By Roberta Gale When it comes to media interviews, interview preparation is a two-way street. The host needs to do his part to become as familiar with the guest and her topic as possible. Whether this means reading (or at least skimming) her book, checking out her biography, or reading reviews, he should ideally be … Read more
By Patricia S. Baker Each year, thousands of aspiring writers flock to writers’ conferences bearing< suitcases, manuscripts, and high hopes for enhancing their writing careers. One of them might be you! Given that a considerable emotional and financial investment has been put into this endeavor, how can you optimize your chances for a successful experience? … Read more
By Diane Sonntag Our good friends at Strunk and White are always advising us to do away with those nasty adjectives and adverbs that clutter up our writing. This has always been a tough one for me. As someone who really likes to talk — and unfortunately, as someone who writes like I talk — removing those adjectives and … Read more
By Mayra Calvani A great blurb can make the difference between a customer taking out his/her wallet to buy your book or putting the book back on the shelf. Great blurbs sell books. But what is a blurb, exactly? A blurb is the copy on the back cover of your book. After the cover, the … Read more
By Patricia L. Fry When you become the author of a nonfiction book, you are also considered an expert in your field. People want to read what you write and hear what you have to say. You want to promote your book and get personal exposure by writing articles and speaking publicly. Author interviews are … Read more
By Michelle Gardner Maybe it’s because the writing life is a lonely one that we surround ourselves with comfort clutter. Or maybe it’s because we always have a story or stories in various forms of completion that causes the research notes to spill into each other. Or maybe it’s because we want to have everything … Read more
By Catherine Franz When we are stressed or blocked, it is wise to make a change so that we don’t stay in that place. Yet many times we forget some of the simple things that we can do for ourselves, quickly and easily, to bring our inspiration back and increase our creativity. If you usually … Read more
Interview by Amy Brozio-Andrews William Shunn’s novella Inclination appears on the just-announced 2006 Preliminary Nebula Award Ballot. William Shunn is a Nebula Award-nominated science fiction writer (cite>Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites)and stage/film reviewer. His work has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Science Fiction Age, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Science … Read more
Five Tips for Handling People Who Want You To Critique Their Manuscript (for free, of course) By Jonathan Moeller First, some context. I am a writer of no significance whatsoever. I wrote one novel, which disappeared without a trace, and I’ve written some short stories and nonfiction articles, but none have ever become well-known. In short, in … Read more
By James D. Macdonald My father, W. Douglas Macdonald, was a chemical engineer and an electrical engineer. Most of his life he worked for building materials companies, including Glidden Paint, US Plywood, and Eucatex. He died entirely too young—at 72, of congestive heart failure secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; that is to say, smoking … Read more
