Are you familiar with the concept of character identification? Readers say they identify with a character. Agents send rejections based on the fact they couldn’t identify with the protagonist. There seems to be some magic ingredient that makes or breaks a character, but the reason for the attachment often varies. Read more…
In my first six months of writing these posts, I put out a list of five books every writer should read. I still stand by that list, but I’ve been building my library of writing craft books and think it’s time to share a few more gold mines I’ve discovered. Read more…
As an author, you have to wear many hats. Writer, accountant, editor, public speaker, etc. Today, I want to talk about two of those hats: marketing and publicity. You may think, Liz, that’s the same hat. I’m here to tell you: it isn’t. You need both of these hats to Read more…
As an author, there are a million demands on your time. You must brainstorm, write, edit, market, balance business expenses, etc. It’s never-ending. There is always something else you could be doing. That’s why it’s very important to be self-aware and not overwork yourself. In this post, I want to Read more…
There are two ways to get in front of agents and editors about your book: a query or a pitch. I’ve already discussed query letters so today we’re going to focus on pitches. Let’s start with what a pitch entails, and then go into how to prepare for one and Read more…
I recently had the opportunity to be on a podcast (more about that at the end). Now, I’m a typical introverted writer who doesn’t talk much so I did a massive amount of research on how to be a good podcast guest. Since I went through all the effort, I Read more…
Every author has a support system full of professional and personal connections. When first starting out, writers often feel they have enough support with their friends and family and maybe their editor or agent. Then they finish their first book and feel underwhelmed. The book is out there, but it’s Read more…
I realized that I’ve done posts on self-editing and starting your own editing business, but I haven’t talked about finding a good editor. It doesn’t matter how amazing you are at grammar and writing stories, you MUST get an editor if you plan to publish. If you do traditional publishing, Read more…
Last week we discussed writing query letters, and now I want to turn our attention to submitting them. There are several strategies for how to query agents, but I’ve found one method seems to be favored about the rest. While you are welcome to submit letters one at a time Read more…
A query letter is such a fickle thing. There is no perfect formula you can use to guarantee you get a literary agent’s attention, but there are best practices you can follow to give your manuscript the best chance. I’ve done a lot of research on how to write a Read more…