Archive - Before and After the Book Deal

General Do's and Don'ts in Query letter writing plus a Q+A opp for my April 17th students

If you attended my April 17th class on Query Writing 2.0 and you have a burning question, this is where you can ask it

18 hrs ago

A fantastic DIY residency opportunity just for my subscribers!

Want to get the hell away from your day-to-day and plan a DIY retreat next autumn in New Mexico? Read on.

Apr 17

Seven things to do BEFORE you start a newsletter

Whether it's on Substack or another platform, don't even think about launching a newsletter until you do these things.

Apr 10

Open call for query letters!

If you're enrolled in my Query Writing class on April 17th, this is your chance to post your query letter...and possibly get a Turning Points class for…

Apr 7

Ask me anything about...query letter writing!

It's AMA Friday! Let's tackle questions about everything and anything related to query letter writing and the whole getting-an-agent thing.

Apr 5

Common mistakes in query letters: a primer

The top 10 mistakes I see people making out there in query land.

Apr 3

March 2024

The Q&A on platform for students who didn't get to Q last night

This is the Q&A session we weren't able to hold at last night's class, plus, links to the Substacks of the writers that we workshopped.

Mar 28

Stuff from all over

A giveaway of COSTALEGRE, new feature announcement, book recommendations, a mediation on translation and other post-vacation thoughts.

Mar 26

Ask me anything...about platform!

AMA about social media use and presence, how to find your readers, what platform really means, whether you need platform, newsletter creation and more.

Mar 13

Are word count-related writing goals cramping your writing process?

Effective and enjoyable writing strategies beyond 1000 words a day

Mar 6

Confession time: How I get in my own way (and eventually, out of it) in fiction writing

I hate that my characters have to change which is why I never make them change until my agent yells at me

Mar 1

February 2024

The Breakout Book: 5 archetypes

Why certain books break through in a competitive marketplace and why

Feb 23

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts