In a world where, “I follow you on Twitter,” does not indicate a stalker, where agents and editors can be “friended” on Facebook and MySpace and where everyone in the world can be “Googled,” it may seem as though there are no boundaries.  We’re all just one big happy family, and you can dash an e-mail off to the pros just like you can your BFF.  Not so!  There is still an etiquette, there are still boundaries and procedures, and while doing your research means you’ll be targeting the right people with your work, it should not get to the point where you feel you know them so well you can bypass those procedures.  Remember, they don’t necessarily know you.  Just as you wouldn’t send a resume to a potential employer’s personal e-mail address or home, you shouldn’t send a query to an agent or editor’s non-business account or even their direct business account if their guidelines say there’s a separate address that should be used for queries.  It’s very possible that contact made in the wrong way is deleted unread or even automatically by the pro’s spam filter.

You wouldn’t say to a potential employer, “You dude, I’m a hard worker.  Pick me!”  Likewise, your query letter shouldn’t be so informal.  (No, I’m not suggesting that agents or editors are employers, but you are trying to establish a business relationship and should be professional in your approach.)  I’ve posted dos and don’ts on my blog before (here), but here are a few more:

-don’t call the agent or editor by his or her first name unless you’re truly on a first name basis

-spend at least as much time on your query letter as you would on a cover letter to go along with your resume

-spell check and proof read

-make sure you’re following guidelines and do not direct the pros to a separate website to view your work; everything we need to make a decision should be included with your query

-be sure the pro can respond to the e-mail address you’ve used if sending an electronic query (Note: this seems obvious, but I’ve had responses bounce because the address is no reply or because there’s an anti-spam process I’m not going to take the time to complete.)

There’s been a lot of good advice given this week (discovered via Twitter).  Here are some of the links:

Lauren Dane – how authors should respond to rejection 

Jennifer Jackson (arcaedia ) – on queries 

Richelle Gardner – how not to get an agent

Two more chances to get a signed copy of Vamped by the end of the year.  Just remember, the holidays are coming up and books are one size fits all!

Saturday, November 7th from 2:00-5:00pm
Romancing the Holidays: Multi-author Charity Book Signing
Altamonte Mall - Center Court Fountain
451 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL
Tel: (407) 261-0213
Participating authors:

Blair Bancroft

Nancy J. Cohen

Lucienne Diver

Dara Edmondson

Louise M. Gouge

Maria Geraci

Traci Hall

Shauna Hart

Rachel Hauck

Catherine Kean

Pamela Labud

Gennita Low

Aleka Nakis

Connie Mann

Terry Odell

Linnea Sinclair

Liane Gentry Skye

Nancy R. Thompson

Maggie Toussaint

Bonnie Vanak

Michelle Young

Saturday, November 21st from 2:00–3:00p.m.
Borders Books
12500 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, FL 33618
Tel: ( 813) 265-8455 www.borders.com

Patience Smith, editor with Silhouette’s Romantic Suspense line

Lucienne Diver (me), agent with The Knight Agency

Kelly Mortimer, agent with The Kelly Mortimer Agency

CJ Lyons, bestselling medical suspense author

Homicide Lt. Danny Agan

Mary O'Gara, author, life coach, and professional psychic

Not sure if registration has closed, but if you want to check it out, here's the link.

In other news, The Knight Agency is hosting a Take Home Tuesday Contest with Marley Gibson, Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader, co-authors of THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL.

Where: TKA Chat Room

When: Wednesday, October 21st @ 9pm ET

How To Chat: (1) Click on this link: http://client1.sigmachat.com/sc.php?id=115545 (2) Enter a username and password (any combination) (3) Click Login

"Everything about this series is enchanting and addicting and it's a series I recommend to everyone I know. I love Rachel Caine and truly believe her books are the epitome of the paranormal genre. I'll be going through withdrawals until the next book comes out!"                            

“Sylvie’s voice is sharp and articulate, and Clement-Moore (the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series) anchors the story in actual locations and history, offering au courant speculations about the nature of ghosts and magic. Her ear for both adolescent bitchery and sweetness remains sure, and her ability to write realistic, edgy dialogue without relying on obscenity or stereotype is a pleasure.”

Today's guest blog is with the multi-talented Laura Anne Gilman (suricattus ), fantastic editor, short story and novel writer, wine connoisseur, friend, and client of "rival" agent Jennifer Jackson (arcaedia ).  (I put rival in quotations not because we're not competitors, but because it's not a hair-pulling and name calling sort of thing, even after said wine has been consumed.)

Changing Gears, without Losing the Love by Laura Anne Gilman

[this essay was inspired by a conversation Our Hostess and I had over drinks one night, about how difficult it can be, sometimes, to reach into yourself and pull out what a story needs… how scary it can be to face expectations – of both ourselves, and our readers.]

Writers write.  That’s a given.  But sometimes we write… different.  And it terrifies us.

For the past five years, I’ve been best known for the urban fantasy “Retrievers” series, a kick-ass heroine in a contemporary setting, magic and mayhem and moral complications, all happening at the rat-a-tat pace of New York City.

I love those books, and the way people respond to them.  And yet… even as I was having a fantabulous time with urban fantasy, there were other things tickling at my brain, other stories I wanted to tell; other styles I wanted to play with. 

There’s a risk in changing gears, though.  What if your readers don’t follow you?  What if the book is terrible? What if, what if…?   Writers, dear readers, are neurotic and delicate creatures, even when we’re trying to be tough as nails. So although I played around in my short fiction, I stayed focused on urban fantasy, and the Cosa Nostradamus novels.

And then a passing comment by my agent triggered an idea: a wine-based fantasy.  Why not?  I am a wine nerd of good standing (I even spent a year working in a wine store), and the idea of wine-makers as magicians seemed to make absolute and perfect sense to me – what is the transformation of grape juice into wine but the most basic alchemy, after all?  And thanks to Christianity, wine already carries mythical overtones, and the setting of an alternate 14^th Century world was ripe for what I’d been wanting to write about....  And then the character’s voice hit me.

I couldn’t stop myself, I ran with it – or, more precisely, it ran with me.  For a year, I lived with this book even as I was working on the next Retrievers novel.  I researched historical methods of winemaking.  I read articles on vinification and the genetic diversity of grape varietals.  I traveled to Burgundy and spent ten days getting my hands – literally – dirty in the fields, soaking up as much detail as I could to make my “Lands Vin” as true as possible.  I talked to everyone, from the guy who hired out his horse-and-plow to the scion of a multinational winemaking family, to make my characters as real and as grounded as possible.  I tasted as many wines as I could, to get a feel for the different types of grapes that would make up the Second growth within my world.

(Oh, okay, you caught me.  I tasted as many wines as I could because I love discovering new wines.  But it was legitimate research, too!)

And now, 18 months later, Flesh and Fire: Book 1 of The Vineart War, has hit the bookstores.  The reviewers have already been quite kind – it got a starred review from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal – but I have absolutely no idea how my readers will react.  

And I’ve discovered… I’m okay with that. 

Changing gears was scary as hell.  It made me look at my writing, my storytelling, and my own hang-ups and fears under a bright and occasionally painful light, pulling me totally out of my comfort zone.   But the results were worth it – and I will carry what I learned forward for the rest of my writing career.

The important thing -- in writing, in love, in life – is not to be afraid.  Happy Book-birthday, Flesh and Fire.  And thank you, for reminding me of that.