Instead of Using Return Receipts…
Use a self-addressed, stamped-postcard. I know, I know. You’re thinking, “In addition to the freaking SASE, now I gotta fool around with a stinking postcard!” But it’s a good idea if you just can’t stand the possibility of the mailman stealing your manuscript for his bathroom reading. Here’s the deal… Some authors, leery of our postal service’s invulnerability…
continue readingMiss Snark on Writing Hooks
Miss Snark offers advice on writing hooks in query letters.
continue readingWhy That Author Won’t Help You
I’ve become one part therapist, two parts bartender, and one part strategist. Loyal Slushpile.net readers email me to ask about getting this or that author to assist in their quest for publication. “All he has to do is give my manuscript to his editor!” one exasperated emailer exclaimed. “He’s got an agent, a book deal,…
continue readingKenyon Review Submission Tips
I’ve been a fan of The Kenyon Review for some time now. In addition to publishing the best of contemporary literature, the journal now has it’s own blog. The blog provides reading that is as worthy as the journal and they recently posted an entry that is near and dear to my heart: Notes…
continue readingPile Up Pages While Not Peeing
Maud Newton noticed this unusual bit of writing advice from the late Charles Willeford: “Never allow yourself to take a leak in the morning until you’ve written a page. That way you’re guaranteed a page a day, and at the end of a year you have a novel.”
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