Sales Numbers can Reflect the Entire Agency and Not the Individual

Keep in mind that an agent such as Richard Curtis, who lists 159 titles sold during a 12 month period, is likely publishing the figures for his entire agency.  Prolific producers such as Richard Curtis, Sterling Lord, Al Zuckerman, and Jane Dystel are historically providing numbers generated by their respective agency imprimaturs and not their individual sales, although they may play a role in each transaction.

Query the Right Agent

If you check their individual web sites, you will notice that some of these high production agencies are mammoth, employing a couple dozen agents and numerous subordinate staff members, such as readers.  This is why it’s imperative to find out which representative at an agency is the right choice for a particular work.  And why it does not behoove a writer to send material to the lead agent when another person is better suited.

Be Careful of the Agent on the Marquee

The reason for this admonition is because most agencies don’t pass material from agent to agent to see who might like it from a genre perspective.  So in instances in which a cozy mystery might be ideal for Jane Jones, it might not be suitable for hard-boiled police mystery guru John Jones. And if John Jones is the agency founder–and the person queried–his personal attaché may only look for material that will fit his eye if the query is addressed to him.  And no one I am aware of enables a writer to submit to multiple agents within the same agency, as this seems to be universally disparaged.

Don’t Shoot Yourself in the Foot; Give Yourself a Chance

It is therefore critical to do the necessary homework to determine the correct agent’s name for a genre or sub-genre, should it be someone other than the person listed in the agency title.  I realize I stated essentially the same thing in the preceding paragraph, but the issue of agent specificity needs to become inculcated in all of us, it is that important.  Yet it doesn’t always work this way, since in some agencies all queries are reviewed by a submission coordinator, regardless of whom the letter is addressed to, and then passed on to the agent who that person feels is “right” for the project. But why take the chance?

Three Things a Writer Can Do that Will work

Confused?  Nothing about locating the right agents to query is easy, but I think a serious writer can save a lot of time and aggravation by making the effort to do three things:  Check with Publishers Marketplace for who is selling what–and to whom as it relates to a work’s specific sub-genre; learn as much as possible about the recent book(s) the agent has sold so something about this history can be referenced in the query (specifically how there is a relationship between that book(s) and the work the writer is proposing); then go on the Agent Query web site to verify the agent’s title, address, etc, and to access that agent’s exact submission requirements.

I suggest going to the profile link at Agent Query and then to the submissions guideline button on the agent’s web page (the URL is almost always shown), since the criteria on the web page is often more detailed and current than what is listed in the short bio provided on Agent Query. All three of the links I’ve indicated are free (Agent Search was mentioned at the beginning of this article), including the Publishers Marketplace free link, and if a writer is not already familiar with each of them, in my opinion they are well worth learning about.

Robert L. Bacon is the founder of The Perfect Write®
Click here The Perfect Write® and learn about our manuscript critiques, line/copy editing services, and developmental editing.
Also for authors, The Perfect Write® provides FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query by clicking here mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write® and see examples of successful query letters by clicking here Sample Letters Page

Make no mistake about it, writing queries that produce results is a craft.

Fact: A Query Should Not be Written Like a Synopsis.

I devoted an entire article to this, yet writers who have read the article continue to send me sample queries that ignore this premise. Yes, there are exceptions. There are exceptions to everything in publishing. But if an author wants to entice an agent to stand up and take notice, as I said in the prior article, sell the sizzle and not the steak. Pure and simple, a query for fiction is best written if it mirrors liner notes.

Fact: A Writer has to Know the Genre in which the Work is Written.

If the author doesn’t know the genre in which his or her work is written, any bona fide editor can explain it. A writer who doesn’t take the time to figure this out has virtually no chance. Genre identification is paramount. And while critique groups, etc., are a wonderful sounding board, they are historically populated by amateurs, and as such not the place to learn about genre specificity in today’s complicated and ever-changing market.

Fact: Structurally, a Query can be Designed like a Short Theme.

Yes, a simple but effective way to structure a query is like a theme. Begin with a core thought that highlights two or three critical plot elements. Justify these issues in the next paragraph, then close the letter with the thrust of the thesis: Why Readers Will Gravitate to the Story. Personal credentials if they pertain directly to the work can be added in a final brief sentence or two, along with a statement of appreciation for the agent’s or publisher’s time.

Fiction: Copying the Words of Phrases from a Successful Query will Assure another Query’s Success.

