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      Chip MacGregor

      When he was in first grade, Chip hurried home one day and announced to his mother, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a book guy!” He clearly could see the future —from high school literary magazine editor to writing bestselling books, from speaking at writing and publishing conferences to representing renowned writers, Chip MacGregor is a book guy.

      Latest posts from Chip MacGregor


      • May 3, 2010

        NEWSDAY TUESDAY …

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        Winter 2010 headshot No dance photos to dazzle you with this week. Unless someone from the
        Oklahoma Writer's Conference this past weekend has pictures
        of a few of us two-stepping it up at The Rodeo on Saturday night — a real live cowboy …

      • May 2, 2010

        What a novelist needs to know about marketing

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        Jay asked, "In your view, what are the essential things a novelist has to understand about marketing?" 

        I talk about marketing a lot, Jay, so let me see if I can simplify it…

        1. YOU

        Author, YOU are responsible for …

      • April 30, 2010

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        Dennis Hillman, Publisher at Kregel, offered an excellent response to my post about "what is reasonable in a book contract" a couple days ago. If you're interested in a publisher's perspective, go to the comments section and read his thoughtful …

      • April 28, 2010

        Amanda (Chip's assistant) steps in…

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        Let's talk a bit about what I call The Christian Connection.

        I've seen it one too many times: Some Christian writer with big-time aspirations discovers that Chip, one of the top agents in the business, is also a Christian. Ba-da-boom, …

      • April 22, 2010

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        Ack. I forgot to mention that Gina Holmes, an author I represent and whose first novel, CROSSING OCEANS, is just releasing, also made the list of 101 Best Websites for Writers. Gina is the founder of Novel Journey, a GREAT …

      • April 22, 2010

        Agent Questions (and cool news!)

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        Darlene asked an agent question: "I've been working with an agent I was introduced to at a conference, but I'm not sure she knows what she's doing…nor do I know what she should be doing for me. It seems like …

      • April 20, 2010

        NEWSDAY TUESDAY

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        P4110239SOME FUN NEWS

        P4110252


        My son (aka Abe Lincoln) and his 3-4-5 grade classmates wowed a crowd of 300+ guests last week with their orations and period dances during the performance of a Civil War Peace Cotillion. 


        P4110247

        P4110266

        Until the day of  …

      • February 21, 2009

        A Quick Q-and-A

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        I'm WAY behind in answering questions, so I thought I'd try to do some quick questions today (and limit my normally loooooooong answers). We'll see how it goes…

        1. Heidi said, "I finished my first novel, don't have a contract or …

      • February 14, 2009

        More Wisdom From Sandra Bishop

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        Since Chip is trying to keep his tan from fading and bleaching his hair to make us all think he's gone blond, it's probably time for me to offer a few additional thoughts.

        David wrote to say, "At a conference …

      • February 8, 2009

        Sandra Shares a Word

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        Hey, now that Chip's off sunning himself in Maui, I figure it's a good time to jump in and answer a few questions. I'm Sandra Bishop, the other agent at MacGregor Literary. 

        Here's one from Angel: "It seems like
        …

      • January 28, 2009

        Talking Agent Trash

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        Wow. My last post seems to have upset some people.

        I had eleven authors write and ask a form of this: "You mean when the agent said to me, 'We like this, but we want you to talk with our …

      • January 26, 2009

        New Talk About Agents

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        Recently I've had a number of questions come to me about literary agents…

        Diane wrote to ask, "Where can an author find out about good and bad agents?"

        I can suggest an author do several things, Diane. Check out …

      • January 19, 2009

        Catching Up On Questions

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        Okay, I'm up and around and not taking pain pills today, so let me try and catch up on a handful of publishing questions…

        Carol wrote and said, "You've said quite a bit about platforms lately, but can you tell …

      • January 16, 2009

        A Bit Detained… (Updated)

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        Sorry for the delay in posting, but I was in a bad car accident. I was taking a field trip to visit some publishers with a bunch of graduating college seniors, we slid on a snowy road and had a …

      • January 11, 2009

        Building a Platform

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        I've had a bunch of questions on "platforms" recently, so let me try and tackle them…

        Richard wrote to ask, "What is an author platform? How would you describe it?"

        An author platform is simply who you are and what …

      • January 5, 2009

        And still MORE fiction questions…

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        Continuing our discussion about fiction in today's marketplace…

        Rick wrote to say, "I recently read a nonfiction author with excellent writing skills… but then I read her fiction, and found it atrocious. How rare is the ability to write both fiction …

      • January 3, 2009

        More Fiction Questions

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        Happy New Year! I hope you had a fun-filled celebration, got home safely, and this morning you're probably asking the same question I am: What in the world is ABC thinking by having Dick Clark on the air? Look, I …

      • December 25, 2008

        Merry Christmas to All

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        Merry Christmas, everyone. I'm one of those who really does believe in Christmas. I believe in the whole thing. I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. I believe the birth of the world's savior was foretold by prophets …

      • December 23, 2008

        Booksignings and Websites

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        I've had several people write in lately with words to the effect of, "Here's what I most want to know about publishing…"

        Tammy wrote and said, "The one thing I would most like to know is how can I make …