Write Nonfiction in November

A writer wanting to obtain a literary agent most often has to send an agent a pitch or query letter before ever entering into a conversation about representation. Additionally, if aspiring authors decide to approach publishing houses without literary representation, they must take the same route: compose and send a pitch or query letter.

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you might have the opportunity to pitch agents and acquisition editors in person, such as at a writer’s conference or some other writing event. Or you might get the chance to do so on the telephone. I once called an agent to ask a simple question. I assumed a secretary would answer, but the agent himself answered. Before I knew it, he was asking me questions about my projects, and I was pitching them. This past summer I had a chance to meet with the actual publisher of an independent publishing company. She wanted to hear about all my projects. (I have a lot of them, so I had actually typed up all the pitches before hand and was able to hand her the piece of paper!) At such times, it’s so important to have your pitch, sometimes called an “elevator speech,” ready. Always be prepared to pitch!

A few years ago I won the pitch contest at the San Francisco Writer’s Conference. I actually was pitching a novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo. I give a lot of credit for that success to writing-career-coach and manuscript consultant Teresa LeYung Ryan and her co presenter, Elisa Southard (look for her guest blog later this month). What I learned in their session about pitching I immediately put to use. And it worked! I’ve been helping people hone pitches ever since. (It’s easier to help someone else, I must admit, than to come up with one for your own book.)

I asked Teresa to offer her tips on pitching to agents and editors here during WNFiN so more people could benefit from her wisdom. Here’s what she had to say.

Make Every Word Count When Pitching to Agents or Acquisition Editors
By Teresa LeYung Ryan

You have spent months, perhaps years, writing and rewriting your project.  Now you’ve decided to pursue either an agent (who earns his/her commission when he/she sells a client’s work to a publishing house) or an acquisition editor (who buys authors’ works for the publishing house for which he/she works). Let’s say you’ve done your homework and have compiled a list of agents or acquisition editors who specialize in the kind of project (commodity) you wish to sell.

An agent or acquisition editor receives hundreds of pitches or query letters each week.  What can you do to catch these folks’ attention?  Use the right bait.  Make every word count.

Whether you’re pitching in person, over the telephone, through an E-Mail, or by old-fashion mail, keep this in mind that the pitch (bait) has three components:

• who needs your project
• the unique qualities about your commodity
• why you are the perfect author for this work

Here are three examples of nonfiction book pitches that put these three components to work and make every word count at the same time:

Genre: Self-Help/Metaphysical/Psychology

Most people over the age of 10 dream at least four to six times per night.

Through My Dreams: A Simply Guide to Dream Interpretation, I can help everyone interpret dreams by combining their feelings with personal symbolism, dream what they want to dream and improve their waking lives through their dreams.

I am Angie Choi, a certified hypnotherapist who has utilized radio, television, workshops, classes, articles, and a website to educate and inspire people to tap into their dreaming potential.  I’ve worked with school districts, youth groups and community-based organizations. http://www.alivehypnosis.com

Genre: Journal/Guide/Inspirational

More than 50 million people provide care for a chronically-ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year.

You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers allows these caregivers to process their stress and celebrate the good in life by giving them open-ended instructions on spilling their guts in the safety of a private journal and offering two hundred sentence starts to help them begin writing.

I am B. Lynn Goodwin, a teacher of workshops on care giving.  I write for numerous publications, and, I am the founder and managing editor of WriterAdvice, which has been helping writers for twelve years.  http://www.writeradvice.com/

Genre: Biography/Women’s Studies

The birth control pill is currently used by more than 100 million women worldwide and by almost 12 million women in the United States.

Margaret Sanger: Her Life in Her Words is a collection of compassionate writings, speeches, letters, and diary entries by the controversial fighter for legalized birth control and sex education and a key player in the development of Planned Parenthood.

I am Miriam Reed, Ph.D., creator of one-woman performances, who has revitalized appreciation for Sanger and her crusade to help women take charge of their bodies and their lives.   http://www.miriamreed.com

If you follow the above examples, not only will you have the perfect pitch, but also you’ll have core messages for all your writing endeavors.

