A compilation of the resources I repeatedly recommend to fellow writers who are revising a novel.

I’ve been preparing for the RWA 2019 conference, where I plan to pitch my fantasy romance novel, The Forest Bride, to agents and editors. After much reading and study, I finally (I think) have a grasp on the differences between a blurb, a tagline, a pitch, and a query. Since I struggled with understanding these differences, I thought I’d share them.* The Blurb This is a catchy few sentences that aims to hook potential readers into wanting more. It is used…

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Novels need a first page that hooks the reader—whether it’s the agent you’re querying or the potential buyer browsing your book. Last week at the RWA conference I attended a panel of agents and editors assessing first pages of novels, as well as a session on submitting your novel that included tips for an effective first page. The first pages read aloud were all well written, but a few suggestions kept popping up. Set the Scene, with Balance Many of…

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Since beginning to write fiction, I’ve read numerous books on self-editing and the craft of writing. How Not to Write a Novel by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark is a different kind of book.

Last month I participated in a workshop on character led by Barbara Claypole White. Here are some of the tips that helped me. Deep Characters Take Work Barbara’s books are known for their deep characters—her goal is to have each character’s voice so distinct that the reader will know who is talking even if she uses no dialog tags! Barbara shared several exercises she goes through to get to know her characters and allow them to develop in her mind….

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I plotted a novel for the first time. Here is the process I used, and a template if you’d like to try it.

I tried plotting for the first time and liked it. Here’s how I got started and the resources I used.

I added the capability to subscribe to my blog by category, using MailChimp. Here’s how I did it.