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A Writer's Life
|Staying Steady on the Publishing Rollercoaster
I often have conversations with my clients about the ups and downs of the writer’s journey. It can be a rollercoaster, even for those with the strongest character. It’s important not to underestimate the power of the psychological and emotional aspects. People will tell you not to take things personally, but you know it IS…
Read More A Writer's Life, Agents, Guest Bloggers, Publishing
|How to Influence Editors in a Way That 90% of Other Writers Don’t
Guest Blogger: Jane Friedman @JaneFriedman Editors and agents (EAs) feel guilt all the time. Why? Because it’s never fun or a completely neutral act to reject someone. Sure, we know it’s a business—and we tell writers that over and over again to relieve our guilt—but we’re still human, and we know that rejection stings. This has…
Read More Submitting
|Taking the Mystery Out of Query Letters
One of the most common complaints writers have these days is how hard it is to write a query letter. I agree, it’s a difficult task. You may not realize that agents have to write query letters (“pitch letters”) too. Whenever we send a manuscript to an editor for consideration, what do you think accompanies…
Read More Agents
|13 Things You May Not Know About Agents
1. We really hate getting bad news and we hate sharing it with you, but we trust you’re adult enough to handle it. 2. If we say we don’t want to submit a particular project to editors, we’re probably trying to protect both of our reputations (the writer’s and the agent’s). 3. While many of…
Read More Publishing
|What Does a Publishing Contract Cover?
Many of you are looking forward to the day you sign your first publishing contract. But you also wonder… what the heck is in a publishing contract, anyway? Below is a brief overview of some of the important contract clauses. This is *NOT* by any means comprehensive—contracts vary and are typically 12 to 20 pages…
Read More Guest Bloggers, Marketing
|Expand Your Platform by Growing Your Email Subscriber List
Guest Blogger: Michael Hyatt For an author, one thing is becoming increasingly important in today’s publishing world. It’s a PLATFORM. Don’t get me wrong, great content is still primary but great content + a great platform is the recipe for success that you really need. Publishers are demanding it and even if you’re considering self-publishing, you…
Read More Editing
|What Does the Editing Process Look Like?
Several of you have been curious about editing inside a publishing house. Every publisher has their own process, and they may call each step by a different name. It’s basically three steps, and they’re usually done sequentially, although there is overlap and not every publisher does all three of these steps. The edits might be…
Read More Publishing
|All About Advances
Let’s talk about advances today. Please keep in mind all of this information is very generalized and won’t accurately describe every situation. First, what’s an “advance” anyway? An advance is a “pre-payment” of the royalties the publisher expects you to earn on your book. Let’s say the publisher has agreed to pay you a royalty…
Read More A Writer's Life, Writing
|9 Ways to Outwit Writer’s Block
*Or get out of a rut 1. Read a chapter of your WIP aloud to someone other than your cat. Invite feedback, if you’re brave. But mostly, just listen as you read. Do the words flow easily, roll nicely off the tongue? Do you stumble anywhere? Anything sound awkward? How’s the dialogue? Option: Record yourself…
Read More A Writer's Life, Editing, Publishing, Self-Publishing
|Quality Books Take Time
Back in the early ’80s there was an ad campaign for Paul Masson wine where Orson Welles famously uttered, “We will sell no wine before its time.” The message was powerful; it conveyed, “We care so much about producing the highest quality wine that we refuse to rush the process. We won’t try to bring…
Read More Editing, Writing
|How to Cut Thousands of Words Without Shedding a Tear
Strategies for Writers, part 3 of 3 Is your book too long? Does it feel a bit wordy, perhaps slightly bloated? Or . . . does it feel perfect but it’s a little high in word count? There comes a time in every writer’s life when they need to reduce their word count. Ack! Not my…
Read More Publishing, Self-Publishing
|6 Reasons Authors Self-Publish
On the heels of our lively debate the other day on my post “6 Reasons Authors Still Want Publishers,” today let’s look at the other side of the coin. Many of you are still trying to decide which path is right for you — or if maybe some combination of both might work. So hopefully these…
Read More Publishing
|6 Reasons Authors Still Want Publishers
In an age when so many of the “big stories” in publishing are about amazing self-pub successes, people are asking more and more, “Why would I want a traditional publisher?” Here are six big reasons. 1. Objective validation To be “chosen” by a publisher means that a group of people who are widely read, and…
Read More A Writer's Life
|Publishing: The Long and Winding Road
Many of you are familiar with the long and often circuitous route to publication. From when you first decide, “I think I’ll write a book!” to the time you have a book in the bookstore, years can elapse. I had a startling reminder of this recently when I saw a book by an author whose…
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