Kick-Start the Novel: Session 6

The End Is The Beginning

These sessions are now complete, and those of you who have worked through it from the beginning are now at the stage where you need to bring your own critical judgement into play and decide whether your novels will stand up to the scrutiny of a publisher’s reader or literary agent.

Because this is a first novel, it is advisable to complete the type­script before approaching a publisher or agent, simply because these days few are willing to work with a new novelist on the basis of a synopsis and sample chapters. Writing a novel always takes much longer than planned, especially when there are other aspects of life to get in the way, and you need to be in a position to come up with the goods if a publisher likes what he sees. If there are still months of work before the typescript is finished, the offer might be withdrawn if the publisher has to wait — or the commissioning editor moves on to another company.

In an article published in The Author, the quarterly journal of the Society of Authors, a commissioning editor admitted that if she wasn’t sold on an idea in five minutes, then the proposal was rejected because this was the length of time she had to sell the idea at the monthly commissioning meeting. This is why it is essential to make every word count and why a great deal of time and effort should be made when putting together your submission package.

For the purpose of this exercise, you are asked to prepare a covering letter, synopsis and two-three sample chapters. Admittedly, most of those taking part will have a long way to go before their novels are finished and ready to go but it’s an exercise that might just tip the balance in your favour when the time comes. Most publishers have very strict rules about whether they will, or will not, accept submissions via email, so make a point of studying the websites of those who publish in your genre as they usually include detailed submission guidelines.

The Synopsis

Any successful author will tell you that preparing a synopsis is almost as difficult as writing the whole damned book! It’s the ultimate test in editing skills and every word must count in terms of conveying an overview of both plot and characters. For such an important element of the creative writing process, however, there are no ‘carved in stone’ guidelines as to the correct length of the thing, and individual editor’s requirements can differ quite considerably: as can the instructions given in the various how-to books.

Popular writing tutor, Chriss McCallum, gives the following advice, which is pretty standard throughout the industry. She tells us to send: “A concise synopsis of the whole novel, written in the present tense . Touch on key scenes, making it clear who is your main character, what their ultimate goal is, who and what stands between them and that goal. Show how the story ends. New writers often try to conceal the ending in an attempt to intrigue. This is a big mis­take. The agent or editor needs to be able to assess the story as a whole.”

Generally speaking, the synopsis should be no longer than one A4 page and single spaced, al­though it is not uncommon for some to be anything from 5-10 pages! Keep it short, sharp and concise; make every word count and spend some time in getting it right. Don’t leave it until the last minute. In fact, think of it as a job application and give it your best shot.

Ask yourself: ‘Would this tempt me into buying the book?’ If in doubt ask someone else

The Sample Chapters

The sample should consist of the first two-three chapters, not a random selection from the middle of the book. It is not uncommon for a publisher to receive Chapters 35 and 54 with the explanation that these are considered to be the best example of the writer’s work!  As we’ve said before, the story must hook the attention from the first page and if it doesn’t, no one is going to bother turning to page two. Every­thing hinges on that opening but once hooked, the reader will, hopefully, go on to judge your writing style and story-telling ability.

Make sure that the presentation is crisp and readable (no fading ink cartridges if submitting by post), double-spaced and runs to approx 50-pages in order to give a fair representation of the plot/storyline. Attach a cover sheet stating title, author’s name contact details, together with a word count.

The Covering Letter

Again, keep it sharp and concise. Do not include details not pertinent to the novel since your contri­bution to the parish magazine doesn’t interest a professional editor … unless the plot revolves around such a scenario. Do include any profes­sional credit as this gives the indication that you are able to work to a deadline.

Check on the commissioning editor’s name and address the letter/email to them personally. This shows you’ve not merely stuck a pin in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, al­though it does give good advice on the preferred method of approach for each publish­ing house or agent … ignore this at your peril. Bear in mind that personnel change, so phone the switchboard and ask for the name of the editor in charge of, for example, romantic fiction.

Lastly, and most important, don’t forget to in­clude adequate return envelope and postage if submitting by post.

Publishers & Agents

Hopefully, all the time you’ve been working on your typescript, you’ll have been keeping an eve on who’s publishing your sort of story and will have an idea of who’s going to be the recipient of your prized baby. Again, there is little point leaving this until the last minute … successful authors should know as much about the marketplace as they do about writing.

It’s often been said that it takes twice as long to sell a piece of writing as it does to write it. The road to publication is a long one and fraught with disappointments and pitfalls and it helps to under­stand a little of what goes on behind the scenes. Remember that an agent doesn’t receive a penny until your book has been sold and fewer are taking on new writers, simply because the time and effort spent trying to market the typescript may be more than its worth in terms of commission. You may be pleased with an offer of a £2,000 advance but the agent will have only earned £200, which may not cover the expense of selling it.

