Daily Book Graphics #1338

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

©1965 / Design: Martin Bronkhurst

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Querying: Know Your Genre

While this may seem like a really basic piece of advice, I read a lot of queries that either forget to mention or mix up the genre. The genre of your book should typically be established before you begin writing (or at least become obvious once you've started the writing process) and you need to make sure the agent you're querying knows for certain what genre your book falls under.

• Research your genre. Writing a science fiction book for middle graders? Read other books in that genre and see how your writing compares. Are you following the necessary guidelines? Does your book have the tropes that your readers will be expecting?

• Include the book's genre in your query letter. Even if you give a (short and sweet) detailed synopsis of your story, the genre isn't always clear. You don't want the agent to be unsure about what type of book you've written. Your query might make it sound like a contemporary romance when really you've done so much world building that the book is technically a fantasy.

• Write a genre that you know well. Don't write a horror novel because it's a trend (for the record, I'm not saying that this is a trend). If you're unfamiliar with the genre, your readers will be able to tell. So will agents - and that's not going to land you a contract.

Studying genres is important for everyone in the publishing industry. Writers, agents, and editors monitor where books are shelved and how different genres need to be sold. There are various expected word counts for genres, various themes that are prevalent, and various character types. Know them well and be extra confident in the one that's important to your manuscript.

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Preview to Summer Link-Up: Literary Soundtracks

Monday, 20 May 2013

For this week's link-up, I've put together a soundtrack for my most recent read: The Golem & the Jinni by Helene Wecker. I have yet to post a review of this book, but I think the soundtrack below will give you a great sense of the book's atmosphere. It's a beautifully written magical realism novel set in New York City. The story gives a new life to well-known monuments of New York and the two main characters, Ahmad and Chava, captured my heart and mind. This soundtrack doesn't relate to any specific events (I don't want to spoil any plot lines), but it contributes to the overall feeling that the book portrays (a necessary component to any magical realism novel).

Dig Into Waves - Freelance Whales
we're all up top now and language is losing its edge
the seventy two of us speaking in glances and dancing
blur my skin melt my limbs with your scales
blend the fins and the teeth and the tails

London - She & Him
I can't shake the sadness
'cause it's never that small
but we're all sad together
so I'm not alone at all

Mountain Sound - Of Monsters & Men
some had scars and some had scratches
it made me wonder about their past
and as I looked around I began to notice
that we were nothing like the rest

Last Mistake - Hey Ocean!
I was trying to hear you through the crowd of people screaming
for their souls in a word that they would obey you
and I looked the other way, knowing

All Alone - fun.
and I feel so all alone
no one's gonna fix me when I'm broke
how do you cry with inanimate eyes?
you're never gonna smile with the way that you're wired

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