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Guest Post: Launching a Writing Career Online

Mar 3 2020
Posted in:
Before the Deal Series, Guest Post, Industry Life, Speakeasy Sharing

Okay fellow writers, time to go out and build a fanbase from the ground up in order to catch people’s attention and get published! Except, you don’t have anything published yet, so how exactly are you supposed to build a fanbase? Hmmm…. I know what you’re thinking, writing is hard enough without the pressure to build a platform. Unfortunately, the hard truth is that these days, not only are we required to improve our craft […]

11 Comments

Keeping Secrets in the Publishing Industry

Dec 12 2018
Posted in:
After the… Series, Before the Deal Series, Industry Life, Writing Life

I’m sure everyone who has seen Mean Girls remembers Damian’s famous line about Regina George, the Queen Bee: “That’s why her hair is so big. It’s full of secrets!” Taken out of context, the line could totally work for anyone involved in publishing! Whether you’re a literary agent, an editor, or an author, you will most likely have to keep a secret at one point in time, for one reason or another. I’ve had author friends […]

2 Comments

Trends Never Die

Oct 26 2018
Posted in:
Before the Deal Series, Writing Life

Recently I was part of a Q&A for writers and there were a lot of questions and anxiety around questions about the market and dead trends, and whether or not a book with vampires/talking animals/royalty/[insert your trend or trope of choice here] are doomed from the start. This is the advice I gave then, and I think a wider audience could benefit from it, so I’m sharing it with you: Ignore all that nonsense. Everything […]

1 Comment

Sharing Editors’ Rejections For FOTL

Feb 19 2018
Posted in:
Before the Deal Series, Industry Life, Shameless Self-Promotion, Writing Life

Last year, on October 10, 2017, my lifelong dream came true: FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS, the book of my heart, was released into the world! As many of you may know, it took me a long time to get here and I’m glad, because all of that time spent improving my craft led to a debut book that I love, feel confident about, and believe represents the best of what I can currently do as […]

37 Comments

An Agent Or Editor Is Interested! What Next?!

Jan 26 2018
Posted in:
Before the Deal Series, Industry Life

It’s a typical morning for you. Maybe you’re in the office, getting ready for a meeting, or at home putting in another load of laundry while the coffee brews. You decide to check your email before getting on with your busy day and you see: Inbox (1) YES! You got a new message since the last time you checked (approximately 2.5 minutes ago). “Stay calm,” you tell yourself. “It’s probably a shipping notice from Amazon, […]

14 Comments