Last week, I met with my literary agent, in part to discuss my most recent manuscript revision. In my mind, this pass had the most dramatic changes and as a whole, came closest to achieving my thematic goals for the book. I thought it might be ready to go out on submission to publishers, and […]

Before I was a freelancer, I worked in the editorial department of Simon & Schuster’s Children’s Publishing Division, for two imprints, Margaret K. McElderry Books and Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Down the hall, a woman named Alexandra Penfold worked for Paula Wiseman Books in a similar capacity (and also shared delicious cakes she made). […]

Figuring out what to do next with your novel—when to do something “next”—is perhaps even tougher than getting the whole thing down on paper. There have been more than a few times when I’ve been tempted to just get my manuscript out of my hands already. For example:   Before it was finished. Before I’d […]