Agents: Angels from Literary Heaven

Agents. Do authors really need them these days of e-books, handheld electronic readers and new dawn-breaking digital technologies?

You hear rantings on both sides. Love 'em or leave 'em, they say.

As for me, I adore my agent, Greg Johnson of WordServe Literary Agency. Without Greg, I'm confidant Mom NEEDS Chocolate would have never seen the coveted front bookshelf position in national bookstores. And I trust Greg 100% as he pitches my newest book idea to publishers.

I'd like to comment on a few points made by Greg's colleague Rachelle Gardner in her recent blog about this subject.

Agents have traditionally served as writers' first line of defense when cost-cutting publishers (aren't they all these days?) try to lower royalty rates or string out or lower advance payments.

(In case you didn't know, advances are simply royalty payments paid ... in advance. Like an advance in your allowance as a kid - it's not free money. Advances reflect the amount pubs expect a book to bring in during the first 3 months post release.)

Agents also have keen knowledge of the ins and outs of contracts and keep an educated eye on all those tiny clauses that can sneak in and wreck an unwary author. They're an author's best advocate in haggling over rights (especially the confusing e-rights that seem to be evolving daily).

I believe writers owe a debt of gratitude to agents in general; without their past work we wouldn't have the royalty rates, advances, or benefits we have today (if you've ever signed a small press contract you've landed yourself versus a traditional publishing contract your agent snagged, you'll see a HUGE difference).

So there you have my humble but accurate opinion.

No one knows where the industry is heading in these turbulent technologically transitional times (whoa - is this "t" day?), but I plan to continue depending on my agent, whose very livlihood depends on staying abreast of new trends and twists (more t's) on the horizon. Who could I possibly want in my corner more?

What are your thoughts?

Writing Nuts & Bolts

The following are tips excerpted from the "Nuts and Bolts" presentation I'll be doing for the Lakeland American Christian Writers this week. If your writer's group would like a live or phone-conferenced workshop, contact me at www.DeboraCoty.com

1. Beware lest rambling descriptions run away with you. Like this Wretched Writer Award winner: "The rising sun crawled over the ridge and slithered across the hot barren terrain into every nook and cranny like grease on a Denny's grill in the morning rush, but only until eleven o'clock when they switch to the lunch menu."

2. Drop the reader in the middle of a scene without throat-clearing (preamble or introduction). Skillfully craft your lead paragraph so that you're imparting lots of information without being obvious.

Here's a good example from one of my faves, Before the Dawn Wind Rises by Laurie B. Clifford. It's not breakneck action (not that kind of a story), but it's got teeth: "We had been married 11 years when I first noticed that Bobby used his fingers to push his food onto his fork. We were having breakfast on the greenhouse porch, autumn blazing like a fandango dancer around us. Janie and Susie were fighting over whose toast had the most cinnamon sugar."

This short passage tells us:
1. The story is written in first person (informal diary form) and the protagonist is a woman, married with two daughters.
2. The family is somewhat affluent (I don't have a greenhouse porch, do you?).
3. A hint of marital discord (forshadowing a major subplot).
4. The time of day and season of the year.
5. A light tone is set right away; indeed, subtle humor riddles the entire book.

3. Avoid too much dialect, which can become confusing, offensive, or out of vogue. Don't risk outdating your book or turning off your reader. The days of Brer Rabbit are no more.

4. Avoid eyeball walls at all costs. (Anything that stops the flow of words; that halts the movie playing inside the reader's head - may be an obscure word, confusing passage, or redundant phrase.) If the reader has to go back and re-read the sentence to understand it, you've just scored a D- in Writing 101.

5. Use concise, precise writing. Take the time to find the perfect word or phrase. Don't say in five words what you can say in two. Blaise Pascal said, "I have made this longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."

Write tight!

"Thicker than Blood"

TitleTrakk.com Blog Tours Presents:

Thicker than Blood
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House

Winner of the
2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest!

Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late?



Our review...

Don’t you wonder how two people from one family—like the two sisters in C.J. Darlington’s story—could begin their lives at the same point and somehow takes turns that would lead them to such very different lives? Are we born who we are, or does life make us that way? The main characters in Thicker than Blood are opposites in every way, though both are heading to a crisis point.

What we liked…

C.J. Darlington addressed some gritty issues in this debut novel: the stubbornness of main character Christy’s addiction and the frustrating, self-destructive cycle of an abusive relationship. Darlington also created a contrast character in Christy’s sister, May. I especially enjoyed how C.J. wove in Scripture without sounding pious or simplistic. That’s not easy to do!

Book lovers will enjoy this behind-the-scenes look into the world of antique book collecting. Nice work, C.J. Can't wait for your next book!




With careful attention to detail, emotion, and scene-setting, C.J. Darlington scores with her debut effort. Here is a special writer you won’t want to miss.
--Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times best selling author

If you love a good read filled with adventure and ultimately redemption, I encourage you to brew the tea, settle into your favorite chair and pick up the page turner that is C.J. Darlington’s imaginative new novel of a modern day sisterhood that triumphs over separation and the raw challenges of life to find the real endurance of both family ties and God’s amazing grace.
--Rebecca St. James, Grammy award winning Christian singer and bestselling author

With Thicker than Blood, C.J. Darlington proves she's a novelist for the long-haul, a strong new voice in Christian fiction. This book speaks to the heart, from the heart, about the heart. Readers will not soon forget it.
--Sibella Giorello, Christy award-winning author of The Rivers Run Dry & The Clouds Roll Away

Watch the book trailer:

About the Author:
C. J. began writing the story that would become Thicker than Blood (her first novel) when she was a fifteen-year-old homeschool student. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in the novel before cofounding her own online bookstore. Thicker than Blood was the winner of the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel.

