Comparative titles – aka comp titles – are one of the most critical (and despised) parts of a query letter. Welcome to another ring in the Query Hellscape. Here we are again. Social media or a real person somewhere told you that you need something called “comp titles.” Welcome to the part of your […]

Well, well, well, you’ve finished your manuscript. You and the Muse – super tight now. You’ve bled, rewritten, revised, and probably rage-edited (dismembered) your baby. Notches in the belt. And now… one more little, teensy, weensy page. No big deal. NO. BIG. DEAL. Yes, writing the book is hard – but writing about the book […]

You’ve crafted a flag emblazoned with your outpoured soul of a manuscript, the perfect query letter, sending it out into the void with crossed fingers is or should be just… business. You labor to raise the flag up the pole desperately hoping someone(s) will see it through a periscope from a far off sea. They […]

The classic question, “So… what’s your book about?” is a dreadful mutation of the job interview greatest hit, “Tell me about yourself.” If you’ve ever struggled with how to write a strong logline, join the club. But not as bad as other classics such as: “Why Don’t You Just Self Publish” and “How Much Can […]

Actually, look, nobody really knows what writer’s block is. Even science is still confused. It could mean anything. The reason is that people and their experiences are infinitely different. Maybe my writer’s block stems from the fact that I am hungover and yours is that Mercury is in retrograde. While, yes, it could be a […]

First rejection at 21 for a screenplay - got a script request from query letter from robert kosberg - sent it snail mail - rejected immediately for being like 200 pages long (shouldve been 80) even though I read Save the Cat by Blake Snyder prior. Second, third > dozens rejection(s) for some short stories I wrote and sent to every […]

At some point, and usually around Hellscape 5 in Query Hell – there are burning questions which crashes into an author’s mind. Why don’t I just do it myself? Why am I still craving validation from an industry that doesn’t know I exist and makes it so hard for me to? Self publishing vs traditional […]

Siguniang Mountain: A breathtaking visual metaphor for the publishing climb – every author starts at the base. For writers hoping to break into traditional publishing, few moments feel more loaded than trying to figure out what literary agents are looking for — and then sending a query letter into the void. But navigating how to […]

Writing a book blurb feels like trying to cram an entire novel into a single fortune cookie. A fortune cookie upon which everything depends – because, well… it kinda does. The blurb is your handshake, your cover letter, your first date – after the first few drinks. It feels like a formality, a chore. But, […]