MSWL Admin We love this book! You can hear it in our voices, of course, but it’s worth saying again. This is a beautiful and fun historical work—kind of like a female James Bond—and we love the conversation about history and gender roles, building tough worlds but retaining hope, excelling at pacing—and how to write characters who … Read more
We’re thrilled to welcome Bobby Finger, whose book, The Old Place, is so full of twists and turns—many of them with internal, past, and multi-layered conflict—that we had a terrible time not spoiling the ending for you! (Yes, you’ll hear several shout-outs that will make sense if you read the book.) We also talk about … Read more
by Helen Lane (she/ her), Junior Literary Agent | Booker Albert Agency In this blog I’m going to try to give context to some of the most hated phrases querying authors receive from agents: the dreaded, “I liked your book but didn’t love it enough to represent it” or “I love it but I’m not … Read more
Join us for a queries and first pages panel with agent Stephanie Winter (P.S. Literary). Submit your work for a chance at live feedback from our panel–plus, of course, a publishing Q&A. This event is designed to be supportive, uplifting, encouraging–and 100% introvert-friendly. (Wear pajamas! We’ll never know.) A replay will be available 15 minutes after the end … Read more
We love this experiment! We asked you to send in your queries, pages, and questions–all in the hopes of a meeting with our mystery agent. This month, our mystery agent chose a beautiful, intricate thriller–and spoke with the writer about optimizing for how agents read. The edits include reordering, swapping out descriptions, and making sure … Read more
We are so excited for this episode! It’s truly a case of good things happening for good people. Sierra Godfrey is part of the team that built ManuscriptWishList.com, and now her very own book is coming out TODAY: A Very Typical Family. We invited Sierra and her agent, Melissa Edwards, to talk about the long … Read more
We love this episode! Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, agent at Westwood Creative Artists, was kind enough to join us for a live coffee break with our members—and we ended up talking about so many things! We cover: — How agenting is a style choice — Why writers should have more confidence — How even the IRS … Read more
How do you write for graphic novels? How do you collaborate with an artist? And what mistakes do most authors make when starting out–and how can you avoid them? Whatever your genre, join us for this fun, funny episode where we cover how to enter this thriving, creative world. Mat Heagerty is a graphic novel … Read more
The authors of the book Dating Your Character believe that all character work should actively explore your protagonist’s potential for more selfish, problematic dark impulses. It’s important to recognize your protagonist’s flaws, trauma and past history to round out their motivation and provide opportunities for action that shows them regress from their stated goals. Join them as … Read more
When Mahi Cheshire sent out the first version of what would become Deadly Cure, it was a New Adult novel about med school rivals. Now, in final form, it’s a medical thriller with a rivalry at the heart of the plot. Mahi had to learn “on the job,” as it were, how to write a … Read more
