Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
This is a post for every author who’s been in rejection hell—hoping, praying, and bribing assorted deities—living for that day when you finally land the book contract that will make all your dreams come true. You know who you are: you’ve spent forever learning to craft a perfect query, sent it off to carefully […]
While I’m immersed in revision hell with two books and hopping around the Interwebz trying to promote two others that just came out—in case anybody wonders, this isn’t something I’d recommend—we’ve got a fascinating guest post. Meet Rick Daley, the man behind the Public Query Slushpile, and author of the Middle Grade fantasy, THE […]
by Anne R. Allen You’ve probably been reading a lot of conflicting advice recently on the subject of writers and blogs. Some experts are telling us blogging is dead. Agent Wendy Lawton wrote a post on September 15th called “What’s Not Working” and asserted that blogging—and most social networking—is a waste of time for debut authors, […]
by Anne R. Allen My life continues to zoom along at warp speed. Mark Williams just told me that THE GATSBY GAME is up at Amazon this morning–a week ahead of schedule. It’s a book I had to write–one that’s been sitting in my head for decades. It’s based on the mysterious death of […]
by Anne R. Allen I can finally say it: I have three brand new novels coming out this fall! Within a couple of weeks, THE GATSBY GAME will debut as an e-book. It’s a stand-alone mystery set in the Mad Men era that proposes a fictional solution to one of Hollywood’s most scandalous mysteries. (It’s […]
While I’m teaching at the Central Coast Writers Conference this weekend, we have a guest post from the awesome Michelle Davidson Argyle, Literary Labster and author of the thriller, Monarch, which debuts this week from Rhemalda Publishing. Michelle did an in-depth study on her blog last year on small presses. That study helped me make my decision to go with a small […]
by Anne R. Allen Introducing your protagonist to your reader may be the single trickiest job for a novelist. You have to let readers get to know your character in a very short time–then entice us go on a journey with this person into a brand new world. If you tell us too much, […]
by Ruth Harris Today we have our first regular monthly post from Ruth Harris. Ruth is in NYC, so she very well may be without power today, so if we don’t hear from her, we can blame Irene. All of you East-Coasters, hang in there: you’re in our thoughts. I think the most common […]
by Anne R. Allen We’ve all fantasized about book tours, haven’t we? That glamorous trip we’ll take when our novel makes it big? Our publisher will send us off in a whirlwind of glamorous travel: booksignings, readings, and personal appearances with our adoring fans all over the country—maybe the world! But this week, BookTour.com […]
Today we’re getting a free editing class from college professor and critically acclaimed literary author, Samuel Park. So get out your WIP and try these ten steps. I think you’ll find them enlightening. I did. And think of the money you’ll save on editor’s fees. Obviously his method works. Here are a few samples […]
I have another Awesome Announcement this week: I now have a blog partner! She’s NYT bestselling author and former editor at Bantam, Dell and Kensington, RUTH HARRIS. I’ve had a lot of fabulous guest bloggers here in the last year, but Ruth is the only one whose post made it into my top ten most popular […]
by Anne R. Allen This is the stuff a writer’s dreams are made of. I got an email from an acquisitions editor last night that said: “I started reading Food of Love tonight… And I love it…the characters are so real and the situations so fascinating… Bravo. Wow, even. I’ll get a contract in the mail to you […]
Today’s guest post is from Kim Wright, a versatile author who is taking all three publishing routes: Big Six, small press and indie. She’s blessed with a smart, supportive agent who is encouraging her in all the paths she’s choosing. The paperback edition of her literary novel, Love in Mid Air debuts this month…Anne Hedging Bets: Three Paths […]
