What Exactly Is Uneven Writing?
After I did a blog post on Tales From The Submission Inbox, lots of writers asked on twitter and Facebook what exactly I meant by “uneven writing.” It’s a great question and I’ll do my best to try and...
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Fact: Shorter query letters get a better request response from agents and editors. Or to say this point in a different way: the longer your query letter, the more likely an agent or editor will pass...
View Article#NLAquerytip #2
Fact: Literary Agents rarely read the entire query letter. It’s simply not possible given the sheer volume most of us receive. I average about 100 email queries a day and these days, I actually do read...
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Fact: Clearly outlining in your query letter how your story fits in the market will encourage literary agents to read your entire email letter closely. First off, what do I mean by “clearly outlining...
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Fact: A really good title for a novel will catch an agent’s attention And once that attention is caught, then the chances of the entire query letter being read is very high. The benefits of this is...
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Fact: A really terrific concept in your query won’t save you if the letter itself is poorly written. Think of the query letter as a special training ground. A pitch for your novel is really hard to...
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Fact: If you have to defend that your novel is over 200,000 words in your query letter, then you are not pitching your story from a place of strength. And agents are more likely to pass. Here’s why:...
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FACT: If you are allowed to submit opening pages along with your email query pitch letter, including the prologue pages will kill your query 99.9% of the time and agents won’t ask for sample pages....
View Article#NLAquerytip #8
FACT: Spending time perfecting your novel’s pitch in your query letter is the gift that will keep on giving for the life of your novel. Here’s why: In publishing, simply put, a novel’s pitch is not...
View Article#NLAquerytip #9
Question: Why can’t agents simply skip the query pitch altogether and read the sample pages the author includes with the letter? Here’s why: One blog reader has called my series of query tip blog...
View ArticleThe Perils of Waking Characters
OBSERVATION: Beginning your novel with the main protagonist waking up in bed will have agents passing on the material 99.9% of the time. Here’s why: It’s an opening we see way too often (not sure why)...
View ArticlePerils of Waking Character Openings – Take 2
Q: Why does the opening character awakening scene of the HUNGER GAMES work when 99.9% of slush pile opening pages do not? Wowza. With over 7000 people reached on Facebook and untold number of Twitter...
View ArticleDebut Authors Pass On the Inspiration
After listening to an amazing series of keynote presentations at the 2015 National conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), during which authors wear their hearts...
View ArticleFixing These Three Mistakes Could Transform Your Manuscript
With the fall leaves, I finally wrap up four months of travel and two wonderful Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrator (SCBWI) conferences. I’m delighted to be spending the rest of the...
View ArticleThree Tips for NaNoWriMo Success: An Agent’s Perspective
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and the TwitterVerse and Blogosphere are alive with advice from writers helping other writers knock it out of the park. There isn’t much I can add...
View Article#1 Reason I Pass Even If The Writing Is Good
I’m not sure this has ever been said aloud…. For submissions, I’m pretty certain that writers assume that if the writing is good, an agent is going to be interested in offering representation to the...
View Article#2 Reason I Pass Even If The Writing Is Good
Writers tend to assume that good writing trumps all when it comes to getting an offer of representation. Not true. Here is the #2 reason I will pass on a full manuscript even if the writing itself is...
View Article3 Strategies For Your Post NaNoWriMo Project – From An Agent’s Perspective
You pounded out 50,000 words or more in the month of November. You rocked NaNoWriMo. Huge Congrats! But wait, before you press send, here are three things to consider: Strategy #1: Consider the...
View ArticleYour Writing Should Not Be Your Main Source of Validation For Who You Are as...
I think this can be the most debilitating mistake an aspiring writer can make. There be dragons if you start down this mental path. I recently gave a talk to Regis University’s MFA in Creative Writing...
View ArticleWhy It’s Dangerous To Think That “Diverse Books” is the Latest Hot Trend
Just recently, PW published an article in which agents shared their thoughts on children’s books and YA trends. Although I’m quite tickled that so many agents are seeing lots of submissions featuring...
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