The Importance of Facts, Even In Fiction

I'm a discerning reader, possibly to a fault. A factual slip can throw me out of a story and anything set in the country (or God forbid, on a farm) damn well better have been researched or I'm going to skewer it. In private, of course, but it will be skewered.

I researched for 18 months before writing A MADNESS SO DISCREET. I like to tell people I know so much about lobotomies I could perform one (I don't add that it's not a terribly delicate surgery). When it came to MADNESS, I dove in. Lobotomies, medical treatments for the mentally ill, the history of criminal profiling, the setting per 1890's culture, even speech patterns. I wanted to be thorough.

Originally MADNESS was supposed to have a connection to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and America's first known serial killer, H.H. Holmes. That was scrapped later on for various reasons, but I had already done so much in-depth work framing the book for the 1890's that I didn't want to deal with a very big roadblock.

Lobotomies as we know them weren't in use until the early 1900's.

Whoops.

A part of my plot hinged on lobotomies and I'd read over a thousand pages concerning them, so I wasn't going to toss everything in the bin. Instead, I needed a feasible reason for a doctor in 1890 to have enough medical evidence to support performing something like a lobotomy... and I found that in the story of Phineas Gage.

I read another thousand pages in relation to Phineas before executing the scene in MADNESS where Thornhollow describes to Grace the function of the frontal lobe and explains the procedure he's about to perform on her.

Thousands of pages of research went into roughly three pages of that book.

In the same vein, I researched water for six months before writing NOT A DROP TO DRINK. I read about the history of water, about the projected water shortage, and even a book concerning - yes, really - water law. I can tell you things about water law that you really, really don't care about.

But in all of my thorough research concerning water I overlooked something vital.

Gasoline expires.

Did you know that? I didn't.

It was something I didn't even think to look into. Most post-apocalyptic movies show plenty of roving bandits on motorcycles and people driving around in cars. Totally wouldn't happen. This was pointed out to me at a conference the year that IN A HANDFUL OF DUST (a book with, yes, people driving cars) released.

I'm not above telling you that it really, really bothers me that any scene in DRINK or DUST that involves gasoline is bogus.

That's how important facts are to me, even as a fiction writer. So important, that one of my favorite quotes from a historical figure found it's way into IN A HANDFUL OF DUST. I'm going to leave it here at the bottom of this post as well, and you will be seeing it pop in my social media feeds as we move forward this year.

Inspiration On The Long Road To Publication With Lorie Langdon

We're starting off 2017 with a guest post from my friend, fellow YA author and Ohioan, Lorie Langdon. Lorie Langdon is one half of the author team that writes the best-selling DOON series, a young adult reimagining of the musical Brigadoon. A few years ago, she left her corporate career to satisfy the voices in her head. Now she spends her days tucked into her office, Havanese puppy by her side, working to translate her effusive imagination into the written word.

Lorie has been interviewed on Entertainment Weekly.com and several NPR radio programs, including Lisa Loeb’s national Kid Lit show. The DOON series has been featured on such high profile sites as USAToday.com, Hypable.com, and BroadwayWorld.com. Lorie’s solo debut, GILT HOLLOW, a YA romantic thriller, released September 27th 2016. GILT HOLLOW was recently named by Redbook Magazine as one of the "Books By Women You Must Read This Fall."

Lorie's publishing journey isn't the standard tale, and it's a good way to follow up yesterday's post about 10 New Year's Writers Resolutions.

The Uncommon Route

I’m not sure if there’s a “typical” way to find a literary agent and get a publishing deal. It seems every story is different. But my route was more convoluted than most. The first book I pitched and queried to agents was an adult Time Travel set during the maritime Revolutionary War with an inspirational element. Sounds great, right?

I received rejection after rejection and was told that time travel and God do not mix. Theologically, I disagree. But that’s a different post.

Around this same time my critique partner, Carey Corp, insisted that I read TWILIGHT. I’m not a vampire fan, so it took some convincing. But it hooked me from the first page. Not because it was beautifully written literature, but because I could see myself as a teen in the character of Bella. Because every girl who feels average longs for the extraordinary. That’s when I knew I wanted to write young adult literature.

And I had the perfect story idea.

