When I decided to self-publish my debut novel, The Way of the Cicadas, I turned to my experience and tried to replicate the marketing motions I’d helped with in the past. In the process, I encountered all the ways that indie books need to be marketed differently—both due to budget constraints and gatekeeping and due to market differences.
Read MoreThere is no surefire way to keep yourself safe while querying because the literary agenting system is broken.
Read MorePlease enjoy a rambling walkthrough of my decision to self-publish.
Read MoreHere are the songs that I listened to while I drafted The Way of the Cicadas.
Read MoreI created this worksheet for myself to make sure that I had a clear understanding of my main characters’ motivations.
Read MoreThis year, when writing no longer felt intuitive, when it felt as far away as those art books had so long ago, I went back to drawing.
Read MoreAs with any new project, I set to work at creating a playlist to get me in the writing mood.
Read MoreI received an e-ARC from the lovely K. Ancrum herself in exchange for an honest review. This book was one of my most anticipated of 2019, and it definitely lives up to the hype.
Read MoreI’m so happy to have a guest on the site today, an inspiration and good friend of mine, Nathan Brault!
Read MoreI read Goodreads reviews of this to get some context on other readers’ thoughts, and I kept coming across the word “stabby,” which is actually a pretty great adjective to describe this book.
Read MoreFrom working with critique partners, I’ve learned that many writers aren’t comfortable using some of Word’s handiest features.
Read MoreRecently on Twitter, I participated in #PWPoePrompts for Pitch Wars, where I answered prompts once a day for a month. One of the prompts asked about our favorite diverse read.
Read MoreA couple of years ago at a follow-up visit, I told my psychiatrist that the medicine he’d prescribed had really helped with depression. My symptoms were still there, but they were manageable.
Read MoreIt was my last semester of college, and I was in my “thesis” course: Advanced Creative Writing. The instructor had a strict policy: for every absence over two, no matter the cause, your grade was lowered by half a letter. He told us he didn’t care if our grandma had died.
Read MoreI was never a podcast fan before, but in the past year I’ve fallen in love with programs that focus on writing advice. Hearing other people talk about their writing struggles helps me feel a little less crazy.
Read MoreFor those new to the terms, “plotters” refers to people who staunchly follow an outline while “pantsers” refers to people who write their stories by “the seat of their pants.”
Read MoreYou’ve written a book. It took you thirty years and eighty-million revisions. You’ve gotten some positive feedback from agents/ editors/ critique partners/ your mom, but you can’t seem to ramp it up to the sales-ready level.
Read MoreI don't "get" NaNoWriMo. I haven't since I first tried out a NaNo club in college. Strangers sat next to each other, unblinking eyes glowing in the lights of their laptops, caffeine-addled hands clacking against their keys.
Read MoreStep 0 to starting a sustainable writing career is to get a day job that you at least don’t mind.
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