by Russell | Aug 14, 2018 | first novel, writing
Zoom. Zip. Four months just flew by. There was another edit, of course, and Chapter Nine is no more. Its chewy bits remain scattered throughout the first chapter, but most of it is in the bin where it belongs. It was a massacre of darlings. And it felt good. But the...
by Russell | Apr 7, 2018 | first novel, submitting
One of the agents I queried required a query (what a mouthful) follow a very specific format, so I found myself copy and pasting lines from my synopsis. After reading and re-reading the query, to ensure it ticked all the boxes, I realized this letter sounded better...
by Russell | Apr 7, 2018 | first novel, submitting
It’s been a long road so far, but I feel like I’ve just pulled out of the driveway. After polishing my first three chapters, drafting my synopsis, fine-tuning and personalizing each query letter, researching and selecting the most suitable agents, I sent...
by Russell | Apr 5, 2018 | first novel, submitting
I’ve been researching/querying literary agents for the past few days, putting in around 20 hours total so far. The (p)research I did, reading everything I could on finding and choosing an agent, didn’t make it sound simple, but didn’t prepare me for...
by Russell | Apr 5, 2018 | first novel, submitting
If the world can’t even agree on universal units of measurement, the shape of power outlets, or how to spell wi-fi, why would literary agents agree on a standard submission format? It stands to reason they differ on what they want. Some ask for the first...
