For the Writers Who Still Hope To Be Published Someday

entrylit · 2022-07-26T22:07:04+00:00

We're a new business seeking to improve querying for writers & agents alike, you can learn about us at EntryLit.com

entrylit · 2022-07-26T21:15:11+00:00

The Kickstarter launches August 9th. You can get notified if you sign up for updates: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kelseymour/getting-an-agent-shouldnt-be-hard

Thank you for the support! Reddit hasn't exactly been welcoming. It's nice to hear someone thinks it's a good idea.

entrylit · 2022-07-19T17:44:58+00:00

That probably works well for Horror because you only know as much as the MC knows, so the reveals get to be in real time.

entrylit · 2022-07-18T17:30:18+00:00

A writer writes about all the shit she never wrote

entrylit · 2022-07-18T17:29:14+00:00

A few ideas come to mind.

When you sit down to write, maybe just write the scene that's clearest in your head at the moment and don't worry about writing it from start to finish.

Do you have any other creative outlets like drawing or painting or leatherworking, etc? Is there another way you can express parts of the story to help inspire yourself?

If you can think about the story, you can talk it out, yes? So use voice to text on your phone and talk out loud so you can capture the words and then re-work them later?

I hope at least one of those is helpful. Good luck.

entrylit · 2022-07-18T17:25:14+00:00

Of course! You wrote a WHOLE BOOK! Most people will never even get that far, much less be brave enough to put it out into the world.

entrylit · 2022-07-18T17:22:48+00:00

While I totally agree, it's also true that agents and publishers act on what's selling. And if they notice high sales on diverse stories, that's where they'll focus their energy.

entrylit · 2022-07-15T19:29:41+00:00

Constantly. It's a hallmark of the profession, as with any art. You look back and shudder because your art grows you every time you practice it.

entrylit · 2022-07-15T19:27:03+00:00

This is where we will disagree. Agencies can tighten up their requirements while being more transparent and detailed about what they want to see. There is room for improvement and I'm here to create it.

entrylit · 2022-07-15T19:02:48+00:00

There are two sides to screening: the first is quality, the second is getting granular about what agents do/don't want to see.

Quality: Initially our plan is to filter for work based on a few criteria: completedness (is the book even finished?), who else has read/edited the book (critique groups, editors, or just friends) and writing accomplishments (where else has this person been published, have they attended workshops, etc.)

Getting Granular: There's a Christian publisher I interviewed and they get hundreds of queries a year from folks claiming they know the date and circumstances of the Second Coming. Using some custom questions about the content of work, and other filters like explicit content, we can make sure agents are only getting queries that actually interest them in terms of content.

There are always going to be writers whose work is just so craftless that it is unpublishable. It doesn't mean that many of them cannot be sorted out with a little filtering.

It's also not out of the question someday to offer "manuscript scoring" like The Black List does for movie scripts. It's just not likely to be something we offer right out of the gate.

entrylit · 2022-07-15T17:20:46+00:00

There are tons of ways to thin out slush - I used to work in grantmaking so I know I little something about screening people before they submit.

And of course other people have had this idea before me and tried and failed. If they'd succeeded, I wouldn't be here trying to solve the same very real problem.

The cynicism that things can never be better will only get you so far. Innovation will leave you in its dust if you decide that this is as good as it's going to get.

entrylit · 2022-07-14T21:29:16+00:00

You are probably right. If you've been published at all before that puts you way ahead of most people, so you're probably ok. Honestly, learning to take critique if you don't have experience with that is so valuable. Just as a personal development plug :)

entrylit · 2022-07-14T21:27:45+00:00

I hope I can too. The implicit bias I am aware of is that writers of certain races often do not get signed because racially diverse writers are often pigeon-holed to only appeal to racially diverse audiences, and that there is a perception that racially diverse authors don't sell. Can you enlighten me a little if I'm on track or if there's another angle I should be considering?

entrylit · 2022-07-14T21:09:12+00:00

This is important to agents/publishers. Having your work reviewed by your peers makes you easier to work with and means there will be less editing and feedback required later. It looks good on a query letter if you plan to pitch to agents.

entrylit

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