Archive for the ‘Writer’s Toolbox’ Category

If you’re at the stage of writing your book where you’ve finished editing and proofreading and you’re ready to send it off to publishers and agents, then first you’ll need to put together a submissions package.

Unfortunately, not too many writers are familiar with the kind of information they should include in their submissions package, so today I’m going to let you know!

Along with your writing sample you should also prepare and send the following to prospective publishers and agents:

An introductory / query letter
A synopsis
A CV
An outline of the market
A book blurb

Introductory / Query Letter – This will most definitely be read so take the time to write a good one! Include such information as what kind of book you want to publish, whether you have completed the book or not and some details about your personality. One side of the page is plenty – any longer and you run the risk of boring the reader. And one last tip, begin your letter well, as the first 11 words are absolutely crucial.

Synopsis - If you have written a fiction book then share what kind of book it is and what genre it sits within. Do not describe the plot in chapter by chapter order. Instead, sum it up in a nutshell, without going into the back story. Like the covering letter aim for no more than one side of an A4 sheet of paper.

If you have written a non-fiction book say what the competition is and why your book is different. Include facts, figures and other interesting detail about the subject of your book.

CV - Don’t just print off the CV that you used to apply for your latest job. Most of the information in it won’t be relevant to writing and getting your book published. Rewrite your CV focussing on your strengths of character and any writing achievements, or press interviews that you have experienced. Publishers seek authors who are willing to get stuck into the promotion of their book and who possess the necessary traits to make a good job of it.

Outline Of The Market – Again stick to one side of an A4 sheet of paper for this. Include what kind of book you have written, your qualifications to write it, how the book differs to others focused around the same subject and the kind of person you believe will purchase your book.

Book Blurb - This is the writing on the back of a book, which usually propels readers into making a decision about whether to buy your book or not. It should tempt the reader into wanting to know more immediately, without giving away how the book ends.

Once you have all this ready, then begin sending off your manuscript excerpt and supporting documents to relevant publishers and agents. Good luck!

And remember, if you are having trouble putting together your submissions package, or you’d like me to do it on your behalf, then I offer the full service, including a list of 30 relevant publishers and agents to approach, for a fee of $200 / 150€ / 135GBP.

Love & Light

The Word Queen xx

When your creativity is feeling stifled (described by many as writer’s block) it means you’re not in flow, but there’s a super way to beat writer’s block an d get back in flow and it’s called freewriting!

Freewriting is also known as ‘automatic writing’ It is fast writing, generally written for the writer and not the reader. It is not usually shared. It’s commonly used in writing classes as a warm-up exercise, often with a prompt, either visual or written. But it can also be used at home as an exercise before starting your daily writing, or as a means to beat writer’s block. Written freehand, it’s a way to write without thinking or editing. It taps into the secret parts of the unconscious. Freewriting helps with writer’s block as it can be an amazing way to connect ideas. It’s often revealing.

Example:

There is no right or wrong way to freewrite. You simply start writing and watch where the mind takes you. You’ll notice that it creates links and bridges along the way. Here’s a one minute free writing exercise on doctors:

Doctors:

Need to go to the doctor. Her name is Maria. I like Maria because she’s always smiling and she smells of honeysuckle, which is my favourite flower. Her surgery is upstairs and I have to climb up. It’s a steep stairway and I wonder how elderly people manage. It’s a private clinic with nice leather sofas which I stick to when its hot out. Maria charges a bit and my mum says she may be expensive but that you get what you pay for in this world. Maria always treats me really well and she makes me feel comfortable. She likes to talk and find out what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been keeping. It feels like she genuinely does care about her patients, unlike some doctors I’ve come across in the past. Maria places a stethoscope on my chest. It feels cold and makes me shiver. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to play doctors and nurses with my sister. Back then I wanted to be a doctor when I got older, but that all changed since I shone at maths and decided to become an accountant instead.

How Is It Done?

A freewriting session can last from one minute (as above) to fifteen. Very often freewriting begins with a focus, such as a word, ‘doctors’, a visual prompt like a photograph or an object, or even a statement / question such as ‘is it a good idea to spank your children?’ Focus on the topic and keep these rules in mind:

• Write non-stop for a set period of time
• Do not make corrections as you write.
• Keep writing, even if you have to write something like, “I don’t know what to write.”
• Write whatever comes into your mind.
• Do not judge or censor what you are writing.
• Try not to think too hard – just write!
• Use the writing tool that is most comfortable for you– pencil, computer, or whatever.
• It’s a good idea to read your freewriting out loud when you’ve finished. Often you will pick up an idea that you hadn’t noticed as you wrote it. Spend a couple of minutes going through your freewriting. See if any other ideas or patterns emerge?

Why Is It Done?

Freewriting helps you access all the information you have stored away in your subconscious. It literally forces you to place words on page without stopping. It also helps to discover connections which you might not have noticed previously.

Benefits of Freewriting

It makes you more comfortable with the act of writing.
It helps you bypass the “inner critic” who tells you that you can’t write.
It helps to release inner tensions.
It helps you discover things to write about.
It indirectly improves your formal writing.

You can use freewriting at the beginning of each day, or to explore specific topics or themes, such as your main characters, the setting / location of scenes, or at any point when you are want to beat writer’s block. It’s a great tool and one which you’ll come to adore!

Love & Light,
The Word Queen xxx

Many people who want to write a book find it hard to know where to begin. They just don’t ‘get’ how the top authors can sit at their computer and tap away frantically on their computers to keep up with the tirade of words flowing from their heads.

