Lessons from 23 Years as a Self-Publishing Novelist
An author who self-published before the current tools existed offers some thoughts on the mindset required to succeed in this business.
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How to Read to Elevate Your Writing Practice
Reading like a writer, focusing on the craft and mechanics on the page, will offer insight to how beautiful and meaningful novels are made.
How to Successfully Pitch Op-Eds and Timely Cultural Pieces
Writing an opinion piece about a topic in the news or in the zeitgeist is a way for even inexperienced writers to get the attention of editors.
How Smaller Organisms Adapt to Amazon in the Self-Publishing Ecosystem
An independent author wonders why two publishing services companies sell their clients’ books at different prices than Amazon.
Explore the Fictional Character That You Present to Readers
Readers of your work create their own idea of you that is, in a sense, a fictional character. Explore voice by leaning into that fiction.
How AI-Generated Books Could Hurt Self-Publishing Authors
Self-publishing authors may end up as collateral damage in the rising tide of AI-generated books appearing at major online retailers.
Mining Your Memories: 3 Forms of Memory Every Memoirist Must Know
Understanding how your memories work, and what to do with the less reliable ones, will help you with the meaning-making process.
How to Land an Agent for a Graphic Novel
While artists don’t necessarily need an agent to get into comics, these tips will help graphic novelists seeking traditional publication.
Book Family Tree: A New Way to Think About Your Book
When choosing comp titles, try envisioning your book as an entry on a family tree to help identify both close and distant relations.
How to Deal With Rejection: Celebrate!
One author believes that celebrating your rejections is part of how you take your power back.
An Unconventional Facebook Ads Strategy for Authors
An expert discovered that the accepted best practices for Facebook ads were driving down results, so he forged a new methodology.
First Page Critique: How to Better Establish the Tone in Your Opening
When a book is being pitched as a murder-mystery with comedic undertones, it’s important to seed those elements in the opening pages.
I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)
Amazon and Goodreads must take steps to combat the flood of AI-generated content that will mislead readers and damage author reputations.
Pay Yourself to Write
Today is the day you start building financial habits to acknowledge the inherent monetary worth of your writing.
Building Your Brand on TikTok Isn’t Curation, It’s Authenticity
As authors, how do we make social media work for us? Here’s how one history nerd used the power of TikTok to create a community of readers.
Decide Where You’re Standing in Time as You Write Your Memoir
Memoirists must make conscious decisions about time—the time frame of the story and where in time you are standing while telling your tale.
What Character Arc Isn’t
Character arc isn’t created from a patchwork of different issues. It’s one clear thread that runs the whole length of your novel.
The Peril and Promise of Writing in First-Person POV
Writing a compelling first-person novel requires creative ingenuity, extraordinary empathy, and a boatload of courage.
Why Preparing a TED Talk Makes You a Better Memoirist (Even If You Never Intend to Get on Stage)
If you’re struggling to shape life experiences into a story, consider key points that illustrate a common thread, as if preparing a TED Talk.
Pitch Yourself Before You Pitch Your Book
If your query letter isn’t standing out from the pack, consider leading with what makes you, not your story, compelling.
It Might Be Time for a Reality Check on Your Writing Goals
Goal-setting is much like the Alcoholic’s Prayer: accept what’s beyond our control, assess what we’re able to change, and know the difference.
The Forgotten Element of Story: The Author
Embracing the You in your story can feel frightening, but it’s the best way to craft a novel that is truly unforgettable.
Gray Space: Making Room for the Reader
When we let the reader fill in our intentionally left blanks, or “gray space”, we invite them inside our imaginary worlds.
How My Newsletter Helped Me Land an Agent and a Big Five Book Deal
While a newsletter might not sell your book, writing one can change your work for the better and help build valuable relationships.
How to Figure Out Which Writing Advice Fits You Best
Like clothing, writing advice should be tried on to see if it fits you and your writing life. Here are five tips for assessing what works.
