OMG Writer Igniter Con is just one week away! One of my favorite things about this online conference is that you can get real-time feedback from agents so you can learn to pitch your book. Of course, with the conference just around the corner, my team and I have been getting some questions what a pitch actually is, why writers… Read more »
Hey Word Nerds! Welcome back to DIY MFA Radio. Today’s episode is all about the m-words of writing: marketing and money. These topics are often hard for writers to discuss, but I wanted to address them for a couple of reasons. First, they are super-important. And second, I believe that all writers can be awesome at both at the… Read more »
In 2009, I experienced what novelists call a “dark night of the soul.” I had just gotten married, and struggled with my new adult identity and the loss of my maiden name. In the space of six months, three loved ones passed away, including my beloved grandmother. I was frustrated at work and knew I… Read more »
For months, I dreaded my first pitch session, a live event in which a roomful of potential agents awaited me with only three minutes to impress each one I’d targeted. I’ve always felt that I don’t make a good first impression; I come off too serious, too earnest, too Hermione-ish. (There’s a reason Harry and… Read more »
Hi there word nerds! Today we’re talking with Ken Zak about writing poetic prose and the process behind his book The Poet’s Secret. Kenneth Zak is an aquatic nomad of Bohemian-Polish ancestry. As a lad, he dove into Lake Erie in search of a silver coin. Decades later, he surfaced off the island of Crete… Read more »
What’s up with all the long-running series for middle grade readers? For the purposes of this article, I’m talking specifically about books series that span more than fifteen books—in fact, some of them feel like they might never end! Kids love them, adults perhaps less so when our bookshelf threatens to collapse from the weight… Read more »
If you’re anything like me, when you’re in the throes of the creative process you end up throwing everything at the page and the kitchen sink, just trying not to stifle your muse or leave anything important out of the story you’re trying to tell. When you finally finish it’s tempting to just close the… Read more »
Hey Word Nerds! Today’s episode is going to be so awesome because I’m talking to debut author Kim Liggett, a fabulous YA author and good friend. Her book, Blood and Salt, is out now, and in this episode she and I chat about taking this project from concept to bookshelf. At sixteen, Kim left her rural midwestern town… Read more »
No one can argue the importance of family. Whether loving or trying, our relationships with parents, children, and siblings – or the lack of such relationships – can have a huge impact on our lives. The same goes for literary characters. Their beliefs about family can be challenged, reshaped, or reaffirmed as a result of… Read more »
Happy Fall, Word Nerds! Summer is over, and I’m not mourning. I’m a little too busy anticipating the first Chai Tea Latte of the season, sweaters, and cozy writing days. But boy, was this a busy and wonderful few months! Summer is high conference season, and as we prepared for our own writing conference this… Read more »
