Reading for Research
Caren EstesenI'm back from DC where the RWA National conference was held this year. This was a busy conference for me since I got to meet with a number of my authors as well as participate in a workshop on how to pitch and took appointments where writers pitched me their work. There were a few things that struck me while at the conference that I'm going to talk about in the rest of the summer's blog posts. These topics echo what I promised to blog about a few weeks ago and I'll tailor them to address some of the questions that I heard while at the conference.
Today's post is focusing on reading. I'm happy to say no one at the conference claimed to be a non-reader, that is someone who doesn't read for fear of copying the writer's style. (That makes me absolutely crazy because at every point in the day you're getting stimulation from overheard conversations, TV commercials, cereal boxes, etc. Do these influence you any less than books?) But something that I did notice was that when asked, many writers couldn't compare their book to others in their category. When they could, they floundered for reasons why they felt their book could be compared to that writer. I was disappointed because it felt like people hadn't done their research. They couldn't say who their contemporaries were and how their manuscript would stand out from an already crowded marketplace.
When I ask the question of who can you compare your book to, I'm doing so because I want to see how the writer sees their book and how they want to sell it. I keep their answers in mind when I evaluate the book and if I take the book on--that is I offer representation, I use it to formulate the list of editors to send it to as well as how I pitch the book. I'm drawn to writers who not only tell a good story, but have an idea of where their work fits in with the marketplace they're trying to break into. I almost immediately reject writers who tell me that their book is like no other on bookshelves (really, out of the thousands of books published, you happen to be telling the most unique story?). And I rarely take on those who vaguely mention a few bestselling authors. I find that their work usually isn't strong enough to take on.
Reading for research is different from reading for pleasure because you're not looking to passively enjoy the story (though it's great when you do); you're looking to understand the way the writer seeks to express themselves. You're noticing that their language, characters, plots, settings all follow a pattern. In noticing their patterns, you're rereading your own manuscript and doing the same. Understanding their patterns and yours gives you a better idea of what's getting published and how you fit into the publishing model.
My assignment for everyone with a completed book out there is to come up with a list of 5-10 authors who write what you do. Then compare it to your book in a paragraph (about 5-7 sentences long). You can post your paragraphs in the comment section of this blog post and I'll critique them. Hopefully you'll be able to use these paragraphs when constructing your pitch emails and when you pitch in person and get the question which authors would you be most like.
Reader Comments (15)
Thanks for this opportunity! Herewith, my paragraph:
Like the Dragonslayers Academy series (Kate McMullen), Neanderthal Prep is a school story with serial offshoots set in an exotic location (DSA set in medieval fantasy world, Neanderthal Prep is Class of Minus 24K, set in the beach caves of Gibraltar). Neanderthal Prep is similarly focused on comical mishaps, student-teacher relationships, unlikely friendships, and adventure. However, NP also deepens characterization and sustains serious passages in addition to the comedy. The Time Warp Trio series (by Jon Scieszka) has one book called Your Mother Was a Neanderthal for a similar target audience and reading level, but the Time Warp Trio are the boys with modern sensibilities, and the Neanderthal characters are the thuggish antagonists whereas Neanderthal Prep treats the school aged characters as if they were contemporary characters living in that world. For that reason, the dialogue is similar to that found in the My Weird School series (by Dan Gutman). And the focus on details of outdoor adventure evoke the writing of Jean Craighead George (My Side of the Mountain), or Enid Blighton (Famous Five series, Secret Seven series).
Okay, I'll bite, hoping I've understood the instructions:
W.T. [title kept secret for fear of snitchery] is 82K words of women's fiction. If you like the styles of Rebecca Wells, Kate Jacobs, Anne Tyler, Meg Waite Clayton and Jodi Picoult, you'll enjoy W.T. The author tells it true and sometimes as raw as Dorothy Allison in this meeting of Yayas and Sex and the City Gang; a group of women writers who'll do whatever it takes to forge authentic lives and voices. Equal parts of conflict and juicy convo is the glue
in their relationships, which they freely share in person and in emails. Actual emails unknowingly "borrowed" by the author for inclusion in the book.
This post comes at the perfect time for me. I'm currently querying and have run up against the question of comparable titles. I'm struggling with this because I live in a small Mexican town with no access to English bookstores or libraries. Ordering books online is not an option because of money, and I'm at a loss as to how to figure this out.
Do you have any suggestions? I'm not afraid of doing the research, but the logistics are making me beat my head against the wall.