Other Tips When E-Mailing Your Pitch:

• Use an appropriate subject line.  (i.e. We met at _____ Writers Conference;  I’m referred by _____;  Book proposal from {your full name})
• Use a proper salutation. (i.e.  Dear Ms./Mr. _______)
• Provide your telephone number(s), email address and URL in your signature block.
• Never write in all capital letters. If your email doesn’t give you the option to italicize (or bold) book titles, then it’s okay to use all capital letters with titles.
• Separate blocks of text with white space.
• Send the email to yourself first; check it, then send it to the agent/editor (cc or bcc yourself).

About the Author

Teresa LeYung Ryan’s motto:  “You can be happily published by being yourself.”  As a writing-career-coach and manuscript consultant, she helps her clients identify themes and archetypes, choose the right publishing route and map out their success.  She especially enjoys helping writers craft their pitches, query letters and synopses.  As a community spirit, Ryan speaks out for public libraries, honors immigrant-stories, advocates compassion for mental illness, and, helps survivors of family violence find their own voices through writing.

www.WritingCoachTeresa.com
www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

Please visit www.copywrightcommunications.com and sign up for the free newsletter to receive a gift at the end of the Write Nonfiction in November challenge!

Don’t forget to sign into the WNFiN social networking and chat room and tell us what you are writing about or start a discussion. http://writenonfictioninnovember.ning.com/

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During this month, we will explore a variety of nonfiction forms. For the next few days, however, we will take a closer look at journalistic endeavors. Many nonfiction writers have aspirations of writing for newspapers or magazines. Plus, many authors of nonfiction books find it necessary at times to write journalistic pieces to establish themselves as experts in their field or to publicize their books.

If you enjoy reporting on events, writing personal essays, exploring issues in-depth, interviewing people for personality profiles, or creating works of creative nonfiction, you will want to explore writing for publications. To develop a career as a free-lance journalist, though, you first have to land a writing assignment. Then you have to do such a good job with that assignment  that the editor wants you to write for the publication again. A great place to begin developing this type of writer/editor relationship is with a regional publication.

I have a soft spot in my heart for regional publications. Not only did I get my first “clips” or by-lines (published articles) writing for regional newspapers and magazines while I was still in high school and college, upon college graduation I went to work as a writer and editor for a regional magazine. I continued to work full-time for regional publications for a few years before moving on to other jobs in publishing, but I’ve never stopped writing for regional publications. In fact, regional publications have remained the mainstay of my freelance writing work everywhere I’ve lived.

For the beginning journalist, regional publications provide a wonderful way to start getting the clips you need to prove to national publications that you can write and produce professionally crafted and researched articles. For the seasoned journalist, they provide numerous article markets and a continuous source of revenue.

Since I moved to California eight years ago, I have often written for Bay Area Parent magazine’s Silicon Valley Edition. My editor there, Jill Wolfson, has welcomed my queries, and, in the last few years, also come to me with ideas she knew fell within my realm of interest. I enjoy working with her, and I think she has been happy with my work. So, I asked her to write a blog post for WNFiN on how nonfiction writers who would like to write for a regional magazine (or any magazine) should approach magazine editors, and what they need to do to develop a good, long-lasting relationship with those editors. Having read her post, I can tell you that I do all of the things she recommends…and I have never had a problem getting repeat work from a magazine.

How to Land a Nonfiction Magazine Assignment…
And Get Asked to Write a Second Article When You’re Done
By Jill Wolfson

As the editor of a monthly regional parenting magazine, I get some jaw-dropping queries from people who want to write for us. I think I can speak for most editors when I say: Here are some ways NOT to approach an editor. I’ve taken these verbatim from my inbox:

Hey Jill,

I’m a real journalist, so I could probably whip out something for your rag real fast.

Dear Editor,

I have no writing experience, but I think my child is really funny and I could write about that.

Dear Editor,

I want to write for you. Give me some ideas and I’ll do them.

