Writing

On Writing

By Tanner ⋅ June 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

I’ve been asked by a number of people how progress is coming on my latest project, and it seems I never have a very exciting answer… until now, that is! I’ve decided to finally compile my entire sordid story here, in one central place, to save myself having to relate it multiple times. (Plus, this way I can make all my embellishments official! Haha!)

Things I Wish I Could Include in a Query Letter

By Tanner ⋅ February 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Query letters are the bane of an aspiring writer’s existence. They’re the literary equivalent of a world-class chef having to create her trademark meal – all seven courses of it – only to shove the whole thing into a blender. Once the meal has been pulverized into a gooey mess, the chef must then send a cup of mush to restaurants with the hope that they’ll love it and interview her for a job. Query letters are almost that ridiculous. So how could the system be improved? As usual, I have some ideas…

How to Write a Proper Query Rejection Letter

By Tanner ⋅ February 18, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

As many of you know, I’m currently undergoing the arduous task of sending out query letters for my YA novel. A necessary part of this process involves researching query letter advice – and Google has no shortage of tips. For example, the search “how to write a query letter to a literary agent” returns almost 300,000 hits. What I find surprising, however, is the total lack of articles on writing a quality query rejection. And, based on the number of query rejections I’ve received, I think agents and publishers could use a bit of advice…

If you love me, buy my book!

By Tanner ⋅ October 28, 2008 ⋅ One comment

Hehe. That title looks more desperate than I thought it would.
Actually, this is a somewhat serious request. After almost a year-and-a-half of writing and rewriting, I have finally completed my first novel – and it’s available for sale! The book, titled Teal, is available at
https://www.createspace.com/3341273
…for the very reasonable price of $9.95 (USD). For those of [...]

OpenOffice.org is ALMOST perfect for writing a novel

By Tanner ⋅ October 13, 2008 ⋅ 3 comments

As some of you may know, I have spent the last 9 months revising the novel I entered in the “Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award” competition (where it was nominated as a semifinalist). I finished up my latest draft on the morning of the 12th, and spent the rest of the day formatting the book for [...]

Music for Writers

By Tanner ⋅ July 9, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment

Several months ago I had the enjoyable – and enlightening – experience of reading through some 20+ excerpts at the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest (ABNA). It was very interesting to see firsthand the vast difference in raw talent among aspiring writers. Some of these people make you wonder why they’re not published already while others [...]