Swallowing Frogs

Watching television the other night, I saw a show on the crazy activities people  will take part in to attain their goals. A downcast brunette woman came on and explained that her doctors had told  her she had a million in one chance of conceiving.After trying In vitro and every imaginable medical intervention, she turned to the ancient medicine of her Peruvian village. 

The cameras  followed her as she walked around the open air market, staring at pregnant women  and lamenting her fate until she strode up to a booth behind a sign that read,  “Jugo de Rana,” translated as “Frog Juice.”Speaking Spanish, she told the woman behind the counter from that day  forward, she would be coming to the booth so the woman was to make her a  smoothie to sate her needs.

At first, as I watched the  show I was amazed at the behavior of the woman.Who in their right mind would drink blended frogs?Can one be so desperate to make their dreams  come true that they would turn to something so vile? 

And then I thought of my own  life and the lives of my friends.On  more occasions than I care to count, I have seen people pour their bodies and  souls into projects/jobs/relationships and have been left beaten and betrayed  with nothing to show for the pain they have endured to gain the fame/wealth/love  they so desired. 

One day, the brunette woman  from Peru brought her husband to the booth and forced him to drink the green,  gelatinous sludge.As he was about to  take a sip, she looked at him and said:“Drink it fast.Otherwise, you  will taste the bones.” 

His face pinched with disgust as he poured the  concoction into his mouth.

Then it struck me.In some point in everyone’s life, there is a  goal we want more than anything.It may  be to get pregnant.It may be to find  our perfect mate.To make this dream  come true we must have one thing…Faith.We must close our eyes and swallow the frogs and blindly hope that the  sacrifice we are making will mean success.We must savor the distaste of the bones, for those bones are part of the  price we must pay.

Faith does not mean we will succeed. However, it does  mean we have tried.We have believed in  ourselves, when no else does—when the doctor’s say ‘a million in one chance.’

At the end of the show, the woman and her husband were walking in  the park.In front of them, was a  stroller.Frogs, Faith, and Bones had  brought their dream to life.

Writing a Great Synopsis for a (Paranormal Romance) Novel

I believe the synopsis is one of the most challenging aspects of the submission process. It is a topic that is much discussed amongst my writers groups. How is a person expected to condense a 300 page paranormal romance novel into 2 pages? How can we cover all the threads, explain our amazing characters, tell the full story, and be clever while doing so?

We stress about the prospect of losing an opportunity based on the quality of our synopsis. No agent/publisher can possibly understand the greatness of our paranormal romance novel without reading the full manuscript. However, in defense of a synopsis, it does have a place in the game of submission.

A great friend of mine shared a secret she heard from an agent about synopses. 'All you need is a great conflict (internal and external) and make sure that within your synopsis (and your paranormal romance novel) you can arrive at the end having resolved them without straying from course—and don’t worry about being so clever.'  In other words, make sure that you can take you story from point A to point B without straying to Z.

A great tool to help your synopsis and your paranormal romance novel, is writing an outline as you work. At the top of your outline state your intended goal (i.e. your pitch/kernel idea). As you write, update your outline with a SINGLE SENTENCE stating the key characters, setting, and the motivation of each chapter. When you are done, make sure that what you have written is moving you towards your paranormal romance novel’s goal.

If you are past the point of writing you can still use this tool, simply go back and as you read your work, name the characters, setting, and motivation. When you get done you will have an outline for your synopsis. All you will need to do is fill in the holes and your synopsis will be a complete representation of your paranormal romance novel.  

When you are done writing your paranormal romance synopsis, read your synopsis out loud to a mirror or a willing victim, I mean friend. Is your work succinct? Does it make sense? Is it interesting? Does it tell the external and internal conflicts, and the resolution of said conflicts? When you have an acceptable final draft (let's face it--perfect is close to impossible), add it to your paranormal romance submission packet. Then have a glass of shiraz.

Wishing you the best of luck in submitting your paranormal romance novel,

Danica

Getting Ready to Submit A Paranormal Romance Work: The Query Letter

I have learned that there are at least a dozen ways to write a great query letter for a paranormal romance project. There is the query letter with the full synopsis, the one page synopsis, the paragraph synopsis, and the pitch-only query. There are many options and before I tell you what I recommend you need to decide what the best fit is for you and your genre.

If you are a paranormal romance writer, as you submit your works, you will find that there are companies out there that will ask for variations of this 'stock' letter.So take your time, do your research, but if you use the following advice you will find your work is substantially easier than if you were writing letters for each paranormal romance publisher.

Last fall I heard Junessa Viloria (of Ballantine/Random House) speak on the topic and she bluntly admitted that she, "Doesn't read [query letters]. [She] only scans them."

What does this mean for you, the paranormal romance author?

If one of the 'big six' is only scanning, you need to have the most error-free and tight letter as possible.

You need four paragraphs (or maybe five if you have met the editor or agent).

First Paragraph: Introduce your work, title, genre (paranormal romance), level of romance (for example--sweet/spicy paranormal romance--research the company you are sending to, they will give you more variations in their lines), word count, and while giving the pertinent info make sure you sound excited about your paranormal romance work. If you are bored as you write it will be apparent.

Second Paragraph: Pitch your paranormal romance novel. This should be three sentences about your book that will sell your idea without the editor/agent seeing your manuscript. This is the most difficult part of the query. In my last query, my pitch was reviewed by approximately two dozen people, I took classes on writing the pitch, and I pitched in person to see people's reactions. When I was satisfied, I finished my query letter. I recommend this approach—at least pitching in person.  This is a great opportunity to see what people really think.  Are they confused or unattached?  Or are they excited and asking to read your paranormal romance work? 

If you don't have a great pitch, your paranormal romance novel will fall flat. It doesn't matter if you write like Steinbeck or Roberts if you don't have a great 'hook,' no one will open your book.

Read as many paranormal romance pitches as you can get your hands on. What worked and what doesn't work? Would you want to read these books based on the pitch? Why or why not?

If you can't get your hands on pitches (writers are very selective on who they share them with) read paranormal romance jacket flap blurbs. These are like the pitch and they are a great place to start getting ideas.

Third Paragraph: Who are you, how did you get into writing paranormal romance?  What is your background? True, some agents and editors are done reading by this point, but if their interest is piqued, they will read/scan this section.

Tell them everything as succinctly and professionally as possible. Most importantly, are you published in paranormal romance or in any other form? If you are traditionally published, make sure that you take time to mention this fact. It will get their attention. If you have won awards, taken classes, attended conferences, and/or have applicable experiences in writing you need to sell yourself here. Don't be modest. This is the only chance you may get to tell people who you are and why they should take you seriously.

Lastly: Thank them for their time. Make sure that you do this. It makes them recognize your humility and that you are a person who has respect for others—especially the recipient of the query.

Query letters are a stressful undertaking, but once you have them completed you can alter them according to your needs. Don't become overwhelmed, just do the best that you can and remember: There is no such thing as a 'perfect' query letter for paranormal romance writers. To sell your book to a paranormal romance publishing company, only two people have to like what you write, you and the editor/agent who decides they love your project.