This video speaks for itself. As agents, we've ALL experienced this. I once had a writer slip me an ms under the bathroom stall door.
WE Chief Editor
By Paula Margulies As a publicist, I'm sent books of all genres by authors interested in my services, but lately I seem to be on the receiving end of a lot of memoirs. I've also spoken to a higher-than-usual number of memoir writers, who either telephone or approach me with questions at writer's conferences. The bulk of these conversations have to do with why their memoirs aren’t selling and what the authors can do to make them better. My first suggestion for all memoir writers is to take a look at their market and identify the different types of people who would want to read their book. This is tricky, for while many memoir writers have done a good job of detailing certain aspects of their personal history, a number of them have not thought about who might be interested in reading what they've written. A lot of memoirs I've seen recently are nothing more than personal recountings of an individual’s experiences – some of which are, indeed, memorable. But I
Comical, but telling. One of the mistakes I used to make was describing something I was working on by talking in vague, general circles without giving any real information about the novel. One of the women in this video demonstrates one of my key shortcomings. I groaned when I listened to her, as I am sure others have done when listening to me. I have learned that a concise well-spoken or written synopsis of the work in progress is essential when pitching a story. Or pitching anything, for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI liked the film. All of them helped me realize the things to avoid and exactly how much work I have to do before I'm "pitch perfect" considering I've never pitched my story to an agent or anyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again Michael :)
No, I appreciate when anyone bothers to put any thought into my work. The only critics I mind are those who want the author to change details that offend the critic's personal beliefs. One example would be a critic who wanted me to take firearms out of a novel that contained a number of characters who were soldiers; she disliked reading about people carrying guns. No story is going to please everyone. It's foolish for a writer to make that his or her goal.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of stupid advice out there, but that is why we always use models and examples of great writing and plotting. Our intent is to provide the correct advice.
DeleteSince my memoir was published, six authors have asked me to review and post a "blurb."
ReplyDeleteI simply couldn't on five of them. Their work was far from ready. it's tricky to be tactful so you don't crush their heart. But I couldn't have my name on such incomplete work. So what I'm saying is that I appreciate intelligent, experienced and skilled critique for my work. Yes, it crushes at times, but that's what cut and paste is for. Just move it to a folder for another book!
That last 5 seconds of the video.... hahahahahaha! my eyes are watering. thank you so much for all the information on this page and elsewhere.
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