Welcome New Readers!

With special thanks to the 203 of you who’ve jumped through the hoops to “follow”—and everybody who has left comments. I love you guys! Every new follower and comment helps me keep on keeping on in this ridiculously brutal business.

Also many thanks to Jane Friedman’s Writer’s Digest Blog, Adventures in Children’s Publishing, Publitariat, Sierra Godfrey, and so many others who have posted and tweeted links to this blog. Each one of those mentions brightens my week.

A slow, once-a-week blog takes longer to gather followers, but it has allowed me to work on my other writing, which includes a new novel I’ve just finished that I’m really excited about called THE GATSBY GAME.

Like most of my novels, it’s pretty literary—but also fast-paced and comic—so I have to find a way to camouflage it as something else. I’m trying women’s fiction, although it’s also a mystery. If there were a genre for “literary chick lit” that’s where I’d fit. Think Muriel Spark or Dorothy Parker.

Don’t do this. If you can write pure genre fiction that fits within a prescribed structure, or anything YA, or at least resist putting humor in anything with a literary theme (or be a Brit) you have about 1000 times better chance of selling your work than I do.

I’ve already had a partial requested and rejected by Nathan Bransford (in the space of a few hours) so I guess I’m officially on the query road once again. Bloodied but unbowed.

Tomorrow you’ll get to read the promised post from YA writer Janice Hardy on how to conduct a blog tour. Something we all need to learn. A must-read!

Two more chances to study with Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde, who wrote PAY IT FORWARD (and 14 other fantastic novels, one of which was nominated for a British Book Award) has been offering workshops this summer for a small, select group of writers. The next two still have a few places available.

On August 14^th and 15^th, she will hold a two-day workshop devoted to perfecting your query and pitch technique. You’ll learn the art of the verbal pitch and get at least an hour and a half devoted to your own query and synopsis.

On August 28^th and 29^th, she’s offering a workshop for beginning and intermediate writers who want to do some intensive work on all aspects of fiction writing. All proceeds from this workshop go to the environmental protection group, Landwatch.

If you’re going to be anywhere near the Central Coast of California this month (blissfully cool at this time of year) these workshops offer an incredible opportunity to study one-on-one with a great American author. (And that looks great in your query letter.)

More info at Catherine’s blog on her website www.catherineryanhyde.com. You can send her an email through her contact page  .