It’s a simple fact that people are busy, and have shorter attention spans than ever. We have many things to thank for this: video games, television, and most of all, Twitter. Because books must compete with all of these other forms of entertainment, it’s no longer enough to write a novel that, overall, is good. […]
Articles on Agents and Publishing
Welcome! Here you'll find articles on the traditional route of publishing: querying and landing a literary agent, revising, editing, going on submission, and getting published. These also cover the state of the publishing industry and my guesses about its future.
A Brief Guide to Twitter Pitching
In anticipation of tomorrow’s #AdPit contest on Twitter, I thought it might be useful to assemble some tips about Twitter pitching contests. In case you weren’t aware, the basic premise of such contests is this: Authors tweet a brief (140 characters or less) teaser “pitch” for their completed manuscripts, using a common hashtag Agents and […]
Writing Competition, Craft, and Cold Reality
As is true with many of the most desirable professions, success at writing requires a special confluence of talent, hard work, dedication, and sheer luck. As one of my favorite epic fantasy authors put it: If you want to write, then write. If you want to be a writer, go study accounting.” It’s not enough […]
Twitter Pitching Contests: Your Novel in 140 Characters or Less
Yesterday I participated in a lively Twitter event called #PitMad, in which aspiring authors pitch their completed manuscripts in 140 characters or less. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., participants would tweet their pitches using the #pitmad hashtag, a feed that could be monitored by agents, editors, and other interested parties. Since I’m a scientist, […]
Querying Literary Agents: The Numbers
A few of my writing friends have asked about the whole querying-agents-to-get published thing, since I’ve recently become intimately acquainted with this process. As most aspiring novelists are aware, one does not simply approach a major publishing house with one’s own manuscript these days, just as one does not simply walk into Mordor. True, some […]
