Blog Archive

  • Query Status

    Mar 05, 2010

    I spent a Sunday afternoon watching USA hockey and catching up on queries. Here are my latest statistics: I am still too far behind on proposals to count, but have been slowly getting through one or two at a time. I can honestly say that I have gotten through all requested hard-copy submissions. If you […]

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  • Submitting a Partial

    Mar 04, 2010

    An agent has just requested a partial of my manuscript, and I’m struggling to find any information (or only finding contradictory info) about how to submit this, and a full ms if she requests one. There’s loads on various blogs about the nitty gritty details of querying, but that’s where it seems to stop. Could […]

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  • Jamie Novak on Organization

    Mar 03, 2010

    Jamie Novak Stop Throwing Money Away Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub date: March 2010 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Three Insider Secrets from a Professional Organizer I want to thank Jessica for allowing me to be here today to clear up a long-standing myth about professional organizers. Our homes and offices are not […]

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  • New and Updated Publishing Dictionary

    Mar 02, 2010

    It’s become an ever-popular post, my Publishing Dictionary. This is the third version I’ve done. Some of the words and definitions remain the same, but at your requests there have been a number of additions. For those who have been regular readers of the blog, I apologize for the repetition. But just like any good […]

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  • Translations

    Mar 01, 2010

    I recently got interested in translating a middle-grade novel written by a well-known and long-dead foreign author. Do I have to get some sort of permission from his estate? Also, once I translate it, what’s the next step? Are agents open to translations? I love questions like this. It’s not something I ever would have […]

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  • Query Status

    Feb 26, 2010

    Due to an unexpected week out of the office I’m getting no better at catching up on my queries. Give me a few weeks and this will look a lot better, but for now I stand at 700 or so queries in my in-box dating back to January 28. Jessica

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  • Chip on Your Shoulder

    Feb 25, 2010

    We all have our down days and there’s no doubt we’ve all become frustrated with the publishing process at one point or another. Published authors become frustrated with how long things take or when editors leave or reject their next book, unpublished authors become frustrated with agents and the challenges of “getting in the door,” […]

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  • Random Questions

    Feb 24, 2010

    I receive so many questions from readers. Keep them coming! Here’s a collection of those that I didn’t feel warranted a full post, but yet still deserved an answer. Also, keep in mind that some of these may have been answered more extensively in other posts, so don’t forget to search our archives for more […]

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  • Kate Douglas on the Next Step

    Feb 23, 2010

    Kate DouglasDemonFirePublisher: KensingtonPub date: February 2010Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Taking the Next Step in a Writing Career Thank you, Jessica, for sharing your blog with me today. (To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn she’d offered me the spot to shut me up. I’ve been driving her nuts for the past […]

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  • Query Recap

    Feb 22, 2010

    It’s been a while since I’ve done a recap on the queries I’m getting, but since I’ve been inundated in 2010, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at what I’m getting and how I’m responding. These are the results of two days of query reading. That does not mean […]

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  • Query Status

    Feb 19, 2010

    For those who have submitted to me or are considering submitting to me I thought I’d give you a quick update on where things stand in my office. Keep in mind, these are submissions that have been submitted to me and me alone. E-queries: I have answered all equeries sent prior to January 27. If […]

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  • Queries in First Person

    Feb 18, 2010

    I’m not sure if it’s a new trend or just one I didn’t register before, but it seems lately that I’m getting a lot of queries in first person, and I have to admit, except for maybe the very, very rare instance, these are not working for me. Let me give you an example. . […]

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