On Writing
5 Ways to Impress an Agent
Getting an agent can be a challenge. Given the sheer volume of queries agents receive—such largesse that many agents find it impossible to accept unsolicited queries—it’s not easy to make you and your project stand out. Here are some tips to help you to capture an...
THE LAST PAGE SELLS THE NEXT BOOK: How to write endings that satisfy readers
By Paula Munier There’s a saying in publishing: First page sells the book, last page sells the next book. This is a truth that we writers ignore at our peril. That’s because when readers consider buying a book, they look at the outside—the cover, the title, the...
Top Ten Writer’s Quotes to Live By
By Paula Munier As a reader and a writer and an agent, I am obsessed with not only with stories, but with storytellers. I read as many writer’s memoirs and autobiographies and biographies as I can find, I seek out interviews and podcasts and classes with writers, I go...
DEALBREAKERS: 5 Reasons Your Book Won’t Sell
DEALBREAKERS: 5 Reasons Your Book Won't SellFrom Career Authors — write. sell. repeat. 1. Your Protagonist Is not Smart and/or Brave and/or Relatable Is not unique in some way Doesn't drive the action from beginning to end(Not all heroes wear capes.) 2. Your...
REVISION: A Round-Up of Rewriting Tips
Finish. Revise. Persist. That’s what it takes to get published. But too many writers skip the rigorous revision process so critical to making your book go from good to great. Because revision is where the magic happens. Here’s some insider tips from bestselling...
How to Keep on Writing When the World is on Fire
By Paula Munier Okay, so the world is on fire. But that’s no excuse not to get our writing done. Or is it? Admittedly, the chaos happening out there in the world can distract us even when we’re tucked inside our writing room away from it all. Because we are living in...
Variations on a Theme: A Round-Up of Advice, from Sam Abell to William Butler Yeats
Forget English class. Theme is simple: Your theme is what your story is really about. In this Career Authors Round-Up, you'll discover what these terrific writers past and present have to say about theme. “In my first class at the University of Kentucky, my American...
Let Go or Get Dragged: A Mantra for Writers
by Paula Munier I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says, “Let go or get dragged.” It’s a reminder, as the Buddhists say, that holding on to possessions, people, even our thoughts and emotions is not good for us. There’s a wonderful scene in the TV series Life...
CHARACTER 101: A round-up of advice from bestselling authors on creating compelling characters, from Isabel Allende to August Wilson
When it comes to writing fiction, it’s all about character. Even in genre fiction, where plot may be seen to rule, it’s still all about character. As my editor, Pete Wolverton of Minotaur/ St. Martin’s Press, and the recipient of the prestigious Ellery Queen Award,...
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