The goal is to write a novel – at least 50k words – in one month, and many aspiring authors have embraced it as a way to stay on track and finally get the book they’ve been dreaming of down on the page. Other writers use it to structure their time on an intimidating revision, or even get a headstart on manuscript already under contract.

While it got started as a personal challenge, many find that committing to the challenge on social media and tracking their progress on the NaNoWriMo website is a great way to stay motivated – a community to celebrate good writing days and persevere through rough ones. All day long I’ve been seeing funny/heartwarming/rueful/encouraging tweets from writers embarking on NaNoWriMo, or even contemplating it. Here are a few of my faves:

SCRATCH THAT IT *IS* TIME! LET'S DO THIS! #NaNoWriMo

— Rena Olsen (@originallyrena) November 1, 2016

"Go for one month. Go mad." Natalie Goldberg on @NaNoWriMo #amwriting #NaNoWriMo2016 @OpenRoadMedia #ClipOfTheDay https://t.co/s5JGE0lPED

— Poets & Writers (@poetswritersinc) November 1, 2016

It was a dark and stormy night. Also, it would not waffle. #NaNoWriMo2016

— Will It Waffle? (@will_it_waffle) November 1, 2016

To everyone participating in #NaNoWriMo2016 – YOU GOT THIS!!! pic.twitter.com/DfxRIZ4KHo

— Berkley Romance (@BerkleyRomance) November 1, 2016

And of course, DG&B tweeted some encouragement of our own (make sure you’re following us on Twitter – we’ve got a new name and everything!)

Happy writing to all of you kicking off #NaNoWriMo2016 today! pic.twitter.com/IRpPKkJ26T

— DG&B (@DGandBTweets) November 1, 2016

I’d love to know if any of our blog readers are drafting a novel this month. What are your best tips for sticking to a writing schedule, whether a spring like NaNoWriMo, or a year-round marathon?

I like at this time of year to regroup, look at the big picture, and try to come up with a strategy for a successful year ahead. I find this approach to be effective, even if I can’t always keep all of my annual goals.

I love this list of best-of writing articles from 2013 compiled by Writer’s Digest because it covers so many bases in the writing process. And it’s especially useful since it’s broken down by categories like Writing Better Characters, How to Get Published, and Inspiration for Writers. One of my favorites is the 2001 interview with Tom Clancy and his quote: “I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I just keep it simple: Tell the damn story”. That’s definitely keeping it simple, and direct!

I wanted to share it with our blog readers who are hopefully feeling like I am – motivated, energized, and ready to work hard to be as successful as we can be. Starting out by reading these articles just might help get you on the right track for the year ahead.

Enjoy and please let us know which articles from their list you find to be the most helpful. Now, let’s all get to work!

The questions ranged in content and complexity and some questions prompted others. I’ll share a couple of examples to give you the idea. One question posted was: “How critical is a synopsis?”  To which I replied  that different agents probably see it differently but I don’t weigh too heavily on the synopsis if the query letter is good and I personally prefer a synopsis that’s brief and just gives a story overview. More like flap copy from a book.

Another question that came up was: “Do agents really research the writer (presumably when they receive a submission from them)?” This prompted a follow-up question about a writer who has a blog and if that’s something an agent will consider when reviewing a query.  My response:  “Yes, absolutely. An author who has an online presence and is active in social media can be very positive. For nonfiction it’s critical, less so for fiction, but the more public a figure you are in this market (and world) the easier the chances to sell your work.”

It got me to thinking that I’d be happy to offer here on our blog a similar service. While I can’t promise to answer questions for 3 hours straight, I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have about, well, anything that relates to writing.

I promise I will get back to you before too long but please be patient since I’m away in Austin, Texas at a writer’s conference this weekend where I’ll be answering a lot more questions.

So, ask away!  Thanks, and look forward to hearing from you.

Perhaps it’s because it is the Jewish New Year or maybe it’s due to a recent experience, but I have been thinking about “giving back” and mentoring.

Writing is such a solitary and difficult thing to do and when an opportunity to obtain support from an established writer presents itself, it is always very inspiring. Recently, however, I saw this work in reverse and it really made me sad and angry.

I have a client who received some good national publicity, which resulted in my signing him to do a book proposal. The publicity also attracted a well known TV personality and book author who would have been a wonderful support to my client and his project. I’ll call him Mr. P. Mr. P approached my client and offered his help, so the two had lunch. Mr. P promised that if the proposal were sold, he would provide an introduction and, based on that statement, my client added Mr. P’s promise to his proposal. It turned out this particular proposal wasn’t easy to sell, but finally we received a small offer partially based on the promise of a foreword from Mr. P. When my client went back to him just to make sure that, indeed, the promise would be fulfilled, Mr. P agreed but said he would charge a fee that was three times the advance—a totally outrageous amount! Needless to say, the client turned down the publisher’s offer and the project is now dead. What really makes me sad about this situation is that I know Mr. P well, and when he was just starting out, many, many people gave him their support—one of the main reasons he is so very successful today.

On another occasion, some years ago, I remember my client and good friend Gus Lee wanted to get an endorsement for his first novel from Amy Tan. His editor made an introduction between the two and Amy generously provided a quote for China Boy which helped the book to sell. Since then, the two have become very good pals.

I think it is so important to remember, once you are successful as a writer, that supporting others who are coming up only enhances what you are doing. It is incredibly mystifying to me when people who achieve fame and success forget where they came from.

I wonder if you have any thoughts on this subject. I would love to hear them.