Literary agent Lucinda Halpern prepares us to navigate the industry and prepare for publishing. With her insights, we'll position our project—and ourselves as authors—to pitch agents and get noticed. She reveals what literary agents are really looking for when it comes to platform and clears up the concern about how much or how little to share of your book's ideas on … [Read more...]
What’s a Writing Coach (and what kind do I need)?
Have you ever wondered what a writing coach is? As you can imagine, I get asked this a lot. I mean, it is baked into my branding, and I love sharing insights I've gained over my years of coaching. Let's start with the simplest, broadest definition of what a writing coach is and does: A writing coach provides you with input and support designed to close the gap … [Read more...]
Find Your Book Midwife, Say “Yes” Before You’re Ready, Pitch to Build Platform, and Authentically Engage with Readers (interview with author Clarissa Moll)
For author Clarissa Moll, hiring a writing coach was like finding her book midwife, and she urges writers to seek that kind of intimate, knowledgeable support and input for their own writing and publishing journey. In this interview, Clarissa shares her approach to writing, platform, and publishing, like: make a list of 10 things whenever you're stuck or developing … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Start the Writing Process When You’re Staring at a Blank Page
Louis L'Amour is attributed as saying, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”1 Sounds easy enough, but a lot of times we can’t even find the faucet. Or we find the faucet but fail to turn it on. Either way, we want to write, but no words flow. Is that you? Are you ready to begin writing but you don’t know where … [Read more...]
Writing Quote: writers write…to relive life (Donald Murray)
Donald Murray assures us that writing is a tool for personal reflection and insight. "The material for writing is in your head," he says. "It will be recovered, relived, understood, and shared through writing."1 In his book Write to Learn, he continues: One of the principal reasons that writers write is to relive life. (Donald Murray)2 I've heard variations on … [Read more...]
Writing Quote: Writing is one of the most forceful ways of learning, perceiving, maturing, expanding (Ruth Vaughn)
Writing gets our words into the world. Writing helps us impact readers. Writing conveys ideas. But there's something else about writing...Ruth Vaughn explains it well in her book Write to Discover Yourself: I am convinced that writing creatively is a beautiful and rewarding experience for discovering one's self. For writing is one of the most forceful ways of … [Read more...]
Writing Quotes: A writer is here to describe things… (James Baldwin)
It's tempting to comment on whatever is hot and trending—to hashtag our way to visibility. It's harder to spot what others miss...to care about it, to bear witness. It's important to pay attention to what others pass by...to see it, capture it, describe it. James Baldwin knew this, practiced this. He wrote: "The importance of a writer is continuous…His importance, … [Read more...]
Embrace These 4 Key Roles for a Flourishing Writing Life
I was an English major with a creative writing emphasis. When I looked to my future, I saw myself writing. Over the years I managed to build a writing career, but as an English major, I wasn’t prepared for the business aspects of writing. Invoices, receipts, taxes? That was all foreign to me. Sharing my writing through speaking and social media? That’s not what I … [Read more...]
How Simple Systems Can Unlock Your Writing Productivity, with Kari Roberts
If you're like me, you struggle to carve out time to write...you wish you could uncomplicate life and get more done. Good news! I have business coach and online business manager Kari Roberts on the show to help us think through simple systems that can unlock our writing productivity and creativity. "It's like you're on a treadmill," she says. "You're running in … [Read more...]
Decoding Greatness: Discover the Fast Track to Writing Success
What if the stories we've been told about success are wrong? What if you could unlock secrets that shave years off your writing journey? In this interview, Ron Friedman demystifies the writing process and introduces a surprising path—a fast track, if you will. He says "it is the path by which so many writers and artists and inventors and entrepreneurs have … [Read more...]
Do you view your writing life as a profession?
I watched the professor of my advanced poetry class open the lid of a metal box crammed with 3x5 cards. He wiggled out one of the worn cards covered with notes and held it up. On this card was the title of one of his poems along with the date of the latest version. Below that he had written names of literary magazines where he’d submitted that poem, followed by … [Read more...]
It’s fun to write with others!
About seven years ago, I partnered with Charity Singleton Craig to co-author On Being a Writer. While working on the draft, we often pulled up one of our shared Google Docs to review our drafts and notes in real time. In this way, we wove together our stories and experiences with relative ease. If we had a grade school report card at the end of the project, the … [Read more...]
Develop a Daily Writing Practice to Find Your Voice: Interview with Allison Fallon
I listened to Allison Fallon's The Power of Writing It Down while jogging through my neighborhood. Those weren't my best runs, because I kept pulling out my phone to thumb-type a great quote before picking up the pace again. And yet they were fantastic runs, because Allison's words inspired me to re-establish a daily journaling practice. On that first outing—with … [Read more...]
Shawn Smucker & Maile Silva on creative legacy, rejections, and being faithful to the work
[Ep 234] On this episode of the podcast, I hosted two novelists: Shawn Smucker and his wife, Maile Silva, for a literary discussion. Imagine you're at a writing conference and we're on stage to discuss the challenges they face as two writers at different points in the writing journey, living and working and raising a family together. How do they offer support and … [Read more...]
Winning Book Proposals Need These 3 Things
When you seek traditional publishing for your nonfiction book, you don’t just write the book and send it off. Instead, you craft what’s called a book proposal—an essential business document expected by publishing professionals like agents and editors. With this document, you’re hoping to attract the attention and interest of industry gatekeepers so they’ll partner … [Read more...]
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