May/June2013 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
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Writing Editor Blogs
Guide to Literary Agents Blog
by Chuck Sambuchino
GLA Editor Chuck Sambuchino keeps track of all news related to literary agents and writing conferences on his blog. Common features include agent interviews, new agency listings, agency profiles, upcoming conferences of interest, contests and other publishing opportunities, valuable writing resources, submission tips and information, and a blogroll of other agent blogs. Read Chuck’s Blog
There Are No Rulesby the editors of Writer’s Digest
Get on the cutting edge of today’s publishing trends and how authors can succeed in a world of fast-paced technological change, guided by the editors of Writer’s Digest. You’ll get an inside look at the work, play, and passion of the publishing business and find practical tools for success. Read There Are No Rules
Questions & Quandariesby Brian Klems
Don’t know the difference between “who” and “whom”? Facing an ethical dilemma about accepting gifts from subjects? Let the informative (and humorous) columnist Brian A. Klems answer some of your most pressing grammatical, ethical, business and writing-related questions. Check out his advice and don’t hesitate to ask a question—your writing career will thank you. Read Brian’s Blog
Poetic Asidesby Robert Brewer
Published poet Robert Lee Brewer blogs on issues affecting poets from the poet’s perspective. As the editor of Writer’s Market, Brewer also shares insights on the publishing industry, especially as it relates to poetry and the poetry markets. He also explains poetic forms, interviews other published poets, and provides the occasional poetry prompt. Read Robert’s Blog
How I Got My Agent: Tiffany Hawk
“How I Got My Agent” is a recurring feature on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog, with this installment featuring Tiffany Hawk, author of LOVE ME ANYWAY. These columns are great ways for you to learn how to find a literary agent. Some tales are of long roads and many setbacks, while others are of good luck and quick signings.
GIVEAWAY: Tiffany is excited to give away a free copy of her novel 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. Read more
Literary Agent Interview: Rachael Dugas of Talcott Notch Literary
This installment features Rachael Dugas of Talcott Notch Literary Services, LLC. After graduating from Ithaca College with a BA in English and minors in writing and theater, she completed a six-month internship with Sourcebooks before joining Talcott Notch. She also Tweets.
She is seeking: In fiction, she accepts young adult and middle grade, women’s fiction, romance, paranormal, and mysteries. She also considers nonfiction, with a strong interest in the arts. Read more
WD Poetic Form Challenge: Rispetto Winner
It took awhile, but here’s the winner post for the most recent poetic form challenge: the rispetto. I enjoyed reading both versions, though I noticed most poets favored the 8×8 version, including … Read more
New Literary Agent Alert: Danielle Smith of Foreword Literary
She is seeking: “Danielle is currently looking for picture books, early readers and chapter books with characters that embody the true essence of what it means to be a child. She’s not afraid to represent all that this encompasses whether it be vibrant joyous stories to darker and harder to tackle subjects such as bullying, loss and death. She would also love to find a great new MG novel and/or graphic novel author/illustrator with a flair for great humor that doesn’t involve devaluing others in order to be funny. More than anything she would love to represent authors who are passionate about getting children to love reading and are able to execute that in a way that both children and parents can love.” Read more
7 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
If you’re struggling with writer’s block, don’t get discouraged. This happens to every great writer at some point, and it’s easy to overcome it. I get stuck many times in the middle of a novel. I lose my muse and don’t feel like writing. I stare at the computer screen and no words come to mind. My head feels stuck, stuck, stuck. It can be frustrating. After twenty years of writing historical thrillers and supernatural horror novels, I’ve learned how to get past writer’s block. Here are seven powerful ways you can get back into the flow of writing… Read more
Debut Author Interview: Anna Loan-Wilsey, Author of A LACK OF TEMPERANCE
It’s time to meet another debut author and see how they found their literary agent and got published. These interviews are a great opportunity to see what debut writers did right on their journey as well as what they wished they did different. Today, we meet novelist Anna Loan-Wilsey, author of the historical mystery A LACK OF TEMPERANCE. Read more
Learn the Keys to Finding an Agent: May 9 Webinar on Queries, Synopses, Pitching, Copyright and More
Getting a literary agent is a massive step to seeing your writing dreams come to life. An agent can get you a book deal from a major publisher. An agent can help sell your book overseas and to Hollywood. An agent can help guide your career. All that said, finding and signing with an agent is a tricky thing. You’ve got to write a manuscript, compose a query, put together a synopsis, research agents, craft a pitch, consider your platform, and more. It’s all a lot to take in. Where do you start? What’s the best path to take?
