Why You Should Write First, Query Later

Today I read a great excerpt over on GalleyCat from a letter Kurt Vonnegut wrote to his son about book deals. You can read the whole thing yourself, but here's the gist of it:

"If you are within a few months of having a finished, edited manuscript, I advise you to carry on without an advance, without that false feeling of completion, without that bit of good news to announce to a lot of people before the job is really done."

Now Vonnegut was talking about securing an advance--i.e., a book deal--before the book is finished, something that he called "hard to get." In the present day, I'd have to say that for a first-time novelist, a book deal without a finished manuscript is only as "hard to get" as, say, a reservation at the Lunar Hilton. But I think a lot of you know this. I rarely hear people asking about how to secure that $100k advance from Random House before their book is even finished.

But.

I do hear people tearing their hair out about the agent search, the publisher search, the marketing ploys, how to best use Facebook, etc., before they've finished their book. Occasionally someone will ask if it's a good idea to submit a partially finished manuscript. (It isn't.) Or: Isn't it okay to submit your really well polished first few chapters and then continue editing the rest while you wait for an answer? (No.)

Publishing is a two-headed beast. Head #1 is the Writing. Head #2 is the Marketing. If you're going to feed Head #2--which includes querying, researching agents, Facebooking, blogging (ahem), etc.--then Head #1 may well starve. That happens to people who already have finished their mauscripts. People who haven't might as well just buy a plot and stone for poor Head #1.

Head #1 drives the whole game. Without nourishment, it dies. Without attention, it dies. Give your book your all. If you happen to run across the name of an agent who sounds perfect for you, great. Write down the name. Keep a running list. But don't waste your energy crafting queries and synopses. That's creative energy that needs to go to the Writing. Stay buried in your fictional world, and then, when you've written the best book you can, put your energy into researching, querying, and all the rest. Your writing and publishing careers both will be better for it.

image: The Muppets' version of a two-headed monster. Link here.

New Site Really Is Coming

Construction worker, Tennessee, 1942

It seems I've made promises like this in the past, but this time it's for real. The wonderfully creative Denise Biondo is creating a brand-spankin'-new website for me as we speak. It will actually be something more than a lingering yet slowly dying blog. We should have it up in the next 3 weeks, give or take. You'll be able to find it at

www.cmcaterer.com

AND at

www.clairecaterer.com

Look for  book news, bios, fun stuff, free stuff, giveaways, and more--plus a stunning design by Denise herself. I'm really excited to share it!

So stay tuned! In the meantime, I'm still hanging out at Facebook:

www.facebook.com/ClaireCaterer

and at Twitter:

www.Twitter.com/ClaireCaterer

See you soon at any of the above!

photo courtesy of wikimedia commons. Public domain.

Cherished MG Books

Today, my fellow middle-grade writers and I over at The Lucky 13s are waxing sentimental about our favorite reads from childhood. It's a magical time to get attached to books, which is why I think writing for this age group is so important. If you're my age, you may remember reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing for the first time.

If you're my daughter's age, your life was never the same after your first glimpse of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And if you're ten years old right now, well--what? What's the best book ever?

Head on over to The Lucky 13s to read about the books we loved and read as kids.

Why Old-Timey Books Matter

Did you ever read a story written in 1912? How about a story about 1912 (the year the Titanic sank)? Historical fiction of both kinds makes for the only kind of time travel we can (currently) engage in: the armchair type. (*SIGH*) Today over at the new blog Corsets, Cutlasses, & Candlesticks, I give my Top 3 Reasons why you should read old and old-timey books. There are some great reading recommendations, too. So go on. Get yourself over there.

Cover Reveal at Last!

Yes, and this time, it's mine! Book blogger IceyBooks is hosting an exclusive reveal of the cover of my forthcoming fantasy novel for kids of all ages, The Key & the Flame. And to make it extra special, I'll be giving away an advanced reader's copy (ARC)* of the book too. Enter the giveaway over at IceyBooks as well, and thanks for sharing my excitement!

-- SORRY, BUT THIS GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED --

*P.S. Wondering what an ARC is? It's a bound copy of the uncorrected proofs of the book, usually handed out to book reviewers in advance of publication. It looks like a paperback, with all the elements of the finished copy--cover, dedication, etc. But it will have a few typos.

Writerly Advice

These doughnuts have nothing to do with the post. Still. Made ya look.

This is a big cheater of a blog post, because I'm using it only to call your attention to a new tip sheet I've written, Advice to Aspiring Writers (downloadable as a PDF file). There's where you'll find my general tip sheet on what to do after you've finished writing your book, where to find an agent, and so on. You'll also find links to sites written by people who know loads more than I do on the subject. It's worth a look.

More Gorgeous 2013 Covers

Kidlit authors who will debut in 2013 are known as The Lucky 13s. Most of us middle-grade authors don't have covers yet, but the YA covers are coming down the pipeline, fast and furious! Here are some more, with synopses:

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
January 15, 2013, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow prisoners, Felicia passes the endless hours downloading memories and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and the boy she loved, Neil.

Then a girl in a neighboring chamber disappears, and nobody but Felicia seems to recall she existed in the first place. Something is obviously very wrong. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, she learns the truth: a rebellion is brewing to overthrow the Morati, the guardians of Level 2.

Felicia is reluctant to trust Julian, but then he promises what she wants the most—to be with Neil again—if only she’ll join the rebels. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself in the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.

The Culling by Steven dos Santos
March 8, 2013, Flux

Who would you choose?

Lucian “Lucky” Spark has been recruited for training by the totalitarian government known as The Establishment. According to Establishment rules, if a recruit fails any level of the violent training competitions, a family member is brutally killed . . . and the recruit has to choose which one.

As the five recruits form uneasy alliances in the hellish wasteland that is the training ground, an undeniable attraction develops between Lucky and the rebellious Digory Tycho. But the rules of the training ensure that only one will survive—the strongest recruits receive accolades, wealth, and power while the weakest receive death.

With Cole—Lucky’s four-year-old brother—being held as “incentive,” Lucky must marshal all his skills and use his wits to keep himself alive, no matter what the cost.

 Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook
January 29, 2013, HarperTeen

Bonnie and Clyde meets Simone Elkeles in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

 Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
January 8, 2013, Random House Children's Books

When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service?the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive. — Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect adornment of plainness.

But Isabelle has no idea her new "friend" is the hired help, and Maude's very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.

Inspired by a short story written by Emile Zola, Belle Epoque is about that beautiful time in Paris, when the Moulin Rouge was at its peak of decadence, the city's men and women were the most beautiful, and morality was at its most depraved.