Whilst it is now generally considered permissi­ble to simultaneously submit your typescript to several publishers, it is not considered good form to try to hook more than one agent at a time. They do talk to each other and will not be best pleased to find that you’ve been dealing with a competitor. Both agents and publishers are notoriously slow in getting back to the author, who is nervously chewing their fingernails and anxiously waiting for a reply. So how long do we give them to respond?

Someone should manage to make some sort of response within a month. If you haven’t heard back within that time, send the typescript off to the next one on your list. Some publishers state they don’t want to receive simultaneous submissions and this is fine if they get back to you by return. One writer of our acquaintance has been waiting over a year for a re­ply, having been asked to submit the full typescript and does not want to jeopardise her chances by sending it to someone else. Personally, I wouldn’t have given it six weeks — but then this is where personal choice comes into the equation.

Starting on the Next One

Once you’ve finished your novel and it’s been bagged up and shipped off to its first destination, start thinking about the next one. Publishers like to think you’ve got something else in the pipeline because these days they are not interested in one-off novelists, so make sure you mention Number Two in your covering letter, even if it’s only in the planning stages.

Be prepared for the second novel being more difficult to write than the first. This is probably because you will have temporarily emptied your store of spontaneous creativity. Don’t worry, it will come back if you use the same formula for plotting but you may have to work a little harder to come up with new thoughts rather than simply re­hashing ideas from your first book.

DIY – DTP

There is an alternative to consider in publishing your novel yourself – and nothing could be easier.  Have a look at Amazon.Kindle and the various on-line companies that can produce the book on a ‘print on demand’ basis.  You won’t earn a fortune but your novel will be out there.  It is important to have it professionally proof-checked because no matter how thorough we think we are, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and typos always slip through the net.

Exercise – Session 6

• Prepare a synopsis as per the brief given in Session 6.  And take your time – this is an important part of the submission process.
• Prepare the new first three opening chapters even if the rest of the novel hasn’t been proof-checked.
• Prepare a covering letter that includes any information pertinent to the novel submission.
• Make a list of where you intend sending your novel, either direct to a publisher or via a literary agent.  And list your reasons for selecting this route.
• Think carefully. Have you any plans for a second novel at this stage?  If so, is it a fresh idea, or will you be attempting to breathe new life into an old one?
• Do you feel that the sessions has been beneficial in helping you to understand what is required by today’s publishing industry?  Is there any aspect that you feel should have been included that we haven’t discussed?  Any comments would be appreciated.

Kick-Start the Novel – Session 5

Bones & Padding

Writing the first draft of a novel is the easy part. You’ve off-loaded all the ideas, introduced an interesting sub-plot, got all the characters going in the right direction. There have been a few unexpected developments but nothing you couldn’t han­dle — but it still doesn’t work. There’s something missing.

These flaws usually manifest in what is sometimes referred to as ‘the padding’. This is the element of the novel that adds depth and dimension to the story. This does not mean that pages of descriptive narrative can cure the problem because the solution is far more subtle than that.

Firstly, look at the characters you’ve created. Are they real enough for the reader to            em­pathise with their traumas and difficulties, their lives and loves? Have you put too much empha­sis on A’s background, so that it becomes a total cop-out for de­cent feeling? Why are you, the author, justifying B’s reaction to C, when you are condemning D for a similar mistake? Is their story believable?

Which brings us to the plot. Have you explored every­one’s motives? Nobody does anything without a reason, valid or not, so is there sufficient ex­planation for X’s behaviour to Y? Or does it sound hollow and contrived?

Going back to the points covered in Session Three, do you really care what happens to your characters? Because if you don’t, how can you expect the reader to feel anything other than indifference? It’s the interaction between charac­ters that moves the plot along and gets the reader believing in it: if it’s not working then it’s back to the drawing board, I’m afraid.

Long physical descriptions need careful pruning, especially those usually found padding out Chapter One. If your hero­ine’s eyes, instead of being ‘liquid pools of sapphire blue’ were replaced with ‘eyes that developed a slight squint when­ever she was nervous or uncomfortable’, you kill two paragraphs with one edit. Physical description should only be used to imply character (which is why those weekend colour-supplement interviews are such useful study exercises), and add depth to your story-telling. To­day’s readers are more interested in what goes on in a per­son’s head, rather than being told how beautiful the heroine is, so cut the ‘shimmering, long blonde hair’ routine and concentrate more on body language. Spend some time with Desmond Morris’s books on human be­haviour (Old favourites like Gestures, The Naked Ape, The Human Zoo, Man­watching, etc, never let you down!) and broaden your characterisation.  For example: one writer added a tantalising glimpse into her heroine’s character by revealing that her designer clothes and accessories were all expensive fakes. Nice touch because it said quite a lot about the character without saying anything at all!

