I am a literary agent. I’ve been doing this work for the better part of four decades. When you do something and love it for as long as I have, you gain a lot of wisdom and knowledge, but you don’t lose the drive or the shrewdness. Those things only get better. I have plenty of war stories to tell, plenty of writing tips, and plenty of knowledge about things authors want to know. You won’t find a lot of this information anywhere else. If you’re looking for The Secret, this is as close as you’re going to get. Come on in.
COIN TRICK
Here’s a little trick I picked up somewhere along the way. I started using it when an author had to make a decision. Say she’s...
The Proof is in the Reading
It’s what’s on that page or screen that counts. Not your social media. That helps to sell the book once you have been published, but...
HOW AUCTIONS WORK
Once upon a time, long ago, multiple submissions were verboten. They were considered to be aggressive and rude. Each publisher felt that they were entitled...
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
When an author sells her first book, she really has no idea what she’s getting into. All she knows is that she had this goal...
WRITING TIP
The best trait a character can have is resourcefulness. A resourceful character initiates action instead of merely responding to it. A resourceful character gets things...
AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
I keep a gratitude journal, and have been doing that every single day for many years. Why do I do this? Because after you do...
THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER
THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER Admit it. You’re jealous of someone. And you probably don’t know it, but someone is jealous of you. It may be human...
COMMERCIAL AND LITERARY
How can you tell if a book is literary or commercial? Fiction tends to fall into either one of those camps. Sometimes the author thinks...
A QUICK SALE IS A GOOD SALE
I have always found this to be true. When something drags on and on, it loses energy and momentum. This doesn’t mean, of course, that...
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF A NEGOTIATION
All negotiations are psychological. You can’t really get around it. The ideal is for everyone to walk away happy. They achieve this by exaggerating their...
THE STORY NO ONE WANTS TO TELL YOU
This is a true story. Every word. I had an author who became more and more successful. As her success continued to grow, she turned...
LABEL WHAT YOU WROTE
I never want to see something that doesn’t know what it is. On the very first page, tell me what kind of book this is...
LEARN THE LINGO
I was at a conference and an author was presenting a question to a panel of publishers. She wanted to know if more self-promotion on...
YOUR VACUUM CLEANER AND YOU
If you are a writer, there is a good chance you work at home. You probably have your workspace set up and you do your...
KNOW YOUR MARKET
If you have written a science fiction romantic thriller, you may have written a hot mess. Publishing falls into different types of books. Ask yourself...
WRITING TIP
What is a plot? You think you know what a plot is, but chances are you don’t. I say that because I have seen plenty...
LIAR, LIAR
Sometimes people lie. They do it right to your face. Writers are not immune to this. Here’s a story about that. One Monday morning, an...
HOW I KNOW WHEN A MANUSCRIPT IS WORKING
After doing this work for as long as I have, I can sniff the good ones a mile away. It starts with the quality of...
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