Blog Archive
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The Synopsis
Feb 02, 2011
Lately I’ve received a number of submissions that did not include the synopsis I requested. In some cases, the author sent the entire manuscript claiming the synopsis was too hard to write so it was skipped. In other cases the authors sent sample chapters and simply ignored my request for the synopsis. I know a […]
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Writing Novellas by Sally MacKenzie
Feb 01, 2011
An Invitation to Sin Publisher: Kensington Zebra Pub date: February 2011 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) My second novella, “The Naked Prince,” releases today. I’m excited to be in an anthology headlined by New York Times bestseller and romance icon Jo Beverley. I’m hoping her fans—and those of the other authors, Vanessa Kelly and […]
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Revisions from an Agent
Jan 31, 2011
Not long ago, @agentgame posted this on Twitter: “I’ve gotten back revisions on an overly fast turnaround that damaged the book rather than making it better.” I immediately knew exactly what she was talking about. Frequently, I send back revision suggestions to unpublished authors. There might have been a number of things I loved about […]
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Thought for the Day
Jan 28, 2011
If you’re going to compare your book to those on an agent’s list, at least have some idea of whether it’s a comparison that works. You don’t want an agent to laugh at your query. Jessica
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Excited for Something New
Jan 27, 2011
One of the best parts of my job is the thrill of the hunt. Sure, I am frequently overwhelmed by the hundreds of queries I find in my in-box, but when time allows, there’s nothing more exciting than sitting down and sorting through them in the hopes of finding that one big thing. Think Indiana […]
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More on Author-Agent Relationship
Jan 26, 2011
Recently I worked with an agent who loved my book, until he finally read a chapter near the end. Apparently he agreed to work with me after only reading the first half of the book. The offensive chapter was about the heroine who dies on the operating table and has an out-of-body experience that ultimately […]
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Something about Voice
Jan 25, 2011
When reading requested material, one thing I like to do is simply go through my email and randomly open the attachments. Without knowing whether the book is romance, fantasy, mystery, YA, or nonfiction, I start reading. A good book with a good voice will tell me what genre the book is without me ever asking. […]
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A Thank-You to “Trolls”
Jan 24, 2011
I know. You’re shocked, but hear me out. We’ve often talked about the necessity to be careful on the Internet and to remember when writing your blog or tweets that people are watching and it’s important to keep things as professional as possible, and for each of us the meaning of that is different. Certainly […]
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Email Headaches
Jan 21, 2011
As some of you know I’ve been having some email headaches lately. For years I was using Entourage, Microsoft’s Mac version of Outlook. It was fine, worked well, but for months has been giving me a lot of trouble, including the week’s worth of email I lost back around Thanksgiving. So for the new year […]
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Performance Reviews
Jan 20, 2011
A friend of mine emailed to tell me she had just gotten out of her performance review. She was relieved it was over and heading to Starbucks for a coffee. As the owner of BookEnds, I don’t have performance reviews anymore, and, frankly, in publishing I only had a few. That being said, I kind […]
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Pop Culture in Fiction
Jan 19, 2011
It’s very common for writers to use pop culture references in the fiction they’re writing. For example, it’s a lot easier to compare someone to Tom Cruise or a situation to The Sixth Sense than it is to really take the time and energy to describe that person or situation in your own words. If […]
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My Thoughts on the Brave New World: Bookstores
Jan 18, 2011
When I talk to members of the publishing community about all the changes that are happening in publishing these days, I think one of the biggest concerns everyone has is for the bookstore. None of us can imagine life without a bookstore. I’ll admit, I love shopping online almost more than the next person. It’s […]
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