Miss Snark's First Victim

Authoress will host editor, Taryn Albright who will judge query letters. The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to use toward any of Taryn's editorial services.

I will say that it was a great contest that had a lot of strong entries and a lot of opportunities to learn. Even if you didn't make it in, going through the comments to see what stood out to the judges can help give you a new perspective on your own work. I was actually surprised by how much we DID agree on because I expected more differences of opinion, but it just goes to show that good writing speaks for itself. Even if it's not your genre or your "thing," we can usually all recognize when someone is at least conveying voice effectively. A lot of voice has to do with the actual, physical sound of the words, so something as basic as coherence was just so, so important. We have to have an idea of what's going on in a scene before we can figure out anything else.

Get eyes on your stuff. Critical eyes. Several pairs, if you can.

Voice isn't just about dialogue; it's about the underlying meaning of the words you use and the pace of them. I think if books were movies, voice would be the soundtrack. When it's done well, you don't even notice it - you just feel it. When it's done poorly, it just grates on your ears.

Final note: I tried to just find my favorite one and I couldn't choose because several were already well on their way. So well done there. :-)

I don't know if any of that helped...

Becca Coffindaffer

Marieke Nijkamp

Website

First of all, let me say it was an absolutely pleasure being part of this! I read some AMAZING entries and you're all SO talented! It blew me away--and it made reading so much fun. So thank you all for playing, and thanks to Brenda for inviting me! 

Although I didn't get around to doing a round-up tweet at the end of it, there were some things that stood out to me throughout all the entries. The one thing that separated voice from GREAT VOICE for me was, above all, focus. I know I made comments along those lines for a few entries, but I think it deserves saying. In snippets like this it's most obvious, but focus is important on every page of your manuscript, and especially if you're working on your voice there are certain details you can focus on. Know who your main character is, what their quirks are, and how that shows in their language. Know the kind of observations they'd make (sights? smells? sounds?) Do they use short, snappy sentences, or longer, descriptive ones? Can you vary the rhythm? In the end, for me, focus is about one thing: now what every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence means. Because for a strong, vivid, flawless voice, the right word counts.

You're all such talented writers! Best of luck with these stories, and I can't wait to see your successes around the internet! :D

Marieke Nijkamp  

Don't forget the Entangled Publishing pitch event starting July 16. Also, I have some wonderful events coming up on the blog, so check back soon. I'm so excited!