The Chopping Blog

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Book Broker: an interview with Karly Caserza
February 24, 2020
"Take your time. Truly. I’d rather wait and receive a manuscript that has been polished than something that’s been hastily submitted in order to get it to me sooner."
- Agent interviews
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Literary agents on issues of word count
February 15, 2020
"The two biggies are word counts wildly out of line with your genre and choosing only iconic, hugely successful books as your comps." Sharon Pelletier
- Agent interviews
- On the craft
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Slush Pile Standouts
February 09, 2020
Acquisitions editors, literary agents, and writing contest screeners are often faced with a large slush pile: a heap of manuscripts that must be quickly assessed. What makes one manuscript stand out from the next? What snags and red flags will land your work in the bin rather than on the shortlist?
- Contest updates
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- 1 comment
Best-laid plans: the first in our series of self-paced writing courses
January 27, 2020
This course will lead you through the steps of drafting a solid outline, broken into either chapters or major scenes. Work at your own pace in our user-friendly Moodle site.
- On the craft
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Axe to Grind: first prize-pool spillover reached
January 27, 2020
We've hit 40 entries, and earlier than expected! That means the prize pool is now spilling over to second place. Third place will begin to grow at 70 entries
- Contest updates
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Story skeleton: a plot primer
January 27, 2020
As Orson Welles said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” In this way, structure is an integral part of the art of storytelling. It is much more than a formula or cookie-cutter guide.
- On the craft
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Book Broker: an interview with Lisa Grubka
January 17, 2020
Be absolutely certain the work is ready before you submit. Most people query before they’re truly ready. Before you hit “send” on the query, ask yourself how you’d feel if the agent immediately requested the full. Would you feel confident? Or panicked?
- Agent interviews
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Respect the twist
January 10, 2020
If you respect the twist, it can do great things for you, but when a twist is included as a matter of course, or at least without enough attention, it can sink your tale right at the most crucial moment.
- On the craft
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- 3 comments
The wand chooses the wizard: on writerly passion
January 06, 2020
We don’t usually choose our obsessions. They’re built-in, ready-made. You don’t need to justify a love for dragons or aliens or cowboys. You just need to own it.
- On the craft
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Darling Axe editor wins Amy Mathers Teen Book Award (congrats Michelle!)
January 02, 2020
A big congratulations to Darling Axe editor Michelle Barker on winning the 2019 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award!
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Book Broker: an interview with Jane Dystel
December 19, 2019
Our agency receives hundreds of query letters a year. I ask to read about 50% of them and of that percentage I might reach out to three or four people to ask them to come with us.
- Agent interviews
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Book Broker: an interview with Betsy Lerner
December 13, 2019
What draws me in is tone, language, a brilliant simile. Command of the page. Again, intangibles. What makes any reader stick with any book? Intelligence and literary chops. Humor.
- Agent interviews
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