How Erin Morgenstern broke my heart Cynthia 9:11 AM

What books look
like to me now
(Photo credit:
Open Letters Monthly)

I am in a crisis. As mentioned in my last post, I recently read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and now I can't seem to read anything else. I tried reading Troilus and Cressida, but really struggled with it—not because it's not my kind of story. It's totally my kind of story. Before The Night Circus, I had just finished Electra, I've read Iphigenia, The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Aeneid—but because Troilus and Cressida didn't flow as well as The Night Circus. Did you hear that Shakespeare?

Well, Cynthia, I said to myself, stop crying about it and try reading something more contemporary—something maybe that flows better. So I tried reading The Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee, which I bought because I read the Top 14 Books of 2013 upside down and thought it was #1. Hey, I never claimed to be a numbers wiz. Anyway, I'm only 5% of the way through the book and the author has already used "obdurate" twice. I can't. I just can't.

Here is my dilemma. I like to write science fiction, but I mostly can't stand reading it,  because sci-fi writers tend to try and incorporate everything they ever learned about physics, chemistry, biology, geology or any other kind of -ology or -ics into their stories. Still, there are still some sci-fi authors I love.

• Ray Bradbury—yes 
• Kurt Vonnegut—ja  
• Michael Crichton—oui
• Douglas Adams—si

Part of my problem is that my favorite sci-fi authors are no longer with us, confounding my dreams of having a neverending flow of interesting, funny or beautiful books to read.

Most other sci-fi books are filled with characters with unpronounceable names that have either excessive consonants or vowels. Sometimes it's just the noise you make in the back of your throat as you swallow. There's so much weirdness and alieninity (I made up a word 'cause I can), it's hard to follow the protagonist through their way-too-alien world, which is way too alien because authors want to do something completely different from anything that's ever been done before. Well, hey. Different has been done. Try not being lame. That's different.

Back to my initial rant. Erin Morgenstern's book is not sci-fi. Its fantasy. I don't normally read fantasy unless it's written by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkein, because it tends to be even more overblown than sci-fi, but this one I loved. The biggest problem is that Erin Morgenstern has published exactly. One. Book. So I can't even read anything else of hers yet to help ease my pain.

Blog off.

Related articles

• Inspired - The Night Circus
• Top 10 Things on My Reading Wish List
• The Night Circus
• On queries and circuses

Of queries and circuses Cynthia 12:24 PM

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
(photo credit: Wikipedia)

Again with the synopsis. That dirty, dirty nightmare of a word. No one really gets excited when you say synopsis—not fiction writers, college students or, I'm guessing, agents and publishers, since they have to muddle through myriad half-hearted, but well-meaning attempts at boiling a 100,000-word manuscript down to a few pages.

But as annoying as they may be, synopses are important for a few reasons:

• They help writers focus their plot lines.
• They are an effective way for the agent/publisher to see if aforementioned writer knows how to tell a story without having to slosh through hundreds of pages to find out.
• They are great practice for concise writing.

Every writer should want to write a synopsis for every manuscript. And they should do it before they send out their first query letter. Many writers get ahead of themselves and dash off a query letter while they're still editing. This is like auditioning for X Factor after your third voice lesson. If you want to be taken seriously, you won't waste your time and the agent's/editor's. This is how your query checklist should look.

1. Write manuscript--it seems obvious, but sometimes people try to skip over this step.
2. Edit manuscript at least twice--no matter how awesome you think it is on the first try.
3. Let a dozen beta readers read the manuscript and consider their suggestions/comments--you don't have to use all of them, but if five people are telling  you the same thing, maybe you should listen.
4. Edit manuscript again--until everything flows.
5. Write query letter--one page to really sell your story.
6. Edit query letter at least twice--no matter how awesome you think it is on the first try.
7. Let at least one beta reader read the query letter and consider his/her suggestions/comments--are they dying to read your manuscript based on the query?
8. Edit query letter again--until everything flows.
9. Write synopsis--summarize each chapter and condense and hone.
10. Edit synopsis at least twice--no matter how awesome you think it is on the first try.
11. Let at least one beta reader read the synopsis and consider his/her suggestions/comments--but only choose the people you don't mind spoiling your story for. The synopsis should include the ending.
12. Edit synopsis again--until everything flows.
13. Research agent/publisher--what genres do they represent? What books/authors do they represent?
14. Make sure your manuscript fits agent/publisher criteria/book list--you're wasting your time and theirs if it doesn't.
15. Send query letter according to agent/publisher guidelines--they love it when you do this. It's like candy in a rainstorm.

That's right. There are (at least) 15 steps you should take before you send out a query letter. Most importantly, your manuscript should be finished, unless you are pitching a concept, and by the agent's/publisher's guidelines it is okay to do so.Only slightly less important, is the targeted query. It's important for the prospective agent/editor to know they are more than a whim or afterthought. You should know who they are, what kinds of books they represent and which books, specifically, they represent.

I was recently involved in the hiring process for a job that opened up in my company. I got cover letters that were obviously not intended for the job we were looking to fill, and one very unprofessional phone message, during which, the caller forgot a) who she was calling b) which job she was calling about. There was a long, awkward pause while she searched through a pile of papers for the information and ultimately, she named the wrong job. I immediately shredded her resume, and agents and editors will do the same if you send a half-assed query letter. It's about quality, not quantity. It's not how many agents/editors you can annoy, it's about finding the one who's a fit for you and your story.

That's my rant. In other exciting news, I finished reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern last night. It was one of the most beautifully-written books I've ever read. You should read it. Everyone should read it. When they make it into a movie, I'll watch the hell out of it, but it won't be as good as the book.

Blog off.

Related articles

• Running away with The Night Circus - again!
• January's Reads - Why These Books?
• 
  Lauren Sarner: 9 Fairy Tales For Adults That Are WAY Better Than Disne
  y
• Query Letter Pet Peeves - Agents Speak