Substack makes it easy for non-tech people to harness the power of email newsletters, and that's a good thing. Just beware the hype.

An author who only set out to write one book wrestles with the question—do I really have a second book in me?

One successful self-publishing author discusses the importance of multiple formats, licensing, thinking like a publisher, and much more.

Time reshapes how we view and frame the chapters of our lives. Since a memoir inevitably can’t tell the whole story, we keep writing.

One self-publishing author who opted-out offers a dozen other avenues on and off the Internet to help spread the word and drive book sales.

This is an introductory guide to the major self-publishing options available to authors today, and how to choose the right service for you.

In the last of a three-part series we examine the advantages and disadvantages of starting with theme, as opposed to character or plot.

Any self-publishing author can easily make a book available to Amazon, bookstores, libraries, etc. But availability doesn't mean visibility.

Framing the overall story, as well as each scene within it, through these key elements will help create a consistently propulsive plot.

Literary agents Michelle Brower and Jennifer Chen Tran discuss the pros and cons of small presses, querying strategy, and much more.

Traditional publishers often center marketing campaigns around community support—sometimes growing an author’s platform in the process

Writing in dual perspectives can easily tie you in knots, but it also opens the door to new opportunities between characters and story lines.

Here are the most common arguments against teaching the business of writing in an MFA program—and why such arguments are flawed.

Both writing coaches and therapists dig deep, listen attentively, and meet regularly. But hiring one versus the other depends on your goals.

Masterful writers keep their readers in a constant state of tension. How to get tension on every page? By focusing on microtension.

What makes readers open a book and keep turning the pages? In part, curiosity and tension.

The author and podcaster discusses what she learned from going the wrong kind of viral, the power of vulnerable truth in writing, and more.

Writers focused on plot are often strong when it comes to world-building and “big ideas,” but there are inherent challenges as well.

Developing voice is important, but finding a topic that excites you—and others—could be a better first step for a new writer.

There are many kinds of memoir, with one thing in common: their authors must ultimately possess the ability to artfully render the moment.

This choice has nothing to do with the act of writing, but everything to do with how you talk to yourself about your vocation.

Copyright law is written to protect stories, not characters, but over time the law on character protection has evolved.

During peer review, expert scholars evaluate your proposal. Their suggestions can improve your book if you synthesize them thoughtfully.

Publishing a book can be an exciting prospect which often ends in anticlimax. One indie author examines the emotional roller-coaster.

A look at how the sources of my income shifted between 2016–2020, with online teaching now earning the lion's share.

Donna Ward is an Australian writer whose first book, She I Dare Not Name, has just been published in the US.

Hype aside, an NFT is not equivalent to registering a digital work with the Copyright Office—and it's no barrier to unlawful reproduction.

Self-publishing offers so many paths and options that it can seem intimidating. One debut novelist shares her journey, with valuable tips.

Fiction writers who start with character, as opposed to plot or theme, have certain advantages—and certain challenges.

Facebook’s most valuable asset is data. As an advertiser, you can tap into this data and pinpoint the exact readers you want to reach.

Learning these basic skills will help you relax, enjoy the conversation, and hopefully turn a podcast’s audience into yours as well.

TikTok has evolved into an entertainment and educational hub, with a remarkably engaged community of book buyers.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters is expressing an idea in ways that are unique to the artist and specific to the time and culture.

To create the alchemical magic of emotion in your fiction, you need to approach the challenge from more than one angle.

It’s impossible to fire on all cylinders all the time, so dedicate some of your writing time to stoke the flames of creativity.

The most useful work is that which tests our limits and forces us to write something we didn’t realize we were capable of producing.

Your community might be all too willing to help promote your book. The hard part is overcoming the fear of asking.

If you write knowing how the story will end, you’ll deprive readers of the tension that comes from putting obstacles in your characters’ way.

Freelance writing—even for little or no pay—offers a low-stakes way to gain publication credit, hone your skills, and raise your visibility.

Paying attention to your own visceral reactions and thoughts can help you create richly developed characters who leap off the page.

Showing the moments of normalcy brings the reader more fully into your life, and heightens the drama when traumatic events occur.

What you earn is about what business model you can envision or build for yourself and whether it's sustainable for you over the long term.

When you’ve finished your story, it’s time to step into a stewardship role to place it in the best position to connect with readers.

True forgiveness can take years to achieve. That’s why memoirs take longer to write than novels. But it’s worth the effort.

The poet and author discusses writing through trauma, his novel’s path to publication, adjusting details to suit a higher truth, and more.

Identifying comparable titles helps agents and publishers understand where your book fits in the market and who your most likely readers are.

Building direct-to-reader relationships may help publishers shift the balance of power in a game where Amazon holds most of the cards.

In writing memoir, internal voices—with competing interests—can emerge to inform the narrative. A rounded story is careful to balance them all.

One author struggles to prioritize between major writing projects when time and energy are limited.

What keeps many writers from a book deal isn’t a polished manuscript or proposal. It’s a sense of the publishing landscape as it really is.