I’ve talked about this before, but I just read a post by literary agent Rachelle Gardner and thought that this is something worth repeating. Rachelle answered a reader’s question about tips on time management by saying that prioritizing her work is the best way she knows of getting through the day. She also talks about…
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Yesterday I wrote about the so-called “rules” of writing that are broken by many best-selling books on retail shelves now. Here’s two more: Don’t date your story with product placement: Writing that your character has a crush on Zac Efron can give the story a touch of authentication, but the reason this is considered a no…
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I’ve been going through a reading spurt lately, after I finished the third (and hefty) Eragon book, Brisingr, and I’ve noticed that you can’t judge the validity of the “rules” of writing based on what’s selling in stores. There are plenty of “rules” that we hear when we’re just starting. I put the word in…
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Once I finally had a query letter I was happy with, it was time to write a synopsis. In the past, I had thought it would be easier to do it the other way around — write a 4- to 6-page synopsis of my novel, then write the 1- to 3- paragraph query blurb; work…
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Yes, I was one of the many who saw Star Trek this weekend. And, apart from a few holes, it was good, very entertaining and lots of fun, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise and can appreciate the references. But one of the best parts of the movie is the surprises. J.J. Abrams is…
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A few years ago, when I started getting serious about writing books for children, I got a few ideas for picture books and, in between working on my novel, I wrote one. Picture books are shorter, I figured, and wouldn’t take me as long. WRONG! Of course, I didn’t know that then. I wrote, researched picture book…
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Lovers of Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird book about her writing life, rush to the DVD store tomorrow. Docurama Films is bringing out Bird By Bird With Annie, a documentary (“portrait” according to the box cover) about the writer, whose Bird By Bird is often listed as one of the favorite books on writing. Look…
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After all this talk about book advances lately, here’s something about the other side of the coin: royalties. Author Lynn Viehl posted on the GenReality blog, in which she’s a member, detailing her first royalty statement after getting on the New York Times bestseller list. This isn’t Viehl’s first book, but it’s her first to reach the NY…
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Literary agent Nathan Bransford has a contest on his blog this week. On Monday, he posted 50 query letters from real writers. Five are from published works (with the names changed, of course) and the rest are either fake or real from writers who volunteered their queries for the contest. The game is Be An…
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In numerous conference seminars, I’ve heard that one of the best ways to prepare to write a query letter is to read the jacket flap copy on books that are similar to yours. So, I spent about four hours in a bookstore this weekend doing just that. It was a very useful and interesting exercise.…
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