“Brainstorming on the Beach” Conference with Novelists, Inc. Contracts and Copyrights Panelists: David Forrer, Literary Agent Alan Kaufman, Literary Attorney Carly Phillips, NYT Bestselling Author Deb Werksman, Editorial Manager, Sourcebooks Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO, Harlequin Enterprises Chris Kenneally, Copyright Clearance Center Al Zuckerman, Literary Agent and Founder of Writers House Brenda Hiatt, Author Here … Read more
You’ve put aside the first draft you have just finished so you can gain some distance on the work before tackling revisions. It’s a great time to clean your office, sort your files, and write a few blogs. But your mind starts seguing into the next story. Here’s what floated into my mind, even when … Read more
In a romance, the Big Dark Moment is the crucial juncture when all seems lost between the hero and heroine. He stomps away and she strides in the opposite direction, and it seems as though they will never be together again. How can they overcome their insurmountable obstacles? Will love triumph in the end? Of … Read more
REPORT ON RWA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31, 2010 Reinventing Yourself with bestselling author JAYNE ANN KRENTZ . Jayne had to reinvent herself numerous times, from writing futuristics to contemporaries to historicals. She takes her “core story” and puts it into a marketable setting. Names she’s written under are Jayne Ann … Read more
I’ve written on this topic before, but it continues to astound me. Facing the blank white page again this morning, I wondered how I’d ever fill my page quota. My characters had just been captured by the bad guys. They’d been isolated from each other, and I had no idea how they would escape. But … Read more
Today’s global communications allow for more ease of research than in the past. I’m writing a scene that takes place in an Asian fortress. Through a search on the Internet, I found the perfect model for my citadel. I moved it to a Pacific island where my characters have crash landed their airplane. They plan … Read more
A new writer has in mind one goal: getting published. Often, they don’t think beyond that goal post. But once they get The Call, everything changes. I think it’s Fear of Success that keeps some folks from submitting because they don’t want to face what comes next. They will have to get a publicity photo, … Read more
How soon should you begin publicizing your new release? As soon as you sign the contract. But what if you only have a short lead time? In four months, my new book will launch. Am I prepared to announce it to the world? Not totally. There’s a lot of work to do first. In this … Read more
New writers often ask me for self-editing tips. Here is a revised version of my guidelines. I hope you find them useful. Would you add any more that I’ve overlooked? 1. Tighten your sentence structure by replacing phrases with precise words. NO: “the light of the boat” YES: “the boat’s light” NO: He ran down … Read more