Tag: Publishers
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Answered: Your Most Burning Questions About Editors
For every brilliant manuscript that grows into a best-selling novel, untold thousands of others get dumped into the recycle bin. What’s the crucial difference between them? Ask Jamie. Over the years, James Persichetti has seen more unpublished manuscripts cross his desk than most people could read in a lifetime. He started out at the incomparable…
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How to Outline a Novel (Even If You Hate Outlines)
Getting overwhelmed at the prospect of starting (or finishing) your novel? Feeling the pressure of hundreds of blank pages staring at you, waiting to be filled? No sweat. Planning out a story is like building a wall: You just do it one block at a time. Just like a towering brick wall is made up…
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My Dinner with Satan
I recently discovered, much to my dismay, that I had eaten Satan for dinner. This is a true story. Allow me to explain. In the midst of a snowstorm, my wife and I decided to try a new restaurant. We ended up at a brightly lit, very mod, hipster-friendly place that put an emphasis on…
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Don’t Kill Your Pitch: 5 Ways You Might Be Sabotaging Your Story
Nervous about pitching your work to an editor or literary agent? Just avoid these five deal-breaking mistakes and you’ll put yourself well ahead of the competition.
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How to Keep Readers Turning Pages: 3 Things You Must Do
Q: I’ve got a basic plot planned out for my novel, but I’m worried about being repetitive, because the story is about doing the same thing several times (the main character has a list of people he needs to “off”). Do you know of any way to pull off a plot like that without boring…
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The Best Writing Tool You’re Not Using
Writing a novel on a typewriter? Hard. Finishing your novel by any means possible? Smart! Are you stuck in the middle of your novel? Do you keep going back to “fix” things in your story? Believe it or not, you might need a typewriter.
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The #1 Secret to Finding Time to Write
“We live and die by the clock.” –William Broyles Jr. Too bad he didn’t have the Datexx Miracle Cube Timer. Want to get more writing done this week? Just follow this one simple trick. It works every time, no matter what you’re writing or how busy your schedule is.
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Kill Your Laptop: Extreme Ways to Finish Your Novel
I get a lot of emails from writers who think they’re suffering from writer’s block. But are they? See if this sounds familiar to you: “I keep going back to fix things.” “Sometimes, I hate the words I just wrote.” “When I watch what I’m typing, I write much cleaner sentences with less typos, but…
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Don’t Make This Legal Mistake in Your Novel
Q: Is it legal to write a novel based on a true story, and use the real names of the people involved? A: Yes, but it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth. Since I’m not a lawyer, none of this is legal advice of any kind, FYI. But here’s what you’re up against: Writing about…
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The #1 Writing Secret Every Writer Should Know
Q: Hi! I’m currently writing a book, and I want to get it published, but I’m in high school and that makes things a lot harder. Could you please explain the basic process of how it would get published? A: I’m so glad you enjoy writing! I started writing short stories when I was 16,…
LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON 