Tag Archives: fiction

Publishing Links – Tons of Advice and Questions Answered

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We have some interesting links from publishing biz pros this week.  By the way, subscribed yet?  Check out the sidebar and sign up!

The Author magazine editor’s blog attacks some intriguing issues for writers: the great discipline it takes to write without an outline, ending a story before the readers expect it to end, and how the lowest of lows proves that there is a high within us.  Good reads!

Rob Asghar explains, in a special and snarkily funny piece for the Huffington Post, seven lessons for aspiring authors: Go Rogue! Definitely worth the click.

Eric at Pimp My Novel explains the epistemology of publishing in five easy minutes, while the Moby Lives blogs addresses something near and dear to my heart as a religious scholar who focused on Islam during my heady days at the University of Virginia: better textual analysis of early copies of the Qur’an.

Alan Rinzler of The Book Deal asks “Is a bestseller hiding in your academic papers?” and offers some insider tips for preparing and delivering a winning pitch.

Finally, Moonrat at Editorial Ass answers the following ass-tastic questions:

Enjoy!

Literary Agent Links – Misconceptions, Cognitive Bias, and Demons

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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.

Writer Links – Lots of Advice on Advice

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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!

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

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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.

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

Agents Literary – Query Letters, Genre, and Giant Books

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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.]

Publishing Pro Links – Sweet Little Soup

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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.

Professional Links : Publishers & Editors Speak!

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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!

Writer Links

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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.”

Writer Links – Naked Souls, Tough Times, and Virtue

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After yesterday’s announcement about writer Mandy Morgan, I thought I would follow up today with some more writer links — partly to catch up on my link souping, and partly to begin dividing up my link soup posts into authors, agents, and editors so that they aren’t so overloaded.

And, introducing my latest thematic icon, specifically for author link soups!  Major points for whoever recognizes the writer without having to cheat.

First up to bat, Jade Smith tells us about her latest published work, “Gallows Tree,” and addresses the odd dynamics of vision and social expectation by asking “Is your soul naked?

Marie Mutsuki Mockett tells us about being a debut novelist in hard economic times.  (Thanks to Editorial Ass for pointing me toward that one.)

In other authorial news: Kelly Morgan receives Lesa’s Bald Face Liar “Creative Writer” Blogger Award, and Lydia Sharp discusses the writerly virtue of “Containment.”

Enjoy!

A Stocking Full of Publishing & Writing Links!

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“Hey, John!” I imagine you say, “Why are you not writing more of The Crow and the Kinnebeck, instead of posting another round of links to other blogs?”

Well, first of all, I am still writing, but I am also doing some reading and research essential to getting the historical and literary references just right. 

Secondly, stop italicizing the title of that short-story-gone-rogue as if it will become a novel!  I don’t care that you’re only italicizing it in my hypothetical typed form of an imaginary conversation with a notional reader.  Do not conspire with the Muse.  She has a strong enough grip on me already.  Note how She recruits even my psychological projections to do Her bidding?

So, where was I?  Oh yes: more publishing and writing links!  I know the last bunch were professedly for Christmas, but just consider them the “under the tree” links.  You know how, every year, you ravenously tear open all the “under the tree” presents until you’re sitting there (possibly breathing hard) in a nest of bows and shredded paper feeling a sudden, inexplicable emptiness?  Then HO-HO-KAPOW: you remember the stocking! 

Consider this is your link stocking. And, for some odd reason, just like real footwear all of the items below come in twos.

Lydia Sharp shares her dream about meeting — and then becoming one of the — characters from Twilight.  If this sounds like an awful stocking gift, consider this spoiler (alert!): unlike the fictional Bella, and unlike millions of emotionally manipulable readers, Lydia loses/rejects both of the B-grade YA Romeos. 

I have also added the following publishing-related blogs to my reading list: Alice’s CWIM Blog (why are there so many YA and Children’s Lit blogs?) and Booksquare.

Rachelle Gardner offers up some good words on who should and shouldn’t self-publish, and how her insane work-out schedule helps her help you!

And finally, guest contributor Randy Susan Myers at Pimp My Novel offers up a smorgasbord of books on writing, conveniently organized into two categories: “Part One – Before: Technique, Tools, and Support” and “Part Two – After: Selling Your Book Without Selling Your Soul.”