Nothing could be further from the truth. A query should define the voice and strength of the writer and the project. An experienced agent or publisher can pick up the nuances of a writer’s style. Counterfeiting doesn’t work

Fiction: Query Letters Should Never Contain Questions.

This farce has been bandied about for some time and is ridiculous. No one likes a query that reads like a movie opening: In a world…followed by a “what if” scenario. But there is nothing at all problematic about asking an agent or publisher to consider a novel’s most poignant issue or issues. And if some agent has written to the contrary, so be it. Hundreds of other agents, and all of those I know and work with, think differently.

Fiction: A Query Should Fill as Much of the Page as Possible.

It’s quality not quantity that matters. A query with 500 words jammed on a page is not going to be perceived to be any better than 300 words that clearly and concisely reflect the writer’s skill and the “hot points” about the story he or she has written. An overwritten query can plant the thought that the novel is also structured in the same manner.

What can distort this last remark are the bloated query examples posted by some writers whose work has been accepted for publication. But when a query turns into a synopsis, which is almost always the tendency in longer efforts, it’s generally a quick reach by the agent or publisher for the SASE or the rejection template on the computer file.

Fiction: If my Query Doesn’t Work the First Time, I can Write another One Later to the Same Agent for the Same Book.

Agents keep records. At least many of the good ones I know do. And, universally, as I’ve experienced it, agents never want to see a query about the same material a second time any more than they will consider a manuscript they’ve previously rejected. So it is imperative to get it right the first time.

A final thought: A poor query will never get a book in front of an agent; however, a great query can influence an agent to look at a novel that might require a touch up. And critical feedback can often be gleaned from an agent. For anyone not using a professional editor (curses), I cannot think of a better way to receive professional advice without having to pay for it. However, most authors would be way ahead of the game if they sought professional direction to assure a quality query before bombarding a highly selective marketplace with less than sterling requests to review material.

The Perfect Write® offers manuscript review and revision, including comprehensive developmental editing and line editing services. Also For authors, The Perfect Write® is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write™ Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Writer’s like Dickens and Woolf Provide a Lofty Pedestal

It would be wonderful if lines like “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” or, “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself,” were on the forefront of our thinking when we first sat down at a keyboard.  The reality, however, is that this is not how it plays out for most of us.  But there are ways to attract a reader without having to conjure up the catch phrase of the century.

Think Along the Lines of Larry McMurtry

Larry McMurtry opened A DEAD MAN’S WALK by telling the reader about a naked 200 lb. prostitute, nicknamed The Great Western, walking down the street while carrying a snapping turtle.  If into westerns, who wouldn’t want to find out why this woman was involved with this seemingly inane activity?  The same as a feminist would be immediately taken by Clarissa Dalloway’s opening salvo.

But What if it Requires Time to Set up the Introduction to the Story?

This is when it gets sticky.  Yet not impossible to remedy.  A good exercise is to write a page on a random topic–not considered previously–then locate the most significant facet of the text and place this as the lead sentence.  Now rewrite the page with the narrative following this new opening.  This is generally accomplished much easier than first thought, yet it might not be a bad idea to do this several times, each with a new topic.  Then parse the first chapter of your novel and apply this technique to  the opening.

The Opening Requires the Same Effort as the Book’s Title

On this point, it is prudent to apply the same effort for the opening as was expended to come up with the title for the work.  Often, however, much more time is spent on determining the title.  If this should happen to be the case (from the perspective of the amount of time spent on each), it could be suggested to reverse the process.  A solid opening, whether it be a single paragraph or several, will eliminate the need to try to create one-line intro’s like “Who is John Galt?” or “They call me Ishmael,” which only happen on the rarest of occasions by even literature’s most esteemed writers.

The Perfect Write® offers manuscript review and revision, including comprehensive developmental editing and line editing services. Also For authors, The Perfect Write® is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write™ Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Pitching a Book to the Wrong Agent or Publisher is Problem #1

Genre specificity plagues a lot of authors. It’s important to recognize that a hard-boiled detective mystery with a lot of torrid love scenes is not classified as Romance. If a writer is having difficulty pinning down the genre for a specific work, a friendly library staff member might be a wonderful resource (please don’t expect this person to read the entire draft). Only after the genre is identified can a writer adequately source the industry for suitable agents or publishers.

Agent or Publisher Bias can Knock a Work out of the Saddle

I recently presented material to a well-known independent publisher, only to be told that their firm did not handle anything dealing with Russians or the Mafia, something that was not mentioned in their already abundant submission guidelines. As luck would have it, a significant character in my narrative was a member of the Russian Mafia.

