(Simple text Google Doc Version available HERE) BUT FIRST, WHAT IS PITCHWARS? Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns volunteer as mentors (that’s us!) and then each mentor or co-mentor pair chooses one writer (that could be you!) and spend three months helping them revise their manuscript. It ends…
Category: Writing
Grab that scalpel! Word cutting/prose tightening time.
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…
So, you got an edit letter. Now what?
With PitchWars gearing up (and my final edits due soon! Eeep!) it’s a great time to talk about edit letters–what they are, how to handle one, and what steps to take when you get one! (Disclaimer: This is all just my opinion, based on my experiences. YMMV.) In the years since I began writing towards…
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…
Rough Winds
It’s been a while, friends. My apologies for that. After signing with my agent last October, I dove headfirst into revisions and spent the holidays pulling apart the threads of my book and sewing it back together. My family was incredibly patient and supportive while I was holed up in my revision cage, grumbling like…
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…
I’m Alive, I promise
Hello from revision land! I wish I had a better excuse for my lack of posts recently, but really I just kept forgetting my password. Anyway. Let’s catch up. After having two manuscripts accepted into competitive mentorship programs (PitchWars and Author Mentor Match) only to have them die in the query trenches, I indulged in…
What is KidLit, anyway? (Part 1)
May people who aren’t writers or teachers (and even some who are) may not understand the different categories of children’s literature, aka “KidLit.” You may be thinking, “So? Who cares?” But, if you have a child, know a child, or teach children, you probably should. See, adults who don’t understand the differences may struggle to…