Evan Stuart Marshall (born June 5, 1956 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts) is a

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwrit ...

, author of murder mysteries and nonfiction books, editor, and publisher of Marshall Plan software.

Life & career

Marshall has held senior editorial positions at

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, Ariel Books,

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishe ...

Everest House Everest House is a high-rise located in Kolkata, India. It is located on Chowringhee Road. Details Everest House is the tallest building in the central business district of the city after Chatterjee International Center. It is a commercial build ...

and

Dodd, Mead Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

, where he acquired national and international bestsellers. He was also a correspondent for

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 under ...

and covered commercial fiction. He wrote cover stories on blockbuster and bestselling novelsEvan Marshall, "How to Write Blockbuster Novels," ''Writer's Digest,'' October, 1986, 30-33.Evan Marshall, "Six Classic Elements of the Bestseller," ''Writer's Digest,'' November 1988, 28-32. and how to find and work with agents.Evan Marshall, "Guide to Agents," ''Writer's Digest,'' September 1989, 22-25. Marshall's articles have appeared in reference anthologies and collected works."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."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. He is often interviewed for his expertise in novel writing, and helping novel writers.Jennifer Mattern
Novel Writing: An Interview with Evan Marshall
All FreeLance Writing, April 29, 2009.Jeff Rivera
Lit Agent, Evan Marshall Hates When Writers...
AdWeek, April 15, 2010.

Works

Writings

"Hidden Manhattan" Mystery Series: *''City in Shadow,'' Severn House Publishers, New York, NY, 2010. *''Dark Alley,'' Severn House Publishers, New York, NY, 2009. *''Evil Justice,'' Severn House Publishers, New York, NY, 2009. *''Death is Disposable,'' Severn House Publishers, New York, NY, 2008. "Jane Stuart and Winky" Mystery Series: *''Crushing Crystal,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 2004. *''Toasting Tina,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 2003. *''Icing Ivy,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 2002. *''Stabbing Stephanie,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 2001. *''Hanging Hannah,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 2000. *''Missing Marlene,'' Kensington Books, New York, NY, 1999.

The Marshall Plan Book Series

*''The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing: A 16-Step Program Guaranteed to Take You From Idea to Completed Manuscript,'' Writer's Digest Books, 1998.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. 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 Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

, identifying it as the writing genre most likely to be picked up by a publisher. Drawing from

Dwight V. Swain Dwight Vreeland Swain (November 17, 1915 – February 24, 1992), born in Rochester, Michigan, was an American author, screenwriter and teacher. Swain was a member of the Oklahoma Writers Hall of Fame. Career His first published story was "Henry ...

and

Jack Bickham Jack Miles Bickham (September 2, 1930 – July 25, 1997) was an American author who wrote 75 published novels, of which two were made into movies, ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' and '' Baker's Hawk''. Life Jack Bickham was born September 2, 193 ...

's techniques, Marshall identifies two core plotting units: the action section and the reaction section.Jim Jackson
The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing
January 8, 2011. 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 Marshall Plan Workbook''Evan Marshall
The Marshall Plan Workbook: Writing Your Novel From Start to Finish
Writer's Digest Books, 2001. 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 Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published''Evan Marshall
The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published: 87 strategies and techniques for selling your fiction
Writer's Digest Books, 2003. 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

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

review of ''Hanging Hannah.'' *

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

' review of ''Stabbing Stephanie.''Kirkus Reviews
''Stabbing Stephanie''
May 20th, 2010. *

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

review of ''Death is Disposable.''

Personal life

Marshall was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in

Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...

. He graduated magna cum laude from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. He is married to Martha Jewett,Miss Jewett Plans June 19 Wedding
a business book editor, and literary agent who manages The Marshall Plan software. They have two sons.

References

External links

The Evan Marshall Agency websiteA conversation with Evan Marshall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Evan 1956 births Living people Literary agents 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers