Considering Eight Bestselling Series in Crime Fiction What authors can learn from John Sandford, Lee Child, CJ Box, and others about how to cultivate a loyal readership

[by Ross Browne]

One piece of advice authors who write popular fiction often hear is that your odds of landing an agent and a traditional publishing deal can improve considerably when your novel is conceived as (or has the potential to work as) a series. This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys settling down […]

By |2022-02-16T17:55:55+00:00|Behind The Bestsellers, Genre, Getting Published, Mystery / Suspense, RSB, The Writer’s Craft, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Considering Eight Bestselling Series in Crime Fiction What authors can learn from John Sandford, Lee Child, CJ Box, and others about how to cultivate a loyal readership

Paths to Publishing: Thinking Ahead A primer on traditional and independent publishing options for 2023

[by Ross Browne and John Robert Marlow]

Publishing has changed a lot in the 43 years since The Editorial Department opened its doors—and not necessarily for the better, in the eyes of many. But it’s nonetheless an exciting time to be a writer, in large part because when it comes to getting published, you have more […]

By |2023-06-08T15:12:55+00:00|General, Getting Published, JRM, Self Publishing, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Paths to Publishing: Thinking Ahead A primer on traditional and independent publishing options for 2023

Editor’s Eavesdrop: An Intimate Conversation with Ken Follett and Lee Child Considering writing and publishing perspectives from two masters of their genres

[by Ross Browne]

One silver lining to the challenges of the writing life in 2020 is the growing number of popular authors doing online events with their fans. This gives us the opportunity to get up close and personal (if only virtually) with some of the biggest names in publishing, and in many cases pose questions to […]

By |2022-02-15T18:24:23+00:00|Behind The Bestsellers, General, Historical Fiction, RSB, The Writer’s Craft, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Editor’s Eavesdrop: An Intimate Conversation with Ken Follett and Lee Child Considering writing and publishing perspectives from two masters of their genres

Evaluating Nonfiction: One Editor’s Approach What can set your nonfiction manuscript up for success ... or doom it to the reject pile

[by Peter Gelfan]

Fiction lives or dies by the author’s storytelling and writing skills (and perseverance and some luck). For nonfiction, then, one might assume that likewise, an interesting topic well elucidated will do the job. However, the publishing industry and readers regard nonfiction a bit differently.

Subject Matter

Publishers generally have certain prerequisites for even considering […]

By |2022-02-21T18:11:32+00:00|Developmental Editing, Getting Published, nonfiction, PG, The Editor’s Craft, The Editorial Process, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Evaluating Nonfiction: One Editor’s Approach What can set your nonfiction manuscript up for success ... or doom it to the reject pile

The Truth about First Novels and Traditional Publication What authors need to know

[by Renni Browne]

What you might hear:

  • “Acquisitions editors at major publishing houses don’t want to read first-novel submissions.”
  • “Literary agents don’t want to take on unknown writers anymore.”
  • “Publishers only want novelists who have a strong platform or a great track record of book sales.”
  • “If by a miracle you get a first novel published, it’ll […]
By |2022-02-15T20:34:15+00:00|Getting Published, RDB, Traditional Publishing, Trends|Comments Off on The Truth about First Novels and Traditional Publication What authors need to know

Five Short Steps to the Reject Pile And five common mistakes to avoid if you want to land a literary agent

[by Peter Gelfan]

Oh, the dreaded reject pile

Often we like to imagine the (probably imaginary) good old days when editors searched for traces of gold in the rough ore of a first draft and worked with the writer to refine it. Recently, an editor at a major publisher offered a less romantic glimpse […]

By |2022-02-15T20:41:40+00:00|Getting Published, PG, The Writer’s Craft, Traditional Publishing|Comments Off on Five Short Steps to the Reject Pile And five common mistakes to avoid if you want to land a literary agent
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