Blog entries

Publishing Glossary

Morgana Gallaway — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:44:24 +0100

Language is power, and to that end we at The Editorial Department have come up with a glossary of commonly-used terms and abbreviations in the book publishing industry. This is a quick, handy guide (in no particular order) to many of the terms that writers will come across during all stages...

“Get to Work:” A Yoga-Teaching Novelist Stretches to Become Publisher and Marketer

Beth Jusino — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:57:56 +0100

“If you have a book you believe in, get to work,” says novelist Mary E. Kingsley. She would know. Mary’s debut novel, Angel, was released last November, with Mary acting as both author and publisher.

Set in an Appalachian town in the early 1970s, Angel is the story of a...

Finding Inner Strength: Debut Romantic Suspense Novelist Introduces an Amputee Heroine

Beth Jusino — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0100

When Joya Fields was a senior at the University of Maryland, she interned for Easter Seals and met many people with disabilities. It was an eye-opening experience that the book-loving English major drew on years later for her first novel, Beneath the Surface, which released t...

Chronicling Self-Destruction: A Debut Novelist Captures the Tumultuous Life of a Heroin Addict

Beth Jusino — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:14:56 +0100

Let’s start with the answer that everyone wants from Marni Mann: no, she’s not a heroin addict, and she’s never been a heroin addict. But she’s flattered when readers of her debut novel, Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales, ask to see the scars on her arms (there are...

“A Vampire Novel With Actual Bite” – A Video Game Developer Gets Rave Reviews for “More ...

Beth Jusino — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:04:50 +0100

To call Andy Gavin a “serial creator who doesn’t sleep much” is a bit of an understatement. He co-founded the video game development company Naughty Dog when he was just fifteen, and went on to oversee the creation of more than a dozen vi...

Happy Holidays from TED!

Ross Browne — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:02:36 +0100

With the holidays nearly here and a brand news website and blog for TED in development and ready to launch early next year, we're going on hiatus for a spell. We do want to wish all our readers, clients, and staff a very happy holiday season and raise a glass to happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.

...

The Best Books on Writing Ever! (Picks from TED's Staff)

Andrea Every — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:52:23 +0100

Sure, there are lots of great books on writing out there. But for those who don't have time to read them all (and who does, really?) we've put together some information about a handful of our very favorite books on writing craft and process here at The Editorial Department and what's most useful, inform...

Lee Child, Jack Reacher, and a Good Lesson in Handling Exposition in Mystery/Suspense

Ross Browne — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:07:25 +0100

In an earlier post for mystery writers, I talked a little bit about the value of resisting the urge to lecture your readers on what you might have learned in the course of researching your story or what you might know from your own in-the-trenches experiences. The premise behind this advice is that readers--fans of mystery/suspen...

Junk Code: The Importance of Quality E-book Conversions

Morgana Gallaway — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:42:49 +0100

Is proofreading really necesary? After all, it&rquo;s the age of the Internet. Surely an author doesn’t need to spend time -- and money – nailing down every last detail. And there are so many free converting programs for e-books. Why not just plug in tha...

Nonfiction Genre and Category Guide

Ross Browne — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0100

By Ross Browne

Unlike the loosely defined and often-overlapping genre classifications fiction writers struggle with in categorizing their novels, most works of nonfiction will fall into one concretely identifiable category thanks to topic and subject matter. Correct classification is important because there is a staggering amount of nonfiction published each year and in many cases a high degree of specializatio...

Declarations of Independence: self-publishing services and how The Editorial Department can help

Morgana Gallaway — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:49:08 +0100

The buzz is growing, and just about every author (and potential author) has heard the question from friends, relatives, or strangers: “Why don’t you self-publish?” There might be different answers and reactions to this query, but one thing is certain: there is no more “normal” in the publishing industry. Auth...

Deadly Straits: A New Novel Considers Terrorism on the Sea

Beth Jusino — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

R.E. (Bob) McDermott was in Singapore when the Twin Towers fell. The increased airport security after that was a constant reminder of the new threats we faced. But Bob was thinking about another area of vulnerabili...

Agent Spotlight: Ten Agencies Representing Christian Fiction and Nonfiction

Andrea Every — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:51:29 +0100

We're always on the lookout for agents and agencies whose specialties might be of interest to our clients, and this month we're focusing on agents who handle books for the Christian marketplace.

1. Bruce Barbour of Literary Management Group
literarymanagementgroup.com
Specializes in the area of Christian publishing from an Evangelical perspective.

2. D.C. Jacobson & Associates
dcjacobson.com
An innovative author management company that provides compre...

“She. Never. Gives. Up.” Lessons Learned from Bestseller Kathryn Stockett

Beth Jusino — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:43:36 +0100

Every year or so, a debut novel from an unknown writer crashes onto the publishing scene. Buoyed by word-of-mouth recommendations among friends, passionate booksellers, and good timing, these titles give hope to aspiring authors everywhere. They help us ...

Writing Mysteries: Guides and Tips for Writers - Part I

Ross Browne — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:49:07 +0100

For its enduring popularity as a genre, mystery is a surprisingly tough genre to break into for new writers, and in some respects one of the hardest genres to write. This is in part due to the procedural know-how a writer must have to write convincingly about investigating crime. But it’s also because of how ...

Moving Day is Coming!

Ross Browne — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Please pardon our dust while our blog is on temporary hiatus as we prepare for our move, which is set for August 7, 2011. Our address from then will be:

The Editorial Department

7650 E. Broadway, Suite 308

Tucson, AZ 85710

(520) 546-9992

Thank you for your p...

"First to Endure:" A Prominent DC Attorney Releases His Debut Thriller

Beth Jusino — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:41:47 +0100

Sleepless Nights (The Drew Smith Series)">Norwood Holland like...

New in Print: Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Andrea Every — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:00:00 +0100

A Writer Needs a Reader: A Novelist Takes Publication Into His Own Hands

Beth Jusino — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:57:44 +0100

The first Amazon.com reviewer of G.S. Johnston’s novel Consumption described it as “intense,” and called one of the primary characters “Hannibal Lecter in pink angora.”

Greg Johnston was thrilled. “The description was pretty much spot on,” says the ...

32 Literary Agents Currently Seeking Mysteries

Ross Browne — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:53:07 +0100

It's been a busy week on our blog thanks to Mystery Writers Appreciation Month, and so today we're taking a time-out from contemplating mystery craft to pass along some information about agents and agencies who as of this June 2011 posting are actively looking for mysteries.

Please pay close attention to submis...