Showing posts with label writing resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing resources. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2020
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Upon the Occasion of my Joining the Historical Novel Society: The Musings of a Reincarnate Victorian
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| Photo by C. Johnstone |
If you know me and my work, some of this musing will be familiar to you and I invite you to pull up your usual chair. If you are new to my work, I welcome you into my parlor and please do avail yourself to a cup of hot tea. As we count down to the Historical Novel Society conference in Portland, OR this June, I’m pleased to take part in an event celebrating HNS, and discussing why I joined.
Sometimes a writer finds a genre and sometimes it finds you. For me, writing historical fiction was a habit since the age of 12, when I began my first novel, set in 1888 and I never looked forward... While that particular labor of love thankfully never saw the light of day, as childhood manuscripts give way to higher education and better craft, my love of the 1800s only burrowed deeper in my soul. My inexplicable draw to the Victorian era could only be likened to the inescapable pull of a past life. Nothing else quite makes sense.
I did not romanticize the era, though I thought of it as a distant home. Devouring countless novels written by 19th century authors, I understood the difficult plight of women as second-class citizens, how it was impossible for nearly any marginalized group to have their voices heard or needs met. Through a sense of pain and stalwart determination, I felt I knew the era deeply, its dress, its spirit, its language and the ways of its sooty cities, even though I grew up in rural Ohio. The complex, maddening, gritty, grand, unjust, innovative, brutal, beautiful, awe-inspiring, devastating 19th century sounded in me like an old familiar tune, and what can one hope to do but put that haunting melody onto paper?
I could not begin my stories, however, without one key element. The paranormal. What was my dear Victoriana without a good ghost story or freakish twist? In my mind those elements had always been entwined. With my sense of the 19th century came the surety that it was unrepentantly haunted. Credit Dickens, Henry James, Poe, the Brontes and Mary Shelley, as well as my own understanding of the era’s preoccupations.
The 19th century was a time of great loss. Death was all too common by countless diseases that medicine tried and failed to cure. While the industrial revolution changed everything at a breakneck pace, medicine was trying desperately to keep up. An expansive, holistic death culture and obsession with contacting the deceased was a part of everyday life. With a finger on a Victorian pulse, their obsessions became mine and I entwined elements of the paranormal and the fantastical with all my tales. I write in a realistic 19th century world in which paranormal things happen. History is at the core, and is the precedent and the foundation.
When first drafting, I didn’t consider that I’d crossed-genres, I wasn’t aware that when published one could ascribe any number of genre tags to the bulk of my work; Historical, Fantasy, Romance, Young/New Adult, Suspense/Thriller and most of all Gothic. I wasn’t aware that in jumping shelves for my next series, to YA and then to SciFi/Fantasy, that it would mean starting over a bit each time, even though my trajectory as a Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy author has remained the same. While it may be hard for audiences to keep finding me, I am blessed when they do. I have some of the most earnest, interesting and creative readers any author could ask for. It is places like HNS that help audiences find their authors, and I’m so very, very grateful that they include those of us who don’t write strict Historical-only work in their ranks. HNS has created a safe space for all the ways in which writers encompass a love of history. History is the core, all else follows.
I join writers’ organizations to commune with other like minds. I’d long meant to join the Historical Novel Society, and when my dear friend Elizabeth K. Mahon (Author of ScandalousWomen and HNS Board member) reminded me that not only had my novels been reviewed favorably by the HNS magazine, but that the organization is filled with my kind of people, I couldn’t delay further. Portland will be my first HNS conference and I dearly look forward to seeing old friends and new there.
I know my sense of ‘belonging’ to a specific era will be shared by countless other writers, who belong to any number of other eras; a club of old souls making their way in a modern world. It is a strange and straining sense, to belong to more than one century. It is a wistfulness that at times can be almost painful. Other writers drawn to be a cipher of a distinct time in history will understand that old, beautiful ache. I look forward to reminiscing with you, through the power of our old souls writing modern fiction. We need community to build broader audiences, through each other and what we’ve felt called to write. I'm grateful HNS is one.
