Earlier this week, thousands of writers around the world united under a common hashtag: #TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter. It was an outlet for all of the disappointment and frustration that come hand-in-hand with trying to make it as a writer. For all the people who see our profession as either a fun hobby or a willing attempt to pursue […]
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.
The #NewAgent Picks for Science Fiction & Fantasy
When Michelle Hauck asked me to judge the SFF entries for her New Agent mini-contest, all I heard was “SFF” and “mini-contest.” I’d do anything for Michelle (because she’s awesome), but with Pitch Wars approaching, I hoped the commitment would be small. Then the submission window opened and we got close to 300 entries. So much […]
Winter Is Coming to #SunVsSnow
Over the past week, I’ve had the pleasure to work with three speculative fiction authors as part of Michelle Hauck’s team in #SunVsSnow. This pitching contest was open to all writers who had a completed manuscript and were seeking representation. The first 200 submissions received after the submission window opened would go into consideration, and […]
Going Viral: My First Fiction Sale
I wrote my first short story almost eight years ago, when I took my first creative writing course under Bob Earleywine at WashU. On the bright side, I met some fantastic aspiring writers and we learned how to give and receive critique. On the not-so-bright side, I learned that writing fiction is hard — no matter how […]
5 Ways to Promote Your Book in 2015
It’s the dawn of a new year, and when I ask my writing friends about their new year’s resolutions, they generally made one of the following. Un-agented authors have resolved to land an agent this year, even if it kills them Agented but unpublished authors have resolved to sell a book or at least stay sane while […]
