There Are No Rules Blog Categories
May/June2013 Issue
May/June Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
Preview the Issue
Buy It Here
Give a Gift SubscriptionSave 58%!
Website of the Week
There Are No Rules
Getting Published
Agent Katharine Sands Teaches “From Pitch to Page One: How to Get an Agent from the Get-Go” – New May 23 Webinar With Query Critique
Getting a literary agent is no easy feat. It requires crafting a query and pitch to get their attention — without making any “querial killer” mistakes that will get your submission rejected. Cutting through the slush is hard work. That’s why we’re lucky to have agent Katharine Sands (Sarah Jane Freymann Literary) to teach “From Pitch to Page One: How to Get an Agent from the Get-Go,” a new webinar on Thursday, May 23, 2013. The webinar starts at 1 p.m., EST, and lasts 90 minutes. Katharine is one of the most in-demand agents at writers conferences nationwide because of her teaching skill. (She authored the book Making the Perfect Pitch.) Read more
If You’re Feeling Down and Out About a Rejection Letter …
Consider James Lee Burke. Sure, his novels are everywhere these days. Bookstores. Airports. Bestseller lists. But here’s how they got there. As Lindsey O’Connor detailed in our profile of the author, Burke published … Read more
Agent John Cusick Teaches How to Create Great Characters — New May 16 Webinar (With Query Critique!)
Every novel is driven by character. We fall in love with heroines, cheer for heroes, and loathe our villains. Characters draw us in, and through them we experience our favorite stories. Without a compelling cast, even the most engrossing tale can fall flat. What makes some protagonists iconic, while others go up in smoke? How can we create rich motivations without burdensome back-story, or nuanced supporting characters without stealing focus from our protagonists? How can we populate our novels with an unforgettable ensemble our readers will love? The answer involves giving your characters a great blend of relationships, history and motivations.
That’s why we’re excited to have a new webinar taught by literary agent and author John M. Cusick (Greenhouse Literary) called “FULL CAST: How to Enrich and Expand Every Character in Your Novel from the Leading Man to the Background Extras.” The event happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, June 16, 2013, and lasts 90 minutes. Read more
4 Truths That Will Revolutionize Your Revision Process
Perhaps because I’m in the process of revising a novel manuscript myself, the advice in the May/June 2013 Writer’s Digest Guide to Pain-Free Revision really resonated with me as I pieced it … Read more
15 Things a Writer Should Never Do
Based on interviews with authors over the years, conferences, editing dozens of issues of Writer’s Digest, and my own occasional literary forays and flails, here are some points of consensus and observations: … 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
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
Maximize Your Website and Social Media: April 18, 2013 Webinar by Jane Friedman on Marketing, Analytics, SEO, Platform, and More
Nowadays, having a simple website or blog is easy — but creating these items is just a first step. Once you have a website and social media presence, you must make sure that this online presence is working for you. It’s a matter of maximizing and optimizing your work online.
Sure, you have a blog — but is the blog growing? Are people signing up to connect with you permanently through a newsletter or RSS feed? Are people leaving comments and finding you on Twitter to connect some more? If you’re selling books or services or a running any kind of writingbusiness, it’s imperative that your online efforts are not going unnoticed. Have an impact by learning about SEO and Google Analytics. Luckily for us, we’ve got social networking and eMedia guru Jane Friedman to teach about these things in a brand new webinar, “How to Understand and Improve the Performance of Your Author Website: Analytics, Platform Building, and Marketing Tactics,” at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, April 18, 2013. It lasts 90 minutes. Read more
3 Secrets of the Greats: Structure Your Story for Ultimate Reader Addiction — April 11 Webinar
Every story needs a great plot. A lot’s been said about the subject — from advice on composing a great ending to having a three-act structure framework. But there’s more to plot and structure — a lot more. So the good news is that we have writer & editor A. Victoria Mixon teaching a brand new live webinar called “3 Secrets of the Greats: Structure Your Story for Ultimate Reader Addiction.” It happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, April 11, and lasts 90 minutes.
