Whether you’re an author publishing through traditional means or delving into self-publishing, you are going to want the feedback of a good editor or perhaps more than one. The difficulty for authors, especially those choosing self-publishing is when do you take an editor’s advice and make changes and when do you determine you’ve gotten enough [...]
November
25
Pop Culture, Slang, And Day-Old Sushi: Things That Can Quickly Go Bad
Undedr: Essay Writing
(And How To Keep Them From Fouling Up Your YA Fiction)
In 10 years, will anybody understand you if you say “fo shizzle?” Will they stare blankly if you mention Britney Spears’ buzz cut or Paris Hilton’s jail time? They might, they might not, but the point is this: If you’re a writer of young adult [...]
It is the dramatic question that grabs your reader and holds him or her. It creates a narrow path that forces the reader into suspense that won’t let go. It moves the story forward. All bestseller-kind-of novels have it.
Have you noticed that untrained eyes want you to explain everything in that first line, first paragraph. [...]
Types of things to watch out for with agents:
* Charging the author a fee up front, to be accepted as a client. Can be called a reading fee, or a monthly “office expenses” charge. The best agents, and most successful ones, only charge a percentage fee of royalties the author earns, typically 15%. Suppose a [...]
I revised my Civil War novel Hearts of Stone many times before selling it to Dutton Children’s Books. My editor only had one major suggestion: Consider a new beginning.
If you’re revising a novel, considering the first scene should be one of your last steps. It’s hard to know how best to begin [...]
Authors in their quest to get published can fall victim to scams. Here’s a few tips to help you avoid the traps.
Online Matching Services and Email Blast Programs
These services, for a fee, put your query letter, synopsis and first chapter online. Acquisition editors and literary agents then have the opportunity to peruse the [...]
Few people understand the importance of a ROUTINE when making a pittance…er, I meant a living…as a writer. Where do you work? How do you work? When do you work? These are all questions a selling writer fields with every interview.
Here is the usual answer: I work wherever I am, as diligently as possible, [...]
For many reenactors, military and civilian, one of the pleasures of a weekend spent in the field is that elusive moment when everything works. I’ve heard the sensation called “the bubble,” or simply “the magic.” There’s no way to predict exactly when it will happen. The feeling may last only seconds. But once you’ve experienced [...]
Writing and walking are a seemingly odd mix of topics for an article, but they go well together. Particularly if you write during breaks in your walk.
Writing Journals
Whether you are writing articles or the great American novel, you will inevitably suffer from writer’s block. A good way to defeat the block is to go for [...]
Nine Characteristics That May Surprise You.
In writing “The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Authors and the Editors, Agents and Behind Them,” (Dearborn Trade, 2005), we wanted to find out what separates the publishing industry elite, the bestselling authors, from all the thousands and thousands of writers who aspire to someday make the bestseller [...]