The Organizing Principle, for Fun and Profit

The Organizing Principle, for Fun and Profit

Sep 22, 2020 | On Writing

One of the most often overlooked tools in the storyteller’s toolbox is the organizing principle. All kinds of stories can benefit from organizing principles—from memoir and literary fiction to creative nonfiction and genre fiction. An organizing principle is not the...
Paula’s Elevator Pitch Formula

Paula’s Elevator Pitch Formula

Sep 7, 2020 | On Writing

The Elevator Pitch is that fabled 1-minute pitch you can rattle off whenever you find yourself in the company of someone who can help you publish your book: an editor, an agent, a published writer, etc. Whether you’re at a pitch slam or a hotel bar or in an actual...
Think Like an Agent

Think Like an Agent

Aug 5, 2019 | On Writing

If you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish. If you want to get an agent, you have to think like an agent. That is, think like moi. (Even better, think like Janet Reid.) Move me. Like editors and publishers and readers, I’m looking for wonderful stories...
Writing Good First Lines: Think Theme

Writing Good First Lines: Think Theme

Jul 10, 2019 | On Writing

First lines matter. For readers, they’re a welcome sign, the promise that they’re in for a satisfying reading experience. For agents and editors, they’re proof that you know how to open a story in a way that keeps readers reading. If you don’t nail those opening...

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