I’m pleased to announce Cathryn J. Prince, author of For the Love of Labor: The Life of Pauline Newman, secured an offer on her exclusive submission to Alison Syring, again, at University of Illinois Press for a book about the life and death of Barbara Robbins, the CIA’s first female officer killed in the line of duty and first American female killed in Vietnam during the 1965 Embassy bombing in Saigon, and how it pulled America deeper into the conflict in Southeast Asia. A Bombing in Saigon will be released in 2029. This is the story of a 21-year-old who joined the CIA fresh out of college, feeling duty-bound to serve her country and imbued with a sense of invincibility and optimism. And it is also about how Robbins’ story reflects the mood of the nation—still optimistic and confident as the politicians kept striding forward into the Vietnam War, in spite of the growing disillusionment nipping at its heels. Barbara Robbins was born in 1943 in South Dakota while her father was off fighting in the Pacific. Although she was badly injured in a car accident when she was three, her parents resisted the temptation to hover. Instead they nurtured her curiosity and watched her grow into an energetic and bold young woman. After graduating high school, Robbins matriculated at Colorado State University to study French. Then, when the CIA came calling—at a time when most Americans would be hard pressed to find Vietnam on a map—Robbins, an ordinary citizen…
Swenson Book Development, LLC was in the thick of publishing madness two weeks ago – two members of our team, myself and Jill Swenson, checked out the trade floor and events at Book Expo America. BEA is the place for movers and shakers of the North American publishing industry. From event interviews of famous musicians-come-authors to Harlequin Romance shilling for their latest salacious-covered paperback, from bustling New… [Read More]
Filed Under: Andrew Kessler, Authors, BEA, blogging, book conventions, book expo america, Cathryn Prince, convention, For the Love of Books, marketing strategy, neil young, New York City, patti smith, Publishers, Publishing
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As an editor, I see the use of passive voice as a red flag in a manuscript. It strips out all the action and agency. Makes the text boring. Passive voice frequently appears in academic writing. The stuff no one wants to read. You can edit your own book manuscript for passive voice and hone your talents as a powerful writer with a few simple… [Read More]
Filed Under: action, Active Voice, agency, Passive voice, reader comprehension, Verb tenses, voice of victims
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Filed Under: Dialogue, Grammar, Italics for internal dialogue, Punctuation, Quotation Marks, Rules, Style
If you are writer who seeks publication you probably know you need to blog. You’ve heard it’s necessary to build an audience platform. So you know WHY to blog. But HOW do you blog so you get found online? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a subject duller than watching paint dry for most authors. It doesn’t have to be. And it can’t be if you… [Read More]