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I Need a Hero
February 12, 2015In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I would post about building the perfect hero. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a hero is, "A person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities." In a novel, a hero can be everything from a dashing knight to a READ MORE
M&O Book Spine Poetry
February 5, 2015As an agency that has been around for a pretty long time (87 years!), it’s safe to say that we’ve had many books published. It’s also safe to say that a good number of those books continue to keep our office cozy… when we’re not tripping over new arrivals. In honor of the ubiquity of READ MORE
From the Assistant Desk: Making Motivation Happen
January 29, 2015Several of us at M&O took on fitness/athletic resolutions this January, as I'm sure many of you reading this did. I have to say it's been pretty exciting – two of us are taking on a half marathon, another is kicking butt with the new PiYo craze, and another is a regular at spinning classes READ MORE
Moving Past Rejection
January 23, 2015The R word. It’s not one anyone likes to hear, whether you are an author, an agent, or an editor. As an author out on submission you will likely receive rejections at some point when you’re querying agents. You might get a form rejection (that’s personalized and signed by the agent or a general one), READ MORE
Six Simple Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Writing Group
January 16, 2015So you read last week's blog post about New Year's resolutions for writers and have joined or started a writing group. Awesome! Of course, you want to take advantage of the benefits of being in a writer's group and really polish those writing skills. Here are some simple tips to help you focus your time READ MORE
7 New Year’s Resolutions for Authors
January 8, 2015The beginning of the new year is a great time to set new goals and create new habits. With everyone's new year's resolutions already underway (Good luck finding an open treadmill at the gym!), the McIntosh & Otis staff got together to brainstorm a few new year's resolutions that we think authors should make this READ MORE
How Many Agents Can Fit in a Room? Finding Your Perfect Agent
December 18, 2014Publishing is an ever-expanding industry. Over the years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of agents in particular. While this might seem like great news for new authors ("Yay! More people who might want to represent me!"), the truth of the matter is that not every agent out there is going to READ MORE
From the Assistant Desk: Query Tips!
December 11, 2014As the assistant to two wonderful M&O agents, part of my job is helping to manage the delightful chaos of their query inboxes. Truthfully, it’s one of my favorite parts of my job! As I suspect is the case at many agencies, often an assistant or intern is the first set of eyes on queries READ MORE