For those attending, I hope I see you at my panels on Friday and also, look for me at a table filled with shiny, pretty, neo-Victorian things like you'll see on my Etsy! One of my other passions and jobs is as a creator and curator of Gothic, Steampunk and Victorian-styled jewelry, as well as author-themed brooches, pins and necklaces. Stop by and procure a one of a kind treasure! I also hope I'll see you all at the book signing to celebrate our love of books. I can't wait to connect with kindred spirits.
Keep channeling your centuries, friends, and I hope you'll enjoy mine.
Leanna Renee
(Think X-files meets Penny Dreadful)
Second in the Eterna Files series of Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy with Tor Books.
A mythic, Gothic Gaslamp Fantasy set in 1860s Cairo and London, featuring an inter-faith cast of young mortals drawn into an immortal's plot of love and war between the living and dead. A Strangely Beautiful prequel. Signed pre-orders via WORD Brooklyn.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
So You Want to Be A Writer
Hello folks,
(With updates 10/2019)
I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. I'm out and about in the world in so many different and dizzying capacities, and there's a topic that comes up all the time.
For those who don't know me, I'm a multi-published, award winning and bestselling author of the STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL saga and the ETERNA FILES series for Tor Books, and the Magic Most Foul YA series beginning with DARKER STILL as well as lots of novellas and short stories and the new Spectral City saga with Kensington, beginning with THE SPECTRAL CITY and continuing with A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS. I am an actress (proud Member of Actor Unions AEA and SAG-AFTRA), a playwright, a floor director at a Manhattan TV studio, a licensed New York City tour guide working for Boroughs of the Dead, I travel constantly on the Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Steampunk and Historical convention circuits and I create unique Gothic, Neo-Victorian and Steampunk accessories on Etsy. I am more busy than I can begin to describe, all on looming deadlines and rotating 5 freelance jobs in the most hectic of cities. And as you can imagine, being out and about and all over the place, I get asked all the time: "So... I want to be writer. How do I do that?"
So for all you wonderful folks who want to be writers, I want you to be a writer too! I will cheerlead you with the best of them.
Disclaimer or my agent and editors will kill me: While I will be your cheerleader I am limited in my capacity to help. I cannot read and/or critique your novel as I barely have the energy to read my own, I'm actually a very slow reader. And I can't give out free copies of my books, I don't have stock of them to give away. Please note: This is not a resource for self-publishing. That hasn't been my preferred route so I'll not be helpful there. All that being said, on to the good stuff!
I'm going to share a bit of my story as an example and then offer up some genre resources.
It took me years to get my first contract. Nearly 9 years from inception to publication. My stack of rejection letters from both agents and editors is huge. No, the sting of rejection never goes away, especially when you've published and you still get rejection letters. It is not easy. Nothing worth doing is easy. You have to want your work out in the world more than you fear rejection. I can't stress that point enough. If you do not try to pursue your writing, your characters will die and that is tragic. You have to want them to live more than you fear them being rejected.
The life of a writer is a marathon not a sprint. When you get your first contract is is not "over" and you are not set for life, the race continues. My first publisher folded leaving my successful first series, The Strangely Beautiful saga, in the dust, along with all the money (royalties) owed it. I thought my career was over two years after it had just begun. But the Magic Most Foul saga helped pick me up from the ruins and now I work with a house I've always dreamed of working with Tor Books, (a division of Macmillan) who have worked to reissue STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL in a revised, author-preferred edition as well as launch my latest ETERNA FILES. There is always another place to turn, always another chance provided you don't get discouraged and quit. Kensington came to me, asking if I had a series to place with a new line, and I had the Spectral City proposal package at the ready to offer.
Publishing is full of ups and downs and uncertainties. You have to put on your armor and trust you can fight the good fight no matter the battle. Rise from the ashes, like the phoenix that factors into my Strangely Beautiful saga. Perseverance. You have to want to keep writing more than the pain and uncertainty, financial and emotional, that surrounds all of it.
