by Jamie
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware off, no shortcut. ” — Stephen King, On Writing
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by Jamie
So what do editors want? There isn’t any simple answer, because the things that take a book from the slush pile to publication are mostly ephemeral qualities. Most editors really only know what they want when they see it. And any attempts to narrow it down (“What I really want is a gothic vampire action adventure romance”) are more likely to lead to frustration than a book sale. It’s a lot like dating, actually. You may think you want a […]
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by Jamie
This will be the first in a series of posts I do this week on the topic of what editors want. If you have specific questions you’d like me to address in my posts on this topic, feel free to email me (jamiesobrato AT yahoo DOT com) or post your questions in the comments section. PART 1: For those of you struggling to sell your first book, trying to figure out what editors want can seem like a maddening and […]
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by Jamie
Weird (and not so weird) things about cover art at Harlequin: 1. No matter what color hair the hero in the novel really has, it’s probably going to be dark brown on the cover. 2. The person in the more dominant position on the cover is also usually the person who is more dominant in the story. It’s subliminal messaging, telling you subtly what the story is about. 3. Covers that prominently feature the hero’s torso (and little else) seem […]
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by Jamie
“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.” ~Elmore Leonard Oh Elmore. This is why we love you.
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by Jamie
Thinking last night about how hard it is to work up the courage to chase a dream–and keep chasing it for the distance. Every which way you turn, there are people with discouraging words, eager to point out why you can’t do what you want to do. Don’t listen to them. It’s their own lives they’re really talking about, not yours.
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