Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
If you have pitched a novel in the last few years, chances are you have at least considered using a Twitter event. Pitching a manuscript to agents and editors this way is not without tribulations, and frankly it’s a bit like fishing. You’re casting your best tweet into the teeming waters of the hashtag feed …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: Twitter Fishing for Agents”
The cornerstone of all marketing is the pitch. It is used to sell everything from political candidates to dish soap. I think every writer should know how to pitch, even if they have no interest in working with agents or publishers. Don’t you want to pitch your books to readers? And should you want to …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: Finding Perfect Book Comps”
I have always used style sheets. This might be because I come from an academic background where adhering to style criteria is a required component for a submission. So I found it strange to learn most fiction writers skip this helpful step. What is a style sheet? A style sheet is a single document where …
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Welcome guest blogger Alex Hurst! As a slush reader for a Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine, Alex has first hand experience getting stories out of the slush pile and into the hands of editors. And today she’s going to share what makes her recommend stories and what makes her pass… I have been a slush reader for a while …
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For some reason, the term beta reader confuses a lot of writers. They are not sure what they are, or why they need them. Even experienced writers often don’t know how to use these readers effectively to improve their work. For a well-constructed book, beta readers are the last stop before the proof editor. And …
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[pullquote align=”right” textalign=”left” width=”20%” ]“A lot of first-time children’s novels are too long.” Charlie Sheppard, editor of Bone Jack by Sara Crowe[/pullquote] Recently I read a post in the Guardian. They interviewed some of the top editors in children’s fiction to discover the most common mistakes made by new writers. {I’ve included a few of the …
Continue reading “Solutions for Common Writing Mistakes: Runaway Word Counts”
Today starts the first day of the new Kindle Unlimited royalty program. As with so many things in life, there will be winners and losers. I gave my thoughts on the biggest KU losers last week and now I have the winners. Remember, this is just my prediction for the books that will fare the …
Continue reading “3 Book Categories that Should Benefit Under the New KU”
Many writers are so overwhelmed by the number of fiction genres and subgenres they can’t decide where their story fits. If you want to land an agent or self publish, picking the right genre is crucial because it helps your book connect with buyers. Being between genres might sound exciting, like you’re breaking new literary ground. However, …
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Okay, so I know I was being a crybaby about pitching my newest project at my last posting. I shouldn’t be. I’m old enough to handle pain and rejection. I had two babies without so much as a Tylenol. But when it comes to rejection, well, it’s always painful. I’ve talked about the biology of …
Continue reading “Renewed Optimism: Pitching Your Novel”
A launch party signals your book is available for purchase, and you want to introduce it with as big a splash as possible. To be clear, this is a launch primarily, not a book signing per se. More goes on than at a signing. All book launches include book signing, but not all book signings …
Continue reading “11 Steps for Your On-Site Book Launch”