» A Guest Author

Three Lessons From My First Podcast Tour

By Lory Widmer Hess I’m a writer, not a speaker. When I was in high school, an oral report was the assignment most likely to cause me to call in sick; now, though I have gotten over that total-panic reaction and become more at ease with talking in public, I still feel more comfortable with…

Issue Six Hundred Forty Four Special Feature

Lessons from a Thousand Submissions

By Michael Theroux Casinos live on a thin margin of success, the ‘house edge’, yet the percentage is lucrative. That ‘casino advantage’ varies by game from less than 0.5 to about 5.25%; games with a low house edge pay out less than do games with a built-in higher advantage for the casino That’s a lot…

Issue Six Hundred Forty One Special Feature

Case Study: BOWIE: Stardust, Rayguns & Moonage Daydreams

By Steve Horton Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down… Seriously, though, the path from zero to 100 in this case study about a debut graphic novel is a strange one. They say that when someone breaks into the publishing industry, they cement off that entrance so…

Case Studies Issue Six Hundred Thirty Seven

7 Reasons Why You Should Try Using Writing Prompts

By Isha JainAt the beginning of my career, the idea of writing based on prompts was strange to me. I tried a prompt for the first time when the dreaded writer’s block hit me. It felt far better than staring at a blank screen, waiting for inspiration to strike. So, when walking, watching movies, reading…

Issue Six Hundred Thirty Four

4 Unique Writing Habits of Famous Writers

By Isha Jain As someone who wants to improve my craft, I often read about the writing advice and habits of accomplished writers. Over the years, I have come across many quirky habits that have helped some famous writers. Like Dan Brown, who wears gravity boots and hangs upside down from a frame to clear…

Issue Six Hundred Thirty Special Feature

Case Study: How The Coat Check Girl Came to Life

By Laura Buchwald I began writing The Coat Check Girl many years ago, without knowledge of what the path to publication entailed or whether that was even my goal. I’d been a writer since I learned to hold a pencil and had dabbled in short fiction. The idea for a longform project came to me…

Case Studies Issue Six Hundred Twenty Six Special Feature

How Six Scribes Made Me a Better Writer

By Alice J. Wisler Even though I was happy to see the notice on the library bulletin board, I didn’t realize how much it would contribute to my writing success. Someone wanted to know if others in our area were interested in forming a writers’ group. I jotted down the number to call. Weeks later,…

Issue Six Hundred Twenty Two Special Feature

Lessons From a Writer and Her Rejections

By Melissa Witcher With over 100 literary magazine rejections in the past two years, I am quite familiar with being not quite the right fit. I’ve always been a misfit so it makes sense that my writing career would follow suit. Many famous people, quite successful, have written about rejection in poetic and useful ways….

Issue Six Hundred Twenty Special Feature

No-Fee Contests for Published Books (So You Can Become an Award Winning Author)

If you’ve recently published a book, you can leverage no-fee contests to get more visibility for your work. Even writers who forego the traditional publication route are not always disqualified from entering their books into these contests. Fee-free contests can offer everything from extra promotion and notoriety to monetary awards or invitations to read at…

Issue Six Hundred Eighteen

The Key to a Realistic Writing Plan

By Abdulraheem Jameel Ango A good writing plan can transform your writing life. However, many authors emphasize the importance of not skipping a single writing session. Despite how useful this may sound, and regardless of how flawless our writing plan may look, this is not always possible. There are days when life happens, days when…

Issue Six Hundred Seventeen

Build Your Writing Career and Platform with Snap, Dash and Flash

By Lynne Curry When I fell in love with flash fiction, seduced by the six-word story attributed to Hemingway: “For sale: baby, shoes, never worn,” I never dreamed flash would love me back. It did, reshaping how I write and how my stories connect with readers. If you experiment with flash fiction— storytelling that delivers…

Issue Six Hundred Sixteen

3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Word Count and Finish Your Book

By Delaney Diamond I’m a full-time romance author, and I can tell you that writing full-time means I regularly generate story ideas. So many ideas, in fact, that I have a file where I list them and drop notes for future books. Though I’m excited by many of those stories and can usually get started…

Issue Six Hundred Fourteen Special Feature

RESEARCH: What To Look for and Where to Find It

Nancy Burkhalter, PhD Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, regardless of genre or topic, research will probably be on your agenda; for historical novelists, it is de rigueur. So, where to start? The acronym PERSIA may help. Each letter stands for a category of analysis: Political, Economic, Religious, Social, Intellectual, and Artistic. Facts drawn from…

Issue Six Hundred Seven

9 Reasons Why I Love Having My Newsletter on Substack

By Isha Jain Fed up with the long waiting periods and numerous rejections, I started publishing stories that couldn’t find a home elsewhere on Substack. What started as a way of publishing my work has now become a full-time focus for me due to the various advantages Substack provides to the creators. Here are some…

Issue Six Hundred Five

Writing Fiction: When to Consider Summary

By Sherry Shahan As a fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants writer, my early drafts spill over with excess words. I’m fascinated by my characters and long to be part of their daily lives. Pages fill as soon as my protagonist rolls from bed each morning. And then there’s breakfast . . . The show-don’t-tell edict was etched into my…

Issue Six Hundred Four

Articles by A Guest Author