Crits for Water Interview with Agent Sara Megibow

(Or, Speak to Me)

A charity water fact: 1 in 4 children in Africa die by the age of five from water-related disease.

Sara Megibow wants to save the lives of these children during the 2012 Crits for Water campaign (run by her client) with the help of the online writing community (read: you). Sara told me that she’s excited to help, so much so that she’s donated a 30-page critique to the cause (up for bid starting now: Monday, April 16^th).

Meet Sara.

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Sara Megibow is an Associate Literary Agent at the Nelson Literary Agency.

The Nelson Literary Agency specializes in representing young adult fiction,

romance (all genres except category and inspirational), science fiction and fantasy,

commercial and women’s fiction (including chick lit) and high concept literary fiction.

The Nelson Literary Agency is a member of AAR, RWA, SFWA and SCBWI. Submission

guidelines can be found here. Visit Sara’s Publisher’s Marketplace site to learn more

about her personal tastes and recent sales. You can also find her on facebook, and on twitter.

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NAE: What is your favorite thing about writing a critique?

Sara: As an agent, I choose manuscripts from the slush pile when they really speak to me. Yes, I do offer editorial services to my clients, but my mantra in general is that I'm looking for books to sell, not books to edit. So, if I review a manuscript that's great, but not sell-able as is, I don't offer a critique and I pass on representation. That's one difference between an agent and a critique group. However, when I do fall in love with a book and start working with an author, then we talk about the manuscript and I love the process of digging in to see how we can make the work stronger. For me, my favorite part about writing the critique is when the book is speaking to me, I feel connected to it, and there is something obvious that I see and can point out to the writer to make it stronger.

NAE: Why is critiquing important?

Sara: For me, critiquing is important because I am hoping that an author presents to me a polished manuscript. When that happens, then I can offer representation and we can go on to sell books, make money and woo readers. I love it when clients tell me they are part of a strong and helpful critique group - it's a wonderful asset to a writing career!

NAE: Your critique style is like which of the following: Red Pen Editor, Overall Commenter, Supportive Critic, You’ll Know It If I Catch It? 

Sara: Good question! Hmmmm….I guess I'd call myself a supportive critic. I tell my clients that their books are always their art. I may have suggestions, but ultimately it's their work and they can veto my suggestions. If I'm working with an author already, then I do a ton of cheerleading. Lots of "great work" and "you can do it."

NAE: What do your clients tell you they most appreciate about your agenting style?

Sara: I tend to be pretty chatty with my clients. They receive an email from me at least once a week - with sales numbers, submissions updates, subsidiary rights updates, marketing ideas, contract updates, etc. Many authors say it takes forever to hear back and that's true. It's not because agents and editors are drinking martinis all day (I wish), but because we're insanely busy. So, I try to keep my client list small and be as communicative as possible. That's the one thing I can add to this journey called publishing that I feel my clients appreciate.

NAE: Name one of your favorite 2012 books that is coming out or already released.

Sara: I read an advanced reader copy of KEEPING THE CASTLE by Patrice Kindl. It was absolutely hilarious, very smart and one of the best books I've read in years! It's basically a satire of a regency historical romance in which a young woman must marry well in order to support her family, but the mysterious stranger acting as her business liaison keeps getting in the way. I can't say enough good things about this book - if you've ever read an historical romance novel or want a truly unique and literary novel, this is it.

NAE: What specific type/style of manuscript is on your Must Have list this season?

Sara: Excellent question! The answer isn't an easy one though, so here we go...

Anything unique and well-written. I know that feels like a cop-out, but it's the truth. I would sign 10 more urban fantasy authors if the best manuscripts I saw this year were urban fantasy. I don't shop by genre or sub-genre, but rather by quality of writing. If I open a submission and fall head over heels in love, then that's the book for me. I rep science fiction and fantasy of all sub-genres and for all reading ages (except picture book or chapter book). I rep romance (all sub genres except category and inspirational). And I rep young adult and middle grade fiction. So, if it's in one of those categories, I will read the query with relish. After the query stage, my decision is based on quality of writing. This is why critiques help so much - the manuscript must be 99% polished in order for me to offer representation. It's my job then to take it to 100% polished before sending it to editors. Then, the editor will spend just as much (if not more) time making it 101% polished so it can compete in the marketplace.

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Because Sara is so committed to the Crits for Water campaign, this is her second year of participating. Check out her interview from the 2011 Crits for Water campaign here. Thank you, Sara, for this interview and for your dedication to this wonderful cause.

Do you think you have a unique, well-written project to send Sara? Bid on her 30-page critique on Monday the 16^th to see how much your work speaks to her. Good luck!

