The online writing community can be phenomenal, but it can also be overwhelming. Some great resources have been shared on the Pitch Wars hashtag over the past week to help navigate the rules and language of publishing. Here are my favorites: 1. Dahlia Adler’s Abridged Glossary of Pub Speak.  What is a WC, you ask?...

I mentioned in a previous post that I have a thing for contests. It may be time for me to step back and do things the old fashioned way, but as a PSA to all of you out there in the query trenches, here are a few of the amazing contests coming soon to a...

Online pitch events are exciting and addictive when you have a query-ready manuscript. Recently we’ve had WriteOnCon, Operation Awesome’s Secret Agent Contest, Brenda Drake’s Pitch Wars, and Adventures in YA Publishing’s Pitch Plus Five. And that was just August! The primary goal of contests seems to be grabbing an agent’s attention and garnering requests for...

Visit Pens for Paws here This year’s Pens for Paws Auction is right around the corner! This online auction, hosted by my friend Angelica R. Jackson, raises funds for Fat Kitty City, a no-kill, cage-free cat (and dog!) sanctuary in El Dorado Hills, California. She has fabulous items for writers and others in the publishing...

On any given day in the writing community, you can find a new batch of query contests, pitch competitions, and giveaways. I love that part of the blog-o-sphere, but over the past year or so, I’ve been truly struck by the added dimension of generosity in our industry. So many agents, editors, and authors donate their time...