June 28, 2017
How do I find an agent? In the last month I’ve had two people ask me that question. I think they wanted a short, easy answer (the secret). They looked disappointed when I start talking about going on-line and finding which agents represented the type of book they’ve written; checking Writers Beware for any warnings; writing […]
June 29, 2016
On June 22, 2016 the Authors’ Guild had an interview for their Industry and Advocacy News titled “Agents’ Roundtable: Three Agents Reveal What They’re Really Looking for from Authors.” The roundtable included David Forrer, from Inkwell Management; Eric Myers, from Dystel & Goderich Literary Management; and Regina Ryan from Regina Ryan Books. These three agents […]
June 15, 2016
Want to be published? Then don’t do the following: Send your manuscript to the wrong publisher. I have a friend who, early in her writing career, sent a sweet romance short story to Hussler magazine. Now, when she looks back on that, she says she bets the editorial staff had a good laugh. Sending a […]
April 20, 2016
Recently I was asked by two people (different times) to do a blog about query letters. I did write a short one last year during the April A to Z Challenge. https://marissoule.com/q-is-for-query/ If you’re wondering what you should or shouldn’t put in a query letter, please take a moment to read that earlier blog. A […]
April 20, 2015
Writing a query letter (or email query) is not an easy task for most people. On one page–usually no more than four or five paragraphs in length–the writer must entice and inform. A story must be condensed from thousands of words down to a mere 100-200 words. The query letter must not only give a […]
April 13, 2015
Keep it Simple S***. (Here you can put Stupid or Sister or Son or whatever word that would start with S and fit.) I remember hearing K.I.S.S. way back when I started writing. It fits with query letters. A query that sticks to the basics (is kept simple) works best. No need to brag about […]
February 4, 2015
Last week I had a writer friend tell me an agent had requested the first 50 pages of her completed time-travel romance. The writer asked me to look at her cover letter, which I did. The problem was, the letter she sent me to look at was a query letter, not a cover letter. When […]