Wednesday, July 22, 2009
LOL...it really ranks right up there with the “dreaded synopsis”...but that’s another post.
A one sheet is basically a full page elevator pitch. Remember learning to do an elevator pitch. It’s the three sentence version of a one sheet that you can tell a captive agent or editor on the way up or down in an elevator. *snort-giggle* (And it doesn’t count if you lean on the buttons to make the elevator keep stopping so that you can read them a whole one sheet.)
The basic anatomy of a One Sheet contains enough information to pique the interest of an agent or editor. It should contain:
Your contact info: name, address, phone number, email and your primary website.
Stop at those and don’t embellish with an info dump including your Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking connections. If you are word wise and have room left over when you get all the applicable data included you could add any business websites that you are involved in, but don’t forsake novel info for biographical info. You need them to be interested in the book first!
Next...lay out the info for your book.
The spiritual theme – usually there is a bible verse or premise in mind for the book concept.
The length, genre, and availability.
The concept - sometimes called a short synopsis, or back cover blurb – mash down the whole book into a couple sentences. Usually who, what, when , where and why works well...LOL...I got all “w’s” in there!
A short market analysis - why would this book be a good seller, what makes it different or interesting, and/or what group of people would be interested in reading it.
And lastly, a quick comparison to one or two other books that are similar, or written in the same vein.
Here is a sample of the One Sheet that I used to get the interest of my agent, Terry Burns. This particular book has not found a home yet...but nothing comes before its time. One Sheet
Another format for a sort of One Sheet is the type that agents send to publishers called a Sell Sheet. It contains different information that the type that we as writers would hand out because this type is usually followed by a full length proposal (which we will talk about in another lesson.)
This is a sample of a Sell Sheet that my agent sent out on this same novel. The format contains about half author info, and half short synopsis, with a log line at the top. Sell Sheet
All of the words that I have written in bold will be future discussions!
by Bonnie Calhoun
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hi all!
I've garnered what I consider to be very helpful information about formatting your manuscript. This info comes from my friend and agent Terry Burns. He is a multi-published novelist, and an agent at Hartline Literary ...LOL...so the man KNOWS what he is talking about!
One large hurdle to publication is submitting a good, professional-looking proposal or manuscript to an agent or editor. The object here is not to stand out but to look like an established pro. A submission that appears the submitter does not know what he or she is doing, or that looks like it will take too much work to get ready may receive little or no attention.
These rules cover the primary items for the formatting of the manuscript, but the submission guidelines posted by the editor or agent you are submitting to should be the guide. While it is true a manuscript might not be rejected for breaking only one of these rules (unless it's a glaring one), a combination is sure to catch attention. We have to prepare a manuscript in some manner anyway, we might as well prepare it right.
Some of the key provisions are:
CHECKLIST FOR FORMATTING A MANUSCRIPT
by Bonnie Calhoun
Monday, October 01, 2007
by Bonnie Calhoun
Today we are continuing editing lessons from the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
These lessons will be shortened overviews of the chapters and by no means should be a substitute for buying the book. I'm rereading but not posting a lot of good stuff!
Let's continue with proportion. This does not mean that your work is textureless. There is always room for philosophical sidetrails that reveal the narrator's character, subplots that may resonate with the main plot, or forays into odd corners of background that make the fictional world more three-dimentional.
The trick is telling the difference between digressions that harmonize with the story (even in odd and mysterious ways) and those that hang on the story like fungus!
How do you tell...walk away from it for a week or so, and then reread it...or get a critique partner. Once you have trained yourself to see how changes in proportion affect your story, you can begin to use proportion to shape your reader's response to your plot.
Example: If you have some plot development that you want to come as a surprise, spend less space on it before you spring it on your readers. Or you could spend as much or more space on similar plot elements to mask the really important one.
CHECKLIST:
Take a look at your descriptions. Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint characters will notice?
Reread your first fifty pages, paying attention to what you spend your time on. Are the characters you develop most fully important ot the ending? Do you use the locations you develop in detail later in the story? Do any of the characters play a surprising role in the ending? Could readers guess this from the amount of time you spend on them?
Do you have tanents...little supplots or descriptions that don't advance the plot? If so, are all of them effective? If you don't have any, should you add some?
Are you writing about your favorite topic or hobbies? If so, give careful consideration to how much time you spend on them.
Next we will move onto Dialogue Mechanics!
by Bonnie CalhounToday we are continuing editing lessons from the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
These lessons will be shortened overviews of the chapters and by no means should be a substitute for buying the book. I'm rereading but not posting a lot of good stuff!
Let's continue with proportion, and the problems that arise from taking seemingly small details and devoting excessive amounts of time to them.
This sort of proportion problem has exactly the same effect on readers as excess description. When you fill in all the details and leave nothing to your readers imagination, you're patronizing them.
This is even more true now than it was a few decades ago, when generous, detailed descriptions were the norm. It's the influence of movies and TV...readers are used to jump-cuts from scene to scene rather than long transitional shots.
Fiction writers, in turn, are much freer to use ellipses, to leave more of the mundane, bridging action up to their readers imagination. Of course there are other things that can throw your proportions off besides simple misjudgment. Sometimes proportion problems arise when a writer is writing about his or her pet interests or hobbies.
And yes, one of the joys of reading comes when a writer takes you through some little back alley of life that you never knew existed. But when we reached the three pages of how to kill and field-dress a beaver, the writer has gone too far...LOL!
So how do you avoid proportion problems. In most cases, it's quite simple: pay attention!
Most larger proportion problems can be avoided if you pay attention to your story. After all, if you spend a great deal of time on a given character or plot element for whatever reason, your readers naturally assume this element plays an important role in the story.
So if the character you spend time on turns out to be insignificant or if you never follow up on the plot element you set up in such detail, readers are going to feel cheated.
Continued tomorrow...
by Bonnie CalhounToday we are continuing editing lessons from the book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.
These lessons will be shortened overviews of the chapters and by no means should be a substitute for buying the book. I'm rereading but not posting a lot of good stuff!
Let's continue with Point Of View.
Okay, so what happens when you have to shift your point of view for the sake of the plot? If say, your writing from the cop's point of view and you need to add in the burglar? How do you change the POV without jerking your readers around?
It's quite simple: end the current scene, insert a linespace, and start a new scene from the POV you need. Linespaces prepare readers for a shift( in time, place, or POV), so the change in the POV won't catch them by surprise.
Once you've mastered your control of narrative distance, you can use it for some stunning effects. Of all the means available to you for crafting your story, POV is one of the most fundamental. It is how you show who your characters are. It allows you to convey emotions that often can't be put across in any other way.
POV is a powerful tool! Master it!
CHECKLIST:
Which POV are you using and why? If you want continuing intimacy, are you using the first person? If you want distance, are you using third person, or omniscient?
Do you move from head to head? If so, why? Would your story gain power if you stuck with a single POV character or broke your scenes up at appropraite places with linespaces to make this possible?
Take a look at your language. Is it right for your POV character? If not, should it be?
Look at your descriptions. Can you tell how your POV character feels about what you're describing?
Next we'll start on Proportion...
