Blogroll – Page 12

Category Archives: Blogroll

Literary Agent Links – Misconceptions, Cognitive Bias, and Demons

Posted on 27 Mar 10 by Editor

Oh, we have a big ol’ bunch o’ literary agent links this week, my friends.

FYI: Jessica at BookEnds will not consider representing you for an up-front payment in lieu of or in addition to a commission, and she probably won’t click a link to a video query, but she will answer a lot of questions about submitting a partial.

At Dystel & Goderich, Jane explains how the submission process works, Miriam throws in her two cents about thrillers, and Jessica dismisses a few misconceptions about publishing.

Nathan Bransford dives into hard-sell query letter subject lines, answers ten questions about self-publishing, and points out the literary impact of one of my favorite cognitive biases: the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Janet Reid reminds us to be careful with queries and death threats, while Nathan Henrion wonders if fiction writers can mimic musical artists.

Finally, the Rejectionist discusses recent demonic rejections, while Rachelle Gardner discusses freelance editors and how long the process takes from submission to hitting the shelves.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, dunning-kruger, Dystel & Goderich, editors, fiction, Janet Reid, literary agents, nathan bransford, nathan henrion, publishing, query letters, rachelle gardner, rejectionist, writer, writing

Writer Links – Lots of Advice on Advice

Posted on 23 Mar 10 by Editor

This week’s writer links begin with two approaches to critique groups: Becky Levine tells us what to expect from her critiques, while Brandi Guthrie at Cursings and Musings discusses what advice to take and what not to take.

Lydia Sharp at The Sharp Angle explains No. 11 of the 52 Qualities of the Prosperous Writer: Good Health. Also, kudos to Lydia for pointing the way to this cool writing advice video on YouTube.

On Not Being Able To Write writer ellanbethia lays out her rejection-letter goals, and Juliette Wade at Talk to YoUniverse discusses choosing the right narrator.

Les Edgerton (to whom I introduced you in my analysis of Jeremy) takes a few deep dives into: Southern Stereotypes, Censorship and Why I Love Charles Bukowski, and his new-found talent as a Goldfish Whisperer.

Finally, Jade Smith serves up a creepy piece of flash fiction in “pawnshop visitor.” (I’m following her capitalization convention here.)

Enjoy! And, Happy Give-Me-Liberty Day!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: becky levine, brandi guthrie, charles bukowski, fiction, goldfish, jade smith, juliette wade, led edgerton, lydia sharp, publishing, the south, writing

Publishing Links – Chick Lit, Beck Lit, Kid Lit, e-Lit

Posted on 22 Mar 10 by Editor

Topping the list of this week’s publishing links is Kate Harding writing for Salon.com on the (perceived?) duality of women’s fiction: self-pitying “misery lit” vs. fashion-and-romance “chick lit.”

I would say that it’s a must read for anyone with a word processor and a pair of X chromosomes, but male writers could also benefit from it: the piece might help them look at their own writing to see how it fits or violates various ideas of what constitutes “dude lit.”

Consulting editor Alan Rinzler at The Book Deal reveals how one young adult author landed two multi-book deals, while Dennis at the Moby Lives blog reveals an alternative to all those Amazon associates links and discusses redactive poetry and the Fair Use doctrine.

(Also, there’s a really funny example of redactive poetry there: “How To Be Charitable, Glenn Beck”)

Moonrat at Editorial Ass answers reader questions about submissions that need more work, what books should be made into movies, and whether one even wants to be published at all!

Finally, Eric at Pimp My Novel dives into the factors affecting how many of your books an account will buy, and how the approaching “e-pocalypse” is unveiled* in the iTunes store.

* You have no idea how much this trans-linguistic pun pleases me.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: Alan Rinzler, amazon.com, chick lit, editing, editorial ass, fiction, glenn beck, itunes, moby lives, pimp my novel, publishing, redactive poetry, salon.com, women's fiction

The Future of Children's Publishing

Posted on 21 Mar 10 by Editor

Hey kids! And by “kids” I mean all of you, because children’s and young adult publishing is being buoyed partly by adults who read books not intended for adults.

When Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney says, “There are a lot of adults I encounter who exclusively read children’s literature,” I would have to concur.

Although certain examples of YA fiction might hinge a bit too much on stiflingly immature emotions and fantasies, preferring kids’ lit is not necessarily a sign of being unable to operate in the grown-up world. As regular readers of this blog might know, I’m no fan of glittery pedophilic vampires with sappy purity pledge sentiments, but I do admire Milne and consider The Hobbit to be well worthy its more “mature” literary siblings.

And, the first Harry Potter fan I ever met was a national security professional working a mission in which all of the violent ugliness of the real world was unavoidable. Grown-ups can enjoy children’s books and still be grown-ups.

All of which is mere preface to my publishing link of the weekend, from the Sunday Washington Post: The future of children’s book publishing. Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: a. a. milne, children's literature, diary of a wimpy kid, harry potter, publishing, the hobbit, twilight, winnie the pooh, young adult literature

Agents Literary – Query Letters, Genre, and Giant Books

Posted on 19 Mar 10 by Editor

As one of my regular agent blog reads once stated, lack of a query response is the same as a form rejection. So, as I absorb this advice and rack up my next round of queries, let’s check out some more good advice from our favorite literary agents.

Yes, I scour the best literary agent blogs for goodies so you don’t have to! You can thank me by clickerating that RSS feed button. Gently! It’s made of pixels.

Jessica at BookEnds explains why bad queries are great news for good query writers, lets us in on her query pet peeves, gives us some idea of the business rhythm at BookEnds, and tells us to go ahead and send a thank-you note after a rejection. And, no, she will not rep your 2000-page book.

Over at Dystel & Goderich, Miriam discusses the good and bad of Facebook, Stacey offers some sobering advice about picking a genre (and more!), Jessica navigates the fine line between too much and not enough info in a query letter, Lauren confesses her unrepentant bibliophilia (“teetering piles” of books? me too!), and Jane tells us what negotiating looks like.

Janet Reid clarifies when she does and does not want to hear from you, Jennifer Jackson explains that your query may have been eaten by the grue (and also explains a li’l something about genre), and Kristin Nelson answers boatloads of reader questions. “How many boatloads?” you ask, noting anxiously that there was no hyperlink in that last clause. One, two, three boatloads!

Finally, Nathan Bransford tells us how to write and format a query. He also picks Moby-Dick as his “desert island book,” winning instant kudos from yours truly. Although a giant pop-up book on sailing with a styrofoam dust sleeve might be a wiser choice…

[Also: how do I decide what to bold in these link lists? Well, if there’s a site or firm name, I bold that. Otherwise I bold the blog writer’s name.]

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, books, facebook, fiction, herman melville, literary agent, moby dick, publishing, query letters

Writer Links – To Your (Literary) Health!

Posted on 17 Mar 10 by Editor

As my own contribution to this week’s writer talk, I have recently discovered a new species of the writer’s block bug against which I have no adequate literary immune response: I dislike one of the characters in The Crow and the Kinnebeck so badly that I can’t write conversation with him in it.

The prescription? I’m probably going to create a throw-away scene in which the guy is killed or otherwise gets what’s coming to him, and see if that makes it easier to listen to him talk.

In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting some inspirational texts I recently ordered from The Devil Amazon.com: The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction and The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps. Good old Vitamin P! Nothing like the classics to get your Write Blood Cells in fighting trim!

Now, on to the (other) writers’ links:

Jade Smith painfully digs out her first novel attempt (I know how that feels!) while ellanbethia at On Not Being Able To Write asks “Do You Encourage Other Writers?”

Juliette Wade discusses how to write about a culture from both an insider and outsider perspective., while Becky Levine dives into her Author Appreciation week. So far: Heidi R. Kling, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Terry Pratchett.

Finally, Dana Cameron talks a bit about novels and short stories, comparing them to sprints and marathons. But, the other way around. (I just thought the short-term-then-long-term rhythm sounded better in both cases.)

Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: amazon.com, becky levine, black lizard, dana cameron, heidi kling, jade smith, juliette wade, laurie halse anderson, on not being able to write, pulp fiction, terry pratchett, writer's block

Publishing Pro Links – Sweet Little Soup

Posted on 15 Mar 10 by Editor

Okay, let’s kick out some links from publishing and editing professionals. It’s my slimmest category of link soups, but this week’s ingredients are tasty indeed.

For example, there’s a bit of hope for authors having a hard time breaking into the industry: Eric at Pimp My Novel is wondering if print-on-demand is the future of print, while Alan Rinzler at The Book Deal explains how self-publishing can lead to a real book deal.

Moonrat at Editorial Ass explains what the standard submission process is like, and the Moby Lives blog tackles a slew of publishing issues: the new ISBN format, the trouble with iPad’s text-reading functionality, and 21st Century information overload.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: Alan Rinzler, ebooks, editorial ass, fiction, ipad, melville house, moby lives, pimp my novel, publishing, the book deal, writing

The Latest From My Fave Agent Blogs

Posted on 08 Mar 10 by Editor

We are back around into the lit agent arc of my new link soup cycle. (Those of you who missed the big three-way split … psht! There’s an RSS button in the sidebar now. No excuse!)

Have fun; and if you know of a fantastic lit agent writing a blog I’m missing, let me know!

Jessica at BookEnds tells us how to submit a partial, and how to find agents and publishers. She also published an updated version of her publishing dictionary, which reminds me that I have to keep mine updated.

Jennifer Jackson responds to reader questions about queries that don’t follow her agency’s guidelines, Kristin Nelson rants about the agency commission model for ebooks, and Rachelle Gardner says, “Let’s Hear It For Old Fashioned Books!”

Finally, Lucienne Diver wraps up her Debut Week series of guest blogs (which I featured in my last writer link soup) with an agent’s perspective.

Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, ebooks, Kristin Nelson, literary agent, lucienne diver, publishing, query letter, rachelle gardner

Professional Links : Publishers & Editors Speak!

Posted on 06 Mar 10 by Editor

Booyah! I am thrilled to be on to my second round of publisher/editor links. Splitting up the authors, agents, and publishing house professionals was such a good idea!

Editor Alan Rinzler tells writers how to use a voice journal for character development, while Melville House‘s “Moby Lives” blog celebrates the fact that books outnumber games on iTunes.

The Editorial Ass answers questions about writing in your favorite genre, why he became a book editor, and how book deal advances are divided up.

Finally, Eric at Pimp My Novel has punched out some good stuff, including: the face of the publishing industry, how to read an ISBN, and the four things it takes to succeed as a writer.

Enjoy!

Category: Blogroll | Tags: Alan Rinzler, editorial ass, fiction, melville, moby lives, pimp my novel, publishing, writing

Writer Links

Posted on 04 Mar 10 by Editor

I hope you enjoy the author links I’ve compiled for you this week. In return, I ask a tiny favor:

See the shiny, new, red RSS feed button in the sidebar? Click it, use it, tell your friends! I’ll love you for it. Now, on to the links…

John Fox does a little amateur research on book piracy at his BookFox blog, while Kelly Morgan discusses the art of sleepwriting, or trying to write when you’re way too tired to being writing.

Joe at The Sharp Angle lets us in on his “Short Story Process from Idea to Submission” while Lydia explains the Number Nine quality of a prosperous writer: Saleability.

Jade Smith offers up a taste of her new short story, “The Arcanum.” I am particularly intrigued, because Jade echoes one of the writerly dynamics I am exploring in my “Story Behind the Story” series:

I usually know the ending of a story before I begin it. I thought I knew this one, but as it turns out, the story shaped itself beyond my limited expectations. When a tale gets its own voice, that can be a good thing.

I completely agree! An inestimably good thing.

Finally, author/agent Lucienne Diver presents author Kalayna Price’s advice on “How Not to Write A Book,” author Vicky Dreiling’s advice on “How to Make a Reality Show in Regency England,” and author Diana Orgain’s “Top Five Lessons Learned.”

Category: Blogroll | Tags: bookfox, Diana Orgain, fiction, jade smith, kalayna price, kelly morgan, lucienne diver, publishing, the sharp angle, Vicky Dreiling, writing