Hi, writers! In my last post, I wrote about how to create a book cover that not only accurately reflects your brand but also attracts your ideal readers. While an amazing cover can persuade readers to click on your book (or to pull it off the shelf in a physical book store), it’s your book’s… Read more »
Over the past ten years, historical fiction has become more relevant to readers. As authors, we want to write fiction that helps readers understand their own lives, here and now. Perhaps we also would like to offer readers a visit to another time, a visit that can show how the past has shaped our present… Read more »
Indie publishing offers a lifetime of lessons to learn, and fortunately, the self-publishing community also offers myriad colleagues and gurus willing to share their knowledge with you. But working in indie publishing is a lot like that transition from college to real life: you can do all the reading and take all the courses, but… Read more »
A little over a week ago, I wrote this email sharing initial steps that my team and I are taking to amplify black voices and also make DIY MFA more inclusive of diverse voices. I realize that I have been fairly quiet on the subject since, but that by no means indicates that this subject… Read more »
I once asked on a social media site why people read romance novels. I received two primary answers: a guaranteed happy ending, and the way the books make them feel. As a romance reader myself, I couldn’t agree more. I turn to that genre when I want to feel deeply, and experience love through the… Read more »
One of my favorite parts of my job is when I get to share epic wins from my word nerds. Today, I’d like you to meet Constance Emmett. She’s a DIY MFA course graduate whose debut novel, Heroine of Her Own Life, begins shipping to readers this August. While I could go on and on… Read more »
As a declared English major from day one, my running joke through four years of college was, “I’ve just always wanted to live in a box.” But of course, I still got offended when non-English majors laughed, because I believed it was as useful and applicable a major as anything else—and I wasn’t wrong! Sure,… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Melanie Moyer. Melanie is a debut author and veteran ghostwriter. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh where she studied Creative Writing, Religious Studies, Folklore, and Russian History. She regularly co-hosts a horror pop culture podcast called Splatter Chatter, serves as a co-host… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Ruth Spiro on the show! Ruth’s journey as a writer is one I think many word nerds can relate to. She never imagined she’d be a writer…until she started doing it! And now she writes innovative books for kids about science, technology, engineering… Read more »
Here’s a secret writing exercise I only recently learned: If you want characters to feel real for the reader, you have to hint they have the potential to be the opposite of what they appear. Wait, what? The opposite of what the character seems . . . wouldn’t that mean the character is acting out… Read more »
