Budding authors know that they can make great use of a literary agent to get their book published. So how do you get an agent? Do you just ship your 400 page masterpiece off to every agent on Madison Avenue? Apparently not. According to well-connected agent, Janet Reid, of Fine Print Literary Management, the “query letter” will get you much farther. Reid maintains that a sending a 100-word masterpiece — which is actually a well-honed distillation of your actual masterpiece — is the most effective way to approach busy agents like herself. To underscore her devotion to the well-crafted query letter, Reid has created the website “Query Shark”, an online forum that will critique YOUR query letter. Janet Reid joins the Writers Radio Resource to tell us everything we need to know about the ultimate query…

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So just how easy is it to get your self-published book into 60 independent bookstores right next to Catcher in the Rye? Is there a secret path? We asked this to a remarkable self-published author named C.B. Shiepe who told us a long tale, filled with his unique experiences, that might not be replicable by many others. He did advise to write about your passion…believe in yourself… and work very, very, hard… Though replicating Shiepe’s path is likely impossible, this is still a 10 year tale of tenacity that does offer some interesting lessons for the aspiring novelist or screenwriter…enjoy.

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If there is ever a time to “show me the money,” it is during a pitch to a TV or movie producer. Yes, you must beautifully explain your creative idea,  but it is arguably even more important to illustrate how this idea will make THIS particular producer money. Do writers have to provide a business argument showing how their script will sell? Emmy-winning producer/director, Norman C. Berns, says yes. We caught up with Berns at the 2011 Showbiz Expo, where he explained his steps for The Pitch.

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Here is a crazy paradigm: in a business starved for 600 channels worth of content, it is still a huge challenge to write for TV. Why? Because writers and concept creatives at large don’t have the foggiest idea how to pitch an executive.

Enter Mark Simon of Sell Your TV Concept Now. Mark has conceived, storyboarded and presented nearly 3000 TV concepts for many major networks. He now consults with creatives on how to get their ideas produced. In addition to providing (at least) 10 pitching commandments as a guideline, he stands steadfast by the belief that TV concepts hinge on the critical trifecta of character, relationships, and story. Seems simple…well it’s not.

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Over the course of his career, screenplay critic and producer Adam Coplan has swam with producing sharks Joel Silver and Scott Rudin. One of his primary roles was to sift through the avalanche of submitted screenplays, judging instantly which ones to pass along and which to toss in the bin. Coplan acknowledges that most movies are entirely derivative of the past — a formula — yet these movies are greenlit all the time. Coplan issues aspiring screenwriters this tall order — offer originality in a world of predictability.  On this edition of Writers Radio Resource, learn about “high concept”, where to focus storytelling energies, and creating a realistic scope for your project. And perhaps your piece will have a chance to actually escape that trash heap.

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Made just a few years apart, what was the difference between the movies Psycho and Planet 9 From Outer Space? One is considered a masterpiece and the, other, arguably, the worst horror film ever made. For aspiring screenwriters, are there rock-solid precepts of plot structure, character development and pacing that can guide us? Save us? On this edition of Writers Radio Resource, we explore guidelines for writing screenplays with genre expert and bestselling script how-to author, Neill D. Hicks.

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What? I don’t have to win the Madison Avenue lottery — equipped with a generous advance from a prestigious publishing house — to get my book published? I can fulfill my own dream instead? Find out how author William H. Johnson tackled the publishing world on his own to produce a 400+ page epic fantasy novel called The Dark Province. On this edition of The Writers Radio Resource, learn about the tradeoffs William faced between creative independence and the shelter of corporate marketing.

Realities of Self Publishing [ 35:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download