Finding a Balance Between Writing and Marketing
Note from Jane: The following post by Joshua Graham (@J0shuaGraham) is the third in a series sponsored by Nook Press, offering tips and advice ...
/ Creativity
writing life time balance
How do you navigate the writing life when you have an intense day job? Does such a thing as work-life ...
/ Improve Your Writing
Image: a sleeping black and white puppy is cradled in the arm of a seated woman.
Understanding how to use them, and how to balance different types of scenes within a single narrative, is crucial for ...
/ Fiction Craft, Guest Post
Image: an open laptop with a blank white screen sits on a table with notepads, a mobile phone and potted succulents with a view of a sunlit and greenery-filled patio in the background.
Writer’s block is an excuse, based on fear, that gives us permission to quit as soon as writing gets hard ...
/ Creativity, Guest Post
Image: a man's face is shrouded in darkness except for his left eye which is illuminated by a vertical sliver of light.
For a memorable story, give your main character a strong motive, a flaw, and a series of escalating decisions leading ...
/ Fiction Craft, Guest Post
Image: sitting at the edge of a diner-style countertop are a phone, a laptop, and a white coffee mug printed with the words "Everyone is entitled to my opinion."
Writing an opinion piece about a topic in the news or in the zeitgeist is a way for even inexperienced ...
Image: black and white photo of a newborn baby's feet surrounded by swaddling.
Readers don’t want to start a memoir already knowing the ending, but it’s important that your pitch specifically defines your ...
/ Ask the Editor
Photo of author Julia Scheeres with the quotation: To collaborate can be hard. When it’s going well, it’s great, because you’re sharing the excitement and discoveries with someone else, but it can be problematic when you start thinking, “Who’s doing more work than the other?”
The recently published LISTEN, WORLD! is a page turning biography of Elsie Robinson, the most read woman journalist of the twentieth ...
/ Author Q&A, Guest Post
Amid stacks of century-old photos in a display box can be seen one of a bearded man in a military uniform and one of a besuited teenage boy in a domestic living room.
Writers of both genres have to make decisions that somehow mold real people and events into a story with a ...
/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Image: the word "Danger!" spelled out in a large pile of salt spilled on a tabletop.
Focus on the main story’s forward momentum, and use backstory as the seasoning that makes the stew ...
/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
Mansi Shah
THE TASTE OF GINGER author discusses challenges in her quest for publication, writing about the immigrant experience, and much more ...
/ Author Q&A, Guest Post
Laura Zats and T.S Ferguson
Two literary agents discuss the usefulness and limits of assigning a genre to writing, and how it’s perceived by publishers ...
/ Queries & Synopses
Image: someone deleting the Facebook app from a smartphone.
For freelancers, forgoing social media can mean giving up crucial visibility. But it can also provide time to focus on ...
Image: blank name tag labeled "Hello my name is."
Giving your book a good title that captures the essence of your story is one of the most important things you’ll ...
/ Marketing & Promotion
Advanced Self-Editing 3-Part Master Class with Roz Morris
This class is now over and is unavailable for purchase. Sign up to receive announcements about upcoming classes. The magic happens ...
Embracing a Creative Pivot: Q&A with Darien Hsu Gee
Author Darien Hsu Gee discusses writing and publishing across multiple genres, going back for her MFA at age 50, and ...
/ Author Q&A
Image: historic windmill
Whether grappling with believable world-building or adherence to historical accuracy, these six tips will help you navigate this daunting genre ...
Stefanie Sanchez von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti
In this Q&A, agents Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel and Leslie Zampetti tackle the complications of authorship and literary citizenship in ...
Choosing a Publicist: Ruling Out and Ruling In
There are a lot of publicists out there. How can you pick the right one? This is a crucial decision, ...
curse of knowledge
Few of your readers care about what you know, no matter how many years you have spent accumulating that wisdom ...
/ Guest Post, Improve Your Writing
yin yang writing
To some degree, we get to pick and choose our publishing and publicity tasks. Sometimes we forget this and freak ...
/ Creativity, Guest Post
Starting Later & Starting Over: Launching a Writing Career When You’re No Longer “Young”
Seven-figure deals seem to be given to more 20-something debut writers than debut writers in any other age group, yet ...
5 On: Ian Thomas Healy
In this 5 On interview, author and publisher Ian Thomas Healy shares what he learned from his experiences with literary ...
What You Need to Write Your First Book After Age 50   
First and foremost: Set realistic goals. Is this book going to change your life? No. After publication, you will not ...
/ Creativity, Guest Post
AWP 2018: Tips on the Business of Writing and Publishing
For AWP 2018, I hired a team of writers to help me cover business-related sessions, as part of the launch ...
/ Author Earnings & Careers
Mary C Moore and DongWon Song
What should writers do if they feel that an agent isn’t honoring their obligations, contractual or otherwise? What's the best ...
/ Guest Post, Literary Agents
Andrew Rhomberg
Reader analytics measures the strength of reader engagement with a book. This data helps publishers more effectively market and promote ...
/ Marketing & Promotion
writing classroom
Most writers want an MFA for one of three reasons: They want to teach writing, they want to get published, ...
Rufi Thorpe
Author Rufi Thorpe discusses writing for men, her improbable path to publication, what she likes to see in a book ...
authors guide to pinterest
Learn four reasons writers might want to use Pinterest, how to best use the platform, and best practices to get ...
A lit red hand of a crosswalk sign.
Editor and writing coach Rebecca Faith Heyman discusses three ways you might be sabotaging your prospects with an agent (and ...
Man taking photo of himself while others take photos of each other in the background
Writer Joseph Bates explains all the point-of-view options for your novel and how to choose the best point of view ...
photo of pencils and sharpener by Dyfnaint via Flickr
Brooke McIntyre of Inked Voices explains what to look for in a critique group and how to find the best ...
Finding your readers
If you're having trouble finding your audience, your message may not be connecting with readers on a personal level. Here's ...