How-tos: Getting Your Full WiP Critiqued

(Or, Network, Plan, and Wait)

Okay. Yes, I know. I’ve been a smidge absent lately. I’m back in the saddle, reading everyone’s blog entries (so many fab ones!), critiquing for my writerly friends, and editing my own writing. I may even get back to Twitter soon (I heart my goat posse!). I’ve been a bit busy with a stuff going on in my real life, and also writing stuff. Writerly speaking, there’s something that has grabbed my attention and forced me to take a new look at the plots in my WiP, and (cue the shock) the plots of my upcoming WiPs. Now, I’ve been a total Pantser (vs. Planner) when it comes to writing. But I might just transform into a Planner, and I’ll tell you why.

But not until Thursday. I’m interviewing the person who has caused this shift in me, the change that’s gotten me soaked in the Planner mode over the past two weeks.

And? I’m going to give away her awesome writerly advice book on Thursday, too. Don’t. Miss. It. You want this book.

But that’s not the subject of this post. I want to dive into full critiques, since I’m doing a lot of them lately. We’ve already discussed chapter-by-chapter critiques, and now it’s time to talk about beta reads. Not the usual how-do-you-critique in beta reads, since I have a couple of posts coming up that will address this, but how to handle the process when your own WiP is ready for betas. If you are an experienced beta critiquer, please (please!) feel free to add and share.

1.       Celebrate. You’ve completed your first draft. Put it away and order a pizza or pour yourself a mug of your best wine. Eat some chocolate (my current fave: Fanny May mint chocolate squares), taking tiny bites and savoring the delicious melting euphoria that only chocolate can offer. Go dancing, sky diving, or some other adequately spirit-bolstering activity. Forget about your draft for at least a week, maybe two. You’re in celebration mode. If you must write, begin a new story.

2.       Read your WiP again. Of course, this step comes after the celebratory step with the week’s worth of wait in between. The best draft to send out to betas is a to-your-knowledge-perfect draft. Or, almost perfect. There might be things that you think can improve, but you can’t put your finger on how to fix it. That’s okay—that’s what critiquerly friends are for But, sentences that are missing words or 987 occurrences of the word very in your text? This is not what you want to burn your beta readers on. You’d like them to focus on those things that you can’t see or fix for yourself. You owe yourself one more read-through.

3.       Network. Hopefully, you’ve been working on your writerly contacts all along. You’ve visited writer’s group websites, blogs, attended conferences, and you know a group of people who you respect, who like you, and who’d love to work with you. In fact, you’d love (love!) to work with them, too. Even if your WiP isn’t quite ready, you can establish relationships and read/comment on other writers’ completed WiPs. It’s time consuming and a whole chunk of work, but the benefits way, way outweigh the drawbacks. Because now? You’ve got your group of serious-minded writers who adore you.

4.       Keep in Touch. When you’ve networked and you’ve done your part in critiquing other WiPs, make sure you keep in touch with these wonderful writerly people until your WiP is ready for them. Let them know every so often where you are with your efforts, and when you think you might need them to beta read/critique.

5.       Plan. As you get to know your critiquerly partners (CPs), you’ll get a general sense of their strengths. You’ll want your critiquerly pie well represented. Some CPs might be better with plot, some with character development. Touch all bases with your betas, and try to do so in logical sequence. Maybe you send your WiP to one or two betas to start, so the next set of betas can focus their specific efforts on a cleaner WiP.

6.       Ask for what you’d like. CP #1 is great with emotions and character depth, so tell her how much you appreciate her talent, and ask her to pay special attention to this in your WiP. Maybe you think you need extra focus on characters X and Z. Ask her. She’ll be happy to give feedback, especially with the green light you’ve flashed her.

7.       Wait. Patiently. It’s a good idea to let your CPs know your overall timeline if you have one, especially if you’re sending beta reads out to phased groups. However, you can’t control what is going on in everyone’s lives. If you haven’t heard from a CP in a long while, check in to make sure they’ve received it without pressuring them to finish. Once you’ve gotten your feedback, wait again before you revise. Let the ideas sink in. The solutions may be utterly obvious, but maybe not. Maybe you’ll come up with a better solution if you let it stew. Put your critiques in the slow cooker and let the ideas waft a while.

8.       Drool with profuse amounts of gratitude. Your fantastic CPs have just read your 50,000-or-so-maybe-more word WiP, have focused as hard as they could on open opportunities in the pages, loved your characters almost as much as you do, and have taken the time to write up their thoughts. It’s a hard thing to do, and it takes skill. Love them for it, and then let them know how much you love them for it.

