Blog Archive
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The First Day of Bookmas
Dec 01, 2011
Welcome to day one of our Bookmas Giveaway contest. For those who missed the rules, hop back over to the November 30 post and give a quick read. Now on to our contest . . . At the end of last year I had the “brilliant” idea of tackling the Book List Challenge. At the […]
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The Twelve Days of Bookmas Giveaway
Nov 30, 2011
Because it was so much fun last year, we have decided to bring back the Twelve Days of Bookmas Giveaway, a book giveaway just in time for holiday gift-giving or as a little treat for yourself. Since we close over the holidays and we want to make sure you receive your prizes in plenty of […]
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Breaking the Rules
Nov 29, 2011
I’m a rule breaker. I believe there’s a purpose to rules and I also believe there’s a time and place to break them. As you know, I was closed to queries for some time, and yet I still got queries. Which was fine, because if you follow the guidelines you’d get my automatic reply that […]
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Writing Tense
Nov 28, 2011
I would love to hear your thoughts on tense in a novel. Recently, I’ve read quite a bit of criticism regarding writing in the present tense. If any of you receive a novel written in the present tense, what is your immediate reaction? I struggle with this because I find it most natural and liberating […]
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Giving Thanks
Nov 23, 2011
It’s one of my favorite holidays—Thanksgiving here in the U.S.—so don’t expect anyone to respond to your emails this afternoon, tomorrow, or Friday. We’ll be cooking, eating, and shopping, all in that order. I think it’s fair to start by saying what a crazy year it’s been. So much turmoil, so much drama, so many […]
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Query Bio
Nov 22, 2011
I am working on my query letter for a YA novel and have a question about what to include in my writing bio. In the past three years I’ve been published in five ‘feel-good’ anthologies and paid for each story. I’ve won several awards in writing contests, including a first in fiction and the overall […]
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Cutting Down My Novel
Nov 21, 2011
I know I’m years too late too, but I have a question about my latest novel, which is very long. It’s called “Broken Family Portrait, and it’s an unbelievable 303,400 words long. My character is a severe cerebral palsic who, among other things, cannot censor things he says in speeches due to a malfunctioning brain […]
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Understanding Women’s Fiction
Nov 17, 2011
I’ve been trying to wrap the basic marketing language around the book I’m close to finishing, and am having a tough time classifying it. My main character is a tough, no-nonsense, middle-aged woman who kidnaps her granddaughter, and the story takes place in large part on the road in rural Alaska. It’s edgy and stark, […]
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Workshop Wednesday
Nov 16, 2011
By repeated request we’ve started Workshop Wednesday. It will definitely play out through 2011, and beyond that we’ll just have to see. We’ve received well over 200 queries at this point, but we are choosing at random, so don’t be afraid to participate as per the guidelines in our original post. For anyone wanting to […]
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Understanding Genre
Nov 15, 2011
I’m trying to determine the genre of a fantasy series I’m working on (fantasy or YA fantasy). I tweeted Jessica in response to a tweet about YA last week. The protagonist of my first novel is 17, and her boyfriend is 20. By the time the series ends, most of the main characters will be […]
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From Digital to Traditional . . . or Not
Nov 14, 2011
Hello! I am an indie author that published my YA paranormal romance through Amazon’s KDP service. The novel has done remarkably well; I sold over one thousand copies its first month (April), and it is on track to sell about five thousand copies this month. It ranks 165 in the overall Kindle store and #4 […]
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Thought for the Day
Nov 11, 2011
Just because your agent tells you, realistically, that your expectations from your publisher might be more than they’re willing to pay or give up on doesn’t mean she can’t negotiate fairly for you. Part of having an agent is having someone who can tell you, from experience, what you might expect from a publisher. Sometimes […]
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