Today's Book Tip: Build Up to Your Pitch

In her latest post, literary agent Rachelle Gardner shares what she personally appreciates in a pitch. While many writers launch straight into the heart of their story, Gardner advises slowing down and providing some context. Make sure to include your name, the genre you're writing in, your publishing history, and your tagline. Then -- and only then -- are you ready to launch into your 3 minutes (max) pitch.

Around the Word

Forget about Two-fer Tuesdays — we have five wise to the words posts for today's snappy hour.

• Ragan's resident PR Junkie Michael Sebastian shares his genius tip for daily blogging: take pictures!

• Nick Morgan begs presenters to stop talking to their slides -- learn what you need in the second or two you take to glance back.  An audience looking at your back is an audience ready for naptime

• From crocheting to PTA meetings, literary agent Rachelle Gardner considers the sacrifices writing requires

• If these walls could talk! The Brooklyn Heights mansion that housed Truman Capote through both In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's goes on sale for a cool $18 million

• Copyblogger highlights the wonder of cornerstone pages, which provide homepage prominence for your blog's archived content

Featured Writer: Wendy Shanker

Gotham friend Wendy Shanker — the author of the recently-released Are You My Guru: How Medicine, Meditation & Madonna Saved My Life — has a typically witty piece on the homepage of The Guardian of London on her favorite material girl.  Under the headline "Madonna is My Guru," Wendy highlights the different Madge badges she proudly wears, from body confidence to brilliance.

Around the Word

Yesterday mum was the word. Today it's back to business with advice that even a mother would love.

• Copyblogger founder Brian Clark breaks down the nuts and bolts of SEO with his (free) SEO copywriting report

• Literary agent Julie Barer goes against the grain by advising writers to stick with their day jobs -- in this economy, it's best to keep your expectations low and hone your writing chops while staying secure

• Men with Pens swears by the tailor-made questionnaire -- the more specific and long-range, the better -- for sure-fire client satisfaction

Around the Word

We wrap the week up with this expert advice and insight...

• Kneerim & Williams agent Steve Wasserman advises writers to quell their digital rights worries, as no one can predict the digital publishing model to come

• David Murray would like to know why commenters feel inclined to write "good article" on posts read by thousands, and what, exactly, they think this inane feedback adds?

• Is your blog not paying the bills? Copyblogger urges you to quit writing for "bloggerly love" and traffic spikes -- and start writing sharp, customer-directed content

Keeping Your Authorial Ego Intact

Both public speaking and writing require a delicate balance of ego.  While confidence is required to boldly share your message with an audience or potential publisher, you also need to know when to step offstage.  To give a fair shake to both sides, we recommend reading The Eloquent Woman's guide to reining in the narcissistic presenter's over-ego, followed by Meghan Ward's struggle to maintain confidence in the face of auto-response rejection.  So whether you're fearing the next speaking gig or doubting the success of a proposal, remember that you're in good company.

Around the Word Today

Start your week off with these word-while tips...

• Men with Pens encourages you to grab clients with your web copy -- after all, words are omnipresent, and you don't want your sales pitch treated like the text on your toothpaste

• Media writing professor Chris Birk guides writers through what to do when your post is held hostage by an editor -- from calming down to pitching elsewhere, timing is the key to keeping the relationship intact

• Nick Morgan urges speakers to avoid opening with a summary -- by denying the audience their decision-making process, you're inviting disagreement