And my all-time favorite:

Dear Editor,

I have no journalism experience and I’m not a parent, but I’m a real brat magnet. My nephew likes to jump on the bed when he comes to visit.

Now that you know how not to approach a magazine editor, here’s some advice on what will get her or his attention—and, importantly, what will keep that attention for future assignments. Just because a publication is regional or a give-away doesn’t mean that it doesn’t adhere to high journalistic standards.

6. Let the editor know if the story is taking a different shape as soon as possible. Things change during reporting; an editor understands that. If major shifts occur—a change in the agreed-upon angle or a major source who will no longer be quoted—alert the editor immediately. No one likes a big surprise at deadline.

7. Make the editor’s job easy, and you are likely to become one of the go-to writers. Turn in copy on time or even before deadline. If possible, ask someone to proof your article for spelling and grammatical errors. I don’t mind a few errors, but I get really concerned about a writer when an article comes in full of typos and bad grammar. What does that say about his/her fact-checking?

8. Be amenable to making changes in your story. That doesn’t mean being a push-over, but be flexible when working with the editor to make your story the best it can be. Typically, the editor knows his or her particular publication’s audience and might need a story “tweaked” to emphasize certain angles. If asked, make the extra call for additional research or rewrite the lead. Try to do so with enthusiasm (or at least pretend enthusiasm).

9. If you have certain extra skills, flaunt them. Can you provide quality photos with your articles? Great! Can you interview parents in Chinese? Wonderful! Do you have skills specific to the magazine or the article? For example, are you an expert knitter writing an article about crafting with children? Be sure to mention this.

Regional publications frequently use less-experienced writers than national publications do. We may pay less, but writing for regional publications provides a great way to break into nonfiction writing. By writing for this market, in a short time you can build an impressive portfolio of clips.

About the Author

Jill Wolfson is the editor of Bay Area Parent—Silicon Valley edition. She can be reached at jill.wolfson@parenthood.com. She also recommends potential writers join the Facebook fan page (Bay Area Parent Silicon Valley) or the online community at siliconvalley.parenthood.com.

Writers can never get too much advice from editors about how to improve their writing. And even editors can learn from other editors. That’s why I asked yet another editor to join me in writing a blog for Write Nonfiction in November.

Teresa Leyung Ryan and I move in similar circles, and many of my friends and associates rave about her work. I attended a class Teresa co-taught at the San Francisco Writers Conference two years ago (actually I repeated the class again last year) on how to pitch to agents, and that year I won the pitch contest at that very same writing conference using information I learned from her. (I have to admit the pitch I made was for a novel…That was the year I entered and won NaNoWriMo.)

Most of the people I know, however, offer testimonials about her manuscript consulting services, so I asked her to write a blog post about creating compelling writing. She did this by providing a view through her eyes – an editor’s eyes. Additionally, she has used several memoirs as examples, making this post a perfect prelude to tomorrows post on writing in that genre.

How to Look at Your Manuscript with an Editor’s Lens

By Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant and Career Coach

Author

Since writing a story with the intent to engage the reader is so much like meeting a stranger and wanting him/her to be interested in you, I will focus on how to make the first quarter of your story a compelling read.

I love working with diligent writers who want to transform their manuscripts into page-turners. However, there are things you can do before you give your work to an editor. Let me show you how you can help yourself.

As an editor, the four biggest mistakes I encounter are manuscripts that are weak in these elements:

• Planting hook(s) or story-question(s);
• Grounding the reader with the three Ws (Who?  When?  Where?);
• Showing (not telling) what the protagonist wants;
• Paying attention to language and rules

Let’s learn from the pros.

Planting Hook or Story-Question:

In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston hooks us with the first line: “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you…”   Then, Ms. Kingston transitions into her story with:  “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one . . .” 

Grounding the Reader with the Three Ws:

In Woven of Water, while the story timeline spans from 1957 to 2005, Californian author Luisa Adams brilliantly shows us who she was as a girl (not with a year-by-year narrative, but with a single exquisite chapter).  Because she grounded us with “who, when, where,” we eagerly follow as she takes us into her enchanted world of a “cottage in the forest.”

