Here are some tidbits I picked up from the conference in Portland this week.
“If you have good pacing, you can write about paint drying and make it interesting. It’s all in the timing.”
~Irene Goodman, literary agent
“Here’s a cheap trick: if you want to make a point, start a new paragraph.”
~Selden Edwards, author of The Little Book
“It’s not my job to find that literary kernel and nourish it. It’s my job to find something that’s pretty much ready to publish now.”
~Lucia Macro, editor
“You can’t just get a great opening sentence and then relax.”
~Irene Goodman
“If there are three things you want to tell, leave two of them out at first.”
~Selden Edwards
“Everything’s been done – what matters is the twist, the spin you give it.”
~Irene Goodman
Next: Creating a Big Book Campaign on a Not-So-Big Budget, by Kristina McMorris