I sure have. It was 1964 and I was on assignment for The Nation magazine to write a review of the Beatles at Carnegie Hall, their first live appearance in the United States. No Soul in Beatlesville There I was, standing on a shaky balcony seat trying to see the stage over a mob of hysterical, … [Read more...]
The blog for writers
The Book Deal
Staying connected: You’re not alone
When you're writing in the zone, you feel confident and creative, ready for prime time, readers, agents, and publishers, right? But it doesn't always come that easily. When writers get stuck, those good feelings can drop away quickly. A lonely occupation Writing is a solitary business for … [Read more...]
Prequels build buzz!
Have you heard what some savvy authors are doing to build excitement and attract readers to their upcoming books? They're writing prequels: tantalizing teasers in short story form that preview the key characters and settings of an upcoming novel. Some prequels predate or provide backstories … [Read more...]
Too much vertical space in your manuscript?
In filmmaking, vertical space is shorthand for script pages with lots of white and not a lot of words. For scriptwriters it's the rule. A script has dialogue, brief notes for action on the screen and not much else. It makes for quick reading and ensures a kind of textual scarcity that directors … [Read more...]
An interview with yours truly about self-publishing
A while ago I sat for an interview with Brian Felsen, CEO of BookBaby, a service provider for self-publishing authors. He asked a lot of good questions for authors about working with an editor, getting published, and effective book promotion. Here’s the video, in which we talk about how the … [Read more...]
How to find a hungry agent
Here's a literary agent who's very specific about the kind of book she'd like to see in her inbox: Working on anything like that? Or something close? Want to know more about this agent? Well you can find her on Twitter. She's Annie, of the Annie Bomke Literary Agency, tweeting as … [Read more...]
Ask the Editor: Memoir or novel for my true story?
Q. I have an amazing true story to tell, but publishing it may step on some toes. Should I write it as a memoir, and tell it exactly like it was? Or should I write it discreetly as a novel, so I can disguise the lurid details and stay out of trouble? If I don't write this story, the truth will … [Read more...]
Having trouble writing? Try this famous author’s technique
"Sometimes in a nervous frenzy I just fling words as if I were flinging mud at a wall," says Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee. "Blurt out, heave out, babble out something – anything – as a first draft," he says in an article called Draft No. 4 now in The New Yorker magazine where he's been … [Read more...]
Writing a memoir: Intersecting memory and story
Writing a memoir is one of the most stimulating but difficult literary challenges an author can undertake. Nevertheless, it’s a hugely popular genre. Five of the top ten hardcover nonfiction books on the NY Times bestseller list this week are memoirs. Aspiring memoir writers can find help in … [Read more...]
Walking in your character’s shoes: Writing with authenticity
Bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell inhabits and writes from inside the mind of her lead sleuth, Dr.Kay Scarpetta, the medical examiner in a blockbuster series of 20 forensic thrillers and counting. To get the details exactly right, Cornwell has hung out in a coroner’s morgue to study … [Read more...]