You’ve finished your first manuscript, or maybe your twentieth. Maybe you’re having trouble getting an editor’s attention through the slush pile or conference interviews. Maybe you know that an A-list agent can cut through the bureaucratic hurdles and get your book into the hands of a decision maker. For whatever reason, you’ve decided that your […]
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The Beauty of Boredom I attended a writer’s retreat last June. The name of the retreat was “Writing and Dharma,” and it was billed as a combination writing and meditation retreat. Sounded right up my alley, so I jumped a plane to Portland, Oregon, and caught a rideshare to Cloud Mountain meditation center in the […]
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It’s always a little depressing when a series or imprint closes. There are few enough markets, it seems, and to lose two more and cause even more authors to compete for the markets you’re targeting? well, it’s enough to discourage any writer intent on selling. And considering one of them actually seemed to be doing […]
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Starbucks. Nike. Microsoft. On the surface, they are words that mean little or nothing. But when you see the name on billboards or TV or on a product, you know exactly what they represent. Starbucks calls to mind not just a cup of coffee, but a certain level of SUV-driving Yuppie affluence. Nike suggests sports […]
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When I sold my first book, I was ecstatic — until I hit a writer’s block that lasted for a year and a half. Now that I’ve experienced it, I know that it’s both real and painful for a lot of writers. It’s not that you can’t write — you show up to the page, […]
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