Living a Creative Life with Hannah Deurloo, Author
So I've been steadily working through my stories as they come to me. I've talked before about choosing a story to write that really gets you excited. I still stand by all of that. However, there comes a moment when a choice must be made and that choice has consequences. I'm there. I've got five… Continue reading You Should Talk to an Agent Today, Seriously.
Not all competition happens in the gym. I've been struggling with a picture book for over a month now. It's driving me crazy. I need to rework my pitch so it doesn't get an automatic no. I need to revise, revise, and revise some more. I need to brainstorm like it's the end of the… Continue reading Competitive Writing
"Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life." – Amy Poehler After a whirlwind of excitement last week, which you can read about HERE, I've come to the full realization that I now have an even bigger team on my… Continue reading Teamwork
I know I'm deviating from my regularly scheduled day but I can't contain my excitement! I HAVE AN AGENT! I saw a #MSWL post asking for a kids cookbook proposal and freaked out. I've watched the #MSWL feed for three years and no one has ever asked for a kids cookbook. So I jumped on… Continue reading The Call!
A couple months ago I got that magical email that said "we'd like to publish your story." And before you get too excited, that's where the magic ended. I received a contract via email and I began the painful process of looking up how to negotiate a book contract solo. Folks this is why agents… Continue reading Negotiation No Go
If you've been rejected by a person, a job, a college, or anything else you'd set your heart on having, you understand what it means to be a writer. Dealing with rejection is normal on multiple levels and in different ways. You can be rejected by the reader at any point. Whether it's the first… Continue reading A Note On Perseverance
You've written your book, polished it, and gone through rounds of editing. It's time to send your story out into the world to see if you can get an agent. But who do you send your story to? How do you choose? Carefully. I've talked before about what not to say to an agent. I've… Continue reading How to Research Agents
We save our favorite everything lately, photos, trinkets, cards, even emails. But what about your favorite agents? In all my agent watching there are some that stand out and resonate with me. In their behavior, their talk, and their hobbies. These are folks I'd like to be friends with and to do business with. But… Continue reading Saving All My Favs
After my latest writing group I realized how many queries I've sent over the years. How much digging I've done over and over again. And realized there are some common things that really tick agents off. Let me be really clear, this is not everyone. It's just what I see commonly on different social sites.… Continue reading 8 Things NOT to Say to an Agent
If you've gotten a rejection from an agent that says, "I really like this story and it's a good fit for my tastes, BUT I already have something similar on my list." You know it hurts. You're close but getting an agent can be like a chasm you can throw your manuscript across but not… Continue reading Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity
I love to fish. But with toddlers it isn't something I get to do as often as I'd like. So now I settle for figurative fishing by quering my stories to agents, editors, and publishers. One thing is certain, if you never cast into the water you will never catch anything. But if you do… Continue reading Fishing for an Agent
I have a few small stories I've been attempting to sell through the magazine market. Let's be real though kid lit magazines are few and far between. Once you've checked word counts against what you've written the pickings get even slimmer. So next thought was to go through an agent but unless you're an author/illustrator most agents… Continue reading 5 Publishers of Kid Lit, No Agent Required
I recently had the opportunity to attend a query letter boot camp. Thanks to Caffeinated Press for hosting, it was extremely insightful. I did bring a query letter with me, and I ignorantly thought it was perfect. I now know better. I’d like to share some of the feedback I got with you. Hopefully, you… Continue reading Query Letter Conundrum
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