Let us assume you have successfully followed the steps listed in How to Get a Literary Agent. The agent will then submit your project to multiple publishing houses (whom he/she feels are good fits for your work), and then you wait for the fish to bite. And now, let’s assume your agent has found a […]
I’m back to the world of e-publishing today. Not too much has changed since my last post on the topic. Here’s a rundown of the biggies: If you haven’t yet heard, Amazon took a drastic (and highly suspect) step over the weekend against Macmillan, a publishing house. Essentially, in a disagreement over the pricing of Macmillan […]
To add a final comment to yesterday’s post, readers want a protagonist who does things, not a protagonist who has things done to her. This is an important point — not just for Twilight, but for all stories. If the damsel-in-distress is the main character, she’d better turn into a damsel-in-shining-armor pretty fast. Typically, people […]
“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.” –Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy As bizarre as it may sound, I still find it utterly depressing when I think about Douglas Adams’ passing in 2001. It’s been almost nine years, and yet my heart gives a little […]
Finished! The first draft of my second book has reached The End. Wunderbar! Now it’s on to the massive revisions. And they will be massive, but I am so excited to start — I love editing and improving what I’ve already created. It’s like getting a diamond from the coal… Okay, terrible metaphor. How about […]
(back to Classes) During my undergrad, we were required to have papers officially proofread by an editor. This editor and I got along swimmingly — I being particularly fond of punctuation and grammar, and he having to commit zero work to my papers. One thing he always praised me for was my regular use of […]
The Inner Editor is the perfectionist in you. It’s that part of your brain that tells you, “No matter how great your writing is, it’s not good enough.” It’s a debilitating disease, IE. You can never finish a project because it never lives up to the inner editor’s standards. You’re unwilling to share your work with others because […]
I haven’t much energy for the blog today. I fear it all drained away during my massive writing session this morning and afternoon. As such, I will simply leave you with this beautiful quote form Ursula K. Le Guin in 1977.
By “best books on writing”, I mean my favorite books on the writing craft–specifically the fiction or novel craft. These have been the books that taught me the most and motivated me the most. The Story Within by Alicia Rasley Great book about developing your plot from characters and developing your characters from plot. She […]
Oh, how the time flies when you’re stuck with family. You blink and suddenly realize you’ve done nothing for two weeks but eat, argue, and return Christmas presents. Not to mention, all that writing flow and inspiration you had so carefully honed, and maintained has now flown off with Santa Claus. That’s why today’s post is […]