Amy Reichert

Lately, I’ve thought about my path to where I am now; trying to publish my first novel, starting my second, and almost a year into writing this blog.  At eighteen, I fancied myself a future educator, destined to enlighten high school students with the wisdom found in literature. A few years later, that evolved to be college students. A few years after that, I realized I didn’t want to teach, but was now stuck with a degree in English, the educational equivalent of beige. If you had told my college-self I’d become a novelist, I’d have demanded you share your…

So, dear reader, I planned to talk about synopsis writing today; describe the making of the practical summary composed by authors for agents and editors to determine a story doesn’t have major plot flaws and get a sense of the work as a whole. I’m working on mine right now, and, quite frankly, it sucks more than a vacuum cleaner after a glitter party. Given my reluctance to work on the synopsis, my mind wanders off like my son in a store full of shiny, breakable, Star Wars objects. Any tweet, Facebook post, email advertising an online sale, and even…

Remember high school? Now don’t disintegrate into a whimpering pile of adolescent insecurity, I’m just asking you to think about it. Are you there? Can you see the pimply faces, greasy skin, sweaty palms, and desperate attempts to stand out? How about the yearning to fit in, be liked, have someone acknowledge you have something to offer the world? It’s coming back, isn’t it? Remember that time you cried in the girls bathroom because the boy you liked danced with another girl, or your girlfriend dumped you in a note your best friend delivered, or all your friends went to…

I can no longer delay the inevitable. I’ve written, I’ve revised, I’ve even workshopped. I must now query. Query – what is this strange word? If you say it to an author during agent hunting, she may dissolve into a quivering mass of Jell-oish glop. Say it to an agent and you may hear stories of authors extolling their own greatness, guaranteeing a bestseller, or pitching their talking pig post-apocalyptic steam-punk novel in a writing conference’s bathroom. A query, quite simply, is a resume to agents. It is a letter an author sends (via email or snail mail) to an…

I’m currently reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I’m not quite half way through, but it is the most honest book I’ve read. His words hit a sweet spot, resonating like the perfect pitch of a tuning fork, but still managing to plunge into my heart and yank (a lot like the evil, bald guy in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). But why does it feel so true? It’s fiction, he even added an Author’s Note to emphasize that he made it up.  He goes on to add, that trying to find facts and real…

Last week, I said I’d share my before and after beginning so you can see the difference. Below are two different opening page to my book. The rest of the chapter still contains the same information just in both versions; it is just given in a different order. After reading the two opening pages below – which book would you rather read? First Page A Late April, a Wednesday “…the high today will be 75 and sunny with a light breeze, cooler near the lake. Now for traffic; what’s it look like out there Pam?…” Someone left the radio on…

As promised last week, I said I’d share the new pitch. Below, I have the before and after. I thought it would be interesting to share why I changed some things. Before Pitch: Lou is a local chef, struggling to keep her small French restaurant in the black. After one disastrous day in which she loses her fiancé, a perfectly good coconut cake, and her sanity, she pulls it back together – focusing on her restaurant, until it gets a scathing review by a local food critic, marking it for death. Al hates Milwaukee. His only goal is to gain…

I’m a positive person. I go into experiences expecting to enjoy them, learn something, grow a little bit – you get the picture. The New York Pitch Conference exceeded all of my expectations ten-fold, and nevermind how much I fell in love with New York. I arrived on Wednesday, settled in at the hotel, and explored the city. That first day and night was for me. I walked all over, ate a hot dog from a street vendor in front of Radio City Music Hall, and took in a Broadway show (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and…

Stress and anxiety can do funny things to a mind, and everyone handles it differently. I get silly. So, dear reader, with nerves jangling like jingle bells, here’s my homage to my favorite Christmas poem.   ‘Twas the night before New York, when all through the house Not a child was stirring, I’d made a deal like old Faust, The stockings were packed in the suitcase with care, In hopes that clean underwear soon too would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of Grandma Time danced in their heads. And Dada in his…

I’ve been a little busy lately with Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas shopping (thank God for the internet), and the upcoming trip. As a result, I haven’t been doing a lot of actual work on my book. I thought about it a lot; I’m always thinking about it. I have random notes scribbled in ten different notebooks so I won’t forget brilliant ideas that pop in my head. Too bad I can’t remember where I put the notes. Long story short, I haven’t been writing. And like anything you keep putting off (like cleaning, homework, exercise, picking up dog poo in the…