I’m pleased to announce that Books & Such is starting off the new year with news. We’re adding a literary agent to our team!
Debbie Alsdorf has been Wendy’s client for a number of years. Debbie has written more than …
The First Christmas
I find pondering about the folk involved in the first Christmas can give me a fresh way to think about the tale we love so much. The shepherds on the hillside are, in my opinion, worth a closer look.
They …
End Your Book Well
Last week I read an articulate article on how to end a book well. I distill the essence of the article below, but if you want to read if for yourself, it’s located here.
To End Your Book Well:
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How to Jumpstart Your Creativity
A few years ago on the PBS News Hour, I saw a report on jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who talked about an especially memorable time he performed with his mentor Miles Davis. Herbie hit a wrong note–flat out wrong. …
An Ode to Poetry
As an English lit major, poems are familiar friends to me. But some people find them strange and off-putting. Today I want to encourage you, regardless where you fall on the spectrum of appreciating poetry, to sit with a poem …
Concluding Your Book Well
Concluding your book well is a challenge. It’s one thing to start off with gusto, another thing to make it through a potentially drooping middle, and still another to finish with flair.
Missing the Mark
One example of a book …
Bookshop.org: An Online Alternative to Amazon
Bookshop.org’s founder and CEO, Andy Hunter, could be viewed as prescient. The bookstore site launched in January 2020, just before COVID forced physical stores to lock their doors. Before Amazon downgraded the priority of shipping books and upped the priority …
What Makes an Agent Say Yes?
I wrote this blog post in 2009. Because so much of it remains true today, I thought I’d retread it with updates and take it out for another spin. After all, the quest to find an agent still goes on. …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTok
I need to start out by apologizing. I know writers are weary of being told to build their platforms, to promote their books on social media, to, well, work magic at something most don’t particularly enjoy. I’m one of those …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTokRead More
QR Codes: What’s Old is News
A few weeks ago I boarded a plane for the first time in 20 months. Heading out to visit my Colorado family, I was surprised to discover that QR codes, which were popular in 2010 or so and old news …