Now for a video on one of the most universal subjects for authors: REJECTION.
In this video I discuss my personal rejection experiences, share my first rejection letter and laugh over my most condescending one, and give you an idea of how and in what capacity I’ve been rejected over the years–from the perspective of a person who did eventually get to “yes.”
Most of my videos so far have been about publishing and approaching agents and stuff, but I haven’t done much with actual writing technique and the earlier stages of drafting your book. Since I have done a lot of beta reading for authors, I thought I’d share some advice that I’ve found myself repeating for the authors I help on nearly every book.
This video addresses common pitfalls and teaches certain techniques for authors to use in polishing their novels, with particular attention paid to how to begin your novel. It also includes tips on characterization, dialogue, providing background information, pacing, story elements, and even punctuation. Enjoy!
On Saturday, March 29, I appeared on an author panel with Ron Riekki and Ryan Meany. We each read from our own work and answered questions. I read the prologue of my book, Bad Fairy. This is the video:
If you watch the video on YouTube, you can look in the video description and use the time codes there to skip around to anybody’s reading selection, as well as browse the questions we answered and when in the video we answered them.
I have a new video in which I read my first draft of Page One on the next book I’ll be writing: Bad Fairy Book 2. It doesn’t contain spoilers for Book 1. Feel free to tell me if you have opinions.
I get a lot of questions from aspiring writers about what kind of education they “need.” This is my answer, with a little bit of reflection about the purpose of a career. Maybe I’ll say something that speaks to you. 🙂
My new video covers five reasons why I recommend against creative speech tags used in place of “said” and “asked.” I make my case for why conversations between characters should stand on their own without the tags or adverbs combined with the tags competing for attention against the actual conversation.
Here’s a new video discussing a little bit about my process from getting my first offer of publication to signing a publishing contract. It’s brief, but I just give you an overview of what it was like to receive multiple offers, deal with negotiations, and sign with a publisher, and a little about what happens after that. Enjoy!
I’m thrilled to announce that my nonfiction book SO YOU THINK YOU’RE ASEXUAL: An Introduction to the Invisible Orientation has sold to Skyhorse Publishing/Carrel Books!
[Publishers Marketplace Announcement]
We’re expecting a Fall 2014 release date.
Feel free to watch my video about it:
Here’s me discussing different ways you can find literary agents to query. I give a lot of great tips on specific websites you can use to find people who might be interested in representing your work, as well as more traditional methods and some contest information.
Here’s me discussing the process of going on submission to publishers through my literary agent and sharing some perspectives on what it’s been like.