Of course this could be modified, but the point is that any writer can be blindsided by a bias against anything from Lithuanian folk dancers to fly fishermen from Montana. Keep in mind this is a quirky business, and it’s not always the writer. And it seems that once something is found to be deficient, the agent or publisher tends to turn up the power of the already very intense microscope.

A Manuscript can Suffer from the New Rock Band Syndrome

A manuscript can be deemed to be too close to other material. Or too far removed so that it doesn’t fit with anything else. I’m told these are standard rebukes in the recording industry. In the publishing business, either comment also follows with a rejection. My personal experience is that it would be easier to climb Mt. Everest than to persuade an agent or publisher to accept material for which they have a predisposition toward one or the other reasons for rejection that Is just stated.

What if you Write the Perfect Manuscript, but It’s Really Not so Perfect After All?

This is the bitterest pill to swallow. If a partial or full manuscript is rejected numerous times, it’s obviously necessary to take stock of the situation. Many writers contact a professional for assistance well after sourcing scores of agents and numerous publishers. There are only so many agents and publishers for any genre. And, unfortunately, agents and publishers inherently do not want to see work after they have previously rejected the material.

It is critical to have a manuscript polished to its highest sheen possible before submitting it. Quite often there are issues that are not apparent to the early-stage author which can be easily remedied, but when unchecked can send an otherwise solid body of work to the slush pile.

The Perfect Write® offers manuscript review and revision, including comprehensive developmental editing and line editing services. Also For authors, The Perfect Write® is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write™ Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Hint Number One – Your Name, Page Number and Book Title in the Top Left Corner of Each Page

In the top, left corner of the page, many editors prefer your last name followed by a hyphen and the page number, and one single space below this, the title of your book.  Then three single spaces below this (if you’re not beginning a new chapter, which I’ll cover later) begin your narrative.

Hint Number Two – Double-Line Space the Narrative

No one I know will accept a single-line spaced manuscript, and there is good reason.  In the days of the covered wagon, when everything was edited with a pencil, the suggested corrections were made between the lines.  Most editors still prefer to work this way, and this format is paramount when line-editing material.  Plus, most people find double-line spaced copy on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper much easier to read and therefore more comfortable to work with.

Hint Number Three – Double Space After a Period

Double spacing after a period enables room to annotate punctuation changes and draw lines to move sentences around.  I am aware that some people are saying this is “old school,” and therefore the double space after the period is no longer necessary, but every editor I know prefers or demands it, as do I.

Hint Number Four – Indent Paragraphs 1/2″

Most word processing programs seem to use a 1/2″ indention as standard, but I often receive manuscripts with erratic or inconsistent paragraph indentions.  If you always indent 1/2″, then your text’s appearance will be consistent and this will also enable you to “fudge” when you want your text to look its best from an aesthetic standpoint.

Hint Number Five – Never Justify Text (Except for Chapter Delineations)

Under no circumstances should a manuscript be submitted with justified text.  This makes line editing a nightmare (sic, impossible), since extra spaces between words are something a line-editor flags.

Hint Number Six – Locate the Chapter and its Number in the Center of the Page

As with unusual or inconsistent indentation, I receive a wide variety of chapter set ups.  My suggestion is to type out the word Chapter with a capital C and follow this with the number 1, 2, 3, etc., one space after the word; i.e., Chapter 1.  This isn’t as Mickey Mouse as it seems, because this differentiates a Chapter 1 from Part 1, for example.  The Chapter designation is a location in which centered text is not only acceptable but desirable.

Space the chapter identification down however far you desire with an equal number of lines below it before your begin the narrative.  Five single spaces from the book title in the top, left corner to the centered chapter identification, then five single spaces to the beginning of the narrative is a good template.

Plus, this again provides room to “fudge,” if need be, during later revisions and not require a writer to have to repaginate an entire chapter–or even the entire book.

Hint Number Seven – Use 12 Point Times New Roman or Courier Font

Many in the publishing industry seem to recommend these fonts.  Also, if a writer sticks with either Times New Roman or Courier, this could save having to manually go through an entire manuscript to clean it up should it have to be changed to either of these font styles.  Because, even today, with all of the word processing genius that’s out there, different fonts don’t often wrap properly when the entire text is converted from one font style to another.

