Blog Archive

  • More on the Agent Submission Process

    Feb 15, 2008

    Do agents submit a manuscript to the acquisitions editor at each imprint (meaning, if the house accepts unagented manuscripts, it goes through the same editor whether you have an agent or not) or do agents somehow bypass the acquisitions editor and send their queries directly to any editor working at the imprint that might be […]

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  • Our Valentine to You

    Feb 14, 2008

    Happy Valentine’s Day! We have a surprise for you! So if your significant other drops the ball and doesn’t come home with a dozen roses or a bottle of expensive aftershave, you can’t say you didn’t get anything this year. (But you can still lay on that guilt trip pretty thick. . . .) We’re […]

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  • Am I Missing Something Good

    Feb 13, 2008

    Do you ever wonder if you miss out on a really great book because the pitch is so-so? I was reading the one about the revenge comment here and you were asking what makes it unique, which isn’t unreasonable, but it’s a little bit like: An obsessed whaling captain drives his crew to destruction in […]

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  • A Final Word on Pitches

    Feb 12, 2008

    Thank you so much to everyone who was brave enough to submit a pitch for critique and thank you to all the readers who stuck it through and actually read and commented on all the critiques. It was really amazing to me to hear you all give your own feedback and support. Pitches and queries […]

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  • Pitch Critiques Round 25

    Feb 11, 2008

    I’ve critiqued the first 150 pitches that came in and I want to thank everyone who participated. I know there are closer to 250 entries, but there’s just no way I can do them all and do them justice. Here are my final, randomly picked, pitch critiques. I noticed a few of you resubmitted, and […]

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  • I’m in the Mood . . .

    Feb 08, 2008

    It’s been a quiet week for me here at BookEnds, and by that I mean I’m not running around like a chicken with my head cut off staring at 150 fresh emails and 8 new voice mails. No, I actually feel on top of things this week. I’ve gotten to all of my clients proposals, […]

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  • Choosing the Best Agent

    Feb 07, 2008

    I recently did a post on Agent Research Sites, and I thought the related question below was a great one. I’ve done a couple of posts on how to identify a bad agent and the scam agents everyone should avoid, but I’m not sure there’s been a lot on how to find a list of […]

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  • Pitch Critiques Round 24

    Feb 06, 2008

    I’m winding down. Hoping to get to as many as possible, but just can’t agree to do them all. So here we go again . . . Perfecting Your Pitch. 144. PhoenixIn 305 A.D., the Roman gods are preparing to die; the Seventh Seal is about to be opened; and inside a waking Mt. Vesuvius, […]

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  • A Writer’s Worst Nightmare . . .

    Feb 05, 2008

    Last week I received an awful bit of news regarding two of my clients in Texas. James and Livia Reasoner are a husband-and-wife writing team with well over 150 published books between the two of them. Unfortunately, they’ve lost everything—except, thankfully, one another and their family—in a devastating fire that ripped through their home last […]

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  • Pitch Critiques Round 23

    Feb 04, 2008

    I’m winding down. Hoping to get to as many as possible, but just can’t agree to do them all. So here we go again . . . Perfecting Your Pitch. 137. Paul LambWhy does an inept burglar keep trying to break into a lonely bed and breakfast in rural Iowa? Could it be for the […]

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  • When the Client List Is Full

    Feb 01, 2008

    Often I’m asked how many clients I have on my list, and until now I’ve never thought of it, but I guess I’m not sure what the asker is hoping for in my answer. Are you fearful that I have too many clients and no room for more? Are you concerned I have none and […]

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  • Pitch Critiques Round 22

    Jan 31, 2008

    I’m winding down. Hoping to get to as many as possible, but just can’t agree to do them all. So here we go again . . . Perfecting Your Pitch. 131. Anon. 8:38John Calhoun IV scandalizes prim Swanson, Mississippi, when he learns his late father was a philanderer, the abandoned urchin Mary Swann is his […]

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