with 'caastril'. Sounds like a cure for that constipation, doesn't it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152815055816904932006-07-13T14:24:00.000-04:002006-07-13T14:24:00.000-04:00I thought, it was 'Expatriate 1: Constipation'. S...I thought, it was 'Expatriate 1: Constipation'. Sorry. Oh, and the Rome plot rocks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152813906280272712006-07-13T14:05:00.000-04:002006-07-13T14:05:00.000-04:00...Whatever happened to Expatriate: Conscription?...Whatever happened to Expatriate: Conscription?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152813105308117122006-07-13T13:51:00.000-04:002006-07-13T13:51:00.000-04:00The answer to EE's secind question is yes. -JTC20...The answer to EE's secind question is yes. -JTC<BR/><BR/>200,000 words?!?!?!?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26791026.post-1152809411853452852006-07-13T12:50:00.000-04:002006-07-13T12:50:00.000-04:00I don't understand the part about trading the live...I don't understand the part about trading the lives of the young for power. All of the young? What happens when everyone now alive dies and there are no more people because all the young have been killed?Staciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07969399927758009095noreply@blogger.com