Hint Number Eight – Leave an Extra Double-Spaced Line at the End of Each Page

If you choose to ignore everything I’ve written, please don’t disregard this idea:  Leave an extra line or even two at the end of each page, especially during the early drafts of your work.  Meaning, instead of typing to the last line, which will generally be line 24 of double-spaced copy, type only to line 23.  This has nothing to do with editing, but will enable you to revise and often not have to repaginate work, thus saving a huge amount of labor.

If you follow the eight suggestions outlined in this article, I think you will have a very happy agent, editor or publisher–and I hope all three.

Robert L. Bacon is the founder of The Perfect Write™

The Perfect Write™ offers manuscript review and revision, including comprehensive developmental editing and line editing services.
Also For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com (no attachments) and visit The Perfect Write™ Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

While the short stories in the DEATH IN VENICE Vintage compendium enable a relatively quick study of the range voice can take, this is far from conclusive. The reason is because voice is without boundaries. This open architecture, in and of itself, leads to much of the confusion about voice. And this is the first distinction between voice and tone, since tone can generally be identified without too much of an argument.

So What is Voice?

When someone hears that a “new voice has exploded upon the literary scene,” does one automatically expect to read the next Marcel Proust, Virginia Wolfe, Ann Rand, Ralph Ellison, William Faulkner, or Erskine Caldwell; and should we seek successful writers from our current era such as Pat Conroy, Elmore Leonard, E. L. Doctorow, Tom Clancy, or Barbara Kingsolver to understand the reference?

Each of these writers possesses a distinctive voice, but what do we say about different authors who work in the same genre and write in a similar style? Does each writer still have a separate voice? Of course he or she does. Just like one singer can sound like another but not possess the identical range in every key.

An Attorney Letter and Family Correspondence on the Same Subject Illustrate the Difference

One of the best ways I can think of to showcase the disparity of voice is to compare an invitation to the reading of a will from an attorney with the same request from a close relative.

The first might read something like this: Dear Mr. David C. Howson: Please be advised that your attendance is requested on Thursday, January 11, 2009, at 1:00 p.m., in the offices of John Carlton Jones, Esquire, Attorney at Law, 201 West Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601, for the reading of the Last Will and Testament of Horatio Clark Howson, etc.

Conversely, here is the invitation from a close relative: Dear Davey, your uncle’s will is going to be read next week at our attorney’s office, and we look forward to seeing you there. Jo Ann will call you for with the details. Love, Aunt Mary.

Style Establishes Voice, but There’s a Lot More to it

Same message about the dearly departed, and although both are conveyed in what is considered a soft tone in relative terms, they are written in decidedly different voices. So while it’s safe to say that style creates voice as much as the words that are used, what about an academic paper written in an authoritative tone? Isn’t this also an authoritative voice? Certainly, except it would probably be easier for definition purposes to claim the voice as authoritative and the tone as strong.

Tone has Three Basic Mediums

For practical purposes, tone is either soft, moderate, or strong. These areas of course can have any number of gradients, from very soft to aggressively strong, but the three delineations provide the basis for comparison. This is still speculative, because what one person considers moderate another might feel is strong (and of course vice versa). But it’s much easier to come to a consensus on a specific tone than to devise a chart that categorizes voice.

So, Again, What is Voice?

Voice is you. Should you and another person write a book about the identical topic, your story will reflect your way of telling the tale via words and syntax that differ from what the other writer has used. So when you write a book, and the critics proclaim a fantastic new voice has roared onto the scene, these pundits are talking specifically about you, because you are the voice of your writing. And a unique voice indeed.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Everybody Has a Story Worth Telling

If you have begun reading this article, there’s a good possibility you have either been told this, heard this, or feel this way for your own reason(s). And while it may not be irrational to believe that each of us has a story worth publishing, doing so in a manner that is palatable beyond our family and closest friends is indeed what separates writers. But is the latter part of the preceding statement always true?

It’s Often Not a Matter of Ability

I don’t think it would be out of line to state that we’ve all read a novel which we’ve paid our hard earned money for and later shaken our heads in wonder and disgust at how the book every got published. You might have even said to yourself (and often) that you’ve written material much better than what you just read, but your story was rejected. So why did a writer’s inferior material attract a publisher when your superior work hadn’t?

Specific Manuscript Faults that Can Cause Rejection

Assuming that basic grammar and punctuation were not an issue, several factors can determine why a manuscript was never considered publishable. In no particular order, here are some of those reasons. And please note that all of these shortcomings are the result of inadequate editing.

