Special Feature

Query Etiquette: Lessons I’ve Learned From Literary Agents

Sixteen years ago I received a request for a full manuscript from UK literary agent Laetitia Rutherford. The manuscript was my first serious complete work of literary fiction and I was blinded by excitement. Ms. Rutherford was kind enough to send me line edits on the entire manuscript. She even called me from the UK…
Issue One Hundred Ninety One Issue One Hundred Ninety Two

My Editor’s Top 5 Tips On How To Improve A Manuscript

Every writer dreams of becoming better with each new book. How exactly do we achieve perfection when some writers, like me, are prone to repeating certain errors? One of my favorite editors advised me to compile a list of all the comments, corrections and errors that were highlighted during editing processes and compile a list…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

How to Write a Compelling Short Story

Written By Stephanie Norman Have you ever wondered what makes people so impressed by short stories? There is something magical about the ability of an author to capture so much wisdom in so few words. The sentences are magnetic. The reader may spend less than an hour with the story, but the effect will last…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Three Special Feature

4 Ways to Fund Your Self Published Novel

By Elizabeth Wangare  Publishing should be the next step after writing your book, but is it?  Many manuscripts have found their abode underneath beds and in drawers due to different constraints. Chief of these is lack of funds; whether actual or imaginary. Imaginary because some publishers have basic publishing option for about $78; even with…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Nine Special Feature

How to Write a Story that Gets Published

Writing a book or even a story isn’t easy if you can’t explain it in a few words to your readers, your fans, your prospective publishers or editors. Writing isn’t just about being inspired by an event and describing imagined circumstances leading up to that particular point in time. Detailed planning is required. Ideally a…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Two Special Feature

How to Make Time for Focused Writing

“All writers have this vague hope that the elves will come in the night and finish any stories.” ― Neil Gaiman Time for writing doesn’t make itself. This might seem like a ridiculously obvious statement, yet it is a trap writers fall into all the time, myself included. If you have a good writing habit…
Issue One Hundred Eighty One Special Feature

How To Plot A Novel

I often said that writers are of two types. There is the architect, which is one type. The architect, as if designing a building, lays out the entire novel at a time. He knows how many rooms there will be or what a roof will be made of or how high it will be, or…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Five Special Feature

Writing Is My Job.

Written by Jen Jones Every writer, at some point in their career, has heard the words, “Writing isn’t a real job.”  Only another writer can truly understand the frustration of hearing those words and being made to feel as if your dream is only a waste of time.  It can be even worse if someone…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Seven Special Feature

How To Cope With Feeling Unsupported as a Writer

When I released my first novel in 2013, through an independent publishing platform, I naively expected my family and friends to buy it in droves, share it with all of their friends and loved ones, write reviews, and encourage others to do the same. I soon realized how mistaken I was, and got on with…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Six Special Feature

3 Free Writing Residencies

Written By Tilly Horton “Every kind of creative work demands solitude, and being alone, constructively alone, is a prerequisite for every phase of the creative process.” ~ Barbara Powell Stepping out of our daily grind from time to time can help to refresh perspective and reinvigorate creativity, and residencies can be a great way to do…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Five Special Feature

How Walking Helped Me Become A Better Writer

Written By Julie Guirgis Modern studies have shown walking may be one of the most valuable means of achieving states of literary and philosophical enlightenment. Many writers have discovered a deep, intuitive connection between walking, thinking, and writing. When we walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and oxygen to all the organs, including…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Nine Special Feature

3 Essential Self-Publishing Skills Every Writer Should Develop

Written by Benjamin Cheah Successful self-published writers combine the skill sets of a writer and a publisher. The latter is often overlooked. This article focuses on three essential publishing skills self-published writers need to develop – before they publish their stories. Even if you’re not planning on self-publishing, having a solid grasp of these skills…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Four Special Feature

3 Obvious Mistakes New Poets Make

This article is devoted to talking about and examining common mistakes new poets make. I should clarify the phrase “new poets” as used in this context. What I mean is poets new to publishing their work in literary journals. I actually made these mistakes for the first decade I wrote poetry. I did not understand…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Special Feature

7 Ways to Win Over Romance Book Editors

Writing romance is not easy. The world’s largest publisher of romance fiction receives about twenty thousand unsolicited romance submissions per year. Editors often say that they judge the potential of a manuscript based on the opening lines. It isn’t surprising then that only a handful of manuscripts get requests for a full submission. Even then,…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Three Romance Special Feature

Five Reasons to Attend a Writers’ Conference

By Loretta Bolger Wish I had barely arrived at my first writers’ conference when I learned my most valuable lesson: it had taken me too long to attend one. If your inner skeptic has kept you away, you aren’t alone. You are, however, missing out on some of the best knowledge, motivation, and fun a…
Issue One Hundred Seventy Two Special Feature

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