Agent Interview: Jordy Albert of The Booker Albert Literary Agency

With us today on Monday Meet and Greet is literary agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency, Jordy Albert .  She was gracious enough to answer some questions for us on writing and the type of books that hook her. 

My followers would like to get to know you better for stalking purposes. Tell us a little about yourself and what made you want to be an agent.

I’ve always loved to read, and I was interested in the publishing industry from an early age. 

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Keep writing! It might not happen with your first dozen projects, but I think practice does make perfect and eventually it will happen. Also, READ. A LOT. Especially in the genre you write. Join writing groups, get a Beta reader/critique partner (group), enter pitch contests, and attend conferences. 

What elements are MUST HAVES in a story you’d ask to see more of?

Characters that draw me in right away. 

Besides basic grammatical errors and writers sending stories in genres you don’t represent, what are most common problems with the submissions you receive?

Many submissions just don’t follow guidelines. For instance, we ask that you don’t send attachments unless requested, or the author will just send sample pages with no query. I also receive submissions that have no name or contact information, and sometimes the author will just send a link to a website. 

What’s on your wish list?  

I am such a sucker for historical romance (especially Regency). I’d also like to see more realistic MG/YA…Oh! And contemporary, and sci-fi YA. 

Okay, now for some fun questions to get to know you.

All time favorite villain – Voldemort. 

Last book that made you cry – The Fault in Our Stars. 

Guilty pleasure – French fries and chocolate shake, and binge watching Doctor Who/Sherlock when I have time. 

Book you feel everyone must read that’s not from one of your clients? To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Hobbies – Reading lol …knitting, trying to learn more French and Japanese. 

Favorite place you’ve ever visited – Japan.


Thanks, Jordy, for being with us today.

To learn more about Jordy Albert, follow her on Twitter or visit The Booker Albert Agency. 

-- Cherie Colyer, author of  the Embrace Series and Challenging Destiny

 

DEAR AUTHOR DEAREST....by Cherie Colyer

DEAR AUTHOR DEAREST:

Source

     "What's your take on voice? Some people say it can't be learned. Do you agree?” 

Yours Truly, 
Frustrated Writer

Voice. It’s something every novel has. It brings the characters alive. It’s unique and beautiful and as important as plot. A novel lacking voice is doomed to fail. So what’s a writer to do when their work lacks voice? The answer to that is study their craft.

I don’t believe voice is something that can be learned. Don’t leave just yet. Most importantly, don’t stop writing, because odds are your voice is there. You just haven’t discovered it.

Voice is unique to the writer. It combines the distinct point of view, style, and personality of a piece of literature. It’s diction, character development, punctuation, dialogue, etc. If your work lacks voice, then you need dig deeper within yourself to find it. Here are a few exercises to help you develop your voice.

Think of your favorite character—one that has left an impression on you. Now read the first few pages of that book. Pay close attention to the protagonist’s dialogue, the choice of narrative words and how they are used to describe the scene. Note the character’s body language and what she’s doing. Her social status. Her internal thoughts. All of these elements make up the voice of the novel.

• List the qualities of the protagonist, good and bad.
• What do you know about the character?
• Her social status, temperament, fears and/or likes.

Since dialogue and personality traits are an important part of voice, your character has to be well developed. If you’re writing young adult, go to places teens hang out and listen to their conversation. Watch how they interact. If you’re writing adult or middle grade fiction, same thing. Go to places where you can observe.  Then go back to your manuscript and revise adding action and thought.

This next exercise includes your favorite television show or movie, so go ahead and make some popcorn, grab a cold drink, and kick up your feet. Only, this time when you’re enjoying the show pay close attention to all the things listed above. Watch the characters actions. Listen to their dialogue. Note their ticks. Identify what makes them unique. That’s voice.

Now take a look at the first pages of your novel. Create a personality outline of your character. Look at the diction and dialogue. Does it match your characters' social status, world, age?

Revise and repeat if necessary. With practice, you will find the right voice for your work in progress.

