The same manuscript can sometimes get different feedback when it’s presented from the place of face time and mentorship rather than from the slush pile. So, without further ado, here are several resources meant to give you a leg up over your competition: two for those who are reaching the end of their inbox-based querying tether and two for those who might need basic querying assistance.
Read MorePublishing, Both Trade and Indie: An Interview with Award-Winning Author Amanda Radley
I am often asked how writers make the transition from indie publishing to trade publishing, and who better to answer these questions than someone who’s made the leap herself? I asked award-winning, bestselling author Amanda Radley to answer a few questions about her career journey, and she was gracious enough to do so. You may find our conversation and her insightful answers below.
Read MoreCrafting a Tight, Compelling Memoir from Page One
This contrast between the broad strokes of an autobiography and the deep dive of a memoir is something that writers new to creative nonfiction struggle with. That said, I feel that it is an important difference to master in order to write a successful memoir.
Read MoreThe Top 5 Editorial Mistakes I’ve Seen… and How to Fix Them, Part 5.
This final Editorial Mistake concerns errors that happen on a line-by-line and sentence-by-sentence basis.
This is line editing, which typically has a localized impact, if any, on the reader's experience. However, when copyediting errors are abundant in a manuscript, it can keep the reader from investing interest in the story at hand.
Read MoreThe Top 5 Editorial Mistakes I’ve Seen… and How to Fix Them, Part 4.
I call Editorial Mistake #4 "the George R.R. Martin Effect" because Game of Thrones and works like it have made POV shifts very popular, especially among my sci-fi/fantasy clients.
In GOT, it makes sense. Martin has a broad cast of characters carrying out a geopolitical saga over three different continents. This leads to a slow burn that assumedly will end up with all of those perspectives converging in one place as they fight for control of the Iron Throne.
This is the reader’s reward for slogging through all the weird names and mysterious backstories: seeing how beloved and reviled characters will interact with one another.
There are some downsides to POV shifts, though, that you should keep in mind for your own writing.
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