My “write every day for 100 days” challenge ends at the beginning of May, so I’ve got less than a month to go. I’m doing really well. I’ve got a lot of pages and I feel pretty confident about them…most of the time. I’ve noticed that when I go back to read pages, I think — Read More
Category: Publishing
Querying literary agents
As I’ve been working on my new novel, I’ve had that nagging thought creep into my mind: What will I do when I’m done? (By “done,” I mean “after I have read and re-read it a hundred times and edited it to death.”) I have a few connections that may be able to help me — Read More
Don’t listen to Philip Roth.
Have you heard this story yet? In short: Julian Tepper just published his novel, Balls. He decided to approach Philip Roth, a regular at the Jewish deli where he worked, to tell him of this success and offer him a copy of the book (though Roth has said he doesn’t read fiction anymore). After complimenting — Read More
James Patterson: savvy bestseller or total sellout?
I have to admit I’ve never read a James Patterson novel. I think it’s because there are TV commercials promoting them, and they’re all over airports. The snob in me thinks I’m too good for that. But, c’mon, I have to respect the fact that the man has created an empire–an empire–with his writing. Anyone — Read More
Advice to young writers, from Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Eugenides is one of my newly-declared favorite writers. I love his style, his stories, his characters, everything. Books I read in the past couple years and already want to read again: Middlesex, The Marriage Plot, and Virgin Suicides. So, when I saw a column in The New Yorker featuring his advice for new writers, — Read More
I’m in an anthology!
Remember when I asked you to vote for me for the America’s Next Author 2012 contest? Well, I kind of forgot about the contest. It came and went and then I got an e-mail saying I made it into the anthology! Best of all, you–yes YOU–can download the anthology for FREE! >> Download now!
A rare request: Vote for me!
I entered a contest. This is very, very unlike me. Plus, in this contest, winners are based on social media involvement, ie sharing on Facebook, tweeting, etc. I don’t even have a Twitter account and I get flush with embarrassment when it comes to promoting myself on Facebook. I’m that person posting, “Hey, vote for — Read More
On publishing short stories
Or, rather, on NOT publishing short stories. I’ve never had a short story published in a literary magazine. There, I said it. I’ve written tons, but I stopped submitting them. There was a time, when I was fresh out of grad school and full of enthusiasm, when I subscribed to Poets & Writers magazine and — Read More
My book was a bad idea.
I’ve had that thought about a couple books I wrote, so when I saw a Salon.com article with that title, I had to click. And that’s when I got to know Corinne Purtill’s experience with writing a book. And I got to empathize with her. The gist: Woman quits day job to write book. Book — Read More
Regarding rejection slips
Oh, Snoopy, I feel ya.