Author Heather McCorkle

Sometimes we writers get so caught up in social media and other things that we forget to make time to write. Unfortunately, I have fallen victim to that recently. As much as I love my social media (okay let's be honest, I'm a bit addicted to Twitter and Blogger), I have to pull myself from the writing time-sucking miasma just a bit and well, write. To do that I will no longer be posting the re-occurring Twitter Tuesday post. I'm so sorry, I know there are a lot of you who love it and have come to rely on it for links. But it's tremendously labor intensive and took away more of my writing time than I would like to admit. Have no fear though, my good blogger friend and author  Elizabeth Craig d oes a weekly recap of the best tweets on Twitter that puts my post to shame. If you don't follow her already you need to! And every now and then I might still let you know about a few really good tweets that I don't want you to miss. Tuesdays I'll now be alternatin...

I haven't been able to make it on Twitter nearly as much as my tweeting addiction demands so I apologize for the small selection of tweets that I have for you. But they're good ones! This first one is from agent Jill Corcoran on closing to queries and getting published: @JillCorcoran CLOSED TO QUERIES +UpPDATED: THE HOWs AND WHYs OF GETTING PUBLISHED nblo.gs/mWqHa Agetn Sara Megibow tells us that reviews sell books, and proves it by adding a few based on reviews she read: @SaraMegibow good reviews DO sell books! I added UNHEADS by @SophieFlack and AMPLIFIED by @AuthorTaraKelly to my BUY pile based on recent PW reviews. This book sounds awesome, you want to win it, trust me! @HeatherMcCorkle  Win an arc of GLOW by Kathleen Ryan: tinyurl.com/3sh787l via@cvaldezmiller Great looking sci-fi YA! #WritersRoad #writecampaign Writer's Digest brings us word of another new agent: @WritersDigest New Agent Alert: Barbara Scott...

For my Twitter Tuesday fans, sorry but I'm throwing a new re-occurring post into the mix. No worries, you'll still get your Twitter Tuesday updates, it will just be every other week now instead of every week. There were weeks I was struggling to find tweets for you and I also decided that I wanted to add in a little something for the readers among my followers. But I'd love for my writer friends to participate too. I'll put a teaser of either my novel or something I'm working on, then I'd love your comments and links within your comments to your own posts on your teasers! Here we go. This teaser is from my debut novel The Secret of Spruce Knoll:      Eyes on the road ahead of her, she crossed the bridge without slowing~and was blindsided. The second she hit the blacktop on the other side of the bridge, a figure stepped into her path. Whatever it was must have been downwind and moving very fast; otherwise, she would have noticed it. She and the figure tum...

I caught a lot of great tweets for you last week! The wonderful and frank Audry T brings us this great post about why we should plot: AudryT  Are you a pantser-by-default? Get off your ass and start plotting: terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/03… One of my favorite blogs talks about when to do research: LTWFblog Let The Words Flow When to do Research? Before the first draft, or after? wp.me/pF0gi-1Tf #amresearching #amwriting #amwriting Agent Sarah LaPolla stresses the importance of reading our manuscripts aloud: sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla by julichilliard: Writers: Read your work aloud. If you trip over too many words or poorly constructed sentences, it's time to rewrite. Agent Sarah LaPolla brings us a tip on dialogue: sarahlapolla Sarah LaPolla by julichilliard:  #writingtip If it's obvious who is speaking, you don't need dialogue tags. Narrative is much cleaner when you remove unnecessary "said." My critique sisters and I are hosting another critique sess...

Today's Twitter Tuesday is chalked full of agent advice! Diving right in, a gent Sarah LaPolla warns us about the 'ly's': @sarahlapolla  Sarah LaPolla Writers: If you want to emphasize an action or emotion by adding "truly" or "really," please curb that impulse.   Agent Sandy Lu gives us her thoughts on word count: @ sandylunyc  Why do I keep getting 180,000+ words  #queries ? Sorry, no matter how good your writing may be, that number is just too overwhelming for me.   Agent Sara Megibow drops a thought about word count as well: @ SaraMegibow  It's such a relief to be reading this 55K YA submission. Seems like all YA submissions recently have been 80K.   Jane Friedman's famous list of best tweets for writers: @ JaneFriedman  I've curated this list for 2+ years to help you find best links to writing advice: Best Tweets for Writers:  bit.ly/qlH6MT   Editor Heather Howland of Entangled Publishing reveals their wish li...

