 Welcome to Best of the Blogosphere, a collection of hand-picked recommended reading on writing and publishing for folks who like blogs and alliteration. We hope you enjoy what you find here. Recommendations are always welcome via email to BotB@editorialdepartment.com.
On Ideal Manuscript Length: Nathan Bransford, Curtis Brown Ltd, 2/27/08 It looks like TED isn't alone in seeing a surge in unusually long fiction manuscripts lately. Here's what literary agent Nathan Bransford has to say about this trend. Read More
Agent Interview: Jennifer Jaeger of Andrea Brown Literary Agency, 2/12/08 For 25 years, the Andrea Brown Literary Agency has made a terrific name for itself in repesenting books for young readers. Jennifer Jaeger joined the agency in 2004 and shares some interesting thoughts about her tastes and her sense of the the market with author Cynthia Leitich Smith. Read More
Fratire: Chick Lit for Men , 1/30/08 We may have The New York Times to thank for this funny moniker, and now it has made its way into publishers’ submissions guidelines. Click here for a blog post from readersread.com and here for further exploration on an edgier interpretation of this new genre from wordspy.com.
Interview: Donald Maass, Part 2, Therese Walsh, Writer Unboxed, 12/7/2007 If you missed part 1 of our interview with Donald Maass–one of New York’s top agents and president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. In this final segment, we talk about his must-have craft book for writers, Writing the Breakout Novel, how his book and workbook are a dynamic duo, his favorite workbook exercise and a new book in the works. Enjoy! Read more .
Interview: Donald Maass, Part 1, Therese Walsh, Writer Unboxed, 12/30/2007
Donald Maass is not only one of New York’s top agents and president of the Donald Maass Literary Agency, he’s also the author of several novels and fantabulous craft books for writers. If you’ve hung around Writer Unboxed for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard Kathleen and I rave about Writing the Breakout Novel. The book and its companion workbook are perhaps the writer’s best tools when it comes to juicing a work for more conflict, plot twists and dynamic characterizations. Read more .
Genre Hopping, Nathan Bransford, 12/3/2007 I read books from nearly every single genre, and I know I'm not alone -- book lovers love books, all kinds of books. And so it naturally follows that when people sit down at the old typewriter they want to write books in every genre under the sun. Sometimes at the same time. I often receive queries from people who are shopping novels in multiple genres, even massively different genres, such as science fiction and historical romance. Read more .
At What Point Is a Work No Longer In Submission, Jessica Faust, Bookends, 11/26/2007 I have an agent who I've been with for about 2 years. I am considering leaving this agency. I read the contract (and your posts on this subject) and noticed that she retains the right to receive her cut of any manuscripts I might sell that are still in "negotiation," even if we have parted ways. "In negotiation" in the contract is defined as "on submission." Read more .
How I Read Your Queries, Janet Reid, Literary Agent, 11/16/2007 Four writing conferences in five weeks is a mistake I will not make again. WAY too much fun of course, and way too much undone work. I have fulls that have been sitting here unread for a couple weeks and there are more on the way.
One of the reasons I haven't been reading fulls is that I've been reading a deluge of queries.
Just for fun, let's review HOW the submission pile works: Read more .
Why I Reject, Jessica Faust, Bookends Inc., 11/16/2007 In a recent post on query statistics (which I will try to do more of), I mentioned that I would let you know some of the reasons I was rejecting books, and word count was something that came into play regularly. When does a book get rejected for word count? When it’s much, much too short or much, much too long. Read more .
Spoiler Alert: Don't Worry About Spilling the Ending, Nathan Bransford, 11/13/2007 Maybe I'm in a self-reflective mood lately or maybe I'm collapsing in on myself like a character in a Zola novel (that oh-so-literary name-drop just earned me 5 future The Hills references), but I've been thinking a lot about how agents read. One thing that people sometimes ask me, especially with regard to synopses: should I worry about spoiling the ending? Doesn't the agent want to be surprised? Read more .
