Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff: Or, Margins Don’t Matter (Much)
Posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010by Kris Kennedy
Nothing can stop him . . . June, 2010
Yes, another post on the topic of not sweating the things that just don’t matter. Why, you ask? Because I do just that, of course. But here, I’m talking the submission stuff that just doesn’t matter, but that we often waste valuable time and energy worrying about.
(Now, if it wasted sufficient calories, I might actually suggest it. But it’s negligible, really.)
My agent now takes care of all the things that make a submission look good, such as a potent sales pitch (otherwise known as a ‘query’–don’t forget that, and confuse a query with something silly like ‘tell them what my story is about’. No, No. It’s a sale pitch. Hook ‘em.)
And my editors want a synopsis and sample pages for as-as-yet uncontracted &/or contracted-but-not-yet-written books.
Here’s what they care about: Story arc; Strong conflict; characters who have story-important things to do, like outwit bad guys and come to find trust their own inner strengths and thereby, be ready for real challenge: living someone for the next 40 years.
Mostly, they care about writing that hooks them and pulls them along. They care about how the story simultaneously ’stands out’ and ‘fits in’ on a shelf somewhere, and who knows who they do this unquantifiable and yet somehow mathematical computation. (Aside: This amazes me. Yes, they may be wrong sometimes. But they are also quite good at it, whereas I am terrible at marketing-type things, so I want my editors to do this.)
What agents and editors do NOT care about are precise margin measurements.
They do not care about fonts, except that they’re easy to read.
They do not care about paper weight or proper headers, so long as they are numbered with contact information readily available.
They do not care about whether your bio paragraph comes first or last (There are wonderful agent blogs suggesting where to place it, and why. You should definitely understand the reasoning behind these suggestions, so you can decide for yourself where to put it in your query. But in the end, the do not care. It’s not a thing that matters.)
(Nor do editors and agents care how much you as a human grew during the writing of the book, or how much your critique partners or beta readers loved it, so don’t put that in there either, but I digress.)
England, 1152: After seventeen years of civil war, things are about to change...
Therefore, you should not care either.
Writing contests can be incredibly valuable tools to teach new writers the basic protocols for manuscript writing and submission. They can be wonderful ways for more experienced writers to get feedback on their works-in-progress from non-friend/crit partner sources. But bear this in mind; they are not the Ultimate Truth of Manuscript Submission or Story. They are the proving grounds, where you and your story can get blown up a few times. They are not the real battle. That is faced day-to-day, in refining your craftsmanship of Storytelling in the modern age.
So, when you’re submitting, don’t sweat the small stuff like margins and whatnot.
Use your query as a sales pitch, and concern yourself with a constructing and writing a great story. Strong conflict, increasing tension, external events and personal goals which force the protagonists into facing their worst inner fears, and characters who we care about. Compelling writing.
Margins just don’t matter (much).
Kris Kennedy writes sexy, adventure-filled medieval romances for Kensington and Pocket Books. Her debut book,THE CONQUEROR, came out May ‘09. Her second, THE IRISH WARRIOR, winner of the 2008 Golden Heart Award for Best Historical Romance, releases June ‘10. She loves hearing from readers–stop by her website, sign up for her newsletter, and say Hi!
You’re so right, Kris. Margins that are half a centimeter off won’t deter an editor or agent from a great story that’s well written. Love your new cover, too!
HI Kris,
Fantastic post! I’m a worrier to the 10th degree. So, I always appreciate an article focused on stepping back from stress.
I enjoyed reading about the in’-and-out’s of authorhood I’ve yet to reach. Thanks for the tasty teaser! Your posts are always full of such wonderful inpsiration and advice! Thanks!
Sarah & Helen,
Exactly, Helen! Can you picture the editor now, reading the story, thinking, “Well, yes, it’s compelling and I can’t stop turning pages, but the margins . . .the MARGINS! F!” (I keep picturing Ralphie’s teacher in the movie, A Christmas Story.) LOL
And I’m extremely glad you like the cover! I grin every time I see it.
Sarah~
That’s such a kind thing to say! Thank-you. I recall early on, thinking, “Umm, I can see where this matters from a let-me-treat-this-like-a-professional perspective, but not from a hmm-how-shall-I-spend-my-three-hours-this-afternoon? perspective.
I think we do the best promo when we write great stories.
This is really great info Kris!!! Thanks for sharing with us!
Also can I say how jealous I am your agent writes those queries for you??? I need to get on subbing to an agent…
Hugs to you!
Yes, start submitting, Eliza! Get those queries out there, to your A list agents.