MGOC Contributor: Ginger Clark

GINGER CLARK
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EXCERPT from "How to Get an Agent" by Ginger Clark in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

Write a really good book.

I know that sounds like a knee-jerk suggestion, but it is true. Now, really, a good book can mean both a well-written, lyrical literary novel or a commercial idea done well. You do not need to write the second coming of The Great Gatsby—it can be a fun, juicy tale of a werewolf and a vampire and their forbidden love. But it does need to be well done, with a well-paced plot, fleshed out characters, and believable dialogue.

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Ginger Clark has been a literary agent with Curtis Brown LTD since Fall 2005. She represents science fiction, fantasy, paranormal romance, paranormal chicklit, literary horror, and young adult and middle grade fiction. In addition to representing her own clients, she also represents British rights for the agency’s children’s list. Previously, she worked at Writers House for six years as an assistant literary agent and was as an editorial assistant at Tor Books. She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, a member of the Contracts Committee of the AAR, and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and pet chinchillas.

MGOC Contributor: Ryan M. Williams

Ryan M. Williams
EXCERPT from "One Writer Many Genres" by Ryan M. Williams in Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction

In the mood for a sweet romance? Solving a fiendish murder? Taking a spaceship off to the uncharted reaches? Writing in multiple genres brings a multitude of rewards to writers, along with a few cautions.

READER EXPECTATIONS
A reader finds a mystery and falls in love with the clever cat detective, so she goes out and buys every other book the writer has written. When the new book comes out she rushes to the store for the exclusive midnight release and discovers that the cat is gone, replaced by a vampire, and it isn't even a mystery anymore, but a romance.

Does she jump up and down with a squeal of happiness?

Unlikely.

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His rap sheet reads like a small-time crook with a half-dozen aliases. As Ryan M. Williams writes the scifi Moreau Society series including Dark Matters and The Gingerbread House. Writing as Ryan M. Welch he has authored his mystery fiction, like the Poe-inspired cat cozy novelette The Murders in the Reed Moore Library. Other aliases include Tennessee Hicks (urban & dark fantasy), and R.M. Haag (horror fiction). His education includes a master of arts degree from Seton Hill University and the successful completion of the master class taught by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He lives in Western Washington with his wife and son.