Reporting and consulting on the publishing industry
Writing & Reporting
I write for Publishers Weekly and publish The Hot Sheet.
Learn about my publishing industry newsletter for authors.Online Classes
I'm a Great Courses professor and also teach interactive classes throughout the year.
Take a lookLatest Blog Posts
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How to Take the Sting Out of Query Rejections
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How to Write a Killer Villain
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The Complete Guide to Query Letters
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How to Choose an Agent Amid Competing Offers
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How to Tell If You Have What It Takes to Succeed as a Writer
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Why Do Writers Hire Book Coaches?
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5 Common Story Openings to Avoid—If You Can Help It
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What Does It Mean to Be A Full-Time Author?
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What Your Choice of Dialogue Tags Says About You
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My Must-Have Digital Media Tools: 2020 Edition
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The Exclamation Point: It’s More Than Punctuation
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The Joys (and Perils) of Serial Novel Writing
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The Wonderful Thing About Line Edits
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Art Versus Commerce: Q&A with Author-Cartoonist Bob Eckstein
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Knowing When You’re Ready to Submit: Q&A with Adela Crandell Durkee
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Beware of Similes or Metaphors That Leave Readers Unaffected
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A Vivid Character Is More Than a Series of Attributes
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6 Steps to Get Your Self-Published Book Into Libraries
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When Your Story Opening Does Nothing But Blow Smoke
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How and Why to Build a Twitter Following While Unpublished
