Hey friends! I’ve been promising this post since … um…. last fall? So yeah, I’m a year late and many dollars short, but I’ve decided to copy and paste the rough version of a file I often share with CPs, mentees, and fellow writers looking for a quick and dirty crash course in cutting words…
Category: Querying
On Luck and Timing
In early September 2019 I was completing revisions and bracing myself to query a new manuscript for the third time. I was anxious and full of dread, because after two unsuccessful querying experiences, I knew that within a few months, I might have to trunk this manuscript as well, and the thought made me utterly…
When to Write a Synopsis. (Hint: it’s not when the book is finished.)
As I’ve said before, I am not a plotter. I generally don’t outline my stories before I draft, and I usually write by the seat of my pants until I have a book’s worth of words in a vaguely coherent order, and until I have a vague idea of who my characters are and the…
Publishing Cheat Sheet
Here is a cheat sheet for anyone who is (understandably) baffled by this strange and complicated world of publishing: TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING (vs. self-publishing or indie publishing) means selling the rights to your book to a publishing house (You’ve probably heard of the Big Five: Simon and Schuster, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hatchette, and MacMillan.)…
Plotting for Pantsers: An Umbrella in a Hurricane
Hi. My name’s Emily, and I’m a pantser. Unlike many of my critique partners who plot their books chapter by chapter then write from start to finish, I’m more likely to leap on concepts like a cowboy on a bucking bronco and hold on tight for a wild ride. I tend to draft fast and…
Liminality: The Promise and the Fear of Between
I am currently between projects. This is an uncomfortable place for me. I tend to juggle multiple works in progress simultaneously–drafting a shiny new idea, revising another, and querying or polishing another. It’s how I began my writing “career” (as of yet unpaid, but I refuse to call it a hobby) and it’s the only…
The Agent Showcase: Advice from a PitchWars Flop
First, DISCLAIMERS: I don’t actually consider myself, or anyone, a “PitchWars flop,” but, “Advice from a PitchWars-mentee-who-didn’t-achieve-her-showcase-goal-but-learned-and-made-friends-and-is-still-querying-and-hasn’t-given-up’” isn’t QUITE as pithy. (Plus, I’ll know who actually reads and who doesn’t from the “hey, don’t call yourself that!” responses. *devil horns*) Also, Pitchwars had a major evolution this past year (2018), with much thought and care…
Books by other Emilys
Sorry I’ve gone dark recently, friends. I was so determined to have my current manuscript ready to query by October but that did not happen, so I’ve been scrambling to get back on track for a while now, while juggling a writing class, kids, volunteering at Writer House and a kitten rescue, plus the self-induced…
Queries? Must we?
Hey, let’s talk about queries. Evil little suckers, aren’t they? I loathe queries. When they’re mine, at least. Months of carefully crafting a story, with all its layers and themes and emotional motivations, and then we’re expected to condense it down to 250 words? Ugh, misery. I think we should all just write each other’s…
Back in the Saddle
Hello friends! I’ve been busy with a million things that aren’t writing, including installing shoe molding, sewing (hot glueing?) DIY mosquito curtains for our patio, and trying to survive the hectic last month of school for my kids. I also gave my PitchWars book the brutal revision it probably needed months ago, chopping roughly 6000…