People think I'm crazy when I say this, but I LOVE query letters. I love writing them, I love editing them, I love reading them. When I worked for a publisher, reading queries was my favorite part! With #pitchwars coming up and the workshop on query writing I just taught at my local library, I've … Continue reading 10 Tips for an Outstanding Query
Published Authors: Your Basic Media Kit
My day job is to plan events, mainly author events. I have emailed my manager the words "I just can't." twice today. Because I have spent the entire day dealing with authors who don't have the most basic materials they should have in order to promote their book, I thought I'd develop a short list … Continue reading Published Authors: Your Basic Media Kit
Faking a Professional Author Photo
At the dayjob, I work with a lot of authors and frequently ask for headshots to use in our marketing of their events. You would be floored by how many people send me shots like these: click to see what's really wrong with this one. (Note: These are all altered stock photo images, not actual … Continue reading Faking a Professional Author Photo
Ten Tips for Your Elevator Pitch
There is one thing writers at any point in their career need to have prepared: an elevator pitch. The last time I asked an author "what's your book about?" I got a fifteen minute rambling monologue. I know a lot about the guy's son (?) but still have no idea what his book is about. … Continue reading Ten Tips for Your Elevator Pitch
My Latest Articles at Book Riot
I haven't updated since last summer, so here are the articles I've published at Book Riot since then!100 Must-Read Middle Grade Fantasy Books from the Last 10 Years 8-8-17Leigh Bardugo Talks Wonder Woman: Warbringer 8-28-17Inbox/Outbox 9-22-1710 US Rare Bookstores You Can Visit Right Now 10-18-17"Audiobooks Don't Count": A Suggestion of Extreme Privilege 10-24-1712 Books to … Continue reading My Latest Articles at Book Riot
Hard Truth Time: Not Every Book Deserves to be Published
I wrote this book. Let's call it MF. I thought it was fantastic, unique, clever, wonderful, etc. It was going to be a great hit and sell movies because it was so awesome. It was the second book I ever wrote (the first is this glorious kind of mess that I do intend on resurrecting … Continue reading Hard Truth Time: Not Every Book Deserves to be Published
Word Counts for Children, MG, YA, and Adult books, by genre
I've been getting a lot of word count questions from Pitch Wars hopefuls, so I though I'd write everything out in a post for ease and convenience. These ranges are generalizations and there are always outliers. If you have a book that is a little bit outside these ranges, it's an extra hurdle and your … Continue reading Word Counts for Children, MG, YA, and Adult books, by genre
