Blog

NEW: Join The Five Day First Page Challenge!

The first page can mean everything. As you know from browsing in bookstores, it can be the difference for any reader–but is a HUGE difference when that reader is an agent, editor, or other publishing professional pressed for time. Enter Five Days to a Fab First Page–The Manuscript Academy’s newest mini conference. Join us for daily … Read more

First Pages Podcast with Kelly Van Sant of D4E0 Literary

This week on the First Pages Podcast, we speak with Kelly Van Sant, agent at D4EO Literary. This FREE podcast is brought to you by The Manuscript Academy, #MSWL’s educational arm. Each week, we invite an agent or editor to choose one of your first pages–and spend ten minutes commenting on those pages on the … Read more

First Page Podcast Reaction Episode

We talk with Lindsey Danis about her experience being workshopped on our podcast, the changes she’s implemented, and whether she wanted to reach through the screen and shake us for not getting it. We also answer Lindsey’s questions and talk about how much self-deprecation can work on the page (versus in real life) and how … Read more

New: The First Pages Podcast

Welcome to our very first First Pages episode! In this new series, we’ll be discussing the most interesting first pages we can get our hands on–YOURS! We’ll ask agents and editors to join us in finding the lessons in these pages that not only improve this work–but give you ideas for your own. Want to … Read more

Publishing & Publicity In Your Pajamas

This week, The Manuscript Academy Podcast talks with literary agent and publicist Dawn Michelle Hardy of Serendipity Literary to hear her take on how you, as an author, can best focus your energy when promoting your work. In addition to savvy tips we’ve never heard before, Dawn tells us about the surprising amount you can do … Read more

An Interview with Harlequin Editor Carly Silver

Pour a cup of tea and download The Manuscript Academy Podcast, “An Interview with Carly Silver.”  In this episode, Carly, assistant editor at Harlequin Books, discusses what inspires her within the romance genre. No big surprise, it’s about falling in love with a manuscript. Carly also dives into her editing process, being an editor in … Read more

How To Be a Writer During The Holidays

by Julie Kingsley Put down the eggnog, save the work in progress, and grab yourself another candy cane because it’s time for Manuscript Academy’s Holiday Pep Talk.  Download immediately to hear cofounders Julie Kingsley and Jessica Sinsheimer dive deep into being a writer during the holiday season–all the while giving you insight into navigating holiday … Read more

All Bi Myself: Why We Need to See Ourselves in Fiction

by Kat Enright, Skyhorse Publishing It took me a long while to realize that I was bisexual. Perhaps it’s where I grew up, a picture perfect example of small-time Pennsylvania. Perhaps it was the influence of conservative, Catholic parents. Perhaps it was just something that I needed time to discover. But mostly, it was because … Read more