August 31, 2005

The Writing Life

My friend Beth Amos is a terrific suspense and mystery writer, but like many talented novelists, she's had her shares of bumps in the road to commercial success. Her official website is full of tips for aspiring suspense novelists. But at least as valuable is Beth's bimonthly e-mail newsletter, the Kill File, which includes excerpts from her writing, contests, writing tips, and best of all, chronicles about Beth's struggles to market her books.

After publishing three well-received books at HarperCollins, Beth has self-published her latest mystery, The Vicarious Liver. Anyone who thinks that self-publishing a novel is fun and games will quickly be disabused. You can read earlier Kill Files by signing up for the newsletter. A link will send you to "The Morgue."

In the latest Kill File newsletter, Beth links to two blogs from agents, and both are highly entertaining. They both provide an accurate glimpse at the publishing industry in 2005. Agent 007 is relatively straightforward; Miss Snark definitely has more 'tude.