Let’s think about the ladies
Let’s think about the ladies There’s a really thought-provoking piece published this week in The Atlantic about books that are focused on women finding or yearning for love in fiction rather than other...
View ArticleWWYK?
I am typing this on a plane headed for Seattle, happy to be en route to the always-terrific PNWA conference. I don’t get to as many far flung writers conferences as I did before I had children, but...
View ArticleWriting lessons via Shakespeare
I thought it was so cool when I heard that my longtime client, A.J. Hartley, was doing a panel at this year’s ThrillerFest on Shakespeare and what lessons we can learn from the old master’s ways. In...
View ArticlePigeonholing (sounds kinda nasty, right?)
We think a lot around here about authors getting pigeonholed into certain categories because one (or more) of their books was a success and now they are expected to keep writing variations on the same...
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It’s just 15 minutes
I’ve always been a big fan of Laurie Halse Anderson’s books (cover image below for her upcoming new novel, which looks amazing). I was speaking with my client Debby Lytton recently who was telling me...
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Writing shorter is better
As many of my colleagues and clients know, as much as I enjoy reading, I absolutely hate writing. When I am required to write something, however, I have learned to be as brief and concise as...
View ArticleSuccessful queries to learn from, and a prize!
As you all know by now, I’m a huge fan of writersdigest.com. I think they offer such great resources to writers. And now I think I’ve found the most useful series yet, and not just because it’s edited...
View ArticleVirtual assistant to the rescue!
I was reading PW online and came across this piece about writers hiring virtual assistants to help them with various admin tasks related to their writing. I was intrigued, and it seems there’s a crop...
View ArticleWriting and Exercise
A few days ago, I caught Terry Gross interviewing evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman on his new book, the Story of the Human Body. It was absolutely fascinating, one of the best interviews I’ve...
View ArticleAn author and editor chat
Like any relationship, the one between an author and his or her editor is nuanced and complex. We work in an industry that has a great deal of turnover on the editorial side and there are times when a...
View ArticleWhat you need to know about querying agents
I came across this piece from thewritelife.com by the always interesting and entertaining Chuck Sambuchino from Writer’s Digest. I think all of the advice is meaningful and generally right on, but I...
View ArticleA book can change your life
The title of this post might be overly dramatic, but if you look hard enough you will find some pretty incredible stories about people whose lives were changed by books and reading. One of those...
View ArticleThe psychology of writing
I have a very strong interest in psychology that goes back to when I minored in it in college. My list has been peppered with titles over the years that explore various issues in this area and I am...
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Writing tips from 2013 to help you in 2014
I hope you all had good holidays. I personally did a lot of celebrating since my birthday falls right between Christmas and New Year’s. One highlight was seeing Kinky Boots on Broadway. I loved it!...
View ArticleThe power of the period. Or comma. Or colon. Or …
One of the things I stress most over, when writing, is punctuation. (WAIT, WERE THOSE COMMAS RIGHT, JUST NOW? IS THIS PARENTHETICAL OKAY IF IT’S ITS OWN SENTENCE? OH GOD, AM I SUPPOSED TO PUT THE...
View ArticleWhen it’s okay to use bad grammar
When shuffling through query letters, bad grammar is often a loud warning bell. Literary agents tend to be wary when reading material from the prospective, unpublished author. Nothing will make an...
View ArticleWriterly advice from the trenches
My enterprising client Kristi Belcamino, whose first book comes out in June, has been busy getting ready for her road to publication. One of her recent stops included a piece she did for Writer’s...
View ArticleWriting your way to a better idea
One of the hardest things for writers is the process of coming up with an idea. And understandably so. Finding a topic doesn’t just happen, and so when I had to write creative papers for my college...
View ArticleBetter writing through apps?
As loyal readers of this blog know, we sometimes have trouble coming up with topics for posts. And when we’re in the weeds, we often fall back on the Huffpost for a reading list or slideshow to provide...
View ArticleTrains, planes, reading and writing
I love long train trips almost as much as I hate flying. To me, there is something both soothing and exciting about zipping across a changing landscape in a powerful machine that hasn’t lost contact...
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