A Manuscript Checkup: Are You Really Ready to Query?

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#askagent, creative writing, creative writing strategies, editing, editing tips, fiction writing, literary agent, narrative craft, novel writing, publishing advice, publishing tips, query advice, revising, revision, writing craft, writing tips

I sometimes hear of querying authors lamenting the decline of “editorial” agents. In truth, all agents are editors of their projects. It just depends on where along a manuscript’s evolution do they want to jump in. What these authors aren’t realizing is that they might be looking for representation too early in their writing process. Most agents look for a project in its later stages or last stage of development. . . .Read more on Relentless Writers

10 Gifts for Writers They’ll Actually Use

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christmas gifts, Dragon speech recognition, gifts for writers, holiday gifts, Kindle, Nook, Scrivener, Spotify, writing gifts, writing life, writing lifestyle, writing software

Now that you’ve survived pre-Black Friday, Black Friday, pre-Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday and the entire Cyber week, you may find there is still one person on your list that no gadget, game, or gift card seems to fit. I’m talking about the writer in your life. And no doubt, you’ve exhausted the number of different notebooks, journals, coffee mugs, pens, t-shirts, pillows, bookmarks and tote bags, and are wondering, what you could give that would be useful to that dear writer you know. . . . Read more of Lisa’s post on Relentless Writers.

Tips for NaNoWriMo-What You Can Do Before November

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character development, characterization, creative writing, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, novel writing, plotting, research, sense of place, setting, story structure, world-building, writing tips

Halloween is fast coming upon us. For many people it means carving pumpkins, wearing costumes and passing out candy. But for some writers, it marks the last day before November, better known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you are one these writers, taking advantage of this time to do some preliminary work on your new novel will save you time while you are in the thick of NaNoWriMo. . . . Read more of Lisa’s post on Relentless Writers.

Curb Your Insecurity: Tips on Good Submission Etiquette

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creative writing, fiction writing, literary agent, manuscript submission, novel writing, publishing advice, publishing industry, publishing tips, query advice, query letter

There are plenty of querying and publishing “how-to’s” that provide authors with great information about how to find, query and submit to an agent. What is not always so clear is what you should do after your manuscript has been submitted to prospective literary agents. Waiting is often the hardest part of the submission process. That is the time when insecurity can rear its ugly head, and authors may suddenly feel that they must do something, but what they do is actually worse than not doing anything. . . . Read more of Lisa’s post on Relentless Writers.

Ten Steps to an Emotionally Engaging Character

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character development, creating characters, creative writing, fiction writing, literary agent, novel writing, writing advice, writing craft, writing strategies, writing tips

Literary agents pass on submissions for all sorts of reasons. For me, it usually comes down to the writing, more specifically, the characters themselves and how well I am able to connect with them. Having that emotional engagement with the characters makes me care what happens to them and keeps me turning pages. . . . Read more of Lisa’s post on Relentless Writers.