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Books & Such Literary Management

A full-service literary agency that focuses on books for the Christian market.

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Books & Such
    • Our Agents
    • Our Behind-the-Scenes Staff
    • Our Travel Schedule
  • Our Authors
    • Author News
    • Collaborators and Ghostwriters
  • Submissions
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  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Editors Select

writing craft

Too Fast?

December 4, 2019 //  by Wendy Lawton//  18 Comments

By Wendy Lawton

Anyone who is trying to build a career as a writer knows that making a living in the early years is an almost impossible challenge. But when a writer has sold a couple of books and had …

Too Fast?Read More

While U Wait

August 7, 2017 //  by Wendy Lawton//  34 Comments

Blogger: Wendy Lawton

A few years ago I talked about what a writer needs to do while he or she waits for publication. I thought of it again while I was in Minnesota recently, stressing how important it is to …

While U WaitRead More

How to Get the Most from Your Beta Readers

April 19, 2017 //  by Mary Keeley//  21 Comments

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 …

How to Get the Most from Your Beta ReadersRead More

Secondary Characters: Their Purpose for Being

March 15, 2017 //  by Mary Keeley//  27 Comments

Blogger: Mary Keeley

Are you using your story’s secondary characters to their full purpose? They can make your book stand out from the crowd of other books in your genre. Practically as many ways to use these characters exist as …

Secondary Characters: Their Purpose for BeingRead More

What’s the Story on Backstory?

March 7, 2017 //  by Rachelle Gardner//  30 Comments

Blogger: Rachelle Gardner

One of the biggest challenges for novelists—new and seasoned alike—is avoiding too much backstory in the opening of the book. A lot of people ask me questions about backstory, and often argue with me about it. So …

What’s the Story on Backstory?Read More

Engaging Our Culture

November 30, 2016 //  by Mary Keeley//  35 Comments

Blogger: Mary Keeley

Unless you’re an ostrich or a hermit it’s been impossible to ignore the plethora of cultural differences being expressed this year. Opposing worldviews are at the root of the divergence. Michael Boyle, Associate Professor of Pastoral Studies …

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Hook Readers in the First Few Pages

October 13, 2016 //  by Mary Keeley//  12 Comments

Blogger: Mary Keeley

We humans like variety. We have four hundred sixty real dog breeds to choose from according to the American Kennel Club. Fashion trends change every season. Some people read mostly nonfiction while others prefer fiction, and we …

Hook Readers in the First Few PagesRead More

The Simplification Mindset

September 15, 2016 //  by Mary Keeley//  25 Comments

Blogger: Mary Keeley

Recently, I read a Harvard Business Review online article by Jeff Rodman, a corporate co-founder. The title, “How I Built a $2 Billion Company by Thinking Small,” is what first caught my eye. This type of topic …

The Simplification MindsetRead More

5 Traits of Successful Writers

August 4, 2016 //  by Mary Keeley//  34 Comments

Blogger: Mary Keeley

Produce marketable, well-crafted books that readers devour and remember long after they turn the last page. This is the goal of any committed writer. But the path to that goal is almost always bumpy and loaded with …

5 Traits of Successful WritersRead More

The Very First Page

June 24, 2016 //  by Rachel Kent//  8 Comments

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 …

The Very First PageRead More

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