- Certain plot elements seemed contrived
- The characters were not interesting
- The scenes were not fully developed
- There was not adequate conflict
- The dialogue was not realistic
- The pacing was slow
- The premise was poor
- Formatting was wrong for the genre
- Paragraphs and/or chapters were too long

These are some of the common reasons for rejection, yet you may have just read material from a major imprint that contained some if not many of the very flaws that are listed. How is this so? Read on.

The Not So Obvious Reasons Poor Material is Published

It is important to understand that today’s publisher is interested in readership potential more than ever, and an established author with a guaranteed readership is key. The penchant to print books that will assure a certain number of sales encourages the following:

- Books are written too fast, and this results in diminished quality

- Books are poorly edited, since many publishers do very little of this work any longer

- Some of the most successful authors do not write all of their material

- Some of the most successful authors do not write any of the material under their signature

The list is much longer, but the point is obvious. And this is why a plan is critical for an unpublished author or an already difficult task can soon become insurmountable.

Before you Commit the First Word to Paper, Formulate a Plan and Force Yourself to Follow It

For those writers who have the foresight to create a plan and the discipline to follow it, here
are a few suggestions that will at least give each of you a fighting chance to have your novel considered by a quality agent and a bona fide royalty publisher:

1. Determine the genre or sub-genre in which you will be writing. If you should be having difficulty with this, go to the free http://www.agentquery.com/default.aspx web site for definitions.

2. Review current novels in your genre to determine the authors who are being published and by whom. Make a list of these authors’ agents (they are generally referenced on the novel’s Acknowledgments page). This will provide you with a group of agents to query, and you’ll likely find that some (or another agent in their agency) will accept unsolicited material.

3. More important than any of the issues in this list, it is imperative that you write your novel so it is an exact fit for the publisher’s definition of the genre.

4. Pay attention to word count, paragraph length, chapter length, and general layout. Avoid long runs of italics and all parentheses (the latter is purely a personal hang up of mine).

5. You can certainly take advantage of critique groups, writer’s workshops, and friends and relatives. But have a professional editor–whom you have thoroughly checked out–at least read your manuscript before sending it off. And if you do take my advice on this, find an editor who has experience with royalty publishers in your manuscript’s exact genre.

6. You will not get a second chance with an agent or publisher. And the list of good ones who are still accepting unsolicited material in both arenas is dwindling fast. So make your manuscript as perfect as possible in every way prior to sending it.

Put the Cart in Front of the Horse and Create Your Liner Notes First

This is the time to put two paragraphs of your dreams for your novel on paper. Design beforehand what your liner notes (and ultimately your query letter) should look like when your manuscript is finished, and your characters will never be shallow and your scenes can never be weak. Now follow your dreams.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Shifting POV is Only a Problem When People Notice It

Some writers possess the skill to seamlessly shift from one person’s thoughts to another. As readers, we won’t give this the slightest concern–as long as we don’t realize when it’s occurring. But even some of the most well-respected novelists have at times jarred readers with ineffective POV shifts. So what is it that enables a POV change to be acceptable in one instance yet not in another?

A POV Shift Works When the Reader Finds it Desirable

Most writers make POV shifts in a traditional manner. They add a line space to signify another character’s thoughts, or go so far as to start a new chapter altogether. But some writers will elect to show multiple characters’ most intimate feelings–within the same frame–without the slightest hiccup. These adept authors are able to accomplish this for a reason.

POV shifts in the same scene are effective when we have become so involved in our characters that we want to know each of their innermost thoughts–immediately. Simply, the pacing and intensity of the storyline can eliminate what might otherwise create a problem for the reader.

So What’s a Writer to Do?

The ability to shift POV at will doesn’t mean its importance has lesser significance, but there might not be the need to worship its inexorably, either. There may indeed be that one instance in a novel, a hospital scene for example, when an accident victim is bandaged like a mummy, and the following could occur:

John Davis blinked and could make out a doctor standing next to his bed, staring at him with a stethoscope dangling from his neck as if it were being held by two tentacles. John’s thoughts turned to his wife. With his lips quivering through thin slits of blood-soaked gauze, John tried to ask about her condition, but no words came out. The physician wanted to leave, but realized by the anguish in his patient’s eyes that he couldn’t just walk away. He bent down to the broken man and said, “Mr. Davis,–”

Certainly, for consistent POV, the penultimate sentence might have read: John sensed that the physician wanted to leave, but something told him that he couldn’t. The doctor bent down and said, “Mr. Davis,–”

But is the scene as powerful if it’s left entirely in John’s POV? Or would the scene work better if the penultimate sentence began a new paragraph? I don’t think so, but this is an individual decision that is highly subjective, and anyone would be justified in disparaging the illustration.