Today's post is a two parter. Tonight I'll be over at the fabulous YA Bound blog doing a live chat all about the Tour Of Secrets. That means you can ask about myself, my writing, my novels, just about anything! And there will be a swag bag with a signed copy of The Secret of Spruce Knoll given away to one chatter during the chat so don't miss it! It starts tonight at 6pm PT. You don't need an account of any kind, you can just sign in using your name, nice and easy. Click here to join in. And now for Twitter Tuesday! This first one is from Chuck Sambuchino about pitching to new agents: ChuckSambuchino  My first post as a Writer Unboxed contributor: Should You Pitch (and Sign With) a New Agent? The Pros and Cons: bit.ly/qP9Efu Don't miss agent Sara Megibow's chat on Thursday! SaraMegibow In honor of my son going back to school (finally, right?) - I'll run an #askagent here on Facebook on Thursday.... fb.me/1eNxpS5J7 Author Melissa Garrett spreads t...

Start stretching, it was a good week on Twitter! This first one is from agent Vickie Motter about query letters:  @Vickie_Motter #queries If you are going to personalize your query, add details. We both love the same books (such as?) You love my blog (fav post?) Writer Lisa Green brings us this great tweet about writer Angela Ackerman's post on blog tips:   @lisagailgreen AWESOME blogging tips! via @angelaackerman The Bookshelf Muse: Blogging Tip: 3 Fast Fixes   thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/ 2011/08/bloggi …   If you write YA and are looking for a good competition check this tweet from writer Julie Musil out:   @juliemusil Writer's Digest YA competition  bit.ly/qUQqdJ   #amwriting  #YA    Writer Monica B.W. brings us a tweet about an agent judged contest:  @Monica_BW Looky here, Pitch Contest with agent Mandy Hubbard!  we-do-write.blogspot.com/2011/ 08/pitch- … on @DorothyDreyer 's blog!   Editor Martha Miha...

Amidst the craziness of debuting I managed to snag a few great tweets for you. Here is one from my writer friend Tori Scott about Amazon entering the publishing realm: @ToriScott All Eyes on Amazon Publishing: tinyurl.com/4ykrzsj #writetip Agent Vickie Motter brings a great opportunity to our attention: @Vickie_Motter RT: Inaugural Seattle Publishing Salon for Writers: wp.me/pRGY1-pr Agent Sarah LaPolla gives us a bit of query advice: @ sarahlapolla Writers, stop sending pre-queries & "Do you rep this?" emails. They waste everyone's time. Just query. Worst that happens is it's a no. Writer Monica B.W. announces another agent-judged contest on her blog! @Monica_BW Psst, Tweeps, by the end of the month I'm having another agent-judged contest on my blog!! Details + interview coming next Monday! :D Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest gives us valuable highlights from the Willamette Writers Conference: @JaneFriedman 3 invaluable tak...

I have a lot of fun links for you today, tons of books to win and bit of great advice thrown in for good measure. This first one is a giveaway of a great book you don't want to miss: @HeatherMcCorkle   Want to win A Touch Of Frost by Jennifer Estep? Enter here:    tinyurl.com/3vn55rn   Giveaway by  @DarkFaerieTales Agent Weronika Janczuk brings us this tweet from agent Kelly Sonack about a career in publishing: @KSonnack   by WeronikaJanczuk     Great blog post by  @literaticat   on the path to a career in publishing and GREAT comments from everyone:   tinyurl.com/3nhud8n   Looking for a good adult urban fantasy novel to win? Look no further:  @HeatherMcCorkle   Love urban fantasy? Then be sure to enter to win a book by Kelly Meding:   tinyurl.com/3dpbnbv   br ought to us by  @DarkFaerieTales Fine Print Literary bring us this tweet by Delilah Dawson about an available literary ...

This week I bring you a lot of great advice from agents and editors to digest, plus a few contests. Since so many of you have been asking, this first one is the first of my big announcements (mark your calendars): @ HeatherMcCorkle Heather McCorkle The first of my big announcements (and the last one happening!): tinyurl.com/4x2rzhy A live chat on YA Bound August 30th! #WritersRoad This one is an indispensible list of great tweets for writers from Jane Friedman: @WritersDigest Writer's Digest Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 7/15/11) - I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Sunday for the wee... http://ow.ly/1dQNGP If you love writing contests then you've got to check out Writer's Digest's new contest: @WritersDigest Writer's Digest Win $1000 in our new YA writing competition: http://bit.ly/qehF57 Enter your science fiction/fantasy story in our new competition: http://bit.ly/r0mbe0 Got winning romance? Enter it in our new Romance comp...

