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 3 of this column, I wrote about how I completed the manuscript of my first novel… Read more »
Do you want me to tell you a story? Is there a better question to stoke the imagination and create anticipation? The promise of a story has always electrified me. I’ve wanted to become a writer since my parents read me bedtime stories filled with fantasy and adventure. I would often sneak out of bed… Read more »
It’s all about the waiting. If you’re currently on sub with agents or editors or whoever, you know it. The anxiety is real. It involves a lot of WHAT IF thinking. What if I get signed? What if I don’t? What if everyone hates my book? What if they don’t? What if I get the… Read more »
Getting your work published in a literary magazine or journal can serve to build your resume, and grow your writing community. From researching the publications that best fit your work, to writing your cover letter, to clicking “submit,” there are several important steps in sending work to an editor. Here are 5 actionable tips to… Read more »
I can credit my local writing group with a lot of things: Teaching me craft, encouraging me to write, critiquing my work, and convincing me to pitch my book. And now, I don’t think it’s too much to credit them with also getting me an agent. Yes, I wrote the book. Yes, I edited it… Read more »
Hello and welcome to another awesome episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today I’m so excited to be interviewing Literary Agent Jeff Kleinman. Jeff is a founding partner of Folio Literary Management, and also happens to be my awesome agent! What I love about working with Jeff is that he has an eye for spotting books… Read more »
These days, with Amazon and a host of other opportunities for self-publication, writers take more of a lead in getting their books in the hands of readers. If writers can upload their books and sell directly to readers then what happens to the “middle men” like literary agents? While some writers seem pleased to see… Read more »
“Writing is a fairly lonely business,” Marc Lawrence wrote, “Unless you invite people in to watch you do it, which is often distracting and then you have to ask them to leave.” This is true: we face the blank page alone. But writing doesn’t have to be a lonely business. Indeed, at DIY MFA, we… Read more »
Ever wonder what literary agents look for when they read your first pages? While at the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar I had the opportunity to sit in on some small group workshops and observe how agents responded to the opening pages from different writers. By listening to agents give feedback, I got an inside look at… Read more »
