Category: How To and Tips
How to Make Your Manuscript Shine
By Lorraine Zago Rosenthal As all writers know, publishing is a highly competitive business. Securing representation from a literary agent isn’t easy, and neither is landing a book deal with a small press or a large publisher. Although agents and editors expect to invest their time and effort into revising a fiction manuscript, they generally—and […]
Life as a WIP
By Nancie Abuhaidar WIP: abbreviation for work in progress or process: a piece of work or a product that has been begun but is not finished or ready –Cambridge Dictionary In the work in progress that is my life, it feels like I’m living the boggy middle of a first draft, a fact echoed literally in my current project. Since I self-published my debut, I’ve been working on the next […]
Because of a Book
By Wendy J. Dunn Increasingly, I read about the decline of reading. That fewer people have or make the time to read books. Every time I read this, I feel sad. More than simply sad. I am who I am because of books. A book changed my life and turned it into a true adventure. […]
The Ethics of Writing About Real People in Historical Fiction
By Maryka Biaggio Do fiction authors who write about real people—even long-deceased ones—have an ethical responsibility to their subjects? And do readers hold different expectations for a novel than for a biography about an infamous or famous figure? Readers expect biographers to research thoroughly, portray their subjects accurately, and avoid wild speculation about the unknown. […]
When a Story Chooses You
By Jessica Franzini My path to becoming a writer might be considered an unusual one. I was born and raised in New York and spent my youth as a competitive junior tennis player. I earned a full scholarship to San Diego State University and assumed that I would turn pro after four years of competing […]
Behind The Room Next Door by Wendy Walker
By Wendy Walker In the weeks since its release, The Room Next Door has found an extraordinary audience: four weeks in the top three fiction titles on Audible—with a #1 spot in its first week—along with two consecutive weeks as the platform’s most-listened audiobook and a continued place in the top ten. It has also […]
Some Dreams Must Be Set Free: The Inspiration and Unusual Journey Behind Night Born
By Theresa Cheung For more than two decades my professional life has been devoted to dreams, interpreting them, decoding them, researching them, and writing about them. Many readers know me as the author of The Dream Dictionary A–Z, the internationally bestselling guide that began life as The Element Encyclopaedia of 20,000 Dreams (HarperCollins) and now […]
Forging the Literary Path by Claire R. McDougall
by Claire R. McDougall When I was a child of about ten, an ambitious grade school teacher decided that her class should collectively write a novel. Every week, we would write a chapter, and it was all very democratic: the theme was decided by vote, and any child who felt so moved, would submit a […]
Two Minds, One Story: The Realities of Co-Authoring a Series
By Betsey Kulakowski Collaboration is one of the most rewarding and challenging experience a writer can have. Co-writing a book series with an other author can elevate your storytelling to a new level, but it requires trust, communication, and a shared vision. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a writer while collaborating with the […]
WHERE THE MUSE WAITS
Santa Cruz, California. 3:00 am. My phone rang. “Storm’s coming in fast,” a friend said. “Can you help?” I pulled on jeans, layers of shirts, and work boots. Grabbed a rain jacket on my way out the door. I’d never harvested grapes, but I was prepared for physical work. Little did I suspect the Muse […]
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