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 […]
Writing at home can be lonely, especially for a reporter like me who’s used to the bustle of a newsroom. That’s why as soon as I returned home from Africa, before I even started writing my book, I applied to a handful of writers’ colonies. What’s a writers’ colony? It’s a place where writers retreat […]
Now that y’all have seen my query, as well as a description of how I picked literary agents to query, here’s a question to authors who have been through this already: Should I query all 12 agents at once? Or would it be smarter to query the first half and wait for feedback? Here’s the […]
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 […]
Thanks for all the feedback on my working title, Madame or Mademoiselle? A Woman’s Solo Journey Through Africa. Here’s the consensus: Readers seemed to like the subtitle, A Woman’s Solo Journey Through Africa. But not everyone was satisfied with the first half of the title, Madame or Mademoiselle? It’s too long, some critics said. It’s […]
To pitch my book to agents and publishers, I need a title. I know what you’re thinking: How can I possibly come up with a title when I haven’t written the book? It ain’t easy. But since I’ve already outlined the book for my book proposal and developed a theme, it’s feasible to build upon […]
As part of my book proposal, I need a catchy two-line selling handle that summarizes the theme and plot of my book. The handle is a bit like the book-jacket blurb, the paragraph readers skim while browsing in the bookstore, one that convinces them to purchase a book. I’ve already shared with you the first […]
So I’d like an agent to represent me. How to go about finding one? For starters, I can weed out everyone who’s not interested in the genre of my book. I need an agent who represents authors of travel memoirs, adventure stories or narrative nonfiction. The best way — in my newbie opinion — for […]
Until I began learning about the publishing process, I thought only movie stars had agents. Turns out wannabe authors do, too. But why, you ask, would a writer want to hire an agent? Literary agents serve as intermediaries between author hopefuls and publishers, helping writers polish their proposal, shop it around to publishers and negotiate […]
Two-and-a-half months. That’s how long it took me to write a book proposal. And it doesn’t even include sample chapters. What proposal could possibly take you 2.5 months, you ask? The kind that’s required for a nonfiction book, one with a working title, promotion plan and detailed outline for each chapter. (For all you novelists […]