Latest posts from Chip MacGregor
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Where does depth in fiction come from?
Someone wrote to ask, “Put simply, where does depth in fiction come from?”
Depth is found when multidimensional characters who I can relate to, who I care about, face the timeless questions of life in the midst of complex circumstances, …
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The Christy Awards make another major mistake…
So, if you haven’t heard the news, I’ve been asked to be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Christy Awards. Yes — me. Chip MacGregor, literary agent. I’m fairly certain this was a clerical error, but it’s exactly this sort …
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How long before I hear about my query?
Someone asked, “How do you feel about writers following up on a query or proposal submission? What is an acceptable time period to wait before following up?”
Let me set some ground rules. First, if I didn’t ask for …
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Thursdays with Amanda: 5 Questions to Ask a Web Designer
Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to …
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What's the best method to query an agent?
Someone wrote and wanted to know, “What advice do you have for authors regarding querying? What is the best method (e-mail, snail mail)? Is there a particular format the query should follow?”
The BEST method is to get face-to-face, of …
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Do I need to be done with an experience to write about it?
Someone wrote to note, “My critique partner told me I need to put aside my nonfiction manuscript, since he doesn’t think I’m really healed from the incident I’m writing about. Is that good advice?”
Hmmm… Okay, let me think about …
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What do you look for in historical fiction?
Someone wrote to ask, “Should an author who writes historical fiction stick only to fiction? Since so much historical research has to be conducted, how do you feel about authors using their novel research to also pen nonfiction?”
I think …
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When does an author need an agent?
Someone sent this to me: “To get a book published, do I need an agent or do any publishers still take authors without agents? If I feel like I need an agent, don’t I need to have a publishing record …
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How can I improve my dialogue? (A guest post)
Recently, I received a call from my publisher. “You’re saving us a lot of money,” he said.
My response was instinctive. “Add it to my next royalty check.”
“I’m serious, man. We hired a scriptwriter to convert your novel to …
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A Guest Post by Elizabeth Musser
Elizabeth Musser, an Atlanta native and the bestselling author of The Swan House, is a novelist who writes what she calls ‘entertainment with a soul.’ Her latest novel, Two Destinies, from The Secrets of the Cross trilogy, was recently nominated … -
All Bad Things Must Come to an End…
Now that I’ve hit the speed limit (55), eaten my cake, and generally had a riotous time with friends celebrating my birthday, it’s time we wrap up our annual Bad Poetry Contest and get down to the very difficult business …
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You must hurry if you want to be Bad!
Our 7th Annual Bad Poetry Contest ends tomorrow, on my birthday. The winner will be chosen by an experienced panel of judges (probably me and my best friend Mike, after consuming a couple birthday margaritas, just to make sure our …
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The Badness Continues… Bad Poetry Continues at the Blog
Yes, it’s Bad Poetry week, here at the blog, where we take my birthday week and enjoy sharing with one another the worst poems we can create. If you’re a sensitive, deep, and misunderstood soul, then we WANT your crappy …
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Come join our 7th Annual Bad Poetry Contest
Okay, the time has come… My birthday is coming up soon, and that means it’s time for our Annual Bad Poetry Contest! Yes, try not to wet your pants in excitement as you think about coming up with some deep …
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What if I'm not happy with my agent?
Someone wrote to say, “I’ve been thinking of changing agents. I’m not convinced my current agent is a good match for me. What wisdom would you have for me?”
I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve occasionally had …
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Why are you speaking at a writers' conference?
I mentioned the other day that I’m going to be speaking at the Dallas Writers’ University on Saturday, May 4 — and someone wrote to ask, “Why are you doing a writers’ conference?”
The fact is, I rarely do many …
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What's the role of an agent in today's changing publishing world?
Someone sent me this question: “What role do agents have in today’s changing market? And I know you do a lot of work in the religious publishing scene — do agents work in that area as well?”
Yes, I do …
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What are the first steps in writing a book?
Someone asked, “If someone feels a passion to write a book, what would you say should be the first steps (realizing most people want to fast-forward to the ‘contract’ stage)?”
Sometimes it seems as though everyone is writing a book. …
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Before you post your book online…
A guest post from Holly Lorincz, assistant to Chip MacGregor
Recently, I was forced given the opportunity to learn to master the art of uploading ebooks onto Smashwords and Amazon for this persistent Scottish agent I know. After extracting multiple …
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Sandra on The Power of Personal Meetings
THE POWER OF A PERSONAL MEETINGI haven’t traveled much in the last six months, but I’ve just returned from a three-day conference. Though I fully registered for it, I only attended two conference events, but my time there was …
