Publishing
-
Life is Short, Read Good Books
The Millions interviews Little, Brown editor Allie Sommer on the ins-and-outs of being an editor. She talks about her pet peeves, editing style, pleasure reading, and how the process of editing a book differs with every new project: “Nobody tells you,…
-
Dispatches from a Real-Life, Full-Time Freelance Writer
Over at The Billfold, writer Nicole Dieker kicks off a new series on all aspects of life as a full-time freelancer. In her first installment, she covers the four different types of paid assignments and how her personal writing projects…
-
I Know I Should Tweet
Throughout AWP, I heard people groan: “Yeah, I’ll start tweeting soon.” “I know I know: I should tweet.” They seemed resigned to it, and I suppose I did too, but I didn’t know why.
-
On Leaving Your Literary Agent
A few months ago, writer Patrick Ross made a difficult and possibly regrettable decision: he left his literary agent. He didn’t have another agent lined up, or even any strong leads on where to find one; he’s currently sending his…
-
“The Woes of the Wannabe”
The prospect of publication, the urgent need, as they see it, to publish as soon as possible, colors everything [my students] do….It will be hard for those who have never suffered this obsession to appreciate how all-conditioning and all-consuming it…
-
A Helpful Guide to Writing Children’s Books
If it’s always been your secret ambition to write a children’s picture book, Buzzfeed Books can help you get started with this handy-dandy thirteen-step guide, illustrated by the Rumpus’s own Jason Novak (with a little help from his daughter Gertie). There’s some golden advice…
-
Want to Publish a Book? Here’s How
It’s quirkily written with lots of jokes, but don’t let that fool you: Delilah S. Dawson’s Terrible Minds guest post, “25 Steps to Being a Traditionally Published Author: Lazy Bastard Edition,” is thorough, professional, and extremely helpful. From advice to…
-
Re-Live Litquake’s digi.lit Conference
If you couldn’t make it to Litquake’s digi.lit conference, never fear—you can listen to Laura Miller’s keynote address here. Though the conference focused on digital publishing, the Salon writer talks just as much about traditional publishing and how it has given…
-
Is Penguin’s E-Galley Policy Hurting Authors?
When a book is ready to be marketed, Penguin will print loads of galleys. Great, important, standard. But what they won’t do is give out electronic versions of the book. Not DRM and watermarked copies. Not password protected copies. An…
-
“Oprah Only Deals With Real Black Writers”
Hey Brandon, this is my fourteenth thorough revision for you in four years. I know I’m not changing your mind and that’s fine…My book is unapologetically an American race novel, among other things. I’m still not sure why you bought…
-
What VIDA Stats Mean on A Personal Level
This year’s VIDA stats gave us a (depressing) wide-lens view of women’s status in the writing industry, but for a (depressing) close-up perspective, read Deborah Copaken Kogan’s recent essay in The Nation about the sexism she’s encountered during her career as a photographer…
