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I was on the #AmWriting Podcast
You. Guys. I was on a podcast. Not just any podcast, but a podcast I’ve been listening to since I first decided I wanted to take this whole “writing thing” seriously. The #AmWriting Podcast with KJ Dell’Antonia, Jessica Lahey, and Sarina Bowen. The hosts are successful writers in their own right in different genres of…
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COVER REVEAL! HER DYING DAY!
Scroll down for a first look at the cover for Her Dying Day! Aspiring filmmaker June Masterson has high hopes for her first documentary, the true story of the disappearance of famed mystery author Greer Larkin. June learned about the vanishing at age fourteen, locked down on her family’s isolated commune. Now, the deeper she…
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Copy Edit Season
One year ago this week, I began writing Her Dying Day. I’d flown to Bangor, Maine to participate in a writer’s retreat. I’d never done anything like that before. I was nervous. As a mystery writer and true crime aficionado, part of my brain was telling me that trekking out into the woods where I…
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Back to School After a Pandemic
I received the back-to-school supply list email this week. My youngest child was quietly resigned at this first sign of the end of summer. My oldest child told me to delete the email. I was sorely tempted. It’s been since March 2020 since my kids have been inside a school building. They’re returning to school…
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Writing the Book is Only Half the Job
This week, at the end of a marathon writing sprint lasting 3 days and producing over 9000 words (but the rough draft of Book 3 is DONE!), I was given some new, fun stuff to do by my publisher. I’m not talking about simple line edits. The first fun thing was an author questionnaire. It…
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I Have a Book Deal!
I started querying this book almost exactly 1 year ago in June 2020. I got my agent in February 2021 and now on June 15, 2021 I have a deal with an honest-to-God publisher. Crooked Lane is a smaller publisher, but it specializes in mysteries, which is exactly the kind of publisher I want. And,…
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The First Rule of Book Submission is You Don’t Talk about Book Submission
I won’t be able to talk much about my book situation right now. No matter where I actually am in the process of getting a deal, my book is still “Under Submission” to editors until a contract is signed and Publisher’s Weekly has made the announcement of the deal. Submissions themselves can take anywhere from…
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Under Submission
That’s a weird term, “Under Submission.” Under = In an existent state of. Submission = Consideration or Judgement. There’s a nebulous quality to that phrase that can’t quit convey how emotionally fraught it is to be “Under Submission.” To be “Under Submission” means your agent wrote a pitch (essentially a much better written query) and…
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Agented!
Ladies, Gentlemen, and Children of All Ages, I had The Call with a real, live agent If you’ve ever wanted to publish or have a loved one who is an author with aspirations you know how important The Call is. The Call, spoken with a hushed reverence, is the moment an agent offers to represent…
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What the Hell January?
I intended to write this post two weeks ago, but January has been A LOT. Wasn’t January 2021 supposed to be better? Weren’t we supposed to get a fresh start? Spoilers: We didn’t. I’m can’t even get as far into the attack in the Capitol as I’d like. It was scary. It was horrible. It…
Mindy Carlson
author of Her Dying Day
Mindy Carlson 