Welcome to my new blog, which now includes content from many of the blogs I’ve created over the years. You can now also access content via category from this one page instead of having to search for my individual blogs, which were scattered over various platforms and websites.
James Scott Bell has posted an excellent checklist to keep in mind as you revise, before you submit your manuscript. The list is based on a sidebar in the May/June issue of Writer’s Digest from YA editor, Anica Morse Rissi.
Hopefully, reading through SlushPile Hell will help new writers avoid making the same mistakes as the ones made in queries to this crusty lit agent. You can also find SlushPile Hell on Twitter at @SlushPileHell. I’m resurrecting my Golden Marmot Awards because I keep coming across sites and tweets that, while they may be a . . .
[Update: Since the news appeared yesterday in Publisher’s Marketplace, I figure I can announce it here — Congrats to Megan Crewe, who just signed for a THREE-book deal with Disney-Hyperion! Yay, Megan!] Megan Crewe, at the tweetupWent downtown yesterday for the monthly tweetup of the Toronto Middle Grade and Young Adult . . .
Natalie is a YA writer, and her blog is packed with great inspiration and tips for writers. Love the emphasis on positive thinking, and her sense of humour runs through all. Natalie is holding a contest right now, challenging writers to make her laugh in 150 words or less. Rewards . . .
I met the fabulous Claudia Osmond through Twitter (where she’s @claudiaosmond), when she organized the very first in-person tweetup of Torkidlit. Hugely supportive of the local writers’ community, Claudia interviews writers and talks about writing on her blog, Where the (not-so) Wild Things Are. Her first book, Smudge’s Mark, came out from Simply Read . . .
The Huffington Post has a gallery of the “Nine Of The Most Surprising Auctioned Author Memorabilia.”
From Christopher Herz at The Huffington Post: As the publishing industry struggles to find that balance between the digital world and the feel of actually handling a book, perhaps a look towards the emotional connection is the bridge.Right now, while we all follow twitter feeds and become fans on Facebook, what . . .
In response to my post, Writing Contests: Always Read The Fine Print, one of the owners of the insurance website wrote: Hello Debbie, My name is Mike Kim and I am one of the owners of Affordable Insurance Options Online. I am writing this comment in response to the “warning” you . . .
I was recently encouraged to promote this “Affordable Insurance Options Essay Contest” to my readers. The website name was already setting off alarm bells in my head, but I decided to check out the rules out of curiosity. At first glance, it may attract some writers: there’s no entry fee, . . .