Villain Logic: The Key to Solving Your Thriller’s Climax Block
When writing thriller, authors must understand our villain’s motivations, end goals, and progressive, logical actions toward that goal.
Book Files and Formats: How to Protect Your Writing Investment
Owning and protecting your publishing source files is one of the most important things a writer can do to protect their writing asset.
First Page Critique: Defining the Scope of Your Memoir
Readers don’t want to start a memoir already knowing the ending, but it’s important that your pitch specifically defines your story’s scope.
8 Tips for Authors to Boost Their Homepage
The average visitor spends on average 54 seconds on a webpage. Here are some tips to help turn visitors into readers, buyers, or subscribers.
Is Deep Third an Actual POV?
Used well, deep third can be one of the most intimate, engaging, revealing ways for readers to viscerally share your character’s world.
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Chapter Without Tears
If you sit down to write and find that you can’t, the typical reason is that you don’t know what job the chapter is supposed to do.
What Makes a Novel Stand Out on Submission?
Stories with a real sense of meaning don’t merely stand out in the slush pile—they’re the types of stories that make for a better world.
Your Manuscript Has Been Edited By Top Professionals—But You Still Get Rejected. What Gives?
The process of finishing a book is a victory in itself. But it might be your “practice” book, and the world is waiting for what you write next.
I Hired ChatGPT As My Writing Coach
Engaging with generative AI in a way that enriches human creativity, you can take your writing further than you might have on your own.
10 Ways to Nurture a Young Writer
What do you do when a teen in your life is a diehard writer? When they won’t clean their room and just want to write stories or poems all day?
3 Ways Writers Block Their Success (While Thinking They’re Hard at Work)
Working hard isn’t necessarily a virtue if it masks the ways that we might be sabotaging our own paths to success and fulfillment.
When Do You Need an Author Website?
A little planning and reflection will help your website be a project you sustain, rather than discard like a half-baked draft.
When Your Characters Speak a Language Other Than English
No matter what language our characters are speaking, writers should strive to express dialogue and inner thoughts in a naturalistic way.
How to Develop a Complex Protagonist
With these four elements you’ll be able to create a more compelling protagonist and, as a result, a more interesting story.
Are You Sure You Don’t Have an Author Platform?
An amateur historian finds that her passion has led to enough expertise and authority for her book proposal to be taken seriously.
The Right Way to Ask a Published Writer for Publishing Advice
Here are some tips on what to do before approaching a published writer with questions about how to get your book published.
To Set Beta Reader Expectations, Have an Honest Conversation
Serving as someone’s beta reader doesn’t mean agreeing to read whatever a writer throws at you. It’s okay to set some expectations.
When Your Publisher Gets the Cover Wrong—Very Wrong
If your publisher’s suggested cover design feels wrong, put your foot down when necessary but also listen—really listen—to the professionals.
How to Write Nonfiction When You’re Not an “Expert”
Worried you’re not enough of an expert to write your book? That’s OK. You don’t need to be the annoying expert who knows it all. There’s another—far more effective—approach you can take when talking to readers.
First Pages Critique: Reduce Repetition to Better Seed the Mystery
In a new feature, our Ask the Editor column reviews the first pages of an unpublished work.
Harnessing the Power of TikTok: From Self-Published to Traditionally Published Author
How one author leveraged a sizable social media platform to breathe new life into a self-published book.
Why Authors Should Ditch Mailchimp and Move to Substack
Authors who’ve been using Mailchimp for their email newsletter might consider moving to Substack, as it offers several benefits—and it’s free.
Why You Should Start Promoting Your Writing Before You’re “Ready”
When an author’s article went viral, she didn’t have the tools in place—a website, a social presence—to capture and leverage that audience.
Using ChatGPT for Book Research? Take Exceeding Care
Authors should consider using AI for historical research—not as a replacement for primary sources, but as just another useful tool.
The Fascinating Neuroscience of Scene
According to neuroscience, scenes make the reader feel as if they are actually in the world of the story. And that makes scene the most memorable way to share information with the reader.