The Saturday Slash

Don't be afraid to ask for help with the most critical first step of your writing journey - the query.

I’ve been blogging since 2011 and have critiqued over 200 queries here on the blog using my Hatchet of Death. This is how I edit myself, it is how I edit others. If you think you want to play with me and my hatchet, shoot me an email.

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If you’re ready to take the next step, I also offer editing services.

KICKED THE BUCKET LIST is a Dumplin’ style spin on a Dear Evan Hansen-esque story of grief, love, and overcoming the past, I'd use an ellipsis here instead of a comma if you subtract characters breaking spontaneously into song and add a whole bunch more dead people.

Sixteen-year-old Mackenzie Quinn-Zislowsky has come a long way since her sister died a couple years ago. She’s more or less pushed grief aside by focusing on her anonymous Instagram account, Kicked The Bucket List, where she posts about fulfilling the last wishes of the newly dead. The kicker? I'd change the phrasing here as it almost feels like a side-wink to the agent like... yeah I know big deal - BUT! Maybe flesh it out more like -- What she doesn't share with her [however large] audience is that Each last wish is pulled from one of Mack’s nightly dreams about real life people who recently croaked.

One night Mackenzie doesn’t dream of someone dying. She dreams that her old crush, Colton Reyes, is contemplating suicide. Determined to help Colton see that there are parts of life worth living for, Mackenzie drags a less than enthusiastic Colton just use him here. The drags wording already shows his unwillingness along for Kicked The Bucket List escapades. However, Mack doesn’t tell Colton that she is the List’s creator or that she befriended him because she knows about his suicidal thoughts. If he finds out the truth, she is worried she will lose him for good. World building question - if Mack is the one making sure the wishes are carried out, isn't it obvious that she's the creator? Or is the list something that others contribute to in order to fulfill them? Worth mentioning, as it's a plot pothole.

But Colton’s life isn’t the only thing Mackenzie has to worry about. As Colton and Mackenzie grow closer, Mackenzie must find a way to protect her heart and her anonymity, or risk exposing the painful secret that would destroy the new life she’s built for herself. But what is the painful secret? Right now this just feels like a help others but guard your own feelings redemptive story with a small supernatural twist. A query isn't a place to be coy, so we need to know what the painful secret is.

KICKED THE BUCKET LIST is a complete 70k word young adult novel. The manuscript has received multiple awards including the RWA Linda Howard Award of Excellence and first place in the RWA Pages from the Heart contest, and it was a finalist for SCBWI’s Joan Lowry Nixon Award for most promising manuscript.

This novel is personal for me having overcome my own struggles with mental health and body image. I am an active member of SCBWI and a mentee in the Nevada SCBWI 2019 mentorship program. In addition to being a writer, I am a hotel designer/developer, a human rights activist, and a world traveler.

Great bio, and lovely list of already-accumulated awards and accolades. Right now the query is good and I think you could get some bites with it, but in order to really pack a punch and give yourself the best possible shot, you'll need to clear up the world-building question above, as well as put the crux of Mack's secret out into the light.

Historical Novelist Kip Wilson On History As Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today's guest for the WHAT is Kip Wilson author of White Rose, is a historical about anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl. Kip holds a Ph.D. in German Literature, is the poetry editor at YARN (Young Adult Review Network).

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I actually had two specific origin points for this book. The first came when I first heard about the White Rose resistance group in high school German class. I was inspired by the group’s bravery and determined to learn more about its members. I wasn’t a writer yet at the time, but I remained interested in Sophie Scholl and the group for years, ordering new books about them as they were published and even taking a trip to Munich and Ulm, Germany to find out more. I first tried to write the book as nonfiction, but it just wasn’t working, and I set the project aside. Only years later did I hit the second origin point. During a chat with two verse novelists, I figured out that writing the story in verse might be the very thing it needed. I got to work on it the very next day.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

I kept as close as possible to the known historical facts about the group, so the plot was already there, with plenty of conflict, twists, and stakes built in. The challenge was more about deciding which facts, which details to include and how exactly to present the story.

