Oct 03 2009
Highlights from our Blogroll
Hello! Here are some of my favorite posts from the bloggers on my radar screen…
The Creative Penn
- Seven Weekly Tasks for Writers— most of which don’t entail writing!
- What Is An Author Platform and Why Do I Need One?–platforming is one way to enhance your publishability.
- Three Steps to Start Building Your Platform–just what it sounds like.
Editorial Anonymous
- Series Potential? Seriously?–a few notes about how hard it is to pitch a series. “If the editor sees the potential for great popularity and the beginnings of a series, she will suggest the series to you.”
- How Unpleasant is the Editor-Author Relationship?
- Bad Reviews Don’t Matter
The Intern
- Eliminating the Arbitrary— a publishing intern discusses a recurring problem for prospective authors.
Edit Torrent
- Tales from the Slush Pile— an editor’s observations about why the vast majority of submissions get tossed so quickly.
- How to Put The Query Together— an example of how to weave together different plot elements to make a compelling query.
- Creating Foils— an excellent guide to antagonists.
- Deepening Your Characters— just what it says on the tin.
- But a Famous Author Got Away With It!— you’re not yet a famous author, in case you haven’t noticed.
- Marks of the Amateur— a useful guide to avoiding unnecessary modifies, among other newbie tics that tend to put off pros.
Janet Reid, Literary Agent
- Query Letter Checklist— what absolutely needs to appear in your query letter to an agent or publisher.
- Feeling Rejected?— some suggestions to write a query that is good enough to avoid a form rejection letter.
- Yes, Rejection Isn’t Fun, But…— some advice about how to deal with rejection in a productive way.
Query Shark
- Query #129— QS discusses a query that needs to be more concise and interesting.
- Query #124— this thriller’s query is solid!
The Rejecter
- The Infamous Synopsis— some comforting advice about synopses. It’s not as hard as most people think it is.
- More on Editors vs. Agents–how having an agent increases your credibility with editors.
- In These Harsh Economic Times— a few notes about how the economy has affected the publishing industry.
- The Long Email— helpful if you’re pitching to an agent for the first time and/or aren’t sure about how to deal with multiple books.
- Graphic Novels and Query Responses— some brief, brief advice about how a graphic novelist should deal with agents.