What else do you do when you send your WiP out for beta reads? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Chapter-by-Chapter Critique Tips

(Or, Writing with the Door Open)


Stephen King advocates writing first drafts "with the door closed." He'd say that the first draft belongs only to the writer. Everyone has her own preferences, but because I participate in an online critique group with a place to post individual chapters for review, I've seen writers go pretty far with the door open.

Are there flaws in a process like this? Of course. For one, it's tough for critiquers to get an overall picture of the WiP. The flow that they would normally get by having the full work isn't there. In fact, if the chapters go up too slowly, then critiquers have a tendency to forget details from previous chapters. And for the writer, the temptation to go back and fix things rather than completing the project can be smothering.

However, I've also witnessed the benefits of this process in avoiding re-work and providing motivation. I like to get about 10,000-20,000 words into a WiP before posting anything, so I'm a part-closed, part-opened mix. But I like to post chapters pre-completion at this point for several reasons.

• Huge Plot Holes: The process provides early feedback which helps avoid re-work later. It's overwhelming to have a completed WiP and then find out that a Huge Plot Hole exists, and will require tons of patching, reworking, and reshaping in order to pull it off. In fact, I've known some writers who completely give up on a WiP at this point.
  
• Get General Thumbs Up: I like to know whether my characters are compelling, if the point of view works, and whether the story garners interest. Again, this helps me to avoid re-work later on. Or maybe, I have to abandon an idea until I come up with a way to fix it. But at least I'm not so far into it that I feel stuck.
  
• Staying Connected: Posting as I go keeps me connected with my writing community. When I'm in my writing zone, I totally go into bear cave mode and not come up for air. Except if I take a few minutes to post a chapter here or there, critique someone else's chapter here or there, I stay connected.
  
• Keeping Motivated: Staying connected also keeps me motivated. Is my critique group waiting for the next chapter? Why yes, yes they are, and they told me so after my last post. How lovely. And this? Helps me finish sooner.
  

Critiquing chapter-to-chapter posts, therefore, might have a different feel than critiquing full projects.* So, what can the critiquer do to ensure they are helping the writer get the biggest bang for her buck?

1. Focus on helping the writer to avoid re-work. Find out where the writer has the most difficulty with first drafts, and help her when she's falling off her wagon. Is the plot faltering? Characters flat? Scenes unnecessary? Does something completely pull you out of the story?
   
2. Don't worry about the perfect diction or polish. This is her first draft, so she won't need to know every comma misplacement or every participle that dangles. Save those suggestions for the final edit. However, if there is a glaring grammar infraction that happens again and again, then go ahead and let her know. It's easier to fix a repetitive issue before it happens rather than to go back and fix each and every one of the infractions later. This goes back to the number one, saving the writer work later on.
   
3. Try to keep past details straight, which is more challenging because of the passage of time between chapters. If you're not sure if something was mentioned earlier, take a quick peek. Even if this detail was mentioned, if it doesn't "do the job," let the writer know.
   
4. As always, take a minute to say what you liked to help keep the in-progress writer motivated, even if you simply write the word LIKE in the margin at the end of a fantastic line. Those tiny compliments always work for me.
   

Again, chapter-by-chapter critiques are not for everyone, and that's okay. Can you think of anything else I've missed for chapter-by-chapter, in-progress critiquing? Let me know.


 

 
*Some people post chapter-to-chapter but have the whole WiP completed before they start. The chapters usually go up faster, and this type of critique works more like a full WiP critique. Therefore, the above suggestions may not apply.


 

 

Pilot Post: A Writer's Family

I read this remark today on one of the forums I frequent:

“What I love about writers is that we encourage each other and think there's room for all of us!”

Sure, the statement is fundamentally true, but that's not what struck me when I read it. What struck me is that it’s a sentiment that every plugged-in writer feels every time we ask for help from our community. We are each other’s biggest fans, cheerleaders, and marching band all in one. Once we’ve found our beloved critique partner(s), we’ve found family.

This blog is dedicated to my cyber family of writers. We’re not each other’s editor, but we provide editorial feedback so that our writer-cousins have a better chance at success. 

But when I first started out, not as a writer—as a critiquer, I didn’t know what the heck to say to another writer. Who was I to tell them that their story didn’t work for me? I tended to re-read their piece until I figured out what they meant, and then congratulated them for the intention behind the piece.

Helpful? Nope.

Now further into my critiquerly journey, I’m strengthening my skills and providing more helpful feedback.

Not An Editor will focus on the critique process for manuscripts, query letters, and any other piece related to professional writing. Guest critiques, common writing tics, and self-editing topics will each take turns in the spotlight on this blog.

Take a second to let me know what critique topics you’d like me to cover. Or, ask questions and I’ll research for an answer (grammar, structure, etc.). Hopefully, the journey of this blog will be one of critiquerly growth, which is just as important and very related to writerly growth.