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Posts tagged Patrick Price
A Client's Publishing Success and an Encouraging Lesson

“Something big happened. In mid-February (on my birthday), I signed with a small literary agency. This summer, my agent negotiated a five-book deal with a publisher. Now, she has sold the audio rights for all five books. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! Keep on working your magic, Patrick.”

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Why Do Literary Agents Take So Long?

It’s every aspiring writer’s least favorite scenario: waiting to hear back from a literary agent.

But it’s possible—hardly even uncommon—to never get a response from your queries, or even after an invite was extended. What gives? Is your work that bad or wrong for them to justify query amnesia? Are agents so inundated that even a form letter rejection is too much to ask? Because, like in dating, getting “ghosted” is by far THE WORST.

Well, I’m going to let you in on some secrets. Or rather,

12 Hard Truths About Getting Rejected (Or Receiving “the Silent Treatment”) from Agents

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Patrick Price as Featured Guest on the Startup Hustle Podcast

I recently had a lot of fun being a guest on the Startup Hustle Podcast to talk about the process of publishing a book and the business behind it. There’s loads of practical advice regarding making the leap from idea to manuscript. Plus we give plenty of attention to the rise of indie authors.

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Trying (Failing?) to Stay Creatively Motivated During the Pandemic

Remember how you once dreamed of aimless free time—solitary or otherwise—to jumpstart that novel, revise that troublesome chapter, or do a little necessary research? If only we had more time to work on our craft.

CUT TO… the couch, remote in hand.

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Ask a Book Editor: 2020 Is the Year of No Excuses

I don’t know much about numerology but 2020 just feels good, doesn’t it?

As creative people with things to say, I declare 2020 the year we choose to abandon perfection and fear. Instead, let’s focus on creation, expression, trusting instincts, and following our inherent need to write.

No ifs, whens, or buts—just butts in seats.

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Ask a Book Editor: The Best Way to Introduce Compelling Characters in Your Novel

Ever try to read a story and find yourself thinking, I seriously don’t care what happens to these characters?

Maybe you’re a chapter in and already getting antsy, your mind drifting to dinner options. Or worse, bored on the very first page. If so, it doesn’t matter how amazing it gets because the writer is about to lose a reader.

Likability equals reader investment. No one voluntarily hangs with—and I’d argue that’s what pleasure reading is—someone they don’t care about (yet). It applies to heroes and villains and all the desirable real-life shades in between.

How then do you hook readers’ interest and empathy early on?

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Grammar Made Easy: Should I Capitalize "Mom" and "Dad"?

Everyone knows to capitalize names. I mean “patrick” looks so weird that spellcheck tried to automatically fix it. But it’s very common to get tripped up when we’re talking about Mom and Dad.

Or is it mom and dad? My Mom? Our dad?

What should be simple can leave you second-guessing or using inconsistently.

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Ask a Book Editor: Indie Publishing Services Available from Start to Finish

Congrats to Chris Roberts on the publication of his inspiring personal tale, You’ve Earned It!

Increasingly, indie publishing can be a viable alternative to the “query and wait/pray” path of traditional publication. If you’re willing to invest in yourself, producing a polished book helps build one’s vital “platform” and share your ideas or story with others. And with print-on-demand (POD) and ebook formats, no longer is “self-publishing” a dirty word or synonymous with a car trunk or closet stacked with books.

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Ask a Book Editor: How to Title Your Book

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, titling your book can feel:

Easy (“I’ve known the perfect title since Day One.”)

Challenging (“There’s a working title but it doesn’t feel quite right yet.”)

SUPER HARD (“Kill me now—this is impossible.”)

For most, it falls between challenging and hands-up despair. Why do these few words create such turmoil when you’re able to otherwise craft entire books? It’s because a title is the work’s most hardworking calling card.

And while a bad cover may turn off a prospective buyer/reader, a bad title can bury your book.

No wonder it feels like a lot of pressure.

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Ask a Book Editor: Everything You Never Thought to Ask About Your Author Photo

Even the most camera-shy should get with the picture. Like an appealing cover and a strong book title, a quality author photo is an essential part of the publication “package” for both indie and traditionally published authors in most any format or genre.

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Ask a Book Editor: 7 First Novel Blunders to Avoid

As daunting as it can seem, most literary agents and acquiring editors are open to discovering new talent. And a big part of that is reading first novel manuscripts. Unfortunately, first novels too often share writing tics, quirky choices, or downright clichés. These common missteps can hurt your chance of being the brilliant gem in their inbox.

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