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

In the case of White Rose, the plot was predetermined by the history, but the way I presented the timeline of events changed during revision. I originally told the story in reverse order, but through revision I settled on a version with two timelines, one close to the original ending and one starting years before that.

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Ideas come all the time, but unfortunately an idea isn’t enough to decide for me to decide if the story has mettle. I have to spend some time with the idea, do some research, get to know the characters, and above all, dive in to that time and setting to see if it’s something I simply must explore.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

It is hard to choose! Because I write historical fiction, a lot of the work (and the fun!) is in the research, so I’m often doing background research on one project while drafting another or doing some fact-checking on one while revising another. But if I’m passionate about the time period and setting, I’ll definitely at least place it on my back burner for someday.

I have many cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I have ten-year-old twins, and they both love to read and write, so sometimes we do those things together. We all share one computer, so I sometimes end up in my notebook instead of at the keyboard when they’re around. Still, I do work best alone with only the sounds of nature outside my window, so I get my best work done at #5amwritersclub.

6 Ways To Support Writers Without Spending A Dime

Readers and writers have a symbiotic relationship; one can't exist without the other. The absolute best way to support the writers you love is to buy their books. But that's not feasible for everyone, all of the time. There are plenty of great ways to support the writers you love without breaking the bank.

Use your library. Yes, authors benefit from libraries, too. Libraries know what titles by which authors are circulating widely, and will often buy more copies if the hold list is deep. If your local library doesn't have an author you love, ask if you can make a purchase suggestion. Most libraries are happy to make acquisitions based on patron needs, and even if they don't have funds to buy a new copy, they may be part of a consortium that will find a copy for you, and deliver it to your local branch. This helps writers by showing a demand for their books. And I imagine we're all pretty familiar with the theory of supply and demand.

Put Our Books Face Out on the Shelves. Any shelves - library or bookstore. How many times have you been browsing a shelf and your eyes have skipped right over a spine? A lot, I'm guessing. If you see a book you love, put the cover art face out so that it can shine. Think of it as a book recommendation to a stranger.

Follow Us. Love or hate social media, it can be the coin of the realm. A big following doesn't equal success, but it is a small indication to the writer that they are doing something right, and somebody cares enough about their book to see what else they have to say. Sure, it's a bit of an ego stroke, but if we're having a bad writing day and log on to Twitter to see ten new followers... no lie, it helps.

Tell Us Our Impact. I occasionally get fan email that opens something like this: "I don't know if you even read your own emails, but..." Yes, I read my own emails. I'm not nearly a big enough deal to not read my own email. I also answer them, which sometimes surprises readers. I appreciate each one of those emails. The bad writing day I mentioned before? A few of those have been assuaged by a message telling me what one of my books has meant to the reader.

Tell Someone Else About Us. Word of mouth is still the most effective marketing there is, and money can't buy it. If you love a book, tell your friends. Tell your friend's cousin. Tell anyone you know who loves to read. Those little ripples can turn into waves that sustain an author's career. It doesn't mean that we're all going to be New York Times bestsellers, but it does mean that our backlist might stay in print a little while longer because a new reader just discovered an author that flew under their radar up until now.

Write reviews. Did you love one of my books, but not the next one? (If so, you're not alone in that). Either way, I want you to write a review. Reviews - good or bad - on shopping sites like B&N or Amazon show the site that people are reading the book... which means they are buying and interacting with it and it is therefore worthy of promotion. Amazon needs to see a minimum of 50 reviews on a book before it will begin suggesting it to readers in the "Customers Also Bought..." section.

Note: There is some debate among writers as to whether or not this is true, but Amazon is notoriously tight-lipped on their alogrithms. Regardless, think of your reaction when you see a book with 13 reviews versus one with 256... you automatically know that the latter is doing better.