Lots of little bits of progress this week. My base daily goal is 1,000 new words on the manuscript (“new” words because in addition to that I often revise already-written scenes), and I’m keeping track of those goals via #writegoal on Twitter. If I tweet it, I will meet it! A handful of cool links […]
At a recent meeting with my critique group, I found myself explaining the merits of Twitter for writers. This was surprising since I was dead-set against Twittering just six months ago. I didn’t want another distraction in my life, and I didn’t understand why I needed Twitter when I already used Facebook. But Twitter is […]
It’s Friday already? Here’s what I’ve got for you this week: * Tips from the Huffington Post about how to actually get some writing done. * A fabulous weekly feature from Jane Friedman about the best tweets for writers. It’s similar to this post, but includes only Twitter messages. It’s also a great way to […]
While browsing my @alexisgrant replies on Twitter recently, I noticed a message from a follower I didn’t even know I had: @jtlongandco, or JT Long, author of The Writer’s Secret: MasterMind Your Way to Publishing Success. “I love your blog,” she wrote. “It is like reality TV for writers.” “Guess I should consider adding more […]
If I can’t get into a writers’ colony, I figured, I’ll join a critique group. I found one pretty quickly in my area, through the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. And they met at my local library! How convenient. But when I showed up at a meeting for the first time, I felt slightly out of […]
A query is a pitch to a literary agent, asking him or her to look at your book proposal and hopefully represent your work. There are lots of resources on the Web that explain how to write the perfect query letter. The one-page letter should give a summary of the book’s plot and theme, as […]
Traveling across the country to promote my book will be expensive, time-consuming and tiring. But thanks to the Internet, I’ve got another option for self-promotion: virtual marketing. This month and next, I’m participating in a free online class where I’ll learn how to promote my book via a blog tour. Once again, I’m a little […]
One of the benefits to taking time off from work to write my book is that my life has become more flexible. This week, in addition to writing and coaching my softball team, I’ve taken on a new challenge: organizing a hunger strike for Roxana Saberi. Roxana is an Iranian-American journalist imprisoned in Iran. She […]
One of the side projects I’ve been working on as I find my writing groove is launching a professional Web site. After working with the guys at Upstatement, a design and development firm, the site launched this week at alexisgrant.com. I wanted my own Web site for two reasons: * To make it easy for […]
I’ve just barely begun to explain my progress on this new blog, but I’ve got to interrupt regularly scheduled blog posts to bring you… Queryday. First, what’s a query? It’s a one-page letter to a literary agent, asking that s/he represent you and your project. If an agent likes your query, she’ll ask to see […]