 -- Cherie Colyer, author of Embrace, Hold Tight, and Challenging Destiny

Connect with Cherie Colyer

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If you have a question for Dear Author Dearest, email darklydeliciousya(at)gmail(dot)com with Dear Author Dearest in the subject line.

Beating Writer's Block by Cherie Colyer

Writer’s block: the inability to write another word. 

If you’re a writer, you know the feeling. You’re working on a project, ideas are flowing, glorious words are filling the page, and then BAM. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

It’s an awful feeling.

But, come on! Writers are making this stuff up as they go. How hard can it be?

Let me tell you, it’s not easy.

Writer’s block is something all writers experience. We hit a point in our project where we stare at our computer screens or a blank sheet of paper unable to figure out what to write next. It can be quite frustrating.

I shared 9 Ways to Conquer Writer’s Block on my blog before, so instead of reposting the same information here, I figured I’d talk about what you can do if you hit a road block in your story. This happened to me recently with my current work-in-progress. No matter how I revised the first few chapters, the story didn’t work. This novel is told in two point-of-views, and I realized that I needed to change one of the players. I tried weaving him into what I had written, but the more I revised the more frustrated I became. It wasn’t working. The characters as I had them weren’t working.

Thing is, I believe in the story and I believed in the characters. I knew I was missing something important. So I visited my post on conquering writer’s block. I mapped out different options. Spent time with my characters. Discovered their passions. Their fears. The obstacles they would face. I then did what I was fighting before. I tossed out what I had and started fresh. (a.k.a. tried a different approach.)

A complete rewrite is what this story needed. The characters are stronger for it, and so is the plot. I discover my writer’s block was really just a need to rewrite the story. It allowed my characters the freedom they needed to come alive.

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessary to scrap everything and start over each time writer’s block strikes. And sometimes you just need to rewrite a scene or even a few pages to get your creative juices flowing again. One thing's for sure, you’re story will be better for it.

Have you ever scrapped what you had written and started fresh? Do you prefer to revise or rewrite?

Favorite First Lines, Plus a Giveaway by Cherie Colyer

I’m a picky reader. I really am. So for me, first lines are important. A great first line makes me want to follow a character as she makes her journey into the unknown. This has been true since I was a little girl, so I thought I’d start this post with a childhood favorite of mine: 

 "Where's Daddy going with that ax?" Fern asks.

From the very first line of E.B. White’s novel, Charlotte’s Web, I was invested. I wanted to know where Daddy was going just as much as Fern did.

Another favorite from a children’s novel comes from Lemony Snicket’s, A Series of Unfortunate Events:

“If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” 

I thought Daniel Handler (the author’s real name) was clever. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do the opposite of what they’ve just been told? Or is that just me??

And I can’t forget two of my favorite first lines from young adult novels. This first one if from Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. 

I’d never given much thought to how I would die.\

That’s all it took for me to want to read on.

Then from my favorite Melissa Marr novel, Wicked Lovely…

The Summer King knelt before her. “Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter’s chill?” 

I loved this modern day twist to the story of the Snow Queen, and Melissa Marr did a wonderful job setting up what’s to come on the first page. If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend it.

In my own writing, I try to craft intriguing first lines that spark readers’ interest and that makes them want to follow my characters through whatever adventure awaits them.

This first one is from my debut novel, Embrace.

I should have cared what I wore, but I couldn’t quite get there. I didn’t see any point in dressing up just to get knocked down. 

Once I nailed down where Embrace should start, the opening pretty much stayed the same, but that doesn’t always happen.

In my newest novel, Challenging Destiny, I went back and forth on the opening, trying to decide if I should start with a scene from the past or start in the present. After much debate—and me cutting and re-inserting the prologue at least a dozen times, I decided starting with a snippet of the past was the right way to go. 

He stood before me. Regal. Proud. No hint of the demon I knew him to be. I knelt on the cold ground behind the blacksmith’s shop. Not out of respect, but because my trembling legs would no longer hold my weight. 

Okay, I cheated on that last one by including the first paragraph.

For a limit time, you can download Challenging Destiny free on Kindle, plus enter to win a gift card or eCody of Embrace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'd love to hear from you. What are some of your favorite first lines?

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