This month, I had my good friend Izzy shoot my new author headshot. I'll be documenting how to take a good author headshot in my newsletter, including how to convey your unique author brand in one single photo. Which one is your fave? It's so hard to decide!
Writing tips from the copyeditor's desk...
First pass pages are DONE, BABY! FPP are the first time you see your book as a book, laid out and type set. The author gets these pages to proof them and make light edits. Now is not the time to change the gender of your main character and switch a sad ending for a happy one. Now is the time to fix typos, grammatical errors, small slips in logic. Here’s a few common mistakes I found in my work: by looking out for them in yours, your prose will be tighter and more readable.
1. Delete word repeats: Generally speaking, you want to avoid word repeats – using the same phrase, be it a noun, verb or (commonly) adjective – as much as possible. We all have our fallback words that we overuse. Or, commonly, we find a word we like and then unconsciously use it again right away, drawing attention to that word and undercutting its power (like I just did with commonly.) When proofing, replace words that have worn out their welcome. (Hint: do a search for just. It’s just crazy how often we use this slippery little sucker!)
Can you guess which word I deleted twice from this paragraph?
2. Your commas, your way: There are a lot of technical rules around the use of commas but honestly, screw that. This is my approach: they are a pause. Use commas to create the meter of your prose. Even if there's supposed to be one, feel free to delete it. This is my approach to copywriting in general: readability is more important than rules.
Technically, I’m meant to have commas after Hi and fuck off, but that’s not how I imagine the greeting spoken. So I took them out. I’m crazy!
3. Suddenly, I realized I didn't need suddenly. You can almost always delete suddenly from fiction. It’s part of telling yourself the story, as you imagine it playing out, but whether it’s a lightbulb moment/knock at the door/fist swinging to someone’s face: it all happens suddenly as far as the reader is concerned. Create surprise and urgency from having the moment appear on page with no introduction, then it will be sudden as opposed to you telegraphing to the reader it is sudden. Falls into show don't tell, generally.
4. Delete doubled-up ideas. Lacey’s breast surgeon, Dr Laura Williams, is described thus: six feet and almost disconcertingly beautiful; a tall Kerry Washington, in a white coat. Later, Lacey meets a couple of gay guys outside a fashion show she’s attending:
Wow, do I think every black person is six foot tall? Looks like it: I deleted six-foot from this.
5. Double-check foreign language: To end on, a fun, narrowly avoided disaster. Here’s the Mandarin my friend Nat translated for me: “Xièxiè nǐ, wǒ de lǎo péngyǒu,” Elan says. “Měi yīcì dōu měiwèi.”
And here’s how it somehow appeared in the FPP:
Literally gibberish. And that, ladies and gents, is why we have FPP.
Judge my book by its cover
What do you think? I love it: it’s deceptively simple, contemporary and playful, but with an edge, once you know the subject matter.
Authors don’t generally have contracted final approval of their covers (meaning that if it came down to it, the publisher could use a cover an author doesn’t like) but it’s in everyone’s best interest for the author to love the cover, because publishers need authors to help sell their own book, which they're more likely to do with a cover they adore. The first two covers my agent, Allison, and I were sent for this book, we didn’t 100% adore. Here they are:
The one on the left got more positive feedback from friends and family, but felt too breezy and “chick lit”-y for a story that, while fun and funny, is also very sexy and about a very serious topic. We liked them but we didn't LOVE them, so Allison and I asked if we could see something more in line with the cover of The Regulars; something that focused on one image and was Instagrammable as heck. The design geniuses at Simon & Schuster went back to the drawing board, and that’s how we ended up with the final version! It's out August 7.
On "failure", and "success"...
As most of you know, I've been out to LA twice now to pitch The Regulars as a TV show. Last month, I shared that the only network who hadn't passed was MTV. We had a great pitch with them and there was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement... but just before Xmas, we found out they passed.
Obviously, this was very disappointing. My imagination tends to be a furiously excitable, future-orientated thing, so by the time we got the dreaded "not this time" email, I was already in that writers' room, on that set, working those late hours... It wasn't the only piece of professional bad news I got over the holidays, so all told, while I had a fun and sunny trip, I was also coming to terms with a 2018 that looked quite different to what I'd been planning. In many ways, I had no choice but to think deeply on "failure", and how to turn it into a source of strength. What helped me:
1. It's okay to feel really, really shit. Often when you get bad news, there can be this kneejerk reaction from either yourself, or those who care about you, into how it's all going to be okay, chin up, you'll be fine, perspective, silver lining. And while that's helpful eventually, it is okay to feel those feels for a day or two. Wallow. Feel sorry for yourself. Whine. It mattered, so give yourself a break and bask in self-pity.
