Here's a cheat sheet for you.
On judging a book by its cover
You might have heard the brouhaha about Justina Larbalestier's book, LIAR. Many people say the cover--of a light-skinned girl hiding behind her hair--doesn't match the protagonist, who is black.Here's Justina's take on it, on how much say the author really has on a cover, on working with Bloomsbury, and the disturbing notion that covers with... Continue Reading →
What Bio Stuff Goes in My Query?
Alice Pope interviews Chuck Sambuchino on her blog, and he offers advice on whether you should mention your college degree, your kids, and any editing work you've done on other manuscripts.
Want a Query Critique?
Follow the instructions on the Public Query Slushpile. Blog visitors will tell you what they think. (You might want to put on your extra-thick dragon skin for protection.)
Ebook Releases: Thoughts from a Publisher
Booksquare has this post from Dominique Raccah, Publisher and CEO of Sourcebooks, explaining how one publisher looks at e-books and considers the timing of their release.We are at the beginning of model building. If hot frontlist titles are to be available in e-formats, they need to be priced by the publisher, at a reasonable discount... Continue Reading →
Alternative Ending Idea #1
How TWILIGHT should have ended (thanks, @realjohngreen). I think I would have liked it better with dinosaurs. But maybe that's just me.
Ursula LeGuin on Writing
This comes from the Book View Cafe Blog:On Rules of Writing, or, Riffing on RechyPosted on July 16th, 2009 by Ursula K. Le GuinIn his terse and cogent essay, “When Rules Are Made to be Broken,” (LATBR, October 6, 2002), John Rechy attacks three “rules of writing” that, as he says, go virtually unchallenged in... Continue Reading →
Three More Ways to Find an Agent
Noah Lukeman (author of THE FIRST FIVE PAGES) has started a blog. He lists a few ways you might find an agent who reps your type of work (note--he recommends a service that has a subscription fee), and just as important, invites you to ask him questions.Check out the blog post.
We’re Rich! We’re Rich!
Oh, wait. The average picture book advance was $4,000. We never have been good at counting those zeroes.Get more detail about average and mean advances on Barbara Kanninen's site ("mean" here is a mathematical term, not a synonym for stingy, though you would be forgiven for thinking this).