Author Spotlight: Barbara Zito
DEBUT NOVEL LUCKY STIFF THROUGH LITERARY WANDERLUST
Writers come to me every day with a long list of reasons they can’t finish or publish a novel.
Oftentimes, these writers are at their wits’ end, because they’ve tried everything they can think of to remedy their predicament.
They’ve read the books, taken the classes, attended the workshops, and read every article that exists on the internet about how to write and how to get published.
Yet they still haven’t finished their manuscripts, and they still haven’t published. These writers are understandably, incredibly frustrated, or even worse, feel their writing isn’t good enough for publication.
When Barbara came to me, she was one of these writers. She’d done the work, and even had an MFA (a Master of Fine Arts), which many writers consider to be the pinnacle of a writer’s career.
The problem with an MFA is that the classes teach you how to write, but they fail to teach you how to publish.
In fact, one of the biggest complaints the agents I work with have about MFA writers is their manuscripts are cookie cutter. Most agents can sniff out an MFA manuscript from a mile away. They’re all the same, which doesn’t give them that edge to be publishable.
This was Barbara’s issue exactly.
She had a great concept, but needed to break out of the MFA mold and transform her manuscript into something agents would scramble to represent.
Barbara and I worked on revisions over the course of several months. During that time, I was in conversation with several agents about Barbara, her manuscript, and how to position her book for optimal success.
What was incredible about working with Barbara is for the first time in her writing career, the revision process was not a stress-ridden nightmare for her, but enjoyable. Barbara and I laughed together during our meetings and enjoyed each other’s company, because she finally felt she was on the right track to publication.
When Barbara finished revising, I sent her synopsis to an agent I work with frequently. Within 20 minutes of reading the synopsis, she asked me for a full manuscript.
Let that sink in.
20 minutes.
Have you waited days, weeks, even MONTHS to hear back from an agent, only to get a “no thanks, not for me”?
Imagine getting a yes in 20 minutes.
Many would-be authors spin their wheels for years trying the same old things over and over again, hoping for new results.
Worse: they piddle their money away one workshop, one class, one MFA at a time.
Real results ARE possible, but you’ve got to be willing to take the right steps. I work with authors who are coachable and eager to publish. They’re tired of spinning their wheels and are willing to put in hard work and invest in themselves in order to get where they want to go. I work with authors who take writing and publishing seriously without taking themselves too seriously.
If you’re interested in getting REAL results as Barbara Zito did, you can drop yourself right into my calendar. I’d love to chat with you about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
