So, I posted my very first query letter, which was a pretty bad query letter. Agent/Writer/Deb Extraordinaire Mandy Hubbard popped by to say it wasn’t half-bad. And it wasn’t- with some tinkering, I did manage to get a couple of partial requests with it. Here’s the thing- I think most competent writers will produce an okay query letter. […]
Give It to Me Short ‘n Dirty: Query Bulletpoints (III)
Maybe you don’t feel like reading an essay about queries. Why would you? You need to get one written, RIGHT NOW OMFG EMERGENCY NOW NOW NOW. Okay, yo. Cool. I can give you a short ‘n dirty query bulletpoint list so that you can skim it real fast and get back to work. A query […]
Everybody Starts Out Writing Bad Queries (I)
Everybody writes bad queries, at least at first. There’s no set way to create one, advice conflicts on what to put in one, and frankly, it’s a skill like any other- you must practice it to excel at it. In light of #queryfail #queryslam and SlushPileHell, I’d like to take another approach. Most people don’t […]
Saying Yes: The Art & Craft of Self-Promotion
As authors, we’re pressed to do more and more promotion on our own- and because we love our books best, we’re our own best advocates. Some people will tell you that your own efforts won’t make a difference. But you can see where your book is being stocked as a direct result of your marketing. […]