Authors today need a whole new attitude toward the all-important pitch. Until now, the author pitch was defined as a hard-sell verbal punch to persuade agents and editors to take on their book. It was typically brief, high-concept, often hyperbolic and was designed to convince the agent standing … [Read more...]
The blog for writers
The Book Deal
Grand finales: Tips for writing great endings
Writing a great ending for your book is just as important as a dynamite opening that rivets our attention and compels us to keep turning those pages. A well-written book requires some kind of symphonic climax that resonates in our heads and hearts like the famous 40-second E major chord at the … [Read more...]
What authors can learn from the bestseller lists
The gold standard for success as an author is to make the New York Times Best Seller list. That’s the big brand banner that publishers, authors and readers want to see on the front cover. It shouts “Read Me! I’m certified!” How does an author accomplish this feat? What does it take for a book to … [Read more...]
Strategic tweeting for authors
If you're an author who isn't active on Twitter, you're making a huge mistake, say savvy book-marketing gurus. Some activist authors and screenwriters like Roger Wolfson are getting onto social media to attract an audience, but they're using the likes of Instagram and Facebook as their go-to … [Read more...]
What makes writers special: An editor’s valentine
All good editors love working with writers. To us, writers are special people, compelled to put words together as they look at the world. They can’t stop, must return to whatever is in their heads, what they’re thinking and feeling, making sense of their lives, to explain, to teach, so write … [Read more...]
How an endorsement can help land your book deal
Smart writers and agents know the value of including outside endorsements with the query letters and proposals they send to book publishers. A persuasive quote from a big name or a well-connected expert can have a major impact on the level of attention we give a new submission, whether it’s fiction … [Read more...]
Hot young agent’s old-school methods
How do literary agents who blog, tweet and carouse online find the time to do the real work of agenting: reading, hobnobbing with editors, reading some more and making great book deals for their clients? That’s what Chris Parris-Lamb, a rising star at the Gernert Company in NYC wonders, and it’s … [Read more...]
The last laugh: If self-published authors owned the midlist
Mega publishers like Simon and Schuster and Random House could someday cede the midlist to a vast army of self-published authors. In that scenario, they'd focus instead just on blockbuster books by brand-name authors and celebrities. All the rest -- the literary fiction, the cookbooks, the … [Read more...]