Today’s post is by Jennie Case. When my essay, A Political Pregnancy, came out in The Rumpus, I was so frozen I spent most of the day stiff in a chair, the room swirling. It took a good week for me to unthaw, and nearly a year for me to share the piece publicly on social media. To be sure: I was proud of the essay, which explored...

Photo by Book Hut Today’s post is by book coach Robin Henry. As noted in a previous post, 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. It’s worth taking a moment to think about what makes her novels stand the test of time. In my work with writers who are revising, we focus on six pillars of revision: Story Question,...

Today’s post is by Brian Rendell. Entering any new field is challenging but breaking into today’s writing profession is a daunting proposition. Publishers’ budgets are stretched, indie and traditional models appear to be colliding, AI is disrupting norms, and agents are overwhelmed with submissions. I recently set sail...

Today’s post is by author Cynthia Swanson. My debut psychological suspense novel, The Bookseller, sold to Harper in 2013 in a pre-empt. I’m not going to lie—it was an amazing deal. The type of deal that compelled me to ask my husband, when I called to break the news, “Are you sitting down?” Amazon • Bookshop By the...

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich Today’s post is by author Joni B. Cole. As a long-time workshop leader, I’m in awe of how some writers are masters at putting themselves on a path of creative self-destruction. In a way, it’s a beautiful, albeit demented, thing to behold—sort of like watching Glen Powell wrangling that F-5 tornado in Twisters....

Today’s post is by historian, podcaster and writer Doug Sofer, Ph.D. This is a little embarrassing. I’m a historian who values logic and evidence, but sometimes I can’t help but believe in a little bit of magic—especially when it comes to building an author platform. Maybe you’ve felt the same way. Platform-building is...