Category: Uncategorized

  • Creative Ways to Use Comp’s

    In the fiction and non-fiction writing world, “comps,” also known as comparison titles, are books that have a similar tone, feel, conflict, goal, or voice, and could appeal to a similar readership as your novel. Comps provide acquisition editors ways to benchmark the audience and potential sales. Marketing teams use comps to strategize where a

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  • One Thing Pre-Querying Authors Can Do Now… Pay It Forward

    At a recent Writing Day Workshop in my home state, during the Q&A with agents, a writer asked, “I’m 6 months out from querying. What’s one piece of advice you could give to someone like me to do right now?” “Great question,” I answered. Most people are likely editing, revising and word-smithing every sentence, especially

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  • Controlling the “Controllables” in Writing

    I recently had the opportunity to speak to writers about a topic close to my heart, “Controlling the Controllables.” It’s a saying I have used in 15+ years in project management. All projects (esp. software) are unique and many face unplanned issues. Controlling the Controllables refers to focusing on what we can control in achieving

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  • Great First Pages, by Najla M.

    Writing a novel that captures a reader’s interest in the first page takes hard work, and may require quite a few revisions. As noted in my blog post, “Great First Chapters,” (linked below), the first chapter should include an engaging opening paragraph, a cool, compelling character, a strong voice, the perfect starting point, the setting/place/decade,

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  • Writing in 2023

    Mid Year Check in With more memoirs ranging from the life of a cartoonist from the New Yorker and Britney Spears’s ‘The Woman in Me,” unique people stories continue to grow. In addition, Nelson buying a history of the In-N-Out Burger franchise, and Amistad buying a book by couture designer B Michael about his friendship

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  • Conflict is your best friend in writing

    What makes good conflict? By good, I don’t actually mean positive or joyful. I am referring to quality conflict, which shows your character, builds momentum, and pushes the story forward. It’s value-added conflict vs. false conflict. (False conflict frustrates readers. Examples include conflict that doesn’t make sense or relate to the character’s personality, environment, or

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  • Query Revise & Resubmit Feedback compilation, by Najla M.

    Summarizing a few recent query responses to pass forward to other writers. Individual information will remain anonymous. Below are high level points from 5 submissions: As always, this business is very subjective. Views are my own. This blog post is intended to help provide some suggestions when editing first chapters.

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  • Three Ways to Pull from Within to Be Authentic and Real in Your Writing by Najla M.

    Writers are often told to write what they know, but what does that actually mean? Here are my tips on how to be authentic in your writing. I used pull in the title of this post because that’s what it felt like for me as a new writer to reach inside, yank out my pulsating heart, trudge

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  • Great First Chapters, by Najla M.

    “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” — Beverly Cleary First chapters are daunting. Some people say haunting. Writers agonize over the major elements to include in one chapter (or about 2,500 words) – an engaging opening paragraph, a cool, compelling character, a strong voice, the perfect starting point, the

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  • Common Mistakes in First Chapters, by Najla M.

    The first chapter sets the tone for the entire novel. (Scary, right?). It not only introduces the main character, it introduces you and your voice. (See link below for my blog post on voice). Whether in a bookstore, in a library, or using an electronic device, the reader uses the first chapter to decide if

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