I wish I could give you better news then I'm still working on my book 'Addicted' but I can't. The truth is I haven't been working on this blog because I have been working so hard on my book. On top of everything else, I'm thinking about sending a query letter, synopsis, and the first five to ten pages (Depending on the agency)of the electric eel bandit to literary agents across the U.S. Lately, I have been procasinating about sending it outfor fear of what they might say about it but I know that if the rejection comes my way, I'll be able to handle it. Bust day ahead. Gotta go!
Sincerely,
Dominique Gibson
Showing posts with label literary agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literary agents. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A new draft is finished...An opportunity to try something new
Hello everyone
I'm sorry I haven't been writing on my blog last week. I got so caught up with this new story I'm writing called 'Addicted' that I haven't thought about checking up on my blog. I have decided to give the Truson S.E.T. series a break for at least two weeks so I can focus on something else entirely. I have to admit that it's been great so far. I'm almost finished with the second chapter of the novel so far (And I started on Feburary 1st!). I'm hoping to finish it up within a month so I when I do go back to 'the electric eel bandit', I'll be more than ready to make some changes to it so I would be able to send it out to literary agents.
So far, I'm really loving this new story and I'm probably going to spend more time working on this story then doing anything else. But, I promise I'll try to keep updating my blogs no matter what.
See ya later.
I'm sorry I haven't been writing on my blog last week. I got so caught up with this new story I'm writing called 'Addicted' that I haven't thought about checking up on my blog. I have decided to give the Truson S.E.T. series a break for at least two weeks so I can focus on something else entirely. I have to admit that it's been great so far. I'm almost finished with the second chapter of the novel so far (And I started on Feburary 1st!). I'm hoping to finish it up within a month so I when I do go back to 'the electric eel bandit', I'll be more than ready to make some changes to it so I would be able to send it out to literary agents.
So far, I'm really loving this new story and I'm probably going to spend more time working on this story then doing anything else. But, I promise I'll try to keep updating my blogs no matter what.
See ya later.
Friday, January 22, 2010
All about the Query Letters
Hello
Today I would like to take a moment out of my day to tell you about the one topic that seems to be hitting the agent world nowadays: Query Letters. The reason why I'm talking about this is because I'm writing query letter and the synopsis when it comes to my novels.
Or Praticing I should say.
Even though I'm still in the process of rewriting my own novel, I also praticed how to rewrite a synopsis and a query letter as well and I thought that today would be a good day on sharing some of my samples of query letters I have written over the years with you and my opinion on what I think is wrong with them.
Sample Query Letter:
TO: dg60621@yahoo.com
I recently read your short interview in the August 2009 edition of your newsletter called School Days and you mentioned how much you wanted a story that could blow you away in voice, concept and pacing. You also stated that it’s more about the overall story than a particular theme or genre that stands out to you and I’m hoping that my 100,000 word novel ‘The electric eel bandit’ will be the story you’ve been waiting for.
Ever since Bradford became a teenager, He knew that his new mother Dr. Courtney Madison was keeping secrets about his past that only he can figure out. As Bradford decides to leave in search of what really happened to him and his parents, He realizes that searching for answers is not as easy as he suspects and ends up running into a bunch of problems along the way including having a crush on a girl who’s not from his world!
This book is supposed to be the first book in a series called ‘The Truson Super Elite Team but can also work as a stand alone novel. I have a B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago and have been fascinated with animals ever since I could remember. The partial is ready to submit at your request. Thank you for your time and consideration and hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Dominique Gibson
The reason I wouldn't send this query letter out to Literary Agents:
Lack of Details: I agree that you should keep your query letter as short as possible and even though it creates a lot of mystery within the letter for someone to keep reading, I think that if I stated some (not all) of the probelms that Bradford is going through, The agent or editor make have some sort of idea on what's going on in the book.
The information is outdated: Like I said before, I have been writing query letters over the years and this one happens to be from last year. More than likely things have changed since last year which means that I would have to find the most updated information on the agency itself and use it in my query letter to replace the paragraph I have now (In case you're wondering, this was an actual query letter I wrote to an agent, I just concealed the name for educational purposes).
Last but certainly not least is:
The Word Count: My manuscript states that it's a 100,000-word YA paranormal romance. Since then, I've recently checked the guidelines on the word count of Young Adult novels and the recommended cut off point is 90,000 words. Since my novel is a light science fiction book, it seems to make sense that going over a 100,000 words for a YA novel is not very smart which means more rewrites.
Overall, this query letter wasn't as bad as my previous ones. I would love to show you some of the bad ones I have written over the years (If I can find them) and tell you why they're so bad (Like I did with this one). Next week, I'll talk about another process that requires your agent and editor's attention to request a partial: The Dreaded Synopsis.
