There’s Never Been A Better Time to Write A Novel

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Sure, publishing is feeling the crunch along with every other industry. But that doesn’t mean you should tell yourself there’s no point in working on your novel and put it aside until things get better.
In fact, there’s never been a better time than now to get that manuscript out of the bottom drawer and get [...]

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Get Your Novel Published – The Submission Campaign

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Your novel is completed and all of your auxiliary materials—query letter, synopsis, short synopsis, cover letter—are ready. Now what do you do?
You don’t start sending things out helter-skelter, hoping something with hit the target. You take a thoughtful, intelligent, businesslike approach to submission. You plan a campaign.
A Multi-tiered Approach
I always recommend a multi-tiered approach: querying [...]

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Building a Successful Writer’s Life

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So you’ve sold a book. Congratulations! You’ve achieved your dream, right? Well, yes and no. Because you didn’t just want to sell a book; you wanted to be a writer. That means building a successful writer’s life—doing what you need to do to stay in the game, year after year, and enjoy the writing career [...]

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Five Reasons Why Literary Agents Reject Manuscripts Out of Hand

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Literary agents read a lot of manuscripts. At my agency, we ask to see an average of two or three a week. That means we need a way to quickly weed out the rejects, so we’ll have time to read the rest. Like other agents, I look for certain signs that tell me right away [...]

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Three Keys to Effective Viewpoint Writing

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In my novel writing system known as The Marshall Plan®, I stress the importance of “viewpoint writing” in forging a strong connection between your reader and your viewpoint characters. Below are the three questions I am most often asked about viewpoint writing, along with their answers.
How do I know what to describe and what not [...]

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How to Sell Your Novel Without an Agent

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In spite of what you hear about publishers accepting submissions only from agents, and about what an agent can do for a writer, there are still many instances in which you don’t necessarily need an agent. This is good news at a time when it seems fewer agents than ever are open to new talent.
Small [...]

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Keys to Writing a Killer Amateur-Sleuth Mystery Novel

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As the author of thirteen murder mysteries and counting, and a literary agent who represents a number of mystery authors, I keep a list of “musts” for writing a compelling mystery that really holds together. Build all of these points into your mystery novel and your book will be stronger for it.
Make sure your sleuth [...]

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