How I started: I started learning about the publishing industry by perusing the Writer's Market, scouring it really, and by talking to a few writer friends I met while touring the country doing theatre. The Writer's Market is like a phone book for the publishing industry and contains useful structural advice on how to craft query letters and proposal packages. The most important skills in the next step towards publishing. Finish your full manuscript before you begin to query. This does not apply for non-fiction but for all fiction. Once you've published a few novels you might be able to sell just on synopsis or sample chapters but it is not recommended for debut authors. Have the best first three chapters you can possibly write, because you cannot resubmit after rejection unless you are asked to.
Preditors and Editors: A great resource for pros and cons of certain publishers and agents: http://pred-ed.com/ (Currently under revision)
Check WRITER BEWARE: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/ - for tips and advice! Great site, highly recommended.
For agent listings, check out http://agentquery.com and Publisher's Marketplace listings: http://publishersmarketplace.com/. The Writer's Market also has agent sections. Some New York publishing houses will accept un-agented submissions, most will not. Independent and smaller presses often accept un-agented submissions. Do your homework. Don't just send mass letters. Personalize them with the proper names to the proper attention. Another thing I can't stress enough. Query and submit how each house and agent prefers. Do not submit to agents/houses not looking for your work or not accepting submissions, it just wastes everyone's time and energy. Many people get rejected outright because they didn't follow simple submission instructions and so their manuscripts get rejected without even a glance. Submission instructions are found on publisher and agent sites, they vary from house to house and by individual. Following agents on Twitter has created some great pitching and querying opportunities. Keep an eye out for scams. Anyone asking you to pay them up front is not legitimate. Agents get a cut after they sell your work and negotiate your deals and contracts. Twitter has some drawbacks but it is very connected in terms of authors, editors, agents, publishers and publicity departments.
Genre organizations:
If you are writing Childrens' Fiction / Kid Lit / Middle Grade / Young Adult: www.scbwi.org
I have many YA author friends who swear by SCBWI group, have credited it with their work getting better, finding critique groups, getting agents, contracts, etc. Join the local chapter, go to meetings, go to their conference, etc. Networking is key. Local chapters around the country.
Science Fiction / Fantasy: At some point once you've either short story or novel sales under your belt, you'll want to join http://sfwa.org - one of my favorite resources and I've been a member from the moment I could join. Even before you qualify to join, make yourself familiar with the resources on that site. Peruse the list of "qualifying publishers" - a lot of Fantasy authors get their start by writing short stories in the market and then moving on to novels. The "qualifying publishers" list means these are publishers known for paying their clients industry standard prices, abiding by proper copyright laws, decent contracts, etc. I may be a little biased but one of the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy houses also has one of the best online presences: http://tor.com You can really get a sense of what's trending and going on in the industry by following them. Short vs. Novel: Personally, I published novels first and then began publishing short stories. there's no right way or silver bullet, other than continuing to hone your craft, take constructive criticism and keep submitting.
Events: Sign up for the mailing lists of your local bookstores for their author events. Stores doing programming offer great book talks, signings, and aspiring writers can learn a lot from panels of published authors, as everyone is going to have a different story and their own advice. While you are at the bookstore, take note of what publisher is publishing what kind of book so you can familiarize yourself with the industry. What covers draw your eye? Who publishes them? Follow your favorite publishing houses and your favorite authors and see how they do what they do and learn from those you admire and respect, but always with the sense of your own craft, style and stories.
Go to conferences. Invest in them. I've gotten most things in my life by networking, being in the right place at the right time, responding to opportunities when they come up, being ready and always being seen and active. Be generous to your fellow author, as best you can. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. Karma is real. Be professional, be willing to learn. Keep learning. Never think your book is "perfect" because then you'll be a holy terror to editors. But get it to the best it can possibly be. And then look to your editor as if they're a director and you're an actor, it's their job to make you look good on the stage that is publishing. I have very vital relationships with my editors and they always make my books better for their input. I still network and do events as much as I did when I began, they remain as vital now as then.
