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How do you hook an
agent right away, keep them hooked, and make the most of your new
publishing relationship? In this Boot Camp, “How to Find and Keep a
Literary Agent,” you'll learn how to get a literary agent’s attention
through a great submission, and also how to navigate the process of
working successfully with an agent. You’ll also work with an agent
online to review and refine your all-important query letter and the
first five pages of your novel.
This
Boot Camp
will cover a range of important questions:
- What
keeps an agent reading? What makes writing jump off the page?
- What
are the most common Chapter 1 mistakes that make them stop
reviewing your submission?
- What
are the steps you need to give your query and manuscript the best
possible shot?
- What
are the turn-ons and turn-offs when it comes to queries?
- How
do agents make judgment calls?
- And
much more.
With real-life
examples of queries that do and don’t work, you will learn how you can
refine your own query letter and get an agent to request your novel.
The world of literary agencies can be an intimidating place. You’ll be
lead through the inner-workings of finding the perfect literary agent,
working with an agent and how to get the most out of your relationship.
See what a day in the life of an agent looks like, and get tips about
how to find your perfect author-agent match that will result in a
successful partnership.
The best part is that you'll be working directly with a knowledgeable
and experienced agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work.
Here's how it
works:
On March 16 you will
gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agents
at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. It will explain the submission
process of submitting to an agent, what they find appealing in a query
letter and what an author-agent relationship looks like from the
inside. *You will also be notified by email which agent you’ll be
working with by 5:00 pm PT (8 pm ET) Tuesday evening, March 16 if you
signed up before that time.
From 1:00 pm
to 5:00 pm (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, March 17,
the literary agents will be available to answer questions and provide
additional feedback via the Writer's Digest University course
discussion boards.
After listening to the presentation and participating in the discussion
sessions, you’ll be able to revise your query & first 5
double-spaced pages as necessary. Then, you'll email those pages
directly to Jill Marr, Elise Capron, or Jessica Watterson by the end of
the day on Friday, March 19. They will spend the next three weeks
reviewing their assigned critiques and providing feedback as to what
works and what doesn't.
Please note that anyone of the instructing agents may ask for
additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.
In addition to feedback from instructing agents, attendees will also
receive:
- Download
of "An Agent's Tips on Story Structures that Sell," an
OnDemand webinar by Andrea Hurst
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Picture books are
one of the most delightful—and important—genres in all of literature. In this
course, you'll learn how to write a winning picture book
narrative, envision it with illustrations, and put together a picture
package that a publisher will really notice. Plus, you'll receive
feedback on each assignment from your instructor and have the chance to
participate in the peer critique section of the workshop with other
classmates.
"There are no
improvements needed for this class. It is the BEST class I have taken
from Writers Digest. The instructor [Holly Alder] was so knowledgeable,
so helpful. She answered my questions, she gave me amazing suggestions,
she paid attention to the smallest detail. I learned so much from
her!" -Former Student
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- The
audiences for picture books and how selections are made.
- How
a picture book relies on a combination of compelling language and
visual appeal.
- Which
subject matters, including personal experience, make the best
subjects for a picture book narrative.
- How
to construct a picture book dummy to determine whether pacing and
illustration placement are effective.
- How
to evaluate your picture book to make sure it is
“publisher-ready.”
- and
much
more!
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Active Interest Media
P.O. Box 20730 Boulder, Colorado, 80308 USA
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In this issue, learn how to write perfect
synopses (both one-page and long-form), look at how to
not write in the pandemic, find tips for writing with a
co-author, and more!
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4 Steps for Writing Perfect Synopses
Tales of a powerful
writing creature have long been told around the
publishing campfire. It has the capacity to shape story
ideas, assist in revision, provide essential
book-marketing aid. Yet despite its magical properties,
the mere mention of this brute has been known to drive
some authors to tears, and induce spasms of terror in
others.
(Learn How
to Write a Synopsis Like a Pro)
Dare
I utter its name? Ladies and gentlemen, please brace
yourselves for: The Synopsis.
No,
wait! Don’t run away! I know we’re speaking of a beast
of legend, and there is much talk
of sharp fangs and slavering jaws.
But
I promise, with a little bit of savvy and know-how, you
can take that monster from foe to friend. Still not
convinced? Allow me to explain how to write a synopsis. Read the full article...
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Craft & Business of Writing
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25 Publishing FAQs for Writers
After more than 20
years of working with writers and other publishing
professionals, I've learned a thing or two about how
the industry works. But I've also learned a thing or
two about which questions writers frequently have about
writing and publishing. Because they ask me at live
events, on social media, or via email.
(Common
publishing terms.)
As
such, I thought it would be a great idea to start
answering those questions in individual posts. Then, it
occurred to me that another great idea would be to
collect those posts in one spot that makes it easy for
writers to find answers to common publishing questions.
