Cora asked Mara Rutherford:

Crown of Coral and Pearl was so amazing!!! I was wondering if you had any advice for young authors? Perhaps surrounding query letters or other publishing bits and bobs? I've written a novel and I'm trying to move forward with it, but I can't seem to summarize it in 150-200 words and still make it sound... right? I'd love advice, and I can't wait for Kingdom of Sea and Stone! Thank you!

Mara Rutherford Thanks Cora! Writing pitches and queries is something that requires a lot of practice, unfortunately. There's no real shortcut. But you can definitely learn a lot from reading other people's successful queries, which are all over the internet. I used to blog about writing (and motherhood and life in general) at scribblebabble.blogspot.com and you can find some of my experiences there :) Mostly, you just have to keep working at it. Persistence is your best friend in the publishing industry. Even after you sell a book, you'll still have to work hard and keep learning. And you'll still have to write pitches, so it's great to get that practice in now!

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