Showing What the Protagonist Wants:

In The Other Mother, young Carol Schaefer wants to ask questions:  “Was there any way to keep my baby?  Was there anyone who would help me find a way to do that?”

Paying Attention to Language and Rules:

Read the first five pages of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and you will see how this wordsmith plays with language and rules. (You can “bend” the rules to create flow, but you must not ignore them.)

Sentences Deserve Your Attention:

 Nina Amir’s post on her blog  http://writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com/2007/11/ is a must-read.

 Remember Groucho Marx’s line “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas…”? That sentence got a lot of laughs.  But, what if you didn’t want to be funny (ambiguous in this case)?

How would you rewrite these poorly constructed sentences?

• He likes to fish near the Farallon Islands and they jump when they’re hungry at dawn or dusk.
• She insists on knowing when I come home and leave, not to be nosy, but for safety reasons.
• Being cautious as not to step on the dog’s tail, the children tip-toed away from him while sleeping.
• My husband still in bed snoring, I have always enjoyed rising before dawn and I eat my toast and drink my green tea on the terrace.

To improve your sentence structure and other skills, I recommend these books:

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
• Woe is I: Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner

More Advice:

• In all four stories (The Woman Warrior, Woven of Water, The Other Mother, Angela’s Ashes), the authors present memorable experiences by employing authentic details, unusual story-worlds though real, and poetic language. You want to do the same for your story.
• Also, these stories have another vital component-all four plotlines have what Martha Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots, Pure and Simple, calls “Cause and Effect” linked scenes.  Another must-read blog:  http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/search?q=first+quarter
• When you’re writing non-fiction and do not have the luxury of rearranging the sequence of events to create a page-turning plotline, you can engage the reader by using concise expositions to leap over blocks of time in order to focus on the core themes and fast-forward the story. A helpful website: http://www.memoriesandmemoirs.com
• You the author must show the reader what the protagonist wants, even if the protagonist doesn’t know at first. 
• We don’t have to “like” a protagonist, but, we do need to connect with him/her on an emotional level.

In the fiercely competitive arena of the publishing world, how does one stand out in a crowd?  Building relationships is one key to success in this business. Another key is to know how to translate the themes from your life to your writing and articulate those themes as community concerns.  I want to see all hardworking writers realize their dreams. My best wishes to you!

About Teresa LeYung Ryan

Manuscript Consultant and Career Coach Teresa LeYung Ryan, author of Love Made of Heart, helps clients identify themes and polish their manuscripts, market themselves to agents and publishers, and map out their careers. She specializes in creative non-fiction, memoirs, women’s fiction, and fiction for children and young adults. She is the Literacy Liaison for Women’s National Book Association–SF Chapter, Group Mentoring Co-Chair at California Writers Club–SF Peninsula Branch  and Past President at California Writers Club–SF Peninsula Branch. Additionally, Teresa uses her mother-daughter story, Love Made of Heart, to advocate compassion for mental illness and to help survivors of family violence find their own voices.  The book is: archived at the San Francisco History Center; recommended by the California School Library Association; recommended by the California Reading Association; and used in Sociology classes and Advanced Composition English-as-a-Second-Language classes.

 www.LoveMadeOfHeart.com

I’d like to introduce you to my first guest blogger, my colleague Vicki Weiland, a freelance developmental editor and speaker working in the San Francisco Bay area and specializing in business, fine arts, and history.  In addition, Vicki serves as a board member of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association and the Women’s National Book Association-SF/Bay Area. I asked Vicki if she could write a blog for Write Nonfiction in November about her pet editing peeves. Last year I wrote about mine, so I thought it would be nice to have another editor’s perspective. However, she told me she didn’t really have any pet editing peeves. Then this blog showed up, followed by another which dovetailed so well that rather than make you wait until tomorrow to read the second one, I’ve decided to simply run both of them together as one long blog. That way you get all Vicki’s great information at once.

