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#RevPit #10queries

2/5/2020

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I had so much fun doing #10queries with the awesome group of #revpit editors! If you missed it, don't worry--here are all my tweets so you can take the advice and apply it to your own WIP.

For this contest, winners received feedback on their query and first 5 pages. I gave one tweet for the query and one for the pages.

Thanks @Miranda_Darrow! I’m the last one for #revpit #10queries. Music queued, tea prepared. Let’s do this!

Rubric:

□= yes, gimme more pages.
□ = maybe. Depends on the mood I’m in.
□ = not this time. Either needs revision or I'm not the right person.

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q1 RomSusp: Interesting premise, but jumps right into plot when we need the hook! Also, a bit too heavy on plot details, when we want the MC’s goals, the obstacles, and the stakes. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P1 Great tangible details, and backstory and motivation are woven in well. Could use a bit more introspective so reader can connect to MC. □ bc goal isn’t clear from this or query, so I’m not driven to keep reading. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q2 Fantasy: Plot sounds intriguing, but again no hook. The details are a bit confusing—query needs to be a bit longer to make sure the MC’s goals, obstacles, and stakes are clear. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P2 A prologue masquerading as ch 1 and it doesn’t work—different voice. Backstory should be sprinkled throughout instead. We don’t have an emotional connection to what’s going on. But first pg of ch 2 is AMAZING and I WANT MORE NOW. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q3 HistRom: MCs come off a little too generic, conflict vague. The exciting specifics are in the pages, but we need them in the query to make it stand out! A fabulous rundown of plot without being too synopsis-y, and leaves reader wanting more. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P3 Great setup that grabs you from the beginning. Could use a bit more info about the heroine’s status quo (she’s clearly in an unusual situation for her), and the hero feels off...almost not important enough? □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q4 Spec Fic: Dare I say, a perfect query. Intriguing hook, MC’s goal and motivations, some plot but not too much. I’m definitely excited to read the pages. *chef’s kiss* #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P4 Emotions are palpable, Deep POV is on point. I really don’t have much helpful to say about this one—I think you’re doing everything right here. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q5 MG Fantasy: Super intriguing! Needs a little clarification on the limits of the magic and why MC is being pursued—it’s a bit ambiguous. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P5 Grabs you from the get go. Lovely “status quo” scene, and nice worldbuilding that draws you in without overwhelming you. Good voice that feels appropriate for target audience. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q6 Spec YA: Structure is okay, good sense of MC’s goals, but drive behind those goals could be clearer. I want to know WHY these things are important to him, because conflict revolves around him NOT getting those things. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P6 Good intro to the status quo. Voice feels much older than YA in spots. 3rd person present is a bit awkward--1st might be more engaging. I’m a bit worried the conflict isn’t going to show up for a while—not certain, just a hunch. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q7 YA contemp: I’m not sure I quite get the hook—it’s snappy, but a bit vague. Otherwise, this is very solid. Goals, conflict, teaser line—it’s all there and working well. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P7 Word choice is incredibly evocative. Fabulous first line + really strong voice = immediate connection. This MC is gonna be a lot of fun, I can tell. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q8 Fantasy Rom: Structure is good, but some sentences are awkward/ambiguous and making me have to reread (not in a good way). Reading aloud can help correct this. Teaser line is great, the rest just needs a bit of smoothing out. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P8 Good worldbuilding—parceling out info at the right pace to keep us engaged without overwhelming us. Conflict is immediately clear, a good idea of character motivations, engaging voice. Bravo! □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q9 Women’s fic: Needs a hook. Good sense of the MC and the conflict. Some awkward phrasing could be smoothed out. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P9 First line is buried further on pg 1. Nice clean writing, with good physical details but I'm having trouble connecting to MC for some reason. □ but that’s mainly because of personal taste. Publishing is a matchmaking game! #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Q10 Says urban fantasy, but comps would help me understand why you picked this genre. Better to put bio at the end—the book is the star of the show and should be first! Good details, but too plot heavy. Make sure we know the MC’s goals! #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

P10 Great sense of conflict, needs a bit of line editing to clean things up and trim the fat. So far MC doesn’t have any agency, and query doesn’t show any either, so it’s tough to want to keep reading. □ #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

Note: a lot are □□, but I’m not trying to fill out a list. If I was acquiring, I might pass bc it’s too similar to what I already have, or no room for more of that genre. Rejections = agent/ed can’t sell it right now, not that your book is bad. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

And that's it for me! I'll answer any Qs now, and I'll be sending emails out to my winners tomorrow. #revpit #10queries

— Megan Records丨Editor (@meganrecords) February 4, 2020

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​Want a pro to take a look at your manuscript? Click here for a list of the services I offer, or contact me at megan@meganrecords.com.
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5 Ways to fix slow pacing without adding plot

8/6/2019

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Picture
When an editor says the pacing is too slow, what does that mean? New authors often interpret this as “you need to add more plot.” But that’s not always the answer! It can lead to a convoluted plot line and scenes that feel crammed in. It’s better to think of this as “you need more tension.” And there are plenty of ways to add tension without adding plot points.

