The Chopping Blog

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Editor profile: Dola Basu Singh
July 22, 2020
We all read for pleasure, but learning to read like a writer will help you gauge what’s working in a story and what’s not, so keep a pencil and notebook handy the next time you pick up that bestseller.
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Book Broker – an interview with Kari Erickson
July 21, 2020
I want stories that hook me fast and keep me there with strong writing and characters.
- Agent interviews
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Book Broker – an interview with Peter Riva
July 15, 2020
The editor is the champion, internally in the publishing house, for each book under her or his care. Finding that combination can be instantaneous or take years.
- Agent interviews
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Resource review: Query Tracker
July 13, 2020
Of all the querying tools out there, Query Tracker is at the top of the heap.
- On querying
- Resource review
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Book Broker – an interview with Heather Jackson
July 07, 2020
The book has to be great: writing, story, pacing, characters... all have to deliver at the highest level.
- Agent interviews
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Book Broker – an interview with John Cusick
June 30, 2020
Being paid for your art is a beautiful thing. But that also means you have to find someone who thinks your story has value—not artistic value necessarily, but commercial value first and foremost.
- Agent interviews
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Aim for the Heart: Crafting a Killer Midpoint
June 29, 2020
A successful midpoint reversal will take the mush out of the middle of your novel and keep your readers up late wanting to find out what happens next.
- On the craft
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We are dream-weavers: on the writer's maxim of "show, don't tell"
June 21, 2020
We are dream-weavers, and the one thing we don’t want is for our dreamers (readers) to wake up. We want them to be so caught up in the dream of our fictional world, it’s as though they’re living it themselves.
- On the craft
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Book Broker – an interview with Linda S. Glaz
June 05, 2020
Be sure that it is your absolute best writing that you are submitting.
- Agent interviews
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Query Quest: a self-paced course for querying authors
May 30, 2020
This deep-dive course covers everything you need to know about the querying process, including activities for self-assessment, examples of killer synopses and query letters, interviews with agents, an analysis of the reality of landing representation, plus many more resources.
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Book Broker – an interview with Holly Faulks
May 29, 2020
It’s reassuring when the covering letter gives the impression that the author takes their own work seriously, is a voracious reader with an awareness of where their own work might fit into the market, and is committed to the process of finding an agent with whom to start a professional and long-lasting relationship.
- Agent interviews
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Book Broker – an interview with Thérèse Coen
May 28, 2020
So many authors don’t succeed their first time, but they learn from it and grow into better and more resilient writers as a result.
- Agent interviews
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