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Showing posts from June, 2014

The Dreaded Query Letter

The following is adapted from a handout I put together for a recent writing workshop. I thought folks might get some use out of it, so I figured I'd post it here. Query letters probably cause authors more angst than any other piece of writing (save, possibly, synopses), yet they’re a necessity for anyone who wants to land an agent. I can’t claim any special expertise in the realm of query letters, but I’ve had two agents in my career, both of whom I approached via blind query (meaning no client reference or invitation to submit). The fact is, you don’t need a long list of publishing credits to woo an agent. You just need a decent one-paragraph “elevator pitch” for your book, some manners, and common sense enough to follow the agent’s stated guidelines. Below is a version of the query I used to land my current agent, the insanely awesome and talented David Gernert. Is it any good? I couldn’t say. But I can tell you it worked. *** To [agent’s name; DO NOT MASS EMAIL and fo

The Lizard's Ardent Uniform

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Today marks the release of Beat to a Pulp's latest anthology, THE LIZARD'S ARDENT UNIFORM & OTHER STORIES. My short story "The Lizard's Ardent Uniform" is featured alongside stories by such talented writers as Hilary Davidson, Steve Weddle, and Patti Abbott. This project has a special significance for me because it honors my good friend David Cranmer's nephew Kyle J. Knapp, a writer who passed away far too young. His dream journals provided the prompts for each of the stories in this collection, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated in his name. If you'd like to learn more about the project, check out this post on David's blog . If you've got a Kindle, you can  get your copy here . And if you'd prefer a print copy, David's got you covered there, as well .