Today I would like to take a moment out of my day to tell you about the one topic that seems to be hitting the agent world nowadays: Query Letters. The reason why I'm talking about this is because I'm writing query letter and the synopsis when it comes to my novels.
Or Praticing I should say.
Even though I'm still in the process of rewriting my own novel, I also praticed how to rewrite a synopsis and a query letter as well and I thought that today would be a good day on sharing some of my samples of query letters I have written over the years with you and my opinion on what I think is wrong with them.
Sample Query Letter:
TO: dg60621@yahoo.com
I recently read your short interview in the August 2009 edition of your newsletter called School Days and you mentioned how much you wanted a story that could blow you away in voice, concept and pacing. You also stated that it’s more about the overall story than a particular theme or genre that stands out to you and I’m hoping that my 100,000 word novel ‘The electric eel bandit’ will be the story you’ve been waiting for.
Ever since Bradford became a teenager, He knew that his new mother Dr. Courtney Madison was keeping secrets about his past that only he can figure out. As Bradford decides to leave in search of what really happened to him and his parents, He realizes that searching for answers is not as easy as he suspects and ends up running into a bunch of problems along the way including having a crush on a girl who’s not from his world!
This book is supposed to be the first book in a series called ‘The Truson Super Elite Team but can also work as a stand alone novel. I have a B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago and have been fascinated with animals ever since I could remember. The partial is ready to submit at your request. Thank you for your time and consideration and hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Dominique Gibson
The reason I wouldn't send this query letter out to Literary Agents:
Lack of Details: I agree that you should keep your query letter as short as possible and even though it creates a lot of mystery within the letter for someone to keep reading, I think that if I stated some (not all) of the probelms that Bradford is going through, The agent or editor make have some sort of idea on what's going on in the book.
The information is outdated: Like I said before, I have been writing query letters over the years and this one happens to be from last year. More than likely things have changed since last year which means that I would have to find the most updated information on the agency itself and use it in my query letter to replace the paragraph I have now (In case you're wondering, this was an actual query letter I wrote to an agent, I just concealed the name for educational purposes).
Last but certainly not least is:
The Word Count: My manuscript states that it's a 100,000-word YA paranormal romance. Since then, I've recently checked the guidelines on the word count of Young Adult novels and the recommended cut off point is 90,000 words. Since my novel is a light science fiction book, it seems to make sense that going over a 100,000 words for a YA novel is not very smart which means more rewrites.
Overall, this query letter wasn't as bad as my previous ones. I would love to show you some of the bad ones I have written over the years (If I can find them) and tell you why they're so bad (Like I did with this one). Next week, I'll talk about another process that requires your agent and editor's attention to request a partial: The Dreaded Synopsis.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Literary Agents, promotion, and staying with my novel
Hi, Everyone.
I would love to tell you guys that after reading a ton of advice from both established writers as well as unknown wirters that I'm going to stick with my current project (But I have so many ideas) no matter how much frustrated I am with this project (But I have one idea you really going to love...), I'm going to stick to it and work my way through it until the very end (Okay, see this first idea I have..).
Excuse me you guys, There's something I have to do.
SHUT UP YOU STUPID EDITOR!
There. That's better. In other news, I was reading Nathan Brasford latest entry on his blog today (Which you can always find here )which talked about the different methods of marketing your book. There's blogging....e-mails...facebook....tweet....
Personally, If my book ever sees the light of day in a bookstore I would love to get out and meet people and sign books in person rather than blog and sit behind a computer all day. I would want to get to know the fans who spend their time reading my books. I would love for them to ask me all sorts of questions about the characters, the plot, what's going to be my next book...
You get the picture right?
And in return, I would love to ask them questions about their favorite characters and what they loved the most about the story etc...
In the end, that's my answer for what I have to say on that. I'm hoping that I could talk more about another subject that peeks my interest but until then...
See ya next time.
I would love to tell you guys that after reading a ton of advice from both established writers as well as unknown wirters that I'm going to stick with my current project (But I have so many ideas) no matter how much frustrated I am with this project (But I have one idea you really going to love...), I'm going to stick to it and work my way through it until the very end (Okay, see this first idea I have..).
Excuse me you guys, There's something I have to do.
SHUT UP YOU STUPID EDITOR!
There. That's better. In other news, I was reading Nathan Brasford latest entry on his blog today (Which you can always find here )which talked about the different methods of marketing your book. There's blogging....e-mails...facebook....tweet....
