Catherine Baab-MuguiraCatherine Baab-Muguira

Catherine Baab-Muguira’s debut, Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru, was published by Hachette in September 2021. She also writes a free email newsletter called Poe Can Save Your Life, packed with darkly inspiring self-help tips for writers and other creatives. Check it out here.
You Don’t Need a Platform If You Can Find an Audience
Image: at the center of a pile of yellow smiley-faced orbs is a red one with a winking face.
If your subject already has a large existing fandom, how can you quantify that audience, using the data to impress ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
Why It’s Better to Write About Money, Not for Money
Image: small piles of coins rest on a table in front of a porcelain bank shaped like a unicorn.
Along with sex and death, money is a topic with evergreen appeal. So when you write about money, you put ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
The Julie & Julia Formula: How to Turn Writing Envy Into Writing Success
Image: atop a green plate is a slice of white bread from which holes have been cut that spell "I heart Julia".
Dedicated and even obsessive engagement with another creator’s work can open unexpected doors for your own writing ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
Why Frankenstein Still Sells 40,000 Copies a Year
Image: sign of Frankenstein's monster at the Universal Studios parking facility.
The more important and perennial a problem that a book addresses, the better the chances it will survive the test ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
If You Can’t Stand the Sight of Your Own Blood, Don’t Step Into the Ring
Image: a female boxer being punched, sending her protective mouthguard flying into the air.
It’s difficult yet important to develop enough confidence in your work that you’re not sunk every time someone dislikes it ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
How to Turn Trolling Into a Fine Art
Illustration of Edgar Allan Poe sending an angry face emoji on a laptop computer.
Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century troll, virulently critical of other writers—but also engaged in literary citizenship for work ...
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/ Guest Post, Marketing & Promotion
Find Your Topic, Not Your Voice
Image: sculpture of many faces attached to a column, all connected to one another by colorful wires.
Developing voice is important, but finding a topic that excites you—and others—could be a better first step for a new ...
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/ Guest Post, Writing Advice
How to Get Your First Freelance Byline (and Why Even Fiction Writers Should Freelance)
How to Get Your First Freelance Byline (and Why Even Fiction Writers Should Freelance)
Freelance writing—even for little or no pay—offers a low-stakes way to gain publication credit, hone your skills, and raise your ...
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/ Getting Published, Guest Post
What If It Takes 12 Years to Get an Agent?
Image: sharpened pencil with shavings
What keeps many writers from a book deal isn’t a polished manuscript or proposal. It’s a sense of the publishing ...
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/ Getting Published, Guest Post
What Every Writer Needs to Know About Email Newsletters (They’re Not Going Away)
Image: statue of Thomas Paine holding book and quill pen
Even a small email list is better than no list at all, because it likely represents your most devoted, true ...
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/ Guest Post, Marketing & Promotion