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Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents Blog

Chuck Sambuchino is an editor and published book author who runs the Guide to Literary Agents Blog, one of the biggest blogs in publishing. His site has posts on agents, query letters, submissions, publishing, platform, marketing and more.

Write to Express, Not to Impress

May 2, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 44
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The answer to everything: “Write to express, not to impress.” That’s it. A six word powerhouse. It’s the universal answer to just about everything a writer asks. Go ahead, give it a try. 1) How do I get past writer’s block? Write to express, not to impress. I don’t believe in writer’s block. The inability to move forward on a work is my subconscious telling me something important.

GIVEAWAY: Bernadette is excited to give away a free copy of either of her novels to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. (Update: Jean Voelker won.) Read more

New Literary Agent Alert: Sarah Joy Freese of Wordserve Literary

May 1, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 0
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She is seeking: “Christian romance, Christian historical romance, Christian suspense, and paranormal romance. In non-fiction I am representing Christian apologetics. I am looking for full-length fiction, 65,000-100,000 words in either the general or Christian market. I prefer women’s fiction, romance, suspense/thriller, romantic suspense, historical, Amish, Biblical, Americana, Regencies, and mainstream. Occasionally, I consider literary manuscripts if they can sell in a traditional CBA or ABA market.” Read more

10th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest (Upmarket / Women’s / Mainstream Fiction)

April 30, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 5
DearLuckyAgent

Welcome to the 10th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here’s the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you’re writing a upmarket novel(see exactly what this category means below), this 10th contest is for you! (The contest is live through May 14, 2012.) Read more

“How I Got Published” — Wade Rouse, Best-Selling Author and Editor of I’M NOT THE BIGGEST B**** IN THIS RELATIONSHIP

April 29, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 0
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Wade Rouse, humorist and memoirist, is the creator and editor of the recently published humorous dog anthology, I’m Not the Biggest B**** in This Relationship: Hilarious, Heartwarming Tales about Man’s Best Friend from America’s Favorite Humorists (NAL, 2011), which was a Today Show “Holiday Pick” and features essays from nine New York Times bestsellers and one Tony winner, and a foreword by Chelsea Handler’s dog, Chunk. 50 percent of the royalties from the book benefit the Humane Society of the United States. Click through to read an interview where he explains how he got published and became a New York Times best-selling author. Read more

Synopsis Example: The IDES OF MARCH (Political / Thriller)

April 28, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 0
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Here’s another example of a fiction synopsis. This time it’s The Ides of March (2011). It’s a thriller, sure, but a character-driven one.The biggest challenge with this one was cutting down on which characters to mention. You’ll notice how Jeffrey Wright’s and Paul Giamatti’s characters are glanced over. This is on purpose. I just barely got this under the necessary word count. Remember: Keep your synopses moving — cut, cut, cut. Read more

Writer’s Digest Conference West in Los Angeles (Oct. 19-21, 2012) Has Sessions, Agents, Pitches and More

April 27, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 0
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After the great success Writer’s Digest has had organizing its event in New York City, we are very excited to be expanding to the West Coast as of 2012. Writer’s Digest Conference West is a new event in Los Angeles set for October 19-21, 2012. All the good stuff you have come to expect from a WD conference will be here — sessions, agents, bootcamps, the Pitch Slam, and more. Read more

Writing a Novel People Want to Read

April 26, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 84
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Over the years—before the release of my debut novel, A WALK ACROSS THE SUN, and in the months since—I have heard aspiring writers say, “I don’t write stories for an audience. I write for myself.” When I was an aspiring novelist penning stories that no one wanted to publish, I used to say the same thing. The rejections piled up, but I dismissed them as unenlightened or obtuse. In truth, without knowing it, I was the one who was unenlightened.

GIVEAWAY: Corban is excited to give away a free copy of his book to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. (Update: jvdbednarz@aol.com won.) Read more

7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Kirk Russell

April 25, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 0
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This is a recurring column I’m calling “7 Things I’ve Learned So Far,” where writers at any stage of their career can talk about seven things they’ve learned along their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning. This installment is from crime writer Kirk Russell.

One of Kirk Russell’s earlier crime novels, SHELL GAMES: A JOHN MARQUEZ CRIME NOVEL, has been selected by Amazon for promotion in its Kindle Daily Deal on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. For one day only, this ebook will be priced at just $1.99. Read more

New Literary Agent Alert: Sara Sciuto of Full Circle Literary

April 23, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 3
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She is seeking: Sara is actively building her list with a focus on middle grade and young adult, in particular, dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, and unique paranormal. She also enjoys contemporary stories with a strong, authentic voice (but no chick-lit, please). She has a particular soft spot for anything in the Deep South (sweet contemporary to dark paranormal), gritty contemporary, utilitarian dystopias or dystopian thrillers, anything with international locales or period settings (think flappers or “Mad Men”), and anything with artistic themes. Sara is also looking for standout picture books, especially those with a quirky or humorous narrative. She’s also considering select nonfiction in the areas of craft, design, how-to, lifestyle, and pop culture. Currently, she is NOT considering any adult fiction (all genres). Read more

Writer’s Digest Has a YouTube Channel

April 23, 2012 | Chuck Sambuchino | Comments: 3
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Just a cool heads up — Writer’s Digest now has a YouTube channel! You’ll find tutorial video clips sure to give you tidbits of helpful information. Here’s the best part . . . anyone that has subscribed to the WD YouTube channel by April 30, 2012, will be entered into a special drawing. The lucky WD YouTube channel subscriber will win: a copy of the new 2012 Guide to Literary Agents book (retail value: $29.99) and you can pick to attend one live WD webinar during of your choice during the months of June 2012 or July 2012 (retail value: $79-$89). Read more

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