#querytips

They Want What? The Difference Between Blurbs, Queries, and Synopses! 3 different tools for 3 different tasks -- make sure you're using the right tool, for the right job. #querytips #writingCommunity #amquerying

All industries have their own specialized terms, and even inside an industry, different people can want things done different ways. In the publishing world, you hear a lot about blurbs, queries, synopses, and more.

Now, I can’t tell you what ALL agents, publishers, and readers are looking for, but I can point you in the right direction.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MagwG15jIo&w=420…

When you go to a bookstore or traditional library, the novels are sorted by category, and then author’s last name. But, these days, a new subgenre emergences from BookTok almost weekly. We’ve got ‘litRPG’ — or literary role-playing games, where those D&D players turn their adventures into stories. We’ve got romantasy — fantasy romances. And, if you’ve been here a minute, you know I’m ready to…

While I rewrite query letters for fun, writing my own is basically the worst. Here are a few reasons why writing your own query letter sucks, and a few things that query letter needs in it.

I’ve recently finished revising my space fantasy manuscript and I’m going to try to get it traditionally published. That means I need to send query letters to agents — who can hopefully get the publishing houses to have a bidding war over the glory that is my story. Or, that’s the plan. However, querying is the worst. Most likely, I’m going to end up with a lovely stack of rejection letters to…

Recently, I was asked why I hadn't just published my manuscript when I 1st finished drafting it, 8 years ago. Well, I've got a PILE of reasons, justifications, and excuses. Mostly? Neither I (nor the story) were ready. #writer

Recently, I was celebrating the anniversary of the time I finished rough drafting my first full manuscript, and a friend told me that I’d lost 8 years of royalties and should really finish it! He was trying to be encouraging and supportive, but instead, all I really have is a pile of justifications. Now, I’m not saying you should wait as long as I have before putting your book out into the…

Publishing is a labor of love for most. You just have to be wary of the agent or publisher who's in over their head, &the scammers looking to use you for a quick buck. Do you have any warnings I've missed? Any horror stories to add to my watch list?

For as long as there have been writers trying to get published, there have been people trying to make money off of them — in both legitimate and not-so-legitimate ways. But, times, they are a-changing, which means the old scams are new again and the new scams are new. So, how to make sure that literary agent or publisher is legit? What’s the Difference Between Agents and Publishers? Publishers…

The only way to sell a book is to get people to read past that first page. Today, I'm here with tips from Imaginarium 2023. I had the privilege to read a stack of first pages aloud to publishers/agents and heard firsthand why they would put down your page

The only way to sell a book is to get people to read past that first page. The voice, the story, the setting, all of it has to mesh in such a way to make the reader wonder “and then what?” Publishing traditionally has had a fair amount of gatekeeping — right or wrong. Even today, if you’re a writer trying to get someone else to publish your work, you send your manuscript to agents or publishers,…