Monday, May 7, 2018

The More Creeped Out You Are

I am socially awkward at the best of times, but I usually manage to come up with a coherent and interesting (hopefully!) answer to the general question about what I write - something along the lines of short fiction, dark fiction, horror. Now, if you ask me specifically what my novel is about, you get this -

"Um...."

Doesn't that just sound deliciously creepy and like something you're dying to read? NOT! Napping tortoises are more interesting than that. (And definitely cuter.)  

Literary agent Janet Reid wrote an excellent post - What's Your Book About? - about her experience at a conference speaking with authors and what happened when she asked them about their work. I absolutely recommend heading over and reading the whole post, but here's the biggest takeaway for me:

"You simply MUST be prepared to tell people, in a compelling way, what your book is about. . . . First thing to remember is start NOW. No matter where you are in the publishing cycle: querying, sold, pubbed, you need to be able to say what your book is about."

I'm working on it!

*****

And speaking of Ms. Reid, I entered her Writing Without Rules Flash Fiction Contest last month, and although my story didn't win, her comments on it (below, in blue) made my entire month.  

Gregory, old and gnarled, slumps on his porch. His lawn, overgrown with weeds and wild things, chokes the once neat path. At the gate, nettles cling, watch deserted streets. He calls out, can only hope for more survivors.

A man and woman appear, dirty, laden with packs.

"Please help! I fell."

They hesitate, the rules different now.

Gregory is desperate. "I have food, water. It's yours."
They nod, start toward him.

He watches the lawn shiver, the monsters within slither out to feed. He listens to the screams.

Gregory is spared. Again. He stands, stretches.
The rules are different now.

Honestly this creeped me out so much I could barely read it the second time.
Thank all deities foreign and domestic that I live in Brooklyn, a place with few lawns.
Of course, the more creeped out you are, the better the writing.

*****

Are you prepared to talk about your novel? Or are you like me, still working on it? Do overgrown lawns creep you out? If you have a lawn, do you know what's lurking in it? 

24 comments:

  1. Even when my novels were published, I had a hard time talking about them. I can't explain it. I knew them backwards and forwards, but that wasn't the point. I had to describe it in a manner that didn't sound like babbling. LOL!

    I just always handed the book to them back side up and let them read the blurb.

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    1. I hear you about not sounding like babbling! Ugh, why is it so hard?!

      Ha on handing people the published book! Not a bad idea.... :)

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  2. That was a great response from her.
    I can tell people what my books are about now but it took a lot of practice.

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    1. Funny how we need so much practice. It feels like it should be a whole lot easier than it is.

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  3. I haven't quite figured out how to describe my novel without sending the person running in the other direction. For now I usually just change the subject if someone asks.

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    1. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure changing the subject away from our books is not the best marketing idea. :)

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  4. I agree, that's such a creepy story! Ugh!

    My problem with answering that question about my books is that most of them are collections, so it's hard to sum them up. I'm getting better. My first book is the easiest - one story in novella form, and I've had 6 years of practice :-)

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    1. Thanks, Annalisa!

      Regarding my story collections, I usually say just that - collections of short fiction. I make sure to say GARDEN OF LOST SOULS is darker and scarier though. :)

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    2. I just realised that 'ugh' isn't much of a review. 'Awesome and perturbing' would be much more suitable :-)

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    3. Oh, no worries! I knew what you meant. Although, I do like "awesome and perturbing" better. :)

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  5. Wow - those are fantastic comments! You must be thrilled :-)

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  6. That lawn sounds like my back yard before I tackled it this past weekend. My dogs got swallowed by the grass every time they went out back.

    Wonderfully creepy story. :)

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    1. I am very glad your dogs came out of the lawn okay! :o

      And thank you! :)

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  7. Reid gave you a high compliment! I'll add mine. More horror please.

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  8. Socially awkward knuckle bumps. I suffer from it too.

    I'll have to read the article. It's like I know what my book's about but ask me to explain and it's deer in the headlights.

    That is a great comment. I'd happy dance and float around on a cloud for a month too!

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    1. I know that deer in headlights look, too.

      Happy or not, no one wants to see me dance. :)

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  9. It really is funny that we know everything about our novels or stories but trying to put the heart of the tale into a few sentences (or worse yet, one logline) is torture. I'm going to follow that link and read Janet's post.

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  10. Ugh. I suck at pitching my novels to people in real life. I freeze up and laugh nervously because I feel silly explaining and wanting people to pay me for making stuff up.

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    1. It's funny how the same people we're trying to explain OUR stories to usually enjoy OTHER stories = books, TV shows, movies, etc. What are we so anxious about really?

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  11. Well done! That is super creepy.

    I used to stumble over my novel descriptions too, but you know what helped? Hand selling books at a convention. If dozens of people ask what your books are about over and over again, you get really good at answering.

    I highly recommend using comp titles, even if they're TV or movies. Maybe not so good for formal queries anymore, but when I say my GhostWriters series is like X-Files with a medium and a writer instead of the FBI, people get it.

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    1. Thanks, JH!

      I like the idea of movie/TV comp titles for more informal moments. If someone said to me their book is like so-and-so, I'd probably be at least somewhat familiar with it even if I hadn't seen the show. Although, I guess you do run the risk of someone not liking the movie/TV show....

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