Personally, If my book ever sees the light of day in a bookstore I would love to get out and meet people and sign books in person rather than blog and sit behind a computer all day. I would want to get to know the fans who spend their time reading my books. I would love for them to ask me all sorts of questions about the characters, the plot, what's going to be my next book...
You get the picture right?
And in return, I would love to ask them questions about their favorite characters and what they loved the most about the story etc...
In the end, that's my answer for what I have to say on that. I'm hoping that I could talk more about another subject that peeks my interest but until then...
See ya next time.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Well...I did it!
This might be a short entry today because...I'm just tired sorry!
Today, I did something that I thought I wasn't going to do at this time...I sent out the first 240-word pitch to the YA novel discovery contest. It's sponsored by writingclasses.com and Serendipity Literary Agency. The grand prize winner will receive an opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to Regina Brooks and receive a ten-week writing course for free at www.writingclasses.com. The deadline is November 30th at 11:59 ET.
The reason why I thought I would never do it? The deadline ends on January 29th, 2010 and I won't be able to see if I won or not until February 2nd, 2010.
Oh well, I guess you have to be patient when it comes to this kind of stuff. Wish me luck!
P.S. I'll probably do another blog entry tomorrow. Have a lot more to say but can't say it right now.
Today, I did something that I thought I wasn't going to do at this time...I sent out the first 240-word pitch to the YA novel discovery contest. It's sponsored by writingclasses.com and Serendipity Literary Agency. The grand prize winner will receive an opportunity to submit an entire manuscript to Regina Brooks and receive a ten-week writing course for free at www.writingclasses.com. The deadline is November 30th at 11:59 ET.
The reason why I thought I would never do it? The deadline ends on January 29th, 2010 and I won't be able to see if I won or not until February 2nd, 2010.
Oh well, I guess you have to be patient when it comes to this kind of stuff. Wish me luck!
P.S. I'll probably do another blog entry tomorrow. Have a lot more to say but can't say it right now.
Friday, November 13, 2009
My Introduction
Hello everyone. My name is Dominique Gibson and I'm a woman on a mission.
My goal: To finish up the latest draft of my novel and send it out to Literary Agents and Publishers around the country.
My Dream: To write full-time and to have the opportunity for my Young Adult and eventually my romance reading fans to read my work and become insipred by it.
What I'm working on now: I'm working on a 100,000-word YA paranormal novel called The Electric eel Bandit'. It's about a thirteen-year-old boy who's on a mission of his own: To find the man that's responsible for killing him and his parents in a boating accident. While he's on his mission, He runs into a lot of trouble along the way invovling love, enemies, and even his mentor and second mom Dr. Madison.
What I may be leaving out: That my main character is a shapeshifter who came back to life by a science experiment that goes back thousands of years and that Dr. Madison is the woman who brought him back to life after she found him washed up on the shore.
A little bit about Me: I'm a college Graduate who has a B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. When I'm not writing, I spend way too much time watching soap operas, The vampire diaries, and reading about vampires (Twilight anyone?). I have been writing ever since I was eight-years-old.
My mission for this post: To reach out not only to aspiring writers who are trying to get published like I am, but to reach out to everyone who has a mission of their own. I would love for people post what their on goals and missions are on achieveing their dreams whether it's writing, fashion design, computers, etc. I would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dominique Gibson
P.S. , I will have the opportunity to post my sample chapter of my novel in the next few days.
My goal: To finish up the latest draft of my novel and send it out to Literary Agents and Publishers around the country.
My Dream: To write full-time and to have the opportunity for my Young Adult and eventually my romance reading fans to read my work and become insipred by it.
What I'm working on now: I'm working on a 100,000-word YA paranormal novel called The Electric eel Bandit'. It's about a thirteen-year-old boy who's on a mission of his own: To find the man that's responsible for killing him and his parents in a boating accident. While he's on his mission, He runs into a lot of trouble along the way invovling love, enemies, and even his mentor and second mom Dr. Madison.
What I may be leaving out: That my main character is a shapeshifter who came back to life by a science experiment that goes back thousands of years and that Dr. Madison is the woman who brought him back to life after she found him washed up on the shore.
A little bit about Me: I'm a college Graduate who has a B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago. When I'm not writing, I spend way too much time watching soap operas, The vampire diaries, and reading about vampires (Twilight anyone?). I have been writing ever since I was eight-years-old.
My mission for this post: To reach out not only to aspiring writers who are trying to get published like I am, but to reach out to everyone who has a mission of their own. I would love for people post what their on goals and missions are on achieveing their dreams whether it's writing, fashion design, computers, etc. I would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dominique Gibson
P.S. , I will have the opportunity to post my sample chapter of my novel in the next few days.
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