In this very interesting blog post by Alan Rinzler in The Book Deal, four top literary agents share their thoughts on the future of publishing and the role of literary agents in a fast-changing environment. The four, all veterans and eminently successful literary agents themselves are: Candice Fuhrman, Andrea Brown, Andrea Hurst and Bonnie Solow. Continue reading “On Literary Agents”
Month: February 2012
How important is your book title? Shouldn’t it grab the attention of your potential buyer? Does a one-word title work better than longer options, especially in the genre of mysteries and thrillers? Last but not the least, how should your back cover copy or synopsis seize the interest of your reader?
My debut novel “It Can’t Be You” started with “The man was dead.” I then went on to develop the opening scene where a body is found. At that stage those who find the body do not know whether the man was killed or killed himself. Many who read the book have commented that it set the tone for what became an absorbing psychological thriller. Continue reading “About Great Starts and Editors”
Ever since my debut novel, “It Can’t Be You” was published in November 2010, I have been closely following how it has fared on Flipkart, a very popular online book chain in India. Titles are listed under different categories and ICBY finds itself listed under “Suspense & Thrillers.” Continue reading “I am thrilled!”
I remember the time I was editing my second thriller ” Lucky For Some, Thirteen” before it was sent off to the publishers. Each time I went through the manuscript, I would find either an error or a clear opportunity to make the sentence “sound” better. That’s when I decided to “proof speak” rather than proof read.
This blog post in Ballpoint.com tells you why it’s a smart thing to proof speak your work. I found it very useful. The biggest gain is a better understanding of how it would sound to the reader.
Most description should come through dialogue but there are times when you need to find the right words to express the feelings of your characters as seen by others. I came across this list from author Kimberly T. Matthews. Your choice of the right word makes a big difference in your description. Kimberly’ s list should prompt you, as it did me, to add-on to our vocabularies. If we don’t, we could end up using the same old words all the time, novel after novel.
The best way to improve your writing is to actively seek ways of improving it and put them into practice. I believe proof speaking and using the right word to depict expressions are useful tips to any writer.
Prem Rao : Stories from a Story Teller 