Find local writerly Meetup Groups. Yes, writing is solitary in the act itself, but utterly collaborative in getting anywhere.
(With updates 10/2019)
I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. I'm out and about in the world in so many different and dizzying capacities, and there's a topic that comes up all the time.
For those who don't know me, I'm a multi-published, award winning and bestselling author of the STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL saga and the ETERNA FILES series for Tor Books, and the Magic Most Foul YA series beginning with DARKER STILL as well as lots of novellas and short stories and the new Spectral City saga with Kensington, beginning with THE SPECTRAL CITY and continuing with A SANCTUARY OF SPIRITS. I am an actress (proud Member of Actor Unions AEA and SAG-AFTRA), a playwright, a floor director at a Manhattan TV studio, a licensed New York City tour guide working for Boroughs of the Dead, I travel constantly on the Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Steampunk and Historical convention circuits and I create unique Gothic, Neo-Victorian and Steampunk accessories on Etsy. I am more busy than I can begin to describe, all on looming deadlines and rotating 5 freelance jobs in the most hectic of cities. And as you can imagine, being out and about and all over the place, I get asked all the time: "So... I want to be writer. How do I do that?"
So for all you wonderful folks who want to be writers, I want you to be a writer too! I will cheerlead you with the best of them.
Disclaimer or my agent and editors will kill me: While I will be your cheerleader I am limited in my capacity to help. I cannot read and/or critique your novel as I barely have the energy to read my own, I'm actually a very slow reader. And I can't give out free copies of my books, I don't have stock of them to give away. Please note: This is not a resource for self-publishing. That hasn't been my preferred route so I'll not be helpful there. All that being said, on to the good stuff!
I'm going to share a bit of my story as an example and then offer up some genre resources.
It took me years to get my first contract. Nearly 9 years from inception to publication. My stack of rejection letters from both agents and editors is huge. No, the sting of rejection never goes away, especially when you've published and you still get rejection letters. It is not easy. Nothing worth doing is easy. You have to want your work out in the world more than you fear rejection. I can't stress that point enough. If you do not try to pursue your writing, your characters will die and that is tragic. You have to want them to live more than you fear them being rejected.
The life of a writer is a marathon not a sprint. When you get your first contract is is not "over" and you are not set for life, the race continues. My first publisher folded leaving my successful first series, The Strangely Beautiful saga, in the dust, along with all the money (royalties) owed it. I thought my career was over two years after it had just begun. But the Magic Most Foul saga helped pick me up from the ruins and now I work with a house I've always dreamed of working with Tor Books, (a division of Macmillan) who have worked to reissue STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL in a revised, author-preferred edition as well as launch my latest ETERNA FILES. There is always another place to turn, always another chance provided you don't get discouraged and quit. Kensington came to me, asking if I had a series to place with a new line, and I had the Spectral City proposal package at the ready to offer.
Publishing is full of ups and downs and uncertainties. You have to put on your armor and trust you can fight the good fight no matter the battle. Rise from the ashes, like the phoenix that factors into my Strangely Beautiful saga. Perseverance. You have to want to keep writing more than the pain and uncertainty, financial and emotional, that surrounds all of it.
How I started: I started learning about the publishing industry by perusing the Writer's Market, scouring it really, and by talking to a few writer friends I met while touring the country doing theatre. The Writer's Market is like a phone book for the publishing industry and contains useful structural advice on how to craft query letters and proposal packages. The most important skills in the next step towards publishing. Finish your full manuscript before you begin to query. This does not apply for non-fiction but for all fiction. Once you've published a few novels you might be able to sell just on synopsis or sample chapters but it is not recommended for debut authors. Have the best first three chapters you can possibly write, because you cannot resubmit after rejection unless you are asked to.