If you feel your characters have enough padding on their bones to make them real and compelling, what about the location of the action? Again, pages of de­scriptive prose will not necessar­ily give the right atmosphere to draw the reader into the story. A 500-word waffle on the herba­ceous border incorporating the pride of the Sutton’s seed cata­logue, can probably be reduced to the ‘astringent, dew-sharpened scent of …’  Lists of flora and fauna do not a novel make.

Also to be avoided are the Miller’s Antiques Guide or a Pickford’s removal inventory when it comes to describing the interior of a house. Again you cannot create atmos­phere from a furnishings or arts catalogue; neither does estate agent’s parlance pass for good scene setting. Atmosphere is the key word when it comes to location, rather than tedious detail. If you can’t see your location, how can you expect your reader to?  If you’re having problems with your location, invest in a few back issues of magazines similar to Homes & Gardens, or (again) the weekend colour sup­plements. These are real family homes and often reveal the idio­syncrasies of the individual members in the way their per­sonal belongings are casually scattered about. Don’t copy – implement your own ideas. For example: in one Gothic novel the author wanted to get away from the cliché of the old crumbling country house and instead used the idea of a com­bination of styles similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘Falling Water’ and ‘The Storer House’. 1930s Art Deco archi­tecture isn’t usually associated with modern gothic but – so far – it’s working!

Unless you’re familiar with your subject, make sure you have sufficient reference books to hand to fill in the gaps, or take yourself off for a weekend break to somewhere similar to what you have in mind. At one novel workshop, a writer had her story taking place at a large country house, but the biggest stumbling block was the fact that she was totally unaware of how real country families run their houses and therefore the narrative didn’t ring true. The large country house was an integral part of the plot and so I suggested that she change the background to a family-owned period country hotel to prevent any social gaffes being made. These changes also allowed for a greater diversity when it came down to the background of the characters involved.

We’ve also discussed the importance of getting the de­tails right about characters’ job descriptions. These back­ground details also provide an extra dimension and should provide useful side-roads and blind-alleys for the plot to weave along. No detail should be brought into the story unless it has some part to play in moving the story along.  In one murder mystery, the heroine was attracted to a local natural-fence maker but the only reference to this was when she arrived as his work-shop to find him making fences! There was no hint at to why this man should have chosen this pro­fession, or that he loved the out­doors and local wild-life … and he was the hero!

The padding is an important part of the novel but not when it is merely included in order to knock up the word-count. Extraneous de­tail sometimes has to be cut ruth­lessly, even if this goes against the grain of our natural prefer­ences and susceptibilities. Far from inhibiting our fine literary style, however, we could find that cutting actually improves it.  Here are a few suggestions for improving your novel:

Dispense with anything unnecessary. This sounds obvious but what is necessary? Only that which sets the scene, promotes the action, and activates the characters. The rest is ornament – though this too can play a part if used in moderation.

Avoid over-description. Understatement and/or suggestion is often more effective.

Never repeat information, unless for deliberate effect.

Tightening sentences by shortening, especially in passages of tension.

Make the dialogue racy and natural, perhaps by omitting the occasional pronoun.

Don’t sustain description for too long. Once the mood, setting or character is established (as succinctly as possible) forget it. Keep moving.

Avoid slack ‘tell all’ dialogue. Remember: dialogue has three essential functions: To pin-point and develop the character, further the action; usefully explain something previously unknown. Once any of these have been utilised there is no need to go on using the device.

Use cross-conflicts or mini-conflicts along the way.

Make full use of suspense-tension, temporary relief, then more tension.

Intrigue the readers by fresh additions. Hint subtly at things to come but make them wait.

The next stage of your novel is to now sit down and write through to the end. Remember that all the examples given are hypothetical problems, but every first novel is subject to some (if not all) of them, and every author who has ever written a novel has made the same errors in the early stages of their career. So don’t be afraid to admit yours. There is a tremendous satisfaction in completing a novel but as with every form of saleable writing, you need to be much, much more than just a good writer.  The secret is being your own sternest critic!

Exercise – Session 5

Describe briefly what you feel to be the most significant flaw in your novel at this stage of writing?  What do you need to do to put it right?  Are these major flaws, or merely ‘technical hitches’ that can be rectified at a later date as the novel progresses?

Have you put enough time and effort into researching background material for your location.  Give a brief outline, in no more than 300 words, of the principal setting for the story and state why you have chosen this particular location.

Write a reasonably accurate ‘job description’ for your principal character, including qualifications, etc., necessary for the job.  In other words, make it real.

Do you feel that you have enough material, background and focus to carry on with the first draft of the novel?  If you are unsure, describe what you see as the problem?

Roughly speaking, how long do you think it will take you to finish the novel?  Have you set yourself a deadline?  If so, have you taken your family, job, holidays, etc into account?

Are you happy with the changes, alterations, or different focus to the plot from when you first started?