By Chuck Sambuchino One of the most common reasons why agents and editors stop reading sample pages is simply that the story starts too slow. Gone are the days when a book could “get good on page 12.” We also can no longer compare our writing to classic works or even books written 30 years […]

by Chuck Samuchino One of the most common recurring work blog items I get complimented on is my “New Literary Agent Alerts,” a series where I spotlight new/newer literary agents who are open to queries and looking for clients. At writers conferences, a frequent question I get is “Is it OK to sign with a […]

By Chuck Sambuchino If you’re going to wheel and deal with literary agents and editors, you’ll end up spending more time than you’d like discussing rights, contracts, advances, royalties and a whole lot of other important stuff. That said, I want to address the most common questions regarding how advances and royalties work. In other […]

by Chuck Sambuchino Working for Writer's Digest Books, I come across a lot of literary terms -- both the common and uncommon. Because it's healthy for writers of all levels to be familiar with terms they may come across in articles, conversations and contracts, here are some literary terms defined for your enjoyment. Boiler plate […]

by Erin Brown You’ve slaved for months, years—perhaps decades--to finish your manuscript. You’ve tackled all-nighters, tear-your-hair-out rewrites, grueling self-imposed deadlines. You’ve grappled with creative juices that either flowed until you were drunk with brilliant narrative or dried up to leave you parched, devoid of inspiration, sobbing onto your keyboard. You get my drift. You’ve poured […]