In this brand new live webinar, independent editor A. Victoria Mixon teaches the missing three pieces to the puzzle of storytelling structure. You can learn to take your reader on that fabulous rollercoaster ride they crave, creating Ultimate Reader Addiction to your stories, every single time. Read more
Agent Regina Brooks Teaches “Writing Great Books for Young Adults” — April 4 Webinar With Critique
Young adult fiction is a vibrant and growing section of the book writing world. YA is the genre that has the most breakout writers every month, allowing new voices to reach the marketplace all the time. But with more opportunity comes more competition — and agents & editors see tons of submissions each month that get rejected because they don’t stand out. That’s why we have literary agent Regina Brooks teaching the webinar, “Writing Great Books for Young Adults” at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, April 4, 2013. It lasts 90 minutes. Read more
Agents Barbara Poelle and Holly Root Cover It All With Their “How to Write a Successful Novel: The Craft, Techniques, and Strategies” Webinar on March 28
If you don’t know who Barbara Poelle and Holly Root are, I’ll tell you. They are both awesome literary agents who both sell a lot of books and also are extremely good at teaching writers how to improve their work. Basically, they’re super-cool and super-smart. And now, somehow, the planets have aligned and they are teaching an intensive new webinar together while offering critiques for all registrants.
The cover-all 90-minute webinar is called “How to Write a Successful Novel: The Craft, Techniques, and Strategies,” and it happens at 1 p.m., Thursday, March 28, 2013. Every registrant will get feedback from the agents on their query letter and first page. Read more
Story Physics: How to Craft Your Best Fiction — New March 21 Webinar With “Storyfixer” Larry Brooks (With Synopsis Critique!)
We all know that writers want to take their novel (or screenplay) to the next level. That’s why we have “The StoryFixer” Larry Brooks teaching the all-new webinar “From Good to Great: How to Apply the Principles of Story Physics to Craft the Best Fiction of Your Life” at 1 p.m., Thursday, March 21, 2013. It lasts 90 minutes. (All registrants will get a one-page synopsis critiqued by instructor Larry Brooks!) Read more
Your Book, Your Rules: Advice from an Agent (Guest Blog)
Who better to ask for advice on how to keep an agent’s attention than an agent? Carlie Webber of CK Webber Associates maintains an excellent blog on all kinds of writing and … Read more
Rejection Letter Bingo
From the March/April 2013 issue of Writer’s Digest, here’s Rejection Letter Bingo. Print it out and play along. But hurry—I’m getting close! —Zachary Petit is an award-winning journalist, and the senior … Read more
Get Your First 500 Words Critiqued by Agent Roseanne Wells: March 14 Webinar on “The Essentials of Characters, Plot & Setting”
A lot of WD’s webinars are focused on a particular element or genre. Sometimes they’re on writing something specific like a picture book, while other times they’re intensives on query letters or synopses. But this week it’s time to get back to basics. It’s time to talk about the crucial and essential story elements of character, plot and setting. To accomplish this, we have literary agent and instructor extraordinaire Roseanne Wells (Jennifer De Chiara Literary) teaching the all-new webinar, “The Three Essential Building Blocks of Your Novel: Who, What, and Where,” on Thursday, March 14, 2013. The webinar starts at 1 p.m., EST and lasts 90 minutes. And there’s more: Each registrant gets the first 500 pages of their novel critiqued by Roseanne! Read more
Submission Letters: How Much Is Too Much?
As a writer, I always thought I had the submission cover letter down pat. But managing a literary magazine truly opened my eyes to the staggering breadth of what many writers consider … Read more
Agent Jennifer Laughran Teaches the Webinar “Catching and Keeping an Agent” (and Critiques Registrants’ Queries!) on March 7, 2013
This week, literary agent Jennifer Laughran (Andrea Brown Literary) is going to provide a ton of instruction in her brand new webinar for WD. The webinar’s instruction is about both the process of finding & pitching agents as well as what to do after you have an agent. But to round out the presentation, Jennifer is critiquing the query letter of all registants. Virtually no topic of the publication path will go unaddressed.
