Emily Victoria on Finding Support During the Query Process

I'm lucky (or cunning) enough to have lured yet another successful writer over to my blog for an SAT - Successful Author Talk. SAT authors have conquered the query, slain the synopsis and attained the pinnacle of published. How'd they do it? Let's ask 'em!

Today’s guest for the SAT is Emily Victoria a Canadian prairie girl who writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. When not word-smithing, she likes walking her over-excitable dog, drinking far too much tea, and crocheting things she no longer has the space to store. This Golden Flame is her debut novel. 

Are you a Planner or Pantster?

I actually started as a Pantster, but then one year I decided to do NaNo, and I knew I was (obviously) going to have a tight writing schedule. I thought that an outline might help me write more efficiently, and I’ve been a Planner ever since.

I tend to write pretty in-depth outlines, with many, many cue cards. For the most part my novels follow my outlines quite closely (at least in plot—sometimes my characters do their own thing). I like having a clear idea of where I’m going before I start out, so outlining works really well for me.

How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish? 

Timelines have been all over the place for me, especially now that I’m juggling more than one project on a deadline, and sometimes a novel has to sit on the backburner for a few months. The fastest I’ve ever written a novel was two months (not including editing time) and the longest took over two years. I do find that in general, I am getting faster at finishing novels. 

Do you work on one project at a time, or are you a multi tasker?

I usually have at least two on the go. My ideal writing situation is when I have one in the first draft stage and one in the editing stage, because switching modes like that helps to keep my brain fresh. However, the editing stage tends to take me quite a bit longer than the first draft writing stage, so that doesn’t always happen.

Did you have to overcome any fears that first time you sat down to write?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, so I wouldn’t say I had fears that first time. When I started getting nervous was once I had an agent and an editor, and I wanted them to like what I had written. However, for the most part I’d say it was a good nervous. 

How many trunked books (if any) did you have before you were agented? 

So many. I wrote eight books before I got my agent, and the novel that I signed with isn’t my debut either. It was a long process. 

Have you ever quit on an ms, and how did you know it was time?

I’ve certainly had to quite more than one manuscript. Some of these were as I was learning the craft, and I eventually realized that the novel just wasn’t strong enough. For others, especially novels I queried, as I received feedback and rejections I would gradually come to accept that the novel was dead (so to speak). However, I would always be working on at least one other project and that helped, because I had something else still to work on (and to, you know, transfer all of my hopes and dreams to).

Who is your agent and how did you get that "Yes!" out of them? 

My agent is the wonderful Rebecca Strauss, and I had a pretty typical path to signing with her. I sent a query and she liked it and asked for some initial pages, then the whole thing, and then I signed with her. 

How long did you query before landing your agent? 

I wish I had kept my early querying stats so that I could give a better answer to this question. I queried four novels, and with the last two alone I was nearing 100 rejections, so it was a lot, over many, many years.

Victoria.png

Any advice to aspiring writers out there on conquering query hell? 

Find a support group of people who will encourage you when you need it (and distract you when you need it). And don’t give up. I received dozens of rejections on the novel I eventually signed with. All it takes is one yes, and that yes can come at any time. I remember feeling like my career was going nowhere right up to the time when my agent’s e-mail landed in my inbox.

How much input do you have on cover art?

I was surprised at how much input I did have—I always thought the author wasn’t allowed much say. But my publisher asked me about past covers that I really admired, and wanted to know if there was anything I really wanted (or didn’t want) to see on the cover. And the end result was so amazing! I couldn’t be happier with it. 

What's something you learned from the process that surprised you?

One thing that surprised me (besides how much input I had on the cover) was just how wonderful and supportive everyone in the industry is. It’s not that I thought the people in the industry would be negative or unkind, but I will admit that before I got my agent and my book deal, I sometimes found the idea of industry professionals intimidating. However, everyone I’ve met has just been so lovely, and it’s been great being able to work with them all.

How much of your own marketing do you?  Do you have a blog / site / Twitter?

Marketing is still something I’m learning to do (and will no doubt continue as a lifelong learning process). I’ll be running a preorder campaign closer to my book’s release, and I’m also a part of the 21ers debut group, which has been a wonderful experience. Probably my favorite type of marketing and promotion is on the visual side: making graphics and trailers for my book.

For social media, I really enjoy twitter, as I find a lot of fellow readers and writers there. It’s a fabulous community. My handle is @avictoriantale (https://twitter.com/avictoriantale). I’m also on Instagram, at @avictoriantale (https://www.instagram.com/avictoriantale/) again.

My website is: https://www.avictoriantale.com/

When do you build your platform? After an agent? Or should you be working before?

I’ve always heard that you should get started before you get an agent, though I will admit, I didn’t seriously get involved in my platform until after I had sold my first book. Once I had that first book deal, I did find it easier, as then I could join debut groups and find a really solid community of writers that I could support and that supported me. 

Do you think social media helps build your readership?

I think connections between writers and readers is so important, and building those connections is easier than ever with social media. So in that sense, I do think that social media can really help with building those connections.

