When The Gatekeeper Works For You There are many agents who are absolutely lovely people but who don’t command authority naturally. Why should you, as a writer, care about this? Literary agent Kristin Nelson doesn’t make you wait long for the answer: It’s simple: Authors with strong contracts have more successful careers. And say what… Read More
The Muse’s Town Hall: Writing Literary for Digital
Steve Almond: “My overall sense is that authors have to do a self-inventory of why they write and what they want out of the arrangement — and then should decide how to deal with the brave new world of the digital infinite.” Christine Munroe: “I feel it’s just a question of timing, and a great domino… Read More
The Muse's Town Hall: Benjamin Samuel on Literature's Future
Benjamin Samuel: “I think we may start seeing more unconventional formats, literature in spaces that are mostly unexplored. Digital publishing has more potential than just an animated page-turn on your iPhone. In other words, digital publishing is much more than just ebooks. As writers experiment more with apps and other platforms (Shelley Jackson’s Instagram story,… Read More
The Muse's Town Hall: Looking for Literary in Digital Places
Eve Bridburg: “I don’t see online communities growing up around literary authors and books in quite the same way I see it happening for genre fiction and fan fiction. Where is the larger discovery platform for literary fiction? Will publishers keep publishing it if there aren’t readers? Where is the curation going to come from? Who… Read More
Writers Wrestling On The Conference Circuit
The problem is not that our dinner-table companion disagreed with an agent on a panel at PubSmartCon. The problem is that she seemed to hold it against the conference (let alone against “that agent”) that she had heard a comment not supportive of the self-publishing approach she favors. This writer was offended, thoroughly peeved that her view… Read More