My final edits are back. My editor did a fantastic job scrubbing my manuscript, but I know that (despite the multiple stages of review) a few errors are going to slip through. It happens. We've all read this book so many times; there's no way to catch everything. I'm looking at my words and coming to terms with the reality of letting them go. Top of the roller coaster. Double-checking my seatbelt. Only one way off this ride. It would be easy to say that I'm worried about tech

I got a book deal! You have no idea how hard it was to stay quiet about something this exciting. About the Book I always do creative exercises when I'm bored. On a four hour drive from D.C. to my childhood home in Pittsburgh, I tried to come up with another reason I might be making the drive. The answer? I was a rock star going home. I upped the stakes. I was going home to see the guy who inspired all my songs. I upped them even more. He was dying. Boom! I had my hook. I deci

Why Should You Tweet? I'm always surprised when authors tell me they don't have a Twitter account. When you finally land your deal, you're going to need a digital platform. The sooner you start building it, the better. Connect with Agents Get the inside scoop on pet peeves and common query mistakes by following literary agents on Twitter. Even if you're not looking for an agent, following them will help you discover things that make agents and readers cringe (e.g. starting

Cold queries are not the only way for your manuscript to attract interest. Many agents, acquisitions editors, and publishers participate in pitch parties and contests. What are Twitter Pitch Parties? During these events, authors tweet a 140 character pitch for their book that includes the event's hashtag. Some contests focus on a specific genre (#SFFPit for Science Fiction and Fantasy novels) while others are open to all genres (#PitMad, #Pit2Pub). How does it Work? If an age