How to Start an Educational Podcast in 2020: Ten Tips

by Dominic Beaulieu

Podcasts are a progressive and very convenient way to gain new knowledge while spending a minimum of time on it. You can listen to audio broadcasts in the car, while walking around the city, in the gym - wherever your heart desires. So what could be better than creating educational podcasts that will always be in demand? Indeed, many people have a desire to develop themselves, but there is not enough time for this. Make a podcast and thus educate yourself and others. Development and education will always be in trend, so this is a good area for your creativity. If you are ready to start creating something interesting, then here are 10 tips for starting a podcast.

1.   To Get Started, Select a Podcast Theme

Try to identify the subject that you are going to talk about as accurately as possible. Be specific. For example, you shouldn’t talk about the psychology of humanity in general but may talk about the “Psychology of Hyperactive Children” or “Secrets of a Successful Relationship between a Man and a Woman”. Explore your competitors, listen to podcasts from the top Apple Podcasts, or CastBox: this way you will understand which podcasts on a similar topic already exist and how you can differ from them.

2.   Create an Original Name of Your Podcast

Surely, you already have several options for the name. Which one to choose? First of all, google and check if there is a podcast with the same name. When you are naming your podcast, remember that it should be original enough. So that your project can be easily found by searching, and not too pretentious for the audience to remember. For example, if there is a podcast for Spanish-learners, the cool name would be "Spicy tongue" or “Paella for your brain”.

3.   Always Prepare for Recording in Advance

When you are doing a podcast, do not read the full text. Why? Everything is simple. When you read, not tell, it is always audible and there is less naturalness in it. If you want the listener to feel after a couple of minutes that you are his best friend, then you should tell him exactly - from yourself. Have the full text before your eyes but do everything possible to sound natural and engaging.

4.   Buy a Quality Microphone

This is a banal sign of respect for the listener's audio channel. There are several types of microphones, but if you decide to do podcasts, you only need to know two of them. Microphones are divided into dynamic and condenser.

●      The condenser microphone is worth choosing if you want a more even and detailed sound of the voice. Also, such a microphone is suitable if you have a room with good sound insulation without overtones and reflections.

●      The dynamic microphone is the workhorse for all conditions. You get a less detailed sound of the voice, but you can record even in an unprepared room. For podcasts, such a microphone is more than enough.

5.   Always Leverage Your Skills and Knowledge

How to make your own podcast if you don`t know enough about your topic? Every day, monitor something new and original related to your topic. What is more, deep educational topics should be as accurate and relevant as possible. You must gain the trust of your listeners. They must be confident in the accuracy of the information that you bring to them. Therefore, teach others, but do not forget to constantly educate yourself first.

6.   Prepare a Release Plan

For podcasts, you need your content plan - the themes of the releases, format, length, number, text, the title for the audio file, music for the screen saver, background music. You can make a general plan, for example, for a week and a separate mini-plan for each issue. It is advisable to have a plan for at least 3 months in advance and make several entries at once before the official launch.

If you don’t always have time for quality content creation, you may Pick The Writer from the custom writing services reviews platform, ask him to research the topic, write the text, and then, your only task will be to transform the text into a podcast.

7.   Listen to Your Audience

The content of your podcast should be interesting and useful for your audience. No other options. It is so obvious that many entrepreneurs forget about it. And they begin to write, shoot, record what is interesting to them, or what they think will be useful to the audience. Your audience will willingly tell you what is interesting and what is not. Just listen carefully to them.

8.   Promote, Don't Expect a Miracle

It is not enough to create a podcast. It is necessary to promote and market it. Surely, the first places you may share your podcast are your blog and your social media profiles. What is more, there are special apps that may help you to post and publish your podcast, reach your audience, get votes, and other promotion tools. For example, Overcast, Stitcher, and Podcast Addict.

9.   Come up With Your Podcast Unique Feature

In addition to the subject and genre, it’s nice to think about some unusual podcast feed that could be a chip that makes people want to listen to this podcast. An interesting topic or niche is part of the chip, but there is still such a moment as an unusual approach to this topic. For example, the podcast “Art for Boys” explains about art in very simple words, not just understandable to anyone, but also interesting to people outside of art.

10.                Make Your Podcast Even More Visible and Accessible

So, here are some final ideas on how to improve the visibility and accessibility of your podcast. For example, you may transform your audio file into a video one to publish it on YouTube. Don’t be surprised - the video format is so popular that many users will be more willing to use YouTube and listen to something usefull, even if there is no video plot.

What is more, you may always transcribe your video file, fill it with the necessary keywords, and make it more visible for search engines in the “Video” section.

Conclusion

So if you have been thinking about podcasting for a long time, it's time to start. These podcasting tips should be a great start for you. What is more, it is not so difficult as it may seem - especially if you are well-versed in your topic. By the way, podcasting is not the only way to show your professional background  - deep-researched and SEO-optimized articles, as well as live interactions with your audience in social media, are also great ideas to stay in touch with it.

Dominic Beaulieu is an expert writer who specializes in creating various training and professional upgrade courses, materials and manuals. He mainly writes on development, digital marketing, design, business strategies, etc. This breadth of specialization allows him to write expert columns on the most pressing topics in today's society and to specialize in creating reviews in Writing Judge.