An appropriate caption for this cartoon could be “What every author wishes they could say to an editor.”
Blog
The Mystery of the Slush Pile
When you submit a manuscript or query to an agent, you may wonder what happens to it, and what our thought processes are regarding the properties we offer to represent versus those we must respectfully decline. Every agent is different, but you may find learning about my process helpful.
I have a very smart assistant. When she reviews my slush pile submissions, she goes through a winnowing …
Three Steps to Freedom!
It’s The Most Wonderful/Terrible Time of the Year
It comes every year, and every year we wait for it with a mixture of excitement and dread. No, I’m not talking about taxes.
I’m talking about the award season.
From the ECPA Book of the Year awards to the Christy’s, the Genesis to the RITA, the Golden Heart to the Carol, and all the gazillion contests and awards in-between, online groups, …
News You Can Use – April 17, 2012
Getting by on a Writer’s Income – Lawrence Block reflects on the challenges of the writing life. An excellent article from someone with a half a century of experience.
Microsoft Word is Dead – Tom Scocca in “Slate” makes a bold claim. I would vehemently disagree from the point-of-view of writers and editors and publishers. But he may be right when it comes to office collaborations and the …
Christy Award Finalists 2012
We are quite excited to announce that our agency has a number of finalists in this year's Christy Awards. (Click here for the list of this year's finalists.) Congratulations to all finalists. Below are our clients who have been honored and a link to their publisher's site for more information on the book.
Susan May Warren - My Foolish Heart (Tyndale) - Contemporary Romance
Ronie Kendig - …
Implications of the Department of Justice Lawsuit Against Five Major Publishers
by Steve Laube
As you have heard by now the Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled a lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers accusing them of conspiring to fix prices. There has been a lot written on the topic with varying degrees of understanding and a wide disparity of conclusions.
Authors are asking what this all means to them. And many are confused about the math involved. A …
Fun Fridays – April 13, 2012
The Rejection Letter Generator Become used to receiving rejection letters from agents and editors. Test your own mettle. Develop immunity to snarky comments! Go to this site and fill one of the seven forms. The Rejection Generator Project I guarantee you will be rejected within seconds. So much better than waiting weeks for our agency’s evaluation. Here is a sample of the rejection letter I …
Finding the Right Critique Partner
by Tamela Hancock Murray Recently I talked with a supervisor in a field unrelated to the publishing industry, who mentioned an employee. “I shudder to think of the advice he’s giving out. He has a general understanding of the subject matter, but not the skill set.” It struck me how applicable this statement can be regarding people who offer to critique manuscripts. In a previous …
Are You a Storybird?
I’m always hearing about authors who get stuck. Whose creativity has hit a wall. Who have hit a point in the story that they’ve lost interest.
Or there are the down times. When emotions have them hogtied. They’re too sad or depressed or frustrated or overwhelmed to write.
Well, I don’t have a cure for all of those things, but I do have something that can help. It’s called Storybird, and it’s …
News You Can Use – April 10, 2012
Pew Research Findings on E-Reading – If you want a sense of what’s happening, read this article. Then once you’ve digested it, read Mike Shatzkin’s evaluation of the data. Together the articles may take an hour to absorb.
The Perfect Elevator Pitch for a New Job – Interesting article with applications for a writer creating the perfect pitch for their book idea
Five Best Bluetooth Headsets – …