Our "Corny" Office Party, Plus the Nati's Favorite Passtime (Besides Eating Chili)...

Every month or two one department of my company is in charge of throwing a party. These shindigs take place for an hour and a half during a workday and they always have a theme. (Some of my favorites: pie, the '80s, Halloween, Office Space).

Today our party was all about corn. We had popcorn and corn pudding and cornbread and corn chips. And most importantly, there was cornhole. (Note: please do not Google "cornhole," especially while you're at the work.)

Cornhole has been very popular on the west side of Cincinnati for quite a while. Being a lifetime east-sider, I am not that well versed in it. (I generally don't go to the west side. I'm not even sure how to get there.) Over that last decade or so, however, the game of cornhole has moved beyond the west side and invaded the entire tri-state area, and, I'm told, versions of it are played in other mid-Western cities. There are leagues and tournaments and you'll find cornhole sets in back yards and culdesacs in every Nati suburb.

Here are the basics: Two teams of two players take turns throwing half a dozen cornbags (like beanbags only filled with corn) with the goal of getting the bags through the holes in the angled platforms at either end. And as with horseshoes, almost counts.

This is a cornbag a cornhole player tosses.

This is the hole they try to throw it into.

This is a cornhole platform during a game. Note that many
of the local cornhole set artisans decorate the platforms
with team logos such as this one with the Reds logo.

And this one the with UC Bearcats logo.

Here is GLA editor Chuck Sambuchino in action during
today's cornhole tournament. (Sadly, his team didn't win.)

So now you know what we do here in the Nati when we're not eating three ways, goetta, or ice cream with impossibly big chips. For official cornhole rules, you can visit the American Cornhole Association. (Yep, there is one.)

And please enjoy this trailer for Cornhole: The Movie.

Query Q&A with Guest Blogger Chuck Sambuchino...

I recently received a question about including credentials in a query letter. I tossed this question to Guide to Literary Agents editor and blogger Chuck Sambuchino. Here's the question and his advice. (And that's Chuck over there.)


QUESTION: I can't decide what constitutes a legitimate credential when I get to the infamous Author Information paragraph of the query. I'm unpublished, so unfortunately I can't amaze a publisher/agent with that kind of info.

Here are some examples of things that I could mention:

• I have an English degree from Vanderbilt University. Would a publisher/agent care?
• I'm the mother of four avid young readers. Would a publisher/agent care?
• I've done proofreading for a number of other authors' books. (Not Children's Lit, though.) Would a publisher/agent care?

Obviously those "credentials" are specific to me, and I'd love your input. But I'm sure there are a lot of other readers out there who aren't sure where the line exists between valid credential and irrelevant information that would annoy a publisher/agent.


ANSWER: Ah ... what and what not to mention in the “bio” paragraph of your query letter. This is always a hot topic at the writers’ conferences I attend because it’s always a case-by-case thing. Let’s look over your questions.

• I have an English degree from Vanderbilt University. Would a publisher/agent care?

Sure, mention it. It would be more effective to list any published clips or short stories, but an English degree (or better yet--MFA) is never a bad thing to see. Mention it quickly and humbly like you did above.

• I'm the mother of four avid young readers. Would a publisher/agent care?

No--skip it. The fact that you have four avid readers probably helps you write and compose. But too often, agents see parents who think they have what it takes to write a children’s book, for example, simply because they have kids. It’s kind of a cliché thing to say. Nix it.

• I've done proofreading for a number of other authors' books. (Not Children's Lit, though.) Would a publisher/agent care?

If you were paid to edit people’s work, say so. You would be, by definition, a freelance editor. If you did it for peers, perhaps are you part of a writing group? SCBWI? RWA? MWA? If you are, say so briefly. All that said, if you simply reviewed friends’ books, that will not carry much weight in a query so I say skip it.

Don’t be afraid to be brief and wrap up the query. The most important part in a query is the pitch, and a writer should hope that an agent is so hooked by the pitch that they want to see sample pages then and there. Sure, an agent cares about who you are. But more so, they care about if you can write.

• If you have more questions on queries, there's still time to sign up for today's WD 1 p.m. (eatern) webinar, Extreme Makover: The Query Letter. Click here for details.
• To read Chuck's blog including a recent interview with editor-turned-agent Brenda Bowen, click here.
• To learn more about Guide to Literary Agents, click here.
  

