How to Write A Strong Beginning

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author, author life, author tube, how to find an agent, how to write a novel, how to write first pages, novel, screenwriting, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing tips

New video today on YouTube all about writing a STRONG beginning to get readers hooked immediately. Even if you aren’t looking for an agent you still want your openings to be as great as possible. I have put together cheat sheet for you just for watching the video absolutely FREE as a gift for your time.

If you aren’t getting requests for your full manuscript or aren’t placing in those screenwriting contests your first pages could be the problem and with a few tweaks and revisions, you will change that. Trust me on this. The first page is the first impression, it’s the promise of the story and it’s why people keep going. It’s so important to nail it no matter what stage of your writing career that you are in. You don’t have time to get into the story because people are generally impatient and or just don’t want to read on if they aren’t hooked immediately.

Please watch, share, comment, like and subscribe. I put up new videos every week just for writers like you!

Check this week’s out HERE 

Thank you for swinging by!

Happy writing

xo Stephanie

www.judaniebean.com

www.youtube.com/stephaniebourbon 

www.twitter.com/stepholivieri

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Tuesday Tips~How To Find The Right Agent For Your Writing

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author, author life, fiction, finding an agent, how to find an agent, literary agents, novel, publishing, query letters, researching agents, screenwriting, show business, TV writing, writers life

Cheers to all the writers & storytellers who are here today!

I want to talk to you about finding an agent because this is something I am asked about all the time.

“How do you find an agent?”

“I have no idea how to find an agent.”

“Where does one find an agent?”

“I heard that I need an agent but have no idea how to find one.”

and finally.

“Do I need an agent?”

Let me start with the last one and work my way back up.

The answer is both YES and NO. It really depends on what YOUR specific goals are for your books. 

If you want to be traditionally published by one of the big publishing houses in New York–then having an agent is definitely the way to go. Of course, like anything, there are always exceptions to this that will prove me and anyone else who recommends you get an agent wrong. Those exceptions might be when a writer meets an editor at a conference, or when a writer wins a contest, or something similar. Some publishing houses allow non-agented submissions too–that’s a horse of another color and I will do a whole blog post about that at some point.

The thing is, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, the reasons to have an agent far outweigh the reasons not to have one. 

Here is one example of a situation where having an agent is a good thing.

If you get an offer from a big publishing house–let’s say that you get really lucky and this happens–without an agent, you really are on your own to negotiate. I don’t recommend this for many reasons. Agents do these deals for a living. They know better than we do what is a good and what is a bad contract. They know the industry and they know what editors will be the best for you and your book.

***I have to stop and say–yes there are bad agents out there-but for the most part they are great to have on your side.

For the film and television writers out there-YES, YOU NEED AN AGENT. For all the same reasons that novelists do and more. The entertainment industry is so crazy competitive AND deals in Hollywood go south all the time. Your agent is the one who will have your back. Not only do they get your script in front of the right directors, producers, studio execs, they will also fight for you when you need it.

It’s the same as novels in that you could get lucky but it’s just not worth it in my opinion. I have worked in the film and television industry for more than 20 years and I have seen so many things go wrong that I would never go at it without an agent.

Yes, agents can make bad decisions too–they are humans, just like us but for the most part, they really are the best career partner you can have. 

“But aren’t all agents just there to make money?” 

Even if this was true and it’s not always true–that’s a good thing. This is SHOW BUSINESS. It’s a BUSINESS. Publishing is a business. The entertainment industry is a business. You want to make money.

***If you really don’t care or want money–you may be okay without and agent.

OKAY—now that we have decided that YOU NEED and WANT an agent.

HOW DO YOU FIND ONE? 

There are many ways to get an agent. 

Tomorrow my YouTube video on finding an agent comes out so please watch as a complement to this blog today!

Also on YouTube, I have a video all about why agents are rejecting your query letter and you can find that here.

Here are some of the ways that I have found to be effective for myself and others.

Join organizations for what you are writing. There you will meet other writers and most likely meet agents at conferences and events that are held within that organization.  Also, most of these websites will have a resource page that has agents listed.

*See resources at the end of this blog

Here is a video on attending conferences.

Writing conferences are great for meeting and making connections.

When you go to writing conferences there are often workshops or pitching events where you get to meet agents one on one. This is a great way to make a connection.  Keeping in mind that this isn’t the place to pitch to agents in the bathroom, hallway, in a workshop–unless they ask you.

