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We’ve had lots of discussions on this blog about “why we write.” But since I’m in the business of publishing, I often ponder the link between wanting to write—and wanting to be commercially published. It’s difficult to separate the desire to write from the desire to be read. For many, the urge to write is linked to the…

Guest Blogger: Jennifer Wilkov Society loves moving pictures. Movies and television have been around for a long time, but then along came the Internet—and YouTube is right up there with Google and Facebook as the most visited websites in the world. Vlogging, or video blogging, is a great way for you as an author to…

“Jsfrog” left me this note: If you get an agent, how do you decide what form of publishing to pursue? Do agents typically have a list of preferred houses to pitch to or do they take input from the author? And if you are lucky enough to get a few offers, how do you decide…

I’ve belonged to several book groups over the years, and some time ago one of my groups started a new book that I hadn’t helped select. I began reading and quickly pegged it as a Really Bad Book. Not that I’d tell anyone, of course. (Just you.) But I couldn’t stop thinking about how poorly…

I had fun collecting stats on my sidebar polls last week. Thanks to all 1,453 of you who answered the questions! Turns out: → 93% of you are writers→ 85% of you are writing fiction→ 73% of you are not yet published→ 77% of you are writing for the general (not Christian) market By far…

1. What’s the best book you’ve read lately? 2. What are you sick of reading about on blogs? 3. Who are your favorite publishing bloggers? (Besides me, of course.) 4. Are you excited about the all-new-and-improved blog design I’m going to debut in a couple of weeks? and most importantly… 5. Who is going to…

13 Ways to Screw Up Your Query 1. Address your letter to Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Agent or To Whom It May Concern. 2. Write “I believe you are the perfect agent for me” even though it’s obvious the same email was sent to fifty agents. 3. Pitch a mainstream novel of 40,000 words… or 250,000…

It’s time once again for me to learn more about you. To the right in the sidebar, there are FIVE questions. Please answer each one as accurately as you can by clicking in the bubble. Then in the comments, tell us either: –Something interesting about your current work in progress (WIP); or –Something interesting about yourself.…

(Maybe Not) Continuing on the theme of how publishing is evolving, you probably know that many people are comparing our current situation to the music industry’s revolutionary changes over the last dozen years. If we’re smart, the wisdom goes, we’ll carefully study how things have gone in that medium and see what we can learn from it. I’ve read many, many articles…

In the midst of all the talk about the changes in publishing, the question often arises: What will the role of agents be in the future of publishing? I’ve received emails and blog comments from those who assume agents must be running scared because we’re going to be out of jobs soon. I’ve heard from…

I thought the response to Friday’s post was phenomenal and I loved reading everyone’s reasons for pursuing traditional publishing. These days, many writers feel bombarded from all sides by people screaming “Self-publishing is the way to go!” so I wanted to give everyone a chance to speak their minds, and your comments were full of…

No matter what I blog about lately—no matter where we go in the blogosphere as a matter of fact—somebody always turns it into a conversation about two things: (1) Publishing is dead or at least in its final death throes; and (2) Everyone should pursue self-publishing and if you don’t, you’re an idiot with your head…

A surprising percentage of queres fail to give me any sense of the book being pitched, or the author's qualifications, so here's a simple, straightforward set of instructions for queries.

When I first started this job, I was repeatedly surprised at how often it seems to bring a sense of failure. Whether or not I’m truly “failing,” it’s amazing how often I feel like I am. I don’t sell every project I take on. I get rejection letters from editors every day. I can’t always meet…