I recommend the following websites to fiction writers, whether you're in the first stages writing or all set to query or publish. Please note, some of these resources may require a log-in or membership. QUERY LETTERS How to write a query letter Examples of Successful Queries QueryShark LITERARY AGENT LISTINGS Writer's Digest Guide to Literary … Continue reading Writer Resources
agent submission
What If You Get a Call to Revise & Resubmit?
If you've noticed that the blog has been quiet for the past few weeks, it's because I got a request from a publisher to “revise and resubmit”. You might think publishing houses accept a manuscript “as is”, but reality teaches us differently. Almost everyone is asked for some revisions to their manuscripts, whether it's to fall in with a … Continue reading What If You Get a Call to Revise & Resubmit?
Those Lowdown, Lonesome Query Blues
How does it happen? How is it that this perfectly written, perfectly polished, perfectly appealing manuscript of mine gets so little positive attention? Of course I’m kidding. First of all, I know that nothing’s perfect. Secondly, I know that nothing will appeal to everyone. How many book are there that I haven’t taken out of … Continue reading Those Lowdown, Lonesome Query Blues
That dreaded query letter …
Oh, the dreaded query letter! It is, in my opinion, the hardest thing in the world to write. Writing an effective query letter takes the ability to ignore your creative urges and write in a way that‘s totally foreign to your instincts. Remember how you used to write book reports in grade school? You’d take … Continue reading That dreaded query letter …
The Goal
Ever since the New Year, it seems everyone has been talking about “The Goal”. January was a month of promises and optimism; in early February the glitter started to wear off; and now at the beginning of March, so many lament. With writer friends, specifically, the goals set up were so many words and so … Continue reading The Goal
Query Letter Reaction #2
I got another personalized rejection in response to a query letter recently. If you remember, the first agent liked the characters and plot of WHISPERS IN THE CANYON, but she felt my writing was too brusque. I've taken steps to correct that. The new agent likes my writing and the plot, but rejected it because … Continue reading Query Letter Reaction #2
Bad News, Good News
Sometimes bad news is a very good thing. A little background: my manuscript, WHISPERS IN THE CANYON, was (in what I thought was a cut and polished state, like a rare diamond if you will), 120,000+ words long. But feedback from many quarters said "That's too long", "It's not the optimal size for publication", "Agents … Continue reading Bad News, Good News
A BADGE OF HONOR
A couple of weeks ago, I started sending query letters out. Yesterday, I got my first form rejection. I fully expected to be upset when this happened, and it took me a little while to understand why I wasn't. When this novel was first completed and I was looking for a literary agent, the internet … Continue reading A BADGE OF HONOR
Gifford MacShane, Author 