The Chopping Blog

Filter by

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
- Read more
- 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
- Read more
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
- Read more
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
- Story Skeleton
- Read more
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
- Read more
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
- Read more
- 3 comments
Write What You Love: uncovering your passion in fiction
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
- Read more
- 1 comment
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!
- Read more
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
- Read more
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
- Read more
Everyone's a Loser – a guest post by Clifford Thurlow
December 09, 2019
When the work finally arrives back, a fait accompli, we sit over a kettle of coffee or something stronger and read it aloud before putting it to one side and taking HG Wells's advice, going back with the element of surprise and attacking the piece at an hour when it isn't expecting it.
- On the craft
- Read more
Book Broker: an interview with Ann Leslie Tuttle
November 30, 2019

Q: What's a typical warning sign that a manuscript isn't ready for representation?

A: In terms of the actual writing, the story might not start in the right place, the pacing can be too slow with too much info dumping in the opening pages, and there are grammatical errors.
- Agent interviews
- Read more