2. Know that "failure" is part of the process. Two things here. First, for every "success" I chronicle in this newsletter or on my social, there are, like, five "failures". No artist has win after win after win: it's literally not possible. Being an artist-entrepreneur as I am means constantly throwing lines out but more often than not getting no bites. It is how the game works. Secondly, I don't really believe in failure. It's not actually failure, it's more like a change of strategy, change of plans. So I try not to think "I failed", rather "Welp, guess I gotta try something else".
3. Defeat breeds tenacity. And tenacity breeds success. Get good at picking yourself back up. One of my mentors messaged me over Xmas, saying, "I have always admired your talent, drive, determination and capacity for hard work and have often referred to you when talking to younger writers. There are people who have writing talent and ideas but who aren’t willing to do what it takes and run into all the brick walls and pick themselves back up and simply keep going. I am proud to know you." Aw! And also, yes. You have to keep going. Cultivate this ability - it's as important as your talent; they go hand in hand. Learn what works for you to ensure you just. Keep. Going.
4. Lean on your support system. I am always paranoid about running out of money because I usually don't have much. It really adds to my stress: and it doesn't always need to. I have a partner, and we're a team. I'm self-reliant to a fault, but this year, I'm working on letting myself be helped and knowing my partner will be there to catch when I (inevitably) fall. And finally:
5. Move on. Projects often fall apart, don't work out, under-perform, disappear. You can do your best to fix them, but at some stage you might have to move the eff on. It's not healthy to be pining over what could've been: moving onto a new project re-energizes you, and will remind you there are other opportunities out there, and that you have the resources necessary to go after them. I often want to give this advice to new authors who can't let their first book go, even though the interest isn't there from the industry. Yes, it took years to write, yes it nearly killed you. But you won't be a published author unless you let it go, and start again. I have two unsold books-- two! Always, always, move on.
Pitching my book as a TV show in LA
So, I went to LA last week...
Generally I share news about the things that work out and are going well. And that's because when things don't work out, it's upsetting for me to rehash the experience. As a creative, I'm so close (too close?) to the projects I work on. I feel bad for them, and for me, when they don't succeed. But, I also like sharing what I'm going through and what I'm up to. Suffice to say, last week I was in L.A. to pitch my last novel, The Regulars, as a TV show. Our team pitched ABC and the CW. While the pitches went well, both networks passed.
Obviously, this is pretty disappointing. Working up a pitch takes a really long time. It's basically a flawless 30 minute presentation about a TV show that doesn't exist but is thought-out enough that it could exist and you can answer every single question about what happens in minute one, and Season Five. It's nerve-racking and exciting and very high stakes and on hearing that we didn't get an offer, I deflated like a sad balloon.
But the good news is CBS Studios (who optioned the book and are the studio who would make the show for the network we're trying to find) really dug our pitch, and so did our agents. So, we're going back out again in a few weeks for a second round of meetings.
While I feel really bummed we didn't get a bite the first time around, I am grateful for my producer and my show-runner's enthusiastic belief in the project. I'm grateful to have had the whole experience thus far. It was fun to pretend cast the show (the cards in the picture above are just examples, they're not the real cast) and to expand the action of the book. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Maybe we'll get a deal or maybe it'll be a really good learning experience, and chance to create fake Pretty with Gatorade. Stay tuned...
Come meet me in Brooklyn!
Join me and Books On The Subway for a night of drinks, debate & discussion for October's #OffTheRailsBookClub read, which is my book, "The Regulars"! I'll be joining you guys at 9pm for a Q&A session, by then you'll have had some time to meet, chat and discuss our *personal* views (i.e. you can critique without hurting my feelings).
The event is sponsored by Maison Marcel, so a glass or 3 of rosé is included in the ticket price! I hope to see you there! Tickets here.
Wed, November 15, 2017 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM EST
New Women Space, 188 Woodpoint Road, Brooklyn, NY 11211