#5onFri: Five Resolutions from the DIY MFA Team

Happy (Almost) New Year, Word Nerds! We hope you’ve had wonderful holidays, and are ready for a new decade (!!). In celebration of the end of 2019 and the beginning of the roaring twenties, we asked some members of the DIY MFA team what their resolutions are.  At DIY MFA, we believe goals or resolutions… Read more »

Six Tips on Working with an Editor

If you’ve recently completed #NaNoWriMo, congratulations! Finishing a draft of a manuscript is a major accomplishment that many people dream of achieving, but few actually do. But before you hit the “Publish” button, you need to take a step back. Or two, or three. It is a truth universally acknowledged–or it should be–that every author… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Ways Solo Mom Writers Inspire Us

Toni Morrison and J.K. Rowling have inspired countless writers to follow in their footsteps, yet their distinctive work is rarely linked to their shared experience of parenting children on their own. As coeditor of We Got This: Solo Mom Stories of Grit, Heart, and Humor, an anthology of essays and poems by solo moms, I’m… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Tips for Post-Publication Survival and Success

Congratulations! You’ve published your book—now what? You worked very hard to get here—sitting on your own, writing, rewriting, and submitting for publication—surviving rejection and persisting. It’s time to buckle up again though, because post-publication may be bumpy, even overwhelming at times. Here are five tips to help smooth your way. Take a deep breath. Exhale…. Read more »

#5onFri: Five Tips for Aspiring Freelance Editors

I spent five years as a literary agent, three of them in NYC, and I never thought I’d leave that business. Then I met the Midwestern man I would marry in a Brooklyn bar. And here’s the thing: Midwesterners always go back, no matter what they try to tell you. Many people agent successfully from… Read more »

The Privilege of Building an Audience to Serve

“Platform is about cultivating and serving an audience.” I first heard book coach Chad R. Allen make this comment a few months ago. Now, Chad knows a thing or two about platform and books. He’s a former acquisitions editor, with over twenty years of experience in the publishing industry, as well as a writer, blogger,… Read more »

How (and Why) to Market Yourself

When I talk to other writers about my experiences with my small press, or about small presses in general, I often get questions about how much they help to market my books. My press offers a reasonable amount of promotion support, especially compared to what I’ve heard from some other authors. But even so, I… Read more »

writing workshop

#5onFri: Five Tips for Finding the Right Workshop

Really, I never expected accolades. I’d prepared myself for the tough feedback I hoped would help me grow as a writer. I may be an accomplished columnist but I have much to learn about writing fiction. I didn’t anticipate praise but neither did I expect to leave feeling like something scraped off the sidewalk. But,… Read more »