Lynda Mullaly Hunt has dazzled hundreds of thousands of young readers with her riveting middle grade reads. Join us for a live reading of her newest book, Shouting at the Rain, a chat about what makes a fabulous first page, and a Q&A. Time permitting, we’ll also go in and critique first pages from the audience. … Read more
One of the most important skills for a writer to have is the ability to craft clear and strong voices in their manuscript. Sounding inauthentic or unrealistic can be the difference between a pass or an offer of representation. In this class, we’ll target common mishaps and approach creating strong narratives on three levels: dialogue, … Read more
In this uplifting, inspiring episode, we talk about how Molly McCaffery received more than 100 rejections, shelved more than three books–-and then landed top agent John Cusick. We talk about her journey, how she learned to successfully pivot, and the querying tips you can only learn after sending out that much work and spending that … Read more
We hope you and yours are doing well–and that you’ll join us for our FREE live workshop Tuesday, May 12, at 8:00 p.m EDT/5:00 p.m PDT. In this evening with writing and theater teacher Chip Brewer, we’ll explore how your characters exist in the physical realm–how they take up space, how this shows us their … Read more
We are so happy to bring you this conversation with Stephanie Winter, an agent at P.S. Literary. We talk about how agents read differently than most book buyers, the logistics of selling a series, and what word counts scare us (and what we do about it). Plus, how rejection is kind of like a video … Read more
Let’s get your submission package ready! Both your query and your first page have a LOT to do with whether you get requests–and, together, we’ll get those polished and agent-friendly. Even if yours isn’t chosen, you’ll learn how agents things–and take away lessons that will help you long into your submissions process. The panel will … Read more
We talk with writer-turned-agent Lauren Spieller about publishing in quarantine, long-term industry hope, and what this means for you (and your book) right now. We also discuss book scouting, selling books abroad, and whether writers should move to New York (NO!). We discuss what you actually need for a successful writing career, how Lauren had … Read more
Your query can change everything. In fact, it may be the most important page you ever write. If you have a strong query, you’ll keep an agent reading. If not, they may never see all the work you put into your book. Enter The Five Day Query Workshop–The Manuscript Academy’s five-day mini-conference. Join us for daily classes, … Read more
Welcome to a #MSWL podcast first–a married publishing couple describing literary life, work, and how to make the most of both. We discuss what they’d love to see in their inboxes (and how their tastes vary), the crazy coincidences of their love story (they both went to Paris, worked at Scholastic, and lived in the … Read more
You may have heard mixed things about how publishing is doing in all of this. Some say everything is up and running–and some seem totally overwhelmed. In this episode, we spoke with agent Amy Elizabeth Bishop about how to navigate submissions during quarantine. We cover: Is it a good idea to send out your work … Read more
