Blog Archive
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Fabulous & Charitable Opportunity
May 28, 2010
BookEnds will be closed today through Monday in observance of the Memorial Day weekend. Our plan is to spend time soaking up the sun while drinking margaritas and reading books that thrill us. In between cocktails, however, we’ll be keeping an eye on Brenda Novak’s Auction for Diabetes Research and strongly suggest you do too. […]
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Query Recap
May 27, 2010
Back by popular demand, another look into my query inbox . . . In one day I received 61 emails that were either labeled “query” or “submission,” which automatically relegates them to my query inbox. Note, by labeling your query this way (as per our website) you almost eliminate any possibility of it getting lost […]
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LOL
May 26, 2010
Life is too short not to laugh, and luckily for us we’re able to find something to laugh about almost daily. Here are a few to share with you . . . After 6 years at BookEnds, Kim still forgets where she works. In an auto-reply on queries (that went out to about 100+ people […]
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Time for a New Agent
May 25, 2010
I’m a bestselling author with a very successful track record. I’ve enjoyed working with my current agent, and obviously we’ve been successful together, but find that we’re growing in different directions. When looking for a new agent, do I need to query traditionally by sending equeries and following agents’ guidelines, or can I simply call […]
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Using Your Galleys
May 24, 2010
This is going to be one of those posts in which I strongly suggest you read the comments section simply because while I have ideas, I have a feeling my readers will have even more helpful ideas. One of the questions I frequently get from debut authors is what should they do with their galleys […]
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Writer Beware
May 21, 2010
I had a very interesting week, or should I say a very interesting experience. Earlier this week an author got in touch to ask if I’d ever heard of an agent named, we’ll say Agent Tangerine, cousin to Agent Orange. He was emailing because Agent Tangerine had gotten in touch with him and claimed to […]
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Isn’t Short Fiction Worth Its Weight in Gold
May 20, 2010
I just completed my book which is 33,000 words in length. An enticing romance suspense which leaves the reader with a thrilling ending. Typically, I’d agree that longer novels have punch, I think this story is worth its weight in gold. Would your agency review something like this? No, we wouldn’t, and I suspect you’ll […]
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Know Your Competition
May 19, 2010
How do you/other agents feel about having a book you represent listed in an author’s book proposal competition section? It makes sense that an author might reference a book you represent — and that if the book is similar, it would make sense to list it as competition. But then… *** Please note that this […]
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Does This Backfire?
May 18, 2010
I recently received a query for an author’s debut novel. The author was incredibly confident, envisioning the novel as a future bestseller and hit movie, but that’s not what bothered me. What I found unsettling was when she wrote, “I am sending this proposal to several literary agents and have set a deadline for your […]
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Who Are You?
May 17, 2010
I should quickly add that to view results you can go to Quibblo. Quizzes by Quibblo.com
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Unputdownable
May 14, 2010
I’m sleepy this morning. Have you ever noticed, though, that insomnia can make for a really grumpy kind of tired the next day, but the exhaustion from staying up all night to finish a great book is rather dreamlike? Last night I started and finished Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely. The book totally hooked me from […]
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Subtexts, “Hoops,” and Industry Standards
May 13, 2010
I was reading through some disgruntled comments surrounding the formatting of queries (everything from font to phrasings, tag-lines to typos), called “Hoops” by many – even those that approve of them. It got me thinking (which rarely ends well)……..Are these “Hoops” actually a subtext? If an agent comes across a submission which does not match […]
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