As many of you know, I am now working as an editor for a small publishing house. I am loving this job more than agenting, more than consulting, I really enjoy it. One thing I find, though, is that there are some pieces of advice I seem to give over and over. I thought that … Continue reading Editor Notes for Clients

Hello everyone! I apologize for being a day late, but I hope you won't mind. I am going to break down how to query agents and get the best results. There is a lot of information you need to know before you actually get to sending out your query letters. Let's just pretend that you've … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: Land Your Agent with the Most Effective Query (Series #37)

Good Sunday everyone! Today's calendar says, "There is always a way." True. And if you are querying, that way is not giving up. MOST people attempt to publish before the book is ready and then get disappointed when they receive rejections galore. They end up shelving a good manuscript and moving on when the answer … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: How An Agent Can Read ONE Chapter and Know If Your Book is Any Good (Series #34.5)

Hello everyone! We have some new people and I digressed from the "journey" last week with my story about my German grandmother. I appreciated all the kind words. So, I decided we'll start off with a low down of what I'm working on what the next steps are. First, we have been on a marketing … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: Catch-up on Our Book Progress (Series #31)

I apologize for not writing a blog last week. My grandmother recently passed away not long before she would have turned 97. Don't worry, we aren't sad. And before you get offended, you have to know my grandmother, or as we called her, Oma. So, today we are deviating. Today I'm telling you about Oma. … Continue reading Oma’s Story

Good weekend everyone. Happy Sunday. This week is for the indie crowd. I have been talking the last few weeks about spreadsheets and queries. But what about us self-publishers? I hear you. Your book, finished and self-edited, should now be in the hands of beta readers. And only include your mom in this if she's … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: First Steps for Marketing (Series #30)

Photo by Max Ravier on Pexels.com Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late this week. The carpet cleaner is coming, and my world is upside down. Speaking of agents, those gatekeepers of the coveted Top 5 contract, if you are going to be querying, our next step is to find them. I've written several posts about this, … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: Getting Your Agent List Ready to Query (Series #28)

Here are new "author photos" that are mostly me being my goofy self and my sister-in-law snapping away. She came by this week and did my hair and makeup for the photos. So sweet, she just called and volunteered to do it. Beca is a hair and makeup guru. @Lipstickzombae Don't let my wrinkles ruin … Continue reading Journey to a Bestseller: Making a Spreadsheet For Researching Agents (Series #27)

Hello! Good Sunday afternoon! I didn't have a chance to write this week, but I promise next week's post will be about the WIP. What I did work on this week was marketing my existing books by updating my keyword phrases and categories on Amazon. Why is that important? Amazon's almighty algorithm A9 (or A10, … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: Increase Your Chances of Being Seen on Amazon {Keywords & Categories}(series #21)

I was talking to someone today who told me there was one skill to selling million dollar books. There might be, but none of us knows what it is. The price pledge of this knowledge? Five weeks of your time for training and five thousand dollars. You heard me right. To be fair, I did … Continue reading Shooting for bestseller. How You Can Help.

Ocean Bubbles Hello! Hello! I am excited this week! My schedule is full and I'm having to block out time to dedicate it to my different jobs. When you work from home, you never really leave your job. So when you get a half an hour you are overcome with guilt about the four "rush" … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: Essential Scenes in Every Story- Part Six- React/Final Battle/Resolution and How to Get Early Reviews (Series #18)

Hey everyone. I didn't get any writing done this week. Isn't that terrible? Shame on me. But, I did spend that time doing writerly things. Okay, I was making swag... but someone's gotta do it! I have the cutest swag, too. What is swag? Mirriam-Webster says, " The freebie swag, sometimes also spelled schwag, dates back to … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: Essential Scenes in Every Story- Part Five- My Swag (Series #17)

Hey guys. Pretty simple post today. I was busy with client work all week and haven't had time to write a thing for myself. But, I don't want to keep you from learning about the story structure, so let me talk about the part I will be writing this week. I believe last week we … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: Essential Scenes in Every Story- Part Three- React/Second Battle and Chekov’s Gun/Formatting Manuscripts (Series #15)

Hello. Sorry I'm late this weekend. I've been busy. Learning how to do more book marketing and structure. Enjoy every single moment. That's what my calendar says for today, and it's true. Writing the novel is the journey. You know how they say it's not the destination that's important, but to enjoy the journey? Well … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: First Novels Being Shelved and How to Choose Genre-Appropriate Covers (Series #12)

Good day, friends! I have been super busy this week. I am editing the third book in the trilogy, and I have been using some techniques taught by Liz Pelletier, at Entangled Press. She is an editor that I really admire and she teaches the standard three-pass edit system. If you are interested, I found … Continue reading The Journey to a Bestseller: Writing Books That Sell and Editing Like a Pro (Series #11)

Photo by Burak K on Pexels.com This was a hard question. It's completely subjective. The hardest part for me might be your strength. That's why the writing community exists, and it needs to. Authors need to help each other with our own expertise. I wrote my first book with my (30-year) best friend. But when … Continue reading Agent Questions Volume Twenty-eight: What’s the hardest part of publishing for you? (Twitter Series #8)

Te Solvo By Jennifer Haskin “I am special. I am loved. I am worth it.” Milo repeated the words from his self-help podcast, and absently straightened his suit coat. There were a few tiny clouds dotting the sky and the bright sun beat down on his head as he ambled along the sidewalk. People bumped … Continue reading Part two of this week’s blog: Te Solvo (A novelette by Jenn Haskin)

What can I do/say that will get me an auto-rejection to my query? What other mistakes can I make in publishing? These are normal questions for authors. The publishing world is such a mystery, it can feel like walking in a field of land mines. No one knows where to step. I believe once you … Continue reading Agent Questions Volume Twenty-Six: What Will Get Me an Auto-Rejection to My Query? What Other Mistakes Can I Make in Publishing? (Twitter Series #6)