Blogger: Wendy Lawton
You’ve seen a number of agent blogs and agent twitters talking about query tips and #queryfail. Agent websites are filled with instructions on how and how-not to query. Nearly every writers conference offers a session or two …
Finding an Agent
What Are Lit Agents Looking for Anyway?
by Janet Kobobel Grant
When literary agents sit on a panel at a writers conference, inevitably questions pop up about what agents are looking for. Generally a lot of heming and hawing occurs in response to the queries.
“I’ll know …
To Pitch or Not to Pitch
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
With a number of writers conferences on the horizon, I want to explore the question uppermost in many writers’ minds: to pitch or not to pitch?
What is pitching for a writer? There are scores of classes …
How Not to Query an Agent
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
You know how you have a bad feeling before you even open an email? Last week I felt obligated to click on an emailed query even though I suspected reading the missive would be a waste …
Shhh! It’s a Conference Secret
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
It’s conference season and I’ve decided to share one of the best-kept conference secrets.
Here’s the secret: An appointment with an editor or agent is not the best way to connect.
Every time I go to a …
Dead Giveaways
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Many a time I’ve been in on a discussion with agents or editors when they mention that something was a dead giveaway that the author was a newbie. Now there’s nothing wrong with being new to something …
Long Agent Response Times
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Before I address our subject today, let me give you a little update about our Books & Such main office and about three of our colleagues.
The massive fires in Santa Rosa have caused the evacuation of …
Fatal Submission Fails
Blogger: Wendy Lawton (Still touring the beautiful English Countryside)
I sense much submission angst out there in writer land. I think a quiz is in order to help you identify some of the fatal submission mistakes a writer might inadvertently …
What Drives an Agent Crazy? Part 1
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Several years ago, I wrote the blog post below because things were kind of, well, crazy. Actually, those circumstances inspired me to create several posts. Last week set new records for craziness, and I found myself …
The Entitled Writer
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
We talk a lot about the kinds of writers we love to work with but when we agents get together the talk often turns to the writers we hate representing.
And there is always one standout– one …