Preditors and Editors: A great resource for pros and cons of certain publishers and agents: http://pred-ed.com/ (Currently under revision)
Check WRITER BEWARE: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/ - for tips and advice! Great site, highly recommended.
For agent listings, check out http://agentquery.com and Publisher's Marketplace listings: http://publishersmarketplace.com/. The Writer's Market also has agent sections. Some New York publishing houses will accept un-agented submissions, most will not. Independent and smaller presses often accept un-agented submissions. Do your homework. Don't just send mass letters. Personalize them with the proper names to the proper attention. Another thing I can't stress enough. Query and submit how each house and agent prefers. Do not submit to agents/houses not looking for your work or not accepting submissions, it just wastes everyone's time and energy. Many people get rejected outright because they didn't follow simple submission instructions and so their manuscripts get rejected without even a glance. Submission instructions are found on publisher and agent sites, they vary from house to house and by individual. Following agents on Twitter has created some great pitching and querying opportunities. Keep an eye out for scams. Anyone asking you to pay them up front is not legitimate. Agents get a cut after they sell your work and negotiate your deals and contracts. Twitter has some drawbacks but it is very connected in terms of authors, editors, agents, publishers and publicity departments.
Genre organizations:
If you are writing Childrens' Fiction / Kid Lit / Middle Grade / Young Adult: www.scbwi.org
I have many YA author friends who swear by SCBWI group, have credited it with their work getting better, finding critique groups, getting agents, contracts, etc. Join the local chapter, go to meetings, go to their conference, etc. Networking is key. Local chapters around the country.
Science Fiction / Fantasy: At some point once you've either short story or novel sales under your belt, you'll want to join http://sfwa.org - one of my favorite resources and I've been a member from the moment I could join. Even before you qualify to join, make yourself familiar with the resources on that site. Peruse the list of "qualifying publishers" - a lot of Fantasy authors get their start by writing short stories in the market and then moving on to novels. The "qualifying publishers" list means these are publishers known for paying their clients industry standard prices, abiding by proper copyright laws, decent contracts, etc. I may be a little biased but one of the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy houses also has one of the best online presences: http://tor.com You can really get a sense of what's trending and going on in the industry by following them. Short vs. Novel: Personally, I published novels first and then began publishing short stories. there's no right way or silver bullet, other than continuing to hone your craft, take constructive criticism and keep submitting.
RWA National: http://www.rwa.org/ - If there's any romance in your stories, even just as a sub-plot you should join RWA. Romance Writers of America, the most comprehensive and up to date resource in all of genre publishing. Romance is a huge market and a great way to network, with opportunities in digital publishing abounding. If you're making the investment, this is all worth it to join ( and a tax write off ).There are local chapters all around America and Romance writer societies in England and Australia as well. I recommend the Futuristic / Fantasy / Paranormal chapter: FF and P, runs the national Prism Awards, http://romance-ffp.com, there's a YA chapter
as well as every subgenre. So once you join RWA, join the sub-genre chapter that applies to your books, there's a chapter for everyone, both in your state and online. Find your local chapter and go to meetings in person. It was RWA that helped make everything happen for me out of the gate and remains a critical resource. RWA is an OPEN organization. You do not have to be published to join. Most other writers' organizations have eligibility requirements. But like I said with SFWA, peruse their sites for resources, author information, conferences, networking opportunities. From RWA as a hub, the other resources flow outward like spokes of a wheel.
Mystery writers: http://mysterywriters.org/ They have chapters all around the country, joining MWA was one of the best things I've done! Tons of opportunities and networking!
Historical Writers: (Fiction, non, Historical Fantasy too) Join the Historical Novel Society! (I'm a member of this too!) http://historicalnovelsociety.org
Historical Writers: (Fiction, non, Historical Fantasy too) Join the Historical Novel Society! (I'm a member of this too!) http://historicalnovelsociety.org
Horror writers: http://horror.org/ (Horror, in addition to Sci-Fi/Fantasy also has a good deal of short story markets)
Thriller writers: http://thrillerwriters.org/ - Also keep track of http://criminalelement.com as a fantastic resource!