When I was sixteen I saw the musical Brigadoon and fell in love with the romantic tale of the village that only appears to the modern world once every one hundred years. But one thing always bothered me about the original – during the hundred years that the portal to Brigadoon is closed, the people sleep. Really? They sleep! I couldn’t stop thinking about what I could do with that hundred years.
Coincidentally, Carey had just completed her second young adult novel, so I was picking her brain on voice and technique when somewhere along the way our conversation took a detour. Our ideas for the mythical kingdom of Doon sparked an explosion of evil witches, magic spells, daring adventures, two unique best friends, and heroic princes in kilts … soon it became clear that this story was bigger than the both of us, but that together we could make it amazing.

As soon as we finished the book, we began to research agents and send email queries. Almost immediately, we received requests from agents to read the full manuscript. We were flying high.

A Test of Faith

It's hard to see, but this picture
 shows me with the skywriting
 in the background.

Months passed with no offers. Our dream agent, Alexandra Machinist, requested to read the full. More time passed. But Carey and I knew Alexandra was meant to be our agent. During that time, I took a trip to Disney World with my family. The trip was a dream come true, but my attention was divided as I constantly checked my phone for responses from agents.

Toward the end of our trip, we were eating in the German Village at Epcot Center and I got the email. Alexandra Machinist rejected. Not wanting to upset my family with my tears, I ran outside and this is what I saw in the sky: TRUST GOD

And so, I did. Little did I know, I’d need to keep that message in my heart through more trials. Less than a month later, we had an offer from an agent with a big firm in NY. She had revision suggestions for the manuscript, but Carey and I were more than willing to make the changes she requested. We rewrote and cut chunks of the book, but the agent wasn’t satisfied. She decided we should make our main characters frenemies.

As a writer, there are times when your vision for your project will conflict with other’s opinions. You must decide where your line is, that place that you won’t cross even to accomplish your goal. For Carey and I, making our characters Veronica and Mackenna frenemies was a deal breaker. We strongly believed illustrating a healthy female friendship was one of the greatest strengths of our story. So, we parted ways with our agent.

The Second Round

After a few weeks of mourning, we began to send out queries again. Almost immediately we received a full request from a new agent, Nicole Resciniti of the Seymour Agency. She stayed up all night reading the manuscript and offered us representation the following day. We set up a call. She adored the book, but she wanted us to make major revisions.

After rewriting our hearts out for our previous agent, to no avail, we weren’t ready to do it again. Our trust had been broken. So we turned down Nicole’s offer.

Fast forward nine months and approximately seventy-five queries later. (I have the spreadsheet list to prove it.) We still didn’t have any offers. Carey was ready to self-publish DOON. She’d previously self-published a solo YA novel with good success. But my lifelong dream had been to see my books on bookstore shelves. I believed that DOON would be that book. We just had to trust.

During those long months of queries, a friend had signed with Nicole Resciniti and received a YA deal with Disney Hyperion. And I began to question whether turning down her offer had been the right decision.

Finally, we received an offer from a literary agent. We spoke to this woman for hours on the phone. She believed in Doon, loved the story and the writing, but she’d never sold a young adult book. Her connections were all with editors of adult fiction.

As Carey and I were considering her offer, we found out that Nicole had asked our mutual friend if we’d found an agent yet. Thankfully, Nicole gave us another chance and read DOON again. We set up a call. She still loved the book and she still wanted big revisions, but Carey and I were ready. We signed with Nicole, worked our butts off for months shaping up the manuscript, and wrote blurbs for three more books so she could pitch it as a series.

When Nicole took DOON out on submission to publishers it felt like a miracle. Like I could breathe again. But as with everything in publishing, it took time. After four long months, Nicole got us both on the phone. We had an offer! Zondervan/HarperCollins, one of the biggest Christian publishers in the world, had started a brand new imprint called Blink YA Books. Their mission was to publish mainstream books with a positive message and they were offering us a four-book deal as one of their lead titles!

We accepted the offer. The first DOON book was released in 2013 and the last one, FOREVER DOON, released this past summer.

As an agent, Nicole has been a God-send. Her believe in my work has never wavered. Last year, Blink published my first solo novel, a YA romantic mystery called GILT HOLLOW. And I have just accepted a deal for a YA historical retelling that will release in 2017.

