Guides
Practical writing on the parts of a writing life that actually involve sending things to other people: querying agents, submitting to magazines, handling contracts, and the craft decisions that determine whether any of that matters.
Querying agents
How to write a query letter
The structure agents expect, what goes in each paragraph, and why the first line matters more than the bio.
Writing a synopsis
One-page and two-page synopses, what to include, what to cut, and why the ending belongs on the page.
Choosing comp titles
How recent, how famous, and how close — picking books that place your novel on a shelf.
Researching agents
Where to find legitimate agents, how to read a Manuscript Wish List, and how to spot red flags.
Common query mistakes
The recurring errors that get queries passed on within thirty seconds — and how to avoid each one.
Handling rejection
Form rejections, personalized rejections, full requests that end in no, and why a spreadsheet helps.
Craft
What belongs on page one
The signals an agent or editor is really reading for, and how to audit your own opening.
Opening lines that earn the next page
What a strong first line actually does — it isn't mystery for its own sake.
"Show, don't tell" — the useful version
When showing is right, when telling is right, and why the rule as usually stated is unhelpful.
Choosing point of view
First, third-close, third-omniscient, second person — what each makes easy and what each forbids.
Dialogue that does more than fill space
Attribution, subtext, beats, and the trap of writing how people actually talk.
A sane revision process
The order to revise in — structure first, scene second, line last — and how to stop tinkering.
Publishing business
Trad vs. self-publishing
Which path to pick, and what you're actually trading off when you pick it.
Rights and contracts, plainly
First serial, reprint, audio, film option — what rights a publishing contract typically asks for.
Advances and royalties
How advances work, how they earn out, and what royalty rates are typical for different formats.
Pen names — when and how
Legal vs. pseudonym, tax implications, and the practical reasons writers use a second name.
Author platform, minus the hype
What "platform" really means for fiction vs. nonfiction, and what agents actually care about.
Taxes for writers
Self-employment status, deductible expenses, and why keeping receipts beats keeping folders.
Magazine submissions
Writing a magazine cover letter
Two sentences, a title, a word count, and a bio — and nothing more.
Simultaneous submissions
When it's expected, when it's not, and how to keep the etiquette clean.
Response times
How long is normal, when to nudge, and when to take silence as an answer.
How to withdraw politely
Acceptance elsewhere, moving on, or changing your mind — a one-paragraph template.