Tweeting Interns: Helpful or Hurtful?

 

Want to know who won my birthday contest?  You'll have to scroll down to see.  But first, today's topic--the Twitter Queryfest/Queryslam debate.

 

For those of you who haven't heard about it, here's the gist: there was an anonymous intern on Twitter (InternAmie/Amy Cortese) who would tweet thoughts about the queries as she was reading them. No identifying information was given, but she'd give tidbits like: This memoir has a good premise, but the writing isn't there or sample pages had too much passive voice. It wasn't anything earth-shattering usually, but I know she had a lot of followers (including myself.)

Well, people began to react to it because, despite the vagueness, it still seemed like dangerous waters in terms of confidentiality. It's one of those things that when it's not about YOU, it can be interesting or funny, but then when you start considering it may be your query getting tweeted--well, then it starts feeling a little different. (Just like any other teasing--easy to be in the crowd, not quite as fun to be in the spotlight.)

Agent Janet Reid got wind of what was going on and did a post here on why we shouldn't assume all interns are operating that way and on the inappropriateness of that tweeting intern's actions.

People have a range of opinions. Penelope at Too Cute to Be Very Interesting (whose post sparked mine) found the tweets informative, so was disappointed that InternAmie is now shut down. Others feel very strongly the other way.

Now, for the record, I don't think this intern had bad intentions. I'm sure she thought she was being helpful. But I tend to err on the side of privacy and confidentiality. When I was a management recruiter, I would get hundreds of resumes a week. Therefore, much of my day was spent going through these things. Just like queries, some were great, many were awful. Some made mistakes so glaring that they were laughable.

And I'll admit, amongst my fellow recruiters we did discuss them. i.e. Can you believe this person put SexyHotThing@wherever.com as her email on her resume? Or, look this person's "reason for leaving" for their last job was "my boss was a jerk." Discussing it kept the job sane--it's what people do at work.

BUT, we were discussing it privately amongst ourselves. If we had tweeted that (if Twitter existed back then), we would've been in some serious trouble--written up, fired, etc. because those people didn't give us permission to discuss their information publicly.

Now, hearing agent and intern feedback on queries can be wildly helpful. The workshop I went to at RWA (also called Queryfest) was great. The agents gave honest feedback live as they heard queries read aloud. Some of the feedback was tough. Hearing where agents would stop reading was probably tough on the people who wrote the queries. However, the difference is that those writers VOLUNTEERED. They knew they would be discussed publicly and had given permission for that to happen.

So, in my opinion, I think that's where the line is. Did the person give permission? Because otherwise, you need to put on your empathy shoes and think--if I saw an intern or agent tweet about how terrible my writing/query was, how would I feel?

I think it's fine for agents/interns to tweet overarching things that are helpful. i.e. Too many of the YA queries we're seeing are about werewolves. Or something like that. But when it gets specific, it risks humiliating people and making the agent/intern look unprofessional.

But I'd love to hear all of your opinions. Do you find these kinds of tweets helpful? Did it make you nervous that one day your query would be the subject of that kind of tweet? Do you think people are being too overly sensitive about this issue?

And finally, the winners of last Monday's Birthday contest....

First place: KLM at Cove Awakening 

Second place: Diane at Diane Estrella


Congrats to the winners!!!!  I'll be emailing you about your prize. And thanks to everyone who entered the contest!

 

How I Got My Agent and How Blogging Played a Role

 

Okay, so first I have to say I'm overwhelmed by all the congratulations, well wishes, and warm comments from everyone yesterday.  Thank so much, y'all!  My news was that much sweeter because I had so many fabulous people to celebrate with.  I've never come across such a supportive and genuine community of people as I have with writers.  I'm regularly amazed at how kind-hearted and giving everyone is to each other.

 

In fact, that online writerly support played a big role in getting the ball rolling with my agent.  At the beginning of June, I got an email from the lovely and fabulous Natalie Bahm.  (Btw, if you're not following her awesome blog, get on it.)  Natalie said that Sara, her agent, was going to RWA Nationals and was looking to sign a few more romance writers before the conference.

