Writing and teaching both take an enormous amount of energy, skill, and commitment to do well. They also seem to go hand-in-hand as career paths. The list of successful writers who honed their literary craft while also teaching in schools and universities is immense: Stephen King, Joanne Harris, Phillip Pullman, and Maya Angelou to name…
How to Stay Organized as a Writer – Beau Peters | Guest Post
Writers are often creative and imaginative people. Unfortunately, that can also make them disorganized, at times. Creativity doesn’t necessarily have to mean clutter. In fact, surrounding yourself with disorganized files, a cluttered workspace, or other things that can contribute to a chaotic environment might do more harm than good. As a writer, having some sense…
Why Attending The Festival of Storytellers 2021 Is Important – Jennifer Jacksons | Guest Post
When was the last time you’ve attended a book festival? Was it many months ago? Or was it a year ago? There is no question that 2020 played a huge role to why you haven’t attended a book fair. Last year was unprecedented and the outlook for 2021 also remains uncertain. Millions of plans and…
Changing Trends in the Publishing Industry: 2021 – Charlie Svensson | Guest Post
2021 promises many things for the publishing industry, with many of the trends having begun to take hold 2 or 3 years ago. In many ways, therefore, 2021 is going to be a continuation of what is already there. If you like to predict this kind of stuff, you can make money doing it on…
How to Support Authors with Books out During Social Isolation – Arslan Hassan | Guest Post
The current pandemic has affected just about everyone. Authors are experiencing a difficult plight as people are too distracted and as events get canceled. In addition to this, many bookstores are not even allowing browsing, while Amazon has de-prioritized many books. The fact is that the world of publishing moves very fast. If authors do…
Book Publicity Campaign Extras: PR Elements to Boost Excitement – Diane H. Wong | Guest Post
Book publicity extras—like book tours and book parties—can boost media and reader awareness during your book’s launch. In addition to the book publicity basics you can expect from your publisher or hired publicist, there are a number of other tactical publicity elements that can be deployed in service of getting media attention for your book. Book…
Children’s Books Never Go Out of Style – Kathryn Starke | Guest Post
Fifteen years ago, I wrote a children’s book to teach the seven continents to my second-grade students who could not imagine a world outside of their own community. Amy’s Travels became the first children’s picture book to teach all seven continents. Based on the true story of my college suitemate Amy, the example of Latina…
Writing Short Stories: 5 Authors on The Craft of Short Story Writing – K.T. Mehra | Guest Post
There is magic in a great short story. Short stories can capture your imagination like nothing else, and in as short a time as your morning coffee break. How do you write a great short story that moves someone in just a few pages? We’ve gathered 5 world-famous authors on just that! Here’s 5 authors…
How to Write a Strong Female Character the Right Way – Jennifer Jacksons | Guest Post
Over the past decades, the term “strong female characters” has become a buzzword in the literary world. Strong female characters basically refer to those women in books, poems, and other works of literature who possess strong qualities and convictions. They are the female characters that women in real life ought to idolize. For the past…
Writing and Reading for Pleasure (July 2020): Douglas Burcham
Douglas Burcham writes another (maybe last) post in his “Writing and Reading for Pleasure” series. 1.0 Introduction On 1st June 2020 I celebrated being a writer for ten years. Writing is not a short-term activity. The first three years – a million words of draft modern fantasy fiction and then five years of not…