I’m learning something new about myself. When I have a full requested by an agent I like, I stop querying. It’s not an intentional, “This is it. No need to send these things out any more!” It’s more of a, “Damn, that’s hard work. I’ll get to it later.” Later just happens to come after…
So I have decided that rejections that offer praise first actually sting more than just flat rejection. “This is a great story with strong writing, but I didn’t fall in love with it” says to me “Damn you were close, but it just didn’t click with me” which stings SO MUCH MORE than just a…
If you read industry blogs at all, you have seen an agent or two (or two hundred) occasionally talk about reaction emails. Reaction emails are when an amateur (not an aspiring author) shows that he or she is no way emotionally ready for the challenges of publishing and may never be. They submit their query…
Your pardon at the quality of the pictures, but I took those with my phone which does not have the best camera. They get the point across, though. I received feedback from an agent awhile back, feedback I was uncertain about. I never rush right into feedback assuming that a person is right or wrong.…
If I had known that I was going to attend Sara Megibow’s Writer’s Digest webinar today, I would have posted earlier. It was a last minute decision1, and boy am I glad I attended. It was a seminar on querying. I have attended such a seminar before hosted by her boss, Kristin Nelson. That seminar…
So if you don’t make it out of the slush pile, you’re most likely getting the ax by the assistant tasked with grinding the slush. Assuming the assistant wants to be an agent someday down the road, not only are you getting rejected by the agent you queried, you’re getting rejected by an agent from…
If you know the name Sonny Liston at all, you know it’s the guy on the mat in the famous Mohammed Ali photo. It’s one of the most highly recognizable/promoted sports pictures in American sports history. There’s Ali talking smack and some boxer on the mat he’s just knocked down in the first round. That’s…
So I posted a three drafts of the query for JEHOVAH’S HITLIST (twice as primary posts and once as a response). I got some ingenious feedback from Elizabeth Poole following my third draft that took in it a whole new but slightly different direction. I am withholding the final draft until querying has passed and/or…
In September ’10, I made a first draft of a query for Jehovah’s Hitlist. It’s a rule peoples, never go with your first draft. Of anything. Not your novel. Not your query. So I’ve written a few drafts of JH (and will be doing one more) so it’s time to put the nose to the…