These types of questions are why we’ve put together the upcoming May 9 live webinar, “Everything You Need to Know About Getting an Agent: Queries, Synopses, Pitching, Copyright, and More.” It’s actually taught by me (Chuck Sambuchino) and lasts 90 minutes. The session is at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, May 9, 2013 — but you do not need to attend the actual live broadcast to get the recording & extras. And regarding said extras, all attendees will get 1) a downloadable PDF of the book FORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT as well as 2) exclusive one-sheet that details the 7 parts of a query letter pitch. Read more
Learn the Basics From a Bestseller: 10 Things Every Writer Should Do in Their Novel
The following is a guest post from bestselling author Brenda Novak. In writing about the keys to penning a hit novel, Novak reveals a valuable point: It often boils down to nailing … Read more
Agent J.L. Stermer Seeks New Young Adult & Women’s Fiction Clients
Literary agent J.L. Stermer of N.S. Bienstock asked me to put out a call for some new queries for her. While J.L. represents a wide variety of subjects, she is specifically putting out this active call for queries in the genres of young adult novels as well as adult women’s fiction. (Read: This agent seeks new clients!) If you are have a completed, polished novel in either of those categories, J.L. wants to hear from you. Read more
Debut Author Interview: Orest Stelmach, Author of THE BOY FROM REACTOR 4
This installment of Debut Author Interviews is with writer Orest Stelmach, whose debut thriller, THE BOY FROM REACTOR 4, released on March 19, 2013 from Thomas & Mercer. Neil McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Silver, called Stelmach’s book “a top-notch, fast-moving thriller with gripping authenticity from Stelmach’s knowledge of politics, history, and crime in Eastern Europe and America.” Read more
How to Submit Your Book to Agents — May 2, 2013 Webinar by Agent Kate McKean (With Critique)
Submitting your work to literary agents seems like a straightforward thing, doesn’t it? But the truth is that they are many ins and outs to researching agents, writing a query letter that works, submission etiquette & protocol, and more. How do you get past contradictory advice online regarding submissions? Where do you find hungry agents that are looking for new clients in your genre? What are the best questions to ask an agent if they offer representation? All these areas can be quite tricky to navigate…
And that’s why we have awesome literary agent Kate McKean (Howard Morhaim Literary) to teach the new webinar, “How to Submit Your Book to Agents: Take the Right First Steps on Your Road to Publication” on Thursday, May 2, 2013. The webinar starts at 1 p.m., EST and lasts 90 minutes. Not only will attendees get instruction, they will also get a critique of their query letter by Kate. (Remember that at least three agents — Barbara Poelle, Kathleen Ortiz and Louise Fury — have signed writers after critiquing their work as part of a WD webinar.) Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Next Steps
Okay, now that we’ve poemed, I’m looking forward to the next step, which is where poets pick five of their favorite poems from the April PAD Challenge and send them in to … Read more
Wednesday Poetry Prompts: 217
I hope to get the next steps for the 2013 April PAD Challenge up either later today or tomorrow, but in the meantime, we’ve somehow landed on a Wednesday already–first day out … Read more
How to Promote Your Book (Part 2): Book Tours, Publicity, Video Trailers and More
Can’t afford a publicist?—Be your own: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and literally hundreds of book blogs have made it possible to get the word out to millions of potential readers. Would your book appeal to a special interest group (Civil War buffs, oenophiles, knitters)? Use the Internet to find those groups and let them know about your book.