Social Media is another great way to find and research your agent. Following them is perfect to find out what they like, want, who they already rep and if they are open to submissions. Don’t stalk them, but following them is really good. Many agents also participate in things like Pitch Wars on Twitter and use hashtags when they are looking for something specific-Manuscript Wishlist #MSWL. Then you go to their agency website, get the submission guidelines and submit.

Twitter and Instagram are both exploding right now (summer 2019) but Facebook is still a great way to make and create connections through groups and just being FB friends.

Social media is NOT a place to pitch unless asked to or as part of a pitching event. 

Trade books like Writers’ Digest Marketplace books—although with the recent bankruptcy, I’m not sure what will happen with those in the coming years.

Query Shark, Query Tacker, Publishers’ Marketplace are all great too.

Asking fellow authors and or writers who their agents are and getting recommendations to submit.

The most important thing to do is your research and take your time.

Don’t send out hundreds of query letters. Would you do that when finding a spouse or significant other? Or if you were hiring someone to join your business? No, you wouldn’t. Your agent is like a business partner, so you don’t want to rush it.

Be selective. When you meet agents at conferences, it’s a great idea to come home and Google them. Find their blogs, social media, and anything else you can about them. You may find that they aren’t a great fit even if you loved their workshop.

I will say that the biggest mistake I see writers making is being too broad and just submitting to anyone who will and or is accepting queries. Don’t be that writer.

This is an important step in your career. Whether this is your first or fourth agent, the process is the same.

I hope that this is helpful for you. Below are links to some great resources for your agent search.

If you have other resources that you would like to share, please do in the comments! 

 

For Children’s Book Writers

http://www.scbwi.org
http://www.kidlit411.com/

For novelists (any genre)

https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/
https://www.authorsguild.org/
https://www.rwa.org/
https://www.writersdigest.com/
https://www.agentquery.com/
https://queryshark.blogspot.com/
https://www.pw.org/

Video for TV writers

For screen and TV writers
https://www.wga.org/
https://scriptwritersnetwork.com/
https://www.hollywoodscriptexpress.com/literary-agents.html
https://screenwritingumagazine.com/2019/01/25/7-ways-to-get-an-agent-or-manager/

 

Resources from Judanie Bean 

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New Video How to Beat Writer’s Block

Tags

screenwriting, TV writing, writer's block, Writing, writing community, writing tips

Hello storytellers! Today I have a new video up tackling the dreaded writer’s block. Check it out, subscribe, share with your friends! And please comment here or there, so we can talk about it and help each other out!

#writingcommunity

Query Tips

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novel, query letters, query tips, screenwriting, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing query leters

Writing queries is something that most writers find terrifying but I find it fun. A chance to get to talk about my novel??? AWESOME! 

I know that they seem hard, but really you can craft a perfect query with some very easy steps.

Remember always be personal to the agent you are querying and always FOLLOW the submissions listed on the agent’s website. This is super important.

Then your pitch needs to be quick and concise and contain a GREAT HOOK. This is what will sell your story.

I have taught writing queries for many years and worked 1:1 with writers perfecting theirs.

You can also find information just by googling. I have also included some links for you and please subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE because I’m going to be covering this in videos on my Story Concierge weekly show.

Eric Smith is an agent and writer who has given his expertise on his website. Check it out. https://www.ericsmithrocks.com/perfect-pitch

John Cusick is also an agent and writer who has given his expertise here. Check it out.

https://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/a-pretty-much-foolproof-never-fail-silver-bullet-query-opening/

You can also find more information on QUERY TRACKER https://querytracker.net/

Thank you for reading and if you have any specific query questions please comment here or on social media. Please sign up for my VIP list and join my Story Concierge FB group.

Happy Writing xo 

Stephanie

I Hit 100 Subscribers on YouTube

Tags

author, Film, novel, screenwriting, storytelling, Television, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing community, you tube

My brand new little channel hit 100 subscribers yesterday and YouTube sent me this fun little animation congratulations email. Hitting 100 is a big deal when you are brand new.

They are so cute!

I started this channel to help writers and answer all the questions I get via my business, at conferences, when I’m speaking, when I work 1:1 with writers and see in social media groups. It’s a channel dedicated to YOU–the WRITER/STORYTELLER.

www.youtube.com/stephaniebourbon 

WATCH. LIKE. COMMENT. SUBSCRIBE. & SHARE with all your writer friends. 🙂 

I would LOVE to have you there.