A Final Thought

Many learned people and grounded writers feel that POV is right next to Showing instead of Telling as an inviolable principal. And in most cases this is undeniably correct. But there might be that rare occurrence, such as in the example I offered, when a POV shift within a scene might even be preferable. And I would hate to think that any writer would avoid providing the reader with insight into a another character because of POV convention. There are a lot of techniques available to enable the telling of a story and telling it well. And it’s obviously the choices that separate writers.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Dialogue can Promote “Showing” and Eliminate ”Telling”

Another of the greatest benefits of developing dialogue skills is the inherent subjugation of the dreaded “Show Don’t Tell” dilemma. This is because dialogue automatically creates action, since the characters are speaking. As a bi-product, dialogue also encourages the writer to maintain an active tense and write around passive tense; i.e., “have been,” “had been,” “would’ve been”, etc.

Reading “Out-Loud” What We Write is Never More Important than With Dialogue

In discussing dialogue in general, it is critical to understand that we can’t write like we talk, anymore than we can talk like we write. It is the ability to write between the two that makes for quality dialogue. And the best way to determine if the goal has been met, as in all writing, is to read aloud what was written.

And if it sounds bad the initial time we read it, it isn’t going to get any better, no matter how many more times we traipse through it. What will happen by re-reading is that we will memorize the lines or the pattern of the dialogue so we can read it more fluently. But the person who will be reading it for the first time is not going to have the author’s patience or persistence. Hence, if we stumble the first time and we wrote it, rewrite it!

Steinbeck and Leonard as Models of Great Dialogists

I wrote in an earlier article, Four Authors of Classical Contemporary Literature Defined the Craft of Writing Perfect Prose, and stated, as a dialogist, it is hard to dispute Steinbeck’s brilliance. In the medium of dialogue, if he is not considered the quintessential classicist, few would dispute that he is certainly near the very apogee of this element of the craft. However, from a purely contemporary standpoint, many, of which I am a subscriber, find Elmore Leonard the current standard-bearer.

Editors Often Consider a Writer’s Dialogue Skills First

Regardless of whomever and from whichever era a writer chooses to study material, many renowned managing editors have documented that dialogue is often the first aspect of a novelist’s ability they consider when contemplating a work for publication. That, in itself, should tell anyone the importance placed on dialogue.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.

Characterization is the process of conveying information about characters. Characters are usually presented through their actions, dialect, and thoughts, as well as by description. Characterization can regard a variety of aspects of a character, such as appearance, age, gender, educational level, vocation or occupation, financial status, marital status, social status, cultural background, hobbies, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ambitions, motivations, personality, etc.

While dialect is mentioned, and this reference certainly indicates the use of dialogue, the insinuation can hardly be described as comprehensive. Perhaps nothing can more adequately place the reader in the mind of a character than the dialogue attributed to that individual. Nor can we learn any more about an environment, whether physical or social, than through reading dialogue. 

A Contemporary Novel with 100% Dialogue

For an exercise in excellence in this medium, regardless of one’s liking or not for Stephen King (as a writer, I regard him as a super genius), DELORES CLAIBORNE is an extraordinary example of the use of dialogue to tell a story. And in this instance, the entire text is structured around Delores speaking, and without one word of interior monologue or a single adverb attribute.

Reading Suggestions that Demonstrate Outstanding Dialogue

GOD’S LITTLE ACRE, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, RABBIT RUN and TORTILLA FLAT are all classics that contain extraordinary characterizations portrayed through dialogue. For purely contemporary readers, anything by Elmore Leonard will be of benefit, however, GLITZ may be the book to parse first.

Many find creating good dialogue to be the most arduous aspect of their writing. And it is hard to argue that straight dialogue can be inherent with problems. But when a writer considers dialogue as a means of communicating characterization, then the task can be much less daunting and a perfect way to present a story with greater depth and more definitive focus.

Robert L. Bacon is the Founder of The Perfect Write(TM) theperfectwrite.com
For authors, The Perfect Write™ is now providing FREE QUERY LETTER REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. Post your query to mailto:theperfectwrite@aol.com(no attachments) and visit the Sample Letters Page for examples of successful query letters.