Wednesday Query Critique

It's time for the 2nd ever Wednesday Query Critique, so feel free to enter if you didn't win last week! Just follow the directions below and good luck!

REMINDERS: Please read my prior post on Query Tips before entering. Also, as mentioned in my giveaway, I tend to be very direct and picky, but my goal is to get your query in the best shape possible. Finally, the query is only the first step--make sure the entire book is as good as the query before you hit "Send."

RULES:

Just leave a comment telling me you'd like to be entered in the giveaway and give your email address, using (at) and (com) as follows so the spam bots don't find you. 

I will use a random number generator to pick the winner who will receive a query critique through email. NOTE: If your query involves space monkeys, I might make an exception and do an extra critique!

Writing Contests, Links, and Giveaways

I came across so many great links and contests this week and had to share a few.

News: 
I know I'm not the only one who was uber-excited to see this. I would pre-order her book today without knowing anything else about it because I know it will be awesome.

The Buffer Twitter Tips blog had an interesting article about how to double your Twitter followers this year. It's worth a read if you're wanting to boost your online presence.

Contests/Giveaways:
Gretchen McNeil revealed her amazing cover for TEN and you can win an annotated copy of the book over at Me, My Shelf and I. This book is on my must-read list. Seriously, how can you see this cover and not want to read the book?

The Twitterific Lori M. Lee is hosting a 1-year blogiversary giveaway with great prizes including Barnes and Noble gift certificates as well as query critiques. It ends Wed. 2/29 so hurry to enter.

A new Mystery Agent Contest starts this week over at Operation Awesome, and the agent is looking for all kinds of YA (including sci-fi). The winner gets a full manuscript critique so check it out!

The fabulous Angela from The Bookshelf Muse is hosting a huge giveaway to celebrate reaching 3,000 followers. There are so many prizes to win so hop over there to enter before March 12.

I'll be doing another Wednesday Query Critique Giveaway right here tomorrow, so polish those queries.

Query Critique Winner of the Week

The Random Number Generator picked #7, so congrats to KrysteyBelle! You win a query critique and I'll email you the instructions. Thanks to everyone who entered, and please enter next week if you didn't win today. :)

Wednesday Weekly Query Critique Giveaway

Based on the huge response I had to the Query Critiques for All event during my "agent signing" celebration, I've decided to try out a new weekly feature. I've had multiple people contact me via Twitter or email who said they didn't have their query ready for the giveaway, but would love to have another chance, so here you go. For now, I'll call it the Wednesday Weekly Query Critique Giveaway but feel free to suggest a cooler name in the comments.

Why I'm Doing It:
1) Strange as it sounds, I love writing queries. Also, I've had enough feedback to know that I'm decent at it and can hopefully help others.

2) I want to provide a service to the "introvert" queriers out there who don't want their queries on a public forum. There are already several great sites where you can have your query critiqued publicly. Agent Janet Reid does an amazing job over at Query Shark. Seriously, it's a must read for potential queriers out there. On the writer front, the awesome Matthew MacNish over at QQQE does great critiques and gets a lot of community feedback as well. I highly recommend both sites for writers.

This giveaway is for people more comfortable with private critiques for whatever reason. I've done critiques for people who considered themselves "newbies" and weren't ready for a huge spotlight on them, as well as for someone who was seeking a new agent but didn't want to scream it to the world.

All writers face public scrutiny at some point, e.g. after their book is published, analysis of their twitter feed, etc. This is just an option to help writers get stronger before making that leap.

REMINDERS: Please read my prior post on Query Tips before entering. Also, as mentioned in my giveaway, I tend to be very direct and picky, but my goal is to get your query in the best shape possible. Finally, the query is only the first step--make sure the entire book is as good as the query before you hit "Send."

RULES:
Just leave a comment telling me you'd like to be entered in the giveaway and give your email address, using (at) and (com) as follows so the spam bots don't find you. NOTE: I think my comments problem on the blog is fixed, but please email me if there's an issue at kristi (at) kristihelvig (dot) com.

I will use a random number generator to pick one person who will receive a query critique through email. NOTE: If your query involves space monkeys, I might make an exception and do an extra critique!

