I can’t tell you how many times I have heard an agent/published writer/editor say that manuscripts shouldn’t be sent until they are perfect. I’ve been to a lot of conference and talked to a lot of writing professionals, which means I’ve heard this “truth” a lot. And then I see writers frowning in confusion, wondering [...]
Writing a novel can take a long time. Revising a novel can add months to that timeline. Polishing can add months more. So it is absolutely normal for anxious writers to test the waters by querying a novel that is not polished yet, or that is only a first draft. I know writers who have [...]
Back to our regularly programmed discussion. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day. I did. Our weather is finally gorgeous again. We even set off our last summer sparkler last night in the dark depths of the back yard. Okay, so “everyone” knows that the query letter can make or break your attempt to get [...]
Slight interruption to our study of the Top Ten Truths to the Agent Search, to celebrate the American Labor Day Holiday. I’m enjoying the fruits of all my labors on the other 364 days of the year. I hope you are too, if you’re an American. Or, better yet, doing as DS1 is, and making [...]
Okay, let’s start with the number one “Truth” that writers believe about the agent search: 1. If the Book is Great, Every Agent Will Want It. Seems reasonable, right? We’re talking great, not just good. We’re talking about a book that could win awards, sweep the world like The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter, or [...]
Whenever I begin the agent search anew, I have to take a hard look at myself, the writer. I ask the questions that I may have avoided asking while I had the mantle of “agented writer” to protect me from making a public fool of myself. The “Does this premise make me look lame?” type [...]
The reason I write is because I read. I began reading in first grade. My mother likes to tell the story of how worried she was that I rejected all her attempts to teach me to read and insisted I’d learn that in first grade. Once I entered first grade and deigned to learn to [...]
The last time I looked for an agent, I was thrilled to be able to email an informal query. I was shocked when she told me to email the manuscript to her, because my previous publisher had refused email submissions of manuscripts, even though they required a CD of the manuscript along with the printed [...]
The internet made my search for a YA agent infinitely easier. I had access to email groups that had agent guests in all genres, including YA. I knew my concept was good, and I thought my book was also good. But working in a vacuum can be a little hard on the confidence, so when [...]
When I went back to Agent #2, things were very different. She had moved and was no longer local, so no coffee at Borders. On the plus side, though, she was closer to NY and was able to schedule more face time with editors. She had also become a real estate broker (NY is a [...]
