In this column, Life of a Writer, every 8 weeks or so I will share the next episode in my journey as a middle-aged woman who finally gets serious about her dream of becoming a published author. In Episode 2 of this column, I wrote about how I completed the manuscript of my first novel… Read more »
When publishing routes are so often discussed in terms of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, it’s easy to forget about options beyond the binary—and even as someone who works in publishing, I’ll freely admit that I don’t talk about small presses enough! So while my previous column reinforced that trad pub/self-pub dichotomy, today I want to… 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 »
Kimberly Bell is a historical romance author, and she’s here to share her secrets about getting two book contracts and writing five books in two years. Her first two books were published by Penguin Intermix last year, with her third book releasing next week on April 18th. Her second romance series will begin releasing through Entangled… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Thanks for joining me today for DIY MFA Radio. I’m so excited to share this episode because I’m interviewing literary agent Janet Reid, AKA the Query Shark. *Cue music from Jaws in 3… 2… 1…* Janet is a literary agent at FinePrint Literary Management in NYC, where she represents mostly crime novels and thrillers, with some… 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 »
Hey word nerd! Today’s episode is all about how to take your writing from a hobby to something more. This episode was inspired by an email I received from a fellow word nerd named Emily. She wrote: “I want to be a writer when I grow up, and I’ve been told that I’m even good… Read more »
Happy New Year, everyone! Since it’s the last day of 2014, I thought we’d talk about writing resolutions. But first, let me start with a crazy fact. According to a University of Scranton study, only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year’s goals. For many people the new year begins with all the best intentions for making… Read more »
Welcome to another awesome interview episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today we have Daniel Milnor, photographer at large for Blurb, Inc., joining us. Dan and I talked about how the book has evolved, what it means for something to be a book, and what all these changes mean for authors. In particular, we discuss different publishing… Read more »
Okay! I wrote a bunch of short stories—now what do I do with them? – The Next Jane Austen Congrats! You’ve put on your silvery boxing pants, got your boxing gloves on, stuck that plastic guard between your teeth. Finishing something is no small accomplishment. (Pumping “Eye of the Tiger” at full blast during the… Read more »
