The Chopping Blog

Jena Brown takes second place with her query for WHAT DIES IN VEGAS.

Camellia Phillips takes third place with her query for RAT, JACK, AND THE IMPOSSIBLE JOB.

Agents want to see comps not so much for the sake of comparison, but as a demonstration that you are actively reading within your market and therefore know your manuscript's place within it.

A common snag is when there is too much telling and summary in the opening chapters and writers try and cram in too much information without letting the story get going and unfold organically.

We’ve all read novels that swallow us whole. Hours pass, and we suddenly realize it’s lunchtime and we still haven’t showered.

Thanks so much to everyone who has participated along the way. We couldn't have done it without your support.

Writing description is like wielding a zoom lens. You, the author, need to decide what’s worth zooming in on and what can be left to blend into the background.

Every writer knows the loneliness of writing, but inside that loneliness there is the hope that what you write will be read.

Publishing credentials, well-researched comp titles, and a bit of personalization will certainly help your case, but your pitch is currency. 

I often see writers clearing their throats—writing out information about a character’s background or past or over-explaining their situation instead of trusting their reader to piece things together for themselves.

If I get to page fifty and there still hasn't been an inciting incident, or the main character is being pushed along by the events of the plot rather than making choices that drive the action, the novel is likely to lose my attention.

It’s interesting to consider how Alcott may have completed Jo’s arc were she given artistic freedom to write as she pleased.