she smiled so genuinely at so many of your questions because of how in tune you were with what she was saying, none of your questions being leading or waited to ask while letting her finish the last, as in you were truly listening and it really showed in the warmth of this interview. and wow, what fantastic intel. im really beside myself. these kinds of wisdom nuggets do not come through the feed often and it can difficult to search directly for this kind of specialised sub-category of learning the writing industry. im grateful because this kind of nugget will really make the difference i can feel it. its always been right on the tip if my tongue but i guess i never knew how to confront it and identify it, the simple fact that in an interview, your ability to work well with others, flexibility, adaptability, as well as a work ethic that says you know youll be overworked and under compensated for the foresseable future while you prove your dedication to the craft and the company, and your general intention being to make the life of your employer easier are, by far the most important aspects that must be clarified.
00:01 Intro 01:40 After the first draft 03:30 Developmental editors 06:30 Paula's book - Writing With Quiet Hands 07:55 Loglines 10 words for Hollywood 50 words for publishing Protagonist, main action, emotional impact 13:05 Comps Same but different Used for sales forecasts Put in query letter to show you understand the business 16:05 Author red flags from agent viewpoint Resistance to revisions Not understanding that authors need to do more than write 18:55 Importance of author platform Anything about your personal or professional life that informs your writing 21:25 What does a publisher want? Same but different High concept Be true to yourself, try to make readers feel something First page sells the book, last page sells the next book Go big, go straight to the heart
New England writer here, currently living in Maine. I mostly write from a New England setting and I’m wondering if Paula is open to queries. where I can find her and get an idea what she’s looking for? Great video, thank you for sharing.
What is the advantage of paying a lot of money to a developmental editor, following all their advice, submitting your MS, truly believing you have followed all the steps, just to have an agent or editor turn around and demand more revisions? Paying a developmental editor for something you have to end up doing for yourself anyway (as any writer should), is a loss of money and time that many first time authors don't have to begin with because they have another job and maybe very limited funds.
I generally go high concept...but I think there is some subjectivity as to what qualifies. For example, someone who believes he's a serial killer but is in fact in a virtual reality therapy pre-crime program?
To join a genre-specific association you have to have sold so much in that genre….so at this point won’t ever join because won’t have resources to help me get published…disheartening
This interview pretty well explains why people don't read anymore. It's all just the same but different... Which is boring. No offense to the military fiction writer... but some of us would like more options. We've narrowed the audience of readers down too much and it's most certainly your fault.