Read More...
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How to Not Write in the Pandemic, Early
Days
Sit at desk excited
to work on new novel. Hear “Mom!” 12-year-old, on
virtual school recess, is looking for drill bits to
fashion a hook for his gaming headphones. Go to
basement for drill. Basement stinks of cat piss and is
flooded from last night’s rain. Clean up cat piss,
ignore puddles of water and bring drill to son. Dog
dumps foul tennis ball at my feet. Ignore dog and
return to desk. Ponder the question: What makes people
change? Hear “Mom!” Blonde twin can’t find his phone
and can I make him blueberry pancakes? Blonde twin is
wearing boxers and a Pokemon blanket. It’s noon. Tell
him to make his own lunch and he says, “I haven’t eaten
breakfast yet.” Return to desk. Need a plot. Google
“common plots for novel” and rabbit-hole down the top
10 tropes for fiction. Read More...
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3 Tips for Writing With a Co-author
Ehsan and I being
brothers makes this rendition of co-authoring tips
slightly different. Furthermore, we were born to
Pakistani immigrants that made their way to where else
but Queens, New York. Being first-generation in the
United States is a strange statement to put to paper
because we do not feel as though the label fits. Yet
there are profoundly experience-rattling attributes to
it—growing up Muslim being one of them. Suffice it to
say that we share a unique outlook on life based on the
additional lenses the world was being filtered through.
Writing a book together lent itself well to our version
of brotherhood. I can say that now, but we had
“creative differences” from time to time.
Read More...
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Send Your Work
to 2nd Draft Critique Services!
No matter your style or genre, Writer's
Digest Shop offers a high-level view of your writing.
You'll not only learn what's working in your writing,
but what’s not, and—most important—how to fix it.
Click here
to learn more >>
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Defining Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, and
More
At first I thought
I was writing "narrative nonfiction." As I
proceed through the book, I have begun to wonder
whether I might be writing "creative
nonfiction," or even an "autobiography."
Could you please further elucidate the distinctions? Read
More...
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Robert
Lee Brewer
Robert Lee Brewer is a senior editor for
Writer's Digest and former editor of the
Writer's Market book series. He is also the author of Smash
Poetry Journal and Solving the
World's Problems. Find him on Twitter at @RobertLeeBrewer
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Win
$5,000, a feature about you in Writer's Digest and so much
more!
For 90 years, Writer’s Digest has honored new and
up-and-coming writers in many genres or categories.
And it’s that time again—we’re looking for writing that strikes
and grabs us, that we can’t put down. We’re looking for
standout writing in any and all of the following categories:
- inspirational/spiritual
- memoirs/personal essays
- print or online article
- genre short story (think romance,
thriller, mystery, sci-fi, etc.)
- mainstream/literary short story
- rhyming poetry
- non-rhyming poetry
- script (think stage play or
television/movie script)
- children’s/young adult fiction
With so many options, we’re sure something you’ve written or
are writing will fit in. And we’ve seen a wide range of winners
in the past several years. Just be sure to check our website
for entry details—we have strict word count restrictions for
each category.
So, how will this competition help you? That’s easy. The grand
prize winner will receive $5,000 in cash, a trip to the
Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, and an interview for a
feature article in our magazine. First place winners in each
category receive $1,000, second place winners in each category
win $500, and on and on!
Ready to be the next Writer's Digest Annual Competition winner?
Enter by May 7 for the best price!
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Writer's Digest
University is pleased to present an exclusive online event for mystery
& thriller writers! On March
27 and March 28, our 7th Annual Mystery &
Thriller Virtual Conference will provide expert
insights from SEVEN
award-winning and best-selling authors on the finer
points of how to write within the mystery and thriller genres.
See schedule of session below with
Hallie Ephron, Chris Mooney, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and others!
All
participants will benefit from:
- SEVEN all-new, one-hour webinar presentations
provided by award-winning and bestselling mystery & thriller
authors*,
all examining different aspects of writing novels in these genres.
Each session will include an opportunity for live Q&A with the
authors!
- A critique (with written feedback) of your
query letter from an agent with experience in the mystery and
thriller genres.
- A bonus 90-minute On Demand webinar covering
how to write a query letter so you’re prepared when pitching your
novel to agents. (A $79.99 value!)
- The
ability to network
with mystery and thriller writers via
discussion boards that will be open throughout the weekend. Share
ideas, and even your work if you choose.
- Unlimited OnDemand viewing! All conference
sessions will be made available for download in the week following
the live presentations. Even if you can’t attend every session
live, you will be able to view each lecture on your own whenever
you choose.
