Since November of 2020, I've offered an array of freelance editing services to #amquerying authors, providing feedback based on my own successes and failures back when I was querying. This past year, I edited over 150 query letters, which has somehow managed to land me among the most popular query editing gigs on Fiverr. It's… Continue reading Debunking 6 Querying Myths
If you've done much research on getting your writing published, chances are you’ve come across the term “high concept.” Agents and editors sometimes use the phrase "high-concept fiction" when talking about the sort of writing they'd like to acquire, and you'll often hear it touted by writing blogs as a surefire way to make your… Continue reading What Does Publishing Mean by “High Concept,” Really?
The internet is rife with tips and guides that tell aspiring writers how to write. Many writing "rules" are generally agreed upon (i.e., avoiding redundant adverbs, and the whole showing rather than telling issue). But from everything I've seen, one of the most overlooked and undervalued pieces of writing advice is "be more specific." Specificity… Continue reading The Power of Specificity in Fiction
Back in December, when I started offering an editing service on Fiverr to help fellow writers fine-tune their query letters, I anticipated that most of the work would revolve around refining their pitch so that it sounded as interesting and marketable as possible. Instead, I found that a lot of people are missing out on… Continue reading 7 Basic Query Letter Tips for Aspiring Fiction Authors
In this podcast, I got to talk with Anne at Armchair Historians about something I haven't really discussed on my blog before: the Schleswig-Holstein wars and the rise of a cohesive German identity throughout the 19th century.
Anyone familiar with Iceland has likely heard something about turf houses, the iconic grass-roofed houses that grace the countryside, carried over from insulation methods in medieval Norway. I wrote once before about Rútshellir, a famous old cave guarded by a turf-covered barn. But while the cave itself might be the oldest man-made residence in Iceland,… Continue reading A Visit to Keldur, Iceland
Check out my recent discussion with Luke and Dan over at Northern Myths. We cover the comparative myth of Siegfried/Sigurd, references to related legends in the Beowulf manuscript, and more.
Dragon-like figures feature prominently in folklore from around the world. They often hold---or once held---special significance to their respective cultures. Chinese dragons historically symbolized good luck and imperial power, and were used in iconography surrounding the emperor. The founder of the Han dynasty went so far as to claim that his mother dreamt of a… Continue reading Dragons and Sin in Medieval Germanic Literature
It's a song commonly played to ring in the New Year, bidding farewell to the old. Across the English-speaking world, it's used for graduations, for funerals, for any major transitional period in one's life. As a result, pretty much everyone is familiar with the tune. But growing up, I never knew anyone who was actually… Continue reading Dialects in Literature: A Look at Robert Burns
Kristyn J. Miller 