January 2025 Bestseller Lists
Three distinctive monthly bestseller lists: top 50 hidden gems, top 50 self-published ebooks, and top 50 self-published print books.
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Expect the Creative Process to Be Uneven and Messy
Getting stuck is a lousy feeling, but a normal part of the messy and uneven creative process. Here are some tips for working through it.
The Perfect Guide for Where to Submit Your Writing (Does Not Exist)
We often long for perfect guidance about where to submit our writing, but there’s no substitute for getting to know the landscape ourselves.
6 Tips on Writing Disabled Characters
Writing characters with disabilities doesn’t have to be difficult. It only requires a little work to understand how things look from the character’s position.
Free Yourself from Rewriting Paralysis
When the revision process meanders off-course, leaving a project stranded, here are some tips for regaining momentum.
Scene and Structure: The Wave Technique
To keep readers engaged, build each scene toward a breaking point then reveal something new about the characters, their world, or the plot.
Turn Your Short Pieces Into a Finished Nonfiction Book
If you’ve amassed a heap of assorted essays, flash pieces, chapters, and ideas, here’s a step-by-step guide to shaping them into a book.
It’s Time to Interview Your Own Inner Diminisher
If an inner voice criticizes your creativity, consider addressing the judgy elephant in the room. To whom does that voice belong?
Key Methods for Direct and Indirect Foreshadowing in Your Story
In story as in art, what’s hinted at in the shadows can add intriguing layers of depth and interest.
3 Aspects of Managing the Clutter-Tidiness Continuum
When a project itself is confusing to its creator, here’s a quick look at ways to unclutter stuff, people, and the words we write.
How to Find Your Memoir’s Narrative Arc (There May Be More Than One)
One author successfully pitched her memoir based on its thematic point, but shaping it into a satisfying narrative arc was much tricker.
How Deliberate Practice Can Develop Your Writing Skills and Talent
Current research favors regular nurturing of a skill, as discussed in this excerpt from Deliberate Practice for Creative Writers by Jules Horne.
Bottom Line December 2024 bestseller lists
The December 2024 bestseller lists are now available at the Hot Sheet website, free to everyone. Here are some points of interest.
December 2024 Bestseller Lists
Three distinctive monthly bestseller lists: top 50 hidden gems, top 50 self-published ebooks, and top 50 self-published print books.
Get Out of the Silo
One writer found herself chained to an idea that just wasn’t working, and needed fresh perspective from a colleague in order to break free.
Avoid a Creative Slump By Writing and Publishing in a Different Medium
When trying to best tell a particular story, consider that some medium other than words on a page might be the right solution.
Don’t Write Every Day: 3 Things to Do Instead to Finish Your Book
It’s tempting to agonize over the best way to get the words down, but all that matters is to choose a project, write it, and ask for support.
The Surprising Complexity of Picture Books
Protagonist, antagonist, rising and falling action, arc of change, emotion—all must be developed in a picture book, and in under 500 words.
When It Lights Up–and When It Doesn’t
It’s an artist’s job to trust that deep satisfaction from our creative work arrives by keeping at it even when we feel stuck.
Should You Hire a Professional Designer for Your Book Interior?
Even if you decide to design and format your own book, it’s important to be aware of fundamental elements of book composition.
The Key Book Publishing Paths: 2025–2026
Should you self-publish or traditionally publish? This infographic will help you determine the best choice for you and your project.
My 2024 Year-End Review: Most Notable Publishing Industry Developments
From my paid newsletter, here’s a recap of the book industry issues and trends I find most notable and meaningful as we move into 2025.
New Publishers and Agents in 2024
A roundup of new publishers, imprints, and agents announced in 2024, as covered in The Hot Sheet.
November 2024 Bestseller Lists
Three distinctive monthly bestseller lists: top 50 hidden gems, top 50 self-published ebooks, and top 50 self-published print books.
Bottom Line November 2024 bestseller lists
The November 2024 bestseller lists are now available at the Hot Sheet website, free to everyone. Here are some points of interest.