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Mystery, Suspense, or Thriller? How to Know What You're
About
with Hallie Ephron
What makes one novel a thriller,
another a mystery, and another suspense, and where does your novel fit
in? Learn the differences among crime fiction genres, what makes them
tick. Discover examples to illustrate, and exercises to see how your
ideas fit into which category. In this session, writers will learn
techniques for making the most of each, as well as what agents and
editors are looking for.
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How to Write a Great Beginning for Your Mystery/Thriller
Novel
Instructor: Hank Phillippi Ryan
You know the great opening lines:
Ishmael, Manderley, the last camel. Why do those work? And how can you
create one for your own novel? And then--what about that crucial first
paragraph? And a first page that will entice editors and enchant
readers? How can you set the proper expectations for the story to
come—and make every word work? In this session, suitable for any genre,
we will dissect and analyze acclaimed first lines and opening
paragraphs, and reveal the writing secrets these brilliant examples offer.
If you are brave enough--Please bring your own first line! Hank and the
class will offer advice and guidance—to set you and your book off in
the right direction.
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The Logic of Longing: The Four Conflicting Forces
Motivating Your Character
Instructor: David Corbett
Compelling characters are complex,
and their complexity emerges by how they have reconciled the competing
forces of promise and self-protection in their lives—and how that
reconciliation gets challenged by events in your story. In this
presentation, David Corbett (The
Art of Character, The
Compass of Character) will lead participants in an
exploration of the four conflicting motivational forces at the heart of
every character—Lack, Yearning, Resistance, Desire—with an eye toward
how they dictate behavior, action, and meaning. Special emphasis will
be placed on how these factors influence the hero’s will to justice and
the villain’s will to power in the mystery-crime genre.
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Strategies for Writing Compelling Dialogue
Instructor: David Heska Wanbli Weiden
In this session, writers will study
the techniques for writing great dialogue that develops both plot and
character. Crime fiction presents unique challenges and opportunities
for writers, and this session will show how to effectively use subtext,
dialect, and action to accentuate tension. Techniques for avoiding the
dialogue "tennis match" and concentrating meaning will be
explored as well.
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How to Tell a Story Readers Will Love
Instructor: Chris Mooney
In this session, writers will learn
everything they need to know to write a story that will appeal to
readers. Mooney will lead participants through the process of breaking
down the storytelling elements into their basic parts to use them as
building blocks for writing effective scenes and chapters that readers
will love.
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Solving the Mystery of Authentic Characters and
Relationships
Instructor: Jennifer J. Chow
This session will first explore the
elements needed to create authentic characters. It'll delve into ways
to make a character come alive to the reader and also how to craft a
multidimensional personality. Methods discussed will include research
and unique personal experience. The presentation will also dive into
the relationships shown in mystery novels and how to make them
compelling. Writing devices used to examine the interplay among
characters will include revelatory behavior, snappy dialogue, and
sensory details. Examples from recent novels will be used to highlight
the various concepts.
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How to Write Satisfying Endings
Instructor: David Bell
In the movie Adaptation, the
screenwriting guru played by Brian Cox says, "You can have flaws,
problems, but wow them in the end, and you've got a hit." But how
does a novelist figure out and write toward an ending that wows their
readers? In this session led by bestselling suspense novelist David
Bell, you will learn how to put the pieces in place throughout your
book--the characters, the plot, the setting--so that you can write the
most satisfying ending for your novel and send your readers away happy.
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The Ultimate
Self-Publishing Masterclass
In this can't-miss workshop for aspiring
self-published writers, bestselling self-published author
and YouTuber Michael La Ronn will hold your hand and walk you from idea
to published novel. When you're done with this workshop, you'll know exactly what to
do and how to get started.
You want to share your story with the world,
but you also want to avoid critical mistakes that will stop
readers from buying your book. This workshop will save you time, effort, and money.
What you’ll
learn:
- How to set up your publishing
business to prevent legal and tax nightmares.
- The best apps recommended by almost every successful
self-published author. Use these apps, and you'll
automatically write better and save hours of wasted
time.
- The secrets to hiring an ace
editor, every time.
- Exactly what to tell a cover
designer for an amazing cover (and where to find your
designer)!
- How to market your book.
- How NEVER to market your book, and why.
- The sneaky tricks of scammers, so
you can avoid them.
- Where to publish and how to take
advantage of algorithms to help you sell more books
while you sleep.
- The reason why many first-time
self-published writers quit after
publishing their first book. Can you avoid the top 10
mistakes?
Come
ready to take lots of notes, because this workshop might
just change the way you think about
being a writer.
Register for
just the Thursday workshop or add it onto your basic conference
registration at a discounted price. Seats are limited, so don’t delay!
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3 Ways to Introduce Your Main Character
One of the biggest
bugaboos in manuscript submissions is when the author
doesn’t properly introduce the protagonist within the
first chapter. Readers want to know quickly the
protagonist’s sex, age and level of sophistication in
the world of the story, and they want to relate to the
character on an emotional level. Readers’ interest in
the protagonist has to be earned, in other words.
