Writing Tips: Queries, Novel Scenes,

Hello, readers!

Here's some helpful information from an email I got today.  

Tips for Queriers: The Query, the Synopsis, and the First Page  Getting a literary agent is tough, and I know firsthand what it's like to query without getting requests. I know how frustrating the radio silence and form rejects can be. If you're querying, you want to do everything you can to maximize your chances of getting requests. Here are some of my tips for the three main pieces you send out querying: the Query, the Synopsis, and the First Page. Read more ... FREE publishing leads/tips! Our expert strategies delivered by e-mail once per week.www.WritersRelief.com. BONUS: Claim your instant report today! Confidential. No spam. Writer's Relief (est. 1994) manages submissions to agents and lit mags. (866) 405-3003 6 Ways Winning a Writing Competition Helped Me Get Published Since winning the WD grand prize of their writing competition, I've published sixty short stories and two novels. I have another novel and a linked short story collection coming out this year, and a contract on a fourth novel for 2016. Here's how winning a single major contest made the difference: Read more ... 7 Things To Do After Finishing Your BookCongratulations! You finished your first book. Work-wise, you've accomplished 10 percent. Now for the hard part: doing what's required to get your book into a reader's hands. Do you know that an unknown self-published or small-press author only sells an average of up to 250 books? Once your friends and family members have purchased copies, where do you go from there? Read more ... Behind the Scenes of a Writing Competition with Thriller Judge Jodie Renner  Today, as part of our Behind the Scenes of a Writing Competition series, Thriller judge Jodie Renner discusses how to avoid common mistakes and take your submission to the top.  Read more ... Build Your Novel Scene by Scene Online Course - SIGN UP NOW! If you want to learn how to write a story, but aren't quiet ready yet to hunker down and write 10,000 words or so a week, this is the course for you. Fiction Writing 102: Building Your Novel will offer you the impetus, the guidance, the support, and the deadline you need to finally stop talking, start writing, and, ultimately, complete that novel you always said you wanted to write. Read more ... WRITING CONFERENCES YOU SHOULD ATTEND: WD staffers will teach at these upcoming writers conferences & events. Click below for the one closest to you. Most have agents attending as well whom you can pitch your book idea to. Check them out: Feb 11-14, 2016: San Francisco Writers Conference (San Francisco, CA) Feb. 19, 2016: Alabama Writing Workshop (Birmingham, AL) March 25, 2016: Tampa Writers Conference (Tampa, FL) March 26, 2016: Fort Lauderdale Conference for Writers (Fort Lauderdale, FL) March 31-April 2, 2016: Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop (Dayton, OH)