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When you do a proposal for publishers, you’ll probably have a comparable works section.  Your goal is to come up with similar works that have sold well, so that the publisher can visualize why your book will sell well.  Here are some tips to help you pick references that will go farther in the publisher’s office.

1.  If at all possible, focus on bestsellers. Publishers care much more about finding the next Harry Potter or Spiderman than the next John Banks. In general, publishers will only pick up a project if they think it will sell well, and the most persuasive evidence is that similar works have sold very well.

2.  Please use titles that have sold well recently. Contemporary references are usually more convincing because they suggest where the market is now.  Additionally, a twenty-something publisher’s assistant is more likely to be familiar with a recent title.

3.  Please pick comparable works that have a similar target audience to yours. If the audience isn’t similar, the work probably isn’t all that comparable to yours.

4.  Make sure that the works are well-tailored to the publisher. In particular, I’d recommend focusing on works that have a style similar to what they’re already publishing.  Also, if at all possible, focus on works that are in the same medium (novel, comic book, manga, nonfiction, etc). In particular, I recommend staying away from TV shows and movies because they have a very different business model than novels and comic books do.

5.  Don’t pick a work unless you’re certain you understand why it was successful. For example, one young author once attempted to sell an action-packed book about an inordinately powerful superhero by claiming that “it worked for Dr. Manhattan in The Watchmen.”  That is a horrible misreading of the series.  Over the course of twelve issues, Dr. Manhattan has two action sequences that span a total of perhaps four pages.  If you cite works you aren’t really familiar with, you might come off looking like an idiot.

6. If your work has any plot elements that are hard to market, make sure you find some bestsellers that have handled similar concepts. For example, if you’re dead-set on selling a book about a retarded protagonist, it would really help you to explain why the success of a book like Flowers for Algernon (or something more recent) suggests that your book will be successful.

GAH.

MY EYES ARE ON FIRE.

Evil Editor reviewed my query letter for Don’t Forget the Death Ray!, a guidebook about how to write superhero stories. Although he and his readers mostly panned it, I found their comments very helpful and informative. It’s really important for prospective writers to have thick skin, so I’d like you to know what kind of feedback I’m getting.

• “You may not have meant it this way, but you managed to insult professional writers while talking down to teens.”
• “This is a bad query letter… Now you show a great facility with language in this letter. Obviously your writing ability is there; but you need to consider the subtext of what you are saying just a teensy bit when you read what you wrote.”

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I’d only delve as deeply into science as much as the story and audience warrant. For example, if a villain shrinks the hero, 99% of readers don’t care that a shrunken human body couldn’t function because human cells are designed to function at a particular size. Similarly, most readers don’t need elaborate explanations for superpowers. You don’t need to explain where Spiderman keeps all that webbing.

However, if you’d like go off on a tangent to satisfy the few readers that do care about these elements, please make sure that it interests the other 99%. For example, one recurring issue with the Hulk is that the character’s pants stay on even though his size fluctuates so much. Real pants would burst off if you got twice as big, right? The latest Hulk movie addressed that rather hilariously by showing the character buying maternity pants in Guatemala. (”¿Tienes más stretchy?”) That’s intuitive, simple and clever. In contrast, if the movie had made up scientific mumbo-jumbo like Pym particles or whatever, it probably would have confused or annoyed many viewers.

Many, perhaps most, real life jobs have a fairly narrow and specialized focus.  For example, most people of a company’s employees work for a particular department and newspaper reports usually focus on stories related to their section of the paper. In general, I’d recommend giving your heroes jobs that are more flexible because it gives more opportunity to entangle the character in the plot and add new developments.

Here are some aspects that can make a job more flexible and plot-friendly.

1.  Get the character out of his office. Offices are mostly bland, forgettable, comfortable and safe.  As far as readers and interesting stories are concerned, they are Kryptonite.  I’d recommend giving your character a lot of work outside the office because the real world is harder to predict and gives you more opportunities to work in new scenes, danger, seedy characters, etc.

