1) Don’t study your markets.
You wouldn’t choose a babysitter you know nothing about. You wouldn’t choose a bank that was housed in a tent on the side of the road. Why would you throw your manuscript to every publisher you can find without first knowing that publisher’s reputation, contract terms, and specialty?
2) Once you know your markets, ignore the rules.
Go ahead and submit your horror novel to Harlequin. There’s no romantic subplot at all, but, hey, they need to learn to branch out, right? Your book is so good that it transcends things like genre.
3) Begin your query letter with, “I know this isn’t the type of stuff you usually publish, but—“
When I was acquiring manuscripts for a small press, I actually got a query letter that began with those very words. When, out of the goodness of my heart, I wrote the writer a very nice letter explaining why he should only submit his manuscripts to editors whose houses do publish the type of work he was trying to sell, he wrote me a scathing reply. Even if he’d later written something that we’d have loved, I wouldn’t have considered it because he’d burned his bridge.
4) Burn bridges.
Only be nice to important people, because no one will ever get promoted or demoted in this business. Besides, it takes so much effort to be nice! When someone gives you helpful advice, throw it back in their faces, especially editors. How dare they criticize an expert like you? They’re not really trying to help you make your manuscript better anyway; they just like being mean.
5) Follow up…every few hours.
What parent hasn’t ridden in a car with a child and delighted in hearing Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Editors feel an affectionate glee for writers who constantly ask, “Did you get my manuscript? Have you had time to look it over yet? Do you like it? Are you considering it for publication?” Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? If said editor finally does get back to you with suggested revisions, see Number 4.
Embroidery shop owner Marcy Singer is about to have the rug pulled out from under her....
Marcy can’t wait to see the new exhibit at the Tallulah Falls museum on antique tapestries and textiles, including beautiful kilim rugs. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to terror when, the day after the exhibition opens, she discovers a dead body behind her store, the Seven-Year Stitch, wrapped up in a most unusual fashion.
The victim appears to be a visiting art professor in town for the exhibit. Did someone decide to teach the professor a lesson, then attempt to sweep the evidence under the rug? Along with her boyfriend, Detective Ted Nash, Marcy must unravel an intricate tapestry of deception to find a desperate killer.
Marcy can’t wait to see the new exhibit at the Tallulah Falls museum on antique tapestries and textiles, including beautiful kilim rugs. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to terror when, the day after the exhibition opens, she discovers a dead body behind her store, the Seven-Year Stitch, wrapped up in a most unusual fashion.
The victim appears to be a visiting art professor in town for the exhibit. Did someone decide to teach the professor a lesson, then attempt to sweep the evidence under the rug? Along with her boyfriend, Detective Ted Nash, Marcy must unravel an intricate tapestry of deception to find a desperate killer.
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Genre – Cozy Mystery
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Connect with Amanda Lee on Facebook
Website http://www.gayletrent.com
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