All posts tagged: getting published

Write On, Wednesday: Preparing for an Agent

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By Leslie Lindsay About a week ago, I received an email from an acquaintance.  This Writerly person was picking my brain about literary agents.  Now, don’t get me wrong–I am no expert on agents.  Quite the contrary.  I am an agent virgin.  Sure, I’ve published a book, but I did that directly through the publisher via an old-fashioned query letter and then proposal package (it’s a non-fiction book, and that’s how these things are handled in the professional writing world).  Ahhh…yes…but what if that book is fiction?  Do the rules somehow change?  You bet they do.  (nothing is ever easy, is it?).  My response went something of the way of you need an agent.  you need an agent. you need an agent. you need an agent.  But, the person asked, “Don’t I need an editor?”  Well, yes.  And that, my friend is you.    (libraryofpoetry.com) Wait.  Back the writing train up.  “The editor is me?  Little ol me?”  Yes.  “To write is human, to edit is devine.”  That would be the great Stephen King.  And there’s a lot …

Write on, Wednesday: An Assistant Editor SharesSteps to Getting Published with

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By Leslie Lindsay She came flying into our meeting last night a few minutes behind schedule, but it wasn’t because of the parking problem the rest of our members experienced, “Oh, I got a spot right in front,” she chirped.  With her tall silver heels and an energy that got us all excited about the possibility of traditional publishing, Kelly Bale, assistant editor at Sourcebooks in Naperville, IL took us through the steps of getting published. As an editor, her first three questions are these: Is it any good?  The writing needs to grab me.  Period. Will it sell? Does it work for this publishing house? Okay… let’s say that all of those criteria are a ‘yes.’  Now, here’s what you as a writer can do to  improve your chances of landing a contract: Write a darn good proposal (non-fiction) or a query letter (fiction) Do your research.  Know your writing category well.  Are you writing romance or women’s fiction?  Do you know the difference?  Are you writing thrillers or mysteries?  Historical fiction? Now do some competitive …