We spoke with agent Erik Hane of Red Sofa Literary about how he got his start, how he used to think fiction writers were hired like contractors–and the programs he’d build if given the funding. We also spend a brief moment talking about how #MeToo has come to publishing. Plus, some dangerous-sounding winter sports Erik … Read more
We speak with author Carrie DiRisio, the voice behind Brooding YA Hero, plus her agent, Melissa Edwards at Stonesong Literary, and her editor, Alison Weiss at Sky Pony Press. Together, we discuss the creation of Brooding YA Hero, and how it became a book that is so much more than a Twitter feed. (Plus, of … Read more
If you haven’t yet tuned in to #MSWL’s free podcast, now is a great time to do so! Many writers worry about whether they can possibly get an agent’s attention, and sell books in the US, if they live abroad. We talked with agent Kurestin Armada (P.S. Literary) and her client, Amy Schaefer, who not … Read more
by Diana Urban, author and Jim McCarthy, agent Diana: A couple of months ago, I finished edits on a YA thriller called The Last Hour. It’s a cross between to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and Abigail Haas’s Dangerous Girls — nine teens get locked in a room and must choose someone to … Read more
by Ben Grange, L. Perkins Agency In my “I’d like the next” section of my MSWL page, I list three stories that to me, represent something impactful in human nature. And yeah, those three stories are in visual format, not the printed word, but if I had found their equivalent in books, those books would … Read more
by Amber Oliver, HarperCollins I’m not much of a TV watcher, I must admit. One of my favorite lines to say to my mother whenever she asks me about a funny commercial she’s recently seen, is to say “I don’t have cable.” Despite the fact that I do have subscription services to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon … Read more
by editor Sarah Guan (Orbit/Hachette Book Group), Jim McCarthy (agent, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management), and Fonda Lee, author of Jade City Sarah: I joined the Orbit editorial team toward the end of 2016, and immediately set about hunting for that perfect first acquisition as I began to build my list here. I wanted a … Read more
Our first #TenQueries episode is now live! John Cusick, agent at Folio Literary, was kind enough to let us record him reacting to his inbox in real time. Just like #TenQueries on Twitter, he described what he was seeing–but you can hear in his voice when he gets surprising mistakes (and great queries!). If you’ve … Read more
We’re so excited about next week’s Query Workshop! This is a new program brought to you by The Manuscript Academy, #MSWL’s educational sister project. We’re adding a new feature that we’re super excited about–small groups for live, face-to-face feedback in an educational setting. We’ll go over each query in a group up to ten, and … Read more
by Jennifer March Soloway, agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc Writing is hard; publishing is even harder. There is a lot of rejection in this business at every level, and agents get rejected all the time too. It takes guts, thick skin, and sheer tenacity to keep going. However, I don’t get discouraged; in … Read more
