Manuscript Rejected After Only 20 Pages? What gives?

by MKMarketing | Sep 26, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing

Ever wonder how an agent can reject a manuscript, having read only the first 20 pages? How can they know a book isn’t something they want to represent with so little to go on? Before a writer curses all agent-hood while typing the url, Smashwords.com, self-proclaimed...

8 Steps for a Focused Writing Plan, Fact and Fiction

by MKMarketing | Sep 16, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, For the love of writing, Guest posts

Let’s say you’ve been ruminating over acreative writing project based on true facts, compiled research, or a memoir. At first glance, you have a choice of two markets—fiction or non-fiction—but if we delve deeper, we see an emerging trend in publishing of successful...

Editing Fiction for Intelligent Readers (No Spoon-feeding Allowed.)

by MKMarketing | Sep 12, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, For the love of writing, Guest posts

Kristen Lamb just hit me over the head. I’ve been contemplating an issue with my fiction writing lately, namely the balance between “poetic” description (of scenes, characters’ appearance, sex, etc.) and maintaining straight-forward clarity to allow my reader to build...

Using Dirty Fighting To Escalate Tension In Your Story

by MKMarketing | Sep 2, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, Guest posts

Great books are filled with conflict, and great characters who learn important lessons. Writer and all-around-funny Jenny Hansen’s clever tips for Dirty Fighting Techniques can be applied to your main character’s friend, family member or a significant other…whoever he...

Writers: Who to Query First, Why and How

by MKMarketing | Aug 1, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, Freelance Writing

Once upon a time, completing your manuscript was the hard part.  Eventually, “The End” is behind you; with the thoughtful critique of your circle of writing partners, it is buffed and shammied to a high sheen, primped to enter a tournament of queries. The ultimate...

Fiction Writing: 7 Elements of the First Page

by MKMarketing | Jun 23, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, For the love of writing, Guest posts

First pages are like first dates. No, worse. First pages are more like the ten seconds it takes your blind date to come into sight and walk toward your table. It’s often a make-or-break deal, and in many cases, a delusive representation of what follows in...