Questions? Come One, Come All!

Literary agent Mary Kole of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency will be answering questions for all us writers this coming Monday (April 12th) over on AgentQuery Connect. She’s a savvy agent who loves young adult and middle grade books. AND her agency is ranked numero uno in terms of sales for these kinds of books. So, if you are a writer who has questions about these categories, she’s your gal, and AQC is the place to be. If you aren’t into writing those kinds of books, but are curious about the world of publishing and what the future may hold… Ms. Kole can help you out there too! Or, if your questions are more basic, such as, what do agents really want in a query letter, that works too.

You may have also heard of Ms. Kole due to her awesome-McAwesomeVille blog, Kidlit.com, which simply rocks. I think I’ve mentioned it a time or two….

Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity to have your burning writerly questions answered by an industry pro. Go over to AQC and become a member if you aren’t already (it’s completely free) and ask away in the dedicated Ms. Kole group. (Lurking is also allowed….)

Enjoy!

P.S. If you enter a dialogue with Ms. Brown (i.e. ask a question over on AQC) this can, in some cases, work as a jumping off point in a future query to her. (You know, make it a bit more personalized to help you stand out in the massive pile of queries she gets on a daily basis.) For example, “Dear Ms. Kole: Last week I enjoyed reading all your replies to my fellow AgentQueryConnect members. You had mentioned that you are looking for novels that X, Y, and Z in response to my question about what is hot in middle grade novels right now. I believe my story BEST THING EVER fits what you are looking for.” Etc., etc….

Tab Purge

I have been totally falling down on my monthly Good Links posts. For some reason the end of the month comes, I think about it, procrastinate, the new month begins, I feel guilty, I get over it. I carry on.

Well, my tabs in Firefox are full of good stuff once again that I would like to share. So, without any formality… here goes.

FICTION: if you hang out on AgentQuery Connect you may have gotten to know Chopsaw, aka, James Kidd. Well, he’s got a great little short story called ‘Holes in the Walls‘ up at Every Day Fiction. It’s worth checking out.

YOUR FICTION: Speaking of fiction, maybe you have some of your own and are wondering whether it is flabby or fit. Well, wonder no longer! You can paste some of your writing into this analyzer and see whether it thinks you use too many adverbs, be words, or commits other writerly sins. The Writer’s Diet Waistline Test.

PUBLISH YOUR FICTION: Moonrat (a recovering editorial assistant) gives the goods on publishing houses whether big, small, or self.

PUBLICIZE YOUR FICTION: John Betcher discusses a few ideas on how to create a buzz around your book at the local level.

MARKET THAT FICTION: TK Richardson begins her marketing tips this week. If you don’t know where to start, take note!

**I recommend keeping a file with good marketing/publicizing tips and advice on your computer. As you come across helpful stuff, pop it in the file and it will all be there when you need it. Saves time!

Now I can close a few tabs–and I didn’t even bombard you with links like usual! Probably because Firefox and I keep fighting about saving my tabs when I shut down which means I forget all about those goodies I wanted to share!

Enjoy!

Upcoming Chat With Scott Edstein

Scott Edelstein, publishing world guru, of HelpingWriters.com is joining us at AgentQuery Connect for a chat tonight, Tuesday October 20th, at 8p.m. Eastern.

Scott has worked as a professional writer, literary agent, editor, journalist, freelancer, ghostwriter, columnist, writing instructor, and has finally donned the title of publishing/writing consultant. Scott will be discussing: “tips for assessing your own writing, creating a professional book proposal (especially for non-fiction), and how to conduct proper market research for your proposal or novel. He will also be on-hand to answer your questions about everything related to the business side of publishing such as contract negotiation, how to comparing publishers and literary agents, and what it’s really like to sell your book to a commercial publisher..” (AQ Crew over at AQ) and much, much more.

If you have any questions about publishing and writing, drop in and join the chat. It is free, as always and sure to be informative. If you can’t make the chat, the transcripts will be available on the AgentQuery Connect site by Wednesday morning. (You need to be a member of AQ to join this chat, but the membership is free and painless.)

Please join us!