How I got published, part 4 – The Waiting Game

How I got published, part 4 – The Waiting Game

Posted inWorks by Eric, Writing
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…

How I got published, part 3 – The Query

Posted inWriting
Yesterday I talked about the process by which Jim and I began writing A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. Week in and week out we were either in front of the TV watching Hitchcock's work or, more often than not, in front of our keyboards writing, revising, and writing some more. It was midway through the year when we knew we had something publishable on our hands. By this time we has also developed an inertia that wasn't going to break down, so we pulled the series offline and continued working on the same schedule…
A Year of Hitchcock

How I got published, part 2 – Ideas and Execution

Posted inWriting
So as I mentioned in the first part of this series, ideas are, in the grand scheme of things, relatively worthless. In some ways they are the least significant piece of the puzzle. After all, creative people – and I assume that if you’re reading this you’re probably a creative person – usually have far more ideas than they know what to do with. Had I 48 hours to each day and no need to sleep I still wouldn’t have time to do and create all I’d like to do and create. No doubt that applies to many of you.…
How I got published, part 1 – Introduction

How I got published, part 1 – Introduction

Posted inAlfred Hitchcock, Works by Eric, Writing
Chances are, if you like to write you’d also like to be read. While you can throw things onto the Internet and be read instantly, it’s not quite the same thing as a publisher saying, “I like your work. I’d like to invest our time and money into it. I’d like to publish your book.” Because let’s be honest with ourselves: Blogging is nice, self-publishing is interesting, but the majority of aspiring writers know being picked up by a legitimate publisher is key to making a career of it. I was fortunate enough to get exactly that response to A…

More excellent blogs and resources

Posted inWriting
In a previous post I mentioned a few blogs and resources you should consider following if you're interested not just in the craft of writing, but getting paid for it. 'Cause doing something you love is nice, but getting paid to do so is even nicer. Well, here are a few more. The Swivet is a mixed bag of odds and ends, but it always returns to writing. It first caught my attention with an excellent piece about self promotion that all aspiring writers ought to read, ESPECIALLY if you're about to be or have just been published. It's far…