What Makes Us The Choice for Aspiring Authors Looking For a Real Career?
Our commercial novel writing program? The fact that we're getting contracts for our writers? Our quality of professional guidance? The peer-and-pro approach to successful critique? All of the above? Yes. We consider Author Salon to be the first "DEEP site" of its kind, i.e., a "Display, Educate, and Evolve the Project" website. But at Author Salon, it's not just about getting a book published, it's about launching a career.
Do MFA programs have the right to be worried? Yes. Our novel writing courses and criteria-based workshops enable writers onsite to successfully write, edit, position and pitch their manuscripts, thereby securing requests, via Author Salon promotion, from leading publishers and agencies including Random House, Dijkstra Agency, AEI Films, Harper Collins, Penguin Books, Marsal Lyon Literary, Kimberley Cameron, Fine Print Literary, Donald Maass Agency, St. Martins, ICM, and more ...
AEI PRODUCTIONS in Los Angeles has requested fulls and partials from a variety of writers at Author Salon, especially those with high concept genre stories verging on breakout. Projects will be considered for possible film production, as well as submission to major book publishers.
AEI PRODUCTIONS has produced multiple films with major studios, including "Joe Somebody" (Fox, starring Tim Allen), "Life or Something Like It" (Fox, Angelina Jolie), "Gospel Hill" (Fox, Danny Glover), and forthcoming "Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not!" (Paramount, Jim Carrey, directed by Chris Columbus "Harry Potter"); as well as films for television including "The Madam's Family" (CBS) - and forthcoming "The Lost Valentine" (Hallmark Hall of Fame), and "The Kennedy Detail" (Discovery Channel). Author Salon projects requested by AEI for possible book or film production include: THE PROVING, by Kevin Jackson, UNDER AN ANGRY STAR by Jennifer Arceneaux, THE DAY STEALERS by Paula Williams, WIVES OF LUCIFER by Caryn McGill, BREEDERS OF MEN by Katie French, THE LAST SCRIBE by Rachel Walsh, BLACK SEA GODS by Brian Braden, and SOUL OF A GOD by Lucas Rosen, among others.
Over three dozennonfiction manuscripts and novels written by aspiring authors on Author Salon have been requested by New York publishers, as well as top literary agents--all part of Author Salon's ongoing "Literary Showcase" initiative. Genres represented include mystery, young adult fantasy, upmarket and general fiction, women's fiction, adult fantasy and SF, historical fiction, and more.
A sample of titles selected by agents and publishers include THE FIVE PENS OF JOHANNES by Richard Hacker (YA/F), CITY OF HER by Francesca Kefalas (YA/F), HALF OF NO by Kari Pilgrim (Upmarket), STICKS AND STICHES by Kathy Weyer (Women's Fiction), THROUGH CHAGALL'S WINDOW by Katherine Cox (Upmarket), THE LAWYER'S WIFE by Deborah Wyatt (True Crime), THE EDGE OF NORMAL (Thriller), LOVE AFTER ZERO by Natasha Bauman (Upmarket), and THE WORLD BELONGS TO THOSE WHO TAKE IT by Joan Koster (Historical Fiction).
In short, Author Salon is not only looking for fresh new work, but looking to push the boundaries of the genre insofar as possible while maintaining the favorite tropes all suspense and mystery readers demand. But what are we talking about here? According to HISTORY OF THE MYSTERY.COM: "Despite the incredible variety of mysteries, experienced readers know that there are similarities in the storytelling that identify novels as belonging to the genre and thus deserve their blue stickers. Two main subgenres are the cozy, or the intimate and the American PI ... However, no matter how cozy the English country house in an Agatha Christie novel is, or how grim the street scene in a Raymond Chandler novel may be, the basic elements of the mystery (tropes) are identifiable. The characters and the surroundings are introduced quickly, a crime occurs, usually murder. Someone is responsible. At this point, the game is on. Someone takes the challenge, confronts the puzzling situation, and works to detect who is guilty."
See also THE MYSTERY READER.COM for great summaries and ratings of thrillers, mysteries, and all the sub genres.
We like the Isabel "pure soul" approach and the play with her muse, however, we must disagree with her belief that writers cannot be taught to become great writers. As a matter of fact, we could not disagree more. In the context of her writing class, she says: "You cannot be taught how to tell a story ... I can teach them a few things about the writing, but I cannot teach them suspense, tension, tone ..."
But those things can be taught. It's not a mystical process. You don't have to have certain genes. You can lead a willing person to be a successful and imaginative author skilled in tone, tension, and much much more ... We love you Isabel, but gotta part ways on this one! Good luck with your class. How much do you charge?
What chances do you as a writer have of getting your novel manuscript, regardless of genre, commercially published if the story and narrative therein fail to meet reader demands for sufficient suspense, character concern, and conflict? Answer: none. But what major factor makes for a quiet or dull manuscript brimming with insipid characters and a story that cascades from chapter to chapter with tens of thousands of words, all of them combining irresistibly to produce an audible thudding sound in the mind, rather like a fist hitting a side of cold beef?
Such a dearth of Élan vital in narrative and story frequently results from the unwillingness of the writer to create a suitable antagonist who stirs and spices the plot hash. And let's make it clear what we're talking about. By "antagonist" we specifically refer to an actual fictional character, an embodiment of certain traits and motivations who plays a significant role in catalyzing and energizing plot line(s), or at bare minimum, in assisting to evolve the protagonist's character arc (and by default the story itself) by igniting complication(s) the protagonist, and possibly other characters, must face and solve ... [more]
Author Salon has developed the Six Act Two-Goal novel structure for writers of book-length fiction and narrative nonfiction. We expect further refinements, but the point here is to understand and utilize a tightly plotted act structure, similar to that used by screenplay writers, to effectively brainstorm and outline a very competitive and suspenseful plot for the genre novel, i.e., fantasy, SF, YA/MG, mystery, and so forth. Upmarket, general or literary fiction with a strong plot also benefits greatly.
We combine Siegal's "nine act structure - two goal" screenplay (very much like the Syd Field three act except that the "reversal" from Field's structure becomes the "Act 5" in Siegal's version) with the Field classic three act. The Two-Goal Structure, Siegal maintains, creates more dynamic plot tension due to the insertion of PLOT REVERSAL later in the story, and we concur with this ... [more]
Author Salon stresses high concept stories (insofar as humanly or inhumanly possible) and the ability to view your work or the work of others with the eyes of a professional in the business--in other words, would you put your career on the line for that novel in an editorial meeting surrounded by senior editors, your bosses and the always bitching marketing department who demand great marketing hooks? Let's see one example of the contrast that becomes apparent at such time the brain of a hypothetical neophyte fantasy writer is compared with that of a veteran literary agent.
Through the eyes of the writer penning a story about a prophesied dragon-riding princess known as "The Chosen One" who wields a flaming sword of power while on her way, together with her favorite faerie, Glynfee, to visit the Wizard Crumgar at Hell's Keep and enlist his aid in finding a team of elves and dwarves to help her defeat evil ... [more]
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Elaine 
