I am a literary agent. I’ve been doing this work for the better part of four decades. When you do something and love it for as long as I have, you gain a lot of wisdom and knowledge, but you don’t lose the drive or the shrewdness. Those things only get better. I have plenty of war stories to tell, plenty of writing tips, and plenty of knowledge about things authors want to know. You won’t find a lot of this information anywhere else. If you’re looking for The Secret, this is as close as you’re going to get. Come on in.
TAKE A WALK
You have to keep up with the market. You have to know what’s out there, what is selling, what is peaking, and what is upcoming...
WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU, AND WHAT WE CAN’T
There is a great deal an agent can do for you. But there are also things we either can’t do or don’t want to. Here’s...
WHEN IT’S TIME TO STOP
Let’s not overdo it. When a book is done, it’s done. Sure, you can always tinker with it, but if you do that forever, you...
THE BEST MEDICINE
One of the best qualities an author can have is a good sense of humor. It’s hard to be an author. It’s a lot of...
BEST BIDS AND PRE-EMPTS
It’s good to learn terminology and what it means. Let’s talk about pre-empts and best bids. Here’s a story. I was involved in a very...
JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER
People often think that authors choose or create or manage their own covers. That is not the case. The cover is generated by the Art...
WHAT PREPARED ME FOR BEING AN AGENT
There is no license. There is no exam you have to take. There is no certificate of validation or achievement. So what qualifies me to...
PASSOVER/EASTER MESSAGE
First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemöller First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist...
AND THE WINNER IS. . .
When you do this work for as long as I’ve been doing it, you learn a lot about what makes a book salable. It’s all...
TEA FOR FIVE
What happens when an author has to choose between two equal offers and can’t decide? Usually there is a call or Zoom between her and...
LOUISA AND ME
Louisa May Alcott, the beloved author of the great classic, LITTLE WOMEN, was born on November 29. So was I. She was the second of...
THE MAGIC OF THE BACKLIST
When you sell a book to a publisher, they give you an advance against future royalties. Where does that money come from? A publisher has...
HIDDEN MONEY
Here’s a story about releasing money that was owed to the author. An author called me to ask why her royalties were so low. She...
FINAL OFFER
Sometimes a publisher will announce, following a normal period of negotiation, that this is their final offer. As Huck Finn would have said, that...
THE MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCE IN A NOVEL
The most important sentence in a book is the first sentence. If you don’t like the first sentence, you may not read any further. You...
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
Let’s talk about THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, a book that most people have read. I never heard of anyone who didn’t like it. It...
HOW I WOULD FIND AN AGENT
If I were an author looking for an agent, here is what I would do. I would not just send a query and hope for...
AGENT TYPES
There are different kinds of agents. You want the one who is the right one for you, which may be different from what...
THE REAL VIRTUE
Humility is a virtue. You can be demanding, assertive, insistent, and even call rank, and still have humility. Arrogance is not a virtue and it...
THE PROS AND CONS OF SELF-PUBLISHING
Anyone can be an author today. Anyone. It used to be that someone else had to be willing to invest money in you, but no...
YOUR BIG CHANCE?
You sign up to go to a writers conference. You’re excited to land an appointment with an agent you have always admired. You prepare eagerly...
OH, DEAR, WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?
I’m thinking of the time I was sitting on an agents panel at a conference and realized that I was the best-dressed person on the...
LETTER FROM A TEN-YEAR-OLD
I once received a letter from a 10-year-old girl about a math assignment. The math teacher asked all the kids what kind of profession they...
NAME YOUR CHARACTERS WISELY
No one knew how to name characters better than Dickens. Who else would come up with a name like Ebenezer Scrooge? It sounds exactly like...
THE SECRET TO DESCRIPTION
Sometimes authors are afraid that too much description will delay the action, so they avoid it. That is a mistake. Once you have the...
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE GODFATHER
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE GODFATHER To me, THE GODFATHER (meaning the book and the first two movies) is an unparalleled masterpiece. It is operatic...
MY SOAPBOX ABOUT AUDIO
I have a thing about audio rights. Here’s a short history: Audio rights used to be easily retainable by the author, because no one thought...
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