Michele Scott's eighth mystery novel, Corked by Cabernet (Berkley Prime Crime), will be published in February. Also, as M.K. Scott, Michele’s first middle-grade novel, Zamora’s Ultimate Challenge (Echelon Press), will be published in February. Jeff Sherratt’s second mystery novel, Guilty or Else (Echelon Press) will be published early in 2009. Dr. John L. Turner's Medicine, Miracles, and Manifestations (Career Press/New Page Books) will be published in March.
From February 13-16, 2009 Mike will lead workshops and do advance reads for the Southern California Writers’ Conference in San Diego, CA. Visit the website for full details.
Mike will present his “Risk Points” seminar at UCSD Extension on May 2nd and May 9th, 2009. More details will follow.
See the Winter 2009 newsletter for an article titled "OK, So I'm Not a Prophet."
You've written a book or are in the process of writing one, and you may think it's pretty good. But, in the current world of publishing, "good" might not be good enough.
Mike Sirota, published author of nineteen novels and award-winning journalist, believes that you need an edge to make your work of fiction or non-fiction "better than good." To that end he offers a variety of evaluation and editing services to help make your work shine.
You invested a great deal of time—and emotion—in writing your book. Now, your hope is to convince a literary agent or editor that yours is one of those very few special books that deserve to be published. To accomplish this means overcoming considerable odds. For example, at present most literary agents say that they are rejecting ninety-nine percent of the numerous submissions they receive.
With an experienced eye Mike can evaluate not only the structural quality of your manuscript, but its potential to sell in the current publishing market. In addition, your work is not "farmed out" to anyone. Mike does all of it himself.
Guarantees? There are none in this highly subjective business. No editor, no matter how skilled or experienced, can promise that his/her work on your book will ensure its publication. But Mike will help you make your presentation as professional as possible to give your book its best chance with a literary agent.
Key word: "Professional." Mike hears it from agents and editors all the time. They complain that the majority of submissions crossing their desks are from writers that did not take the time to elevate all aspects of their work to a professional level. Much of what they see virtually shouts "novice!"