Have you ever had those times when you feel overwhelmed? Maybe you call it unmotivated, stressed, or burned out. I’m guessing every writer hits the wall at some point. I came upon an excellent video by Brittany Vasseur, a YouTube …
Find a Place to Shine
Have you found your unique place in the writing world where you can really shine? Janet Grant and I recorded a podcast last week on Words for Writers. It goes live on Tuesday, here. Ginny Yttrup, writing coach, posited …
Good Ol’ Summertime
ANNOUNCING the 25th Anniversary Hook Winners!
We had 317 hooks submitted to our writers’ contest, and these 25 are our winners:
Suzanne Anderson, Debbie Ashley, Hilary Bernstein, Peggy Bodde, Susan Brehmer, Kurt Bubna, Karen Bucci, Jolyn Canty, Jessica Ferguson, Katharine …
Three Ways to Annoy an Agent
Here at Books & such Literary Management, we work hard to stay positive and non-judgmental in our interactions with potential clients but there are a few things that annoy us no end. Let me enumerate three for you.
Contacting an …
An Agent Spills the Tea: Ten Easy Ways to Fail
If you look up “dish the tea” or “spill the tea” in the Urban Dictionary you’ll find it means spilling a juicy bit of knowledge. In this case, tea (or T) stands for truth. I’d like to quickly spill the …
Sacrificial Writing
Today is the start of Holy Week. I think it’s an important time to talk about sacrificial gifts. Here is a blog I wrote five years ago. I can’t think of a more fitting one for this week. 
Many years …
An Embarrassment of Riches
An embarrassment of riches. You remember the supply and demand concept from your Econ 1A class, right? Scarcity and abundance drive each market. So, what has this to do with writing? Let me explain.
The Christian publishing industry has changed …
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Valentine’s Day is about romantic love, but today I’m going to talk about a different kind of love–the love a writer has for his or her readers, publishing friends and colleagues. You’re right, it’s not the love we have for …
Trash or Keep?
In this age of minimalism, do you ever wonder what things as a writer you should trash and what things you should keep? This dilemma became very real to me recently when my publisher announced they had decided to reissue …
Celebrating Until Twelfth Night
I’ve always loved the old English carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, partly because I was born during the twelve days of Christmas. (Think: Goose.) I was also married on the Seven Swans Day. Christmas marks the first day …