Romantic Jealousy?, Angela Benedetti, Romancing the Blog, 11/14/2007 One common romance character I wouldn’t mind never seeing again is the jealous Hero. I don’t mean someone who’s teasing-jealous or joking-jealous, but a guy who’s really angry, clenched-fists-and-glaring jealous. The kind of jealousy that has the Hero come stomping up to punch some other guy out because he was — OMG! — smiling at the Hero’s fiancee. Read more .
First Person Narratives: Conversational, yes. Chatty like ohmigod no. Confession time: when I was a kid I really didn't like books written in the first person. Little Nathan Bransford was quite the literal fellow, and he just didn't get the whole first person thing (also he was very short and the girls in his second grade class patted him on the head and called him "El Chiquito" which was HUMILIATING). Read more .
First Madonna and Radiohead; Next, James Patterson PART 1 Recently occasional guest blogger, bestselling thriller writer Barry Eisler, called me with an idea for a series of articles for this blog. Deeper thinking on something I've been commenting on for a while now. I was thrilled to offer him this platform. Read more
Liar, Liar, Kathleen Bolton, Writer Unboxed, 11/7/2007 I tend to write in first-person, so I’m always on the hunt for fresh character tags that show, not tell, reactions or liven up dialogue beats. This morning on my way to work, the drive-hour DJ actually imparted something worth listening to among his inane bibbling: physical signs that someone is lying to you. Read more .
Questions of Protocol, Editorial Anonymous, 11/4/2007 I have a question concerning the proper way to follow-up on a submission. I had a manuscript critique with an editor from a closed house roughly five months ago. She was interested in the novel, but it wasn’t finished yet. At the end of the critique she gave me her business card. A month later, I sent her a picture book via the conference coupon. It is now one week shy of four months and I haven’t heard anything yet. This is a relatively short amount of time I know, but I am anxious to send it on to other publishers but feel this was an exclusive submission as I didn’t note otherwise. Which would be more professional in this situation, send a follow-up e-mail (which was on her card) or snail mail? I would walk a mile of hot coals to work with her, so I don’t want to do anything that comes across too casual. Any advice? Read more .
Jane Dystel Explains the Option Clause, Jane Dystel, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, 10/29/2007 So many of my first-time clients ask why they have to have an option clause in their contracts that I thought I would write about it. First, what is an option? An “option” is the author’s promise to show the publisher his or her next book before showing it to any other publisher. That’s it. Read more .
Term of the Week: Auctions, Jonathan Lyons, Lyons Literary LLC, 10/30/2007 An auction is a process which allows multiple publishers to bid on your work. Auctions can vary in shape and type, depending on the number of editors interested, the type of book, and the agent involved. Read more .
Guest Blog: Ginger Clark on How to Handle an Offer of Representation, Nathan Bransford, 10/30/2007
Dear Nathan’s many, many readers:
Nathan very kindly said I could write an entry for his blog about handling an offer of representation. Recently, an author contacted me saying they’d been offered representation by another agency. I congratulated them, asked them a couple of questions…and things went downhill from there. I realized afterwards that perhaps this author just didn’t know how to handle a situation where one agent offers representation and there are multiple other agents considering your work. Read more .
Chasing Heroes, Misa Ramirez, Romancing the Blog, 10/23/2007
I’m chasing heroes. You heard me right. I’m chasing heroes. (Yes, I’m married, and my husband’s fine with it.  ) Who doesn’t love a bad boy, or need a professor now and then. The swashbuckler or the warrior can defend my honor or take me on an adventure any day of the week. And after they have, and then have left for their next battle or adventure, the best friend can step in and offer support. I’ll be bolstered enough to offer my own support to the lost soul, and with any luck, I’ll be on the receiving end of the charmer’s skills. Read more .