You won’t have to wonder for long why I chose to feature Vicki as my first guest blogger. If any of you are perpetual “talkers” rather than writers, or if you are having a hard time getting started on your Write Nonfiction in November project — especially if it’s a book — this blog is for you. After reading Vicki’s words, you’ll have the tools you need to begin writing today. (And it’s only November 2, so you aren’t too far behind yet).

Vicki Weiland’s Four Questions to Help You Start Writing

By Vicki Weiland

Freelance Development Editor and Speaker

BAIPA and WNBA-SF/Bay Area Board Member

As with all of us who love writing and everything connected with it I also know the difficulty we all face, even daily, in actually tackling that page, rewriting that chapter, agonizing over that one word.  Yet, despite this, we all know that we have no choice—we are driven by an inner reservoir that impels us to keep on going; we must get the problem resolved!  We must get those words on paper!  Then there are those keenly precious moments when the words flow, when all that is deep within us comes to the surface, and the result is a page or pages of sheer delight and achievement.  All of the people in our lives know the signs.  They are patient when they are speaking with us and it is obvious that half our brain is focused on something other than what they are saying; they are infinitely kind when we say, “I’ll only be a little while longer . . .”  All of this goes with the ebb and flow of writing (and editing).  It is the river of our lives.  

Acknowledging all of the above, and the difficulties both internal and external that face all writers, this brings me to my pet peeve, albeit a bittersweet one.  My all-the-time pet peeve is the would-be writers who talk about writing every chance they get, sometimes for years and years on end . . . but who never, ever actually take that confessed desire and do anything about it.  I am referring to people who never cease to remind their listeners about “that book” they want to write, and who actually have concrete ideas and a great “pitch” for it!  I get hooked every time.  I catch the vision.  I sit up straighter.  I move closer to the edge of my chair, ready to encourage and help.  I come on board, “Tell me more.”  And then, it stops.  I can see it in their eyes, or rather in how they avoid my eyes.  It’s over for them.

I always feel sad and deflated, as much for me as for them.  As a developmental editor who works in tandem with a writer, I love ideas and I love the natural enthusiasm and vitality that comes from sharing ideas.  I love following a writer’s mind to see where these ideas might go.  It is stimulating and enjoyable.  It is creative.  And, at that moment, as the dream is being shared, everything is so alive with promise. 

And then, after that initial burst of euphoria and the accompanying gleam I see in their eyes once “the book” begins to take form (again), only to fizzle out (again), I can’t stop wondering, “What if . . . .” 

What if they really sat down and started to write?  What if they put their foot into the river?

So, because I believe there is a writing voice deep within,  just yearning to grab onto something that will pull it out of the abyss of wishful thinking, I always offer to send them “Vicki’s Four Questions.”©  I hope they will work like a set of pliers to pry open a valve just wide enough that some words will flow out onto the paper they are printed on.  Because I know, once they do, there will be no turning back! 

Do you want to start writing, but you are not sure where to begin? In all of the years I have been a nonfiction developmental editor I have discovered that all would-be writers actually do have a precise idea of what they want to say, why they want to say it, and how they would like their book to look and feel.  When it comes to starting the writing process, sometimes they just need a little help getting their feet wet. I’d like to offer you that help by asking you to try your hand at answering “Vicki’s Four Questions”©: 

1. What is your vision of the book?  (What are the three most important qualities, i.e., elegant, academic, thought-provoking, informative, authoritative, reflective, “change the world,” dramatic, etc.?)
2. What is the most important thing you want readers to have learned after they have read your book?
3. What would you most like readers to feel when they close your book?
4. What three words would you like most for a book reviewer to say about your book?

Happily, in addition to getting your creative energy flowing, each of these questions also has an overall editorial purpose that I hope will prove helpful:

• Question number one addresses your desired “author’s voice” and the overall “tone” you would like the book to convey.  
• Question number two provides the “focus” for the book, and it is also the backbone for developing an outline so as to incrementally educate and drive the reader through the content.
• Question number three is the “heart-line” that will flow throughout the book.  It is your heart-line, your deeply desired outcome for writing the book.
• Question number four motivates you to think about marketing—who your readers are and what would motivate them to buy your book.     

