Authoring & Playwriting

I'm a NYT Bestselling author and my trilogy is published with Simon & Schuster. My first novel Brooklyn Story is being made into a feature film and I had the honor of penning the script for the adaptation.

I'm here to answer all of your questions about how to nail your book proposals and query letters! Do you have a book that you feel is ready for publication, but you're nervous about taking the next steps? Let me provide you with some advice and insight into how you can make your book proposals and query letters stand out to position you for success.

You can ask me things like- What should a book proposal include? How do you format a query letter? Are there details that should be left out of a proposal? Is a query letter only meant for book agents? Should proposals include book outlines or just a synopsis? How do I identify the "why me and why now"? At what stage does a book proposal become necessary? Should query letters be customized to each publisher?

Found this article interesting...

https://www.critical-stages.org/28/towards-the-artificially-intelligent-...

Hey, All!

Don't miss out on tomorrow’s fantastic AMA with Suzanne Corso, NYT Bestselling Author, Journalist, and TV/Film Correspondent to THE TODAY SHOW in the Authoring Lounge! Suzanne is sharing her time with us to answer YOUR questions about "Nailing Your Book Proposals & Query Letters".

The post is already available below if you'd like to comment your question early:

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/playwriting/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-Wednesday...

Stage 32 is excited to welcome back Suzanne Cross for her upcoming lab.

In this exclusive Stage 32 8-part lab, you will create your persuasive book proposal so you can get the attention of major commercial book publishers. To work with you one-on-one for your journey is NYT best selling author Suzanne Corso, who is hailed as one of USA Today’s New Voices for her literary debut, Brooklyn Story. This book is part of a successful trilogy published by Simon & Schuster, which includes The Suite Life and Hello Hollywood, in which is now being adapted by a Major A-List Studio.

Over 8 interactive sessions, you will work directly with Suzanne create your professional grade book proposal, which includes:

-The perfect query letter to publishers

-The best 2-to-4-page synopsis of your book

-A chapter by chapter outline of your book

-Your one page, authors, bio, which explains who you are and what you’re writing about and why should a publisher and audience will care.

This lab includes a personal one-on-one consultation with Suzanne where you will receive expert personalized feedback on your work and a discussion on strategy to get your book to the right publisher! At the end of 8 sessions, you will have your book proposal finished and ready to send to publishers!

PLUS! You’ll receive an exclusive Book Proposal Information Sheet to help you create your own proposal.

https://www.stage32.com/classes/Stage-32-8-Part-Author-s-Lab-Write-Your-...

This January, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, music supervisors, showrunner assistants, commercial directors, stunt professionals, actors, showrunners, directors, acclaimed producers, screenwriters, distributors, and representatives. Thanks Ashley, Sam, Sydney and the education team for bringing this to us!

https://www.stage32.com/blog/stage-32s-january-2024-education-schedule-3599

In this new exclusive Stage 32 8-part Stage 32 lab, you will create your persuasive book proposal so you can get the attention of major commercial book publishers. To work with you one-on-one for your journey is NYT best selling author Suzanne Corso, who is hailed as one of USA Today’s New Voices for her literary debut, Brooklyn Story. This book is part of a successful trilogy published by Simon & Schuster, which includes The Suite Life and Hello Hollywood, in which is now being adapted by a Major A-List Studio.

Over 8 interactive sessions, you will work directly with Suzanne create your professional grade book proposal, which includes:

- The perfect query letter to publishers

- The best 2-to-4-page synopsis of your book

- A chapter by chapter outline of your book

- Your one page, authors, bio, which explains who you are and what you’re writing about and why should a publisher and audience will care.

This lab includes a personal one-on-one consultation with Suzanne where you will receive expert personalized feedback on your work and a discussion on strategy to get your book to the right publisher! At the end of 8 sessions, you will have your book proposal finished and ready to send to publishers!

Here's a link where you can register and grab one of the 10 spots before they're gone (and they will go fast): https://www.stage32.com/classes/Stage-32-8-Part-Author-s-Lab-Write-Your-...

Hey, All!

Don't miss out on tomorrow’s fantastic AMA in the Writer’s Room Lounge! Victoria Davis, Script Editor & Development Consultant (DISCLAIMER, THE GREAT, MAN VS BEE) is sharing her time with us to answer YOUR questions about "How a Script Editor Can Help Get You Out of the Woods and Onto the Screen!"

The post is already available if you'd like to comment your questions early:

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/vip/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-2-9-to-2-10-How-a...

If you're not already a Stage 32 Writer's Room member, you can sign up for your first month entirely free so that you can join in on these opportunities:

https://www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

Today, we published chapter 13 of my sci-fi novel Xtreme Saga. This is one of my favorite chapters in the first book, because it, better than most of the other chapters, exemplifies what I will refer to as "Marketing Integrated Fiction Writing". When I was first hired to write Xtreme Saga, which didn't even have a title back then, I was given a very specific task. I was told to write an epic science fiction story that integrates the company's products into the story. My take on this concept, which thankfully they accepted, was that product names and concept should be integrated into the story, but never the actual products themselves.

For some background into the company, XPG, they sell PC gaming components. Headsets, keyboards, power supplies, laptops, and so on. The reason they chose to do science fiction was because tech companies always veer towards futurism and technology focused concepts in their marketing. So my idea was to tell a sci-fi story that leveraged their company ideals, style, and terminology without literally having the laptops, keyboards, and so on make appearances.

I do not claim that this is the only way to do it, but the way I have done it is by examining the products and applying their names in subliminal ways that become obvious upon further inspection. Here are some examples that you can find in chapter 13.

1. The main character, Mera, travels to a region called Elurra. This is a cold region where it always snows. I chose this name for the region, because it was the name of one of the company's older CPU cooling units. It's simple, but older fans of the company will get it.

2. 2 major characters are introduced. They are named Summoner and Mage. While these are terrible names for people in general. They are the names of the company's 2 major keyboard models at the time of writing. That's also why I made them siblings in the story.

3. The name of a village in the snowy region is called Levante. This is the name of the latest CPU cooler from the company.

There are similar little company Easter eggs all throughout the book. While the products never make appearances, they are referenced as the names of places, objects, characters, and groups as often as made sense for the narrative. This method of marketing is unconventional for many older companies, but newer brands really like it, because to them it feels fresh and smart. It was part of my pitch that ultimately got me hired to write this IP.

If you'd like to check out the novel, you can find all the available chapters for free here: https://saga.xpg.com/novel.html.

And if you'd like to look at the company's list of products for reference while reading, those can be found here: https://www.xpg.com/en.

Always good to learn all aspects of filmmaking! With that in mind, check out tomorrow's AMA (Wednesday, February 7th) in the Post-Production Lounge- Kenneth Lui, Filmmaker, Editor, and Professional VFX Artist (BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) will be answering questions about "Working in VFX".

Go ahead and post your question now and Kenneth will answer once the event is live tomorrow!

AMA Link: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/post_production/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-Wedne...

This February, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, actors, award-winning screenwriters, producers, directors, and representatives.

Check out the impressive list here:

https://www.stage32.com/blog/stage-32s-february-2024-education-schedule-...