Natalie knew what I wrote because we were blog friends and she'd read a few excerpts I'd posted here and saw my contest wins, so she offered to give me a referral.  I also got a message from a Twitter friend (and another of Sara's clients) Miranda Kenneally offering to read some of my stuff and possibly offer a referral as well.  (See how wonderful and generous writers are?)

Unfortunately, my book (Exposure Therapy - the erotic romantic suspense) wasn't quite ready.  I had a few chapters to finish and then needed to put it through beta readers, revisions, etc.  As much as it pained me to pass up the chance with such a great agent, I didn't want to send something that wasn't polished.  Natalie (because she's awesome like that) assured me that she'd give me a referral whenever I was ready to query.

So I went to RWA Nationals, my book ready to go (thanks to my uber fast, super helpful beta reader J. Leigh Bailey), and set about learning any last details I could before I queried.  Sara spoke at the PRO Retreat on an agent panel and I really liked what she had to say.  She seemed friendly and approachable, and she was one of the few that talked about the importance of an author having an online presence while they are trying to get an agent.

So I came back home, chose my top five agents I wanted to query, then contacted Natalie to see if she was still cool with the referral.  She definitely was and had me send a query and partial to Sara (allowing me to skip the query only first step--yay!).  Sara contacted me a few days later and asked for the full.  I was beside myself, but knew not to get too excited yet.  Back when I queried my YA, I had a number of full requests that didn't pan out.  Not to mention, I follow Kristin Nelson's blog, so I know their stats:  Last year==38,000 queries, 55 fulls requested, 6 offers of representation.  Um, yeah.  A little daunting.

But then, four (yes, four) days later, Sara emailed me.  She said my book "spoke" to her (yes, now THAT is why I write.  I can't tell you how thrilling those words were to hear--makes me a little misty-eyed just thinking about it.)  However, she had a lot of thoughts on the changes she would want me to make to strengthen the story and wanted to see if I was on the same page with that.  The changes she wanted were pretty big things, but I really could see how those elements would deepen the book, darken it, and up the suspense.  So I sent her my thoughts on those changes and we scheduled THE CALL!  The rest you can figure out.  :)

Now, I'm embarking on rewrites.  Wish me luck!

Feel free to ask me any questions I might have not covered!  :)  And are you as amazed as I am by how awesome the writing community is?

 

**Today's Theme Song**
"A Little Help From My Friends" - Joe Cocker
(player in sidebar, take a listen)

 

Guess What? I HAVE AN AGENT!!!!!!!

 

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! *deep breaths* OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG !!!!
Yes, it actually happened....
I


HAVE


AN


AGENT!!!!!
*twirls around in a circle*
This has happened so fast, I can barely believe it.  I came back from RWA Nationals at the beginning of the month with my list of the top five agents I wanted to query. I signed up for Query Tracker, sent out the letters, and settled in for the wait. I'd been down the road with my first novel and prepared myself for the long haul.
Well, I totally didn't need to spend that money for that QueryTracker premium membership (although, I highly recommend it--great program) because...
Two weeks later, I got an offer of representation from none other than ...
The fabulous Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency!!!!!
Needless to say, I accepted. She had great things to say about my book and has terrific input on how to make it even stronger. I'm so looking forward to working with her.
Now, my head is still spinning, so I apologize that this post is neither insightful nor coherent. I promise I will totally go in to details about how it all happened, how blogging played a part, which book I was querying, and what's going on now.  
Later.  
Right now, though, I'm too busy doing this....

 

**Today's Theme Song**
"Beautiful Day" - U2
(player in sidebar, take a listen)

 

Why Your Mama Doesn't Count as a Beta Reader

 


As I was watching American Idol this week, I realized that the contestants on the show are much like writers trying to get agents or publishing deals.  We all have a dream, we all believe we have some level of talent, and we want to impress the people that can help us realize our dream.

 

These people go on the show, wait in impossibly long lines (slush pile) then present what they've got to the judges (agents) for about a 1% chance of being successful.  So when I'm watching the show and see contestants walk in so hopeful only to open their mouths and sound like a dying cat, I always wonder why these people went through so much trouble?  Don't they know they're terrible?  I mean this guy seems honest in his surprise (sorry this is not from this season, couldn't find a good one yet on YouTube).

But time and time again, we see those contestants break down in tears, exit the room, and run into the arms of their genuinely astonished friends and family.  Inevitably, the mother is murmuring, "They don't know what they're talking about, honey, you're wonderful!"

