This week! Books! First up, the blog will be going on a spring break over the next few weeks while I do some traveling, reflecting, and soccer watching. I’m anticipating a late April or early May return. But I’ll be working and checking email in the meantime, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help with queries, synopses, manuscripts, proposals, or coaching. (And as someone soon to be traveling and reflecting, I read this article on George Orwell’s time on the isolated Isle of Jura in Scotland, where he famously wrote 1984, with great interest). One hundred years ago, Richard Simon an ..read more

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in the discussion forums: Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog Also, if you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your redline compares to mine. And, of course, if you need help more urgently or privately, I’m available for edits and consultations! Now then. Time for the Query Critique. First I’ll pres ..read more

With social media fragmenting, I’m bringing back my old “You Tell Me” Wednesday discussions to try to get good old fashioned blog conversations going. If you’re reading in a feed reader or via email, please click through to the post to leave a public comment and join the discussion! As a reader, I’m a generalist by design. Because of my work with authors, it behooves me to familiarize myself with as much of the market as possible, which usually means reading one book by a particular author and moving on. I’m typically one and done. But there are authors who sneak under my defenses ..read more

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in our discussion forums: Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog If you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your redline compares to mine. And, of course, if you need help more urgently or privately, I’m available for edits and consultations! Now then. Time for the Page Critique. First I’ll presen ..read more

With social media fragmenting, I’m bringing back my old “You Tell Me” Wednesday discussions to try to get good old fashioned blog conversations going. If you’re reading in a feed reader or via email, please click through to the post to leave a public comment and join the discussion! Many writers listen to music while they write, or at least prime their creativity with a few choice albums. Sometimes these musical choices coincide with the soundtrack they imagine for the film adaptation of their novel. What’s the soundtrack to your work in progress? While I was writing my new middle g ..read more

I’ve never been a runner, I’ve never been much into cycling outdoors, but for whatever reason I really vibe with spin classes. Turn out the lights, turn up the music, and let’s pedal to nowhere! After a year of consistently attending classes in my new hometown of Pasadena, I am by no means winning an indoor Tour de France, but I’ve hit some personal milestones that feel pretty good and it made me reflect on how I got there. Pair that with recently finishing a novel, and, well, here comes the blog post. Thanks for indulging me. Stay within yourself When I first started taking in-person classes ..read more

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in the discussion forums: Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog Also, if you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your redline compares to mine. And, of course, if you need help more urgently or privately, I’m available for edits and consultations! Now then. Time for the Query Critique. First I’ll pres ..read more

With social media fragmenting, I’m bringing back my old “You Tell Me” Wednesday discussions to try to get good old fashioned blog conversations going. If you’re reading in a feed reader or via email, please click through to the post to leave a public comment and join the discussion! We’ve all got a favorite writing spot. What’s yours? If you’ve been following this blog for a bit, you probably know that my favorite spot is The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. It’s one of those places where I feel lucky to be there every single time. What about y ..read more

It’s back! After only running the Blog Bracket Challenge in the shadows last year (um because I didn’t get it together for a blog post), we’re back and out in the open now. Yes, it’s that time! Time to see which one of you is the best literary bracket pickers of them all. Will this be the year I finally win?? As always, the winner of the Blog Bracket Challenge will win a query critique, a copy of one of my books, or another agreed-upon prize. There will be prizes for both the Men’s and Women’s Tournament Challenge winners. But most of all pride. Just some immense, immense pride. Here’s how to ..read more

This is a question I receive quite a lot from people who are writing their first book: “How do I know when I’m finished?” As in, when will I know when it’s time to submit for traditional publication or move toward self-publishing? It’s a deceptively difficult question. Even after you’ve tackled major issues, gotten feedback, and incorporated the changes, it’s absolutely possible to fiddle endlessly with a manuscript. No matter how many times you read your work, you’re going to spot things you want to change. I even spot things in my published novels, many, many years too late. On top of that ..read more