Blog Archive
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Packaged Fiction
Apr 23, 2008
Can you talk a little about the practice of “book packaging” in YA? For example, in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, author Ann Brasheres is not listed as the “copyright” but Alloy entertainment (I think) is. Under what circumstances does a “packager” get to usurp the author for the copyright, what does this mean […]
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I Get Paid to Pester
Apr 22, 2008
Not too long ago Moonrat did a post on waiting to hear back from your agent on submissions. In her post she asked any agents who might be reading to jump in and give their own advice or opinions. Of course I did. But the post also got me thinking about this particular situation. The […]
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Standard Agent Practices
Apr 21, 2008
Is it standard practice for an agent to ask a new client to send 20 or so hard copies of a manuscript for her to shop around? I assumed the agent would make any necessary copies and charge against the advance for a sale. Also, should I be suspicious that she asks for no changes […]
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Scheduling Pitch Appointments
Apr 18, 2008
I have a question for you, as we all approach the “starting bell” for the mad dash of agent and editor appointments at RWA National. For someone like me that writes single-title stories, the almost constant feedback is, “you need an agent.” I agree, no argument there. What I’m wondering is, knowing that I do […]
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Product Placement in Books
Apr 17, 2008
I was listening to the radio recently when they were talking about product placement in television and movies. There are definitely times when the product placement has become so insane that it actually distracts from my viewing pleasure. For the most part, however, I’ve gotten used to it and don’t notice it. And while this […]
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Can an Author Return to the Nest?
Apr 16, 2008
Suppose a person gets multiple offers of representation. She makes the choice between the agents, alerts the other offering agents, and starts moving into the submission process herself with her agent. After a year, the agent she chose has not yet sold her work and is not enthusiastic about her second manuscript, so they part […]
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The Mood I’m In
Apr 15, 2008
In the comments of our pitch critiques a few wondered how much mood might have to do with an agent’s decision. The truth is that no matter what an agent tells you, a lot goes into an agent’s decision that you have no control of. Mood might be one of those things. If I’ve just […]
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Christie Craig on Motivation
Apr 14, 2008
Christie Craig Weddings Can be Murder Publisher: Dorchester Pub date: June 2008 Agent: Kim Lionetti (Click to Pre-order) I will never forget how I felt the first time I gave my work to a critique partner to review. You know that fluttery feeling you get in the pit of your stomach, like a child waiting […]
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Women’s Fiction Honorable Mentions
Apr 11, 2008
As I said yesterday, we were really impressed with this group of entries. I want to reiterate (for like the gazillionth time . . .) that you shouldn’t feel discouraged if we didn’t pick your entry. There was a lot of great material to choose from, and we can only pick what happens to strike […]
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A Women’s Fiction Winner . . . and the Romantic Suspense Contest!
Apr 10, 2008
I don’t know why, but I’m still surprised when Jessica and I compare notes and find that we have very different picks. In the end, though, we were still able to come up with a definite winner and two runners-up. (For the record, the delay in this post was never due to a hung jury […]
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Agents Getting Preferential Reads
Apr 09, 2008
A good number of the science-fiction/fantasy imprints accept unsolicited manuscripts or unsolicited queries. While searching for an agent, I ran across one that stated authors should look for an agent who has sold to a publisher that doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. If they only submit your manuscript to publishers that do accept unsolicited manuscripts, then […]
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Making Your Conference a Success
Apr 08, 2008
I’ve done similar posts before, but I suppose it never hurts to have some repetition. I have attended so many writers conferences that it’s a little scary. I’ve been to Oklahoma, Florida, Texas more times than I can count, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Vermont, West Virginia, Colorado, California, Washington . . . You get the point. And […]
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