Image: a woman in a mermaid costume floats underwater next to sculptural ruins.
Evocative scene-setting can be wonderful, but be careful of letting it get in the way of your story’s action and ...
/ Ask the Editor, Creativity
Image: a person's right arm in a black sleeve is palm-down on an expanse of unmown grass.
When a book is being pitched as a murder-mystery with comedic undertones, it’s important to seed those elements in the ...
/ Ask the Editor, Guest Post
Image: the view of cars on a UK motorway as seen through a rainy windscreen at dawn.
In a new feature, our Ask the Editor column reviews the first pages of an unpublished work ...
/ Ask the Editor
A woman's hands cradle a freshly baked cherry pie in a tea towel as she removes it from the oven.
In a new feature, our Ask the Editor column reviews the first pages of an unpublished work ...
/ Ask the Editor
Headshots of Susan Chang, Julie Scheina, and Sangeeta Mehta
Three editors discuss the types and stages of editing, whether publishing industry experience matters, hiring guidelines and much more ...
/ Guest Post, Working with Editors
Allison Hunter and Jennifer Weltz
Two agents discuss the importance of retaining film rights, option types, author involvement in adaptations, and much more ...
Laura Zats and T.S Ferguson
Two literary agents discuss the usefulness and limits of assigning a genre to writing, and how it’s perceived by publishers ...
/ Queries & Synopses
Michelle Brower and Jennifer Chen Tran
Literary agents Michelle Brower and Jennifer Chen Tran discuss the pros and cons of small presses, querying strategy, and much ...
Priya Doraswamy and Carly Watters
Literary agents Priya Doraswamy and Carly Watters discuss foreign rights, translation logistics, a book’s chances abroad, and much more ...
/ Guest Post, Literary Agents
Stefanie Sanchez von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti
In this Q&A, agents Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti tackle the complications of authorship and literary citizenship in ...
Image: Jim McCarthy, Paula Munier
In this Q&A, literary agents Jim McCarthy and Paula Munier discuss the priorities and responsibilities—to yourself and to others—of being ...
Sarah LaPolla Kim Lionetti Establishing Long Term Writing Career
For some authors, a single book deal is validation enough. For others, it's the beginning of a lifelong journey through ...
Linda Camacho and Jennifer Soloway
Good literary agents keep fighting for books they believe in. But how do agents decide which authors to rep? In ...
/ Getting Published, Guest Post
Holly Root and John Cusick
If you’re a writer, how do you know if it’s worth the risk of leaving your current agent? Does past ...
/ Guest Post, Literary Agents
Elliott Hartinger Klein Mooser authors
A Q&A on children's self-publishing with authors Zetta Elliott, who has released several books under her own imprint, including picture ...
/ Author Q&A, Self-Publishing
Starting Later & Starting Over: Launching a Writing Career When You’re No Longer “Young”
Seven-figure deals seem to be given to more 20-something debut writers than debut writers in any other age group, yet ...
Mary C Moore and DongWon Song
What should writers do if they feel that an agent isn’t honoring their obligations, contractual or otherwise? What's the best ...
/ Guest Post, Literary Agents
Eric Smith and Saba Sulaiman
How do agents—generally considered the gatekeepers to publishing companies—approach the issue of diversity in the publishing industry? ...
/ Guest Post, Literary Agents
hybrid author
Sangeeta Mehta interviews agents Bob Mecoy and Kristin Nelson about how agents can assist the hybrid author ...
Looking up from the bottom of an escalator.
Literary agent Jessica Faust discusses how she helps authors self-publish ...
literary fiction
Should literary writers consider self-publishing? How it might affect their long-term careers? Two agents weigh in ...
Children's books
Two literary agents offer their thoughts on the self-publishing of children's books and what the future of the picture book ...
Should Children’s Book Authors Self-Publish?
Note from Jane: Today's guest post is by Sangeeta Mehta (@sangeeta_editor), a former acquiring editor of children's books at Little, ...