I am officially launching NEXT week. June 5th to be precise. I can’t wait.

THEN—there is MORE—in the fall I am launching my STORY CONCIERGE course—which you will love.

Everything you need to get on the right path with your specific and unique writing career will be in this course.

For a limited time this summer I am going to be giving the first writers & storytellers to sign up a lot of FREEBIES, including—-wait for it—–a ONE on ONE consulting package (WORTH $1500+) with me, AND FIVE FREE COURSES—yes, I am giving my course away for free. There are no conditions.

All you have to do is visit my new site www.judaniebean.com and sign up to be a Judanie Bean VIP to get all the news and when you do you will get the latest news BEFORE I post here or anywhere on social media.

It’s like a first class seat for stowaway prices—FREE–just sign up and you’ll be first to find out how you can get my new course for absolutely nothing.

That’s it for this week.

There are some more links below that I know you will love.

Happy WRITING!!

JOIN the conversation STORY CONCIERGE CLOSED FACEBBOOK GROUP

YouTube for WRITERS & STORYTELLERS

PINTEREST 

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TWITTER

Writing Goals for the Week?

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dialogue, Film, goals, novel, Story, story concierge, storytelling, Television, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing community, writing dialogue, writing goals, writing tips

 

Happy first day of the new week—because yesterday was a holiday—I hope you did something fun.

My husband and I went to see the new Ryan Reynolds movie—Detective Pikachu and while we totally enjoyed it, I found myself wondering why I didn’t really care about the characters, especially the main character.

Did you see it? What did you think?

We also watched all of DEAD TO ME—and that was brilliant in every way.

The characters were so well developed. There was no telling-everything we found out we did in the right way-they ever used flashbacks effectively. Every episode ended with what I call a page turner (even in TV shows)—it made us binge instead of waiting for the next day. The dialogue was all perfect.

***THIS IS A SHOW TO WATCH TO LEARN craft of storytelling. I can’t recommend it enough.

***Warning if the F word offends you, then it’s probably not the show for you though.

Have you seen it?

So, I’m a day late in posting my goal post for the week-which usually I put out on Mondays. But, since I took most of the day off to recharge I figured that a lot of you did as well.

Now, it’s time to write down those goals!!!

Happy writing!!!

Please subscribe, share here and on social media.

For more on writing, news, tips, and tricks you can find me here!

www.judaniebean.com

www.youtube.com/stephaniebourbon

Join the STORY CONCIERGE FB GROUP 

XO Stephanie

Tuesday Tips–This Week (Writing) Conference Conversations

Tags

Novels, screenwriting, TV writing, writers life, Writing, writing conferences, writing goals, writing tips

Happy Tuesday Writers!

Here are some quick tips for conversations at conferences. It can be overwhelming talking to people you don’t know and some people aren’t great at small talk. It’s exhausting for everyone–even us extroverts. Trust me, it is. We just don’t struggle as much while doing in, but at the end of the day sometimes our room, a glass of wine and TV or a good book as all we want, crave and need. 

1. When asked about YOU, instead of telling your life story, your boyfriend/girlfriend, breakups, life’s story, tell them about your writing.                                                        Example. “Hi, I’m Stephanie, I’m a writer from SoCal focusing on YA at the moment and looking for a new agent. How about you?”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Here’s where you might say, “I’m from Minnesota and I am writing MG now but I used to be a reporter.” or whatever.                                                                                         You wouldn’t say. “I wish I lived in CA, it’s so cold in Minnesota, and my boyfriend always says that I complain too much but really? I hate snow.” etc.. it’s best to keep it professional unless there is a natural lead-in.                                                                 See the difference? If the person you just met is talking about something you have common ground with like they have a dog and you love dogs or have one, and or they went to the same college as you, or got married on the same island in Hawaii as you did, or they dream of climbing Mt. Everest and so do you,–that is when you can easily make small talk. It will flow because you are just being you, but if that’s not your thing–just engage about your writing (without pitching-unless asked)
2. Be confident. When someone asks you “why are you here? What do you write?” etc.. BE CONFIDENT. Don’t ever apologize or cut yourself down. Trust me, I hear these things a lot. Example. “I hope to be a writer someday. I never wrote anything. I’m not published. I just started writing. I love to read. I suck at grammar. I hope to get an agent if I get better. This is my first conference, I don’t know anything.”
3. Remember you are a writer. “Hi, I’m Stephanie. I write YA. This is my first SCBWI conference. I’m loving it so far.”
4. You are with colleagues not stars that you hold up high to some unreachable platform. They started out just like you. Everyone is a beginner until they aren’t. Everyone was once not published. And like the book says, “everybody poops” LOL but it’s true. You are with COLLEAGUES. Repeat this.

