Meet Jane Isenberg Part 3
Part 3 Getting Published
“One night my local chapter of Sisters in Crime, an organization of men and women, writers, readers, agents, and editors devoted to promoting the work of women mystery writers, had a panel of newly published authors discussing how they got their work into print. One of them was Barbara Jaye Wilson, whose protagonist sounded a bit like Bel. I read her book, figured out who her agent was, crafted a new and well thought-out query letter, and sent it off.
The agent replied and asked to read the whole manuscript. One day I came home from work to find a message on my answering machine saying that she loved the book and wanted to represent me. I was thrilled. I was also surprised to learn that she was in her very early thirties as was the editor whom she sent it to and who agreed to publish the book. Live and learn.”
Establishing a good working relationship with an editor is crucial. “This editor requires that I write from a synopsis and so, I do. I mull over whom I want to be the victim, how he/she will be killed, and how on earth Bel will solve the crime. I figure out the specifics of the setting because the part of New Jersey I write about, just across the Hudson from Manhattan, is filled with many historic and dramatic backdrops.”
Midlife Issues and The Business of Selling Oneself
“I also figure out which midlife issue I want to focus on as well as what is going on with Bel’s family and friends. Then I sit down and put all this together in a four to six page synopsis If my editor approves, I begin researching and writing. Later if I decide to deviate from the synopsis, I can and do. It’s a guide, not a contract. I find the synopsis helpful in that I have little left in the way of short-term memory and cannot always recall my own ideas.”
“Writers should research the business aspects of writing before they get into print so they can be informed clients of agents and editors and so that they can prepare a realistic and effective promotion plan.”
Isenberg hopes that those of you who are sure you have at least one book in you, will go for it. She urges, “Have a wonderful time, but think twice before giving up that day job!”
Tags: aspects, manuscript, writers
