Blog Archive

The Value of Pitch Sessions

Feb 21, 2019

For obvious reasons, authors and agents have very different perspectives on pitch sessions. Authors attend pitches in the hopes of finding an agent. Agents tend to take pitches because they are a necessary part of the business. I believe pitch sessions are best used as an avenue to meet and interview prospective agents or to […]

Welcome to BookEnds, Rachel Feinberg!

Feb 20, 2019

I am thrilled to welcome Rachel Feinberg to BookEnds! We connected thanks to #DVpit, and her YA voice captured me right away. (I let out several snorts of laughter as I read.) I can’t wait for you to read her novel full of cosplay culture, complicated friendships, swoony romance, and more, but for now get […]

Formatting Excerpts in Your Query

Feb 20, 2019

I often worry about how bogged down writers can get in the “rules” of querying. One agent tells you that a synopsis must be two pages while another requests ten and yet another despises any sort of synopsis. All of these discrepancies are enough to send an author to drink (Hemingway anyone?). They are also […]

Questions for the Blog?

Feb 19, 2019

My goal with this blog has always been to teach writers everything they need to know about publishing, literary agents, writing queries, and anything else that will help you succeed with a publishing career. In doing that, I’ve always found that the best resource for blog posts are always the readers themselves. Over the summer […]

What Really Matters is the Query Blurb

Feb 18, 2019

There are so many rules to queries and it each agent has her preferences, some seemingly in conflict with others. What really matters, all that really matters is the query blurb and, of course, the book. When it comes down to it you can follow all the rules, but it’s the blurb that sells the book. […]

THE KISS QUOTIENT by Helen Hoang

Feb 18, 2019

DON’T BREATHE A WORD by Christie Craig

Feb 18, 2019

Welcome to BookEnds, Hayley Gene Penner!

Feb 15, 2019

I am so very excited to introduce all of you to Hayley Gene Penner! I was haunted by her memoir for days after I read it. I was thinking about it when I tried to sleep, in the shower, basically, every waking moment. Don’t take “haunted” to mean her memoir is sad or upsetting–while there […]

A Love Letter to the Writers

Feb 14, 2019

I’ve never made it a secret how much I ❤️ writers. They are the most creative, fascinating and entertaining bunch of people I’ve ever met. It’s why I have chosen to spend so much time with them. Besides my love for writers as people, I have intense respect for what they do. I once, long ago, […]

Welcome to BookEnds, Lyn Liao Butler!

Feb 13, 2019

I’m thrilled to welcome Lyn Liao Butler to BookEnds! I fell in love with the heroine in her women’s fiction debut, the complicated family dynamics she must navigate, as well as the immersive sense of place that oozed off the pages. I can’t wait for you to read it down the road, but for now […]

What Agents and Editors Look for in Your Social Media

Feb 13, 2019

Whether you like it or not, it’s time to admit that social media is here to stay. It’s an important piece of every business, including the business of writing and publishing. Before you even land your first book deal, agents and editors will be looking you up. The question is, what are they looking for: […]

#BookEnds20: Happy First BookEnds-versary to Amanda!

Feb 12, 2019

Today is my one-year anniversary at BookEnds, huzzah! When I decided to make the move to a new agency, I made a list of possibilities. There were many on the list, but BookEnds was where I really wanted to be. I had followed Jessica Faust and many of our other agents on Twitter for years, […]