Interview with Jaimee Garbacik

Jaimee Garbacik, author of the upcoming Gender and Sexuality For Beginners, has a new interview in Creative Writing Now with advice for aspiring authors on revising fiction manuscripts and finding a literary agent. Garbacik, the former acquisitions editor for The Literary Group International, is now the owner of Footnote Editorial Services.

In the interview, Garbacik describes problems that appear often in the manuscripts that agencies receive, and offers authors tips for correcting them. It’s very important, she says, to capture the reader’s attention within the first fifty pages. When agencies are dealing with more than a hundred unsolicited manuscripts every week, she warns “you’re going to wind up in the reject bin unless we see something that sets you apart right away.” Garbacik also cautions writers not to make their dialogue “overly clever” or “snarky” and encourages them to differentiate and develop each character’s voice. She also has a useful piece of advice for concluding novels: "Authors, I swear this is true: You don’t have to tie up every loose end to satisfy your reader." This interview should be very helpful for writers looking to revise and improve their manuscripts, and it’s just an interesting read!