Author Heather McCorkle

We all dream of the big six figure advance and hope that one day it will be handed to us. Unfortunately the reality is that with the tumultuous state the publishing industry is in, the six figure advance has become extremely rare. Brace yourself for a much harsher reality of four or five figures. But there is good news! Smaller advances means you'll make them back for your publisher faster which is a very good thing. When you make back your advance for your publisher they are more likely to buy your next book. That also means you'll start to get royalty checks faster, which is where you're going to make your real money anyway, as long as you're prepared that is. Smaller advances mean less money for marketing as well so be ready to do a lot of your own promoting. But that is a post for another day! A good friend of mine, Lindsey Edwards gave a fantastic link on her blog to someone who researched average advances. Check it out here , but brace yourself.

If you are a young adult or middle grade writer you were probably attending the online conference WriteOnCon over the last few days. If not I'm really sorry because you missed one monumental event. Agents, big publishing house editors, authors, and hundreds of writers were in attendance. The content was easily some of the best I've come across at conferences yet. And the big kicker, it was FREE. Yep you read that right, FREE. If you did miss it have no fear, they're already planning for next year! I've been pretty absent from Twitter because WriteOnCon kept me so busy~and I was a bit sick~and I'm behind on reading everyone's blogs. I plan on catching up today I promise! But before I do here are some of the highlights from the conference tweeted by the organizers and publishing pros for those who missed it: @ElanaJ Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start a Revision by editor Kendra Levin http://nblo.gs/6Jw6i @ElanaJ In Defense of a Less Than Huge Advan...

Today is a link salad from agents about query letters, the cost of publishing, and what to ask an agent. Finishing your book and deciding you want to get it published is only the first hurdle in a long marathon. Unfortunately there isn't a nice track either. There are side roads, many that lead into nowhere. So what is an aspiring writer to do? Here is a great link from Writer's Digest on 10 things to do before you even send your query letter out to agents: http://writersdigest.com/article/Ten_Things_You_Should_Do_Before_Trying_to_Find_an_Agent With querying comes a lot of rejection so be prepared. Be sure to check out great agencies like the Waxman agency. I love what they say about rejection: http://waxmanagency.wordpress.com/ And read up on other great blogs like Chuck Sambuchino's editors blog. Here he gives advice on what to say and what not to say in a query letter: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/20+Tips+On+Query+Letters+As+Told+By+Agent+Janet+Rei...