While I developed these questions for books, they can also be applied to an article or an essay.  This month, as you progress in the writing of your nonfiction piece, you might consider keeping your answers nearby so that you can look back on them regularly to see if you are still “on track.”  If not, you may want to begin to hone in on them again.  Or you may find that your original concept has changed and is crystallizing into something new.  If that is the case, then you may want to ask yourself the questions again.   

Most of all, I hope they will stimulate you to move ahead with your dream and to turn that dream into reality!  It is exciting to embark upon this adventure of writing, and to take what is in your head and heart and create a lasting piece of work. 

Happy November . . .  and “Write On!”

(If you have questions or comments for Vicki, please leave them in them by commenting on this blog. She will be checking the comments regularly and responding to them from here. Future guest bloggers may include their email address and website information to you can contact them directly.)

Okay, so I know that at least Linda is still reading this blog. (Thanks, Linda, for giving me reason to keep blogging! And congratulations on writing 45,000 words of fiction and finishing your nonfiction proposal all in less than 30 days. You deserve more than just a gold star!)

Linda has asked me to go back to the topic of editing and clarify an important point – the need for professional editing. I offered a bunch of tips of self-editing your work, and I mentioned that I happen to be a fairly good editor of my own work. However, I did not mean to imply that it isn’t a good idea to get professional editing help for your nonfiction projects. In fact, I highly recommend hiring a professional editor, especially if you are going to be self-publishing your work.

You can edit your work numerous times and still miss content issues and serious grammatical mistakes. Because you know your topic so well and are so close to your work, after you’ve edited your project a certain number of times your eyes can no longer see even the most glaring errors – not to mention the smaller ones. A fresh set of eyes on your work always proves helpful, and a set of eyes that are honed to look for anything concerning grammar and punctuation, content, structure, and flow of a book can be invaluable.

Believe me, I realize that hiring a professional editor represents an expensive undertaking. (I know what people pay me to edit their books — and what they pay other editors that charge more than I do. Plus, I need a good fiction editor for my novel, and I haven’t yet been able to afford one.) So, I’d love to be able to tell those of you who can’t afford to hire a professional editor like myself that it’s enough to find a good friend who was an English major in college to give your work a read through, but I can’t in good conscience do that. It’s true that finding a few good readers for feedback and a bit of editing helps. Don’t ever turn down the offer, but distinguish between “readers” and “professional editors.”

I’m editing a project right now that my client told me was edited twice before. She actually paid two people – one who said she was an editor and one who was a school teacher (I’m not sure if she is an English teacher or not) – to read her manuscript. She was amazed when I sent the first chapter back to her. The other two “editors” hadn’t corrected even half of what I corrected. They had left all her passive sentences (those using any derivation of the verb “to be”) without even mentioning that the book consisted of only about 15% active sentences. (Passive sentences are boring to read because they create weak and uninteresting writing.) These two people also were very familiar with the subject of her book, and, therefore, didn’t notice when she wrote about something without fully explaining it in a way that anyone – even someone not familiar with the subject – would understand. (I read every book I edit as if I know nothing about the subject at all, even if I know something about it. And I assume the reader knows less than I do. In this way, I help the writer fill in content gaps, or questions that might have been left in the readers’ minds. You can’t do this for yourself, nor can someone else who knows your subject really well – unless they are trained to do so.)

Also, distinguish between “editors” and “proofreaders.” After all the editing is complete, you need a good proofreader to catch any typos, misspellings, extra spaces, etc, but your proofreader shouldn’t be making grammatical changes. I edited a book for a client who then hired a proofreader who thought she was an editor. He let her go through the whole book and change every “he” and “she” to “he/she.” She also changed how I was using commas in a series, so the usage no longer was consistent throughout the book.

So, by all means learn how to be a good editor of your own work. And when you can edit your work no more, hire a professional editor. And when that editor completes the job, hire a good proofreader.