In Episode 11 I’m joined by Chuck Sambuchino of Writers Digest and Gordon Warnock of Fuse Literary.
Chuck Sambuchino and I discuss:
- the biggest mistakes writers make when seeking agents;
- the three key principles of an author platform from his book, CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM;
- the biggest difference between unpublished and published writers;
- keys to query letters.
And Gordon Warnock and I discuss:
- why you don’t want “an” agent, you want the “right” agent;
- his hybrid literary agency, Fuse Literary;
- what an authorpreneur is;
- why the business NOT about traditional publishing vs. self publishing;
- an agent’s perspective on Amazon vs. Hachette.
On “Today in Writing”–The Man Who Invented Santa Claus. And on “Today in NOT Writing”–Mean Teachers.
About Our Guests:
CHUCK SAMBUCHINO is an editor for Writer’s Digest Books, a bestselling humor book writer, and a freelance editor. He works for Writer’s Digest Books and edits the GUIDE TO LITERARY AGENTS as well as the CHILDREN’S WRITER’S & ILLUSTRATOR’S MARKET. His Guide to Literary Agents Blog is one of the biggest blogs in publishing, and he also blogs for WriterUnboxed.com.
His first humor book, HOW TO SURVIVE A GARDEN GNOME ATTACK(gnomeattack.com), was released in Sept. 2010 and has been featured by Reader’s Digest, USA Today, the New York Times and AOL News. The film rights were recently optioned by Sony and director Robert Zemeckis.
In addition, Chuck’s also written two other writing-related titles: the third edition of FORMATTING & SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT (2009), as well asCREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM (fall 2012). He was recently named by Forbes as one of the top influencers in publishing. His latest writing guide is GET A LITERARY AGENT (Jan 2015).
Chuck is a former staffer of several newspapers and magazines—most notably Writer’s Digest. During his tenure as a newspaper reporter, he won awards from both the Kentucky Press Association and the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists. He is a produced playwright, with both original and commissioned works produced. During the past decade, more than 700 of his articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and books.
Besides that, he is a husband, sleep-deprived new father, cover band guitarist, chocolate chip cookie fiend, movie lover, retro gamer, and owner of a flabby-yet-lovable dog named Graham.
Gordon Warnock is a founding partner at Fuse Literary, serving as a literary agent and Editorial Director of Short Fuse Publishing. He brings years of experience as a senior agent, marketing director, editor for independent publishers, publishing consultant, and author coach. He frequently teaches workshops and gives keynote speeches at conferences and MFA programs nationwide. He is an honors graduate of CSUS with a B.A. in Creative and Professional Writing.
With a zest for fresh, new voices and a deep love of the classics, Gordon actively seeks out both the timely and the timeless. In that spirit, he establishes involved, long-term working relationships with talented and dedicated authors of many genres.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
