Announcement for 2015!

15 January, 201516 January, 2015Leave a comment

Today, on this 15th day of the first month of 2015, I have a few announcements to make that I’m rather excited about.

Announcement #1

I’m taking a sabbatical of sorts from editing until summer 2015.

Part of this is so that I can focus on querying my own novel, which I finished in 2014.

Another part of it is so that I can declutter and minimize our things, since we’d like to downsize to a smaller house this summer.

I’ll still be editing query letters and synopses, but I won’t be taking on additional clients for manuscript critiques, substantial editing, or copyediting until June or July. If you’d like to book me for this summer or fall, please contact me!

Announcement #2

To make sure nobody goes without solid editing services, I’ve assembled a team of talented freelance editors.

Introducing MS Edits:

MS Edits (or Ms Edits) is a team of myself, an associate editor, Elizabeth Buege, and two assistant editors, Megan Ruesink and Kaleigh Walter. Elizabeth, Megan, and Kaleigh graduated from the same English program I did, and have completed the necessary courses in literature, writing, editing, and grammar to make me very confident in their work.

What’s also exciting is that we each have different specialities, so you’re bound to find a good match for your manuscript’s needs.

Find out the services we offer, read our bios (which includes our favorite books, movies, and TV shows), see which fiction genres or nonfiction topics we specialize in, or search our index of all genres and topics A-Z.

Note that the MS Edits website is a directory, not a company website. Each editor is an independent contractor, and you will contact her individually for a quote.

I’m so excited to introduce these ladies to you all, and I’m excited to see what this new year will begin!

Announcement #3

To celebrate announcements #1 and #2, I’m doing a special on query letter edits:

Through the month of January, query letter edits are only $15! Send your query letter to querylara (at) icloud.com to receive information regarding payment. (You’ll need a PayPal account.)

8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers

13 January, 201526 June, 2015Leave a comment

Literary agent Carly Watters has practical advice for querying authors. Follow or bookmark her blog—she’s a great resource!

Carly Watters, Literary Agent

There is a bounty of query letter writing advice on the web. I’ve written about it before too: The Biggest Query Letter Mistake, and How To Format Your Query.

However, here are some tips you might not have heard yet that will set your querying strategy apart from the rest.

Querying in 2015? Read 8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers:

1. There are no second chances. Send a query letter with an agent’s name misspelled and resend 5 minutes later? You might already be written off. We get so many queries that we’re always looking for reasons to say no (even though we’re looking for gems!). Sometimes there are easy no’s.

2. If you say you’ve been published we assume that means traditional. And if you don’t share the publisher, year, and maybe some sales information we’ll assume you’re pulling our leg.

3. Telling agents you’ve self published…

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15 New Books I Want to Read in 2015, Part One

9 January, 20159 January, 2015Leave a comment

These are fifteen books coming out the first half of 2015 that I’d love to read! It’s a weird mix of adult literary and YA of all sorts of genres. Later I’ll post my top 15 of the second half of 2015, but I’m waiting on some cover reveals, first 🙂

Quotes either come from the Goodreads summary of the book or the recommendation from The Millions’ Most Anticipated: The Great 2015 Book Preview

Debut Authors

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall, 1/13/15

“Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller, in the vein of a YA Da Vinci Code.”

Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm, 1/22/15

“A major debut novel of psychological suspense about a daring art heist, a cat-and-mouse waiting game, and a small-town girl’s mesmerizing transformation.”

The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman, 2/10/15

“In the aftermath of a devastating plague, a fearless young heroine embarks on a dangerous and surprising journey to save her world in this brilliantly inventive dystopian thriller, told in bold and fierce language, from a remarkable literary talent.”

Mosquitoland by David Arnold, 3/3/15

“Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, “Mosquitoland” is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.”

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, 4/28/15

“Maria Dahvana Headley is a firecracker: she’s whip smart with a heart, and she writes like a dream.” —Neil Gaiman

The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman, 5/12/15

“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets We Were Liars in this thought-provoking and brilliantly written debut that is part love story, part mystery, part high-stakes drama.”

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, 5/19/15

“Nimona is an impulsive young shape-shifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.”

Fiction

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, 3/3/15

“The Buried Giant begins as a couple set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen in years. Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel in nearly a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge, and war.”

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison, 4/21/15

“Spare and unsparing, God Help the Child is a searing tale about the way childhood trauma shapes and misshapes the life of the adult.”

The Trouble with Destiny by Lauren Morrill, TBD

“Pitch Perfect meets A Midsummer Night’s Dream on a cruise ship”

Nonfiction

The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Lexicon of Life Hacks for the Modern Lady Geek by Sam Maggs, 5/12/15

“The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy is the ultimate handbook for ladies living the nerdy life, a fun and feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom.”

Short Stories

Hall of Small Mammals: Stories by Thomas Pierce, 1/8/15

“[The stories] take place at the confluence of the commonplace and the cosmic, the intimate and the infinite.”

Lucky Alan: And Other Stories by Jonathan Lethem, 2/24/15

“From forgotten comic book characters stuck on a desert island to a father having his midlife crisis at SeaWorld, the nine stories in this collection explore everything from the quotidian to the absurd, all with Lethem’s signature humor, nuance, and pathos.”

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman, 2/3/15

“[It] should be no surprise that [Gaiman’s] third short story collection defies genre categorization, delving into fairy tales, horror, fantasy, poetry, and science fiction.”

Voices in the Night: Stories by Steven Millhauser, 4/15/15

“Voices in the Night collects 16 stories — ‘culled from religion and fables. . . Heightened by magic, the divine, and the uncanny, shot through with sly humor’ – that promise to once again unsettle us with their strangeness and stun us with their beauty.”

What new books are you looking forward to in 2015?

[free printable!] SMART Goals & Don’t Break the Chain

5 January, 20155 January, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve updated the SMART goals and Don’t Break the Chain calendar with a printable calendar for 2015! Make and keep your resolutions with this free download.

Lara Willard

UPDATE: Links have been updated with a full 2015 calendar!

I don’t really do New Years resolutions in January. Sometimes I set goals for myself, but April is generally my goal-setting month because it’s the month in which I was born. Doesn’t hurt that it starts with April Fool’s Day, so if I make a completely unreasonable goal, I suppose I could change my mind on April 2nd.

Back in January I decided 2014 was THE year for me to once and for all finish the manuscript I’ve been working on. The past few months I’ve been reading up on productivity, attending time-management and goal-setting workshops for artists, and setting short term and long term goals.

There’s a difference between a goal, though, and a SMART goal.

Making SMART Goals

S-Specific

Your goal needs to be specific. “Be a better person” is a good ideal, but not a…

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