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Thanks for all the questions you sent me on Friday’s post! I answered most of them in the comments, so be sure to check that out. But there are a few questions that I seem to get repeatedly, so I’m addressing some of them here. What is the appropriate length of time to follow up…

Really, anything.I’ll answer some questions in the comments… others on the blog over the next couple weeks. And others I’ll completely ignore.Fair warning – I’m a little unclear on quantum physics. I can’t explain why men don’t like to talk about feelings. And you already know my favorite TV show. Anything else, give it a…

I recently received an email from a guy who had self-published a book. He’d paid to print 500 hardcover copies, and was pursuing local and national bookstore chains and distributors. But he’d hit a brick wall, finding that most buyers and distributors were not interested in talking to him. He was flummoxed; he needed to…

Last month I wrote a post on the Top Ten Query Mistakes. The first two points were all about personalizing your query to the agents. They were: #1. Not making me special, and #2. Not caring who I am. Now if you didn’t know me, those might seem like kind of narcisistic statements, and believe…

As most of you know, I’ve been a devoted Kindle fan since soon after it came out, and I’ve waxed poetic about my love for it several times here on the blog. And ever since iPad came out, I’ve been sorely tested in my attempts to avoid coveting. It looks really cool. Every time I…

Let’s find out who’s reading this blog. First, take the two polls in the sidebar. Click as many answers as apply, then click “vote” on each of the two questions. Note: If you’re contracted but not published yet, let’s count that as published. Then in the comments, tell us more. If you write fiction, what…

Lately I’ve been coaching several of my clients through the process of coming up with a good title for their book, so I thought I’d share my tips with you. Let’s start by acknowledging a few things. The publisher is usually responsible for the final decision on title, and in the query stage, it’s not…

Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed one of the refrains popping up around the blogosphere every now and then is the idea that the “query system” is inadequate. There’s got to be a better way, people say. This system is inefficient and unfair and just doesn’t work. I actually think the query system…

As you know, almost all agents have Submission Guidelines posted on their websites and/or blogs. Agents who blog and Twitter always remind writers to follow guidelines, and some agents reject without responding if you don’t follow them. But why are the guidelines so important? Are we just picky and anal people, obsessed with power and…

Last week I was corresponding with a client whose book contains a message that’s fairly edgy and in some ways, counter-cultural. He knows I totally believe in him and his book, but in this one particular email I used some cautious language. I told him we were “walking a tricky line” trying to find the…

One of the primary questions my clients ask when I first sign them to the agency is “How should I expect to communicate with you?” This is a GREAT question by the way, and one that should always be addressed in a new agent-client relationship. While each agent will have their own preferences, I believe…

One of the things we don’t talk much about is how our lives as writers (or agents or editors) affects the significant others in our lives – spouses, kids, etc – and how their response to our work affects us. I know many people whose spouse is their best cheerleader, beta-reader, and editor. I also…

People are always telling me they’d like to hear about a typical day for an agent. But I have yet to experience a typical day. When you have a large number of clients, working on a wide variety of projects, which are all in various stages of writing or publication, the days provide endlessly changing…

We spend a lot of time on these blogs discussing what makes an agent say “yes, I want to see more” or “no thanks” after reading a query. And last week I tried to give you some idea of the things I’m looking for in a manuscript, things that make me want to keep reading…