Term of the Week: Beauty Contest, Jonathan Lyons, Lyons Literary LLC, 10/24/2007 Jane Smith submits her book to a bunch of agents, and ends up getting lots of favorable responses and offers of representation. Now she has to decide which agent to go with, and so she either meets with them personally for lunch or drinks, speaks with them on the phone, or corresponds via email to obtain more information. She asks all the important questions - agent biography, submission plans, commissions, general agenting strategy, etc., and then decides which agent to go with. Read more .
The Literal First Five Pages, The Rejecter, 10/21/2007 Dear Ms. Rejector,
I've seen a lot of agents request the first five pages of a manuscript along with the query letter. This frustrates me a bit, because the prologue to my book is seven pages long, and I think an agent would be more enticed by the whole prologue than just the first five pages. So my options, as I see them, are: Read more .
Lauren Abramo Explains Subrights, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, 10/18/2007 With the Frankfurt Book Fair just passing, now seems the perfect time to bring you into the weird world of subsidiary and ancillary rights. Why me, you ask? In July I had the pleasure of taking over the agency’s sub rights “department” to fill the formidable, but fashionable shoes of Michael Bourret, who is now focusing entirely on his personal client list. Said department had consisted only of Michael and me, with some much appreciated help from the interns who suffer hand cramps filling out customs declarations, brain damage from trying to figure out the best postage options to get books halfway around the world quickly without spending our entire commission, and sneeze attacks scouring the shelves for copies of books to send uptown, across the country, and to far off lands. Read more .
Don't Forget the Content!, Vibeke Courtney, Romancing the Blog, 10/17/2007 “Can I have a Flash movie on my home page? Can my design look like a big desk with clickable graphics? Can I have music?” Those are just a handful of the questions I’ve been asked when brainstorming a website design with a new client. I could name tons of other examples where clients have seen some cool effects on other sites and are wondering if they could do the same. Some of it’s technically advanced, other stuff is simple, but what all of these features have in common is that they’re visually or functionally impressive. Read more .
To Write Erotic or Not to Write Erotic, Jessica Faust, Bookends, 10/17/2007 I received this very interesting question recently, and like many of the questions I receive it’s one I think the author has to answer herself. . . .
I wrote this as an erotic romance because it's what I know. I read erotic romances, I edit them, I critique them - it's what I know. However, I grew up on tamer romances (Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, Sandra Brown), and recently I've felt the need to make my own MS HOT, but not erotic, as I'd love my mother, my sister who's a minister, and possible future daughters to read it without cringing, lol. Read more .
No Phone Calls Please!, Jonathan Lyons at Lyons Literary LLC, 10/12/2007
Do not call an agent to pitch your book! I can't stress this enough. If agents took calls of this nature they would never have any time to get work done. Think about it - I get more than thirty queries a day, and usually more - and if I had to have a three minute phone conversation with each author about their project that would mean I would spend an hour and a half of each day talking about a project without getting any sense of whether you can even write! I can evaluate a written query far faster than you can pitch it orally, and I'll actually get a sense of your writing style as well. Read more .
Oh, You Amuse Me You Do, Janet Reid, Literary Agent, 10/9/2007 I ask for partials electronically now, always as a word .doc attachment.
Most of you send me files labeled title.doc. Some of you don't. Read more.
What's in a Name?, Romancing the Blog, MG Braden, 10/9/2007 I just finished reading a book that was okay. It should have been better. I expected it to be better, but it wasn’t. One of the things that kept stalling me was the name of the heroine. Now, it is not the author’s fault that I kept thinking of a fish in Finding Nemo, instead of a heroine. Unfortunately, that’s what I kept doing. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” Read more.
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal, Nathan Bransford, 2/15/2007 A few readers have registered their complaints that the blog has lately been heavily focused on fiction queries and manuscripts and novels, and what about poor, neglected nonfiction? Doesn't nonfiction have feelings too? When nonfiction is pricked does it not bleed??? Read more.
