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Literary Agents

WRITER WEDNESDAY: Tips For Dealing With Literary Agents

| Posted 05.15.2013 | Books

By Writer's Relief staff: If you’ve sent your query to a handful of literary agents and one comes back asking you for an exclusive, don’t get n...

10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author That I Learned the Hard Way

Deborah Plummer | Posted 05.19.2013 | Books
Deborah Plummer

I have been blessed to be a published author both by the traditional process and I have self-published where I managed every aspect of the process. From both processes, here is what I have learned.

Sharon, Will You Go Out With Me?

John Malik | Posted 03.04.2013 | Books
John Malik

The process and emotions are eerily similar. I plot, plan and carefully script the query to my novel hoping that the object of my desire will say yes please, show me a bit more.

Unlucky '13: 10 Predictions of How It's Gonna Get Worse for New York Publishers in the Coming Year

Michael_Levin | Posted 03.02.2013 | Books
Michael_Levin

Maybe the Mayans had the American publishing industry in mind when their calendar conked out. If you thought 2012 was a bad year for traditional book publishing, and it was, you'll be nostalgic for it by the end of 2013.

7 Great Things About Being a Writer (and Seven More That Suck)

Jason Pinter | Posted 01.30.2013 | Books
Jason Pinter

One time I got a package containing a tattered copy of my book along with a handwritten note. To a writer, this is like going up to a stranger and telling them that a) they could use some plastic surgery, and b) you'd like to perform it yourself.

US Publishers Remain Fascinated by Lives of the Fading WASP Elite

Alan Elsner | Posted 01.05.2013 | Books
Alan Elsner

In modern America, the heyday of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, also known as the WASP, is some decades behind us. But in American literature, WASPs continue to fascinate -- perhaps because the publishing industry is one of their last redoubts.

First, Stop All the Literary Agents

Lev Raphael | Posted 12.03.2012 | Books
Lev Raphael

I keep meeting authors who rave about their agents as if they were combinations of the Buddha and Captain America. My own experience with agents has been anything but positive, and the first agent who took me on was a paragon of imperfection.

Literary Agents You Should Avoid

| Posted 09.05.2012 | Books

By Writer's Relief staff: Beginner and veteran writers alike can be victimized by shady literary agents. If you don’t know what to look for, you...

Ten Tips for Nabbing Yourself a Literary Agent

Jay Clark | Posted 08.25.2012 | Books
Jay Clark

So, after years of torturing yourself beyond emotional repair, making several highly unnecessary sacrifices to the gods, and, finally, signing a contract (in blood) entitled Deal with the Devil, you've managed to finish your book.

How To Follow Up With A Literary Agent

| Posted 05.30.2012 | Books

From Writer's Relief staff: It’s hard to be patient when you’ve sent out a query letter and still haven’t heard back from your literary age...

11 Mistakes Writers Make When Approaching Literary Agents

| Posted 05.16.2012 | Books

From Writer’s Relief staff: Let’s face it: Writing a book requires different skills than writing a query letter. While there are no “rules”...

I Could Write a Book About My Book Ordeal!

Dave Astor | Posted 07.10.2012 | Books
Dave Astor

Celebrity entertainers and politicians have no problem getting their memoirs published. So a book partly about celebrity entertainers and politicians should have had no problem getting published, right?

Writers Wednesday: 10 Ways To Annoy Literary Agents

| Posted 05.02.2012 | Books

From Writer's Relief staff: In the tradition of David Letterman’s Late Show Top Ten, the submission strategists at Writer’s Relief want to shar...

New 'Dracula' Document By Author Bram Stoker Being Released

Posted 03.26.2012 | Books

"Dracula" author Bram Stoker was more than a skillful Gothic penman. He also studied law, and his talents are evident in the legal contract for his bl...

The (Un)Romantic Path of Literary Fiction: Alfred A. Knopf (Part I)

Rex Pickett | Posted 05.20.2012 | Books
Rex Pickett

I have made a couple horrible, irremediable decisions in my life, but this decision to accept the writing of The Road Back for Knopf would go down as the worst I have ever made.

The 'Sideways' Publishing Saga -- The St. Martin's Press Nightmare (Part I)

Rex Pickett | Posted 04.16.2012 | Books
Rex Pickett

I started to believe I had written a dreadful book, that Sideways was unpublishable. Then I got a call informing me that St. Martin's Press had offered $5,000.

Writer Wednesday: Surprising Things Literary Agents Can Do For You

| Posted 12.14.2011 | Books

From Writer's Relief Staff: In the old days of publishing, literary agents had a clear and pretty much singular function: to advocate on behalf of ...

Can You Get A Publishing Deal From A Website?

Andrew Losowsky | Posted 12.08.2011 | Books

The 'slush pile' is the collection of unasked for, unpublished work that writers send to publishers. Wading through it is often a thankless task given...

Tough Lessons From a Debut Novelist, Part 2

Jeffrey Small | Posted 11.28.2011 | Books
Jeffrey Small

One of the most painful lessons I struggled to accept was that my words and ideas were not sacred.

Tough Lessons From a Debut Novelist

Jeffrey Small | Posted 11.14.2011 | Books
Jeffrey Small

Every time I walk into a bookstore and I see a novel written by a celebrity or some newly-minted reality star, I cringe. Yes, I'm jealous and resentful. But the truth is the book publishing business is a terrible business.

Writer Wednesday: What NOT To Do If You Get A Literary Agent

Posted 10.24.2011 | Books

From Writer's Relief staff: If you’re an aspiring writer, you’ve probably got an “I’d like to thank the academy” speech ready and waiting...

How's That Novel of Yours Doing?

Terence Clarke | Posted 10.17.2011 | Books
Terence Clarke

The wish for fame, so illusory a thing, can kill you. Or at least, it can kill your novel.

Numbers In Literary Publishing: You Have One Sentence

Peter Brown Hoffmeister | Posted 09.27.2011 | Books
Peter Brown Hoffmeister

Big rejection numbers in publishing are not important. Big numbers in general are not important. No, the number to worry about is one. One. That's how many sentences you have to impress an agent or editor.

What Is It Actually Like To Sell A Novel?

themillions.com | Posted 09.06.2011 | Books

"We're closing in on a deal," my agent told me on the phone. "I'm just turning him upside-down now and shaking him for loose change."...

Why Casey Anthony Will Not Get A Book Deal

Jason Pinter | Posted 09.05.2011 | Books
Jason Pinter

After the media tsunami surrounding the Casey Anthony verdict, 'analysts' have come forward stating she could reap nearly seven figures for a book deal. That's a crock and here's why.