Beyond the First Draft–Preparing the Perfect Proposal
Guess what—there are as many ideas of what the “perfect proposal” entails as there are editors and agents. So what I’ve done is go out and gather as much information as I can to give a general overview...
View ArticleBeyond the First Draft—The Pitch Sheet and One-Sheet
One Sheet to tell them all; One Sheet to sell them, One Sheet for promoting all And in the pitch impress them. Okay, so maybe rewording Tolkien’s One Ring poem isn’t the best way to promote my own...
View ArticleBeyond the First Draft–Face-to-Face Pitch Sessions
As most of my regular readers know, the ACFW national conference is just TWENTY-ONE DAYS away. In addition to figuring out what we’re going to wear (and how to pack it all) and where we’re going to go...
View ArticleBeyond the First Draft–More on Cutting
Mary asked for more on the subject of cutting when it comes to revising our manuscripts. As my former crit partners and current editors will attest, I may not be the best person to counsel others on...
View ArticleMy Pitch Sheets!
After getting some wonderful feedback on my early attempts at a one-sheet and a pitch-sheet, I’ve completely revamped them with a cleaner layout and for front-and-back printing. But I would love more...
View ArticleWhat NOT to Write: The Query Letter
Before I was laid off from the publishing house, one of my duties was going through the slush pile. What that meant was that all manuscripts coming from authors we’d worked with or through agents went...
View ArticleWhat Not to Write–The Submission
This is really more “What Not to Do” but I wanted to keep the title consistent. Monday I gave examples of things in the cover letter of submissions that made me immediately grab a rejection card to...
View ArticleWriting Series Spotlight: Beyond the First Draft and Manuscript 101
It has lately come to my attention that those of you who are visiting the blog regularly might not be familiar with some of the writing series I’ve taught. So I thought I might highlight some of them...
View ArticleWriter-Talk Tuesday: Let’s Practice Our Elevator Pitches
What’s an elevator pitch? You need to be able to explain the gist of your story in twenty seconds or less—about the length of time you’ll have if you find yourself in an elevator with your dream agent...
View ArticleI’ve Released a Craft Book/Writing Workbook!
I am excited to announce the release of my Every Day Writing Habit Challenge workbook! It’s a 200-page downloadable workbook–and writing craft book–that will walk a new writer, or someone making a...
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