Publishing Pulse 7/9/10

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Literary Agents:
We hope you all took advantage of our latest agent-judged contest by Suzie Townsend! Winners coming soon.

Krista at Mother. Write. (Repeat.) has Taylor Martindale of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency answering questions today. Be sure to pop over and check it out!

Querying:
Literary agent Jessica Faust tells you to stop freaking out over your summer querying.

Author Kristin Miller and literary agent Suzie Townsend give a great query breakdown.

So does Jodi Meadows, former slush reader and new debut novelist (congrats Jodi)!

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner says: Queries, not that complicated.

Miriam at Dystel & Goderich says: Sometimes the answer is no.

Literary agent Kristin Nelson breaks down current query trends.


Writing:
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner spills some secrets for becoming a better writer.

The Editorial Ass lays out why the first page of your MS is so dang important.

James at Men with Pens tells how to find your writing voice.

Author Jody Hedlund gives some tips for finding plot ideas.


Marketing:
Shelli Johannes-Wells does a great "Marvelous Marketer" series. This week: Dan Ehrenhaft from HarperCollins.


Other:
Kay Dacus tells why it's important to break down what you read, so you can learn to write better.

Got a publisher? Janet Grant at Books & Such Literary has some great advice for the kind of relationship you should expect to have with your publisher.

Interview with executive editor at Simon Pulse, Anica Rissi, at The Crowe's Nest.


Have a great weekend!