Giving Your Characters A Little Perspective

I consider myself many things: writer, mother, small business owner, wife, dog lover, etc. One unexpected label I earned last week was World Class Laundry Folder (those who follow me on Twitter already know this--and that Carolina Valdez Miller is my long lost laundry twin). My 7-year-old son's teacher had assigned an essay in which they had to write about someone who was special to them and why that person was special. Though honored that my son chose me, I was floored when his teacher told me the reason why was my ability to fold "not one, but two loads of laundry at once." Seriously. She thought it was hilarious. Of all the things he could have picked, it wasn't my ability to whip up a mean man-n-cheese or my willingness to repeatedly lose to him in Wii Olympic Snowboarding (I don't try to lose by the way--I just suck at it). No, it was my folding expertise that awed him. I even asked, "You know mommy's a psychologist right, and that I help people." He responded, "Yeah, but you're really good at folding."

[NOTE: These are not my actual folded towels, because I can fold circles around whoever folded these.]
I realized that from his perspective, he's never seen me "be a psychologist" or interact with clients. He sees me, well, folding. I am going somewhere with this. Every person in your life has a slightly different perspective about you based on their own interactions with you, as well as their own 'personal lens' or way in which they view the world. How we see ourselves doesn't always match up with how other people see us. This can be tricky when writing, especially with first person POV. The writer must be able to convey how each character views the main character (MC) solely based on the dialogue and expressions of those other characters.

Unlike the MC in a first person POV, where we are literally 'inside their head', we don't know the thoughts of the secondary characters--only what they say and do. This isn't always a bad thing. For instance, it's a great way to add in conflict, such as when the MC misunderstands the actions or words of other characters and drama/comedy/murder ensues. However, it also demonstrates the need to understand each of your secondary characters really well before you get them down on virtual paper. The 'lens' of the best friend will be different than that of the potential love interest and the sworn frenemy, etc. You want each character to be three-dimensional and believable to the reader. In my last book, several people told me how much they loved one of the secondary characters--I loved him too, so it made me happy that others found him 'real.'

How do you make sure all of your secondary characters are three-dimensional? How do you give them unique perspective?

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some laundry to fold. Check back tomorrow when I'm starting a weekly query critique giveaway! :)

Favorite YA Romance

Being that it's V-Day and all, I was thinking about the fact that almost every YA has at least some romance component to it. I don't usually go for the cute and contemporary love stories (though I really want to read DITCHED), but instead lean toward the darker romances involving damaged characters like in Lisa McMann's WAKE or  THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. (BTW, if for some reason you haven't seen THE HUNGER GAMES trailer yet, you must watch it now. Amazing, right?) Anyway, rather than straight romance, I like it when the characters are too busy trying to survive to worry about dating. Most recently, I LOVED the romance between Rhine and Gabriel in WITHER. I know everyone has different tastes though, so in honor of this ridiculous lovely holiday, tell me...

What's your favorite YA romance?  

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Query Tips Part Deux

As of last night, I have finally finished all of the query critiques! I may or may not have had a glass of wine to celebrate (okay, I totally did). If you sent me a query during the open submission time and haven't received a critique, please let me know. I read some wonderful queries and had a blast. Since people told me they found it so helpful, I think I'll add in some on-going query critique opportunities. Last week, I discussed a few query tips and after finishing the critiques, I thought of a few more to add. Again, these examples are my own, so no actual query excerpts are contained here.

1) Keep it simple. You want to include the hook and main characters (generally 2 or 3 characters) in your query. Of course your book will have subplots and numerous side characters, but adding these elements into a query can make it confusing and overwhelming. The same goes for fantasy lingo if it's an alternate world with made-up vocabulary. Keep it to a few, relevant terms and save the rest of it for the book. Your goal is to give just enough info to make the agent want more.


2) Get someone who hasn't read your book to read your query. Don't get me wrong, I think your beta readers/critique partners can give great feedback on your query (my crit partners gave fabulous advice), but it's also helpful to have a fresh pair of eyes look at it. Someone who has read your book might miss something in your query because they already "know the entire story." Someone who does a cold query read without having read your book can easily detect if something is confusing or needs more emphasis.

3) Don't lose your voice. Several people told me that multiple people had critiqued their query and they'd taken it apart so many times that they weren't sure if the query even made sense anymore. One of the drawbacks of multiple beta readers is that everyone has their own suggestions and opinions. It's wonderful to have helpful writer friends, but make sure to keep your own stamp on the query. You want the voice of your novel to shine through, not a mish-mash of other voices. Just like with your manuscript, if more than one person gives you the same feedback, then you should pay attention to it. If not, see what resonates with you and let the rest of it go. One "voice" tip that I've heard is helpful is to write your query in first person, then change it to third person, present.


That's it for now. To those who sent their queries, best of luck with querying and don't give up!