And herein lies the problem.  If the only people you ever sing for are your family and friends, you're not getting any true help.  They aren't lying to you necessarily--they just love or like you and are looking for the good in you.  This is the same thing that happens if your only beta readers are your mom/friends/co-workers.

ANYONE who has any obligation or loyalty to you in real life is going to see things through rose-colored glasses.  You have to look at what the person has to lose by giving you a harsh feedback.  For instance, if you're writing YA and your friend's teen daughter offers to read your manuscript, she is already set up not to give you a negative opinion.  You are her mother's friend and an adult.  She's going to want to please you.

So, I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but do not send your work out to agents before you've found  unbiased beta readers (including people who are writers, not just readers) or joined a crit group.  (I'm speaking from experience with novel #1 here.)  Otherwise, you may end up getting the same reaction from the agents that the judges gave the guy in the video above.

Yes, there are some people who are born with some amazing innate talent and nail it the first time with no help.  BUT they are the exception--and if you've watched the movie He's Just Not That Into You--remember that most of us are the rule, not the exception.

So give yourself the best possible chance for that agent to fall in love with your work.  Getting a crit can be terrifying the first few times, but wouldn't you rather hear negative feedback from a fellow writer than blow your opportunity with your dream agent or publisher?  Your manuscript might just be a few critiques away from amazing--give yourself a chance to reach that.

*steps off soap box*

--Alright, you only have until tonight at midnight (central) to enter the "win a crit" contest (are you getting tired of me reminding you yet?), enter here if you haven't already.--

 

**ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BETA READERS OR CRIT GROUP?**

I've noticed a few of you have left comments this week that you are looking for a crit group.  So in addition to regular comments, feel free to leave a "personal" ad for what kind of crit group or beta readers you are looking for and leave your email address so that others who may match up with you can contact you.

 

So am I the only one who jumped the gun on her first novel and queried before I had unbiased beta readers?  When did you decide you needed to join a crit group?  Who would you want as your literary agent--Randy, Simon, or Cara?  


 

**Today's Theme Song**
"I Honestly Love You" - Olivia Newton-John
(player in sidebar, take a listen)

 

Mourning the Death of the First Novel

 

So I finished my first novel, Shadow Falls (paranormal YA) a few months ago. (Well, my first one that counts. The one in high school, well, a novel it was not.) I toiled and tweaked and edited and obsessed. I wrote and rewrote my query, frantically checking query shark to make sure I didn't make any well-known mistakes. I went through a crisis of self-esteem before hitting send on my first agent query--the oh so attractive, sweaty, shaky, I-obviously-can't-put-two-words-together-so-why-am-I-even-bothering stage. This stage was quickly followed by the "is my email working? is my spam filter too strong? why is it not dinging with new emails from agents?" phase. Yes, I know they say to expect a response no sooner than a few weeks or months, but I plugged my ears and sang show tunes to avoid accepting that knowledge.

To my surprise, many responded within two weeks, which made the immediate gratification monster inside me very happy indeed. Unfortunately, most of those responses were form rejections. However, to my great delight (and surprise), I received two request for partials and two requests for fulls pretty quickly from biggie, dream agents. Of course, I was already picturing my book on the shelf despite knowing my chances were still slim. After a few weeks (two months was the longest), I received three form rejections. Total bummer. Looped back to low self-esteem phase.
Then, this week, I received my rejection on the final full I had out. However, this time the agent personalized it. The lovely note contained the words "you are clearly a very talented writer" (woo-hoo) and that my story "had lots of teen appeal" (kickass). However, the story wasn't different enough from what was out there in a now saturated teen paranormal market. (sigh) Then, she asked that if I didn't find an agent this time around, she hoped I would query her on my next project. (Backing away from the ledge).
So, I'm considering the rejection a victory. I still have a few queries floating around, but my hope meter for this first book is definitely on low. I am mourning it's gentle death and will be burying it in the drawer soon. Perhaps it can be resurrected another day with some rewrites. In the meantime, onward and upward. I'm halfway through writing the first draft of a romance novel.
Lessons learned from novel #1: a) I don't totally suck b) I can write a query letter and c) I can handle rejection (mostly)