Author of lush, romantic fantasy novels.
(Logo in header courtesy of National Novel Writing Month). So it's October, which means the writing community is in a pre-NaNoWriMo tizzy of planning, anticipation, and hype. If you're new to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), it's a month-long challenge to draft a 50,000-word novel over the 30 days of November. I've participated in NaNoWriMo… Continue reading 5 Things NaNoWriMo Taught Me
In publishing, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of industry jargon and abbreviations. I've listed some of the most common ones here. Acquisitions: This is a phase in the manuscript purchasing process, when the acquiring editor pitches your book to others at their publishing house in order to convince them… Continue reading Glossary of Publishing Terms and Abbreviations
Querying is a rough ride. In a single day, you could receive a full request, a couple of query rejections, and a partial rejection. In fact, it often feels like some cosmic coincidence causes a deluge of responses all in the same afternoon. https://media.giphy.com/media/I6nxG7f3h7qww/giphy.gif [GIF: Rollercoaster] While living in the query trenches, self-care becomes extra… Continue reading My Querying Self-Care Checklist
I'm a wee bit of a podcast addict. And my particular brand of 'cast is most often writing-focused. So without further ado and in no particular order, here are the podcasts I listen to most: Print Run Agents Laura Zats and Erik Hane discuss current events in publishing, writing tips, and a whole array of… Continue reading 11 Great Writing Podcasts
This is Part Two of my critique series. (Part one on Giving Negative Feedback is here). So you've done a beta swap with a new reader and gotten your critique feedback. But it's bad. It's really bad. Not only is it negative, it's hurtful or accusatory. It feels vicious or personal, like the reader is… Continue reading Handling Harsh Critique
Amy Avery / Avery Ames 