Authors: Think Twice Before Paying to Exhibit at Industry Book Fairs
Most authors should not pay to exhibit at industry trade shows like London Book Fair and Frankfurt Book Fair.
What If You’re Writing Novellas? Now What?
When publishers and agents show no interest in novellas, contests might be a more reliable path to publication.
What the MFA Does and Does Not Do for Aspiring Novelists
The director of an MFA program wrestles with how to make it a more useful degree for aspiring commercial novelists.
Create Compelling Suspense and Tension No Matter What’s Happening in Your Story
Triumphs are most compelling when the hero has to fight for them, so even quiet stories need plenty of obstacles, challenges, and uncertainties.
In Defense of Giving Up
Becoming a mother was the motivation one freelance writer needed to abandon the toxic hustle culture by which she defined “success”.
Writing the Author’s Note for a Novel
An Author’s Note can be the most direct way to communicate your book’s themes to editors, marketers, librarians, teachers, and readers.
5 Myths About Tarot That Storytellers Should Know
Like love and creativity, the best things in life are intangible. It’s the same with intuition, which the tarot helps us access and develop.
How to Describe Your Target Readership So It’s Meaningful to Agents and Publishers
Book proposals come together much more easily when the author has confidence and clarity on their target audience.
My NaNoWriMo Was a Train Wreck
One author discovers that when it comes to heavily-researched historical fiction, one’s ducks should be in a row before tackling NaNoWriMo.
Doubting Yourself Is Not Failing
We do not live without a persistent undercurrent of questions, both tiny and tremendous. Doubt is part of us, so let us make peace with it.
The Human-Interest Approach: Focusing on People to Convey Facts
Academics or experts writing for a broader audience than peers should consider framing complex facts through a personal lens.
Bottom Line October 2024 bestseller lists
The October 2024 bestseller lists are now available at the Hot Sheet website, free to everyone. Here are some points of interest.
October 2024 Bestseller Lists
Three distinctive monthly bestseller lists: top 50 hidden gems, top 50 self-published ebooks, and top 50 self-published print books.
5 Things Painting the Bathroom Reminded Me about Writing a Novel
There will absolutely be tape lines to adjust and plot questions to answer along the way, so don’t let the prep prevent messy progress.
Breaking Point, Back Story, Resolution: A Three-Part Structure for Memoir
Memoir can benefit from starting at the moment that change became inevitable, then explaining what came before and what followed.
Why the Best Life Lessons Are Writing Lessons, Too
Whether in life or publishing, when faced with setbacks it’s important to stay present and find joy in the small triumphs.
Don’t Demonize Print on Demand
The role and quality of POD (print on demand) is continually misunderstood by authors and the larger publishing community.
Forget the First Line. Focus on First Pages.
Worry less about creating a first sentence that will shock and awe, and more about drawing readers into the story one link of the chain at a time.
Why Everyone Should Keep an Authority List
What does an average person like me have to say? If you ever find yourself thinking that way, make a list of subjects you know inside and out.
Where Do the Stories Come From?
Nonfiction writers have to decide where to collect their stories and how much to rely on their personal experience.
5 Plot Hacks That Just Might Save Your Novel
Struggling with the plot of your current work-in-progress? Maybe one of these tried and true solutions will do the trick for you.
3 Bad Ideas for More Creative Writing
Next time you feel stuck, abandoning perfection and embracing bad ideas might be just the trick for breaking out of a creative slump.
Murky Middles Begone: Ensure the Middle of Your Book Stands Strong
It’s easier to write beginnings and endings but often the middle is left sagging—not out of the lack of skill or care, but out of confusion.
Join My Free Email Course on How to Earn a Living as a Writer
My book, The Business of Being a Writer Second Edition, releases in April 2025. To mark the occasion, I’m offering a free, email-based course.
Romance Authors Thrive in the Self-Publishing Era
Christine Larson, author of Love in the Time of Self-Publishing, talks about the genre’s struggle with diversity, and how writers earn a living.