 

I hope these tips help you build confidence and have a great time when you are conferencing. I can be daunting when we build things up so much in our heads. We aren’t worthy thoughts (Wayne’s World reference) creep in and take over. Don’t let them. You are here because you are a writer! YOU ARE A WRITER. You got this!!

Feel free to share this, in fact, please do.

Sign up to be a VIP for more freebies and tips, and subscribe here or my YouTube channel launching soon.

You can also join the Story Concierge Facebook group here.  Where we talk about all things writing, get support, and share.

Happy Writing! xo 

 

 

Tuesday Tips

Tags

author, character, creating characters, fiction, Film, Novels, screenwriting, Television, TV writing, Writing, writing for teens, writing tips, YA fiction

You want to be a writer? Okay then, you need to write. It’s literally that simple.

People always ask me, “how do I become a writer?” I mean people I met on planes, at coffee shops, at the grocery store, while at malls/shopping centers, at events, dinner parties. “Oh, you’re a writer? Cool. I have an idea, how do I do that?”

WRITE, that’s how.

There is no other way to be a writer than to write.

The way you get good at it, write every day. You have to, there is no shortcut on this one. It takes time to learn your craft.

You also need to read-constantly. If you want to be a novelist, you have to read novels. It is best to read in your chosen genre. I met someone recently who said that she was writing YA and I asked her what she had read lately and she said, “Oh I hate books for teens.” I was so confused, why write YA then?

***don’t write to trends

If you want to be the next Cameron Crowe—watch a ton of films, study the characters, dialogue, story and to up this to the next level, get your hands on some shooting scripts. It’s important.

TV writers who don’t watch TV? What?? Yes, they exist. They often brag about how they don’t even own a TV and or waste their time, and then they are writing the next great sitcom or drama. That makes no sense to me.

You need to immerse yourself in whatever it is that you want to do. It’s important.

You can also get many TV scripts online. For TV writing it’s a bit more complicated because of formatting for cable, network, primetime, late night, half hour, single camera, multi-camera—-but first—get your characters and story down, then you will need to learn all the above to start submitting. Also in TV writing you must have spec scripts of existing shows—this is beyond important.

Okay, so what are you going to do today??? WRITE!!

If you don’t know how to start, how about at the beginning–get a blank sheet and just get some words down.

YOU CAN DO IT. I know you can!!!

www.judaniebean.com 

Story Concierge Signature Course launching this summer. Sign up for my VIP newsletter for a chance for a free spot as I will have scholarships available!

Writing Wednesday

Tags

fiction, Film, Novels, Screenplay, screenwriting, Television, TV writing, Writing, YA fiction

I’m working on my WIP YA. It’s in the revision stages so I’m playing around with plotting to make sure it’s all working. Hoping to just write for at least an hour today.

 

How about you??

www.judaniebean.com 

Want Me To Read Your Spec?

Tags

script consulting, Spec scripts, TV writing

Hey everyone! Since fellowship season is upon us, I wanted to reach out to you. I do consulting on this side.

I would LOVE to help you get your pilot and or spec ready for submission. The biggest mistakes I see when reading others scripts are structure and character-these are usually easy fixes-but if no one tells you than it doesn’t matter. I know it’s hard to tell your friend who wrote a funny script and the writing was good that they totally missed the character. It’s hard to get the truth from our friends, so it’s always better to get an outsider to read your work-it’s expensive usually-but not with me!!

So please check out my website and contact me if you would like me to read your spec and give you notes. We can discuss on a rate based on how much you want and or need. (Totally affordable and flexible)

http://www.stephanieolivieri.com/id8.html

I watch and obscene amount of television so I know the characters well-this is a huge problem (that I have made myself.) If you are writing a show I don’t watch-then I will give you suggestions of who I think would be better to look over your work.

The show I am currently on is going on a hiatus for a bit-so I will have time 🙂

Thanks so much and please contact me at stepholivieri@hotmail.com