Info Now Posted for Newest Writer's Digest Event: The Business of Getting Published...

A brand new Writer's Digest event, The Business of Getting Published, is designed to guide any author through the new dynamics of today's publishing world. This three-day event takes place Friday, September 18, through Sunday, September 20, 2009, at the New York Marriott Marquis, on Times Square in New York.

With emphasis on platform, networking and social media, The Business of Getting Published is an innovative and ground-breaking conference, featuring the industry's top forward-thinking speakers, leading sessions on topics relevant to the current and future state of the publishing world.

Chris Brogan, social media genius, is the keynote speaker. Other speakers include Kassia Krozser, editor/publisher of BookSquare.com; David Mathison, whose online sales success is the new business model; Mike Shatzkin, the industry's top publishing consultant; Seth Harwood and Scott Sigler, whose own podcasts and videocasts have made them superstars in the business; Christina Katz, author of Get Known Before the Book Deal; and many more, plus WD Publisher & Editorial Director Jane Friedman and Guide to Literary Agents Editor Chuck Sambuchino.

Complete program information, including speaker bios, special events related to the conference and registration, is now available at writersdigestconference.com.

• Click here to follow Jane Friedman on Twitter.
• Click here to visit Chuck Sambuchino's GLA blog.
• Click here to follow Christina Katz on Twitter.
  
• Click here to follow Kassia Krozser on Twitter.
  

On the GLA Blog: Agent Kelly Sonnack...

Guide to Literary Agents editor Chuck Sambuchino posted an interview with agent Kelly Sonnack who recently joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Here's a snippet:

I’d love to see more well-written and clever middle grade fiction. There’s a need for it right now and I see a lot of potential in this market. I’d also love to see more memoir for kids – especially cultural memoir about growing up in different countries, identity, and living across cultures. We are a colorful world, and I’m not sure that’s reflected adequately in children’s lit quite yet.

Click here to read the full interview.

Upcoming Market Books Bookstore Events...

To celebrate the recent release of the 2009 editions of our Market Books, I, along with editors Robert Brewer and Chuck Sambuchino, will be appearing at two local bookstores to discuss writing and publishing with aspiring authors. Here's the scoop:

• Wednesday August 20 (tomorrow) at 7 p.m. we'll be at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Rookwood Pavilion.

• Wednesday Aug 27 at 7 p.m. we'll be at Books & Co. @ The Greene.

Robert, Chuck and I (with the help of our three assistants) produce 10 Market Books annually, including CWIM, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, Poet's Market, Writer's Market, Guide to Literary Agents, and the upcoming brand new Screenwriter's & Playwrights Market. We can answer any writing- or publishing-related question you throw our way covering any genre, fiction or nonfiction, children's or adult, agent and queries, etc. (Don't we sound smart!)

If you live in the Cincinnati or Dayton area, we'd love to meet you. (We'll have free beer and free cupcakes. Just kidding. Come anyway.)

Enter Chuck's 'Worst Storyline Ever' Contest...

My editor pal Chuck Sambuchino just posted the first-ever contest on his Guide to Literary Agent's Blog.

If you think you've got what it takes to enter the "Worst Storyline Ever" contest, visit Chuck's blog for contest rules.

Here's the scoop on the prizes to get you interested:

First prize (the grand prize) consists of a query letter critique from Chuck, a follow-up phone call to discuss the query critique, and a plan of action for seeing your work published, along with copies of both the 2009 Guide to Literary Agents and the 2009 Writer's Market (and public praise from Chuck on his blog).

Two runners-up will win their choice of a free copy of either the 2009 Guide to Literary Agents or the 2009 Writer's Market.

Guide to Literary Agents Blog New Agent Alert...

Editor Chuck Sambuchino (who is currently in Austin and had a birthday yesterday--Happy Birthday Chuck!) offers news on new agents whenever he finds it. Check out this recent post by GLA blog contributor Kristen Howe on Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary--he's interested in YA books. (Be sure to bookmark Chuck's blog if you're in the market for an agent. It's chock full of agent-related news including lots of conference info.)