2.  Please avoid making the character the boss. Usually, the boss has the least interesting job in the building.  Privates and flunkies usually have more at stake than a general or a business magnate does.  In addition, low-level work is generally more interesting.  I’d much rather read about a platoon patrolling hostile streets or a corporate flack trying to steal corporate secrets than about the men that decided to send the patrols or steal the secrets.

3.  As much as possible, please have the hero spend his time working with people outside of his company. The relationships within a company are usually tidy and well-controlled, especially if the characters share the same goals.  When a boss lays down the law, that’s usually the end of it.  It’s usually more interesting when a character can’t just order other people to give him what he wants.  For example, a police officer has to convince a reluctant witness to testify, which will give you an opportunity to show you how impressive he is.  In contrast, if the cop could just order the man to testify, that wouldn’t be very interesting or impressive.  (Well, technically, cops can order witnesses to testify, but persuasion is often necessary in dangerous cases).

4.  I’d recommend making the hero accountable to a tough boss. Characters like JJ Jameson tend to add a lot more dramatic potential than friendly bosses like Perry White.  They create more of an obstacle for the heroes and usually make the heroes seem more likable.

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In visual media, motion usually makes a scene more interesting.  It’s particularly important in a cover because you have to catch the reader’s eye.

For example, let’s say we have two covers that use the world as a soccer ball. (The issue’s title is Americans Don’t Play Soccer, and the issue is about Darfurian genocide and other things Americans don’t care about.  For ideological balance, we might add a thinly veiled Obama vis-a-vis the Iranian democracy movement).

Cover #1:  On a soccer field, the villain is standing next to a globe.  In the background, the hero is the only thing between him and the net. The villain’s pose would probably look lifeless, like these.

Cover #2:  On a soccer field, the villain is doing an insane flip as he punts the world at the hero.  The cover would probably look a lot more energetic and stylish.  This is particularly important because the cover will probably show the villain from the back.  It’s quite hard to strike an immobile pose from behind.

It would probably also help if the hero/goalie had some action. Bracing himself for impact is a little bit banal, so I’d like something that’s striking and makes it clear that this comic isn’t really about soccer. So let’s say the hero is bracing himself behind a transparent SWAT shield.

When you’re making a pitch to publishers, demographic details like these tend to be irrelevant.

• Hair color
• Eye color
• Height
• Weight

However, some demographic information is relevant because it affects the book’s audience appeal and how the book will be marketed.

• Age
• Race– particularly if the protagonist’s race is part of the audience appeal.
• Anything that is particularly important to the plot.  For example, the hero’s job, major illnesses, mental disorders, etc.

The Washington Post reveals that Iranian’s crack spies are getting dangerously close to uncovering the conspiracy surrounding Iran’s democratic movement.

The governor of greater Tehran, Morteza Tamadon, a staunch Ahmadinejad ally, claimed Wednesday that 800 artists and academics who had visited the United States in recent years were trained to protest the election outcome.

I met one of them in Washington!  I don’t remember discussing how to protest election outcomes, or even how to statistically identify electoral fraud.  But then again, I would say that, wouldn’t I?

CNN reports that Iran has outed another party involved in this vast democratic conspiracy:  CNN!  A spokesperson for the Iranian government has more:

This is the CNN’s schedule. They officially trained the people to come and hack Iran’s government Web sites. This is the English text, I can give it to you. This is a cyber war.”

I cannot remember what I was doing last Saturday.  Perhaps I was getting drunk as a Mormon in a barrel of rum*.  Or perhaps I was actually training hackers to destablize the Iranian government and the CIA kindly implanted fake memories of $6 margaritas so that I couldn’t give up any information under torture.

*Not likely, given that I don’t drink.  If you think I can afford $6 margaritas on a writer’s salary, you must be factoring in the CIA/Mossad stipends I get every month.

Dark comedy aside, I wish the best to the people of Iran, but unfortunately protests against undemocratic regimes are rarely successful in the short term.  In the heat of the moment, the government has several major advantages, including all-but-unmatchable firepower.

This is strikingly funny.

Bleach’s writing is not terribly inspired and it introduces its premise in a fairly awkward fashion.  However, this visual from episode 2 made me burst into laughter.  The hero is at school and meets someone that is obviously the girl he saw dice up a demon the night before.  (Because of secret identities, he can’t say anything to the people around him, though).  He starts to freak out and she turns to shake his hand.

Here are some of the factors that can make a character likable.

• A distinct personality, even if it’s sinister or abrasive. This is one of the reasons that Sylar (a serial killer) and Dr. House (a curmudgeonly asshat) are fan favorites.
• Relatability. Readers are particularly sensitive to age and gender.  Usually, the hero is a few years older than the readers (young enough to be relatable and relevant but old enough to be impressive).
• Relationships. These are particularly important if the character is unrelatable.  If the character has a thought process that is really unusual to readers, we’ll probably get to know him through how he interacts with other people.  If an unusual character isn’t interacting with other people, readers probably won’t find him very interesting because they don’t know enough about him.
• Competence. This is especially important for villains.  Readers usually love the villains that scare them, and competent villains are scary.   See Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader.
• Style. Most stylish characters are competent, a bit clever and witty.
• A sense of humor. The character doesn’t have to be a comedian– being funny once in a while is usually sufficient.  For example, Han Solo only got a few lines like “we’re all fine here now, thank you” but he’s generally regarded as a funny character.
• Flaws. Often, the flaws make a character more likable than his assets do.  Flaws are more unique and they tend to stand out more.  There are thousands of brave heroes, but what people remember about Captain Kirk and James Bond is that they’re recklessly brave.
• No complaining! Brooding, moping and angst usually make the character sound whiny.  It’s really hard to like a character that whines, no matter how seriously awful his life is.
• Proactivity. This is what distinguishes Sylar (a character dealing with a seriously hard life) from someone that complains about how hard his life is.  Readers would much rather see a character try to solve his problems than talk/complain about them.  This is one of the (many) reasons that Han and Luke are more likable than C3P0.
• Good intentions. This is a useful way to make sure that your villains are three-dimensional.
• Variety. This is particularly important for the hero.  Give him opportunities to try different solutions and improvise.
• Stark characterization. Please don’t make your characters “kind of an ass” or “sort of brave” or whatever. Go the whole nine yards– it’ll be more distinctive and interesting.  Also, it will make the conflicts sharper and higher-stakes.
• Growth. Stagnant heroes are usually a bit boring.  If the hero’s quest doesn’t change him in some way, what’s the point?
• Vulnerable. This is particularly important for the hero.  Ideally, he’s a bit less powerful than the villain and might actually lose.   That will force him to be intelligent and will leave readers on the edge of their seats.
• Lone superheroes should have an interesting alternate identity. The alternate identity helps establish what’s at stake and makes the character feel real by giving him something to do besides beating people up.  Alter-egos are less important for superhero teams because there’s less time available for each character.

There are many more, I’m sure.  What am I missing?

Hello. This is an early draft of my query letter for Don’t Forget the Death Ray!, a book about how to write superhero stories.
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Please see the comments below.  Thanks!

Generic niceness is a dangerous trait for a character– particularly the protagonist– to have. First, it’s not very interesting if the character is always agreeable and only does things that the audience is meant to sympathize with.  That reduces the potential for conflict.  In practice, a character that has “nice” or something similar as a defining trait is usually boring and/or a Mary Sue.
Here are some defining traits that suggest that the character probably has issues with generic niceness.

• Polite
• Compassionate
• Agreeable
• Kind
• Personable
• Social
• Helpful

If your protagonist has traits like these, I’d recommend taking them in a direction that they might be potentially problematic.  For example, a character that is social might be so social that he tries to negotiate even when the audience knows that action is necessary.  A character that is too polite might be stiff.  A character that is too helpful might try to help even when it’s unwise for him to do so.

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If you’ve ever been to Arlington, VA, you know how accurate this is. Down to the bad rappers.

Both Chicago and comic books are pretty awesome.  Hence Sequential Chicago, for all of your Chicago comic book needs.  Hmm.  Is this a half-baked idea or a well-targeted niche?  What do you think?

Please see the comments below.  Thanks!

Please see the comments below.  Thanks!