Category Archives: Agents
Whose Fault Is It If Your Book Doesn’t Sell in 2013?
by Greg Johnson WordServe Literary Group After representing a couple of thousand books, I’ve seen average books go through the roof, and great books struggle to find readers. I won’t name names or titles, but we’ve all scratched our heads … Continue reading
Blessings
by Natasha Kern In this season for appreciating our many gifts and blessings, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the blessing of ACFW. When I first began agenting in 1986 way back before email or … Continue reading
What Should I Write?
by Sandra Bishop MacGregor Literary What should I write? What should I do next? “What’s Hot?” Should I write that? I get this exact litany of questions often. And while we’re an agency that prides itself on career management and … Continue reading
Four Ways to Rise to the Top!
by Tamela Hancock Murray The Steve Laube Agency Since agents receive more proposals than they have time to represent, a huge obstacle for new authors is getting their manuscripts to the top of the stack. Every week I review excellent … Continue reading
Reduce Irritation with Basic Information
by Les Stobbe, Literary Agent As literary agent I find an all-too-often disregard of the basics when writers send me a proposal. In addition, I get really upset clients when, in writing cover copy, publisher’s copy editors misrepresent what is … Continue reading
Frequent Questions Answered, Part 2
by Mary Sue Seymour The Seymour Agency Mary Sue Seymour is back again today answering more questions. Do you represent any projects currently that are unusual or different? I am circulating NY Times best-selling author Cec Murphey’s Slow Death in … Continue reading
Frequent Questions Answered, Part 1
by Mary Sue Seymour The Seymour Agency I love to participate in writing conferences where I enjoy presenting workshops, meeting with writers about their books, and speaking on panels. My current blog consists of questions asked of me while sitting … Continue reading
A Calling or an Offering
by Terry Burns Some will not agree with me on this, and that is surely okay, but I know a lot of Christian writers think all Christian writers have been called by God to write. I don’t believe that, any … Continue reading
Making a Living as a Writer
by Chip MacGregor MacGregor Literary Inc. www.chipmacgregor.com I’m often asked by writers how they can make a living with their work – and I usually explain to them that, when you look at writers who are making a living at … Continue reading
Five Conference Tips from a Veteran Attendee
by Vickie McDonough After waiting all year for the ACFW conference to roll around again, it’s hard to believe that it is now only weeks away. The highlight of my year is attending the ACFW conference each September. I know … Continue reading
Subsidiary Rights
by Natasha Kern Natasha Kern Literary Agency I’ve been thinking recently about subsidiary rights because I’m going to Anaheim for the RWA conference. Attending RWA includes meeting with clients, editors and new writers and arranging a private lunch for my … Continue reading
Be Your Agent’s Dream Client
by Greg Johnson WordServe Literary Group One thing authors wonder about is how to “behave” once they have a working relationship with a literary agent. Especially if it’s your first agent, you want to be the kind of author an … Continue reading
The Secret to Effective Hooks: Write Like a Journalist
by Sandra Bishop MacGregor Literary More than any other element of a pitch, a solid hook offers more opportunity for you to grab – and possibly keep — an agent or editor’s attention. Yes, hooks are hard to nail, but … Continue reading
The Right Conference?
by Tamela Hancock Murray Steve Laube Agency As you pursue a writing career, one big question is how much time and money to devote to writers conferences. Conferences have many benefits, including the chance to meet face to face with … Continue reading
Pitching in those Agent/Editor Appointments
by Rachelle Gardner Books & Such Literary Agency One thing I’ve noticed lately in fiction pitches – verbal pitches or queries – is that some writers want to tell all about the theme or the emotional journey of the story, … Continue reading