Events: Sign up for the mailing lists of your local bookstores for their author events. Stores doing programming offer great book talks, signings, and aspiring writers can learn a lot from panels of published authors, as everyone is going to have a different story and their own advice. While you are at the bookstore, take note of what publisher is publishing what kind of book so you can familiarize yourself with the industry. What covers draw your eye? Who publishes them? Follow your favorite publishing houses and your favorite authors and see how they do what they do and learn from those you admire and respect, but always with the sense of your own craft, style and stories.
Go to conferences. Invest in them. I've gotten most things in my life by networking, being in the right place at the right time, responding to opportunities when they come up, being ready and always being seen and active. Be generous to your fellow author, as best you can. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. Karma is real. Be professional, be willing to learn. Keep learning. Never think your book is "perfect" because then you'll be a holy terror to editors. But get it to the best it can possibly be. And then look to your editor as if they're a director and you're an actor, it's their job to make you look good on the stage that is publishing. I have very vital relationships with my editors and they always make my books better for their input. I still network and do events as much as I did when I began, they remain as vital now as then.
Find local writerly Meetup Groups. Yes, writing is solitary in the act itself, but utterly collaborative in getting anywhere.
Hopefully that's a start on some resources, thoughts, general tips, the business side of it is
really a lot like auditioning for a show, I learned that from all my years as a professional actress. Having a good query letter and
sample chapters is like an audition. Organizations like SCBWI and RWA, because they are open to aspiring authors in particular, will be
very helpful in cultivating good query letters, synopses, proposal packages,
etc, and allowing you opportunities for workshops in those areas. That first Writer's Market I started with also had great query letter tips and examples.
The most important aspect of course is
to dream big, respect your craft and just be persistent. Perseverance wins the day. You don't have to write every day. But most days. Discipline is key. Find out your process and work with it. There is no "right" way. I do not write in a linear fashion. I am all over the map. I have met every kind of writer. The only kind of writer who ISN'T a writer is one who is never ever writing.
Write whatever needs to get out from your head and onto the page, you can fix it later. Don't second-guess yourself to death. Find one or two trusted critique partners and set deadlines for yourself. Take constructive criticism well. Be willing to edit. Make yourself accountable for progress. Give yourself treats when you hit a goal. Be flexible.
The industry requires 3 Ps: Perseverance, Patience (publishing houses take forever to get back to you), and Passion. If you don't care about your work and career, no one else will.
And then on that blessed day when your book is on that shelf there is nothing like it in all the world. Trust me. But, then of course, steel yourself. Not everyone will love your book. Some people will HATE your book and tell everyone they know to burn it. You just can't let it phase you. No one likes everything, that's why taste is subjective.
Don't let anyone tell you NO or belittle your dreams, whether that applies to writing books or any passion, anyone who does that is just jealous they are not pursuing their own dreams. Being a writer is hard. It takes more discipline than I have to give every day, and yet it is what I am called to do. Being a writer may be hard, but it is not stupid or silly. I am shocked by stories of my fellow writers being put down or discouraged by unsupportive people in their lives. Storytelling, in my humble opinion, is one of the most noble professions in the world. Again, nothing that's ever worth doing isn't full of a lot of hard work and suffering in the hope of triumph.
Blessings and best wishes to all the aspiring writers of the world, I am cheerleading for you and with you. Cheers and happy haunting!
Leanna Renee
Please visit my website for more about my books, enjoy free reads and stories, goodies and such. And I'm usually around on social media one way or another, so feel free to give a greeting!
Cheers and happy haunting!
Leanna on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leannarenee
FB: http://facebook.com/lrhieber
Instagram: http://instagram.com/leannareneehieber.com
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/torchandarrow
Cheers and happy haunting!
Leanna on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leannarenee
FB: http://facebook.com/lrhieber
Instagram: http://instagram.com/leannareneehieber.com
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/torchandarrow
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