Blog Archive

• Disagreeing With Your Agent

  Sep 22, 2008

  Is it right/wrong/stupid for a writer to disagree with her agent’s revision suggestions? The right thing to do is what’s best for your book. With this particular question the reader explained that her agent suggested she remove a chapter in the novel, and while the author was concerned, she did it anyway (and made some […]

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• Working with New Agents

  Sep 19, 2008

  I signed with an agent that doesn’t have a lot of sales but has been with one of the best agencies in New York for a couple years. Everyone she works with says she’s great but I’m worried that she won’t be able to make the sale come time, simply because she hasn’t had any […]

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• Don’t Learn the Hard Way

  Sep 18, 2008

  September 15th was my first day back from maternity leave, and while I didn’t return to a flood of e-mails, it didn’t provide me with the relief you might expect. Unfortunately, my computer must’ve felt neglected while I was tending to a newborn and decided to conk out on me. Dead. Kaput. I’d never been […]

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• September: Terri Thayer’s Favorite Month

  Sep 17, 2008

  Terri ThayerOld Maid’s Puzzle, Midnight Ink, September 2008Stamped Out, Berkley Prime Crime, September 2008Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) (Click to Buy) Author’s Web site/blog: www.territhayer.com and www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com I’ve always liked Septembers. Growing up, it meant back-to-school clothes in pretty fall colors. I had to be stopped from wearing my new wool plaid skirt in […]

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• The Blurring of Genres

  Sep 16, 2008

  With all of the blurring of genres lately, how does an author know when to query an agent calling their novel Contemporary Romance or Women’s Fiction With Romance? A great question because in truth, with the blurring of genres these days, how does one know when to call their book anything? Is it a paranormal […]

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• Moving the Plot Forward

  Sep 15, 2008

  During a recent BookEnds meeting we were discussing a manuscript in which our biggest concern (collectively) was that the author hadn’t done enough to move the plot forward. Her writing was beautiful and we all loved the idea and really wanted to love the book, but felt it moved much too slowly. In this particular […]

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• A Report on Historical Romance

  Sep 12, 2008

  I seem to be getting a number of questions about historical romance lately so I thought I’d dedicate an entire blog post to answering those questions. What kind of historical romance is making a come-back? I seem to only be seeing regency based novels (which never left), and if I do happen to see medievals, […]

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• The Perfect Book

  Sep 11, 2008

  Lately I’ve been receiving a number of questions about the editorial letters and the explanation of the “perfect” book. In addition to that, a number of questions came up in my post about the stages of editing that I think deserve follow-up as well. So, while I explained how a book is edited within a […]

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• Michele Dunaway on Goals

  Sep 10, 2008

  Michele Dunaway Tailspin Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Pub date: September 2008 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Author Web/Blog links: www.micheledunaway.com & www.micheledunaway.blogspot.com It’s now September, and I bet all those resolutions have long ago fallen by the wayside. That’s why I refuse to make New Year’s resolutions. Yet anyone who knows me knows I’m a […]

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• Query Letter Phrasing to Reconsider

  Sep 09, 2008

  I originally thought to title this “Query Letter Phrasing to Avoid,” but then I remembered how different agents can be and thought it would be better to use the word “reconsider.” These are phrases that I often see or see variations of that I don’t think help your cause, and I’ll explain why. Reconsider: “appeals […]

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• Hiring an Editor

  Sep 08, 2008

  I’ve been asked to give advice on hiring editors. As many of you know, there are a number of fabulous manuscript editors out there, many of them former editors at major publishing houses. For any of you who have ever done research into editors, you know that it is an incredibly costly venture, but is […]

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• Submitting Collections

  Sep 05, 2008

  I’d like to edit a collection of essays on a specific topic and am unsure how to proceed. Should I query an agent or publisher with a proposal before I begin to reach out to potential contributors? Should I have my contributor list firmly in place? Should my query look like a nonfiction query or […]

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