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It’s that time of year again… Idol is back on, and as far as I can tell, better than ever. I can’t help it – I’m a fan. I love watching people pursue their dreams. I love the idea of talent being discovered. I love seeing people step up, be brave, lay it all on…

A WordServe client wrote me: I’m always trying to figure out what magic widget I need to put on my blog and my website to encourage people to be followers. It would be a HUGE BENEFIT to clients if you could get some techie to give a clear easy answer to this: best practices for…

Like most people these days, agents tend to keep pretty busy, and one thing we’re always doing is READING. My desk is piled high with manuscripts. Okay, I’m lying. There are no piles. There are files in my computer, and more files on my brand new 3G Kindle. They’re virtual piles. At the top of…

Today our country recognizes and remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. Please take eight minutes to watch this clip from his “I have a dream” speech of August 28, 1963. Do you have a dream that is bigger than yourself? What is it?

Next to the defeated politician, the writer is the most vocal and inventive griper on earth. He sees hardship and unfairness wherever he looks. His agent doesn’t love him (enough). The blank sheet of paper is an enemy. The publisher is a cheapskate. The critic is a philistine. The public doesn’t understand him. His wife…

Blog reader Katharine asked: What’s with all the bonnets? Why is it that the best sellers in the CBA are of the Amish/historical fiction/period romance type of book? Not every Christian reader is drawn to those type of novels, yet that seems to be the trend. Do CBA publishers drive the market toward what is…

My post last Wednesday, When Publishing Dreams Become a Nightmare, sparked quite of bit of debate and outrage, including several people writing responses on their own blogs. I want to reiterate (as I did several times in my post) that the scenario I described is unusual—generally my clients are happy with their publishing experiences. We…

A blog reader wrote…I think your in-box is being filled faster and faster as a result of agents now accepting electronic queries. I would bet that before you accepted email you got only a fraction of the number you currently receive. Now anybody with a computer can hammer out 80, 000 words and hit the…

Most of my clients have had terrific publishing experiences. They enjoy working with their editors (even when the revisions are very challenging), they like the titles their publisher comes up with, and they love their book covers. Then there’s Allison. Allison’s journey hasn’t been so rosy. I’m not even using her real name here because…

(Repost) I suppose there are several good ways to make sure you don’t get an agent. You could, for instance, never try to get an agent. Or you could lack writing skill. You could pitch books that nobody finds interesting. But let’s say you are trying to get an agent, and you are a good…

I’m taking the rest of the year off. Happy New Year and see you in 2011!

Here we are in the middle of the holidays and with Christmas over, we’re rushing headlong into NEW YEAR’S which for many of us means… resolutions. I’ve always loved the feeling of starting a fresh year and optimistically making a list of things I want to accomplish, so I usually spend quite a bit of…

200 Christmas cards plus postage … a little money. Christmas gifts for husband, kids, extended family and friends … a bunch of money. Airfare and rental car to visit the family out of state … a ridiculous amount of money. Four generations of family sitting around the table playing “BS” and laughing until tears stream…

(Repost) My query box is getting filled faster and faster these days. I never cease to be amazed at how many people are writing books. Someone recently asked whether I thought that, with all the competition, will all the good writers eventually get published? With persistence and continued improvement of their work, will there be…