Tag Archives: book

Will A Query Alone Sell Your Book?

One of the synonyms of query listed in the thesaurus is inquiry. The first thing agents and editors ask when you submit your manuscript is a query letter. A query may include an appealing but concise summary of the novel’s … Continue reading

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Think Of A Synopsis As A First Date

Synopsis! This single word strikes fear in my heart. There’s something about an editor saying “Submit a synopsis and a sample chapter, or the first fifty pages” that turns my blood cold. I know that my fear is unnecessary. I … Continue reading

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Writers At Work

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The Craze Behind Fifty Shades Of Grey

I read an interesting article the other day in The Atlantic Wire, ‘The Alleged Sexiness of 50 Shades of Grey’ by Jen Doll, reviewing and criticizing the book which as you all probably know is at the top of the … Continue reading

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A Real Writer Will

Lately every time I sign in to my LinkedIn account I am confronted with the following advertisement: “Get a masters degree in creative writing within one year. Register for our online courses.” The internet, newspapers and magazines are full of … Continue reading

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Behind The Scenes Part One

Do you think that personal preferences play a major role in choosing the recipients of great literary prizes? Do you think that foul play is involved to some extent in the voting process of the nominees and in deciding who … Continue reading

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The Pillow And The Baseball Bat

I love the classics. I read most of them decades ago. But I don’t think I can read those same books again with the same enthusiasm and eagerness I had for them years ago. And the reason is not because … Continue reading

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If Only

Fred Shaw tells the story: “Once I had the good fortune to talk with William Faulkner. “Tell me about your writing course,” he said. “Do your students want to write, or do they want to be writers?”” Do you want … Continue reading

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Less Is More

In my article yesterday, I spoke about sex scenes in fiction, and how what was once taboo is now being accepted with such grandiose openness, with books like ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, aka ‘mommy porn’ as referred to by the … Continue reading

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Whatever Happened To Less Is More

The other day my friend’s fifteen year old daughter asked me if I have read ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’. When I said no, she went on to wonder whether it is like the Harlequin books or erotica, or porn. I … Continue reading

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