DIY MFA Street Team Round-Up: Weeks 1-4

High-ho, Elisabeth Kauffman here (I’ve always wanted to start a post that way… any other original Muppet Show fans here?). The past few weeks I’ve been honored to meet and participate with the DIY MFA Street Team, a group of committed and enthusiastic writers who are helping us get the word out about DIY MFA,… Read more »

What I Learned From Starting a Blog Interview Series

As writers, we can’t help digesting as many author interviews as possible in the hopes of discovering how exactly that bestselling author wrote a blockbuster book. We want to discover the writing secrets that enable  people to create unforgettable stories. That’s why I couldn’t resist the opportunity to start an interview series on my blog…. Read more »

#5onFri: Five Reasons To Do Market Research for Your WIP

Most writers do some kind of research while working on a story. However, have you considered doing a “market research” project? By market research, I mean reading published books in your genre that cover the same or similar topic. I’ve been working on one for my WIP, and doing so has helped me get a… Read more »

5 Easy Steps to Overnight Success

This is the first installment in a new post series I’m trying out. Every-other Thursday I’ll be sharing a “Dear Word Nerd” letter that first appeared in the DIY MFA newsletter. If you’re already an email subscriber, you can help me select the letters that get featured here by replying to the emails you loved most. If you’re not on… Read more »

Publishing Industry Myths and Legends

When I first entered the lofty realm of book publishing as nothing but a meek little editorial intern, I believed all sorts of misconceptions about the industry. Not least the editors’ choice: “So you just read all day, right?” Haha, that hasn’t gotten old! . . . But over the years, I’ve discovered that’s just… Read more »

#5OnFri: 5 Tips for Writing Book Two

Congratulations!  You made it! Your first book is published!  And now…you get to write another one!  But you’re also marketing Book One and possibly even doing school or book club visits, even if you’re an introvert!  (Watch for the marketing-for-introverts post coming May 27!) So how do you manage to juggle it all?  Here are… Read more »

Game-Changer: A Daily Writing Habit

I used to talk about writing a lot. I’d get all dreamy and imagine my future career as a world-famous novelist. But it was always a hazy dream, filmed through Vaseline so you couldn’t see the harder realities of it: the actual work. It was “someday.” But I wasn’t doing anything to make it happen…. Read more »

Episode 92: Setting the Scene – Interview with C.J. Box

Hey there word nerds! Thanks for joining me. Today I’m talking with New York Times bestselling author, C.J. Box, author of sixteen Joe Pickett novels, five standalones, and the short story collection, Shots Fired. He’s also won numerous awards including and won the Edgar Award for Best novel for his first standalone, Blue Heaven. Off… Read more »