Basic Advice

Like most of you, I do a fair amount of reading on the web. I keep up with what’s going on in publishing and I like to read what industry professionals are saying. However, sometimes I cringe when I read advice that doesn’t square with what I’ve experienced. It might not be wrong, per se,…

Mary Bailey wrote: “What discourages me is the huge emphasis on continuing education, joining writer’s groups, attending conferences, etc. This really puts a crunch in the budget!” Good point, Mary. Believe me, I understand about having a tight budget. But this is one of those times when I will encourage you to make a paradigm…

Today I’m going to give my thoughts on several questions I’ve been asked the last couple of weeks. Kathleen Elizabeth asked: Should you be basically finished writing your novel before you begin the search for an agent? → If you’re previously unpublished: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. The novel should be finished, edited, polished and…

News about the poor economy continues to rock the headlines, including more announcements from publishers about belt-tightening and cost-cutting. I think it’s important for writers to look at market realities and understand that this isn’t going to be an easy road. (But really, when was it ever easy?) To find success, we may need to…

1. Reveal that you’re related to Harper Lee and that she has finally decided to publish her second novel and she wants you to recommend a good agent, preferably someone you’ve worked with and whose first name starts with the letter “R.” 2. Make sure spellchek is on when writing. 3. Start a blog dedicated…

I have an agent and a novel currently out on submission. The agent asked if I had anything for her to look at. I sent her another manuscript. She sent a two word rejection: “Not unique.” This tells me she didn’t read it because it has a number of unique plot twists. My question is,…

I was going through some old posts and found several questions people have asked that I’ve somehow neglected to answer as of yet. Here are a few random ones. Do more people get a yes or an “I want to read your ms” from sending sample chapters per your website’s guidelines, or by meeting you…