Chip MacGregor


Latest posts from Chip MacGregor


  • October 9, 2012

    Does an author need to have a big ego?

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    I’ve often talked at writing conferences about the motivation we have as writers — some people have a story they need to tell, others have advice they want to share, and still others simply want to be a star and

  • October 5, 2012

    Is there a career path for an editor?

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    An author wrote and asked, “Is there some sort of career path to become an editor?”

    Of course there is a career path for most editors. You normally start as an Editorial Assistant, spending one to three years learning the

  • October 3, 2012

    How can I make a living at writing?

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    When you look at writers who are making a living at their writing, you find they come in two basic types:

    TYPE 1 is the writer who writes all over the map. There are plenty of examples of this in

  • October 2, 2012

    Why does an agent accept or reject an author?

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    A prospective author wrote me a note and asked, “What is the main reason you choose to accept or reject an author?”

    An interesting question. The “rejection” part is easy: Most of the people whose projects I reject are NOT

  • September 27, 2012

    What do I need to know about writing my memoir?

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    Someone wrote to ask, “So what do we need to keep in mind when creating memoir?”

    Fist, keep in mind there’s a difference between “memoir” and “autobiography.” An autobiography is a straight retelling of one’s life — what happened, what

  • September 25, 2012

    Should I write my friend's memoir?

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    After yesterday’s post, I had someone write and say, “I’ve been approached a couple times to collaborate on a book, but I’m not sure I want to go that route with my writing career. Any advice for me?”

    1. Collaborating

  • September 24, 2012

    Should I write my cool personal story?

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    I frequently get proposals telling me about someone’s cool personal story. Right now, I’m looking at a New York cop who busted several organized crime figures, a guy who spent his life in the bush, the child of an on-the-road

  • September 21, 2012

    What should I ask an agent?

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    I’ve had several people write to say, “I don’t know what to ask an agent when I meet one. What should I say?”

    I’ve answered this question a few times on this blog, so let me replay some thoughts…

  • September 18, 2012

    How can I improve my writing?

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    Someone wrote and asked, “What is the one thing I can do that would most help me grow as a writer?”

    May I offer more than one thing?

    1. Write a lot. Most writers are really wannabes — they talk

  • September 17, 2012

    Does a writer need a critique group?

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    Someone wrote and asked, “As a beginning writer, is it really important I participate in a critique group?”

    I highly recommend newer writers join a critique group. Often times at writing conferences I’ll have someone come up to me clutching …

  • September 12, 2012

    Seven Leftover 9/11 Notes…

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    Back to the topics of writing and publishing tomorrow, but today I was to share a handful of interesting things about 9/11 I didn’t put in yesterday’s post (and you can feel free to add your own images in the …

  • September 11, 2012

    Remembering 9/11

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    On September 11th, 2001, I was flying along at 36,000 feet, in a United jet heading from Denver to Chicago, then on to New York. I was working as a literary agent for Alive Communications in Colorado at the time, …

  • September 10, 2012

    How do I get the most out of my critique group?

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    Someone wrote to ask, “How does a critique group work in the real world? What should one of our meetings look like?”

    I love this question, since writers are often encouraged to start a group, but don’t have specifics on

  • September 5, 2012

    How can I improve my writing?

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    Years ago, in another life, I made my living doing dopey magic tricks and telling jokes. (Really.) I played some nice places (the Comedy & Magic Club of Hermosa Beach was one), and I played some awful places (insert the …

  • September 4, 2012

    Should an author blog?

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    I keep getting one question over and over again from authors — “Should I blog?” Technorati tells us they are already following more than 20 million blogs, so it ought to be clear that adding one more generic blog to

  • August 29, 2012

    What else will help my book sell?

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    A few more thoughts that came out of my conversation with some marketing people at a recent conference…

    4. Another step in selling your book, and one that relies almost completely on the author, is that there needs to be

  • August 28, 2012

    What has to happen to make my book sell?

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    I thought it would be interesting to tell you all about a conversation I had with some marketing types while at a conference recently. I was particularly interested in what they perceived as being the components of a healthy novel …