Angry Robot looking at unsolicited manuscripts

Throughout the month of March, one of my publishers, Angry Robot Books, is willing to look at unsolicited manuscripts in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres.  I've found them very good people to work with, and this is a genuine shot at publication if your book is good enough and right for their list.

Here's where to find out more:  http://angryrobotbooks.com/open-door-month-guidelines/

First Post

I'm finally starting a blog, now that I hear they're being replaced by tweets.  I plan to post news items from my webpage -- www.archonate.com -- as well as advice to writers on the craft and the business.

I may also sound off on whatever takes my fancy.

Here's something I wrote for the Canadian Writers Guide (I think that was the title) some years ago.  It's still good advice.

START YOUR STORY WHERE THE STORY STARTS

Every novel has a point where the hero(ine) embarks upon the main conflict at the heart of the story.  It's when Dumbo wakes up in a tree;  it's when a Louis L'Amour cowboy dives for cover as a shot rings out.

That's the place to begin your manuscript.  Why not first establish the character and setting?  Because you may have only a few lines to hook that most crucial of readers -- an agent.

I've heard a major New York agent tell this story at writers conferences:  one Friday afternoon each month, he and his associates gather around a table that holds a stack of sample chapters they have asked to see, after winnowing through several hundred query letters.  Now they decide which chapters to read over the weekend.

Each manuscript is passed around.  Agents read the first page.  If the ms grabs someone's attention, it goes in a briefcase.  If it doesn't grab anybody, it's gone.

If that was the opening of a novel you spent years writing, that Friday peek was your only shot.  Your story catches fire on page three?  Too bad;  page one didn't hook anybody.

So put your main plot point in the first para of page one.  Get your story started, and then layer in the back story as you keep going.  Your chances of landing an agent will take a quantum leap, and that is the first step into the big leagues.

Besides, once you've sold the book, you and your editor can always rewrite the opening.