When I settle down to work on my book I enter a trance-like state and I’m convinced that the words don’t come from my mind. Sometimes words I don’t even know the meaning of tumble out. Once I’d never even come across a word which turned up on my manuscript. Oftentimes when I’m reading my work back I don’t even remember constructing a particular paragraph!

This zen-like state of prime creativity is better known as ‘flow.’

A good way to practise achieving flow with your writing is to engage in a daily session of freewriting.

Sit yourself down with a notepad and pen in an area where you feel comfortable and pick a subject. Any subject. Then without thinking, editing, analysing or fretting, simply write whatever comes into your head about that subject. Don’t even pause for a breath. Just get all those words down on to paper. Don’t worry about punctuation, spellings, or grammar, just  write, write, write. Write like you’ve never written before. Think of that scene in Forest Gump “run forest, run!” But swap the running for writing.

The beauty of freewriting is that it allows you to experience that trance-like state I mentioned earlier, called flow.

And after a little practise you’ll be able to tap into this feeling at will. Just like those best-selling authors!

Love & Light

The Word Queen xx

Returning to a writer’s key fears, today I’m going to explain the fear of failure. This is perhaps the easiest fear to understand, as failure plays such a big role in our society.

It’s a common trait for writers who are afraid that things might go wrong, or not turn out in the perfect way they had hoped, to rarely start a project in the first place.

To add fuel to the fire, if they take the negativity a step further and continue imagining scenarios where everything goes wrong, or reminding themselves about times when they feel they failed in the past, things generally become much worse.

Fear is like a poison. It stops you from living the life you are here to live. Instead turn the tables! Write lists of your achievements, or times in your life when you feel you have shone. If you can include any writing related achievements then even better! Read these lists over and over until the information sinks in and you can begin to feel good about yourself again.

Feed that new you with a fresh creative writing project and watch your confidence blossom to new heights. Make the decision to have a book published, take action then watch doors open unto miracles.

Love & Light,

The Word Queen
xxx

I’m always surprised at how many writers fear success. Fearing failure is understandable in most cases, but a fear of SUCCESS – surely not!

The fact is, our brains have been conditioned from the moment we popped out of our mother’s womb. All our current beliefs stem from what our parents told us, thoughts of teachers / peers, and messages absorbed via the media.

Unfortunately many writers are afraid of success simply because they aren’t used to it! Perhaps they hold the negative belief that money (which often accompanies success) is something evil and that the rich are bad people. Or maybe they think that with success comes jealous friends and family and the feeling of separation and loneliness.

So what do these writers do? They subconsiously steer clear of success. Perhaps with the conscious mind they want success more than anything, but given the fact that 95 per cent of our minds function via our subconscious, it’s what goes on back there that really matters.

There are many methods of beating these limiting beliefs by drumming into our subconscious minds what we really want; whether that be an internationally best-selling book, a six figure book deal, or simply signing your published work at the local book store.

I’ll share a scattering of these methods with you soon, but for now take a look within and try to identify whether maybe, just maybe, you are one of those writers who fear success as much as you fear failure. Rememeber, every coin has two sides, as does every human emotion…

With Love

The Word Queen
XXX

Let’s add to those negative beliefs and action-blocking fears I mentioned in the last post. The ones which stop many of you from turning on the computer each day and opening your manuscript to continue writing! Some other common fears include:

• Fear of rejection
• Fear of success
• Fear that you only have one book in you
• Fear of failure

Let’s start by looking at the fear of rejection. It’s not just writers who suffer from this! All humans fear rejection at some point in their lives – rejection by a loved one or partner, rejection from a boss or colleague, and even rejection by friends and family.

For the writer, rejection is by far the most common of fears. We worry that after spending months (and in some cases years) slogging away on our novel, publishers, literary agents, and perhaps even friends and family will say it’s not good enough to publish. Not a chance. Give up now and get back to your day job!

But the likelihood that this will happen is, let’s face it, pretty slim. Even if a publisher, agent or family member doesn’t believe your book is up to scratch, they will normally deliver the message with some degree of tact.

If this does occur, you can always fork out for a book critique or professional book doctoring service and integrate the suggestions. Think of it as a final polishing of your work before you send it out to other publishers and agents.

And remember that many of the top writers of our time have received rejection after rejection before they finally made it. J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books (and now a multi-millionaire), endured dozens of ‘no’ letters before finally seeking gold. One publisher told her, “you’ll never make money from writing children’s books, Jo.” Imagine if she had given up…

We’ve all heard the expression ‘perserverance pays.’ So it’s simple. Choose to perservere instead of fear!

With Love

The Word Queen xxx

Mindset is arguably the most important part of any writer’s make-up. This is because writing a book is a mentally challenging project, where many fears and negative beliefs are likely to crop up. Writing isn’t just about stringing words and sentences together in a magical way. It’s about toughening up your inner world, staying determined, keeping focused, exercising a tonne of self-discipline and believing in yourself and your work unfailingly. And for a beginner writer, maintaining calmness and clarity of mind during such a mammoth task is not as easy as it may seem.

Here are just some of the ways in which writers suffer most:

• My writing isn’t good enough
• Maybe this idea has already been done, and it is probably much better than my version
• My writing reveals too much of my personality
• My writing reveals too little of my personality
• I just can’t seem to find the time to write

We’ll deal with these negative beliefs (and a few more) within the days ahead…

With Love
The Word Queen xxx