Market Trends, Jessica Faust at Bookends, 10/8/2007 Someone asked me recently how the contemporary romance market is doing and based on my recent trip the the NJ RWA Put Your Heart in a Book conference I'm pleased to say quite well. Read More.
Hooks. Again., Kathleen Bolton, Writer Unboxed, 10/2/2007 Now that Karin Tabke’s First Lines contest has whetted your appetite for coming up with a finely crafted hook for your novel, I thought it’d be apropos to review a topic we’ve covered muchas around here (and here). Why? Because, in the inimitable words of Sol Stein, “If you want to be published, you need to come up with a good opening line.” Read More.
The Next Big Thing, Miss Snark, 7/11/2005 Courtesy of that really wonderful site ArtsJournal.com comes Patti Thorn, writing in the Rocky Mountain News about What Does It Take To Make It Big In the Book Business?
Once, a prospective client didn't sign with me because she'd heard me say "most writers don't earn a living from their work". She thought it was defeatist talk, and since she was sure she was the exception to the norm, she signed with someone who didn't tell her she'd be lucky to break even. Read More.
Interview: Daniel Lazar, Writer Unboxed, Therese Walsh, 9/28/2007 Q: Tell me a little about yourself. What got your interested in the book business in the first place? What was your journey to agenthood like? DL: I originally wanted to be an architect, but a previous internship at an architecture firm back home helped me realize that wasn’t for me. But I’d always loved books. I came to New York for school and got an internship at Writers House which turned into a full time job after the summer. I started out reading slush on Al Zuckerman’s couch and taking his dictation… I worked my way up, and five years later, I’m still here. (Luckily I graduated from that couch, and I do have my own office now.) Read More.
From the Mixed Up Files of Agent Manners, Jennifer Jackson, 9/21/2007 Dear Readers:
It appears that many experience consternation and confusion concerning the submission process with respect to time. To whit:
From Biding Time:
An agent requested a partial manuscript via email on May 31, which I sent immediately. Now, she sent the request twelve days after I sent the original query via snail mail, yet I have heard nothing in the last 3 1/2 months. Should I give it up for lost...send a reminder...keep waiting...? And, is it appropriate to continue sending out queries to other agencies while someone else has the partial? Read More.
Is Anyone Else Reading This?, Miss Snark, 10/17/2005 Here's a query question: when an agent asks for a partial and wants to know if any other agents are looking at the novel, how does the writer's response affect how they look at the work? Read More.
Contracts 101: Delivery and Acceptance, Bookends, 9/13/2007 The dreaded and very important delivery and acceptance clause. Did you know that you don’t get paid until your work is delivered and accepted? While everyone seems to know this in theory, few seem to understand what that really means until they are hungry for a check, or just plain hungry and need a check. Read More.
When to Mention You're a Blogger, Miss Snark, 9/3/2005 Something I've been wondering about -- and I don't think you've addressed before -- is at what point a weblog should be mentioned in a query letter to agents. A few weeks ago, you suggested that it would require a pretty large regular audience to impact the money offered to
an author, but might a more moderate audience still help sell the book? For instance, 1000 or so visitors a day instead of 30,000. Is that something you would care about as an agent, or would it just sound desperate in a query? Read More.
Query for Demon's Lexicon That Landed Me As an Agent, Parts I-II, Pub Rants, 9/7/2007-9/11/2007 Since I just announced my two recent auctions, I thought it might be fun to share the original query letters with my blog readers.
First up is Sarah Rees Brennan and with her permission, the original query letter that was sent by email and that made us request 30 sample pages. Read More.
What is a Packager?, Bookends, 9/6/2007
I knew the time would come when eventually someone would ask me to explain what exactly a book packager is because, yes, when Jacky and I originally started BookEnds we began as packagers, and so many of you let it slide for so long that I guess it’s time I explain what that means. Read More.
