Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Want to know how to make a CBA literary agent squirm? Wait until he or she is on a panel at a popular writing conference and ask, “What’s the best book you’ve read recently?” Surely that …
Writer's Conferences
Forget the Query Stage
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Last week, at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference, I was blown away by the number of fine writers with high concept books I found among first time attendees. It’s almost like they were secretly laboring in …
How to Get the Most from Your Beta Readers
Blogger: Mary Keeley
I highly recommend participating in a critique group. You can improve your own craft as you critique your partners’ work often as much as you can by receiving their feedback on your work. But this can’t replace …
Recovering from a Meeting Misstep
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Several comments on my blog post last week, “How To Prepare for An Agent Interview,” referenced a fear of botching your meeting with an agent or editor. So this week I have four tips for recovering after …
Lessons for Writers from Business Giants
Blogger: Mary Keeley
What do Amazon, Apple, Walt Disney, Google, Harley Davidson, Hewlett Packard, and Yankee Candle Company have in common? Each entrepreneur launched his multibillion-dollar company from someone’s garage with nothing but knowledge and a willingness to work hard …
Ditch the Pitch
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Many of you are preparing for upcoming writer’s conferences. Are you getting stressed about how to pitch your book to editors and agents? I’m going to suggest you ditch the pitch. Read on. . .
More writers …
Some Good News?
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Don’t you think it’s time for a dose of good news? I’ve been thinking a lot about the industry lately and I think there’s more good news than bad these days. So many long for the “good …
The Very First Page
Blogger: Rachel Kent
The first page of your manuscript is more important than you might imagine. You want the opening paragraphs to shine because, it turns out, if they don’t stand out, often that’s as far as an editor or …
Pitching at a Conference
Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
Recently I was asked whether a “newbie” unpublished author should pitch during their one-on-one appointments at a writers’ conference, or simply use the time to get to know an agent/editor and learn more about the process.
In …
Agents Are Not to Be Feared
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Next week I’ll be at Book Expo America (BEA) in Chicago. This annual trade show is the general market’s equivalent of the Christian market’s International Christian Retail Show (ICRS). BEA is the largest book and author publishing …