This is the second post in the “How To Break Into Publishing” Series. If you’re coming in late, Part One: What Even is Publishing? (Different types of publishing) is available here! You want to get published? Maybe you have
How To Break Into Publishing Part One: What Even is Publishing?
How do you break into publishing? It’s a question I – and most writers I know – get a lot. It is easily the most common question. It can be phrased many ways from “I’ve written a book. What next?”
What No One Told Me About Publishing
There’s an old saying that you don’t know what you don’t know, and nowhere is that more apt than in publishing. I have a fantastic agent, an amazing editor, and belong to some fricking terrific writer’s groups, and still I
BONUS! Brooklyn Murder Mysteries Short Story
The following short story by Olivia Blacke takes place in the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries. This short story is always free to read on OliviaBlacke.com. Distribution without express written permission is prohibited, but link sharing is encouraged. Copywrite Olivia Blacke,
Pop Quiz Time!
Have you ever wondered what character in the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries you are? Take this quiz to find out!
Publishing: The Next Best Thing To Time Travel
Every time you pick up a book, you are travelling back through time. Whether that book has been sitting on your shelf for a year or you found it in a rummage sale or it was automatically delivered to the
March 2021 – Killer Cozy, Killer Giveaways
Have you heard? KILLER CONTENT is available now! This is an archive of a previous newsletter. To get the Olivia Blacke newsletter delivered to your inbox so you’ll be the first to know about fun giveaways, important news, and upcoming events,
Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy
I’m gonna get real with you for a minute. Writing is difficult. It’s stressful. It’s time consuming. And there is nothing else I would rather do. I’ve been writing stories since before I knew my ABCs. I remember scribbling on
Why Pre-Orders are Vital
Ever since the pre-order links for KILLER CONTENT started going live (April 4, 2020 if you’re keeping track), I’ve been shouting the news into the universe. But really, what’s the Big Deal? I mean, the book isn’t even out until
How To Scan Your Word Document For Specific Words
We’ve all done it, accidentally used a word only to find out later that it’s got a second, offensive meaning that we’re not aware of. Or feedback came out that you needed to tone down the language. Maybe you even
It’s All Very Puzzling
Wanna play? Jigsaw Puzzle If you’re anything like me, you haven’t left your abode in a while. 197 days, not that I’m counting. Okay, that’s not completely true – I went to the DMV. TWICE. Because I absolutely had to.
Writing in the Time of COVID-19
Our world is upside down. I’ve got some theories on that, most predominately that we were thrown into an alternate dimension when the Hadron Collider was powered up. But however we got here, we’re here and we can’t go back
Order Killer Content
KILLER CONTENT, the first in the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries is now available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook from most major retailers! Pre-order now! Have you added KILLER CONTENT to your shelf yet? TRADE PAPERBACK eBOOK
KILLER CONTENT – Cover Reveal
With much thanks to my amazing agent James McGowan at Bookends Literary Agency, my fabulous editor Kristine Swartz, and the wonderful Berkley team (an imprint of Penguin Random House), I proudly present the incredible cover of KILLER CONTENT for the first time ever: It’s
I Can’t Write a Synopsis!*
*Actually, I can, and so can you! You’ve just written a 75,000+ word (this is just an average – different genres have different word counts: https://oliviablacke.com/words-count/) novel – CONGRATS! That’s an amazing accomplishment! Whether this is your first novel or
The Things We Do For Research
“Write what you know.” Great advice, right? Not always. Sometimes you need to write what you imagine – distant worlds, space travel, terrifying monsters, heaven, hell, and everything in between. Books would be so very boring if we writers only
Living the Puggle Life
It’s the weekend. No, scratch that, it’s a long holiday weekend! For me, that means WRITING TIME! I’m hard at work writing my next cozy mystery. And when I’m writing, my little writing buddy is usually “helping”. Which in this
Cozy On Up
I write cozies, so the number one question I get is … “But what exactly is a cozy mystery?” Glad you asked! A cozy is a subgenre of mystery (for more on genres, check out Genres and the Readers Who
Look, Ma, I’m famous!
Looking for more news, a great interview, and some shameless self promotion? Look no further than my interview with the amazing Bookends Literary Agency and my terrific agent James McGowan. Link: http://bookendsliterary.com/2019/08/28/not-so-new-client-alert-olivia-blacke/ #TheWriteLife #OliviaBlacke #killermystery
Simple Secrets for a Successful Synopsis
I’m no expert, and in fact I struggle to write a Synopsis every time, so I decided to do a little research and see if it would help me. Lo and behold, it did! So I decided to share what