Hey Story Crafters,
Happy fall! It’s been a while, so I wanted to send an update about recent and upcoming events. 🙂
I recently attended the ACES Virtual Conference, and in addition to getting inspired by sessions led by amazing fellow editors (many of whom you can find in the ACES directory), I was happy to hear some writing insights from R. L. Stine, one of the keynote speakers. As you can imagine, he was a seasonally-appropriate choice for a keynote speaker. 👻
I found it fascinating to hear that his writing process, to this day, is to write a detailed outline from start to finish, and then write the entire manuscript based on that outline. Another interesting tidbit about his writing process is that he comes up with the title before he starts writing the outline—so he actually writes a manuscript from start to finish, starting from the title.
I agree there are some benefits of having an outline beforehand, though I doubt my outlines are as detailed as R. L. Stine’s. Unlike R. L. Stine, I come up with titles after I’m done writing. And even then, it’s a struggle for me.
Upcoming Event: #10Queries Mini-Event with Revise & Resub (#RevPit)
I was invited to participate in a mini-event this month called #10Queries, hosted by Revise & Resub (known as @ReviseResub/#RevPit on Twitter/X). For those unfamiliar with Revise & Resub:
Revise & Resub (#RevPit) is a Twitter writing community co-founded in 2017 by a group of editors. It supports authors by offering editing-focused chats and mini-events throughout the year as well as an annual contest wherein querying authors can win feedback and edits on their full manuscripts from professional editors, ensuring their works are polished and ready for agent inboxes.
Source: https://www.reviseresub.com/
In addition to their annual event, the #10Queries mini-event is held twice a year:
#10Queries:
In this event, writers will enter their names in a random drawing via Rafflecopter. If they are selected, their query and first five pages will be randomly assigned to an editor who will then tweet about the submission using #10Queries. Winners will not know which editor received their submissions until after the #10Queries tweets have been posted.
Tweets will consist of brief feedback based on the editors' first impressions of the winners' queries and first five pages.
Source: Revise & Resub #10Queries post: https://reviseresub.com/mini-events/january-2023-10queries
This month’s #10Queries will be hosted on Reddit (event details to come). However, the general guidelines and proceedings for the event are the same. You can learn more about past #10Queries on the Revise & Resub website.
Next time, I’ll cover the broad strokes of what should be present in an effective query letter. I’ll also explain why this knowledge is beneficial, even if you’re an indie author self-publishing your work.
Until then!
Best,
Leah
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