Jennifer will teach “Beyond the Query: Catching and Keeping an Agent” at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, March 7, 2013. The webinar lasts 90 minutes, and each registrant gets their query critiqued by Jennifer. Read more
3 Surprising Lessons About Publishing Today
With the newsstand release of every new edition of Writer’s Digest magazine, I typically share a few of the best tips relating to the issue’s cover theme here. But in compiling our … Read more
Agent Kate McKean’s Feb. 28 Webinar With Synopsis Critique: “Find, Fix, and Finesse Your Plot into a Winning Idea”
Plot and structure are so important to a story. Heck, that’s the key word to all this: story. A plot and structure is essentially your story’s framework. Many whole books have been written on plot because it’s such a tricky complicated thing. How can you keep people turning the pages? How can you affect their emotions and get them to continue reading? Plot factors in huge.
Luckily for us, we’ve got literary agent and instructor extraordinaire Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary to teach “Find, Fix and Finesse Your Plot into a Winning Idea” — a brand new webinar at 1 p.m., Thursday, Fe. 28, 2013. It lasts 90 minutes and comes with an awesome critique of your entire synopsis! Read more
The Silent Gatekeepers
It’s something every writer who aims to publish a book through traditional means must deal with one day—the dreaded Silent Gatekeepers. But is it really fair for writers to criminalize the cold … Read more
“Perfect Your Query Pitch” — Feb. 14, 2013 Webinar All About Constructing a Dynamite Pitch
When you want to sell your book, you’ll need to send agents and editors a great query letter to pique their interest in your work. And the most important part of the query letter is the pitch — where you describe your novel or memoir’s story. To explain more about how to craft a dynamite pitch and get agents & editors to say YES, we’ve listed “The Book Doctors” Arielle Eckstut & David Henry Sterry to teach “The Art of The Pitch: Perfect Your Number One Tool to Attracting Agents, Publishers, and Readers.” The webinar lasts 90 minutes and happens at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013. Read more
“How to Make a Career of E-Books” — New Webinar by James Scott Bell, Feb. 7, 2013
It’s no secret that one of the biggest stories of the past few years is the rise of e-books and the potential money to be made selling them. It seems like each week we hear about some author — either an established one or a new scribe — who recently made a mint selling e-books. With all this in mind, we wanted to design/offer a brand new webinar all about how to make money off e-books and navigate today’s complicated digital waters. We’ve enlisted storytelling master James Scott Bell to teach the 90-minute webinar, “How to Make a Career Out of eBooks,” at 1 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2013. Read more
WD’s February 2013 Bundled Collection is “Writing for Children & Young Adults” (at 83% Off!)
Writer’s Digest’s new Premium Collections are a pretty cool deal. What happens is that a bunch of our products and/or services are bundled together and sold at a ridiculous discount. For February 2013, the “Writing for Children & Young Adult” collection is 10 awesome products bundled together and sold at 83% off. Each collection has a limited number — and is sold for a limited time — so check out this amazing premium collection (and get your book for kids published!) before it sells out. Read more
Expert Advice on How to Write a Query Letter: Literary Agent Kate McKean Explains How in Her Jan. 31, 2013 Webinar, and Critiques Attendees’ Queries
It’s no secret that a writer’s query letter is extremely important in their quest to get a literary agent and get published. Agents evaluate dozens of queries a day, and make requests for more material from the few letters that impress them. They’re crucial, and that’s why people never get enough articles or advice or samples concerning them. If you’re having trouble with your query letter, why not let a literary agent not only instruct you, but also critique your letter, as well? Sounds pretty sweet to me. The agent in question is the awesome Kate McKean, and the webinar is “The Anatomy of a Query Letter” on Jan. 31, 2013. Read more
