I heard an agent once, talking about how she decides whether she's going to read a manuscript. She said that if she likes a book, she knows she will be taking it to bed with her. Therefore, any book that wants her full attention, has to convince her … [Continue reading] about 3 Reasons It’s Okay to Stop Reading That Book
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Magic Spreadsheet
I am on a mission to finish my novel and get it out to agents in March of 2017. The kick in the pants that got me back to working on this novel came from my friend and fellow writer Alexandra D'Italia. The tool that is keeping me honest about my … [Continue reading] about Magic Spreadsheet
Why Blogging Matters
In the many years that I've been blogging, I have had more than a couple discussions with other writers about why (and in fact if) blogging matters. Why Blogging Matters Yes, you hear all the time about how writers need to build up their platforms, … [Continue reading] about Why Blogging Matters
Submit Your Stories to the Right Journals
In a previous post, I shared my free, downloadable spreadsheet for keeping track of where you submit your short stories. But when you download it, you will find yourself looking at a blank sheet. No one can tell you which are the right journals for … [Continue reading] about Submit Your Stories to the Right Journals
The Final Ten Percent
If you follow along, you know I am working on two novels right now. The first I began years ago as my thesis project for my masters in writing at USC. It's actually not too far from done, but at the beginning of the summer I stuck it in a drawer just … [Continue reading] about The Final Ten Percent
Submission Window Opens Today for Top-Tier Journals
If you follow along, you know I'm pretty methodical about how I submit my short stories to journals. (If you haven't been following along, check out this post to get up to speed.) Well, the submission window opens today for a whole bunch of my … [Continue reading] about Submission Window Opens Today for Top-Tier Journals
A Request for Elizabeth Gilbert
I have long been a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert's writing. I know people went all gaga over EPL (it was pretty great), but if you haven't yet read The Signature of All Things you are missing out. That book is stunning. Seriously. So I had to pick up … [Continue reading] about A Request for Elizabeth Gilbert