14 Literary Agents Seeking Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction NOW
Sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint which agents are open to submissions at any given time. So with that in mind, I’m creating some new vertical lists of agents seeking queries right now, as of early 2017. This list is for contemporary middle grade fiction. All the agents listed below personally confirmed...
New Literary Agent Alert: Aimee Ashcraft of Brower Literary
Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Aimee Ashcraft of Brower Literary) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. About Aimee: Aimee has always loved books. She loved them so much that as a child, she was often caught sneakily...
How to Write While Managing a Full-Time Job: 5 Ways to Maximize Your Time
2. Take advantage of small moments. Let’s be realistic. If you work a full-time job and have any kind of life, sometimes small moments are all you’re going to get out of a day. If you’re in the doctor’s office (okay, that may be a large moment), or waiting for your...
7 Literary Agents Seeking Women’s Fiction NOW
Sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint which agents are open to submissions at any given time. So with that in mind, I’m creating some new vertical lists of agents seeking queries right now, as of early 2017. This list is for women’s fiction. All the agents listed below personally confirmed to me...
Craft Query Letters and a Submission Package That Gets Noticed — Here’s How
When your submission materials – a query letter, synopsis, manuscript, or book proposal – arrive in an agent’s inbox, they land among hundreds of others. At that point, one of two things will happen. Either the agent (or the agent’s assistant) will like the submission and request more materials, or they...
Literary Agent Interview: Elise Capron of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
This is an interview with Elise Capron of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. A graduate of Emerson College, Elise holds a BFA in writing, literature and publishing. She has been with the Dijkstra Agency since late 2003. She is looking for adult literary fiction, multicultural fiction, debut novels, story collections, and,...
New Literary Agent Alert: Shana Kelly of Einstein Literary
Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Shana Kelly of Einstein Literary Management) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. About Shana: Shana started her publishing career in the literary department of the William Morris Agency, where she...
81 Damn Good Reasons to Read The Guide to Literary Agents Blog in 2017 (and a Giveaway Contest)
Recently, the Guide to Literary Agents Blog passed 2,700 posts. Thank you to all my readers—both long-time and new—who continue to make this one of the biggest blogs in publishing. Now with the blog in its tenth year, as well as with the recent release of the 2017 Guide to Literary...
Agent Pet Peeves: Review These 34 Submission No-No’s Before You Query
(This is Part 3 of a three-part series to kickstart your awesome 2017. Part 1 is a list of tips concerning what to do before you submit, and part 2 is a roundup of query letter advice.) Ah, agent pet peeves. They’re like land mines — dangerous, and out there hiding...
6 Tips for Reading Like a Writer
I’m willing to offer this generalization: whatever level we’ve attained in our development as readers, we always lag behind that standard as writers. I’ve never met a good writer who wasn’t also a great reader. The more broadly and deeply we read, the more we recognize excellent writing in its endless guises and...
38 Query Letter Tips from Literary Agents
(This is Part 2 of a three-part series to kickstart your awesome 2017. Part 1 is a roundup of what to do before you submit, and Part 3 is a list of literary agent pet peeves.) Your first contact with a literary agent is crucial, and the margin for error is...
What To Know Before You Submit: 28 Great Tips from Literary Agents
(This is Part 1 of a three-part series to kickstart your awesome 2017. Part 2 is a roundup of query letter submission tips, and Part 3 is a list of literary agent pet peeves.) The New Year is here, and that means new goals, new resolutions, and new writing projects to...
Collaborating with your Subconscious
Do you want readers to love your protagonist? Or to be inspired by her? A powerful tool for achieving the strong visceral responses you want is outside your conscious mind, but it’s not out of reach. Everything you write, especially a first draft, is a collaboration with another writer: your subconscious....
30th Free “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest: Middle Grade Fiction
UPDATE: Caitie has chosen the 3 winners (no order): Meredith Glickman Sarah Pripas Marie Hoy Welcome to the 30th (free!) “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest on the GLA blog. This is a FREE 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...
New Literary Agent Alert: Rick Pascocello of Glass Literary
Rick is interested in working with nonfiction authors who bring a unique perspective to memoir, biography, business, history, narrative nonfiction, sports, popular culture, social commentary and other thought-provoking ideas, as well as mainstream and literary fiction writers whose voices ring true on every page.
18 Ideas for a Successful Book Launch
Whether you publish traditionally or independently, you will want to do as much as possible to help launch your book. Here are 18 things I found helpful in the launch of my debut picture book, A MORNING WITH GRANDPA, illustrated by Christina Forshay (Lee & Low Books): 1-2 Years Out About...
7 Things I’ve Learned so Far, by S.B. Divya
You reap what you sow, and while it's true that we're all competing for market share, there are plenty of readers out there. Give supportive critiques to others. Cheer their successes and commiserate over their rejections. Support projects like anthologies or new magazines by contributing to and promoting their efforts.
New Literary Agent Alert: Ed Maxwell of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc.
He is seeking: Ed is seeking expert and narrative nonfiction authors, novelists and graphic novelists, as well as children’s book authors and illustrators.
Ditch Microsoft Word for Scrivener. Now.
How many times have you wanted to throw your laptop across the room when Microsoft Word started moving slower than a three-toed sloth with a bad case of vertigo? If you’re like me and your manuscript is over 100,000 words, it probably happens on a fairly regular basis. I’ve had it...
7 Things I’ve Learned so Far, by Jenn Bishop
4. Make time for writing, because promotion can and will take over. My debut book came out in late June and I feel like I’m still recovering from the launch and subsequent promotional activities. It’s a real shift to go from primarily focused on the creation of a thing and then...
New Literary Agent Alert: Hannah Fergesen of KT Literary
She is seeking: I’m looking for YA and MG, as well as some select adult fiction.
5 Life-Saving Techniques for Surviving a Garden Gnome Attack During the Holidays
Keep reading if you want to live. Garden gnome attacks rise sharply during the holidays. This phenomenon is because people’s affection for Santa’s elves causes them to confuse friendly North Pole helpers with the vicious murdering murderers known as garden gnomes (gnomus hortus). We must always remember that while gnomes enjoy...
5 Easy Steps to Writing a Bestseller
1. Write a good book. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet it can be difficult to accomplish. A good book is unique, with compelling characters, voice, and plot. It’s not easy to come up with something original when you’re writing within the confines of a genre like romance, where the tropes are...
7 Writing Rules You Can Ignore
When I say you can ignore these rules, I don’t mean that you should. These “truisms” floating around about writing are useful to think about, especially when you’re starting out, and they can point you to weaknesses in your work. In the end, though, you have to trust your own process....