Thanks.
Wow, this is a great offer. Thanks! Here's mine:
Readers who enjoy Shannon Hale, Frances Hardinge, Diana Wynne Jones, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and newcomer to the YA field, Julie Berry, should enjoy The Kisses of the Enemy. My book is not based on any particular fairytale as Berry's and some of Hale's are, but the story world has the same "long, long ago, in a world far away" feel to it that their books have. I tried, learning from Hardinge and Diana Wynne Jones, to put religion and societal structures into my world to make it feel real. My character is best described as a mix between Anne Shirley and the Biblical Queen Esther. In the beginning she is rash, idealistic and a bit melodramatic, like Montgomery's character, Anne, but she matures into a courageous young woman, willing to sacrifice to save her people, and fit to be queen.
Melanie, you could always do research at Amazon.com to find comparable titles/authors. :)
Dear Angie,
You're mentioning a lot of authors, but they don't all write the same type of book (even though they're all technically categorized as women's fiction). It sounds like you're writing a novel that has a serious, maybe somber style (like Dorothy Allison, Jodi Picoult, and Anne Tyler); however, you have some authors with a lighter touch (Rebecca Wells and Kate Jacobs).
The book featuring three or four friends has been done plenty of times before. What are the themes of your book? What are your characters supposed to learn during the course of the story? What makes your book similar to books already published and how will yours stand out? Before you can compare your book to others, you have to know what you're writing and that isn't clear from the paragraph you provided.
Caren
Dear Melanie,
Your comment stirs up some questions. What books did you read before you started writing your book? What kind of book are your writing?
While Amazon and BN.com are great resources (you can read excerpts from many books available), you should be reading full novels on a regular basis. Perhaps you can download books to read on your computer in order to keep down costs.
Caren
Dear Sally,
Your first sentence is perfect: Readers who enjoy Shannon Hale, Frances Hardinge, Diana Wynne Jones, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and newcomer to the YA field, Julie Berry, should enjoy The Kisses of the Enemy. I would suggest you stick to current YA authors like Shannon Hale, Eva Ibbotson, and Libba Bray, but I like that you mention a newwriter Julie Berry. The rest of your paragraph gets murky since it doesn't really give the agent any information that will help sell your book. I'd say you're better off with a paragraph like this:
Readers who enjoy Shannon Hale, Eva Ibbotson, Libba Bray and newcomer to the historical YA market Julie Berry will enjoy The Kisses of the Enemy. Like most good fairy tale heroines, my character (insert name here) starts out as a rash, idealistic and sometimes melodramatic girl and matures into a courageous young woman, willing to risk her own happiness and safety to save her people and become queen.
Caren
Thanks for the crit! I was fuzzy on the instructions, but you've helped me clarify.
Good weekend to you.
Dear Caren,
Thank you so much for sending me rushing into this research with extasy, though I'll probably would not make it on time for this round of critique.
However, since I read this post, I've been going over Amazon's "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" and I would like to recommend it as a great research tool.
As for me, I'm gradually accepting the notion that I don't write like Amy Tan and Fannie Flagg, as I wished, but more like Debbie Macomber - discovered last night...
Hoping you didn't miss mine!
Casie (loveskidlit)
Hi Casie (loveskidlit),
I'm sorry about that! I responded to your comment and somehow it disappeared. But here are my thoughts on your paragraph.
You have a lot of information, but it doesn't really sell your book. I look to see if you're up on current books doing well in the marketplace; I also look to see that you understand the type of book you're writing. From what I can tell, you're writing middle grade adventure novels for boys. I would say something like: Neanderthal Prep is a middle grade adventure novel and is the first in a planned series. Readers of The Dragonslayers Academy series, The Time Warp Trio series, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and The Mysterious Benedict Society books will enjoy Neanderthal Prep with its exciting adventures, exotic settings and the unlikely friendships the characters have. This sells the story and gives me an idea of what authors I would compare you to if I were selling this book to an editor.
Caren
Thanks! That's very helpful.
Casie
I have written a time travel romance that takes the heroine back to 15th Century Scotland. My voice has been compared with Lynn Kurland's. My characters have the strength of those found in the early works of Julie Garwood. With the success of Melissa Mayhue and others, I see a viable future for celtic time travels, and my personal belief is that the worse the economy and real life problems become, the further away from reality readers will need their escapism to take them, both in time and place.
and thanks.
Ainsley
Thanks so much for taking the time to critique these. This is very helpful!