The Chopping Blog

New Chief of Police Brandon Mattson is starting over. Recently divorced and needing a break from big-city crime, he's headed home to Forks, WA. But the former detective's respite from homicide is short-lived when a young woman's body washes ashore...

What I realized was that the initial failure was not due to the quality of the work, or a misjudgment of style. Books either have their time and their niche or they don’t. Writers must stick to their gut feeling. Write from the heart, not with an eye on the market.

A big congratulations to our client Zach C. Etka on his recent book release! His heart-pounding, bloodthirsty adventure, Valcore: The Ancient's Rise, is now available on Audible and has been re-released on Amazon.

I really don’t think I’ve ever had a breakthrough moment, where I thought I’d arrived. I’m still learning, trying new genres, looking at new ways to write. I guess in a way, I hope I never have a breakthrough moment, because I don’t want to ever stop learning something new.

The result is the final version of Girls Need Not Apply, a book that looks at sexism, lack of belonging, and mental health issues in the armed forces. The reception so far has sparked conversation amongst other female veterans, but also men who have bought the book and said they want to be part of change. That’s what the book is all about: change. 

A great novel is a work of balance. When all aspects of a story are in harmony, readers can become fully immersed. If even one element remains unpolished, readers will notice, and in noticing, they will be pulled out of the story. Characterization is an integral part of this balancing act. The storyteller’s ultimate goal is to craft lifelike characters who grip our attention as they struggle, make choices, and take risks.

Waldo would rather defend Earth from aliens than face the drudgery of his junior year. But when the comic-book nerd falls for the most popular girl in class, he vows to become her real-life champion. And the only shot he’s got is to level the playing field…Teaming up with two fellow outcasts, Waldo starts digging up dirt on all his rivals. But as the truth about his classmates surfaces and his own fame grows, he fears his dangerous take-down is spinning out of control.

I started one story, and then another, putting each one into the drawer about a hundred pages in and feeling like a failure. It took me years to realize that I needed to give myself permission to write badly and push through to the end of a draft. The real magic happens in revision. 

Beyond the very basics of genre/market – hook me in with something about the story; I care much more about that than I do about you at this point (sorry, but I need to fall in love with your book first). A useful sentence to keep in mind is: When A (inciting incident) happens, B (character) must do C (action) otherwise/before D (catastrophe).

When you’re reading a great submission, it feels as if you’re in a bookshop. You’ve read a cracking blurb, opened the book, read the first couple of pages, and instantly taken it to the till to buy. 

A local theatre troop wrote a brilliant musical called Ride the Cyclone, which ended up on Broadway. A few years ago they held a fundraiser show in which they performed several numbers that had to be cut because they didn't end up fitting the story. This was an eye-opening experience for me. The songs they cut were amazing!

Publishing moves in cycles and an area that’s struggling this year will probably be hot next year or the year after, when the wheel of fortune turns. In any case, for me, the most successful and commercial writing doesn’t come out of following trends, but out of authors digging deep inside and producing work that has the stamp of authenticity. I would say that is the connecting thread between all the most successful books I’ve represented.