I hope you're ready for another great week of tweets! Here we go: Writer (and awesome friend) Monica, is hosting a fantastic agent judged contest. Don't miss it:  @ Monica_BW   Monica B. W.  On the blog: Details about the Agent Pitch Contest with Kristin Miller (D4EO Literary)  monibw.blogspot.com/ 2011/07/detail… Agent Sarah LaPolla gives us her opinion on vamp books (hint, don't query her with them): @ sarahlapolla   Sarah LaPolla   Unless you are an already established author, your vamp book likely won't sell. Don't throw it out; just put it aside & query another novel. Agent Jill Corcoran breaks down publishing for us: @ JillCorcoran   Jill Corcoran  THE HOWs AND WHYs OF GETTING PUBLISHED tinyurl.com/6ajbbqu   # fb Writer's Digest brings us a great post about the writer's platform:  @ WritersDigest   Writer's Digest  The Hidden, Secret Ingredient of Platform: Relationships - Today I'm a guest over ...

I hope you're ready for another full post of tweets! Here we go. You'll want to get our your planners and take down the dates on this tweet from Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest. She lists great contests for writers of YA, crime, romance, and more! @JaneFriedman Jane Friedman 7 Free-to-Enter Writing Contests That Impact Your Career: http://ow.ly/5lm8E In an #AskYAed session, publisher Egmont USA reminds us of a harsh reality in publishing:  @EgmontUSA Egmont USA Okay - I need to get this out there. Despite the mega-deal advances reported, most advances are not very big. #AskYaed Writer Jolina Joy brings us this insightful tweet from Anne Allen about what agents are doing to prepare for the evolving publishing industry:   @Jolina_Joy Jolina Petersheim How are literary #agents preparing for the future? http://bit.ly/jvV4Fc Agent Laurie McLean is taking notice of Anne Allen's post on the future of Literary agents too:  @ agentsavant Laurie McLean A very in...

Stretch out that clicking finger because Twitter was singing with great tweets last week. There's something in here for everyone! If you're going to the Willamette conference   in Portland Oregon be sure to drop in on Jane Friedman's session: @ JaneFriedman I'll be conducting workshops & offering critiques at Willamette conference in Portland in August: http://bit.ly/iAxZAu For those who've been wondering why some agents take longer to respond in the summer, agent Ginger Clark reveals the truth: @ Ginger_Clark Authors: just an FYI, but from Memorial to Labor Day, most of publishing takes off at 1 pm on Friday. It's called Summer Hours or Fridays. Thinking about quitting your job when you get published? Think again: @ WritersDigest Why I’m Keeping My Day Job - Spend any time around writers, and you’ll hear us joking—well, half-joking—about wantin... http://ow.ly/1dkLN7 Ever wondered if your appearance matters as an author? Then check this out: @...

Every now and then last week I ducked away from editing and peeked in on Twitter to find a few good tweets for you. Sorry there aren't more but I've been crazy busy. This first one is from Writer's Digest, reminding us why a great hook in a query letter is so important: @ WritersDigest Developing the Hook in a Query Letter - Sometimes you only have seconds for your query to catch interest, and a grea... http://ow.ly/1detOF If you have questions about querying then you have to read this post by agent Vickie Motter: @ HeatherMcCorkle Agent @ VickieMotter dishes out some great #querytips on her blog: http://tinyurl.com/3flmkyc #WritersRoad #writing Going out on submission? Don't miss this new agent featured by Chuck Sambuchino of Writer's Digest: @ WritersDigest New Agent Alert: Meredith Barnes of Lowenstein Associates - Reminder: Newer agents are golden opportunities for new ... http://ow.ly/5izaI If you missed my big giveaway be sure to click on the li...

Twitter was much more lively this week, which means lots of great tweets for you! This first one is about the millionaire success of self-published author Amanda Hocking. Her story is part of what inspired me to take the plunge: @ KappaDeltaWrite   Excellent interview with @ amanda_hocking   on her journey to becoming an indie writing trailblazer.       http://bit.ly/jMq7HS Writer's Digest is celebrating hitting a momentous number of posts on their GLA blog with a giveaway! @ WritersDigest   To celebrate 1500 posts on the GLA, there's a double book giveaway. Just comment for chance to win both     http://ow.ly/5aC0Y An agent offers up a helpful query tip: @ RivetingRosie   #qu erytip :  please include your email after your sig in a query letter. Even if it appears at the top. Makes requesting a lot easier Get those query letters ready, agent Gina Panettieri announces a new agent at her agency:  @ gi...