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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
It’s easy to learn about the basic benefits of guest posting—articles about it are all over the place (including this particularly excellent one from DIY MFA, not that I’m biased). Guest posting is a great way to give your blog a boost in traffic and grow awareness for a website, book, or other project. These… Read more »
Stephen King says, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” Most of us know that if we really want to improve our writing we need to read, a lot. But most of us also have day jobs, families, and adult responsibilities on top of… Read more »
There’s nothing better than getting lost in the world of a book, swept up not just in the story but the rich setting, a place so real you could imagine yourself there. Whether it’s an actual time and place in history, the far distant future, a modern city or a completely imagined fantasy world, a setting… Read more »
A few weeks ago I helped Gabriela launch a new quiz for DIY MFA called “What’s Your Storytelling Superpower?” Basically, you take this personality quiz, and based on your responses we tell you what kind of story you’d be good at writing. I don’t know about you, but I’ve taken plenty of online quizzes before…. Read more »
