How a Book Is Born, Part 12
In which I decide to kill off a character. And then rescind the decision.
In which I decide to kill off a character. And then rescind the decision.
I wrote my first romance novel on a dare. I’d been a nonfiction book author and magazine writer for a number of years, and I was working on a mystery of the hard-boiled private eye type. A colleague suggested that the reason the relationship between my protagonist and her love interest wasn’t working was that,…
If you’ve been following along, you might think when I refer to watching things blow up, I am using the phrase in a metaphorical sense, but today I actually mean it in the literal sense. That is to say, I have been watching Mythbusters on Netflix. If you’ve ever watched this show, you know…
So I think of litttle (step)sister Natalie as beautiful, kind, and loving, but when I start putting her on the page, she also has a sarcastic streak, is extremely forgetful, and occasionally gets impatient with Brianna’s hovering. I’m loving how she’s turning out, with a little spice to counteract the sugar. Brianna reveals herself to…
Back when I was working as a literary agent, Writer’s Digest published an article I wrote on thinking like an agent. Though I’m an acquisitions editor now, not an agent, these pointers are all still true. I wanted to update them and share them with you. What I wrote then: 3. It’s easier to pitch…
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how life can make you question everything you believe. I quoted Rebecca, a reader who said, “With the initial wound of the TSC [tuberous sclerosis complex] diagnosis still fresh for us, I have shied away from examining any belief. Because, frankly, anything I have ever believed about this…
The other day, I was putting together a resource list on how to write book proposals, and came across a promoter who sells all kinds of information on how to write book proposals – but as far as I can tell has never sold a book to a traditional publisher. A blogger recently suggested…