by Bobbie Christmas
Q: The members of my group write romance novels. I have always used *** to separate scenes within a chapter. One writer suggested that using symbol drops is no longer a publishing practice. Instead the new scene should be written with transitional language or use several blank lines, because readers are smart enough to figure out the change.
What do you think?
A: Not to be snarky, but I found it interesting that someone in your group presumes to know what is no longer a publishing practice. Instead of presuming anything, I turned to The Chicago Manual of Style, the book that sets the book publishing practices for American publishers. The latest edition of CMOS says a set of asterisks (***) is appropriate when a break stronger than a paragraph but not as strong as a subhead is required. The book says a blank line in a manuscript has the disadvantage that it may be missed if the break falls at the bottom of a page.
Q: Sometimes, a fiction or poetry writer invents a word to retain concision or rhythm or both. I cannot find a word for someone who acquiesces. I’m vacillating between my creations of acquiescer and acquiescor. Am I leaning toward a big, bad mistake? I certainly wouldn’t do my inventive thing in nonfiction, but poetry seems to have no limits. I’d be interested if you addressed the tendency of creative writers to be, on occasion, wordsmiths of a different sort.
A: I think poets are wordsmiths of the highest order. If we didn’t create new words or use old words in new ways, publishers would have no reason to produce newer versions of dictionaries. English is a changing, malleable language. Of your choices of new words, I like the second best, acquiescor, although both make me want to pronounce the word with a hard k sound in the last syllable. For that reason, consider concentor, accedor, or even surrenderer instead.
Q: In my novel, if I use the word Brobdingnagian in dialogue, is capitalizing it adequate, or must I further acknowledge it as a word coined by another writer?
A: Brobdingnagian is an accepted word in the dictionary and, as you suspect, it is capitalized, but not because it is a coined word; it is capitalized because it refers to a specific land called Brobdingnag. There is, however, no need to give credit to Jonathan Smith, the author who created the fictional land and coined the word pertaining to that land.
Q: I am planning on writing a book, it’s real life, but fictionalized, so it’s a novel, not a biography. Could you give me some names and email addresses for literary agents that specialize in that field, and if not, could you suggest a book I could buy that’ll help me?
A: You’re correct that if you plan to write a novel (a book of fiction) you will need an agent if you don’t plan to indie-publish; however, don’t put the cart before the horse. Unlike nonfiction, which many publishers will buy before it is written, fiction must be completed and polished before you pitch it to an agent or publisher. No agent will accept a client with an idea. Agents and publishers buy books, not ideas.
Agents often change agencies, retire, or even die, and writing a book takes time. Even if you manage to write and polish your book in only six or seven months, the information you acquire today will probably no longer be valid.
After you write your book, have it edited professionally, revise it a final time, and are ready to send it out, only then should you research agents. I recommend using online resources, where the information is usually fresh and accurate. An even better way to find an agent is to attend writers conferences where agents are meeting with authors, hearing pitches, and often finding new clients.
Bobbie Christmas, book editor, author of Write In Style: Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing, and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more Ask the Book Doctor questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.