F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300 Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
Plus, learn what to
do while waiting for publishers to respond to your book proposal.
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Keeping the Writing Faith: Daily Writing
Habits of Four Successful Authors
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When you're trying
to stay motivating through the writing process, it helps to know you're not
alone. For instance, Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, flat-out says
"Writing is not fun -- at least not that first draft." But there
are things he does (and you can do) to make it fun, even when you're not
quite feeling it. Discover what Stein, as well as three other acclaimed
authors, do to keep themselves motivated and productive when they process
gets challenging. Read
more.
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What
do you do once you're done submitting a book to potential publishers? Here
are four productive activities you can use while you await responses. Read more.
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The 2018 edition is now available, with listing
information for more than 1,000 agents who represent writers!
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$29.99
$24.99
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Learn how to write & sell a novel without guidelines,
experts, or (occasionally) pants.
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$17.99
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Cheryl St. John will help you unlock your skills, guiding
you to overcome every hesitation, obstacle, form of writer’s block, and
procrastination habit you have.
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$18.99
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Christopher Meades is the author of Hanna
Who Fell From The Sky. Here, he explains how he earned the interest of Anne
Bohner from Pen & Ink Literary. Read More...
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Jess Zafarris
Follow @jesszafarris
Jess Zafarris is an energetic multimedia journalist with more than 7
years of experience writing and editing, and the content director of Writer's
Digest.
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F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300 Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
Don’t miss out;
Pitch Slam is filling up!
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Pitch Slam is already 60 percent full,
and available spots are going quickly. Worried about making the cut? Now is the time to act!
Here’s how it works: Sign up for a one-hour session with more than 50 agents and editors on-hand to hear about
your finished manuscript. During the one hour session, you’ll want to pitch
as many agents as you can—each pitch lasts three minutes, with 90 seconds for
pitching and 90 seconds for the agent to respond (and to potentially ask for
more information!).
So while your nerves will surely tick up a notch, here’s why Pitch Slam
regularly sells out: This is a rare opportunity to meet face-to-face
with an agent and get real, honest feedback on the merits of your manuscript.
While these agents will surely help you tweak your pitch—which is vital
should you decide to go the cold-query route—you may also hear advice on your
concept, storyline or nonfiction premise.
And—should you find that special connection—you may just land yourself
representation!
“The Writer’s Digest Annual Conference played an invaluable role in helping
me take the next step in my writing life: getting traditionally published.”
—Julie Bogart, author of The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic for
Homeschool, Learning, and Life (Tarcher Perigree, August 2018)
Read more about Julie’s story, plus tips from the agent
who signed her, here.
Will you be featured in our emails next year? Find out by signing up for one
of three remaining sessions!
Register today!
F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300, Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
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… and what you
should do instead. Learn more from Writer's Digest.
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Writers: There is a a good chance you don't need an author
blog.
Static author
websites are great, and you'd be crazy not to have one. But starting an
author blog is a different (and often tragic) story. In fact, your author
blog might even kill your writing. There are hundreds of authors who started
blogs, churned out posts for a year, and let it come to a dead stop.
Why? Because they realized it wasn’t worth the effort.
We'll show you the five major reasons an author blog can be bad for your
writing (with examples). We'll cover some other, better audience-building
methods to focus on instead.
And, we'll show you the one and only reason you might want to start one anyway.
Ready? Let’s save your writing…
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Advertisement
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FREE WEBINAR: THE 3
THINGS AGENTS & PUBLISHERS MUST SEE IN YOUR FIRST 30 PAGES. Industry pros decide quickly whether your manuscript's
opening intrigues them enough to read on. If not, they stop. Award-winning
author Barbara Kyle shows the three elements your story's beginning must have
to succeed.
Read More.
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Meditation can be a healthy and productive
method for overcoming writer's block. Here, Dr. Julie Rosenberg walks you
through the steps for meditating your way through that creative slump. Read More...
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An emergency medicine
doctor-turned-novelist, Kimmery Martin, author of The Queen of Hearts,
discusses her writing journey, what she's learned about writing and
publishing, and what's up next. Read More...
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Here,
William Kenower relates the story of a unique writer who began her journey
with no expectations. The experience demonstrated how rethinking your writing
goals and asking yourself what you really want to write can help you achieve
success and happiness.
Read more.
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The July/August 2018 issue of Writer’s
Digest features four veteran comedians who shared their thoughts on what
writers of every genre can glean from stand-up. To explore just a few of
their comedy writing tips and see their joke-telling acumen in action, we've
included some of their advice here, plus a video clip of each comedian in
action. (Note: The following videos include adult themes.) Read More...
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This edition of "Why I Write
Poetry" comes from Sari Grandstaff, who writes, "There is no rehab
program or 12-step support group that could convince me to stop." Sari
Grandstaff is a high school librarian. Her haiku and poetry have been
published in many print and online venues. She is a member of the Haiku
Society of America and Hudson Valley Haiku-Kai. Sari also is the founder of
National Haiku Poetry Day which is now under the auspices of The Haiku
Foundation. She is the proud mother of three children and she lives with her
husband in the Catskill Mountains/Mid-Hudson Valley of New York State. Read More...
