Podcasts for True Crime Writers
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October 18, 2016

Perhaps you got hooked on podcasts last year by listening to Serial. From the creators of This American Life, produced by WBEZ Chicago, and hosted by Sarah Koenig, Serial offered listeners a true story told over the course of a season with weekly episodes. The first season focused on the disappearance in 1999 of Hae Min Lee in Baltimore and the conviction of her boyfriend,… [Read More]

The Unanticipated Rewards of Publishing Your Book
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October 11, 2016

Last week here I shared a dirty little secret. Authors get the blues. Depression strikes when you least expect it: upon the successful publication of your book. I did not intend to discourage writers from pursuing the path to publication, though it may have had that effect on those who hadn’t realized how much hard work and personal sacrifice might be involved. Today I’d like… [Read More]

The Dark Side: Publishing Blues
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October 4, 2016

You spend years working toward the publication of your book. Take writing classes. Attend workshops. Mingle at literary conferences. Develop your craft. Work with a writing coach. Write the manuscript. Hire an editor. Revise and rewrite. Build a website and blog every week. Grow an audience platform. Write reviews of books by authors you admire. Polish a proposal. Query agents. Receive rejection after rejection. And… [Read More]

Q&A with Ira Rabois
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September 27, 2016

This week Rowman & Littlefield releases Compassionate Critical Thinking: How Mindfulness, Creativity, Empathy and Socratic Questioning Can Transform Teaching by Ira Rabois. In his new book, Ira demonstrates how to use mindfulness with instructional effectiveness to increase student participation and decrease classroom stress, and it turns the act of teaching into a transformational practice. Many books teach mindfulness, but few provide a model for teaching… [Read More]

Are you a binge-and-purge writer?
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September 20, 2016

Julia Cameron advocates “morning pages.” Three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. Every morning. The Artist’s Way. Natalie Goldberg recommends writing daily for at least twenty minutes. Free the writer within. Keep your hand moving, lose control, and don’t think.  Writing Down the Bones. Stephen King prescribes the writing routine of butt-in-chair habitually. Set writing goals and write… [Read More]

How to Save Money on Editing Services
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September 13, 2016

Many aspiring authors think they can’t afford to hire an editor. If your plan is to publish, then the truth is you can’t afford NOT to hire one. Anyone can call themselves an “editor,” yet not all editors are the same. There is no test or certification process. Be choosy when you hire one. Instead of looking for the cheapest rate, look for editors with… [Read More]

Children’s Picture Books
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August 23, 2016

Those who think writing a children’s picture book might be easier than writing one for adults may be surprised to learn it is not. Children’s books are treated differently in the publishing industry. The market is highly segmented by age, grade, and reading levels. The content of any children’s book needs to be age-appropriate. And to complicate things further, children don’t buy books. Adults do…. [Read More]

What some of our authors are reading this August
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August 9, 2016

See what some of our authors tell us they are reading this summer. Cathryn Prince, author of American Daredevil: The Extraordinary Life of Richard Halliburton, the World’s First Celebrity Travel Writer (Chicago Review Press, June 1, 2016) Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters by Ulysses S. Grant End of Watch  by Stephen King  A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny Ira Rabois, author of the forthcoming Compassionate… [Read More]

Front and Back Matter: An Overview
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August 2, 2016

Front Matter is one of the last sections of a book manuscript for an author to complete. But it’s the first thing a reader sees. Before page 1, there are several items that appear in the front pages of any book. Some pages are mandatory: title, copyright, and table of contents. Others are optional. Every page before the first one in Chapter 1 is paginated… [Read More]

5 Books to Read This Summer Before They Hit the Big Screen
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July 5, 2016

1)  Emma Donoghue, Frog Music: A Novel (Little, Brown and Company, April 2014) From the author of the bestselling novel, Room, Emma Donaghue penned this novel based in San Francisco during the summer of 1897 in which the city suffered a smallpox epidemic and a record-breaking heat wave.  The story begins when a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead through the window of… [Read More]