Books & Such Literary Management has big news, but first a little background. . .
Books & Such Literary Management is often asked if all literary agencies are basically alike? Our answer? Absolutely not. Let me explain.
Some of my Favorite Fiction Techniques
Today I’m just going to highlight a few fiction techniques I love finding in a manuscript.
Beats
This is a technique the author uses to seamlessly substitute an action that identifies the character in place of the tired old he-said, …
Yet Another Rant from the Resident Platform Skeptic
Okay, confession time: Here at Books & Such I’m known as the platform denier. The platform skeptic. Card-carrying member of the Book Marketing Flat Earth Society. Yes, I know that an author’s platform can be a powerful thing, but just …
Yet Another Rant from the Resident Platform SkepticRead More
What is the Perfect Time to Submit?
Ever since I became an agent, I’ve been trying to figure out the rhythm of this industry— the perfect time to submit proposals. Every industry has “seasons” and because we agents are always trying to second-guess things, we are ever …
Charting a Writer’s Career Plan
Note from Wendy: This is a blog post I wrote just weeks before Covid 19 changed the world as we knew it. It made the possibility for writers to chart a career plan all the more challenging. But as I
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How to Cook a Book
Let’s explore how to cook a nonfiction book. I am an enthusiastic home cook. It’s a hobby and rather than cooking the same thing over and over again, I try to stay fresh so my enthusiasm for this daily task …
Ten Things that Make a Thumbs-Up Novel
Today, I’ve decided on a very subjective exploration about what makes me give a novel an unflinching thumbs up. This is not a blog that represents anyone’s taste but mine. Purely personal. I’m guessing there wouldn’t be another literary agent …
Mourning the Loss of Literary Friends
I especially enjoy series fiction because as a character or set of characters is introduced, we follow them through several books until they feel like our own literary friends. I realized that several weeks ago. I’ve read nearly every book …
Read ’em or Not– Reviews
Just this week I was copied on an email from one of my clients, Jill Eileen Smith, to her publicity manager at her publishing house. They were talking about a stellar review she received on her newest book, The Ark …
My novel is about. . .
Wanna see a writer stand frozen with that deer-in-the-headlights look? Just ask them this question: “So. . . what’s your novel about?”
Here’s a list of the WRONG things to answer:
- An issue— “My novel is about global warming.”