Ziggy should have died at least six times before he finally expired last Friday at the age of 13 ½. And those are just the times I know about. While his early years remain a mystery, there were enough clues to ascertain that they were not good. I don’t know why or how my Australian… Continue Reading
If you’re beginning to understand why dogs get so excited about a person on the sidewalk or a squirrel in the backyard, perhaps it’s time to think about jumping into the kind of project you usually don’t have time for. If you’ve been writing a blog for a number of years, that could just mean… Continue Reading
Florida mortgage broker Matt Huffman started working on his book Don’t Take No for an Answer: Can’t Get a Mortgage? Think Again last May. He wrote like he was being chased by a bull in Pamplona that was closing in fast. I’ve never experienced anything like it, especially from someone who had never written before. From… Continue Reading
Ten years ago, I helped eighty-something-year-old Fanchon Blake write her memoir Busting the Brass Ceiling. Regrettably, we were never able to find a traditional publisher for the book, even with a foreword written by bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh, known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States. Although Fanchon died… Continue Reading
Ten years ago, I published a blog post titled “Why Hire a Writing Coach.” Having just re-read it for the first time in a decade, I was pleased to discover that I still like it and that I still think that it almost perfectly explains how helpful a book coach can be. The key word… Continue Reading
“That’s it,” I decided at the start of this year. “Book promotion is critical. So this is the year I figure out how to market and advertise books.” I wasn’t talking about media releases or even book trailers. My team and I know how to work with those. I wanted to learn how to leverage… Continue Reading
Barbara Hinske thought she was done. She just needed a copy edit, she figured. In her search for a copy editor, her manuscript fell into my hands. I was quickly drawn to a minor, undeveloped character in the novel—a bad guy with a penchant for rescuing dogs. Weaving in a subplot geared around this multi-faceted… Continue Reading
Are you more comfortable coming up with your character or your plot when you’re thinking about writing a novel? I’m betting that one is more natural than the other. But a novel absolutely, positively needs to be strong in both character and plot. A character-heavy story in which nothing really happens is a snooze, and… Continue Reading
If you’re writing fiction, you need to make sure that your work is populated by multi-dimensional characters who seem like real people. So ask yourself: Are the characters I’ve invented believable? Have I fleshed them out? Do they have the kinds of inconsistencies, conflicts, baggage, strong points and flaws we all have? Do I know… Continue Reading
How’s that focus on writing coming? And how’s that working for you? Here’s the deal. You’ve suddenly got time to write. It didn’t come exactly how you envisioned. You didn’t win the lottery. No one announced that they would fund your endeavors because the world needed your talent. Nope. You simply got a cease-and-desist notice… Continue Reading
Literary Agent:
Ted Weinstein
Ted Weinstein Literary Management
Mechanics’ Library Building
57 Post Street, Suite 512
San Francisco, CA 94104
tw@twliterary.com
www.twliterary.com