Stephanie Baldi's Blog
November 21, 2020
A Big Thank You!
Congratulations to the five winners of my giveaway of Redemption and thank you to all the readers out there that love suspense and found Redemption and Retribution fit the bill! My last book in the Sicario Trilogy, Reckoning, will blow you away!
June 10, 2018
Agents & Editors, Oh My!
After months, maybe even years, you have finally finished your manuscript. The one that you are sure will land you on the Best Seller List. That is until you climb aboard the Query Train.
As an aspiring writer, I know the feeling all too well and here is what I learned about this crazy publishing world.
They say finishing your manuscript is like giving birth. But if you do not want an agent telling you that your baby is ugly, the first thing you need to do before you send out your manuscript is to find your Yoda.
What? That’s right, Grasshopper.
A good professional editor will teach you more than you think you know about your manuscript. Besides those pesky grammar errors, a good editor looks for story structure, theme, character arc, your writing style, and most importantly your voice.
Although frustrating at times, working, and learning from your editor is paramount to turning out a great manuscript. Do make sure to choose your editor wisely.
Now, after your manuscript has been polished, you are ready to hop aboard the Query Train. What does it cost to ride this train? Why just one perfectly written, attention-grabbing, query letter.
Agents receive hundreds of queries each week so yours needs to standout like polka dots on top of plaid. It needs to hook them from the first opening line.
Now, here is the one thing you need to learn more than any other advice I could give you. When it comes to agents, it is all subjective. Every agent is influenced by their own personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
But if you believe in your manuscript, when you receive rejections, and you will, take a few moments to mourn, then bury that agent and move on.
I love to write, and I believe if I preserver, I will land an agent one day.
Each stroke of the keyboard, every ride on that Query Train, brings me closer to my destination.
A place where all writers yearn to dwell. A place called Published!
As an aspiring writer, I know the feeling all too well and here is what I learned about this crazy publishing world.
They say finishing your manuscript is like giving birth. But if you do not want an agent telling you that your baby is ugly, the first thing you need to do before you send out your manuscript is to find your Yoda.
What? That’s right, Grasshopper.
A good professional editor will teach you more than you think you know about your manuscript. Besides those pesky grammar errors, a good editor looks for story structure, theme, character arc, your writing style, and most importantly your voice.
Although frustrating at times, working, and learning from your editor is paramount to turning out a great manuscript. Do make sure to choose your editor wisely.
Now, after your manuscript has been polished, you are ready to hop aboard the Query Train. What does it cost to ride this train? Why just one perfectly written, attention-grabbing, query letter.
Agents receive hundreds of queries each week so yours needs to standout like polka dots on top of plaid. It needs to hook them from the first opening line.
Now, here is the one thing you need to learn more than any other advice I could give you. When it comes to agents, it is all subjective. Every agent is influenced by their own personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
But if you believe in your manuscript, when you receive rejections, and you will, take a few moments to mourn, then bury that agent and move on.
I love to write, and I believe if I preserver, I will land an agent one day.
Each stroke of the keyboard, every ride on that Query Train, brings me closer to my destination.
A place where all writers yearn to dwell. A place called Published!
