Improve Your Own Storytelling by Analyzing Other People’s

“Taking Notes” by venspired is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Today’s post is by editor Tiffany Yates Martin (@FoxPrintEd). Join us on July 13 for the online class Analyze Story Like an Editor. One of the best resources an author has in learning the craft is something most writers have done for years: taking in others’ stories....

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How (and How Not!) to Write Queer Characters: A Primer

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon Today’s post is by regular contributor Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), an award-winning author, editor, and book coach. She offers an online course, Story Medicine, designed to help writers use their power as storytellers to support a more just and verdant world. Recently, I sat down (virtually) with...

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3 Common Pitfalls in Memoir Queries

Of all the querying writers in the world, I empathize most with memoirists because of the challenge they uniquely face. Memoir falls into a gray area where some agents/publishers are most interested in seeing you pitch the work like any other nonfiction book (with discussion of platform, market, and media potential), while others would rather have you...

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Why Agents Don’t Give Feedback—And Where to Get It Instead

Today’s post is by Allison K Williams (@GuerillaMemoir). The long, frustrating process of querying seems so one-sided. Most queries receive form rejections with cryptic phrases like “I didn’t connect” or “just not for me,” or fall into the deep valley of No response means no. Author after author asks on Twitter, in writing groups...

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Amazon Ads: Step-by-Step Walk Through for Beginning Authors

Amazon ads have long been a valued (and sometimes expensive) tool for self-published authors and traditional publishers alike to drive visibility and sales. But one key group has always been excluded from placing such ads: traditionally published authors. Such authors must rely on their publishers investing in ads or seek out alternatives, such as Facebook...

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Looking for a Beta Reader? Flip That Question Around.

Photo by Ron Lach Today’s post is by author and editor Kris Spisak (@KrisSpisak). Where can you find a “beta reader” for your manuscript? It’s a question that writers often ask when they’re looking for early readers who can share advice on what’s working and what’s not yet there. Professional editors definitely can be transformational...

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Is Hybrid Publishing Ethical?

Photo by Karolina Grabowska Note from Jane: Today’s post is by Meghan Harvey (@meggsaladpdx), Chief Strategy Officer at Girl Friday Productions. Girl Friday is a paid-for publishing service that also runs a hybrid arm, Girl Friday Books. Last month, I wrote extensively about the nuances of hybrid publishing. It included two hybrid publishing...

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Getting Book Endorsements (Blurbs): What to Remember, Do, Avoid, and Expect

“i like you” by minnepixel is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Today’s post is by author Barbara Linn Probst. Seeking blurbs—that is, quotes and endorsements—is a pre-publication task that most writers absolutely hate. However, unless yours is a front-list title from a major publishing house (in which case the publisher may...

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The Hybrid Publisher Debate: Do You Have the Right Mindset?

Today’s post is by author Debbie Weiss (@DWeissWriter). As an author with She Writes Press—my first book comes out this fall—I’ve been following the articles about the costs charged by hybrid and paid-for publishers, and I think they’re missing the key point which is: does this author have the right mindset? The issue, at least to me,...

Jun 2022

Promote Your Book with Your Values

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels Today’s post is by author Sonya Huber (@sonyahuber). Like many authors, I had a book to promote during the COVID-19 pandemic and still today each one of us faces the threat of illness and too little bandwidth for a promotional blitz. Shilling our wares can be draining, so I decided to ask the unreasonable...

May 2022