The website mentioned in today’s video is real.
Too funny!
Blog
How to Summon 135 Ghosts with a Single Email
My office recently received a submission for a project that wouldn’t work for us. We were about to send the author a polite rejection when we noticed many other agencies’ addresses in the recipient field. The list was long. Dreadfully long. We counted 135 addresses. We may have missed a few lines because counting from an onscreen listing is difficult. Who knows? Maybe the author tried 140 agents. …
Writing Description Part 2
In my last blog post, I talked a lot about description. I talked about the purpose description serves. In the previous post, I set the scene for the story I’ve been using. Now let’s talk about: Does my description help develop the character? In the story with Oliver and Sophia, I wrote the opening scene. Let’s see if there’s anything I can improve on in this to develop the characters a little …
Publishing Success Can Be Fleeting
Can you name the USA national college football champion in 2019? Or name the winner of American Idol in 2022? What was the best-selling Christian novel in 2023? Or, even harder, name two of the top five top best-selling Christian nonfiction books of 2019, only five years ago. My point is that success is fleeting. On top today, forgotten tomorrow. But that depends on your definition of success, …
Fun Fridays – July 26, 2024
It is time for the Summer Olympics! Today’s video shows the fill of victory and agony of the feet.
Making the Most of Conference Season: The Importance of Follow-Up
Ah, writers conference season—the time of year when writers come together to learn, connect, and get inspired. There’s something phenomenal about being surrounded by fellow creatives, soaking up knowledge from industry experts, and leaving with a head full of ideas and a heart full of inspiration. But as the dust settles and the conference high begins to fade, what comes next? How do you …
Best-selling Books This Week, 75 Years Ago
When we look at a snapshot of best-selling books at any point in time, we see a picture of our society and what it values and thinks. I am unsure whether book publishing is a light or a mirror; but looking back, I see insights to be gained. Spoiler alert: Book publishing did not begin when Amazon was founded thirty years ago. The New York Times Best Seller lists, July 24, 1949 Fiction POINT OF NO …
The Power of a Referral
It was recently pointed out that a number of agencies will not accept unsolicited proposals. Instead they state, in their guidelines, that they only take proposals via referrals or from meeting someone at a writers conference. Our agency continues to keep the doors open to any and all who send material following our guidelines. It can be a challenge to read all the incoming proposals, but I prefer …
Fun Fridays – July 19, 2024
Since I am currently at the Realm Makers conference, which is “all speculative fiction all the time,” I thought today’s video would be irresistible–like a snack.
I Like Quotation Marks
I recently read a book. Don’t look so surprised. In my annual reading plan (which I discussed here), I try to discover a few new authors every year. One of this year’s authors is the late Brian Doyle, essayist and novelist. His book has been a joy. However, he, like an increasing number of novelists (seemingly), eschews quotation marks in his fictional dialogue. Like this: What does it feel like? …