Tricia Bray: The Best of Times and the Worst of Times, Tricia Bray, 9/6/2007 For the past three years, whenever someone asked me what I was working on, I had an easy answer—a three volume epic fantasy series for Bantam Spectra, entitled The Chronicles of Josan. Then last month I turned in the manuscript for THE FINAL SACRIFICE, the concluding installment in the series, and now it’s a much more difficult question. Read More.
Formatting Your Manuscript, Nathan Bransford, 2/14/2007
Much like John Denver sings in "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," I blog when I can and work when I should. But unfortunately I wasn't early to rise to rosin up the keyboard (and when the sun was coming up the cakes, sadly, were not on the griddle), so today's post is going to be brief, which should be right up your alley if you are similarly busy (or if you're into that whole brevity thing). Read More.
How to Write a Synopsis, Nathan Bransford, 8/30/2007
Much like my haircuts, this is a blog post that I have put off for quite a long time. How to write a synopsis. It's like my own personal kryptonite. I've been meaning to post about this for such a long time, but then I'd think, "How in the world am I supposed to give advice on how to write a synopsis? Ohh! I know! I can write about The Hills instead!!" Read More.
E-Publishing Woes, Writer Unboxed, 9/3/2007
This has been a watershed year for e-publishing in the romance genre, and not in a good way. A few of the bigger outfits publishing romance, Triskelion and Mardi Gras, have vanished into bankruptcy, leaving their authors in limbo about their work and the rest of us wondering if e-publishing is ever going to fly. Read More.
The Lure of the Implausible-Authentic, Writer Unboxed, 8/21/2007
Folks who’ve seen the movie As Good as it Gets know that there was something magical about the pairing of an obsessive-compulsive and an out-of-luck waitress. It wasn’t exactly a love story, but it was a story about an implausible pairing made authentic. (I’d argue that it was the “implausible” part of the equation that made the story so compelling.) Read More.
Cereal Killers, Pub Rants, 8/17/2007
I love the gals who organized that RWNZ conference but boy, it was brutal getting up early so I could do the 7 a.m. aptly named workshop called Cereal Killers. I’m pretty positive I killed the appetite of anyone who attended. Read More.
Publishing: A Business or Personal Preference?, Bookends, 8/20/2007
In my blog post on Getting Your Work in the Right Hands, a commenter asked the following:
Aren't agents in the business of finding books that will make them money; sussing out what will appeal to the end user? Are editors like agents, i.e. do they choose books based on their personal likes, dislikes and phobias? Read More.
Authorial Beauty Contests, The Rejector, 8/18/2007
Recently I was asked to give my opinion on this article on authors and beauty. I advise you to read the article and form your opinions before hearing mine.
July 16, 2001 — What if the only way a magazine would run a short story by Eudora Welty was if she agreed to an accompanying photo in which she posed as the protagonist of her story — a "'Sex and the City'–type woman," say, "wearing a bright red spaghetti–strap dress and sandals"? Read More.
Getting Your Work in the Right Hands, Bookends, 7/10/2007
I received the following email recently:
It's a bit hard to tell who does what at the various listings because although the opportunity is there to advertise yourselves selectively you all tend to not want to be left out of an opportunity. We writers in turn end up sending off a lot of mailshots, particularly with tough books like this one, to people who are not in the patch or whose feelings might be hurt with the material. Any tips you might have to avoid this problem would be much appreciated. Read More.
Handling an Unagented Offer from a Publisher, Bookends, 8/17/2007
Recently I got a call from an author asking advice for a friend of hers. The friend had received an offer from a publisher and was unagented, and while she was over the moon, she was also in a panic. What to do? What to do? Read More.
On Alpha Heroes, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, 8/15/2007
*Editor's Note: There's a bit of offensive language in this post, so mind your sensibilities!
What’s too alpha for you? And what hero crossed the line? Read More.
Thoughts on Hooks, LitAgent X, 3/27/2007
I've recognized a lot of the common problems I see in hooks, so I'll give some quick tips on these that I hope will be of help.
