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| Agents, Contests, Just for Fun
Writing Contests
First off (and before we get to today’s post)… HAPPY RELEASE DAY to Deborah Vogts, author of Snow Melts in Spring (Book 1 in the Seasons of the Tallgrass series). This is her first novel… and my first agented novel to be released. We’re both excited! Click the picture to buy the book, and visit…
Read More | Agents, Editing
How Much Editing Can An Agent Do?
Before I became an agent, I’d been editing and writing books for years, so I naturally approached agenting from an editorial perspective. Meaning: I look for excellence in the craft of writing, and I also use my editorial skills to help polish a proposal or a manuscript before we send it out to publishers. Because…
Read More | Agents, Submitting
Have You Written More Than One Book?
Katie asked: I have written three books that I’m hoping to finish revising this summer, all in the same genre. When I’m ready to start submitting, how do I decide which one to submit? And let’s say I submit a book to an agent, they say no. Can I query the same agent with a…
Read More | Announcements, Just for Fun, Q4U
Friday Self Promotion Party!
Once again, my blog is all about YOU. We’ve been talking a lot about self-promotion lately. Here’s your chance! Today’s assignment: Tell us about ONE book you’re writing, or have written. If your book is available for purchase, go ahead and include a link. Please stick to a maximum of 100 words per comment in…
Read More | Marketing
Why You Should Help Sell Your Book
Every time I post anything about building a platform, blogging, or creating an online presence, I inevitably get a few grumbles and complaints about why this is necessary. Some people want proof that all these activities can actually sell books. I also get “what-if” and “but-I” and every possible argument from writers who don’t want…
Read More | Announcements, Just for Fun, Publishing
Thanks for Coming to the Party!
I’m amazed at how many party animals showed up at my little shindig on Friday… and kept coming all weekend! Thanks for coming, and thanks for leaving your contact information. I hope you take advantage of it, visit blogs, follow people on Twitter, and make those connections with other writers! That was a fun party.…
Read More | Announcements, Just for Fun, Publishing
It’s a Blog Party!
So, it’s Friday and I just feel like hanging out, shootin’ the breeze, and getting to know everyone. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Come on in, grab a beverage (cooler’s over there) and start mingling. How do we do that on a blog? It’s easy. In the comments, leave your blog and/or website URL, Twitter…
Read More | Marketing
Do You Need a Blog Mentor?
Yesterday I was talking to one of my clients, the uber-talented Patricia Raybon, about building an online presence and using blogging and social networking to build a platform (all the things we’ve been discussing on the blog lately). She said she’d been reading all the recommended websites about blogging, and even got the book Blogging…
Read More | Publishing
Two Conversations
Any of you who write a blog, or participate in blogs like this one, know that it feels like an ongoing conversation. I’m having this conversation with all of you; you’re talking to one another as well. It’s pretty cool the way we’re all sort of hanging out talking to one another every day. I…
Read More | Marketing
The Dreaded Author Platform
Last week at the Write-To-Publish conference, the one topic that kept coming up in conversations, panels, and workshops was AUTHOR PLATFORM. Yes, the hated p-word! I explained again and again that publishing just ain’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when publishers were solely responsible for the marketing of a book. Today’s…
Read More | A Writer's Life, Q4U
Books, Books, Books
I’m a great believer in reading. Shocking, huh? I believe that you, as a writer, should read lots of books in the genre or category in which you are writing. If you write literary fiction, you should read literary fiction. If you write suspense, you should read suspense. It’s a great way to learn. I…
Read More | Submitting
Query via Email or Wait for Conference?
Jill asked: Say I’ve been doing the research, investing an agent’s website and following the blog for a while and I’ve decided I want to query that agent. Would it be better to do a cold query (following all the submission guidelines, of course) or wait for the possibility of an appointment at a conference,…
Read More | Submitting
A Funny Thing Happened…
On the Way to my Query Box Last week, as you know, I was away at a conference. I was responding to email the best I could on my Blackberry. I have my email structured so that queries won’t appear in the regular inbox; instead, they get filtered into the query box. They receive auto-replies…
Read More | A Writer's Life
Recovering from a Writers Conference
I just returned from four days at a writers conference. I had something like 30 one-on-one meetings with writers, taught four 1-hour workshops, ran two late-night critique groups, had a few lunches/dinners/coffees with editors, and still managed to get out each morning for a 2-mile jog to and from Starbucks. Phew! I really enjoyed this…
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