When I have enjoyed a book, I often go look up the website associated with it. I recently read “The Gargoyle” by Andrew Davidson, a saga about a man who had been beautiful and ugly, then learns to love when he is ugly and beautiful. It’s a great story about books and love and fire and pain. There's a lot in there about fire.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I LOVED the website. Burned by Love dot com is filled with stories of fast love and forever love and hatred and how love goes wrong. This video is just one of many on the site. I also wanted to post the story of the man who married his high school sweet heart only to find out that she was a kleptomaniac and drug addict. I fell in love with him watching him tell his story. You have to check out this site...and read the book. The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. He's done a hell of a job with the marketing of his book with this website.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Agent Query dot Com
I find myself repeating this website address to people all the time. For almost every question writing related I utter the address. How do you find an agent? Agentquery.com How do you write a query letter? Agentquery.com. How do you format a novel for submission? Agentquery.com.
If you are breaking into the writing world either as a fiction or non-fiction writer, the website can answer all of your quesitons. I used it when I was sending out queries to agents and I still check in with the chats and to see what's what in the writing world.
If you are breaking into the writing world either as a fiction or non-fiction writer, the website can answer all of your quesitons. I used it when I was sending out queries to agents and I still check in with the chats and to see what's what in the writing world.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Writers Conference
A couple of years ago, I attend the Maryland Writers Association Conference and had a fantastic time. It was only a one day thing, but from beginning to end, it was simply a blast. I spent the entire day listening to people talk about how they write, why they write. I listened to panelists talk about what it takes to publish, what agents are looking for. I ate lunch with people just like me, who had written something but didn’t know if it was any good, didn’t know if they should even try to get it published. I learned I wasn’t alone in this strange world of writing.
Since living overseas, it’s been impossible for me to attend anything like that again. And since I now have an agent, I wasn’t sure what good would come of going to one. I’ll be moving back to the states in early October so I decided I needed to jump back into some writing networking. I’ve just signed up for a conference, this one three days long and sort of intimidating. There are tons of agents and publishers registered to attend. One of them is an editor I am working with on a non-fiction book. I want her to buy my fiction and I figured this would be a good way to finally meet her in person and try to get her to take another look at the stuff I REALLY like to write.
The conference is also holding a little contest and I’m submitting my book, “the Lethal Frame” in the novel category. I don’t think I’ll win anything, but my thinking is it wouldn’t hurt to enter since the judges will talk about what they’ve read. The contest calls for the submission of 4,000 words and since they don’t have a separate mystery category more then likely something very literary will win. Still, I figure it’s always good to have industry professional s reading your work. They will talk amongst themselves and who knows, maybe someone who knows someone, knows someone else who is looking for exactly the kind of thing I’ve written.
I added a link to the conference site here. The 18th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference is happening Oct. 24 through the 26th in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. If nothing else, the beachside time will be great. I’ll just be getting back to the US then after a year and a half in Asia. I think it will be a great way to get back into the writing world. I can hardly wait!
Hopefully I’ll see you there…
Since living overseas, it’s been impossible for me to attend anything like that again. And since I now have an agent, I wasn’t sure what good would come of going to one. I’ll be moving back to the states in early October so I decided I needed to jump back into some writing networking. I’ve just signed up for a conference, this one three days long and sort of intimidating. There are tons of agents and publishers registered to attend. One of them is an editor I am working with on a non-fiction book. I want her to buy my fiction and I figured this would be a good way to finally meet her in person and try to get her to take another look at the stuff I REALLY like to write.
The conference is also holding a little contest and I’m submitting my book, “the Lethal Frame” in the novel category. I don’t think I’ll win anything, but my thinking is it wouldn’t hurt to enter since the judges will talk about what they’ve read. The contest calls for the submission of 4,000 words and since they don’t have a separate mystery category more then likely something very literary will win. Still, I figure it’s always good to have industry professional s reading your work. They will talk amongst themselves and who knows, maybe someone who knows someone, knows someone else who is looking for exactly the kind of thing I’ve written.
I added a link to the conference site here. The 18th Annual South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference is happening Oct. 24 through the 26th in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. If nothing else, the beachside time will be great. I’ll just be getting back to the US then after a year and a half in Asia. I think it will be a great way to get back into the writing world. I can hardly wait!
Hopefully I’ll see you there…
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
To Agent or Not to Agent?
Should you fork over a percentage of your hard earned money to someone else? Should you share the profits of your word work to someone who didn’t contribute to the writing?
And you’ll only share those profits with the person AFTER you’ve gone through all of the work to find them in the first place. Preparing query letters, researching agencies, putting together and mailing copies of your work to agencies takes time. Would you be better served putting that effort into sending your work directly to publishers instead of some middleman?
I’ve heard people complain about their agents and I suppose there are plenty of bad ones out there. All I can say is that in the two years I’ve worked with my agent, she has earned every penny.
The biggest advantage she offers is the ability to pick up the phone and have conversations with the editors I would never have access to. A manuscript I sent to publishers on my own would sit in a slush pile, maybe never making it past the mailroom. When my agent delivers the pages, I know someone who is a decision maker is reading them.
St. Martin’s Press rejected my book but it wasn’t rejected by some assistant to an assistant who stuck a form letter into an envelope having never read my words. It was a rejection written by someone who read it, made a decision about it and took the time to write a legitimate reason for the rejection and even included a line that sounded very much like praise. Somehow, getting rejections like that, from the real folks who can make decisions, let me know my work was taken seriously. The pages weren’t thrown out with the trash.
And you’ll only share those profits with the person AFTER you’ve gone through all of the work to find them in the first place. Preparing query letters, researching agencies, putting together and mailing copies of your work to agencies takes time. Would you be better served putting that effort into sending your work directly to publishers instead of some middleman?
I’ve heard people complain about their agents and I suppose there are plenty of bad ones out there. All I can say is that in the two years I’ve worked with my agent, she has earned every penny.
The biggest advantage she offers is the ability to pick up the phone and have conversations with the editors I would never have access to. A manuscript I sent to publishers on my own would sit in a slush pile, maybe never making it past the mailroom. When my agent delivers the pages, I know someone who is a decision maker is reading them.
St. Martin’s Press rejected my book but it wasn’t rejected by some assistant to an assistant who stuck a form letter into an envelope having never read my words. It was a rejection written by someone who read it, made a decision about it and took the time to write a legitimate reason for the rejection and even included a line that sounded very much like praise. Somehow, getting rejections like that, from the real folks who can make decisions, let me know my work was taken seriously. The pages weren’t thrown out with the trash.
I'm baaaaaack!
I should be ASHAMED of myself. I had no idea it was almost two years since I last posted to this blog. And I call myself a writer?
The truth is I have been writing -- chained to my computer actually. And for the first time, I actually got paid for it. It’s kind of a long story, and I’ll tell it here in pieces but first, I’m checking in just to say officially ….. I’m baaaaack!
The truth is I have been writing -- chained to my computer actually. And for the first time, I actually got paid for it. It’s kind of a long story, and I’ll tell it here in pieces but first, I’m checking in just to say officially ….. I’m baaaaack!
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