On Writing

Comparable titles are the ammunition you—and agents and editors—all need to sell your work. Here’s an agent’s primer on finding good comps for your project.

Does your work have a strong organizing principle? It’s not what happens in your story, but rather how you choose to frame what happens in your story.

Everywhere I go I hear writers complain about the black hole that is every agent’s in-box—the slush pile—that dark and dangerous place where their queries and manuscripts go in, never to be seen again.

You should be able to tell anyone and everyone what your book is about—and how yours is different—anytime, anywhere in 60 seconds or less.

Writers are often obsessed with the lives of other writers, the richer and more acclaimed, the better. So here in no particular order is a list of ten great documentaries about writers…

Publishing is rife with conventional wisdom but some of it is actually useful. Here are some of the best. The first page sells the book, the last page sells the next book. I repeated this recently at a Zoom event and like an old dog full of old tricks I was surprised...

A random sampling of great stories about writers, for every novelist’s reading pleasure….

My favorite movies are mostly about writers. I love them the way I love memoirs by writers and interviews with writers. Now that we’re all stuck at home with time to write, we can look for inspiration and binge watch films at the same time. Here’s my list of TOP TEN...

If you want to get an agent, you have to think like an agent. Here’s how.