A number of months ago I had a dream. In it, my editor sent me a copy of my cover … and it was completely blank, except for my name, which was written across the bottom in bold, black ink. When I asked her why it had no art she told me this was all…
Continue reading »
I admit, I judge books by their covers all the time, and there’s a reason. Publishers hire many talented and thoughtful people who know exactly what they’re doing. They know all the visual cues readers respond to and look for when buying books. Fantasy novels usually have a strapping man or woman heavily armed, historical…
Continue reading »
Going through the publishing process of BEFORE I GO was a big learning curve. But the thing I learned about covers, is that I did not miss my calling in designing them. My editor kindly asked me for input (which I’ve heard doesn’t happen all the time at big publishing houses). I studied covers of books I…
Continue reading »
Congratulations to Judi Burns, winner of FIRST FROST by bestselling guest author Sarah Addison Allen! Check back next Sunday for this week’s winner of WE CAN WORK IT OUT by guest author Elizabeth Eulberg … From the 2015 Debs: Colleen Oakley is traveling home from the final leg of her tour in Chapel Hill and…
Continue reading »
I admit, I’m a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Eulberg. Not only does she write hilarious and delightful YA, she’s a cheese-loving, Green-and-Gold-in-her-veins, Friday Night Fish Fry fan. She may live in NYC, but she’ll always be a Wisconsinite at heart. I’ve read all her books and can’t wait to get my paws on her latest, WE…
Continue reading »
I’ve been working with the same critique group for seven years. That’s right, seven years. Among us we have a New York Time best-selling author, a writer with a two-book deal with a major publisher, two other writers with agents who are preparing their manuscripts to be offered to editors, myself and another writer with…
Continue reading »
Starting grad school four years ago, I thought I had the writerly thing down. After all, I worked in big New York media and then got a degree in screenwriting. But I was a total fiction newbie, and there plenty of things I learned the hard way. Like about workshopping. And trading pages. And even…
Continue reading »
It’s hard to believe now, but it was only two and half years ago when I finished my first (never to be seen again, thankfully) book. Like the brand-new baby author I was, I wrote THE END, spent many hours researching how to write a query letter, and then started querying. At the same time…
Continue reading »
New writers often ask about the secret to being a successful author, the steps needed to get their book out in the wild. They want the shortcut, the one piece of infallible advice that if they follow religiously will guarantee an agent and a book deal. Well, dear reader, there isn’t such secret, but the…
Continue reading »
OK, now I have that Olivia Newton-John song in my head. And I’m sure you do too. You’re welcome. This week on The Ball we’re talking about our critique partners — why we have them, why they’re important, why you shouldn’t choose a friend or family member. Or, maybe why you should. My critique partner…
Continue reading »
