Evan Marshall (agent)

Last updated

Evan Marshall
BornEvan Stuart Marshall
(1956-06-05) June 5, 1956 (age 68)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation
  • Literary agent
  • author
  • publisher
Website
www.evanmarshallagency.com

Evan Stuart Marshall (born June 5, 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American literary agent, [1] author of murder mysteries and nonfiction books, editor, and publisher of Marshall Plan software. [2] [3]

Contents

Life and career

Marshall has held senior editorial positions at Houghton Mifflin, Ariel Books, New American Library, Everest House and Dodd, Mead, where he acquired national and international bestsellers. [4] He was also a correspondent for Writer's Digest and covered commercial fiction. He wrote cover stories on blockbuster and bestselling novels [5] [6] and how to find and work with agents. [7] Marshall's articles have appeared in reference anthologies and collected works. [8] [9] He is often interviewed for his expertise in novel writing, and helping novel writers. [10] [11]

Works

Writings

"Hidden Manhattan" Mystery Series: [12]

"Jane Stuart and Winky" Mystery Series: [13]

The Marshall Plan Book Series

The first book in the series describes novel writing as a 16-step process, taking the novel's intended finished length into account from the beginning. Marshall focuses specifically on fiction, identifying it as the writing genre most likely to be picked up by a publisher. Drawing from Dwight V. Swain and Jack Bickham's techniques, Marshall identifies two core plotting units: the action section and the reaction section. [15] Marshall recommends the number, and the type of action and reaction sections in relation to a novel's length. He also recommends the corresponding story arc with plot points all in a specific order, the number and type of viewpoint characters, the type of opposition, and other elements of plot and character development.

The second book in the series concentrates on the fundamental details of producing a novel. The first half of the book assists the writer in building characters, developing plot and setting goals. The second half is the Plan Blueprint, a 58-page section of fill-in-the-blank sheets to help writers produce a novel. The marketing information included focuses on the manuscript itself, how it should look, how many pages, paper weight, etc.

The third book in the series focuses on how to take the next step of sending work to editors and agents, and promoting a novel.

Reviews

Personal life

Marshall was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Sharon, Massachusetts. He graduated magna cum laude from Boston College. He is married to Martha Jewett, [21] a business book editor, and literary agent who manages The Marshall Plan software. They have two sons.

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References

  1. ↑ Publisher's Market, Evan Marshall.
  2. ↑ White, Claire E. (September 1999). "A Conversation With Evan Marshall". Writers Write: the Internet Writing Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Bolton, Kathleen (October 2010). "A Conversation With Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett". Author Interview: Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett, The Marshall Plan Part 1. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ Evan Marshall Agency, About.
  5. ↑ Evan Marshall, "How to Write Blockbuster Novels," Writer's Digest, October, 1986, 30-33.
  6. ↑ Evan Marshall, "Six Classic Elements of the Bestseller," Writer's Digest, November 1988, 28-32.
  7. ↑ Evan Marshall, "Guide to Agents," Writer's Digest, September 1989, 22-25.
  8. ↑ "Producing a Knockout Novel Synopsis" in Meg Leder and Jack Heffron, eds. The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, Writer's Digest Books, F&W Publications, Cincinnati, OH, 2002.
  9. ↑ "How to Write Blockbuster Novels," reprinted in Thomas Clark, ed. The Writer's Digest to Good Writing, Writer's Digest Books, F&W Publications, Cincinnati, OH, 1994.
  10. ↑ Jennifer Mattern, Novel Writing: An Interview with Evan Marshall, All FreeLance Writing, April 29, 2009.
  11. ↑ Jeff Rivera, Lit Agent, Evan Marshall Hates When Writers... AdWeek, April 15, 2010.
  12. ↑ Marshall, Evan. Hidden Manhattan Series.
  13. ↑ Marshall, Evan (May 2000). Jane Stuart And Winky Mystery Series. Kensington Books. ISBN   1575665557.
  14. ↑ Evan Marshall, The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing: A 16-Step Program Guaranteed to Take You From Idea to Completed Manuscript. Writer's Digest Books, 1998.
  15. ↑ Jim Jackson, The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing, January 8, 2011.
  16. ↑ Evan Marshall, The Marshall Plan Workbook: Writing Your Novel From Start to Finish, Writer's Digest Books, 2001.
  17. ↑ Evan Marshall, The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published: 87 strategies and techniques for selling your fiction, Writer's Digest Books, 2003.
  18. ↑ Maureen Walters, Hanging Hannah.
  19. ↑ Kirkus Reviews, Stabbing Stephanie May 20th, 2010.
  20. ↑ Emily Melton, Death is Disposable, May 1, 2008.
  21. ↑ Miss Jewett Plans June 19 Wedding.
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