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Jess Zafarris
Follow @jesszafarris
Jess Zafarris is an energetic multimedia journalist with more
than 7 years of experience writing and editing, and the content director of
Writer's Digest.
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F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300, Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
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How to Write and
Pitch Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Book Manuscripts
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Children's
books—young adult, middle grade, and picture books—have taken over the
publishing industry (in a good way). Readers of all ages are devouring the
books that used to mainly take up space in libraries, children's bedroom
bookshelves, or school classrooms. Now, children's books are celebrated for
their enchanting prose, their relatable characters, their beautiful
illustrations, and their fantastic stories that transcend age categories and
genres. The growth of the children's book sector has been unprecedented this
past decade—so how can you make your manuscript stand out in these crowded
categories and genres?
In this Writer's Digest Boot Camp starting June 18, the agents of P.S. Literary
Agency will show you how to make your submission stand out. How do you write
a children's book with commercial appeal? How do you decide what category and
genre your book belongs in? How do you find agents and publishers to submit
your manuscript to? How can you attract both child and adult readers (and
buyers)? The agent instructors will answer these questions—and more! They
will also critique your work and answer any questions you have about writing
and selling books for children.
As a registrant, you’ll have access to four children’s book-focused
presentations: Publishing Picture Books; Publishing Middle Grade; Publishing
Young Adult; and Writing Query Letters. Then, you’ll have the chance to
submit your query letter plus your picture book manuscript or a sample from
your middle grade/young adult manuscript’s first chapter for critique. Every
critique submission will receive personal feedback from Maria Vicente,
Kurestin Armada, or Eric Smith. This program children’s book boot camp will
cover the following topics:
- What the difference is between the picture book, middle
grade, and young adult categories
- What the biggest genres are in picture books, middle
grade, and young adult—and how to decide where your manuscript fits in
- How to come up with a commercial idea that’s
character- and plot-driven
- How to create engaging characters that agents,
editors, and readers will love
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On June 18, you will
gain access to four special 30-minute online tutorials presented by literary
agents from the P.S. Literary Agency: Publishing
Picture Books; Publishing Middle Grade; Publishing Young Adult; and Writing
Query Letters.
After listening to your choice of presentations, attendees will spend the
next three days revising materials as necessary. Also following the tutorial,
writers will have two days in which to log onto the course website and ask
the agents questions related to the presentations or revising your materials.
The agents will be available on the course website from 1-3 p.m. (ET) on both
Tuesday, June 19 and Wednesday, June 20.
No later than Friday, June 22, attendees will submit a query letter plus
their completed picture book text or a sample from the first chapter of their
middle grade or young adult manuscript. Manuscript submissions may not exceed
1000 words. Only one submission per attendee is permitted. The submissions
will receive feedback directly from one of the P.S. Literary Agency agents.
Maria Vicente, Kurestin Armada, and Eric Smith will spend up to two and a
half weeks reviewing the critique materials and providing feedback to
attendees. (The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they
feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more; note that
multiple agents have signed writers before from WD boot camps.) No later than
July 9, agents will send their feedback to writer attendees.
Please note that any one of the agents may ask for additional pages if the
initial submission shows serious promise.
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Maria Vicente
Maria Vicente is a literary agent at P.S.
Literary, specializing in children’s fiction—young adult, middle grade, and
picture books—and cool nonfiction projects for readers of all ages. As an
editorial agent, she provides support to her clients through all stages of
the writing and publication process. She is actively looking for young adult,
middle grade, illustrated picture books, and nonfiction in the following
categories: pop culture, science, design, and lifestyle. She has affinities
for literary prose, diverse characters, original storytelling formats, and
anything geeky.
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Kurestin Armada
Kurestin Armada began her publishing career
as an intern with Workman Publishing, and spent time as an assistant at The
Lotts Agency before joining P.S. Literary. She holds a B.A. in English from
Kenyon College, as well as a publishing certificate from Columbia University.
Kurestin is based in New York City, and spends most of her time in the city’s
thriving indie bookstores. She reads widely across genres, and has a
particular affection for science fiction and fantasy, especially books that
recognize and subvert typical tropes of genre fiction.
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Eric Smith
Eric Smith is a literary agent at P.S.
Literary, with a love for young adult books, sci-fi, fantasy, and
non-fiction. He began his publishing career at Quirk Books in Philadelphia,
working social media and marketing on numerous books he absolutely adored.
Eric completed his BA in English at Kean University, and his MA in English at
Arcadia University. A frequent blogger, his ramblings about books appear on
Book Riot, Paste Magazine, Barnes & Noble’s blog, and more. As an author,
he’s been published by Bloomsbury, Quirk, and Flux.
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EXPERT INSTRUCTORS | CONVENIENT ACCESS
INVALUABLE FEEDBACK
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F+W, 10151
Carver Road, Suite 300 Blue Ash, OH, 45242 USA
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