(10
questions you need to ask your characters.)
If
we like a character, then we want to see her do well
and we’re willing to follow her around and invest our
time and interest in rooting her on in her struggle.
But it’s important we know some essentials about the
character so we can get to like her. The trick is to
avoid stand-alone description or exposition and to
instead show your character in action. Read
the full article...
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Writing Mistakes: Trying to Write for
Everyone
There are times when
common sense would direct us to take one action when
another action is actually better. Such is the case
when thinking about who your target audience is. Common
sense would probably lead a writer to think that the
best target audience is the largest audience, so write
for everyone. However, writing for everyone is often
the same as writing for nobody.
(Who is
your target reader?)
If
you're writing nonfiction, think of it this way: It
doesn't make sense to include a bunch of new recipes in
a book about the history of automobiles. A biography on
a former president probably isn't the place for
step-by-step, how-to instructions. And if it does
include instructions, then it's probably not going to
provide the typical treatment expected in a
presidential biography. If it tried to do both, it
would come out a muddled mess.
Read More...
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Robert
Lee Brewer
Robert Lee Brewer is a senior editor for Writer's
Digest and former editor of the Writer's Market book
series. He is also the author of Smash Poetry
Journal and Solving
the World's Problems. Find him on Twitter at @RobertLeeBrewer
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Writing your query
is the first step to grabbing the agents' attention, however, many
writers are not aware that agents sometimes go directly to the first
pages to even see if the writing is something to have a closer look at.
Join
agent Katie Shea Boutillier to discuss in detail what we are
looking for when we approach your first pages.
Critique
of your first five pages included!
You'll
Learn:
- How
to make sure the hook is presented clearly
- Tips
on worldbuilding and creating a setting readers will not want to
leave
- Understanding
voice in first pages
- Pace
and urgency is needed in the first pages - what does this mean?
- How
to create a mood and how that works in the first pages
- and
much
more!
Katie will provide a
step-by-step demonstration on the importance of strong first pages,
focusing on voice, tone, mood, setting, urgency, pace, description,
dialogue, and a natural approach to your characters.
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Instructor:
Katie Shea Boutillier
Katie Shea
Boutillier joined the Donald Maass Literary Agency in 2011. She is the
agency’s Rights Director handling translation, audio, and selected
film/TV rights. In addition, Katie focuses on commercial adult fiction
and young adult fiction. She is always on the hunt for upmarket women’s
fiction, psychological suspense and has a soft spot for coming-of-age
young adult fiction. She loves books that present big hooks, imperfect
characters, and strong voices. Katie is committed to help achieve her
clients’ long-term career goals. You can follow her on Twitter:
@AgentShea
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Blogging Strategies That Work in 2021
In this 90-minute webinar, Jane Friedman will teach you the principles
of strategic blogging for authors and the best practices she’s learned
since she started blogging consistently in 2008.
Last Chance to Register!
March 11, 2021
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40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers
Have you hit a wall on your work-in-progress? Maybe you know where you
want your characters to end up, but don’t know how to get them there.
Plot twists can spin your story in a new direction and keep your
readers turning the pages to see what happens next. With this
collection of 40 plot twist prompts from Senior WD Editor Robert Lee
Brewer, you’ll be able to experiment to see which plot twist works best
for your story.
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The March/April 2021 Issue is Here!
Writer’s Digest
gets bigger, better, and more personal in the March/April 2021 issue!
We’re unveiling our new expanded look (92 pages!) and a collection of
new columns aimed to ensure writers of all levels and genres learn
something new. In this issue our features span intimate topics from how
to make the most of your writing habits to writing about your own life
with no judgment to advice for writing the most personal of all
fictional scenes: the sex scene.
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How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent
In this boot camp, you'll learn how to get a literary agent’s attention
through a great submission as well as how to work with them
successfully. Agent feedback on your first five pages and query letter
is included!
March 16-19,
2021
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What Agents and Editors are Looking for in First Pages
In this webinar, literary agent Katie Shea Boutillier will provide a
step-by-step demonstration on the importance of strong first pages,
focusing on voice, tone, mood, setting, urgency, pace, description,
dialogue, and a natural approach to your characters.
March 18, 2021
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Upcoming Virtual
Conference
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7th Annual Mystery and Thriller Virtual Conference
Gain expert insights from SEVEN award-winning and best-selling authors
on the finer points of how to write within the mystery and thriller
genres. Then, pitch your novel via query letter to a literary agent
specifically looking for material in the mystery or thriller genre..
March 26-28,
2021
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Active Interest Media
P.O. Box 20730 Boulder, Colorado, 80308 USA
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