Special Feature

Is Spicy Subject Matter More Important Than Quality of Content?

Scintillating subject matter can make books fly off the shelves. A witty heroine, a creepy and clever villain, or an inspiring coming-of-age story can do the same. Which is more important: red hot subject matter or quality of content? With the advent of the internet writers are forced to make an immediate impact on consumers…

The Contradictory Habits of Famous Writers

So many writers, so many odd habits.  Famous writers are always in the limelight regardless of their desire, and that is why their faithful readers and fans try to learn everything about their lives, personal problems, weird habits, etc. Moreover, these fans try to copy out the behavior of their idols. What is their motivation…

6 Cover Letter Mistakes That Can Ruin The Chance of Publication

As the editor of a literary magazine and chapbook press, I read a lot of query letters – and I mean a lot. Last year the total number of submissions received was over two thousand, not including chapbook proposals or microfiction submissions. After reading through that many cover letters year after year, I’ve started to…

4 Self-Publishing Problems (And Their Solutions)

I’ve been self-publishing for almost two years now, and it occurred to me recently that the same four problems are constantly rearing their ugly heads. It sometimes seems like there is no escaping them. I have listed them below and I think many aspiring authors would agree that these four issues are not going to…

6 International Publishing Opportunities

As a U.S. poet who relocated to Berlin, Germany, in 2013, I assumed I would eventually find a community of fellow English language writers in the city. What I didn’t realize was that I would quickly find not only a writing community, but several locally-published English language literary journals, as well. In the years that…

How to Follow Your Dream to Be a Writer When You Have Kids and Responsibilities

These days most parents work, and if on top of that you are trying to make your way as a writer, how on earth do you find the time needed to dedicate to it, without totally neglecting your offspring? Personally I have a horrible fear that when my kids are adults, they will turn to…

The Hidden Dangers of Self Publishing

Self publishing has a lot of buzz these days. Some authors are finding success, many are not, but self publishing is becoming respectable in a way most writers could not imagine even five years ago. However, not all forms of self publishing are created equal. Many new authors approach self publishing with the notion that…

5 Reasons To Celebrate Being An Indie Author

Like a lot of indie authors out there, my publishing journey began with submissions and rejections. Not so long ago, this constant series of rebuttals would have been the end of the road for many books, but these days, thanks to self-publishing, it needn’t be. Becoming an indie author can provide hope to writers who…

The Truth About Poetry Manuscripts

Novelists and non-fiction writers face a lot of hurdles on their road to publication, but they are very different than the ones faced by poets. The major hurdle that poets face is reading and contest fees. I always tell writers looking to publish fiction or non-fiction that they should never pay a traditional publisher.  I…

Alternatives to Submission Fees

There is a dangerous trend happening. Literary journals are charging writers to submit their work. Last summer we published an article called We Are Taking A Stand Against Literary Journals The Charge Submission Fees. It started a discussion that was picked up all over the web. The focus of the article was on the growing…

How to Develop a Good Writing Habit

Habits make up almost half the actions we do every day. They are certain things that we do so often that we feel the reward of completing them even before we do so. Charles Duhigg, a reporter for the New York Times wrote a great book about habits called The Power of Habit. That book…

An Argument For Traditional Publishing

Writers are often very frustrated with traditional publishing. It can be hard to find a publisher. Publishers don’t always give writers the freedom they want. Plus in the age of near instant self publishing, it is easy to wonder why traditional publishers are even necessary. However, there is still a large contingent of authors who…

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Published My Novel

When I became an Indie Author after publishing my first novel, I learned a lot of valuable lessons. I wish someone had warned me about the obstacles I was about to encounter. Below are the five things I really wish I knew, before I became an Indie Author. They are all common obstacles that Indie…

The Misery and the Joy of Self Publishing

Since I published my first novel The Mess of Me in 2013 I have been on what feels like a roller-coaster of a journey. I’ve had the initial high of a life-long dream coming true and the inevitable crushing low of realizing that writing and releasing a book does not automatically guarantee you any sales….

Our Twelve Most Popular Articles in 2014

Of all the many articles we published on writing and publishing this year, the following five were our most popular in terms of click through rate in the magazine and on Facebook, and also in terms of the responses we heard via email. It is interesting to see the range of ideas these articles cover…

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