C. J. co-founded the Christian entertainment Web site TitleTrakk.com with her sister, Tracy, and has been actively promoting Christian fiction through book reviews and author interviews. She makes her home in Pennsylvania with her family and their menagerie of dogs and cats. Visit her website www.cjdarlington.com for more info.

QUICK LINKS:

• The 1st chapter of Thicker than Blood
• The "Story Behind the Story" of Thicker than Blood
• More endorsements from Jenny B. Jones, James Scott Bell, Susan Meissner, and more!
• Our interview with C.J. at TitleTrakk.com
  
• Buy Thicker than Blood at Christianbook.com
• Buy Thicker than Blood at Amazon.com
• List of the other 85+ Thicker than Blood blog tour participants!

Another One Bites the Dust.

Wow - it's almost 2010! Did you ever picture yourself actually writing that date?

I certainly didn't. Boggles my feeble mind.

I'll tell you something else that boggles my mind: In reviewing my 2009 writing engagement calendar, I counted (in conjunction with the Dec 08 release of Billowing Sails, the May release of Mom NEEDS Chocolate and August release of Everyday Hope). . .

15 radio interviews
5 TV interviews in 3 states
14 Young Writers Workshops (for kids age 8 - 18)
10 newspaper articles
AND
47 speaking events.

That's 47 prepared speeches. 47 upset stomachs. 47 urgent prayers for supernatural peace even as my knees knocked and hands quivered.

Man alive. I had no idea.

I knew I was pretty wiped by December but didn't realize how crazy busy the year was. I'm humbled and entirely grateful to Papa God, who is indeed able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us (Eph 3:20) - my scripture for the year.

Blessings to you and your family in the exciting year stretching before us. Fill it wisely.

A Select Arrow

Have a blessed Christmas!

For this week of holy expectations, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite excerpts from Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers

The eve of my 49th birthday waned melancholy as I lay on my back in bed, staring at the ceiling. I had just received yet another rejection letter from an agent regarding my recently completed book.

It's not that rejection was anything new; I'd collected enough rejection slips during my four years as a professional writer to papar mache a pinata. A big one. Maybe a life-sized rhinoceros. Okay - ten rhinoceroses, six wildebeests, two heifers, and a partridge in a pear tree.

No, rejection per se was not what troubled me. I knew that in the literary game, par for the course is to receive ten rejections to every one acceptance. What bothered me was the nagging suspicion that I'd misheard my calling. That God had said, "fight a crook" or "bite a snook" instead of "write a book."

Glancing down at my opened Bible, my eyes focused on a passage from Isaiah: He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has concealed me, and He has also made me a select arrow; He has hidden me in His quiver.

My heavenly Father was sending me a note of encouragement: He wil personally take on the enemies before me, running interference with His tall, strong stature so that I can find rest and peace in the protective shadow of His cupped hand. I can't think of a safer place to be.

And best of all, I am a select arrow. Not just any arrow - a select arrow. A flint-sharpened, friction-polished, exclusive weapon specially designed to pierce the tough outer shell of God's intended targets and speak God's message to their hearts through the written word.

There is no other arrow like me, no person with the exact same background, experiences, and perspective the Lord has given me. I am the only one that can accomplish the task God has customized for me.

For now, I am concealed. Undistinguished. Unknown. He has hidden me in His quiver until the right time to use me in battle Only at tht specific time will I be most effective for His glory.

Waiting. That Literary Limboland unavoidable in the writing life.

After you hit "send" on that magazine article headed to an editor.

When you've finally added the last agonized finishing touches to that book query and aimed it at your A-list of prospective agents.

During the nail-biting weeks after your agent wings your book proposal off to publishers.

I'm in that last space now. I've been working on a book about dealing with stress for the last few months and it finally got to the gelled stage where it started to look like a real manuscript a few weeks ago.

Time to pitch. Out comes the proposal and down go the prayer knees.

What to do while you're waiting? It's essential to keep working - if not on polishing that manuscript (it will be a while before an interested editor asks to see the entire work), at least on other projects. Makes the time pass a little quicker (in theory).

How about magazine articles? Short term projects yield short term positive reinforcement (and keep those pay checks rolling in).

I like this quote from a highly respected literary agent in Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

"One of the absolute best things you can do is to work on your craft of writng with shorter forms. Books are long - I know not very profound but true. Magazine articles and publication lead time is less, and they are much more achievable. There are too many writers who are stuck on submitting their long manuscript and never work on magazine articles. It's a shame."
~Terry Whalin, agent, Whalin Literary Agency

Ch-Ch-Changes

I'm excited but a little nervous about the changes going on at my house this month. After 30 years as an orthopedic occupational therapist, I'm retiring to devote more time to writing.

The possibilities are daunting: tackling more book projects, increased time to invest in marketing my current books, the abilitity to travel more to garner interesting book fodder, accepting a wider range of speaking engagements . . . or wallowing in abject poverty.

The latter is no doubt an underlying fear shared by everyone giving up that regular paycheck.

In my case, much prayer and straining to discern that divine still, small voice I depend on to guide my steps in this life preceded my decision. I just wish He'd write on a wall in flaming print or etch His will on a couple of stone tablets so I could be sure I'm hearing Him right.

So it's a leap of faith for me. One thing I plan to do more of is invest more time in spiritual growth. On that note, I'd like to leave you with an inspirational quote from Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

"Never allow the rat race or relentless pace to take the color and energy out of your days. Who cares if we can construct a perfect sentence if there is no life or substance behind our words?"
~Susie Larson, author of Balance that Works When Life Doesn't