Tag: querying
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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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