Here is an abbreviated list of hoops that a trade published book often jumps through (apologies to those for whom this familiar); finishing agent querying pitch to publishers request & first reads second reads acquisitions (itself a multi-stage process) offer & contract negotiations At every stage the book can die. For writing, it might never... Continue Reading →
An introduction for writers looking to query literary agents
I wrote this as part of a general info post for a Facebook group I'm in. The level I’ve aimed at is introductory, so my apologies to those who are already well into the querying trenches; you can probably skip this. ### Basic Query Structure Info The query should be about a page in length,... Continue Reading →
A long dark coffee-time of the soul (or, how I found a literary agent)
I remember greedily hunting down as many of these kinds of stories as possible when querying for the first time, so perhaps someone else will find my data points useful. Warning: this is a little bit long and has some of my usual swearing.
A year of short stories
About this time last year, I started trying to figure out how to write short stories (inspired in no small part by reading Darby Harn's short fiction via Absolute Write.) I wanted to know they worked, how the fit together, how writers managed to put complete arcs in such low word counts. Since last July,... Continue Reading →
Getting Published: Some Hard Stats
Two full requests out with two different publishers. Not quite a year since I decided to start writing and Finish That Book--this is amazing progress, and I'm really happy. I have yet to hear back from Cornerstones--they may also provide me with more options. I am pretty confident at least one of these three routes... Continue Reading →
