Q4U

Q4U: What We Give Up

Over the last couple weeks, the blog discussion has turned to whether writing is a lifestyle or a mindset or a calling. We’ve talked about how we fit it into the margins of our lives, or make it a priority. We’ve hovered around the edges of the question: What do we give up in order…
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Q4U: Guilty Pleasures

Every once in awhile, on a Friday night, my husband will be at work and my kids will be gone at sleepovers and I’ll have a whole evening to myself. This is maybe twice a year. But when it happens… ah, bliss. I carefully select some fruit and cheeses for my dinner, and pour a…
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Q4U: Got Any Advice For Me?

It’s another Friday, and phew, this week went by in a blur. I was sitting here thinking about how much time I spend dispensing my opinions and worth-every-penny-you-paid-for it advice on this blog. And how much time I spend on the phone with clients, giving advice and offering guidance for their careers. And for just…
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Q4U: How Do You Decide?

One of the questions I get asked most often is, “What makes you say yes to a book?” I usually try to evade the question because (1) it’s so subjective and (2) there are so many possible answers, depending on the book. Plus, sometimes I’m not even sure. I start reading and I like it.…
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Go Ahead, Ask Me Anything

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…
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Q4U: Who Are You as a Writer?

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…
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Q4U: Does the Query System Work?

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…
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Q4U: Significant Others

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…
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Q4U: Should Agents Edit?

Most of you know that I came from an editorial background before I was an agent. I love working with authors on their books, and over the years I’ve developed the skills to help writers improve their writing, or present a more saleable book or proposal to editors. As a result, I sometimes have significant…
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Talk to Me!

Aren’t you glad that mountain lion is behind that chain link fence? I sure was. I was standing about eight feet away from her at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo when Brian snapped this pic. It has nothing to do with today’s post – I just like it. So… I have a few questions for you.…
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Q4U: Learning the Biz

Like everyone else in this business, published authors included, I frequently receive emails asking for advice. Not specific advice, but sweeping, general requests for advice like: “How do I get published?” Usually the person writing has just finished writing either a novel or a memoir, and somehow they got my email address, and they want…
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How We Hear About Books

Lately, we at WordServe have been trying to analyze some of our clients’ book sales in comparison with the amount of online marketing the author and publisher put into it. It’s not scientific, of course, but we’ve been trying to determine whether there’s any correlation between the number of Google hits for an author, and…
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Q4U: What We Learn From Writing

So NaNoWriMo is over, and all of you who participated are 50,000 words closer to a finished book, right? I’m interested in what you learned through this process. What did you learn about yourself? About writing? If you didn’t do NaNo, you can join in too. Tell us what you’ve learned about yourself through your…
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Self-Publishing: A Rant and a Q4U

This week another major publisher, Harlequin, announced their entry into the self-publishing business. The blogs have lit up over it and there’s a lot of interesting reading out there. I think Victoria Strauss gave a great overview on the Writer Beware blog (here.) I have to admit that the idea of all these major publishers…
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