Sometimes you just need to wait and trust.

10 New Year's Resolutions For Writers

Regular readers know that it took me ten years to find an agent, and another six months after signing with her to land a book deal. During that time, every New Year's Eve I'd stare down into my drink and resolve that this year I was going to get published.

That is not a good resolution. I'll tell you why.

A writer has very little control over whether or not they become published. Nuances of the market, trends, financial belt tightening in the industry, a book too similar to your own that breaks out... all of these things are beyond a writer's control. You might as well make your New Year's resolution that this year you're going to win the Westminster Dog Show - as the dog, not the handler.

(Side note - it's not impossible. In 1903 unaware Victorians named a lemur best in show for the Foreign Breed Class at the Crystal Palace Cat Show in London)

On New Year's Eve of 2009 I looked down into my drink (they were getting bigger) and told myself to come up with a better resolution, because the old standby of "get published" wasn't coming through for me. I decided instead that I would join an online writer's group.

And that changed everything.

My forum of choice was AgentQueryConnect. First I lurked, occasionally sending direct messages to posters whose commentary I enjoyed. Then I began posting, throwing myself into the world and meeting people that I continue to interact with to this day. Next I found a few posters that I thought would be a good fit for critique partners, and made that personal connection leap.

And as Frost says, that has made all the difference.

I continue to use the critique partners that I met on AQC, all of whom have gone on to become published writers as well. Through AQC I learned how to write a query that works, format a manuscript the right way, write a synopsis, and navigate the industry in general. I learned how to take control of the little things that could add up to "get published."

So here are some writerly resolutions that I suggest for 2017, ones that are entirely within your power to execute.

1. Join a writer's group or forum. AQC is my touchstone, but there are some other great ones out there such as AbsoluteWrite and the forum at Writer's Digest.

2. Get serious about tracking those queries. Sure, you've had rejections, but do you remember from who? Or even why? QueryTracker.net is indispensable, and I highly recommend going for the paid version. It's worth it.

3. Find a critique partner that isn't your mom or a friend. If you want a real critique it needs to come from another writer - not just a reader. Finding someone online to give you feedback takes out the awkward quality of a friend who might not want to tell you something isn't working, and also allows you the freedom to go ahead and cry in front of your computer without them ever knowing you did. A good CP should be at about the same level you are in terms of craft and career. Get online, find someone in your genre, and trade manuscripts.

4. Pay for membership in a writer's group that fits your needs. Whether you write mysteries, sci-fi, picture books or adult literary, there is a professional group that fits your style. Most groups offer different levels of membership depending on whether you are published or pre-published. Examples are SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators), MWA (Mystery Writers of America), SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America), ITW (International Thriller Writers) and RWA (Romance Writers of America). You can learn a lot from these communities and their publications.

5. Scout out local opportunities. I've met with various writer's groups that home-base out of a local library or private home. Ask your local librarian if s/he knows about any such groups.

6. Subscribe to a professional magazine that seems like your style. I highly recommend both Writer's Digest and Poets & Writers (even though I totally hear Adam Sandler's "Hoagies & Grinders" in my head every time I get a Poets & Writers in the mail).

7. Learn about what's going on in the industry itself. Yes, I know. You're a writer, not a business person. In this day and age you must be both. You can glean a lot of information about the industry from both online forums, writers groups, and professional subscription listed above. However, if you can afford a subscription and want to mainline industry info, Publisher's Weekly is the way to go.

8. You need to know what's selling if you want to position yourself and your work in the market. A subscription to Publisher's Marketplace will tell you who's buying what, and what agents are selling right now in your genre. This is not a necessity, but it can be a good tool.

9. Go to a writing conference in your area. I only attended one as a pre-pub - and it was romance centered - but it was close, convenient, and affordable. It gave me the opportunity to sit down at a table with agents and published authors, and most importantly, I learned how not to approach time by watching other people make snafus.

10. Lastly, write your book. Yes, that's what I put last. Everything above is instrumental in getting your work published, and most of them are actionable before you have something to show and share. If you have a finished manuscript, most of the above goals will help change and craft that ms during the road to publication. If you haven't started yet, you can still dive in and learn as you go.

Best of luck to everyone writing in 2017!