1. LANGUAGE IS AWKWARD OR GETS IN THE WAY OF MEANING
From a query I just received today:
An event is described and then: "The ensuing tale follows the events and circumstances that lead to that horrible culmination." I find this confusing, as if it's a circular story somehow... except I don't think that was the writer's intention. Read More.
Lauren Abramo Answers (Some Of) Your Burning Questions, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, 7/10/2007
In lieu of thinking up my own topic—that audible sigh of relief you’re hearing is coming from my desk—I thought I’d take a crack at some of your questions this week. Thanks for so many interesting and thoughtful ones! If we haven’t gotten to yours yet, check back because we’ll continue to cover as many as possible. Read More.
Author Web Sites and Queries, Bookends, Jessica Faust, 8/15/2007
There seems to be a lot of discussion again about whether you should post sample pages on your Web site and tell an agent about it in your query. Obviously different agents are going to say different things on the issue, but ultimately, if your writing is good, no one is going to reject you simply because you’ve posted a chapter or two on your Web site. What they might do, however, is reject you because your entire query letter says this: Read More.
Crucial Compenent, Pub Rants, Kristin Nelson, 7/27/2007
I really do want to revisit the idea of analyzing bestsellers and really encourage readers to simply note what elements make them tick—what caught hold of the reader’s imagination. Even if you only use it as something that’s at the back of your mind. Read More.
LBF, Submissions, & Advice, LitAgent X, 4/23/2007
Everyone's back from the London Book Fair now, and I'm pleased to hear about the overseas interest in our clients' foreign rights. Some subrights you may not have even thought about before: non-retail audio rights, German audio rights, complex Chinese language rights, even Hebrew rights for Israel... these smaller subrights can add up, and we're always staying sharp to find new markets. Read More.
10 Nitwiticisms, Miss Snark, 4/21/2007
1. Not putting "synopsis" somewhere near the top of the page of...the synopsis. I don't ever ask for a synopsis so the fact you sent it in a query letter is stupid in and of itself, but whatthehell, I can get over that. Read More.
What Are Your Romance Requirements?, Romancing the Blog, Laurie Damron, 8/14/2007
There are many things that are crucial to our very existence: nutrition, hydration, and waterproof mascara, just to name a few, but what do you absolutely, positively require in your romance? Below are a few of my must-haves and some want-nots. Please take a look and add your own or expand on the ones that I’ve mentioned. Read More.
The Art of the Blurb, Writer Unboxed, Allison Winn Scotch, 8/8/2007
As an author, I probably don’t view blurbs like an average reader. Heck, I’m not sure that I view books like an average reader – first, I check out the publisher, then I read the acknowledgments to see whom I might know, then, if I’m really curious, I’ll google the writer to learn more about her history, her book deal, her life. But this is all beside the point. Today, we’re chatting about blurbs, or, for the uninitiated, those quotes on the backs of books that sing the praises of the words inside. Read More.
The Proper Care and Feeding of Booksellers (and How It Can Work for You), by Linsey Jade, Romancing the Blog, 7/30/2007
Here are important some of things you should know about booksellers: 1. The first time a customer takes a bookseller’s book suggestion seriously and buys the title the bookseller falls in love—in love with the book (again), in love with the customer, in love with bookselling and in love with the power of a positive hand-selling experience—love, love, love, love. Love. Yes, it is a many splendored thing. Read More.
The Year of the Second Novel, by Christine Fletcher, Bookseller Chick, 7/16/2007
My first young adult novel, Tallulah Falls, debuted in May 2006. Around the same time, my agent negotiated a deal for my second book. I was so giddy, I practically floated. After twelve years of writing, I couldn’t help but feel that I’d finally gained the summit…and the view was mighty fine. Read More.
