Guild Notes
A monthly publication of the Greater Canton Writers’ Guild, Inc.
Dedicated to providing an atmosphere of continuing education and manuscript sharing for persons interested in the art and craft of writing
Founded 1964, Membership $30 per year
P.O. Box 8381, Canton, Ohio 44711-8381
http://www.cantonwritersguild.org
Volume XXXII, Issue 10
October 2010
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Greater Canton Writers’ Guild will be on Thursday, October 21st at 6:00 pm in the downstairs conference room. There will be 4 readings this month. The program will be on the “Great Beginnings” of our stories. I would like for everyone attending to bring a story that they are either writing (doesn’t have to be finished) or have written. We will be reading the beginnings of our stories.
Announcements
- The recipient of the Ken Miller Award was Linda Durnbaugh from the Kirtland, Chardon area. Her entry was about her trip to Himalaya called Himalayan Hostage. Award of Merit went to Julie Lindsey with Living in a Gas Station, and Honorable Mention went to Devona George for her piece called The Temporary Promise. Congratulations to all of you!
- The recipient of this year’s Marlene Stottsberry Award was Ralph Warth for his short story called The Wrath of Ages. Award of Distinction went to Bill Alford for The Caretaker, and Honorable Mention went to Cynthia Saneshige for The Familiar. Congratulations to all!
- Last month’s workshop was canceled as is October’s workshop due to lack a of member attendance/interest/participation in previous workshops.
- Those elected to the Nominating Committee are: Bob Menarcheck, Caroline Totten and Ron Luikart. If anyone would like to run (volunteer) for an office or has any questions, comments or suggestions, concerning officers and/or programs, please contact the above people.
- The Writers’ Guild welcomes its newest member, Amy Temple.
Dripping Ink
—with contributing writer Julie Anne Lindsey
Finding a Literary Agent
As writers, many of us have the shared dream of seeing our work on a bookstore shelf one day. I am one of those dreamers. While I am no expert on the publishing world, I have spent my share of time learning what can be done to increase our odds of being published. Please consider this issue of Dripping Ink the first in a series on the topic of getting our works published.
The best thing we can do for our career is find a literary agent, and that begins with a query. A query is a letter written by you, the author, in an effort to get an agent’s attention. It’s a somewhat awkward letter, but the ingredients are always the same, and it gives an agent an impression of you. Can you write? Do you have a strong command of the language? Does your character have an intriguing voice? Do you understand the industry?
The query letter should be no more than one page, double spaced and it should include the following:
A summary or pitch sentence, the genre of your work, the statement that your work is completed, and the number of words in your manuscript. This is the first paragraph.
The next paragraph should be a summary of the book’s essence. It should read like the blurb or jacket flap of your favorite read. You want to entice, without giving it all away.
Finally, you will need a paragraph to introduce yourself, mention any writing credits you may have, and why you chose to contact that agent, be specific about this whenever you can. Then thank them for their time and list your contact information.
There are hundreds of websites, online workshops, and books dedicated to the craft of formulating an agent stopping query. This may be the most important thing you write in terms of becoming a published author because if you hit a homerun here, you will get requests from agents to see the first 50 pages or the opening 3 chapters of your work. Without this letter, no one will ever read a word you’ve written.
This is the query that got my agent’s attention. Please note that I believe it was a fluke because query writing is not my strong suit, I had zero publishing credits, and no specific reason to query her (ex: identifying with an agent whose blog you read regularly, you met at a writers conference, or one who has agented other books in your genre or voice), but it serves as an example, none the less.
Dear Ms. Fill in agent name,
When Ruby Russell tries to teach her hipster husband a lesson, the effort goes tragically awry. DEATH BY CHOCOLATE is an 80,000 word work of women’s fiction complete with comedy, casualties, and chocolate.
Ruby Russell, avid baker and painfully proper housewife, has reached her limit when she discovers her husband has a dirty little secret. Impulsively, Ruby decides to whip up a Viagra-infused-chocolate mousse punishment, but in the morning, her husband’s a stiff. Armed with a lifetime of crime show reruns and Arsenic and Old Lace on DVD, Ruby and her best friend Charlotte try to cover the trail, but a nosey therapist, meddling minister and local news reporter are making it very difficult to get away with murder. Despite the growing chaos, bristling conflicts, and a mounting body count, Ruby & Charlotte share the loyalty of kamikazes to their cause. Death by Chocolate is the story of two delightfully unstable girlfriends determined to get away with murder come what may.
My name is Julie Lindsey and I am an unpublished author. If you’d like to see a synopsis, sample chapters, or the completed manuscript, it is available to you.
Thank you for your time,
Julie Lindsey
I will continue to write about query letters in the next few newsletters because they are that important. Then we will dig into writing a killer synopsis, creating a web presence, understanding the industry, and branding you as a writer. Meanwhile, I’d love to see some of your queries and hear what you have learned about the process. It is a never ending, continually changing industry and I am eager to learn. In next month’s newsletter I will give you a “Do Not” list of everything you should not do when writing a query letter.
Looking Back/ Minutes:
On Thursday evening September 16th, a happy crowd ignored the dark clouds and rain to celebrate the Guild’s 46th Anniversary. John Andress set an appreciative tone for the occasion with an inspirational invocation.
Marty Drexler’s comedy routine assured that the elegant dining room at the Canton Woman’s Club was brightened with giggles and sunny faces.
Barbara Hipsman, Professor of Journalism at Kent State University Stark campus, presented the Ken Miller Awards: Honorable Mention to Devona George and Award of Merit to Julie Lindsey. Linda Durnbaugh, from Chardon, merited top honors for her “valuable contribution to the art and craft of nonfiction writing.” She captivated the audience reading her award-winning piece “Himalayan Hostage”.
Educator Ron Luikart, recipient of the 2008 Stottsberry award, presented those Marlene Stottsberry honors: Honorable Mention to Cynthia Saneshige and Award of Distinction to William Alford. The Stottsberry top award was presented to Ralph Warth. He delighted the attendees by reciting his impressive work “The Wrath of Ages” from memory.
The Nominating Committee members were announced at the end of the evening: Bob Menarcheck, Caroline Totten, and Ron Luikart. These three with Treasurer Cynthia Saneshige and Secretary Nancy Welch, will be deciding on officers for the next year.
The lucky winners of the beautiful baskets were Devona George, Carolyn Redinger, Ron Luikart, and Tom Blike.
Betty M. Smith presented some gift copies of her book, Unexpected Blessings, to grateful GCWG members.
We thank Mela Saylor for doing the beautiful PowerPoint presentation which ran as an intro for this event. Undoubtedly the memories of this sparkling evening will warm all of us throughout the upcoming chilly season.
~ Marilyn Tullys