GIVEAWAY: Steven is excited to give away a free copy of his novel 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. Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Day 30
Today is the final day. We made it! Tomorrow, we’ll revert back to our Wednesday Poetry Prompts, though I won’t be surprised if quite a few poets take a breather. I’m also … Read more
7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Sharon Short
3. Your opening is probably not your opening. My least favorite part of creative writing is drafting that opening scene. It always feels so forced, so awkward. I have to get pretty far into the story before I know how it really should begin, and to realize (for the millionth time) that ‘dumping backstory’ is not an opening that will hook readers. As I wrote what I thought was the beginning of chapter 18 for MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA, I realized I’d just written the opening paragraphs. Fortunately, I didn’t have to toss out everything I’d written for chapters 1-17. But I did have to write that much before I discovered the real hook of my novel.
GIVEAWAY: Sharon is excited to give away a free copy of her novel 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. Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Day 29
After today, there’s just tomorrow. How did we get through April so fast? For today’s prompt, take a line from one of your poems (preferably one of your April poems), make it … Read more
New Literary Agent Alert: Jamie Bodnar Drowley of Inklings Literary
Jamie is seeking: In Adult, New Adult and Young Adult fiction, Jamie is seeking fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, historical, contemporary, horror, light sci-fi and thrillers. In MG, she loves stories that make her laugh and are imaginative with a clear voice. She loves strong characters with distinct voices and unique story lines that stay with her long after she is finished reading. Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Day 28
Only three days left! Let’s push to the summit. For today’s prompt, write a shadorma. For those new to the shadorma, it’s a fun little 6-line poem that follows this syllable count: … Read more
Agent Advice: Shira Hoffman of McIntosh & Otis, Inc.
This interview features Shira Hoffman of McIntosh & Otis, Inc. Shira began her career in publishing as an intern at Tor Books and has been with M&O since 2007. In 2013, she took over as Director of Subsidiary Rights. She also Tweets @ShiraSHoffman.
She is seeking: mainstream commercial fiction, mystery, literary fiction, women’s fiction, romance, urban fantasy, fantasy, science fiction, horror and dystopian. Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Day 27
The April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only: Write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years … Read more
Debut Author Interview: Ryan McIlvain, Author of ELDER
This debut author interview and spotlight is with 2013 success story Ryan McIlvain, author of ELDERS (March 2013, Hogarth).
ELDERS is literary fiction. Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here, said, “Elders is a refreshingly earnest, clear-eyed, and self-assured debut by a young writer to watch. McIlvain wrestles with sturdy themes, conflicted characters, and big ideas—the stuff of classic literature.” Author Ryan McIlvain was born in Utah and raised in Massachusetts. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many journals, including The Paris Review. A Stegner Fellow at Stanford from 2009 to 2011, he currently lives with his wife in Los Angeles. Read more
Actors-Turned-Authors: How Many Copies Did They Sell?
We always hear about those gargantuan celebrity book deals … but we rarely find out how those books actually fared on the shelf. The results may surprise (or sadden, or maybe even … Read more
2013 April PAD Challenge: Day 26
The April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge is designed to help poets do one thing and one thing only: Write more poems! The process of revision may go on for weeks, months, and years … Read more
Literary Agent Kimiko Nakamura Seeks New Clients
I’m not considering this a true New Agent Alert because literary agent Kimiko Nakamura (of Dee Mura Literary) is not new. That said, this post resembles an Alert in that Kimiko did tell me recently how she is actively looking to build her client list right now — and that is something writers should be happy to know. All details below for those interested in querying her!
She is seeking: Contemporary Fiction, Thriller/Mystery, Women’s Lit, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Cookbooks, and Memoir. Read more
