Works by Eric

Posts showcasing new books, articles, features, etc. by Eric

Sometimes they say yes (aka Eric “sells” a story)

It’s funny that I just recently blogged about rejection letters, because over the weekend I got the opposite of a rejection when Boston Literary Magazine accepted a story I wrote called “Storms”. It’s a short short delving into the mind of a soldier about to fight the Battle of the Somme. I look forward to being able to link to it so you folks can read it. You’d think after my long gap from blogging I’d have more to say, but no. No, I don’t. It’s been a busy, hectic time, but none of it worth talking about. I am now trying to fix my laptop, because without it my writing grinds to a halt. So there is that. Tomorrow I will post more preview…
Read more

How I got published, part 6 – all that other stuff

There is a lot of stuff they don’t tell you about getting a book published. You hear about the process of writing, and crafting cover letters, and how to approach agents and publishers, and on and on and on, but what about all the stuff the happens after you secure a deal? No one tells you about that. By this point I had done a pretty good job of educating myself on The Process. Thanks to loads of reading — books, articles, and blogs — I knew what to expect at almost every step of the way. But I had no idea what would come after we had gotten a contract. Well, here’s what happens: You still have a whole helluva lot of work to…
Read more

How I got published, part 5 – Revising and rewriting

A Year of Hitchcock

(If you’re joining me in progress, this is the 5th part in a series devoted to outlining how my co-author and I managed to get our book, A Year of Hitchcock, published.) So here’s the part where the joy of getting a contract is smothered in the giant pile of WORK no one tells you about when you first start writing. Because make no mistake, writing is not what you think it is when you daydream about a career as an author. It’s WORK. Never forget that. As noted in my last post, it took a full year from the moment we first made contact with a publisher interested in our work to actually getting a contract. And getting that contract meant agreeing to a…
Read more

How I got published, part 4 – The Waiting Game

Welcome to part 4 of a series detailing from start to finish how A Year of Hitchcock went from a neat idea to a published book (Scarecrow Press, 2009). Every step of the way, from writing to pitching to all the work we had to do after it was sold. If you’re an aspiring writer, hopefully this will help give you some insight on the process as my co-author Jim and I experienced it. The query letter was the subject of my last blog post. If you’re not familiar with what a query letter is, go read that post. I’ve even included the text of the letter that helped us grab the eye of a few publishers. So in our first batch of six queries…
Read more