Online Publicity Kits: Do You Have One?, by Bookseller Chick, 8/8/2007
The speakers at the Denver Publishing Institute ranged over a wide variety of topics from copy-editing to magazine publishing to college publishing to marketing and more(all of which I hope to touch on in the next few weeks), but today I’m going to focus on the world of publicity. Our faculty member for this presentation was Scott Manning (of Scott Manning & Associates) who gave a wonderful presentation complete with examples of publicity work he’s done in the past. Read More.
Anatomy of an Agency Agreement - Part 1-4, by Pub Rants, Kristin Nelson, 8/2-8/2007
As promised, I’m going to break down the agency agreement. Please remember that this is simply from my agency’s boilerplate and not all agency boilerplates are the same. Some might be better; some might be worse. Ultimately, many of them will have these elements in them. Read More.
How to Make Your Novel into a Media Franchise - Part 2, by Writer Unboxed, 8/9/2007
Last week we were thrilled to have Eric von Rothkirch from the must-read blog Quantum Storytelling join WU as a guest blogger. Part one of his post on How to Make Your Novel into a Media Franchise generated a nice discussion on this exciting idea. Most of us just dream about having our work made into a movie, but Eric tells us ways to make this dream become more likely. In part one, Eric outlined the concepts of a successful media franchise. In today’s part two post, Eric breaks down the elements by using recognizable mega-franchises as examples. Enjoy! Read More.
How to Make Your Novel into a Media Franchise - Part 1, by Writer Unboxed, 8/2/2007
What do George Lucas and J.K. Rowling have in common? Tolkien and Stan Lee? They create more than just novels, films, and comic books. The true products they create are not just printed pages and celluloid strips run through projectors at movie theaters. Each one of them has created a successful media franchise, or several media franchises. Read More.
Questions to Ask Before Signing with an Agent, by Bookends, Jessica Faust, 4/24/2007
If you didn’t pick up on it yesterday, I want to remind you today: You are hiring an agent. This person works for you and you pay her. Therefore she should be the person you feel the most comfortable with and who you trust with your money and your work. Read More.
A Sure-Footed Voice, by Writer Unboxed, 7/31/2007
A funny thing happened to me during the editing process. I realized my biggest problem scene is in the first chapter. In the first scene of the first chapter. I’m actually pretty happy with the rest of it–the other eighty or ninety or one hundred scenes. I’m not sure how it happened that the first and most important scene became dud-ish. Well, I have a few suspicions. That first scene was, literally, the first that came to me in this incarnation of my story. It came to me organically–charming me with words and phrasing. It helped to establish the feel and flavor of the tale. It rooted all that came after. Read More.
The Unpubbed Writer's 7 Deadly Sins, by Writer Unboxed, 6/12/2007
Sometimes it’s hard coming up with a blog post. After all–unlike Marsha, Juliet, Allison, Vicky and Jason–I am a pubbed nonfic writer but not a published author. So what the heck do I know, really, about writing books? Aren’t I just guessing at what’s required to make it in this business? Some days I just don’t know. But here’s what I do know, for sure: I know what can kill a drive, what has held me back and tied me up in knots. So that’s what today’s post is about. Read More.
Literary Fiction, Short Stories, and Getting Published, by The Rejector, 5/24/2007
Many people have questioned how it's possible for the next generation of great literary masters to get published, what with people like me rejecting everything that comes in the mail. The answer (or one possible answer) is that generally literary fiction operates in a slightly different way than genre fiction does. Genre fiction, if well-written, can generally be sold to a major publishing house by a first-time novelist without any background. Not so with literary fiction. Read More.
Thoughts On Hooks, by LitAgent X, 3/27/2007
I've recognized a lot of the common problems I see in hooks, so I'll give some quick tips on these that I hope will be of help. Read More.
Good and Bad Agents, by LitAgent X, 4/26/2007
I've heard some horror stories lately and I have to say... I'm frustrated by some agents out there who don't seem to know what they're doing. Sure, we know about the scammers, the agents who send out a form letter to everyone who queries them that says they're offering representation... for a mere $500, they'll send the author's work out for them. Or they refer the writer to an editing service that charges hundreds or thousands of dollars. Read More.
