Last week, I offered tips on how to research literary agents. But suppose you’ve done your homework, queried a dozen or so agents, and are impatiently waiting to hear back. Now what? The wait may be long. Agents are inundated with submissions. You can generally expect to a wait at least two to three months … Read More
Places to Research Agents for Free or Cheap
Your book is finished. You wrote that horrible first draft, rewrote and revised your manuscript several times, and put it through its paces: beta readers, developmental edits, line edits, copyedits. You’ve taken that first-draft lump of coal and turned it into a diamond. You’re ready to find an agent. Where do you start? Here are … Read More
A Reader’s Reflections
Like most of us who write, I was a reader first. And like most of us who read, my love of reading started when I was a child. I think about this often—the way being a reader has shaped my life. We always had books in our home when I was a kid. I saw … Read More
Rainy Days and Sundays
I wrote recently about my struggle with setting goals for the new year. Well, I didn’t really struggle with setting the goals—I set about a billion of them. What I struggled with was getting excited about my goals because I had done my usual thing where I get carried away and overwhelm myself. I took … Read More
Book Review: Body Work by Melissa Febos
Photograph of Melissa Febos by Beowulf Sheehan I am beginning the new year by writing about the best craft book I read in 2022 because I want us—me and you too, dear reader—to carry this book with us not only into 2023, but into the rest of our lives. Body Work: The Radical Power of … Read More
Writing Goals 2023
This year, if I’m honest, I had trouble drumming up much enthusiasm for goal setting—writing or otherwise. I’m generally a goal-setting fanatic, so this was unusual for me. I was excited about setting goals last year. I did a whole, five-part series on goal setting in December 2021. You can find it here. Then I … Read More
Celebrating the Wins
I’m celebrating a big win today. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now. But before I do, I want to tell you about my win, not to brag, although I’m proud of the accomplishment, but because it’s a perfect example of something I want you to know and to believe with all your heart: … Read More
Dreaming of a Reading Nook
I moved earlier this year, but in my last house, I set up a cozy reading nook with the best and most comfortable chair. I loved it so much. I am enjoying my new place, but it’s much smaller and doesn’t have a readily apparent space for a reading nook. I’m really missing my old … Read More
6 Reasons Writers Should Journal
Like many writers, I’ve kept a diary or journal since I was a teenager. I wish I had my old journals, but after someone read my diary when I was fourteen, I burned it and vowed never to keep a diary again. I kept writing, though, and as is usually the case with young writers, … Read More
5 Reasons You Should Write Book Reviews
Earlier this year, I wrote a detailed guide to Writing Book Reviews. You might not have read it. You might have thought it didn’t apply to you because, although you love to read and you love to write, you aren’t a book critic. This morning, I want to share with you that you already are … Read More