photo by French Chris
EXCERPT from "Demystifying What Editors Want" by Venessa Giunta in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction
At Dragon*Con 2010, I participated in a panel of editors for the writing track called, not surprisingly, "What Editors Want." I was joined by distinguished folks from small presses as well as several big NY houses. Writers expectantly watched us as we fielded questions about writing, publishing and how to get that elusive contract. It was only a matter of time until the big question was asked: What do you want to see in a story?
Every editor on the panel recited a variation of the same answer: A tightly-written story with interesting, well-rounded characters and a unique and compelling plot with lots of conflict. Details differed according to the editor's genre, but the basic request was the same: give us something that keeps us turning pages.
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Venessa Giunta is a senior editor for Loose Id, LLC, and freelance edits fiction. She wrote bad short stories and angsty poetry off and on through high school then took a very long hiatus. It was probably because of the poetry. When she turned thirty-five, she realized that what she really wanted to do was write. After many short story rejections, it occurred to her that some sort of writing classes might be beneficial. She subsequently worked toward and was awarded her Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Venessa lives in the metro Atlanta area and is lucky enough to reside with her muse who masquerades as her husband. And she no longer writes poetry. It's better for everyone that way.
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