On Being a Dedicated Writer, by LitAgent X, 5/1/2007
As soon as you start submitting your manuscript, the book is no longer just writing--you're marketing it as a product. To that end, you have to present yourself as a professional business person and your work as an attractive project. Ways you can do that, pre-publication: Read More.
Character Contradictions, by Writer Unboxed, 3/19/2007
I love the Geico cavemen. Every time the commercials flash across the t.v., I stop what I’m doing and pay attention. My current favorite is the therapist commercial: Talia Shire listens to a caveman complain about the disrespect he gets from Geico and how the insurance company’s ad campaign is ruining his life. Even his therapist wonders why he’s making a fuss—he is, after all, a caveman. You can feel his frustration building as his Blackberry buzzes….how is he going to change the negative stereotypes about cavemen when he can’t even get his therapist to understand? Read More.
What's In a Name, by Writer Unboxed, 3/29/2007
A fantasy novel that includes a convincing, original imaginary world AND a great story AND complex, memorable characters is a treat to be savoured. Sadly, for every one of those I discover, there are ten books I can’t get through. Poor research in fields I know about, such as music, is one major turn-off, and wayward choice of character and place names is another. Read More.
5 Surefire Ways to a Trashed Query, by Writer Unboxed, 4/30/2007
I’ve been cleaning off my messy writing space in a semi-annual effort, and amid the overlooked corn chips and mutant dust bunnies, I found a battered folder that I thought I’d trashed long ago. Inside were an embarrassing amount of old query letters from projects I’d forgotten all about. Read More.
Voicing, Querying, and the First 5 Pages, by Flogging the Quill, 3/22/2007
I missed posting on my regular day, Wednesday, because I was up early preparing to send the most recent novel to an agent who requested a full after reading my email query. It turned out to be significant that I included the first 5 pages in the query. Read More.
You Know All Those Rules About Query Letters? Yeah, About That... by Nathan Bransford, 4/26/2007
There are quite a few agent blogs out there now, and the millions of query transgressions are well-documented and, of course, well-mocked. It's a wonderful time to be an aspiring author since it is now easier than ever to figure out how to send a query letter using proper protocol and to network with publishing types. Read More.
Random Q's... A'd, by Nathan Bransford, 4/16/2007
I received yet another query today without any contact information at all. So if anyone sent me a query and thinks they might have neglected to include even the most rudimentary of contact information, keep your eyes to the sky around 4:30, when I will spell out my standard rejection in smoke signals. Read More.
Make Our Lives Easier, by Nathan Bransford, 4/27/2007
So I was watching The Hills on MTV last night, or at least it was on while I was reading (my girlfriend is a big fan), and there was a pretty amazing moment between this girl Heidi and her sketchy boyfriend Spencer. You see. Heidi and Spencer were talking about moving in together, and Spencer was sketchily applying some pressure to make this happen. At the very end, whilst sitting in Spencer's fancy car, Heidi said, "My answer is no," and Spencer, not missing a sketchy beat, countered with, "Sweet, my answer is get out of my car." Read More.
101 Things in Queries that Catch My Eye, by Nathan Bransford, 3/22/2007
Similar to my fascination with shiny objects and sports on high definition television, there are certain things writers do in query letters that catch my eye, leaving me transfixed and occasionally drooling. Some things in a query letter catch my eye in a bad way -- I still receive a bazillion query letters that begin with rhetorical questions, and I react like a wounded character in a bad war movie. ("I.... I can't... make it... You go on without me.") But there are many ways to activate the reptillian section of the brain and make me think, "query letter good me happy." Read More.
|
TED founder Renni Browne chats with Owen Laster shortly after his retirement from one of the world's most successful talent agencies and discusses his decision to leave publishing. 
December 2007 Bestsellers, our analysis of trends from three different bestseller lists.
