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
Author: sarahnicolas
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
15 things to leave out of your query
Rae Chang and I were just chatting on twitter about what phrases in queries are giant red flags for us. Some of these may seem obvious, but I guarantee anyone who has read slush has seen them more than a few times. If you find yourself writing any of these phrases into your query, it may be a … Continue reading 15 things to leave out of your query
More Articles at Book Riot
In case you didn't know, I write for Book Riot. You can see all of my articles here, but below is a list of articles since my last post here in February.Inbox/Outbox 3-3-17Full Length Trailer for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 3-15-178 Middle Grade Authors Share Their Fairy Tale Escape Fantasies 3-24-17If It Doesn't … Continue reading More Articles at Book Riot
Pitch Wars Wishlist
This is my sixth year mentoring Pitch Wars and I'm so excited to be back! (If you don't know what Pitch Wars is, it's a mentoring/pitch contest combo for MG, YA, NA, and Adult fiction authors looking for a literary agent. More info here.) The Pitch Wars 2017 submission window is open August 2 (12:01AM) … Continue reading Pitch Wars Wishlist
How to Prepare for an Author Signing Event
You've booked an author signing event. Congratulations! Now what? In my dayjob as a library event planner, I host at least four Local Author Festivals every year, featuring at least ten authors per event. I deal with a lot of authors who are doing their first signing ever and am frequently asked questions like, "What … Continue reading How to Prepare for an Author Signing Event
Authors: Kill These Bad Social Media Habits
Our topic this month is "Kill Your Darlings" so I'm here to talk about social media practices you should murder and leave in a ditch somewhere! 1) Twitter auto-DMs when someone follows you I follow someone on Twitter because I think they're fun/nice/entertaining/informative. Within minutes, I have a private message from them. Which seems nice, … Continue reading Authors: Kill These Bad Social Media Habits