1.  Adding context details

Have you given the reader enough context about what’s happening in the scene? Specific details can make a mundane action much more interesting.

For instance, say you have a scene where your character is walking from the subway station to her office. In and of itself, that action is rather boring. But maybe throw in that it’s raining, and she couldn’t find her umbrella this morning, so she’s desperately trying to cover her head with her tote bag. Now all of the sudden there is tension, and the plot has stayed exactly the same.

2.  Adding motivations to hook the reader

Making sure the character’s motivation is clear to the reader can keep the tension up. Make sure you communicate why the reader should care.

In our example above, why should the reader care that our MC is getting wet? Maybe our MC has an important meeting that morning and wanted to look polished, but now she’s going to arrive a sopping mess. So now the reader knows her motivation for wanting to arrive at the office dry and tidy, and is a bit more emotionally invested in the outcome of this scene.

3.  Deleting unimportant details

Sometimes the problem isn’t the lack of information, but that you've given the reader too much of it and have overwhelmed them. What comes to mind is long, drawn out descriptions of food. Don’t get me wrong, detailed descriptions are great and really help the reader see a scene, but at a certain point, the details aren’t helping and weigh down the scene instead. Consider snipping any particularly long descriptions.

4.  Deleting unnecessary words

Are you one of those writers who tends to be verbose? Some people naturally use more words to say what they need to say. Sometimes this leisurely sort of writing can be very useful, but other times it's hurting the story. This is probably one of the hardest changes to make yourself, because it involves going in sentence by sentence and deleting words.  But it can yield great results.

5.  Condensing dialogue

Dialogue is one of those things that’s boring if it’s true to life. Shortening dialogue can make your scene move along much more smoothly.
For instance, note this exchange between Adam and Lisa:
“Hi.”
“Hello,” said Lisa.
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. You?”                        
“Pretty good. That weather is crazy, huh?” Adam said.

Boring, but probably true to life. In fiction, you want to make the dialogue purposeful. So the exchange should go something like this:

“Hey, Lisa! How are you? This weather is bonkers, isn’t it?” said Adam.
“I’m good, thanks. Try to stay dry out there!” Lisa replied.

The second exchange actually has more words than the first, and yet it feels like it is moving much more quickly, doesn’t it? Keeping exchanges shorter and more concise can help your pacing without adding any action.

So there you go, 5 ways you can fix slow pacing in your manuscript without trying to shoehorn in more action. Happy editing!

Want a pro to take a look at your manuscript? Click here for a list of the editorial services I offer, or contact me at megan@meganrecords.com.

 
 Photo by Pascal van de Vendel on Unsplash
 
 
 
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Read Before You Write

3/27/2018

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You need to read your genre before you start writing. Yes, really. This is true whether you plan to publish traditionally or go indie. If you don’t read books in your genre, you are going to have a hard time marketing effectively. You won’t know the general parameters of the genre, and therefore you won’t know when you are stepping outside of the genre. (I am all for risk-taking, but you need to understand that it IS a risk, and not just be making a choice out of ignorance.)

Let’s say you’ve written a contemporary romance, but haven’t ever read one. How do you determine if your book is long enough? How do you know if your story is marketable to romance readers? You might waste a lot of time querying agents and editors who aren’t right for your book, because while you call it a contemporary romance, it might actually be chick lit, or a cozy mystery. If you don’t read, you can’t properly classify it. And since agents and acquiring editors usually specialize, you should make sure you are targeting ones that are right for your book.

“But I’m planning on self-publishing,” you say. “So labels don’t matter.” Okay, how do you know what type of cover you’d like? If you don’t read your genre, you don’t know your market, and are going to have a tough time attempting to reach that market.

If someone said to you, “I’ve never eaten cake before. But I knew it couldn’t be that hard, so I made one. Now I’m going to make tons of money selling them on the internet.” Sound crazy? That’s because it is.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Best to assume you aren’t one of them.
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    I'm an editor who loves to chat about books, publishing, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

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