By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin From my earliest days as a journalist, I love to write a good story. Our world is filled with an infinite number of these stories. Someone must put their fingers on the keyboard and write these tales—whether true or created. An unfortunate aspect of the world…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin As an editor, it is no exaggeration to say I’ve reviewed thousands of submissions during my years in publishing. As a writer, you have one opportunity to make a good first impression. While it may sound simplistic to say it, your impression is made in a…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Few people talk about this truth of publishing: it is hard. I’ve been doing it for decades and it is still hard. There is a reason it is called work. Yet thousands of new books are published every day. These books join the millions of books…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin At every writer’s conference or group of writers, there is buzz around the word “platform.” Editors and literary agents are searching for authors with a platform or a personal connection to their readers. What’s that about? Many authors believe their task is to write an excellent…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin I could see the resolution in the eyes of this author across the table from me when she said, “I’m going to self-publish.” We were meeting at a conference (pre-pandemic) and talking about her manuscript. I liked the shape of her proposal, her title and the…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin It was a life-changing moment and a revelation to my writing life. In 2007, I was a literary agent with, the Whalin Literary Agency, a small Arizona-based agency. Mark Victor Hansen, co-author for Chicken Soup for the Soul, invited me to Mega-Book Marketing University in Los…